LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The U.S. military is intensifying training efforts amid rising global tensions, with one of the world's most realistic combat exercises currently underway in Southern Nevada.
Red Flag, the Air Force's premier training event, is in full swing at Nellis Air Force Base with nearly 100 aircraft participating in intense combat scenarios designed to prepare American forces and their allies for potential future conflicts.
WATCH | Abel Garcia spent the day at Nellis and shows us how the Air Force, and its allies, are sharpening their edge in the skies over the valley:
The exercise takes real-life combat scenarios and plays them out across air, space, and cyber domains, ensuring crews know how to work together effectively if threats to the country ever materialize.
"What's unique about Red Flag is we're all in the same room planning," said Lt. Col. Ryan Young, commander of the 65th Aggressors at Nellis.
Young leads efforts to bring combat Air Force units from around the world, including partners from Australia and the United Kingdom, to participate in challenging scenarios that test their best tactics while requiring international cooperation.
"It's the time when we bring the combat Air Force from all over the world… now with partners here as well. Australians, the British… ramp up a scenario, challenge the best tactics they have, and make them work together," Young said.
The training involves detailed mission planning and execution, followed by comprehensive debriefs where participants analyze every move to maximize learning opportunities.
High above the training range, Maj. Kaleigh Hulett serves as an air battle manager, coordinating combat operations from the skies.
"As our adversaries are evolving and their threats advancing… that's requiring us to also advance how we train," Hulett said.
The Nevada Test and Training Range, located just north of Las Vegas, provides the ideal setting for this high-end training with its three million acres of unmatched airspace.
"The unique training environment we have here… with the Nellis Test and Training Range to the north… is really the gemstone of what makes Nellis awesome," Young said.
For Senior Airman Serena Lendon, participating in her first Red Flag exercise, the experience offers unparalleled training opportunities.
"You have unmatched airspace here, experienced instructors… it lets us train the way we would fight in a real-world scenario — while doing it safely," Lendon said.
Red Flag extends beyond just flying operations, focusing on ensuring that when the U.S., UK, and Australia are called into combat together, they already know how to operate as a unified force.
"Blue Air and our partners — U.S., UK, and Australian — have been working through the challenge. We're starting to see success on the blue side… and if blue wins, we win," Young said.
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