Red Flag (United States Air Force) - Origin

Origin

The origin of Red Flag was the unacceptable performance of U.S. Air Force pilots in air combat maneuvering (ACM) (air-to-air combat) during the Vietnam War in comparison to previous wars. Air combat over North Vietnam between 1965 and 1973 led to an overall exchange ratio (ratio of enemy aircraft shot down to the number of own aircraft lost to enemy fighters) of 2.2:1 (for a period of time in June and July 1972 during Operation Linebacker the ratio was less than 1:1).

Among the several factors resulting in this disparity was a lack of realistic ACM training. USAF pilots were not versed in the core values and basics of ACM due to the belief that BVR (Beyond Visual Range) missile engagements and equipment made close-in maneuvering combats obsolete. As a result of this BVR-only mindset that reached its zenith in the early 1960s, nearly all USAF pilots and weapons system officers (WSO) of the period were unpracticed in maneuvering against dissimilar aircraft because of a concurrent Air Force emphasis on flying safety.

An Air Force analysis known as Project Red Baron II showed that a pilot's chances of survival in combat dramatically increased after he had completed 10 combat missions. As a result, Red Flag was created in 1975 to offer USAF pilots and weapon systems officers the opportunity to fly 10 realistically simulated combat missions in a safe training environment with measurable results. Many U.S. air crews had also fallen victim to SAMs during the Vietnam War and Red Flag exercises provided pilots and WSOs experience in this regime as well.

The concept of Colonel Richard "Moody" Suter became the driving force in Red Flag's implementation, persuading the then-Tactical Air Command commander, General Robert J. Dixon, to adopt the program. At Nellis, Suter was well-known and well-liked. The first Red Flag exercise came off on Gen Dixon's schedule in November 1975. On 1 March 1976, the 4440th Tactical Fighter Training Group (Red Flag) was chartered with Col P.J. White as the first commander, Lt Col Marty Mahrt as vice commander, and Lt Col David Burner as Director of Operations. This small crew under Col White's leadership undertook the task of firmly establishing the program.

The "aggressor squadrons", the opponents who flew against the pilots undergoing training, were selected from the top fighter pilots in the U.S. Air Force. These pilots were trained to fly according to the tactical doctrines of the Soviet Union and other enemies of the period, in order to better simulate what then-TAC, as well as USAFE, PACAF and other NATO pilots and WSOs would likely encounter in real combat against a Soviet, Warsaw Pact, or a Soviet-proxy adversary. The aggressors were originally equipped with readily available T-38 Talon aircraft to simulate MiG-21, the T-38 being similar in terms of size and performance. F-5 Tiger II fighters, painted in color schemes commonly found on Soviet aircraft, were added shortly thereafter and became the mainstay until the F-16 was introduced.

Today, the 414th Combat Training Squadron (414 CTS) is the unit currently tasked with running Red Flag exercises, while the 64th Aggressor Squadron (64 AGRS) and the 65th Aggressor Squadron (65 AGRS) also based at Nellis AFB use F-16 and F-15 aircraft to emulate, respectively, the MiG-29 Fulcrum and Su-30 Flanker. These aircraft continue to be painted in the various camouflage schemes of potential adversaries.

The U.S. Air Force's Red Flag approach differs from that initially employed during the Vietnam War by the United States Navy to improve fighter aircrew performance. Rather than a large, multi-squadron exercise, the Navy established the United States Navy Fighter Weapons School (more widely known as TOPGUN) in 1969 at the former NAS Miramar, California to "train the trainers," with Navy and Marine Corps squadrons in the Fleet, selecting their best air crews for training. Graduates returned to the Fleet to share lessons learned with their fellow pilots and naval flight officers. Navy and Marine Corps adversary squadrons were also later established at fighter and attack Master Jet Bases (NAS Miramar (now MCAS Miramar), NAS Oceana, NAS Lemoore, MCAS Yuma, NAS Key West and NAS Fallon, as well as the former NAS Cecil Field, for Fleet squadrons to conduct dissimilar air combat training as part of unit level training. These squadrons initially flew the A-4 Skyhawk. The Navy and Marine Corps later added the F-5E/F to its adversary lineup and briefly included the F-21 Kfir. Other naval adversary aircraft have include specially built F-16Ns, the F-14 and the F/A-18. Today, Carrier Air Wing level training, analogous to the USAF Red Flag program, is conducted at NAS Fallon, where the Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center (NSAWC), of which TOPGUN in now part, operates dissimilar adversary aircraft (F-16 and F/A-18), while a collocated squadron, VFC-13, flies the F-5E and F-5F.

The United States Marine Corps (USMC) conducts Weapons and Tactics Instructor (WTI) exercises at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma twice a year as part of the WTI course conducted by MAWTS-1 and uses locally-based VMFT-401, the only USMC adversary squadron. Originally equipped with the F-21 Kfir, it now operates the F-5E and F-5F.

In 2009, the 416th FLTS from Edwards AFB, CA, a part of the Air Force Material Command participated.