Skip to main content (Press Enter).
 News
    
        Photos

    Week in Photos

    Air Force TV

    Commentaries

    Features

    Art

    About Us
    
        Air Force Senior Leaders
    
        SECAF

    CSAF

    CMSAF

    Biographies

    Fact Sheets

    SECAF Reading List

    CSAF Leadership Library
    
        CSAF Leadership Library 2022

    CSAF Leadership Library 2021

    CSAF Reading List Pre-2020 Archive
    
        2018 CSAF Reading List

    2017 CSAF Reading List

    2016 CSAF Reading List

    CSAF Leadership Library 2023

    CMSAF Leadership Library

    50 Years of the CMSAF

    Adjunct Professors

    Air Force Strategic Documents

    Arctic Strategy

    Empowered Airmen

    State Licensure Portability

    Careers

    AF Federal Advisory Committees

    AF 75th Anniversary

    Policy Updates

    AF Content Management

    Contact Us

    AF Sites
    
        Site RegistrationU.S. Air Force LogoAir Force

        Policy UpdatesNewsroomReoptimizationBIOGRAPHIESAF Senior Leaders      An F-35 Lightning II flys over Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, at midday during RED FLAG-Alaska 20-3 Aug. 13, 2020. The F-35 is the most advanced fighter in the U.S. Air Force’s inventory and Eielson is the first Air Force base in the pacific theatre to receive them. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Beaux Hebert)Red Flag-Alaska 20-3 comes to a close
                        
                        
                        An F-35 Lightning II flies over Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, during Red Flag-Alaska 20-3 Aug. 13, 2020. The F-35 is the most advanced fighter in the U.S. Air Force’s inventory and Eielson AFB is the first Air Force base in the Pacific theater to receive the aircraft. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Beaux Hebert)
                
                Photo Details /
                        Download Hi-Res
        


        Two F-35A Lightning IIs prepare for take off during RED FLAG-Alaska 20-3 on Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, Aug. 13, 2020. F-35s from Eielson as well as Hill Air Force Base, Utah, participated in the large force exercise and added a fifth-generation element to the aerial warfare training event. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Beaux Hebert)Red Flag-Alaska 20-3 comes to a close
                        
                        
                        Two F-35A Lightning IIs prepare for take off during Red Flag-Alaska 20-3 on Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, Aug. 13, 2020. F-35s from Eielson AFB as well as Hill AFB, Utah, participated in the large-force exercise and added a fifth-generation element to the aerial warfare training event. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Beaux Hebert)
                
                Photo Details /
                        Download Hi-Res
        


        An F-16 Fighting Falcon from the 18th Aggressor Squadron takes off during RED FLAG-Alaska 20-3 on Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, Aug. 13, 2020. The 18th AGRS mission during RF-A 20-3 is to know, teach, and replicate adversary threats while engaging in simulated air-to-air combat. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Beaux Hebert)RED FLAG-Alaska 20-3 comes to a close
                        
                        
                        An F-16 Fighting Falcon from the 18th Aggressor Squadron takes off during RED FLAG-Alaska 20-3 on Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, Aug. 13, 2020. The 18th AGRS mission during RF-A 20-3 is to know, teach, and replicate adversary threats while engaging in simulated air-to-air combat. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Beaux Hebert)
                
                Photo Details /
                        Download Hi-Res

Red Flag-Alaska 20-3 comes to a closePublished Aug. 18, 2020
                    
                    By Senior Airman Beaux Hebert and Airman 1st Class Aaron Guerrisky
                    
                    
                    354th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
            **EIELSON AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska (AFNS) --**Red Flag-Alaska 20-3, a **Pacific Air Forces**-sponsored exercise, concluded Aug. 14.
Flying participants completed roughly 560 sorties and racked up approximately 1,500 flying hours which contributed to the pilots gaining the confidence needed to execute combat operations.
“The exercise went amazing. We had a lot of challenges, the biggest one being COVID(-19), but we were able to overcome that,” said Lt. Col. Gregory Hunger, the 353rd Combat Training Squadron commander. “We were able to reduce the footprint of COVID(-19) without sacrificing the training and the high-end combat capability that participants will walk away with.”
Typically, planning for a RF-A begins eight months prior to an exercise, but planning was compacted into a much shorter time period for this iteration.
“For this exercise, it was six weeks prior when we were given the ‘go ahead’ and what the units were going to be doing,” Hunger said. “The team at the 353rd CTS and the whole **354th Fighter Wing** pitched in to make it happen.”
This iteration of RF-A may have been smaller in comparison to previous years; however, fifth-generation participants ensured there was no shortage of airpower. The lineup consisted of **F-35A Lightning II**s from **Eielson** and **Hill AFB**, Utah, along with **F-22 Raptors** from **Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson**.**B-1B Lancers** assigned to the 37th Bomb Squadron out of **Ellsworth AFB**, South Dakota, **KC-135 Stratotankers** assigned to the 97th Air Refueling Squadron out of **Fairchild AFB**, Washington, and the Alaska Air National Guard’s **168th ARS** supported combat scenarios throughout the two-week exercise.
In addition to all the action in the sky, survival, evasion, reconnaissance and escape, or **SERE**, Airmen assisted special operations personnel with ground operations.
“Anytime we get a chance to participate in Red Flag it's instrumental to our training,” said Maj. Matthew Roland, a 37th BS B-1 pilot. “We get to integrate with additional fifth-generation fighters and see the realistic air war. It presents us a new picture and we can train to a more realistic situation.”
The 18th Aggressor Squadron runs the red side of RF-A. Its mission, which is to know, teach and replicate threats to prepare pilots for real-world enemy forces stayed the same, but the squadron’s **F-16 Fighting Falcons** elevated training with their new teammates.
“One of the main ways we are going to challenge the fifth-generation is to utilize fifth-generation platforms to augment our forces and show the participants a fifth-generation threat,” said Lt. Col. Randolph Kinsey, 18th AGRS commander.
F-35s were first introduced to RF-A during this iteration, which opens the door for future fifth-generation participation from both national and international participants.
“As we go into the future for Red Flag(s), it’s going to be fifth-generation,” Hunger said. “This is a good opportunity to get our foot into the water to see what the temperature is and then we can really start ramping it up.”USAF 



AF 



Air Force 



RF-A 20-3 



Red Flag 20-3 



354th FW 



Eielson AFB 



Alaska 



exercise 



f-16 



18th Aggressor Squadron 



aerial combat scenario 



Pacific Air Forces 



PACAF 



fifth-generation aircraft 



training Featured News
        Senior Leader Priorities
                DAF leaders talk budget, reoptimizing the force
                    
                    DAF leaders speak at National Character and Leadership Symposium
                    
                    DAF members recognized during BEYA STEM awards
                    
                    DAF senior enlisted advisors discuss Airmen, Guardians in the fight
                    
                    SecAF Kendall AFA Warfare Symposium Q&A: Reoptimizing for Great Power CompetitionInnovation
                AFWERX director discusses role of tech startups, quick innovation in Great Power Competition
                    
                    DAF delivers lethality at the speed of data during Project Convergence Capstone 4
                    
                    DAF welcomes industry partners to HQ development program
                    
                    DAF announces Spark Tank 2024 finalists
                    
                    Chief Digital, Artificial Intelligence Office to host hackathon in HawaiiMAJCOM News
                Safety enterprise announces new mission, vision, goals in 2024 strategic plan
                    
                    Air Combat Command welcomes new commander
                    
                    USAFE-AFAFRICA commander discusses Integrated Air, Missile Defense during Munich Security Conference
                    
                    Flosi to AFMC family: Embrace change, make every day count
                    
                    AMC rises to increasing global tension
 Quick Links
AccessibilityContact UsEqual OpportunityFOIA | Privacy | Section 508Information QualityInspector GeneralJAG Court-Martial DocketLink DisclaimerNo FEAR ActOpen GovernmentOSI Tip LinePlain LanguageQuestionsResilienceRSSSite MapVeterans Crisis LineCareers
Join the Air ForceAir Force BenefitsAir Force CareersAir Force ReserveAir National GuardCivilian ServiceConnect
            Get Social with Us
            
            Official United States Air Force Website
    Hosted by Defense Media Activity - WEB.mil