Combined joint forces conquer Red Flag–Alaska 26-2

Pacific Air Forces’ latest Red Flag-Alaska concluded June 12 after two weeks of daily sorties across interior and south-central Alaska, capping an iteration organizers said placed a premium on international participation and coalition integration.

The exercise, designated RF-A 26-2, ran from May 28 to June 12 and drew more than 70 aircraft and about 2,100 service members to Eielson Air Force Base and Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson. Planners emphasized large-force missions and a mix of air-to-ground operations, special operations integration, and tactical airlift, with limited air-to-air and surface-to-air threats presented by aggressor units to create realistic scenarios.

“This was my first time participating in RED FLAG-Alaska. It was an eye-opening experience to see everybody filling their roles to the fullest extent,” said Royal Canadian Air Force Capt. Daegan Banga, a CF-188 Hornet pilot assigned to the 409th Tactical Fighter Squadron. “The exercise has been very busy. Long days for sure, but very exciting. We definitely got a lot of training out of it that we can take back with us.”

Participants included U.S. Air Force, Army and Navy units alongside allied air forces from the United Kingdom, Canada, Singapore and New Zealand. Officials said this edition stood out for the depth of allied involvement and the emphasis on developing future mission commanders.

“RED FLAG 26-2 with its allies and partners did extraordinarily well,” said U.S. Air Force Col. Christopher Austin, the RF-A 26-2 deployed forces commander. “The difficulty of the scenarios we had in RED FLAG 26 were of the highest level. We kept it safe. We kept it smart. We grew a whole bunch of mission commanders and pilots that have never flown at this level before.”

Exercise leaders highlighted interoperability and rapid deployment skills as central goals, with allied aircrews expected to carry lessons learned back to their home units.

“It’s important to do this type of training with our allies and partners to ensure interoperability and readiness so in the event we enter any form of conflict, we and our allies are ready for whatever happens,” said U.S. Air Force Maj. Matthew Rieser, 353rd Combat Training Squadron team lead for RF-A 26-2. “Everything they are learning here, they are taking back to their own countries and will improve their readiness, therefore increasing security around the globe.”

Austin said the performance across the coalition instilled confidence in collective readiness. “I’ve probably seen about 20 flags, and this is truly the best training that I have ever seen in all of those exercises,” said Austin. “The readiness, the capability and the professionalism was just extraordinary, and I have more confidence than ever in the United States and our allies and partners.”