The newest iteration of Green Flag close air support training kicked off Monday at the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, Calif., and Nellis AFB, Nev., and will continue through the end of the month. Participants in Green Flag-West 10-03 include F-15Es from RAF Lakenheath, Britain; Canadian CF-18s from Royal Canadian AFS Bagotville, Canada; and Canadian Alpha Jets operating from Victorville, Calif. These aircraft will work to protect the soldiers, sailors, and marines embedded with Canadian Task Force 1-10 from opposing enemy forces in a 1,000 square-mile area during the three-week drill. Green Flag exercises are held about 10 times annually to provide realistic CAS training for airmen and soldiers preparing to deploy to Afghanistan and Iraq, including replication of irregular warfare conditions. (Nellis report by SrA. Ryan Whitney)
The U.S., South Korea, and Japan flew an unusual trilateral flight with two U.S. B-52H Stratofortress bombers escorted by two Japan Air Self-Defense Force F-2s, and two ROK Air Force KF-16 fighters—both countries’ respective variants of the F-16—July 11. That same weekend, the top military officers of the three nations…