A U-2 from Beale AFB, Calif., deployed to Nellis AFB, Nev., to participate in a Red Flag exercise this month for the first time in more than 20 years. The 9th Reconnaissance Wing regularly supports Red Flag, but typically the wing’s U-2s fly from their home base in California. This time, however, pilots and maintainers got the chance to experience what it is like to operate from a “bare-base,” according to an Air Combat Command release. “We normally operate from already established forward operating locations,” U-2 Maintenance Superintendent SMSgt. David Hatch said in the release. “It’s a rare opportunity to come out and test this skill set. It’s like anything else, if you don’t use it, you lose it.” The U-2 will fly through the end of Red Flag 16-3 on July 29. As part of the exercise, the U-2 is practicing operating in contested and degraded operations, Hatch said.
The U.S. began extensive air and artillery strikes against Islamic State group targets in Syria on Dec. 19 in retaliation for the killing of three Americans on Dec. 13 by a gunman affiliated with ISIS, U.S. officials said.
