Red Flag flies again: Air Force personnel gather at Nellis for training exercise

Angela Soo

Friday, March 23, 2001 | 11:02 a.m.

It could have been a scene from the movie "Top Gun," only the pilots were real and Las Vegas was the setting.

More than 100 aircraft and 7,000 Air Force members flew in this week from Britain, France and Germany to participate in Nellis Air Force Base's Red Flag exercise, which is Air Force training at its best.

Red Flag began 26 years ago and is designed to provide realistic combat training for the air forces of the United States and allied nations.

"We usually go into war as a team," Tech. Sgt. Richard Covington said. "We can't be a team unless we practice together. Wars were often lost because allied nations weren't familiar with other countries' aircraft capability or flying style."

Red Flag participants have an opportunity to fly together in a realistic training environment that combines air, ground and space threats -- elements found on any potential battlefield -- as well as discuss different perspectives, Covington said.

"It's difficult to have various allies in a briefing and debriefing session because we are so far away," Capt. Detlef Nieswand, German Air Force Red Flag project officer, said. "It's highly effective and provides great training. You won't find anything like this in Europe."

The diversity, however, is not the only attraction. Pilots gain valuable feedback through the Nellis Air Combat Tracking System, which records all combat mission activities in a virtual reality style.

The computer simulated system "goes in-depth and allows all the pilots to get the bigger picture and see how everything happened," Nieswand said.

Pilots examine their own flying capabilities and also observe how other nations operate their aircraft under combat conditions.

"This is the most advanced realistic training exercise," said Lt. Col. Didier Rouzet of the French Air Force. "Our objective is to prepare the crew for international operations and to immerse them into complex missions."