Airmen from Belgium, Japan, South Korea and the United States participated in a recently concluded multinational flight operations exercise to improve interoperability and ensure combat readiness.
Held for two weeks at Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska, the Red Flag-Alaska 25-2 military exercise involved over 1,500 service members and about 70 aircraft. Throughout the training, warfighters and jets conducted integrated missions over the Joint Pacific Alaska Range Complex.
U.S. Air Force Col. Paul Townsend, 354th Fighter Wing commander, emphasized the JPARC’s benefits, given its “tremendous airspace” ideal for advanced tactics, techniques, and procedures training.
Listen and interact with top defense leaders at the Potomac Officers Club’s 2025 Air and Space Summit, where discussions will center on the increasing importance of the air and space domains in the Great Power Competition era. Register now.
What Is Red Flag-Alaska?
The event is the second RFA staging for 2025. RFA 25-1 was held in January at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada, participated in by forces from the U.S., Australia and the United Kingdom.
RFA celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2025, continuing its mission as a cornerstone of coalition airpower training by offering allies an opportunity to train in realistic, high-end scenarios. Its goal is to have aircrews and support personnel ready for expeditionary operations in challenging locations.
“We are here to train in peacetime with our Korean and Japanese [allies] and accomplish training objectives that show the dominance of air power in the 21st century,” said U.S. Air Force Col. Derrick Franck, RFA 25-2 deployed forces commander.