Red Flag 26-1 Tests U.S. UK and Australian Air Power Against Advanced Threats.

Exercise Red Flag 26-1, a large-scale combat training exercise involving the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia, has concluded at Nellis Air Force Base after running through early February 2026 over the Nevada Test and Training Range. The two-week event bolstered allied interoperability, air combat proficiency, and joint command and control in a high-threat simulated environment.

Exercise Red Flag 26-1 has wrapped up at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, following nearly two weeks of intensive allied air combat training that brought together roughly 3,000 personnel from 32 units across the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia. Conducted over the 12,000-square-mile Nevada Test and Training Range, the exercise integrated fighters, tankers, intelligence assets, and command and control teams to simulate high-end joint combat operations against advanced threats. Participants included USAF, U.S. Space Force, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Navy, Air National Guard, the Royal Air Force, and Royal Australian Air Force, working under realistic operational pressures to refine tactics, interoperability, and sustainment practices.
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For the Royal Australian Air Force, six F-35A Lightning II multirole fighters deploy from No. 75 Squadron. The F-35A Lightning II is powered by a Pratt and Whitney F135 afterburning turbofan engine delivering approximately 43,000 pounds of thrust, enabling sustained supersonic flight and high-energy maneuvering while carrying weapons internally. Its AN APG-81 active electronically scanned array radar that provides long-range detection and precision targeting, while the Distributed Aperture System supplies 360-degree infrared coverage for missile warning and target tracking. Such integration of sensors and propulsion demands rigorous maintenance discipline, particularly when aircraft are tasked with daily large-force employment sorties under compressed turnaround timelines.

United States Air Force F-35A units operate alongside their Australian counterparts, forming mixed fifth-generation elements within coalition packages. In parallel, F-22 Raptor air superiority fighters contribute both as force multipliers and as high-end threat representatives. The F-22 Raptor combines supercruise capability above Mach 1.5 without afterburner and the AN APG-77 radar, enabling long-range engagements while maintaining a reduced radar signature. This obliges opposing formations to plan against low-observable aircraft capable of detecting and engaging before being detected themselves.

Fourth-generation aircraft remain central to the exercise architecture. F-16 Fighting Falcon jets from Nellis-based aggressor squadrons, including the 64th Aggressor Squadron, replicate peer adversary tactics and flight profiles. The F-16 Fighting Falcon, equipped with pulse-Doppler radar and compatible with a wide array of air-to-air missiles, can simulate both agile interceptors and multirole fighters depending on configuration. By flying dissimilar tactics and employing distinct visual schemes, aggressor units inject uncertainty and friction into every mission set.

Air refueling assets underpin the entire construct. The KC-135 Stratotanker and the KC-46A Pegasus provide fuel to fighters, intelligence aircraft, and command platforms, extending endurance across the vast training range. The KC-46A Pegasus incorporates a fly-by-wire refueling boom, defensive systems, and secure communications, allowing support to legacy and fifth-generation fleets alike. Without sustained tanker availability, the scale of composite air operations over Nevada would rapidly diminish.

The Royal Air Force deploys twelve Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4 aircraft from RAF Coningsby and RAF Lossiemouth. The Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4, powered by two Eurojet EJ200 turbofan engines, exceeds Mach 2 and carries advanced air-to-air munitions. When paired with the Meteor missile, which uses a ramjet propulsion system to preserve energy deep into the engagement envelope, the Typhoon can prosecute targets at distances well beyond 100 kilometers under favorable conditions. Airbus Voyager KC2 KC3 aircraft ensure air-to-air refueling support, maintaining sortie persistence within coalition strike and defensive counter-air packages.

Intelligence and command elements reinforce the realism of the scenarios. The Royal Air Force fields the RC-135 Rivet Joint signals intelligence aircraft, capable of collecting and analyzing electronic emissions across broad frequency ranges to map radar networks and communications nodes. United States units may integrate the MQ-9 Reaper remotely piloted aircraft to provide persistent surveillance. The MQ-9 Reaper, with endurance exceeding 24 hours depending on payload, combines electro-optical sensors and precision-guided munitions to conduct intelligence collection or strike missions, adding depth to the simulated battlespace.

Red Flag 26-1 rehearses the opening phase of a high-intensity campaign against a layered integrated air defense system. Fifth-generation aircraft such as the F-35A operate as sensor nodes within a distributed architecture, sharing data through Link 16 and the Multifunction Advanced Data Link. This connectivity enhances situational awareness for Typhoons, F-16s, and supporting assets, enabling coordinated suppression of enemy air defenses and defensive counter-air missions. Aggressor aircraft, ground-based threat emitters, simulated surface-to-air missile systems, and cyber and space components generate a contested environment in which timing, electronic warfare, and precision targeting determine mission success. In this setting, sortie generation rates, driven by maintenance reliability and logistics efficiency, directly shape available combat mass.

The convergence of U.S., British, and Australian forces at Nellis reflects a broader alignment among Western air powers confronted with increasingly sophisticated anti-access and area-denial capabilities worldwide. The ability to integrate stealth fighters, advanced tankers, intelligence platforms, and joint command structures within a single operational framework demonstrates not only technical interoperability but also shared doctrine and political resolve. As strategic competition intensifies across multiple theaters, exercises such as Red Flag 26-1 reinforce deterrence by signaling that allied air forces can deploy, integrate, and sustain high-end combat power collectively under demanding and realistic conditions.