February 02, 2015: The world's largest multilateral air exercise is under way. The Red Flag Nellis air exercise over the skies of Southern Nevada, U.S.A., began on Jan 26 and continues till Feb 13. The Indian Air Force, a past participant in the Red Flag exercise, has kept close tabs on the most awaited air force event of the year. Red Flag is a realistic combat training exercise involving the air, space, and cyber forces of the United States and its allies. The exercise is hosted north of Las Vegas on the Nevada Test and Training Range -- the U.S. Air Force's premier military training area with more than 15,000 square miles of airspace and 2.9 million acres of land.

The context of air operations takes on a particularly urgent texture this year in the backdrop of deteriorating security situations in Syria and Iraq, the rise of the ISIS terrorist group and several other threat dynamics in the region. The exercise will focus on joint operations between the U.S. and allied forces in a combination of scenarios, but principally focused on stand-off strike engagements and precision targeting. India, which had cancel its participation in one past Red Flag exercise, has committed to participating again in future iterations of the prestigious programme.

The three international air forces participating this year are the Royal Air Force, Royal Australian Air Force and Norwegian Air Force across two phases that stretch till mid-March. The Royal Australian Air Force, flying C-130Js, and the Royal Air Force of the United Kingdom, flying Typhoons, F-15C's, E-3D's, Sentinels and a CRC will participate. The Royal Norwegian Air Force, flying C-130Js and F-16s, and NATO, flying E-3As will participate in the second phase in March.

"More than 125 aircraft are scheduled to depart Nellis twice a day and aircraft may remain in the air for up to five hours. Flying times are scheduled to accommodate other flying missions at Nellis AFB and provide Red Flag participants with valuable training in planning and executing a wide-variety of combat missions," says the US Air Force, adding, "With 1,900 possible targets, realistic threat systems and an opposing enemy force that cannot be replicated anywhere else in the world, Nellis AFB and the NTTR are the home of a simulated battlefield, providing combat air forces with the ability to train to fight together in a peacetime environment, and to survive and win together."

Red Flag Nellis this year will be one of the largest ever. The Indian Embassy in Washington D.C., has been invited to send its Air Attache to observe the exercise. US aircraft participating in the exercise this year include F-22A Raptors from Langley AFB, Va., F-16CJ & F-16C Falcons, F-15C Eagles, EC-130s, U-2 Dragon Lady spyplanes, B-2As strategic stealth bombers, F/A-18D Super Hornets from the US Marine Corps, E-8 Joint STARS, EP-3C, KC135s tankers, HC-130Js, HH-60G Pavehawk chaoppers, E-3 Sentry AWACS.