July 9 (UPI) -- The latest U.S. Air Force "Exercise Red Flag" will include F-35A Lightning II fighter planes of the Vermont Air National Guard, it was announced on Friday.
The two-week event will be conducted at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., beginning next week, and will involve over 200 U.S. Air Force personnel.
The base has been the regular home of the exercises, which offers realistic air-combat training for military pilots and other flight crew members from the United States and allied countries, since 1975.
"This Red Flag will be the first time two F-35A squadrons [of Vermont and of Nellis] have participated together," Lt. Col. John MacRae, Vermont Air National Guard 134th Fighter Squadron commander, said in a press release.
"Other Air Force and Navy aircraft will also participate. The significance of such a robust Air Superiority force is that this is the absolute best training anywhere in the world to prepare for night combat operations against a peer adversary," MacRae said.
In June, the 134th Fighter Squadron's F-35s were involved in counter-air exercises with visiting F-16 fighter planes of Shaw Air Force Base, S.C.
The exercises at Nellis Air Force Base are a highlight in the training of the Vermont Air National Guard, which has six F-35s at its base in Burlington, Vt.
"We have prepared since the first F-35s arrived in September 2019," said MacRae. "This Red Flag is our Wing's capstone exercise to test our pilots and maintenance professionals' ability to accomplish the mission."
