Royal Canadian Air Force CF-18s Participate in Exercise RED FLAG ALASKA

COLD LAKE, ALBERTA--(Marketwired - Aug. 19, 2016) - National Defence / Canadian Armed Forces

Editors Note: There is a photo associated with this press release.

The Royal Canadian Air Force's CF-18 Fighter community participated in Exercise RED FLAG ALASKA from August 8-19, 2016 at the United States Air Force's Eielson Air Force Base (AFB), Alaska.

The exercise provided pilots and crews from Canada, the United States and other allied air forces with an opportunity to train and improve air combat skills, while preparing for a myriad of worldwide future potential conflicts.

Quotes

"The benefit we gain from large force employment exercises like Maple Flag in Cold Lake and Red Flag in Alaska cannot be understated. We have a reputation for operational excellence, which we have demonstrated through the deployments our fighter force has carried out over the past few years. Because of our commitment to rigorous training alongside our Allies, we are able to seamlessly integrate into coalition operations whenever and wherever the Government of Canada requires. Our fighter pilots and technicians are taking their training to the next level in Alaska, to ensure we are ready to answer the call the next time it comes."

- Colonel Paul Doyle, Commander 4 Wing Cold Lake

"Exercise RED FLAG ALASKA is an outstanding opportunity for us to execute and evaluate our capabilities in deploying and operating from foreign locations. One of our goals during the exercise is to hone both air-to-air and air-to-ground tactics, to achieve this, we deployed with the capability to support both mission sets, which tests our entire process, from aircrew and maintenance preparedness, to our logistics procedures. This training is a critical element of ensuring the continued safety and effectiveness of Canadian fighter aircraft operating within a coalition environment."

- Lieutenant-Colonel William Radiff, Commander 409 Tactical Fighter Squadron

Quick Facts

• Approximately 125 RCAF personnel participated in this iteration of Exercise RED FLAG, primarily from 409 Tactical Fighter Squadron, 4 Wing Cold Lake, Alberta with elements from 401, 425 and 433 Tactical Fighter Squadrons and 1 Air Maintenance Squadron.
  
  
• Nine CF-18 Hornet fighter jets from 4 Wing Cold Lake deployed to Alaska for the exercise.
  
  
• Exercise RED FLAG included nearly 100 aircraft and hundreds of participants, including aircrew, maintenance personnel and operational support personnel.
  
  
• The August exercise was the third iteration of the Red Flag series of exercises hosted by the United States Air Force (USAF) at Eielson AFB, near Fairbanks, Alaska this year.

Associated Links

RCAF

Eielson AFB

To view the photo/video associated with this press release, please visit the following link: http://www.marketwire.com/library/20160819-CF18_lrg.jpg