Exercise Red Flag – Nellis 25-3 took place at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, from July 21 to August 1, 2025. This was the last of three annual exercises in the Red Flag series, which has been the cornerstone of advanced training for the U.S. Air Force and its allies since 1975. Unlike simple training maneuvers, Red Flag is designed as a “combat rehearsal”: a testbed in which national and allied air forces experience high-intensity conflict scenarios against a near-peer adversary with similar or superior capabilities.
The exercise featured a diverse mix of platforms and units, divided between a Red Team and a Blue Team. Fourth- and fifth-generation fighters, namely the F-16, F-15E, F-35, and F-22, operated in combination for SEAD/DEAD (Suppression/Destruction of Enemy Air Defenses) missions, air superiority, and joint strikes.
The Red Team was entirely based at Nellis AFB, Nevada. It included the F-16C/CM of the 64th AGRS, the F-16Cs of the 422nd TES, 706th AGRS, and 16th WPS, and the F-35As of the 65th AGRS and 6th WPS.
On the Blue side, the F-22 Raptors of the 27th, 94th, and 149th FS arrived from Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia, joined by the F-35As of the 4th and 421st FS from Hill AFB, Utah, and the F-15E Strike Eagles of the 334th and 336th FS from Seymour Johnson AFB, North Carolina. The US Marine Corps took part with the F-35Cs of VMFA-251 from MCAS Cherry Point, North Carolina.
A wide range of support aircraft completed the picture. Command and control was provided by the E-3G Sentry of the 960th and 963rd AACS from Tinker AFB, while electronic warfare was handled by the EA-18G Growlers of VAQ-135 from NAS Whidbey Island, Washington. Air-to-air refueling was carried out by the KC-135R of the 99th-106th ARS from Birmingham ANGB, Alabama, together with a KC-10 operated by Omega Air Refueling, alongside KC-46 tankers and ISR platforms. The interdiction role was covered by the MQ-9 Reapers of the 20th ATKS from Whiteman AFB, Missouri, and the B-1B Lancers of the 9th and 345th BS from Dyess AFB, Texas.
Of particular importance was the cooperation between Active Duty and Reserve Component units, demonstrating the concept of Total Force Integration that characterizes modern air operations.
Reported below is a complete spreadsheet containing all the different units and aircraft that participated, so that you can get a better idea of how vast the exercise actually was!
422nd TES
706th AGRS
16th WPS
65th AGRS
6th WPS
F-16C Fighting Falcon
F-16C Fighting Falcon
F-16C Fighting Falcon
F-35A Lightning II
F-35A Lightning II
Nellis AFB, NV
Nellis AFB, NV
Nellis AFB, NV
Nellis AFB, NV
Nellis AFB, NV
4th & 421st FS
334th & 336th FS
F-35A Lightning II
F-15E Strike Eagle
Hill AFB, UT
Seymour Johnson AFB, NC
99th-106th ARS
20th ATKS
9th & 345th BS
KC-135R Stratotanker
MQ-9 Reaper
B-1B Lancer
Birmingham ANGB, AL
Whiteman AFB, MO
Dyess AFB, TX
Red Flag’s structure involved alternating Blue Team (friendly coalition) and Red Team (adversary forces), with the latter tasked with replicating real-world tactics of potential adversaries and equipped with advanced simulation systems.
Each day was marked by a Vulnerability Period (VUL), during which aircraft entered the scenario, facing maximum exposure to air-to-ground and air-to-air threats.
Use of the Nevada Test and Training Range (NTTR), with its vast expanse, allowed for the simulation of strategic-scale air campaigns, including long-range strikes, deep penetration, and joint air-to-air, air-to-surface, and ISR operations.
The main innovation of 25-3 was the conduct of hybrid operations: while some assets operated directly from Nellis, others—such as the B-1Bs—took off from their home bases, while maintaining direct communication with the Mission Planning Cells (MPCs) deployed in theater. This allowed us to test the resilience of distributed command and the ability to manage operations on a global scale.
The results of Red Flag 25-3 can be interpreted on three levels:
Tactical-operational: consolidation of integration capabilities between platforms of different generations, with particular attention to the synergy between stealth and non-stealth aircraft.
Doctrinal: validation of emerging concepts (distributed C2, DFE) that will be central to future USAF and NATO air campaigns.
Strategic: political-military message to allies and potential adversaries: the Western capacity to conduct integrated, distributed, and resilient air operations on a large scale remains intact and constantly evolving.
