USAF F-15s complete 2nd Israeli 'Blue Flag'

  • Published
  • By 2nd Lieutenant Kellie Rizer
  • 48th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
Uvda Air Force Base, Israel --  The 493rd Fighter Squadron participated in the Israeli Blue Flag exercise at Uvda Air Force Base, Israel, Oct. 18-29.

The bi-annual exercise, first conducted in 2013 as the Israeli air force's largest multinational aerial exercise, provided air-to-air and air-to-surface missions to improve the interoperability, understanding and cooperation between the IAF and partnering nations.

This year's participants included 11 squadrons representing the Israeli, Hellenic, Polish and U.S. air forces.

U.S. Air Force F-15C Eagle aircraft from the 493rd Fighter Squadron took part in the exercise and were supported by a team of 145 USAF personnel from Royal Air Forces Lakenheath and Mildenhall in England, and Ramstein Air Base, Germany.

The objective of Blue Flag, hosted in the desert terrain of the Uvda Valley, is to improve operational capabilities and readiness of participating nations in realistic training environments. Three days of familiarization training introduced pilots to the air space prior to the official start of the exercise.

"The initial flights that we do are very basic training missions to get familiar with the Israeli operations procedures and also iron out any differences in the way in which all the participating countries operate," said Maj. Daniel Wittmer, F-15C weapons and tactics chief from Headquarter U.S. Air Forces in Europe-Air Forces Africa. "The follow-on missions are dedicated to solving tactical problems that require integration from all of the participating forces and the different weapons systems that they bring to the table."

Once the warm-up phase was complete and the pilots were familiarized with the air space structure, the war scenario began. The initial missions for the joint-nation Blue Force focused on eliminating surface-to-air threats while being attacked by an opposing air-to-air force, or Red Force, played by the IAF Dragon Squadron. The scenario intensified as the exercise progressed, introducing additional challenges for the Blue Force through a variety of missions.

"Our objective is to kill all the opposing air-to-air force, which is the primary role of the F-15C, and our follow-on initiative is to continue to protect the strikers as they attempt to eliminate the surface-to-air threat, so that we can continue to move forward, take land and meet our additional operational objectives," Wittmer said.

The desert climate and terrain offered additional challenges for visiting nations. Aircrew had to adapt to the effects of a warmer environment on the aircraft, as well as the difficulties of flying in mountainous landscape.

"We are dealing with terrain challenges that we normally wouldn't encounter, so we're learning how to operate in that environment," Wittmer said. "The visual aspects of us doing what we do are much more challenging here in the desert with the haze. Additionally, they have very good electronic warfare ranges for us to train on, so they have these playgrounds where they can simulate a wide variety of threats that we can train against, so it's a great opportunity for us to do that."

Blue Flag missions, which covered the entire country of Israeli, gave the 493rd 'Grim Reaper' pilots the chance to take part in flights unique to the region. The F-15Cs flew low altitude over the Dead Sea below sea level, escorted strikers above Tel Aviv and the Gaza Strip, overlooked the ancient battleground of Masada and conducted combat air patrol with a four-ship of Eagles over Jerusalem.  In addition to the distinctive aerial missions, the exercise allowed personnel from several nations' air forces to interact in a training environment and connect on a personal level.

"We've been welcomed by the Israelis and the other participating air forces, working with them every day," said 1st Lieutenant Brian Davis, 493rd FS pilot. "It's neat to see that we're similar to them in a lot of respects. At the end of the day, we're all pilots, just from different countries."

The second bi-annual Blue Flag continues to serve as a platform for the USAF and IAF to train together, while strengthening their bond as allies.

"Strategically, it's very important to reassure our allies that we continue to be committed to our partnerships," said Lt. Col. John Stratton, 493rd FS commander. "At the tactical level, we can continue to gain better understanding of each other's capabilities, our strengths, our weaknesses, and just really become a better fighting force together."