The United Arab Emirates aircraft will fly alongside Israeli and Pakistani planes in the United States Air Force’s Red Flag exercise in the Nevada desert later this month, The Jerusalem Post said in a report.
During the expected exercise, pilots are divided into teams engaged in simulated dogfights and other difficult missions, for that Israeli and Pakistani air force pilots reportedly have already flown to the US in their own air forces’ F-16 fighter jets.
Red Flag is considered the US military’s “premier air-to-air combat training exercise”, in which participating countries are divided into two teams and simulate dogfights to improve both their aviation skills and their military’s international connections, according to the US Air Force.
In 2016, four Red Flag exercises have been planned at the Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada. The first exercise ran from January to February, the second from February to March, the third in July, while the final exercise will be conducted August 15-26, encompassing 15,000 square miles of airspace and 4,700 square miles of restricted land., according to the US Air Force.
Israel will take part in the August exercise and will be joined by two Muslim countries, according to the US Air Force.
“For the second and fourth Red Flag, we will be including foreign players which include the United Kingdom, Australia, Turkey, Italy, Pakistan, United Arab Emirates, and Spain,” Col. Jeffrey Weed, a Combat Training Squadron commander in the US Air Force, announced after the 2015 Red Flag exercise.
The “red flag” exercises are usually organized between the forces of the armies of the countries which are not considered “enemy nations”.
The “Red Flag” exercises have taken place last year with the participation of Israel, America, Singapore, and Jordan to train on downing warplanes, hitting targets, and rescuing pilots .
