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Royal Australian Air Force Avionics Technicians standby as pilots perform pre-flight checks on their F-35A Lightning II aircraft during Exercise Red Flag 26-1 at Nellis Air Force Base, United States. (Defence)
Keeping the fighters flying at Exercise Red Flag
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As fighter jets thundered across the skies above the Nevada desert and complex air combat scenarios played out, much of the success of Exercise Red Flag Nellis 26-1 was being delivered well away from the public eye on the flight line.
Behind every sortie launched at one of the world’s most demanding air combat exercises was a team of aircraft maintainers working around the clock to keep jets serviceable under intense operational pressure. For Australia, that task fell to personnel from No. 75 Squadron, who were responsible for sustaining the Royal Australian Air Force’s fifth-generation fighters throughout the exercise.
Red Flag, run several times each year by the United States Air Force, is designed to replicate the complexity, tempo and stress of modern high-end air warfare. Allied air forces operate in a contested, coalition environment against a sophisticated adversary, testing not just pilots but the entire force that supports them.
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Among those experiencing the exercise for the first time was aircraft technician Leading Aircraftman Rory Kerr, a Brisbane local who deployed to the United States in support of Australia’s six F-35A Lightning II aircraft participating in the exercise.
“Being here is definitely a career highlight,” LAC Kerr said. “Nellis Air Force Base is called the home of the fighter, and now I know why – the flight line has constant fighter jets launching and landing.”
While the focus of Red Flag is often on the pilots executing complex missions in the air, LAC Kerr said the exercise placed just as much pressure on the ground crews.
“Red Flag is designed to mirror real-world combat, and that applies to the maintainers as well,” he said. “The pressure is higher than at home. We need to fix as much as we can and get the jets back up quickly, because in a real-world scenario, there really isn’t another option.”
Operating far from Australia also meant adapting to a very different environment and pace of operations compared to home bases such as RAAF Base Tindal.
“We’ve got a smaller number of jets here, so there’s a fair bit of double-hatting and doing jobs we might not normally do,” LAC Kerr said. “There’s constant movement – aircraft everywhere, people everywhere. You have to be extremely vigilant when launching jets or even just doing inspections.
“You might have an F-16 behind you and an F-22 taking off, and with hearing protection on, you can’t hear much at all.”
Despite the challenges, he said the deployment had reinforced confidence in the RAAF’s training and preparation.
“There are definitely things we’ve uncovered that we can improve, but we’ve also seen our strengths,” he said. “Our training is very solid – we’re not doing anything brand new out here.”
Australia’s participation in Red Flag is a key part of maintaining interoperability with the United States and other allies while sharpening the skills needed to operate advanced platforms like the F-35 in high-threat environments.
While pilots may take centre stage in the air, it is the quiet professionalism of maintainers on the ground that keeps Australia’s fifth-generation fighters flying and ready for the next mission.
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