Air Force’s Red Flag begins 12-day run at Nellis starting Monday

By Marvin Clemons Las Vegas Review-Journal

5 months ago

Airman First Class Jonathon Covey, not pictured, operates the boom in order to refuel an F-16 i ... — Airman First Class Jonathon Covey, not pictured, operates the boom in order to refuel an F-16 in-flight from a KC-135 Stratotanker flying above the Nevada Test and Training Range as part of Red Flag exercises based out of Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas, on Wednesday, Aug. 4, 2021. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @csstevensphoto

Love it or not so much, residents in the north end of the Las Vegas Valley can expect more aircraft noise starting Monday.

The U.S. Air Force will begin Red Flag 24-3 on Monday. The event that includes 2,000 participants, runs through Aug. 2.

Nearly 150 aircraft will take off and land twice a day at Nellis Air Force Base, sometimes staying aloft for more than five hours, for exercises at the Nellis Test and Training Range.

Some operations will be conducted at night during Red Flag, exercises that prepare aircrews for combat.

Red Flag has been held at Nellis since 1975, providing aircrews the experience of multiple, intensive air combat sorties in the safety of a training environment.

“The 1st Fighter Wing from Langley AFB, Virginia, will serve as the core wing as all the units participate in complex mission scenarios against aggressor forces,” according to a Nellis news release.

The 2.9-million acre range is the Air Force’s top military training area with more than 12,000 square miles of restricted airspace northwest of Las Vegas.

Contact Marvin Clemons at mclemons@reviewjournal.com.