Red Flag air combat exercise will rattle windows near Nellis starting Monday
Nellis Air Force Base officials say residents in the north Las Vegas Valley can expect to hear excessive military aircraft noise starting Monday as more than 80 fighter jets, bombers and support aircraft depart and return to the base twice a day for the year’s first Red Flag air combat exercise.
This Red Flag, which continues through Feb. 10, is special because it will be the first time the Air Force version of the stealthy joint strike fighter — the F-35A Lightning II — participates in the exercise at the Nevada Test and Training Range.
The range, with 15,000 square miles of air space, provides a realistic combat training environment for air, space and cyber forces of the U.S. military and its allies. The range’s 2.9 million acres includes 1,900 possible targets, realistic threat systems and an opposing enemy force.
Contact Keith Rogers at krogers@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0308. Follow @KeithRogers2 on Twitter.