Global Security reports:UAE air force pilots and maintainers are participating in the Red Flag exercise at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, for the first time Aug. 22 through Sept. 5.
The UAE airmen spent the previous two weeks at the Arizona Air National Guard's 162nd Fighter Wing at Tucson International Airport preparing for the advanced training exercise that exposes U.S. and partner nation air force units to challenging and realistic aerial combat scenarios.
For the Emirati pilots, the preparation in Tucson was a chance to get familiar with U.S. airspace and reunite with their former instructors. Arizona Guardsmen have trained UAE fighter pilots for the last eight years, five years in UAE aircraft. Currently, the wing's 148th Fighter Squadron is the only squadron of UAE-owned F-16E Desert Falcons, or block 60s, in the United States.
This Red Flag exercise in Nevada is an historic venture. Those involved in the training report on the encouraging way that the Emirati pilots have been developing.
More information is given in the article about the planes that the pilots are flying.
Read the full story
Gabe Johnson, United Arab Emirates Air Force Participates in First Red Flag, Global Security, 24 August 2009.
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Image: A UAE F-16E Desert Falcon, block 60, flies over Southern Arizona Aug. 11 before heading to the country's first Red Flag at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. The 162nd Fighter Wing at Tucson International Airport maintains and operates a squadron of block 60s for the purpose of training the UAE air force in the advanced multi-role fighter.
