Red Flag: Alaska to bring multinational training to local skies

Residents may have noticed increased activity in the skies overhead recently. No need to worry, it is all part of Red Flag-Alaska 25-2, a Pacific Air Forces-sponsored, commander-directed field training exercise.

Red Flag-Alaska (RF-Alaska) is scheduled June 13 and run through June 27, 2025, with primary flight operations occurring over the Joint Pacific-Alaska Range Complex (JPARC).

Hosted at both Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson and Eielson Air Force Base, RF-Alaska provides joint and allied forces with realistic combat training in a simulated contested environment. The exercise focuses on offensive counter-air, interdiction, close air support, and large-force employment training scenarios.

Approximately 1,800 service members from 15 U.S. and allied units are expected to participate in this exercise– flying, maintaining, and supporting more than 50 aircraft. The Japan Air Self Defense Force and Republic of Korea Air Force will join U.S. forces once again, building upon previous training integrations and enhancing tactical interoperability between allied air forces.

Most aircraft will operate out of JBER and Eielson AFB, and area residents can expect increased flight activity throughout the duration of the exercise. Training missions will take place within the expansive JPARC, which includes over 77,000 square miles of airspace and is the largest instrumented air combat training range in the world.

Established in 1975 as Exercise Cope Thunder at Clark Air Base in the Philippines, RF-Alaska has evolved into one of the premier multinational aerial exercises in the Indo-Pacific, offering realistic, coalition-based combat scenarios to test and refine airpower integration across allied platforms.