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After two weeks of realistic air combat training and dynamic flying operations RED FLAG-Alaska 26-1 concluded at Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, May 1, 2026.
Eielson AFB and Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson are the home of RED FLAG-Alaska, leveraging the expansive airspace and diverse training environment of the Joint Pacific Alaska Range Complex (JPARC). Each exercise is a joint and coalition, tactical air combat employment exercise which corresponds to the operational capability of participating units.
“This exercise is a Pacific Air Forces sponsored event designed to provide realistic training in a simulated combat environment,” said Col. Kurt Distelzweig, RF-A 26-1 Deployed Forces commander. “This exercise provided us with a perfect time to meet with our joint partners to practice these training scenarios.”
Approximately 1150 service members and 55 aircraft from 14 units participated in this iteration. The combined training encourages the exchange of tactics, techniques, and procedures to directly improve interoperability.
“This iteration is emphasizing joint integration with our Navy and Marine partners,” said Capt. Landen Hoagland, 353rd Combat Training Squadron RF-A 26-1 team chief. “We got to practice escort seeding, dynamic targeting, and tracking threats throughout the Joint Pacific Alaska Range Complex.”
Realistic combat training in environments like the JPARC is essential to achieving air and space superiority in the Indo-Pacific as it allows Airmen to train for full spectrum engagements, ranging from individual skills to complex, large-scale joint engagements.
“The JPARC provides miles of unrestricted airspace, complex terrain, along with some of the world’s most complex emitters,” said Hoagland. “This provides them with combat representative training they can’t find anywhere else.”
Defending the homeland is a core mission for U.S. military forces and relies on a layered, integrated defense conducted in full cooperation with combatant commands and our Joint Force. RF-A directly supports this mission by actively preparing our forces to defend against significant, persistent threats from multiple domains and avenues of approach.
“This exercise is important because it shows our partners that we are ready to rapidly deploy assets throughout the Pacific and assures them we are ready to fight when the time comes,” Hoagland said. “RF-A is a small piece in the grand scheme of things, but it’s an essential building block to our force, to project to the world that we are preparing for tomorrow’s fight.”
Future iterations of RF-A are expected to take place throughout the course of the year.