RAF F-35s fly for Exercise RED FLAG

Royal Air Force (RAF) F-35 Lightning aircraft from 617 Squadron have departed from RAF Marham to take part in Exercise RED FLAG at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada.

Exercise RED FLAG is a multi-national combat training exercise conducted on the bombing ranges of the Nevada Test and Training Area.

This will be the first time that the UK's F-35 Lightnings will have taken part in the exercise. It will see them fly alongside a variety of aircraft from other nations to train for combat readiness, capability and interoperability.

The jets will initially land at US Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort in South Carolina before continuing their journey to Nellis Air Force Base.

RAF Marham Station Commander, Group Captain Beck, said: ‘This is another first for the Lightning force and will give the opportunity for our pilots to really put the F-35s to the test in a combat representative environment. This training is as near to high-end operational flying as our pilots can get in a controlled environment and will really test them and the teams that support the Squadron.’