The ever fluctuating desert weather and high operations tempo were no match for the grit of our Peace Carvin V (PC V) Air Force Engineers as they maintained our F-15SGs mission after mission for Exercise Red Flag - Nellis - the United States Air Force’s premiere air-to-air combat exercise.

Day and night, they ensured our six F-15SGs were ready and safe for flight, allowing our aircrew to reap the maximum value of this exercise. For their dedication and professionalism, the team won the "Outstanding Air Maintenance Unit" award.

"I am proud and honoured to be able to receive this award as it affirms the high standards and operational readiness of our aircrew and ground crew team. This award is testament to our performance during the exercise," said ME1 Joanne Lee, who participated in this large-scale exercise for the first time. 
 

Up in the air, our aircrew put their skills to the test, flying alongside and against close to 80 aircraft, including high-end fighters, from Belgium, the Netherlands, Norway, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), and the United States.

"The exercise is an excellent opportunity for RSAF personnel to hone their operational competencies through realistic large-force training, alongside participants from other air forces. Having a dedicated adversarial force, which employed advanced tactics and electronic warfare made the training more realistic,” said PC V Detachment Commander, LTC Oon Kok Choon, who led more than 100 of his airmen and women to Nellis Air Force Base, USA.
 

This was also the first time that our airmen flew alongside the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. “The participation of Norway's F-35 in some missions offered many insights on how its superior capabilities in the areas of stealth, sensing and lethality allowed missions to be accomplished more effectively," added LTC Kok Choon.

Exercise Red Flag – Nellis is designed to enhance the combat readiness and operational competencies of the participating air forces through its realistic training scenarios, with the role of a dedicated F-16 fighter adversarial force taken on by the USAF's 64th Aggressor Squadron. 

Lieutenant Colonel Zachary Manning, Commanding Officer of the 64th Aggressor Squadron, was one of the pilots who flew against the RSAF's F-15SG during the training missions. "The RSAF has performed fantastically during this year's exercise. They have executed tactics on par with the other leading air forces, and have hit all the targets that they have been assigned. I am very pleased with the level of performance that they have been bringing," he said.