Turkey will participate in the US-hosted Red Flag air combat exercise for the first time since 2016, Voice of America’s Turkish edition reported on Thursday, citing the country’s defense ministry.
The Turkish Ministry of Defense said it will send five F-16 fighter jets and 73 military personnel to the Red Flag-2025 Joint Air Combat Exercise, scheduled March 10-21 at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada.
This year’s participation marks Turkey’s eighth appearance at the prestigious training event. Turkish defense officials confirmed the country’s F-16 jets and personnel have already arrived in the United States ahead of the exercise.
Held annually since 1975, the Red Flag exercises provide realistic air combat training to enhance combat readiness, strategic planning and interoperability between US forces and international allies. The exercises take place multiple times each year, with events at Nellis Air Force Base referred to as Red Flag and sessions at Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska known as Red Flag-Alaska.
Originally established following combat experiences in the Vietnam War, Red Flag has evolved into a crucial international training platform.
In nearly 50 years, the exercises have trained more than 500,000 military personnel and conducted over 420,000 sorties, ensuring allied forces maintain high readiness levels to effectively respond to global security threats.