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This Is How Impressive an F-15 Eagle Looks Like Before Joining Massive Wargames

All year-round, the American military prepares for a potential conflict through a series of exercises it conducts across the globe. And some of the biggest such wargames, meant for pretty much all branches of the military, but with a massive focus on the Air Force, are the Red Flags.
F-15D Eagle ready for departure for Red Flag exercise 21 photos
Photo: USAF/Airman 1st Class Sebastian Romaw
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Each year, up to six Red Flags are being centered on the Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada, and up to four more very far away, at Joint Pacific Alaska Range Complex. They date back all the way to the 1970s, and presently have grown so large that they started incorporating allied troops as well.

Over in Alaska, Red Flags are described as “commander-directed field training exercises for U.S. forces, provides joint offensive counter-air, interdiction, close air support, and large force employment training in a simulated combat environment.”

The first exercise of this kind to be held there this year, Red Flag Alaska 22-1, kicked off at the beginning of May and involved 2,200 service members and 90 aircraft. These units flock to the main bases for the drills from all over America, but not before being properly-prepped for their mission.

The F-15D Eagle you see here was snapped in this impressive photo just as it was getting ready to depart for the exercise. It is deployed with the 67th Fighter Squadron based at Kadena Air Base in Japan.

Kadena is the U.S. Air Force’s (USAF) largest base of operations in East Asia, with some 20,000 people on location. The base was built right after Japan surrendered in 1945 and has been the staging point for operations conducted during most wars in the region.

It’s unclear yet how many Red Flags will take place in the Pacific this year, but as the dust settles on this one, we expect to see an increasing amount of images depicting the war hardware in action there.
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Editor's note: Gallery shows other F-15s.

About the author: Daniel Patrascu
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Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies.
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