425th FS participates in Maple Flag

  • Published
  • By Justin Oakes
  • 56th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
LUKE AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. --  Cold Lake, Alberta is home to Canada's busiest air force fighter base, 4 Wing, and is also the site of an annual international air combat exercise known as Maple Flag. 

Thunderbolts from the 425th Fighter Squadron departed for Cold Lake May 30 to join the anticipated 4,500 military personnel attending Maple Flag 42. 

"Luke has participated in the Maple Flag exercises for years," said Lt. Col. Stephen Granger, 425th FS commander. "We benchmark against some of the best air forces in the world during this exercise. It provides a unique opportunity to assess how our international air force partners train and fight." 

Eight F-16 Fighting Falcons and 115 Airmen from the 425th FS will test their knowledge and skills in conjunction with airmen from Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Ukraine, Egypt and the Republic of Singapore not to mention other U. S. services. 

"This year we have a younger, less experienced aircrew participating than in previous exercises," Colonel Granger said. "I am confident that we will continue our zero mishaps legacy nonetheless. We spend about three months spinning up for this exercise, much like Red Flag." 

Maple Flag is a Canadian variation of the U.S. Air Force's Red Flag, which is hosted several times a year at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. Both exercises were created in response to the Vietnam War when it was determined that 90 percent of aircraft loss took place during the first 10 combat missions. In order to improve the survival rate and performance aircrews, Red Flag was created. 

The Canadians first participated in the exercise in 1977 and after a year's time, the Canadian commander of air command invited the United States for a similar exercise at Cold Lake. Modeled after Red Flag, Maple Flag was born, and continues to provide training for large international coalition operations in a structured, academic environment. 

Thunderbolts engage in a 10-day air campaign that focuses on confronting and dealing with air-to-air and air-to-ground threats, precision and non-precision strike missions. 

Other focal points of Maple Flag include transport, electronic warfare, air refueling, air defiance and airborne early warning control assets from many diverse nations. 

"It is extremely important to put our best foot forward when working together in an international joint environment," Colonel Granger said. "By demonstrating our capabilities and sharing our knowledge, it helps foster and strengthen the relationship between our allied air forces. The Airmen of the 425th are the hardest working people I've had the honor to work with. They work extremely hard for a common goal and I know they will directly contribute to the success of this exercise."