Two Weeks of Intensive and Successful Training and Cooperation

The “Blue Flag” exercise is an international air force exercise which has occurred every two years since 2013, making this the fifth rendition. The exercise took place at the Uvda Air Force Base, where significant deployments and major international exercises are held. Blue Flag has an immense impact on the State of Israel’s international strategic situation, serving as a bridge for regional cooperation and advancing mutual capabilities. The purpose of the exercise is to simulate challenging combat scenarios and joint flights in the most realistic manner.

28.10.2021

Blue Flag 2021 took place with the participation of roughly 1,500 people and 70 aircraft from eight participating nations: Israel, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, India, Germany and Greece. Several other countries sent representatives to learn from the exercise without actively participating, among them Romania, Finland, South Korea, Australia, Japan, the Netherlands and Croatia.

Maj. Gen. Amikam Norkin, Commander of the Israeli Air Force said the following regarding the exercise: “The Middle East is a complex arena which changes at any given moment. The threat to the State of Israel comes from different arenas—the Gaza Strip, Syria, Lebanon, Iran and more. The challenges we face are increasing, and we make sure to be one step ahead of the enemy. The Israeli Air Force is constantly training to be ready for a wide range of emergency scenarios. We fly in a joint coalition in limited airspace, wing to wing with partnering air forces–the U.S., Germany, the UK, Italy, Greece, France etc.

The joint training allows us to learn from the various air forces participating in the exercise and prepares the Israeli Air Force personnel for real-time scenarios in order to succeed in our mission–maintaining the security of the State of Israel.”

The outlines of the drill are defense and offense with enemy simulating squadrons: the 119th Squadron that operates F-16i planes from Ramon Air Force Base and the 115th Squadron, the “Red Squadron”. This squadron’s mission is to challenge and train other squadrons to handle a variety of possible scenarios in different arenas and advanced aerial threats that, for the first time ever, include the F-35 aircraft to simulate the enemy.

This year’s Blue Flag exercise was the largest and most advanced held to date, with the participation of seven other countries training with the fourth generation aircraft, along with fifth generation (F-35s). This displays an expansion of the IAF’s capabilities in the battlefield through aerial cooperation, including handling surface-to-air missiles, aerial battle, flights with ground level threats and more.

The participation of the Adir (F-35i) in the exercise poses a meaningful challenge for the different aircraft participating—they are required to handle advancing threats with the F-35i flying as “red-team” (enemy simulation) against the other aircraft.

Additionally, there was an F-35 conference at the Nevatim Air Force Base during the exercise that included delegations from Italy, Norway, Netherlands, the UK, the U.S. and Belgium.

The preparation for the exercise lasted approximately ten months, initially through online communications between the participating countries, and later with representatives arriving in Israel and building various training scenarios together. Underground hangars at the air base were specially altered to accommodate foreign aircraft.

Within the first week of the exercise, the different air forces took flight during both day and night, dealt with advanced threats daily, while posing a greater challenge for the next day of the exercise. The exercise set a high standard both in terms of instruction, research, and the support given for the exercise in Israel.

This year, the exercise took place while maintaining COVID-19 health guidelines, including all participants being vaccinated and requiring the necessary tests to ensure nobody carried the virus.

Significant Events That Took Place for the First Time in This Exercise:
This deployment provided an opportunity to carry out a joint tactical flight while facing a wide variety of threats with advanced technology. During the exercise, there was the first ever deployment of the British fighter squadron in Israel with “Eurofighter” aircraft, the first ever deployment of an Indian fighter squadron with “Mirage” fighter jets, as well as a French fighter squadron with“Raphael” aircraft. During the exercise, there was a joint conference with the respective commanders of the air forces of each participating country. For the first time ever, the Commander of the United Emirates Air Force visited Israel following the Abraham Accords.