Message posted by Joerg (Webmaster) (Member since 10/17/2000) on April 08, 2022 at 10:19:49 PST:
The Draken International contract to provide "Red air" support for Nellis Weapons School and Red Flag will not be renewed in June (see link). I am surprised to hear that, and I am not. Draken's fleet of L159, A-4 and F.1 Mirage aircraft is not exactly state of he art. Lately they have not provided a lot of support for Red Flag although they are still providing support for Weapons School. The Red Flag "Red Team" role has of course been filled primarily by the F-16's of the 64th AGRS. But early model F-35 from at least two Weapons School-related units at Nellis have been flying Red Team missions as well. Early model F-35s, while maybe not as capable as newer models, are still far more capable than anything Draken has in their inventory. They are better "bad guys". It will be interesting to watch upcoming Red Flags and WSINT to see who picks up the slack. Stay tuned.
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