It's a little late for this announcement, but since the Pictures section has lost some of its integration with the rest of the site, I bring this to your attention in the event you may have missed it.
The gallery can be found at http://www.defencetalk.com/pictures/g5191-red-flag-17-3.html
Red Flag 17-3 was exclusively an American forces exercise, no foreign countries participated. The were Air Force and Marine Corps F-35 units, in addition to F-22's, F-15's, F-16's, B-2's, B-1's, EA-18G's and KC-135's. Drakken International supplemented the aggressor aircraft force with A-4's, L-159's and MB-339's.
We were informed that this was the first exercise where F-22's, F-35's and B-2's flew together in the same exercise. They flew the B-2's preferred mission profile, which meant night exercises. I tried to photograph departures one night from off base near the end of the runway, but all I could capture were running lights and afterburner trails, but not of any B-2's.
There was a major electrical storm on the test and training range on media day. Since that's not a great environment for about 50-60 aircraft engaging in a simulated attack exercise, many at supersonic speeds, the primary exercise was cancelled. As a result, I was not able to get any close-up shots of the F-35's.
The remainder of the week I took photos from off base near the end of the runway and was able to photograph the departing and returning aircraft. However the typical afternoon temperature was 105 degrees and I had numerous photos where combination of the heat and maximum focal length resulted in distortions of the letters and numbers on the aircraft.
I'll be adding some additional photos to the gallery after the holidays when I get caught up.
The gallery can be found at http://www.defencetalk.com/pictures/g5191-red-flag-17-3.html
Red Flag 17-3 was exclusively an American forces exercise, no foreign countries participated. The were Air Force and Marine Corps F-35 units, in addition to F-22's, F-15's, F-16's, B-2's, B-1's, EA-18G's and KC-135's. Drakken International supplemented the aggressor aircraft force with A-4's, L-159's and MB-339's.
We were informed that this was the first exercise where F-22's, F-35's and B-2's flew together in the same exercise. They flew the B-2's preferred mission profile, which meant night exercises. I tried to photograph departures one night from off base near the end of the runway, but all I could capture were running lights and afterburner trails, but not of any B-2's.
There was a major electrical storm on the test and training range on media day. Since that's not a great environment for about 50-60 aircraft engaging in a simulated attack exercise, many at supersonic speeds, the primary exercise was cancelled. As a result, I was not able to get any close-up shots of the F-35's.
The remainder of the week I took photos from off base near the end of the runway and was able to photograph the departing and returning aircraft. However the typical afternoon temperature was 105 degrees and I had numerous photos where combination of the heat and maximum focal length resulted in distortions of the letters and numbers on the aircraft.
I'll be adding some additional photos to the gallery after the holidays when I get caught up.