The United States Air Force is launching its largest-ever three-week premier set of air war drills, called Red Flag 18-1, starting on Friday and will conclude February 16, said the 99th Air Base Wing Public Affairs.
On January 26, the air war drill, known as Red Flag, officially kicked off at Nellis Air Force Base, 20-miles outside of Las Vegas. Base officials have warned residents of increased military aircraft activity due to aircraft departing from Nellis Air Force Base twice-a-day to conduct war drills on the Nevada Test and Training Range.
“We’re trying a few new and different things with Red Flag 18-1,” said Col Michael Mathes, 414th Combat Training Squadron commander. “It’s the largest Red Flag ever with the largest number of participants, highlighting the balance of training efficiency with mission effectiveness.”
The drill involves a variety of attack, fighter and bomber aircraft as well as participants from the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy, U.S. Army, and Marine Corps. Foreign participants include Royal Australian Air Force and the Royal Air Force.
A video from the 2015 Red Flag drill is shown below.
“Red Flag 18-1 primarily is a strike package focused training venue that we integrate at a command and control level in support of joint task force operations,” said Mathes. “It’s a lot of words to say that we integrate every capability we can into strike operations that are flown out of Nellis Air Force Base.”
According to The Drive, the air war drill is the largest of its kind in the 42-year history, as the United States prepares for a possible conflict on the Korean Penisula.
Further, the USAF is going to “blackout GPS over the sprawling Nevada Test and Training Range,” said the Drive, which will provide realistic war-like conditions to challenge aircrews.
Flying.com reports the drills at the Nevada Test and Training Range will cause rolling GPS blackouts for the vast portions of the Western United States from January 26 through February 18. All GPS-equipped aircraft operating in the Western United States should be prepared for possible navigation failure in the region.
The NBAA Command Center reports the U.S. military will begin training exercises on the Nevada Test and Training Range between 0400Z until 0700Z daily. Training maneuvers will impact vast portions of the Western U.S. including California, Nevada, Oregon, Wyoming, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, Montana and New Mexico. FAA enroute ATC centers affected include Albuquerque (ZAB), Denver (ZDV), Los Angeles (ZLA), Salt Lake (ZLC), Oakland (ZOA) and Seattle (ZSE). Operations in R-2508 and R-2501 may also be impacted.
"Arrivals and departures from airports within the Las Vegas area may be issued non-Rnav re-routes with the possibility of increased traffic disruption near LAS requiring airborne re-routes to the south and east of the affected area. Aircraft operating in Los Angeles (ZLA) center airspace may experience navigational disruption, including suspension of Descend-via and Climb-via procedures. Non-Rnav SIDs and STARs may be issued within ZLA airspace in the event of increased navigational disruption. Crews should expect the possibility of airborne mile-in-trail and departure mile-in-trail traffic management initiatives.”
The Drive explains why the USAF is determined to use GPS spoofing and jamming technology but offers no insight into what a GPS blackout might mean for the millions of civilians who live in the Western region of the US.
GPS denial is a becoming a huge issue for American military planners. Peer states, especially Russia, are already putting GPS spoofing and jamming tactics to work during various training events near their own borders. We have discussed this situation in great depth before, and I would suggest you read this article to understand just how deeply the loss of reliable global positioning system data can mean for the U.S. and its allies during a time of war, as well as what is being done to overcome such a monumental hurdle.
The Pentagon has mysteriously tested technology that can jam GPS over a wide area before, and it is likely that this same capability will be put to use in the Nellis Test and Training Range for this Red Flag 18-1. Line-of-sight and distance impact the way in which GPS users, especially other airplanes, operating far outside the training area will be affected. Here is an article on those tests, which emanated from Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, which is located on the western edge of the Mojave Desert in California, in June of 2016.
Below is a released image showing the impact of a GPS jammer unleashed on the Western United States in a June 2016 test:
If there is a concrete reason why the Department of Defense is quietly preparing a massive air war drill in Nevada now, while simultaneously forcing a gigantic GPS blackout for the Western part of the United States, it has not been disclosed aside from the obvious, of course.
We know one thing: this exercise will last a lengthy three weeks and could pose significant risks and threats to devices that rely on GPS signals, which according to the DHS chart below, is pretty much anything with electronics in it these days.
Let’s hope that nothing goes wrong in the Western part of the United States if so, we will know whom to blame…
Comments
The Joomanji is upon us. The "Great Event" is coming.
Maybe so.
But the US military is a spent force; 17 years of war have depleted it. War against China or Russian Federation has no chance of victory for AmeriKa.
OTOH, the Pentagram may finally be ready to apply the many lessons learned during occupation abroad, and launch its final war against We The People, here at home.
In reply to The Joomanji is upon us. The… by WTFRLY
the drums are beating
the MIC needs $718,000,000,000+
#thankstrump
In reply to Maybe so… by Lost in translation
.
Here is a Drill Gone... Wrong... Dr. Strangelove...
.
Edgey
In reply to the beat is on by Bes
USAF is training itself and its LGBT peeple to lose a war knowing that they will not have any GPS signal or radio uplink if they dare trying to fuck up with reunited Korea.
They want to know what a good spanking feels like because they hope defeat will be less harsh. Somehow this gives me the feeling they copied the French military tradition of surrendering and sinking their battleships before the fight actually begins.
Maybe is it the result of too much diversity?
In reply to . by Sir Edge
We may lose some millennials forever if their smart phone GPS doesn't tell them how to get back home.
In reply to H by shitshitshit
The LEECHES are coming. The LEECHES are coming.
In reply to We may lose some millennials… by Whoa Dammit
Don't cell phones actually rely on triangulation, rather than GPS? Cell phone "GPS" doesn't work in the middle of the forrest, nor on top of certain mountains.
In reply to The LEECHES are coming. by stizazz
Good observation! Cell phones use both GPS and triangulation from cell towers. Boats use to use this technique before GPS. It was called LORAN. In the middle of the forest, there may be no cell towers.
My marine radio has a built in signal detector that tells you where the transmission came from.
In reply to Don't cell phones actually… by Joe Trader
Don't tell anyone but this is really an operation called FAZE 1. They are targeting the snowflake's and illegal immigrant's phones.
Before they know what's happening they'll be driving along some shitty road in Mexico and wondering why their phones are telling them they are in a Home Depot or Chipotle parking lot.
In reply to Good observation! Cell… by wally_12
Why don't we just turn the southern border up to 25 miles inland into an Air Force bombing range? We do that anyway and we could stop the illegal aliens from wanting to walk through the range to get here.
In reply to Don't tell anyone but this… by ufos8mycow
What they actually do is precisely "offset" the GPS guidance signals in a "random" pattern "only they" know about and can compensate for. So the "enemy" which has its whole own system anyway cannot use it.
This is of course so they can "win" WWIII. Of course with nuclear winter and no crops growing for ten years+ only the taxpayer funded Deep Underground Military Base (DUMB) dwellers will "survive". (They just cut medicaid and pain medicine for Americans with cancer.)
The Russians, meanwhile, have underground shelters for their own common people. I hope those Russians come over here and drill down to our elite underground bases and inject chlorine gas, slowly. I really do.
In reply to Why don't we just turn the… by IH8OBAMA
I'm making over $14k a month working part time. I kept hearing other people tell me how much money they can make online so I decided to look into it. Well, it was all true and has totally changed my life. This is what I do... http://disq.us/url?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.Jobzon3.com%3Ab8eR_DQLwGRPVGtFv…
In reply to What they actually do is… by bluez
People with modest tech savvy could locally jam the hell out of local GPS with a big ass carbon brush electric motor, using copper scouring pads for the brushes, and hooking the rotor up to various length antennas. Except they can't because that would be very illegal and they would shoot their ass.
In reply to Most people have no clue… by BokkeDavola
The globalists are almost exposed. They will ignite nuclear war over this.
In reply to People with modest tech… by bluez
With single selection two-party hegemony, we have ended up being owned by psychopaths.
In reply to The globalists are almost… by MillionDollarButter
True. The Pathocracy and their shocking treachery revealed here - a Black Ops Operator Tells All https://ruclip.com/video/e0C_qG5U7pE/black-ops-operator-comes-forward-a…
In reply to With single selection two… by bluez
Integrating drone-swarms into the package.
In reply to True. The Pathocracy and… by Expendable Container
Using a compass and shooting an azimuth has become far beyond the ability of most.
In reply to Most people have no clue… by BokkeDavola
Ha yes. We used celestial navigation, wind drift, charts, pencils and stopwatches during Red Flag before GPS...
not a lot of millenials interested in that shit.
maffs and shit.
In reply to Using a compass and shooting… by 11b40
Serious strategic guidance systems probably do not count on GPS to navigate. They probably use something like "integrating capacitative electro-mechanical accelerometers". Or "integrating laser photo-mechanical accelerometers".
In reply to What they actually do is… by bluez
Yep. Inertial navigation systems using gyroscope and accelerometers.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inertial_navigation_system
In reply to Serious strategic guidance… by bluez
Physical, electronic, gravitational, nuclear particle, and micro-sensor (accelerometers) guidance systems (single-input rate gyroscopes, dual-input axis micro-machined rate gyros, and MEMS/CMOS technology navigational systems). LORAN, TACAN, Doppler radar, and some laser colors and frequencies used in conjunction with satellite feedback, as well as star location (sextants), and magnetic compasses and maps are among the alternate technologies to GPS for navigation purposes. There are also highly classified systems that the public has no knowledge of.
In reply to Serious strategic guidance… by bluez
This "Flag" will show the need for the MIC to come up with something new, no matter what it costs.
In reply to Serious strategic guidance… by bluez
Apparatchiks are not common citizens. The bunkers were built to protect communist party members. Just like everywhere else, if you were not in the club you did not get in.
In reply to What they actually do is… by bluez
You are one of THEM! You are a lying piece of shit!
The Russians ARE building shelters for their common people. The Americans are leaving their non-elite citizens out in the streets to fry.
And you know it, royalist scumbag.
In reply to Apparatchiks are not common… by Cloud9.5
5 miles is enough, and seed the area with old anti personell mines, oh, and big signs in English and Spanish that say, dANGER - USAF GUNNERY RANGE and is small letters under that, "Achtung Minen". Problem solved and it won't cost a sent either.
In reply to Why don't we just turn the… by IH8OBAMA
Use a map. I still do, was trained in the army.
In reply to Don't tell anyone but this… by ufos8mycow
Map, compass, Ranger beads for pace count.
Easy-peasy
In reply to Use a map. I still do, was… by lakecity55
Real men don't use GPS. Or ask for directions, for that matter.
Driving around is circles looking for a destination is so much more fun.
In reply to Don't tell anyone but this… by ufos8mycow
I just watch my dogs when they take a shit. They always point true north.
In reply to Real men don't use GPS. Or… by GeezerGeek
... or just get a device that uses GLONASS.
In reply to Good observation! Cell… by wally_12
Thanks UR.. first time I've heard of it, tho I'm hardly surprised the russians have their own sys.
In reply to ... or just get a device… by Urban Roman
It's no secret the Russians didn't want to rely on an American system for navigation in times of war hence they have launched satellite after satellite to improve this Glonass system.
Many people feel the Seal team captured in Iranian waters in the 2 boats were the result of the GPS system being compromised with systems available in Russia. The was a story circulating that a couple Black Sea cargo ships reported their GPS was compromised and their readouts said they were 20 miles inland. If something happens with war in Europe you can best assume GPS won't work.
In reply to Thanks UR.. first time I've… by Eyes Opened
As far as I can tell, sextants still work on clear nights.
But can we use the word sextant in front of SJWs or feminazis? After all, it starts with sex...
In reply to It's no secret the Russians… by SoDamnMad
Now is the time to buy yourself a telescope and learn the night skies. Also keep a well synchronized watch in order to be able to determine your longitude during the day.
One of the best investments you can make for your brain, and your freedom to move. Only rappers and millennials will never understand that.
In reply to As far as I can tell,… by GeezerGeek
>> just get a device that uses GLONASS.
Google GPS150 DualNav
That device lets you turn GPS off and use only GLONASS
In reply to ... or just get a device… by Urban Roman
They will become useless when satellites are shot down, or are corrupted or destroyed by Electronic Countermeasures (ECM)s.
In reply to >> just get a device that… by HenryHall
the beauty of vector maps and apis is the panoramic views of the contour. you can always get a visually match of your position leaving you with zero doubt of your position. soon all you'll have to do is take a 360 panoramic shot around you and let the vector map make a match.
.mil probably uses mobile units with lidars to fingerprint their position without gps and beams the position to subunits over the omni tower. gps is totally yesterday.
In reply to Good observation! Cell… by wally_12
TLAMz been doin' this 4 years
In reply to the beauty of vector maps… by DEMIZEN
I hated LORAN. Getting your signal and then trying to find that on a map in 20’ seas in a 25’ boat fucking sucks.
In reply to Good observation! Cell… by wally_12
Just say NO to LORAN. Better than nothing, but not much.
In reply to I hated LORAN. Getting your… by Fishkiller
No worse than any other hyperbolic navigation system, such as the DECCA system.
If very approximate location plotting is your thing - Consol. VERY long range, but for a small-ish boat owner, really only good for a "rough guesstimate" of location
In reply to Just say NO to LORAN. … by Badder Santa
Not to mention that you need three stations for a correct fix -- only two and you could be in either the Northern or Southern hemisphere. Not ideal.
In reply to I hated LORAN. Getting your… by Fishkiller
3 AWACS might work just as well in a small enough theater.
In reply to Not to mention that you need… by Throat-warbler…
LORAN works OK in aircraft, especially when you have analog to digital computers.
In reply to I hated LORAN. Getting your… by Fishkiller
Whizz-bang electronics are fine, but fragile. In 1973 our LORAN was down, our SRN-9 satellite was down, and we needed to get an aircraft carrier from SF to Pearl to Philippines on schedule. So we did it with an old brass sextant and a chronometer, with a precise landfall. It can be done. Keeping a full library of paper maps for your area of operations is still important.
In reply to Good observation! Cell… by wally_12
Was this a serious post? YOU sailed a carrier?
that's fucking cool.
In reply to Whizz-bang electronics are… by LightBeamCowboy
All large military aircraft used to carry a sextant for use in extreme circumstances. Not so sure about now.
In reply to Whizz-bang electronics are… by LightBeamCowboy
At home, it relies on both...here in the EU, with my USA Based Samsung Smart phone, with CACHED data from WIFI in our apartment, I can use downloaded maps (cached) to navigate using GPS data...it is SLOWER to find our location,but once the GPS is found, it navigates flawlessly.
In reply to Don't cell phones actually… by Joe Trader
Pagination