During Red Flag 25-3, the Dyess AFB crews acted as both the “Blue Air,” carrying out the “friendly strike roles,” as well as the “Red Air,” where they served in the adversary roles.
Last month, Rockwell B-1B Lancers from the 9th Bomb Squadron, the “Bats,” were deployed from Dyess Air Force Base (AFB), Texas, to Nellis AFB, Nevada, to take part in the Red Flag-Nellis 25-3 combat training exercises. It marked the first time in three years that Lancers had taken part in the training event.
An undisclosed number of the long-range strategic bombers employed what the United States Air Force described as a “hybrid operations model” that combined long-range sorties from the home station, with forward mission planning carried out at Nellis. It was meant to highlight the Cold War aircraft’s continued “operational agility,” notably during vulnerability periods (VULs), the part of a strike mission in “contested, high-threat environments,” the service further explained. During the exercise, the B-1Bs, which flew from Texas to Nevada, faced threats from a simulated enemy.
“This Red Flag has been a milestone for the Bats,” explained Lt. Col. Ashley Cook, 9th Bomb Squadron commander. “Not only is it our first Red Flag in three years, but we demonstrated how the B-1 can deliver combat power flexibly by launching from Dyess while seamlessly integrating with joint and coalition forces launching from Nellis.”
Out with “DEI”—in with “DFE”
The Pentagon has had much fanfare about removing any traces of “DEI” from within its ranks. Instead, the exercises at Nellis were focused on DFE, as in Dynamic Force Employment, an operational strategy that calls for the service to remain strategically predictable but operationally unpredictable.
During Red Flag-Nellis 25-3, the B-1Bs carried out “hot-pit refueling and aircrew swaps” at Nellis, which enabled a second Mission Planning Center (MPC) team to “plan and execute the final phase of the exercise.” It was carried out by crews from the 9th and 345th Bomb Squadrons.
“The ability to fly from home station while executing advanced planning with a dislocated MPC team shows how we’re evolving to meet future combat scenarios,” Cook added. “Exercises like this prepare us to be more agile to practice how we would employ against today’s threats.”
During Red Flag 25-3, the Dyess AFB crews acted as both the “Blue Air,” carrying out the “friendly strike roles,” as well as the “Red Air,” where they served in the adversary roles. As reported by TheAviationist, this suggests that the “B-1Bs may have played the role of Russian or Chinese bombers, conducting standoff air-launched cruise and ballistic missiles strikes at Allied bases,” but that is still just speculation.
The B-1B’s Hybrid Role
The exercises featured the hybrid model that required the aircraft to operate from their home bases and then fly to the Nevada Test and Training Range, which covers more than 12,000 square miles of airspace and some 2.9 million acres of land. The Nevada Test and Training Range is larger than the Yellowstone and Yosemite National Parks combined, and is about as remote as it can get while still being in the contiguous 48 states.
“This is one of the first chances our new aviators get to experience a true Large Force Exercise,” said Capt. Nicole Sorrells, 9th BS flight commander. “It’s nothing like flying local sorties; we’re face-to-face with other squadrons and partners we’d deploy with. That’s where real integration happens.”
As the Air Force further noted, the exercises also “required precise mission timing and coordination between Dyess AFB and Nellis AFB.”
“Executing VULs from Dyess while relying on a forward-planning team means everything must be dialed in — mission briefs, takeoff times, airspace control,” added Sorrells. “It’s logistically complex, but it shows what’s possible.”
The United States Air Force currently operates 45 B-1B Lancers. The aircraft formally entered service 40 years ago as a nuclear bomber, but since the end of the Cold War, it can only carry conventional weapons.
About the Author: Peter Suciu
Peter Suciu has contributed over 3,200 published pieces to more than four dozen magazines and websites over a thirty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. He is based in Michigan. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: [email protected].
Image: Shutterstock / Eliyahu Yosef Parypa.
