Photo Report for Red-Flag 25-2 Nellis AFB LAS VEGAS,NV
Story and photos by William Ellison
This Red-Flag ran from March 10-21, 2025, and featured units from the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Air National Guard, U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, United Arab Emirates Air Force, Royal Saudi Air Force and Turkish Air Force.
The visits up to Red-Flag was a very exciting trip for me as the Turkish Air Force have been on my list to document for the past 10 years, this would be the 1st red-flag for Turkey to attend since Red Flag 16-2. Turkey brought over 6 F-16C/D aircraft from the 132nd Squadron of the 3rd Main Jet Base Command stationed at Konya Air Base. It specializes in developing weapon and tactics courses.
Another rare unit to make an appearance at this red-flag was the 4 Shaheen Squadron of the United Arab Emirates Air Force, with their advanced F-16E/F Block 60 “Desert Falcon” seeing these jets a nice treat since I had not seem them since RF 14-2 back in the old days of shooting in-between the runways. The two-tone gray camouflage paint scheme, often described as “Desert Falcon” or “Desert Gray,” blended in very well with the Nevada landscape.
And finally, the Royal Saudi Air Force showed up to flag was No. 80 Squadron that operates the Eurofighter Typhoon F.2 from King Fahad Air Base, Tail, and Mecca Province. Aside from the Turkish F-16’s the RSAF was next on my list for documenting. Of all the units taking part in red flag my best photos were of the Saudi’s.
Below are my photos from 3 days at Red-Flag 25-2:
