The Colombian Air Force is making history again by starting its participation in the renowned international exercise Red Flag Rescue, one of the most demanding in the world, which will be held by May 5 and 19, 2023, at Davis Monthan Base, in Tucson, Arizona. The Colombian Air Force is the only participating air force from Latin America and the objective is to strengthen the resources of the crews to save lives in rescue operations using aircraft such as AH-60 Arpia helicopters and A-29 Supertucano aircraft.
For this, a complete training was conducted at the Air Combat Command No. 2 - CACOM 2 - in Apiay, Meta, with advisory from pilots of the United States Air Force, in which they carried out 46 operations and completed 99 flight hours. There, the resources of the crews and the aircraft got together meeting the high standards of interoperability.
Thus, the Colombian Air Force completed its preparation and began the countdown to participate in this international exercise together with the best squadrons from countries such as France, Germany, Italy, Ireland and the United States, in addition to Saudi Arabia, which will be an observer country. The national delegation will be commanded by Brigadier General Alejandro Vélez Ospina, current Commander of CACOM 2.
The Institution's experience in these competitions has earned it to appoint three Colombian pilots to be leaders in an equal number of operational deployments in day and night search and rescue missions in reaction combat, close air support and commander on scene.
In this way, Colombians can be sure that the Air Force crews continue to strengthen their operational resources to save lives and spread their wings at the service of the country's security and defense.
Source: Colombian Air Force Strategic Communications Office
