U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force pilots participated in Exercise Black Flag 2018 March 13-23.

Black Flag is an annual exercise focused on enhancing joint air-to-air combat execution between U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force squadrons.

"Our participation in Black Flag will tremendously improve our ability to prosecute joint missions in the Indo-Pacific area of operations," said Lt. David Ash, an F/A-18E pilot with the "Eagles" of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 115. "Operating with Air Force F-15s and E-3s in a completely integrated operational environment gave Navy aircrews dedicated exposure to joint tactics and capabilities that we would not have been able to gain otherwise. The missions were extremely challenging and required all of our personnel to operate at peak performance levels to achieve mission success."

F/A-18E and F-15C pilots completed integrated mission planning, briefing, air-to-air execution, and debriefing operations with the support of E-2D Advanced Hawkeye and E-3 Sentry aircrews throughout Black Flag. The missions enabled the refinement of tactics, techniques, and procedures related to joint fighter operations.

Over 200 U.S. Navy personnel, and nearly 20 aircraft, left their forward deployed station of Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Iwakuni to operate from Kadena Air Base, Japan, home of the U.S. Pacific Air Force's 18th Wing, for the two-week exercise.

This year's iteration of Black Flag involved F/A-18E Super Hornets assigned to the "Eagles" of VFA-115 and the "Dambusters" of VFA-195, F-15C Eagles assigned to the "Vampires" of the 44th Fighter Squadron and the "Fighting Cocks" of the 67th Fighter Squadron, E-2D Hawkeyes assigned to the "Tigertails (E-2D)" of the Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron (VAW) 125, and E-3 Sentries assigned to the "Eyes of the Pacific" of the 961st Airborne Air Control Squadron. Many missions were also supported by KC-135R Stratotankers assigned to the 909th Air Refueling Squadron.

With the conclusion of the exercise, VFA-115, VFA-195, and VAW-125 returned to MCAS Iwakuni. However, the proximity of Iwakuni to Kadena, and planned participation in future joint exercises in the region, will allow the units involved in Black Flag 2018 to continue to enhance their ability to operate as an integrated joint force in support of security and stability in the Indo-Pacific.

For more news from Commander Task Force 70, visit www.navy.mil/.