Britain IS preparing for World War 3 as RAF joins huge war games with US

By recreating the intensity of a modern air campaign, Exercise Red Flag ensures that when personnel face real-world conflict, it isn’t their first time in the crosshairs, the RAF claims

Britain is preparing for World War 3, insiders have claimed. The news comes off the back of the RAF openly taking part in a “war games” style training alongside the United States and Australia – with China said to be the “target”.

Called Exercise Red Flag, it saw more than 3,000 RAF personnel take to the skies to complete a series or team-based war exercises, both with and against the US and Australia. It happened in Nevada, US, with winning teams announced each day across two weeks of training.

Speaking to the Telegraph, Col Tony May, of the US Air Force said: “This is where war fighters get to practice advanced war fighting. At the end of the day, it is about coming together to kick some a**.”

And Lt Col Ryan “Chip” Young, commander of the 65th aggressor squadron – the “enemy” for the two weeks – added: “We take all adversary aircraft and we’re able to pretend to be them no matter who it is. We can change what we look like.

“I am executing tactics as a person would as an adversary, making mistakes, trying to figure out what the blue side is doing. There’s a lot of close and long-range fights.”

What is Exercise Red Flag?

Founded in 1975 following insights from the Vietnam War—which revealed that a pilot’s first ten combat missions are their most perilous—the exercise is designed to give aircrews that critical experience in a controlled, yet high-stakes environment. By recreating the intensity of a modern air campaign, Red Flag ensures that when personnel face real-world conflict, it isn’t their first time in the crosshairs.

This year’s iteration is a powerhouse of international cooperation, featuring:

• 3,000 Participants: Representing 32 units across the USAF, Space Force, Marine Corps, Navy, and Air National Guard.
• International Partners: Elite teams from the Royal Air Force (RAF) and Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) have joined their American counterparts.
• Expansive Battlefield: Operations span over 12,000 square miles of airspace and nearly 3 million acres of land.

An RAF spokesman said: “Red Flag continues to evolve to reflect the threats and challenges of modern operations. It is renowned for its use of ‘aggressor’ forces, including simulated enemy fighter aircraft, ground-based radars and simulated surface-to-air missiles – and even cyber and space-based elements that simulate threats to each mission.

“With approximately 2,200 targets, realistic threat systems and an opposing enemy force that cannot be replicated anywhere else in the world, Nellis Air Force base and the NTTR enable combat air forces to train to fly and fight together.”

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