Shaw airmen, Falcons to participate in air-to-air combat training exercise

Shaw Air Force Base will send about 17 F-16 Fighting Falcons and 230 airmen to Nevada at the end of the month for a combat training exercise.

The airmen from the 20th Fighter Wing's 77th Fighter Squadron are scheduled to participate in a Red Flag Nellis exercise at Nellis Air Force Base from July 23 to Aug. 3, according to the 20th Fighter Wing's Public Affairs Office. The exercise is the premier U.S. Air Force air-to-air combat training exercise allowing U.S. airmen and their international coalition counterparts to experience "multiple, intensive air combat sorties in the safety of a training environment."

The 20th Fighter Wing regularly participates in these exercises, bringing its highly demanded premier suppression of enemy air defenses capability - a role few other units can fulfill. The 77th Fighter Squadron will also provide other aerial support functions.

Since 1975, 28 countries have joined the U.S. in RF-N exercises, and several other countries have observed them. RF-N has provided training for more than 440,000 personnel, including more than 145,000 aircrew members flying more than 385,000 sorties and logging more than 660,000 hours of flying time.