Officials: Mysterious Jets Over Philly Were Actually Saudi Arabian Aircraft

a reply to: Irishhaf

I wonder if that's the one they brought to Hawaii for testing many years ago. The tests were strange. It had to be towed from parking to 8R, where they'd start engines. They had to be airborne within 15 minutes of engine start or the test was cancelled for that day.

originally posted by: The GUT
a reply to: Zaphod58

Do you know the scenarios for Red Flag? Red Flag Alaska too.

Red flag sets up many different scenario's. They plan out sorties and then attempt to accomplish it. Could be taking out radar sights attacking a base or air to air combat just depends on the scenario they dream up. It's main goal i's to teach foreign aviators how to play nice with US forces. They learn things to help them coordinate what they learn is expected to be taken back to their units and they teach other pilots as well. Never got the opertuniry to do red flag but did get to WSNIT which is similar but they are more involved with integrating airpower with ground forces. Calling in air strikes etc.

a reply to: dragonridr

That's what Green Flag is for. Green Flag is air to mud heavy and brings in JTACS and CSAR.

originally posted by: Zaphod58
a reply to: dragonridr

That's what Green Flag is for. Green Flag is air to mud heavy and brings in JTACS and CSAR.

I was spc ops and in wsnit we played their eyes and ears on different scenarios. We would call in strikes on locations or even warn of air defense sites. Depending on the op. The cool part as we got to see some of the latest stuff and play with the new toys. Also used airpower to overcome ground units with a smaller force. Also helped ground forces with strike coordination and planning for taking out WMDS for example. Stuff that would come in handy with say north korea.

a reply to: dragonridr

This time Red Flag 17-4 and Green Flag 17-08 ran concurrently, with Green Flag starting a couple days ahead of Red Flag. One of the Saudi Typhoons was caught going out with a load of Paveways and coming back empty.

a reply to: Zaphod58

Probably, always found it funny I was given more safety briefs at the international exercises than when I went down town while deployed to the desert.

originally posted by: Zaphod58
a reply to: dragonridr

This time Red Flag 17-4 and Green Flag 17-08 ran concurrently, with Green Flag starting a couple days ahead of Red Flag. One of the Saudi Typhoons was caught going out with a load of Paveways and coming back empty.

Yikes that would be hard to explain hopefully didn't drop it on a local airport lol

a reply to: dragonridr

They split their aircraft between the two. They flew some Green Flag missions and some Red. This one was a Green live drop.

originally posted by: Irishhaf
a reply to: Zaphod58

Probably, always found it funny I was given more safety briefs at the international exercises than when I went down town while deployed to the desert.

I used to consider it baby sitting duty to be honest. We would be training foreign units and it was a headache because we had to attempt to integrate them within our units. This all ways caused problems as their training was very different and led to a lot of arguments. I'm sure the fly boys had the same problem

originally posted by: butcherguy
a reply to: Jefferton

There were Saudi ships moored at the naval base that I was stationed at in the early 1980's. We sold them the ships and trained the crews at our naval bases.

when I was In air force basic training in the late 1970`s there was a whole area of barracks occupied by Iranians,all the females on the base were warned not to go near there especially at night or they risked being accosted and raped by our then beloved Iranian allies who were being housed and trained at the base.

I reckon the military and the government have a completely different definition of the word ally than most americans do.

originally posted by: Zaphod58
a reply to: LadyGreenEyes

We have aircraft from the Middle East pretty much every year about this time. And foreign troops here has been going on a lot longer than the previous administration. The Germans, Singapore, the Dutch, Indonesia, Taiwan all have a permanent presence in the US and have for decades.

Yes, but Russians, and Chinese? Hardly allies, are they? Yet they were here, for training missions for "unspecified civilian emergencies". That's not regular training, by a long shot. Not even close. I know about foreign troops working with us' hubby did that quite a lot. This was different. Very different.

a reply to: LadyGreenEyes

There is an agreement between the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry and FEMA that allows for emergency management personnel to be sent to each other's nation. Both Russian and US troops trained together to teach the other how they responded to various situations. Both countries use their military extensively to respond to disasters.

China and the US have trained together for both disaster relief, and antipiracy operations. China has been sending ships to the region off Somalia to fight the pirates there, and they trained with our forces so both would know what to expect from the other if they were operating near each other.

originally posted by: CriticalStinker
a reply to: Black_Fox

Ewww. I feel dirty. I hate the fact were allies with those barbaric assholes (government not people).

But the fact we let their military train here.... I need a shower.

It shouldn't be a surprise. 19 of the 9-11 hijackers were from SA and while domestic air traffic was grounded, we let them fly home. Then we attacked Iraq instead.

a reply to: CriticalStinker

AW COMON they offered to pay me 30,000.00 to protect their country...

I keep forgetting they are friendlies.
With allies like Saudi who needs...

originally posted by: Zaphod58
a reply to: LadyGreenEyes

There is an agreement between the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry and FEMA that allows for emergency management personnel to be sent to each other's nation. Both Russian and US troops trained together to teach the other how they responded to various situations. Both countries use their military extensively to respond to disasters.

China and the US have trained together for both disaster relief, and antipiracy operations. China has been sending ships to the region off Somalia to fight the pirates there, and they trained with our forces so both would know what to expect from the other if they were operating near each other.

Yet it's not legal for our troops to work on American soil in such a fashion. The objectives for these training missions were quite vague, too, which is also not normal. I know that's the case; the military people I know, and others I spoke with, all said this was weird. If normal, why all the secrecy, too? Most people didn't have any idea this was happening. I know, because the hubby was military, and involved at one point, and a lot of troops going to and from came through where we were stationed. This wasn't normal.

a reply to: LadyGreenEyes

Wrong. Our troops routinely work on US soil for disaster relief. They can't be used for police activities, there's a huge difference. The US Navy was one of the first into Houston with helicopters pulling people out, and two amphibious ships are heading to the Gulf of Mexico to provide living quarters and staging areas for people in the area. A few units have rotated out, but more are in there. The Guard is the primary military agency used for these missions, but active duty units are frequently called to assist.

a reply to: Black_Fox

Nothing unusual about the Saudis participating during Red Flag exercises in the US.

Video from 2008

originally posted by: Zaphod58
a reply to: LadyGreenEyes

Wrong. Our troops routinely work on US soil for disaster relief. They can't be used for police activities, there's a huge difference. The US Navy was one of the first into Houston with helicopters pulling people out, and two amphibious ships are heading to the Gulf of Mexico to provide living quarters and staging areas for people in the area. A few units have rotated out, but more are in there. The Guard is the primary military agency used for these missions, but active duty units are frequently called to assist.

Vet here, and wife of a career soldier - I know the rules. This wasn't disaster training, but something quite different. Disaster aid is normal, I know. This was NOT.

a reply to: LadyGreenEyes

Oh, well if you're a vet that means you know everything going on with regards to military operations and training. So sorry for having the nerve to disagree then.