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Canada’s Air Force Hosts Exercise

4 WING COLD LAKE – Exercise MAPLE FLAG, one of the largest air combat coalition exercises in the world, will begin next week at 4 Wing Cold Lake. More than 5,000 participants from 11 nations and NATO will be participating in the six-week exercise, which will take place from 15 May to 24 June 2005.

“The exercise provides critically important air combat training for Canadians and our allied partners,” says Col. “Duff” Sullivan, Wing Commander of 4 Wing Cold Lake. “The Canadian Air Force is very focused on achieving levels of excellence. MAPLE FLAG allows us to bring all our closest friends and allies together so that we can all train and work together, become more inter-operable, and achieve that level of excellence that is needed during coalition operations.”

During each of the exercise’s three two-week periods, forces from Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Israel, Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore, Sweden, the United Kingdom, the United States, and NATO, will engage in a simulated, 10-day coalition air campaign. The exercise provides Canadian and allied aircrews with realistic training in a modern simulated air combat environment, and emphasizes large package coalition forces.

“The vast expanse of our airspace, and the world-class capabilities and technologies in place at the Wing and at the Cold Lake Air Weapons Range (CLAWR) make MAPLE FLAG a superb coalition training event for fighter aircrews, as well as transport, electronic warfare, air refueling, air defence, and airborne early warning and control (AWAC) assets,” says Col. Sullivan. “MAPLE FLAG is a very significant contribution that Canada and the Canadian Air Force makes to all our friends and allies and international partners.”