Heavy military flying returns over Anchorage as Red Flag-Alaska war games resume

Heavy military flying is set to return over Anchorage this month as Red Flag-Alaska 26-3, a large multinational air-combat exercise, runs through Aug. 28. Pacific Air Forces describes it as commander-directed field training in a simulated combat environment, flown over the Joint Pacific Alaska Range Complex.

Residents can expect concentrated jet activity in late-morning and early-evening windows on flying days, though the exact times shift daily. Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson directs pilots to check current federal notices for when the training airspace is active, and has flagged heavy flying days during the run.

The scale is considerable. The previous iteration this summer, Red Flag-Alaska 26-2, drew more than 2,100 service members and about 75 aircraft from the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and New Zealand, training across roughly 120,000 square miles of airspace.

That scale comes with noise, and JBER has issued advisories for past exercises. One Mountain View resident wrote online that jets had been flying low over their home every 30 seconds since early morning, describing the pattern as disruptive to sleep and daily life through the summer.