Just three official images of participating aircraft at Nellis have been posted from Red Flag 20-1, although more may appear now that the second half of the exercise is underway:

Red Flag 20-1 has been one of the least publicized Red Flags in memory. Official photos and video from the event are slim, to say the least. The only foreign flying participants are the Royal Air Force and the Royal Australian Air Force—two of America's closest allies that are also customers of its most advanced military aerospace exports. This intimate, smaller, and quieter Red Flag allows for a level of training and advanced tactics and capabilities integration not possible when lesser allies are present.

The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) has brought their F/A-18F Super Hornets, EA-18G Growlers, and E-7 Wedgetail airborne early warning and control aircraft. The Royal Air Force has brought their Typhoon FGR4s, F-35B Lightnings, and an A330 Voyager Multi-Role Tanker Transport (MRTT). The Air Force has a variety of aircraft playing a part as usual, including F-35s, F-16Cs, B-1Bs, RC-135Vs, E-3Gs, EA-18Gs, EC-130H, HH-60Gs, and HC-130Js.

Here is a list based on a few combined sources of the players at Red Flag 20-1:

1 Squadron, RAAF - F/A-18F

6 Squadron RAAF - EA-18G

2 Squadron RAAF - E-7A

101 Squadron RAF - A330 MRTT

41 Squadron RAF - Typhoon FGR4

617 Squadron RAF - F-35B

421st Fighter Squadron - F-35A

119th Fighter Squadron - F-16C

VAQ 135 - EA-18G

37th Bomb Squadron - B-1B

343rd Reconnaissance Squadron - RC-135V

41st Electronic Combat Squadron - EC-130H

960th Airborne Air Control Squadron - E-3G

66th Rescue Squadron - HH-60G

79th Rescue Squadron - HC-130J

64th Aggressor Squadron - F-16C/D

Draken International Aggressors- A-4K, L-159/39

You will note how heavily electronic warfare (EW) is playing a role in this Red Flag iteration, with Navy and RAAF Growlers involved, as well as an EC-130H Compass Call. The F-35 also possesses one of the most capable electronic warfare suites on the planet. EW is one of the most sensitive capabilities the U.S. and its allies possess. Being able to more freely apply it during a Red Flag with no other international players opens the door to bringing the latest and greatest EW capabilities to the forefront of the mock air war, both in terms of the 'blue force' allies and the 'red force' bad guys. Also note, these are the aircraft we know about flying from Nellis. Other assets will be brought in from remote locations, some of which may be entirely classified, or at least not disclosed, in nature, as well as the electronic warfare capabilities deployed on the range itself.

There is also one other aircraft that has arrived ahead of Red Flag that is totally new to the Nellis ramp—Draken International's refurbished and upgraded Mirage F-1s. The first example is now at the base, although it is unclear if it is participating in Red Flag 20-1. You can read more about these advanced aggressors in these past posts of ours linked here and here.