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This year’s Maple Flag exercise will run for only 12 days, less than half of time usually earmarked for the RCAF’s annual premier training event.

Exercise Maple Flag will take place at Cold Lake, Alberta from June 11 to June 22, with more than 1,500 Canadian military personnel and hundreds of military staff from other nations, according to the RCAF. But previous Maple Flag exercises have run more than twice as long. Last year Maple Flag ran from May 29 to June 23 (26 days). It involved nearly 1,600 Canadian personnel and 500 personnel from various nations.

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Maple Flag 2016 ran from May 30 to June 24 (26 days).

But the RCAF tells Defence Watch that this year’s shortened exercise was the result of changes related to the number of aircraft taking part and the overall training objectives of those militaries involved.

“While longer Maple Flags of up to six weeks have been conducted in the past, as part of the planning process, the staff at the Air Force Tactical Training Center recommend annual adjustments to the duration of the exercise in accordance with both the training objectives of participating nations and the overall number of participating aircraft,” said RCAF spokesman Maj. Scott Spurr. “Maple Flag 51 has been designed as a two week exercise to ensure an augmented number of aircraft and capabilities participate in each flying mission.”