Exercise Relampago VIII in Colombia
"Relámpago VIII and Ángel de los Andes" is an international exercise in 2023, which increases interoperability and strengthens the capabilities of coalition forces to combat mutual threats
More than a training, "Ángel de los Andes y Relámpago VIII" operational exercises that reaffirm the commitment to saving lives.
Strengthening the interoperable capabilities and level of expertise of the crews during the development of air military operations supervised under standards of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization-NATO, was the main objective of the Colombian Aerospace Force and the United States Air Force. , when developing the exercises "Ángel de los Andes" and "Relámpago VIII", carried out in one of the strategic Air Bases for the country, the Air Combat Command No 1, located in Puerto Salgar, Cundinamarca
Over the course of more than two weeks, in “Ángel de los Andes”, rescue and rescue simulation missions were carried out in climatic conditions of 38 degrees, with natural scenarios characteristic of the Colombian geography, evaluating the immediacy and response capacity of the participating teams: The Special Tactics Squadron No. 23 of the United States Air Force and the Coast Guard and the Special Air Operations Group (GROEA) of the Colombian Aerospace Force, who reaffirmed the motto that characterizes them "what “The closest thing to creating a life is saving it.
”During this training, aircraft such as the F15 and KC -135 of the United States Air Force, CH 47 Chinook and HH60 helicopters of the United States Army, and A-29B, C-295, AC-47 and Kfir aircraft participated. , of the Colombian Aerospace Force, showing the expertise of its pilots and crew members, who with their experience have specialized in attack operations, rescue and rescue of personnel in cases of immediate reaction.
For its part, in the “Relámpago VIII” exercise that goes hand in hand with “Ángel de los Andes” and which aims to strengthen hemispheric security and regional stability, through joint work between sister forces; Different types of air and ground training were carried out that tested the capabilities and effectiveness of the crews in adverse strategic environments.
Finally, these two operational experiences aim to project and elevate from the doctrinal field the training capacity of the participating forces, so that when they are required in a real moment, they can carry out with total expertise and in a timely manner what they have learned, strengthening not only their training , but also the ties of cooperation and brotherhood between the participating forces.
