NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE -- Southern Nevada residents may notice increased military aircraft activity as the Air Force hosts Red Flag exercise Oct. 19-30.

Red Flag is a realistic combat training exercise involving the air forces of the United States and its allies.

The exercise is conducted on the 15,000-square-mile Nevada Test and Training Range. Red Flag is one of a series of advanced training programs administered by the U.S. Air Force Warfare Center at Nellis, through the 414th Combat Training Squadron.

About 55 aircraft will depart Nellis twice a day, between 2:30 p.m. and 5 p.m., and again between 9:30 p.m. and 1 a.m.

Some aircraft can remain in the air for up to four hours. The flying times are scheduled to accommodate the other flying missions at Nellis and provide Red Flag participants with valuable night-time training.

U.S. aircraft will come from Nellis and Creech bases in Nevada, the Oregon Air National Guard, Moody AFB, Ga., Royal Air Force Base Lakenheath, England, Elmendorf AFB, Alaska, MacDill AFB, Fla., Shaw AFB, S.C., and Scott AFB, Ill., and will include F-15s, F-16s, E-3s, A-10s, MQ-1s and KC-135s.

In addition to U.S. aircraft, the Royal Norwegian Air Force will be participating with C-130s and F-16s, and the Royal Netherlands Air Force will be flying F-16s as well.