US DoD’s air-to-air exercise Checkered Flag concludes at Tyndall AFB 01 Jun 2021 (Last Updated June 1st, 2021 11:17) Checkered Flag aerial exercise is designed to allow fourth and fifth-generation aircraft platforms to train together. Share Article An F-15E Strike Eagle assigned to Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C., receives fuel from a KC-135 Stratotanker over the Gulf of Mexico during Checkered Flag 21-2. Credit: USAF / Staff Sgt Stefan Alvarez. The US Department of Defense’s air-to-air exercise ‘Checkered Flag’ has concluded at Tyndall Air Force Base (AFB) in Florida, US. The two-week-long exercise includes the integration of fourth and fifth-generation air assets and offers an opportunity for aviators and maintainers to improve their mobility, deployment, and employment capabilities.