Red Air Operations | Drone as a Service for Military Exercises
Forge & Flight provides adversary air replication using our own aircraft and certified flight crews. ISR, one-way attack, EW payload, and aerial gunnery target services. Contact for mission proposal.
What Red Air Operations Delivers
Forge & Flight flies red. Our aircraft, our pilots, your training event.
Red Air Operations is Forge & Flight’s Drone as a Service offering for military exercises, training events, and operational test and evaluation. We provide the aircraft, the certified flight crew, the mission planning, and the threat replication. Units train against a real, capable adversary system — not a notional threat or a contractor-operated quadcopter at pattern altitude.
All platforms are NDAA-compliant. All crews hold FAA certifications appropriate to the operating environment. We coordinate directly with range control, airspace deconfliction, and unit S3 elements.
Service Lines
ISR Replication
Adversary ISR using Forge & Flight fixed-wing and VTOL platforms. We replicate adversary reconnaissance patterns, sensor apertures, and operating altitudes so units practice detection, tracking, reporting, and engagement against a threat that behaves like the one they will face downrange.
Applicable for air defense exercises, C-UAS system testing, EW team qualification, and signal intelligence training events. Units control the threat model — we execute the mission as tasked.
Pricing: Per platform fee + flight operations fee per day.
One-Way Attack Replication
FPV attack drone replication for C-UAS exercises and quick reaction force training. Our crews fly inbound attack profiles that replicate the tactics, techniques, and procedures documented from current conflict analysis — one-way attack trajectories, pop-up approaches, multi-axis simultaneous employment.
Units train their C-UAS response procedures, EW defeat teams, and direct fire response against a threat that actually maneuvers. This is not a straight-and-level target drone.
Pricing: Per platform fee + flight operations fee per day.
EW Payload Replication
Adversary electronic warfare replication using our platforms carrying EW payloads. We simulate adversary SIGINT collection, communications jamming, and GPS spoofing in controlled, coordinated training environments.
Units exercise EW protection procedures, frequency management, EMCON discipline, and GPS-denied operations against a platform replicating real adversary behavior. Payload configurations are tailored to the training objective and coordinated with the unit’s EW officer and range safety officer.
Pricing: Per platform fee + flight operations fee per day.
Aerial Gunnery Targets
Target aircraft for live fire gunnery events. Our target drones serve as aerial gunnery training aids for air defense units, anti-aircraft machine gun qualification, and SHORAD engagement exercises.
Targets are expended per engagement. We provide the aircraft, crew, and safety coordination. Units provide the range, the range safety officer, and the weapon systems.
Pricing: Per decoy consumed. Bulk pricing available for multi-day gunnery events.
Contracting
Forge & Flight Holdings, Inc. — CAGE 18WR3 | UEI Z9PWMMZXJ321 | SAM Active through March 2027.
Red Air services are available through simplified acquisition, GPC, MIPR, and standard DoD contracting vehicles. We respond to mission proposals and RFQs within 48 hours.
All missions require advance coordination for airspace deconfliction, range safety integration, and mission planning. Minimum lead time for mission scheduling is 30 days. Complex multi-day exercises with EW payloads require 60 days.
Ready to support your next exercise?
We respond to mission proposals within 48 hours. Minimum lead time 30 days for standard missions, 60 days for EW payload configurations.