A Royal Australian Air Force plane has caught fire after aborting take-off during a training exercise at an air base in Las Vegas, authorities say. A statement from the Nellis Air Force Base, in Nevada, said the incident happened at 10.45am on Saturday, US time. "The aircraft was required to abort its take off and subsequently caught fire, however all personnel are safe. "Emergency services are on scene. No serious injuries are reported. "The cause of the incident is unknown and is under investigation. Details on the incident will be released as they become available." The Australian Defence department confirmed the incident involved an EA-18G Growler during Exercise Red Flag. "Royal Australian Air Force personnel are safe and no serious injuries have been sustained," a Defence statement said. "Defence is currently working with the United States Air Force to investigate and will provide an update with further details once known." Grainy photos show a charred aircraft, and a news report described plumes of smoke rising above Las Vegas. A statement from the Nellis Air Force Base a week ago said Red Flag was its largest three-week air-to-air combat training exercise. The statement said the exercise usually involves a variety of attack, fighter and bomber aircraft, with participants from the US Air Force, US Navy, US Army, Marine Corps, Royal Australian Air Force and Royal Air Force. ???"We're trying a few new and different things with Red Flag 18-1," said Colonel Michael Mathes, 414th Combat Training Squadron commander. "It's the largest Red Flag ever with the largest number of participants, highlighting the balance of training efficiency with mission effectiveness." "Red Flag 18-1 primarily is a strike package focused training venue that we integrate at a command and control level in support of joint task force operations," said Mathes. "It's a lot of words to say that we integrate every capability we can into strike operations that are flown out of Nellis Air Force Base." /**/