Combat U.

Smithsonian Air and Space Magazine ^ | 02/04/2010 | Randy Gordon

[ErnstStavroBlofeld]

I was on the far north side of a formation of eight F-15s. From my vantage point I could look south and see seven other Eagles, perfectly abreast, streaking supersonically heavenward, leaving white contrails in our wake. It’s called the “Eagle Claw”—from the ground it looks like an invisible bird of prey tearing the sky open with its talons. I was a young F-15 wingman in the opening moments of my first Red Flag exercise at Nevada’s Nellis Air Force Base.

The air-to-air mission is simple in theory but extremely difficult in execution. Our job was to clear the skies of enemy aircraft so the armada of bomber and strike aircraft behind us could do their job without worrying about a bad guy showing up at their six-o’clock position. Air-to-air combat is a game of high stakes three-dimensional chess against a living, breathing, thinking enemy. Small things like a bad radio call, misuse of avionics, or being out of formation can have a huge effect on the overall outcome of the battle.

[smokingfrog]

Pretty cool.

[Northern Yankee]

Great article.