An Elmendorf Air Force Base E-3 AWACS approaches the runway on base, Apr. 6, 2007. One of Elmendorf's two AWACS will be involved in Red Flag, a combat simulation and training exercise. As host, Alaska's personnel will serve mainly as referees.
Posted on 04/10/2007 9:25:28 PM PDT by sukhoi-30mki
Visiting pilots get taste of battle
U.S. Navy Prowlers, French Mirage 2000s are among combatants in 2-week exercise
By DON HUNTER Anchorage Daily News
Published: April 9, 2007 Last Modified: April 9, 2007 at 12:12 AM
Listen up, bird-watchers.
If you happen to see a dark gray jet take flight on the north side over the next couple weeks, and it looks, well, maybe a little more bumblebee than wasp, don't worry. Your eyes are OK.
That's a U.S. Navy Prowler, not a U.S. Air Force F-15.
Starting today, Alaska is playing home base to Red Flag, a big air-combat exercise that this year is bringing units from six states and two foreign countries to Elmendorf Air Force Base in Anchorage and Eielson near Fairbanks. As well as the EA-6B Prowlers -- a wide-bodied fighter-size jet that seats a pilot and three weapons specialists -- Elmendorf will host a dozen or so additional F-15s and an E-3 AWACs.
Eight French Mirage 2000 fighters and four Navy F-18 Hornets will fly out of Eielson, and a couple of C-130s from Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona will fly out of Kulis Air National Guard Base. The exercise also will put a couple of B-1 bombers, a few KC-10 tankers and other aircraft into the vast 67,000-square-mile military airspace over Alaska for two-a-day simulated war games.
(Excerpt) Read more at adn.com ...
An Elmendorf Air Force Base E-3 AWACS approaches the runway on base, Apr. 6, 2007. One of Elmendorf's two AWACS will be involved in Red Flag, a combat simulation and training exercise. As host, Alaska's personnel will serve mainly as referees.
French Mirage 2000-5
Oh yeah, Gas mileage.
The EA-6B - The loudest, slowest jet in the Navy inventory.
Louder than a T-37?
Its nickname is “The 6,000 pound converter” - it converts jet fuel into “noise”. Personally, I love it.
I had a great time at Red Flag. We painted our A-6E aircraft desert camoflage and the pilots actually recorded F-15 kills.
Post or FReepmail me if you wish to be enlisted in or discharged from the Navair Pinglist.
This is a medium volume pinglist.
The Marines will be keeping their EA-6B’s for the long haul. I was in a Marine Prowler squadron in the 1990’s and we did alot of the Red, Green and Purple Flags with the AirFarce, when we weren’t forward deployed or on the boat.
Two Prowlers flew over my house yesterday morning heading towards Elmendorf. It warmed my heart since it’s been a while since I’ve seen any Navy aircraft. This morning I heard something but they were in the clouds.
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