Pilots get feel for enemy weapons

Sitting in the cockpit of a MiG-23 Flogger, Air Force fighter jock Lt. Mike McGinn's easy confidence plays across his face in a smile.

"If you're in one of these you're screwed," McGinn said while looking over his left shoulder and realizing that the MiG's cockpit configuration provides little visibility for a pilot.

As American forces prepare for war in Iraq, McGinn and fellow pilot, Capt. Ray Fowler examined a display of some of the best weaponry the world has to offer during a recent visit to Nellis Air Force Base's Threat Training Facility.

The facility is a grouping of more than 100 items -- planes, missile launchers and other weapon systems -- that countries around the world use. It is designed to give pilots an understanding of what they'll face in combat and how to defeat it.

"You read about these weapons in books and guides, but you can't really feel the scope until you come and see these things in the flesh," Fowler said. "There's always more you can learn as a pilot, and this is a way to learn what to expect in combat.

"For example, we can sit in the cockpits and get an idea of what the sight lines are in a MiG, and that can help us gain an advantage. We can get a look at where the bulky parts of the airplane are, and what makes the best target."

Giving pilots, controllers and technicians a hands-on experience with the dangers they will face in combat is the goal of the facility, which includes an array of enemy tanks, missiles, radar systems, jets and helicopters. It is housed in a nondescript tan building with a walled-in courtyard in the heart of the base.

Since its opening in 1976, the facility has been dubbed the "Petting Zoo" by the thousands of pilots who have trained at Nellis, but facility commander Lt. Col. Mark Cooter discourages the nickname.

"This is a serious mission, so I don't really care for the nickname," said Cooter, who serves as commander of the 547th Intelligence Squadron. "Going through here could be the first and only time that pilots get this kind of look at the threats they'll be facing.

"Seeing it and touching it gives a better understanding of the weapons and a better understanding of the adversary."

What started out as a display of about 15 anti-aircraft guns 27 years ago has grown to include weapons systems from all over the world with a total value of more than $100 million, said retired Air Force Capt. Bernie Zager, who is chief of plans and programming for the facility, and the resident expert on what's inside.

Everything from a World War II-era T-34 Russian tank to a newer Russian MI-24 HIND helicopter are available for pilots to study and even climb inside. Anti-aircraft cannons and surface-to-air missile systems dot the yard, including an SA-2, a missile system that fires missiles known as flying telephone poles because they are 30 feet long, Zager said.

An SA-2 shot down an American U-2 spy plane piloted by Capt. Gary Powers over Russia in 1960. Powers served one year and nine months in a Soviet prison before being returned to the United States in exchange for a Soviet spy.

The SA-6, a newer model of the SA-2 that can also be found at the facility, is infamous for shooting down Capt. Scott O'Grady's F-16 over Bosnia in 1995. The SA-6 is a tracked vehicle with three missiles, each about 15 feet long, mounted on top.

O'Grady evaded capture for six days after being shot down, and was then rescued by U.S. Marines.

"These systems have proliferated around the world," Zager said of the weaponry that has come from countries such as Russia, France, Germany and Great Britain. "SA missile systems, anti-aircraft guns, MiGs and tanks that we have here are the same as what was used by Iraq during the Gulf War.

Pilots could see plenty of similarities between Nellis' display and what is out in the rest of the world.

The MiG combat aircraft, for instance, were originally created by Russia and are currently flown by various countries including Iraq and North Korea.

Fowler and McGinn, the two F-16 pilots with the 160th fighter squadron based in Montgomery, Ala., walked away with a new respect for the sleek MiG-29 Fulcrum, a plane they could face if deployed to the Middle East.

"That's a great airplane there," Fowler said as McGinn vaulted into the cockpit of the blue-gray MiG-29. "We've flown against these in Red Flag training (at Nellis), but you never really have the opportunity to see one up close."

The TTF, is designed to work as a complement to Red Flag exercises, quarterly mock-combat missions held at the Nevada Test and Training Range, former base commander Del Eulberg said.

"We've found that once a pilot goes through six to 10 combat missions the chances for survivability go up by a factor of three or four times," said Eulberg, who has been selected to become a brigadier general and has been reassigned to a base in Illinois. "What we try to do is have those pilots do six missions here at the range before they head out into real combat."

Sophisticated radar and anti-aircraft weaponry is used at the 3 million-acre range to test pilots during Red Flag exercises, which also began in 1976. Pilots can then see what they were flying against at the TTF.

The TTF also serves as the hands-on component of the 547th's responsibility to produce the constantly updating Air Force Threat Reference Guide and Countertactics.

Pilots often climb onto the different displays and rotate the anti-aircraft guns when they walk through the TTF, Zager said.

"A pilot may never see the anti-aircraft gun that's shooting at him, but here he can get a feel for how long it takes to turn and aim the gun," Zager said. "Some of them take quite a while to crank around and when pilots see that it can be a psychological advantage.

"It's amazing how many threats are out there, but seeing them in one place really brings it home."

There is even a decoy surface-to-air missile carrier made out of milk cartons serving as an example of the decoys that countries have used in the past to protect real armor from U.S. bombers. Metal bars and "smoke pots" are sometimes added to the decoys to give off false heat signatures, Zager said.

A maintenance crew of five airmen is assigned to make sure the items at the TTF are painted to match current color schemes used by other countries.

The crew also assists in putting together models of weapons that the 457th has not yet been able to obtain for the TTF. Among the models is a SCUD missile and a 2S6, a Russian-built anti-aircraft weapon that combines a tank with an anti-aircraft gun and a surface-to-air missile array.

Cooter and Zager spend a lot of time working the phones looking for the weapons systems to replace the models.

"We beg, borrow and steal," Cooter said. "We have a list with the people at the Pentagon. When we capture something or a country breaks up, there's a chance that we can talk the Pentagon into sending it here.

The MiG-29 is one of the newer pieces at the TTF, arriving at Nellis on the back of a truck in 1999. The U.S. bought the leftovers of a squadron from the former Soviet Republic of Moldova to prevent them from being sold on the open market, Zager said.

One made it to the TTF, and the acquisition was key because MiG-29s are still used in more than 20 countries, including Iraq, Iran, North Korea, Cuba and Syria, Zager said.

In 1993 the TTF was declassified, and now invited civilian guests can tour the facility. More than 31,000 civilians and soldiers tour the TTF every year, Zager said.

"It's now also become a recruiting tool when we have ROTC groups and Boy Scouts through," Zager said. "People are amazed when they come through here and they can relate what they see going on in the world on the news with what they see (here)."

I participated in a couple of Red Flags at Nellis. When touring the TTF (it was called something else then, circa 86-92) we were advised to keep our yaps shut about the contents. I see that things have changed.

The auditorium is a blast to visit, as the battle scenarios are played out on the 'big board' for all to see. The aircraft have electronics pods (nomenclature/name escapes me) and they downlink real time data onto the big board.

We had F-4's flying as Warsaw pact adversaries (red forces). Later we got F-16's and the roles reversed (blue forces).

Not as a pilot unfortunately... but as a parachute rigger- Still, the 5 day exercise is unique for all participants.

FWIW It took our pilots approx. 10 sorties in Nam to get comfortable in country flying initial sorties, after which the experience led to increased survival rates of aircrews. The Red Flag is designed to simulate various air combat scenarios and give our pilots once complete, that 10 sortie edge.

Granted, things have changed since the post Nam era in terms of the geo political world, now- our pilots get a lot of live fire training in flying the no fly zones and missions in Afghanistan. Red Flag continues to prepare our pilots for hostile environments such as these.

Whatever type of aircraft that exists in U S inventory plays a role in Red Flag. Our allies bring most of their air assets as well. U S ground forces with shoot down capabilities take part in the festivities. It's a real donny brook.

It's a real donny brook

Naw, it's a simualted Donny Brook. What's about to happen over Iraq, and mabye Korea, will be a reall Donny Brook. Red Flag is very good and realistic training though. I read recently that the next scheduled Red Flag has been cancelled, the would be participates seem to be otherwise occuppied at he moment.

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