Four Air National Guard F-16 units squared off against contract A-4K Skyhawk aggressors and realistic surface-to-air threats during the large-force employment exercise Northern Lightning at Volk Field, Wis., earlier this month. “The training and quality of operational test we received from flying against the A-4 aircraft was top-notch,” Arizona 162nd Fighter Wing pilot Lt. Col. Richard Wigle said in a Draken International release. “To accomplish this same operational testing with Air Force organic assets would have cost five ?times as much … This is a model that needs to be considered on a larger scale across the Air Force,” Wigle added. “Our airspace supports being able to fly interdiction missions against robust surface and air-to-air threats, get to a bombing range where they can employ ordnance, then … fight their way home,” said Lt. Col. Christopher Hansen, Volk operations director, in a release. “The units will all gain combat training to a level commensurate with a Red Flag exercise, at a very significant cost savings,” he said. F-16s and some 700 pilots, maintainers, and support personnel from the Wisconsin, Minnesota, Oklahoma, and Arizona ANG, as well as five Draken A-4Ks, tankers, and Active Duty reconnaissance support took part in the exercise June 8-19, according to a release.
How Miss America 2024 Took the Air Force Somewhere New
Dec. 20, 2024
When 2nd Lt. Madison Marsh became the first ever active service member crowned Miss America on Jan. 14, top Air Force officials recognized a rare opportunity to reach women and girls who otherwise might not consider military service as an option.