Missile Madness and Point Defense

F-15Es, F-16s, and F-22s employed live air-to-air missiles in addition to flying air-to-air missions against adversaries during a recent Combat Archer at Tyndall AFB, Fla. “The evaluation was very successful,” said Capt. Joseph Valdez,? a pilot with Tyndall’s 495th Fighter Group, Det. 93 in a Feb. 17 release. “It not only gave first-time shooters experience in firing live missiles, but the air-to-air training with the Strike Eagles was also very beneficial,” he added. “We also had the opportunity to engage in large force exercises with F-22s and F-15Es where we were defending a point against other F-16s, F-15Es, and T-38s. It was very high-quality training,” he added. F-15Es from Mountain Home AFB, Idaho, F-22s from Nellis AFB, Nev., and F-16s from Homestead ARB, Fla., augmented by Tyndall T-38s squared off during the evaluation, which was held Jan. 26 to Feb. 6.