combat aircraft

I was getting calls a week or two prior

saying, ‘can we bring an extra two jets’

or, ‘I want to bring more pilots’

Col Chad Milne, exercise director

Participating aircraft are equipped with

air combat maneuvering instrumentation

(ACMI) pods to provide a complete

 ight picture for debrief, training

and education.

Each day of  ying during ‘Northern

Lightning’ was divided into morning and

afternoon missions called vulnerability

periods (vuls). The morning sessions were

typically a larger, complex defensive

counter-air (DCA) or o ensive counter-air

(OCA) mission with a strong suppression

of enemy air defensed (SEAD) aspect. The

SEAD sorties and platform integration

was well represented by US Marine Corps

F-35B Lightning IIs, US Navy EA-18G

Growlers, and USAF F-16CMs  ying in

the ‘Wild Weasel’ role. The afternoon vuls

Right: This
40th FLTS F-15C
required an
engine change.

Below: A 40th
FLTS F-15E tears
out of Volk Field.

http://www.combataircraft.net // December 2018 47