Airforces

or a fighter pilot, having a ‘bogey’

on your tail is normally a sign that

things have gone badly wrong. But

if the ‘bogeys’ on your tail are from the

‘Saints’ of Fighter Squadron Composite

(VFC) 13, you’ll live to fight another day –

even if you might still get ‘shot down’ in

the ensuing dogfight. Here, everything is

simulated, giving you the experience needed

to help prevent a similar situation if there’s

a real ‘bogey’ on your tail in the future.

VFC-13’s task is to provide the US Navy

with adversary training. The ‘Saints’ – flying

out of Naval Air Station Fallon, Nevada

• primarily provide adversary support for
  the Strike Fighter Air Readiness Program
  (SFARP), air wing training deployments
  and the TOPGUN course, through the
  Naval Aviation Warfighting Development
  Center (NAWDC, pronounced ‘naw-dik’).

Lieutenant Justin ‘Corky’ Pace, an F/A-18

fleet aviator, and currently an adversary pilot

flying the F-5N Tiger II with VFC-13, explained

the role of the ‘Saints’: “We are the adversary,

or Red Air. We try to provide a high-quality

product to our customer – that being the fleet

aviator. [We are] trying to give him a good

presentation, based on what is asked from us.”

The ‘Saints’ aren’t the only part of the

Red Air presentation at NAS Fallon. The

squadron co-operates closely with NAWDC,

and also with its F-16s and F/A-18s.

But it’s not all about being the ‘bad guy’,

as LT ‘Corky’ continued: “Ninety per cent of

what we do is being the adversary; the Red

Air presentation, the Red Air game plan – the

red lead. We occasionally do simulated close

air support, for the SEALS [US Navy Sea, Air

and Land teams] doing work up here, and

that’s mostly helping them build their radio

skills. We are the low cost, easy option to

do this kind of work. We don’t burn a lot of

gas, we are stationed here – plus it’s low risk

due to it all being simulated ordnance.”

Should the good guy

always win?

LT Corky added that he has mixed feelings

when he eventually ‘shoots down’ a fellow

aviator: “It’s definitely a kind of a catch-22

there. While it’s fun to be the guy that shoots

down an F/A-18, at the same time you kind

of hope that they shoot you down before

you get the chance to shoot them down.

“It’s a unique aspect of it. I want the other

guys to succeed; I want them to shoot me

down. We are a training aid, and if for some

reason they make a mistake, they don’t see

us, they don’t use their radar correctly, and

we get to a position where we can shoot

Fighting ‘Saints’

With ‘Bogey’ as their main radio callsign, the ‘Saints’

mean business! Søren Nielsen visited Naval Air

Station Fallon, Nevada, to see them at work.

F

46 // JANUARY 2018 #358 http://www.airforcesmonthly.com

VFC-13