LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va. –
Fighters maneuvering in the skies over Langley is a way of life. However, spectators may have noticed a few unfamiliar jets launching from the flight line and seemingly agitating the beloved mainstay fleet of F-22 Raptors.
The small, nimble planes are F-16 Fighting Falcons from the 62d Fighter Squadron at Luke Air Force Base, Ariz., and are actually visiting to provide valuable adversary support in training scenarios for the 1st Fighter Wing's F-22 Raptor pilots. The squadron sent 10 jets and 108 personnel from Luke for two weeks for the historic training.
"We are here to provide realistic adversary capabilities and tactics for F-22 training," said Capt. Luke Kippert, 62 FS "B" Flight commander and F-16 instructor pilot. "We will also integrate with the F-22 to introduce combined force integration blue air tactics."
While the squadron has provided 'red air' support to the F-22 program in the past at bases such as Tyndall AFB, Fla., the visit marks the teams' first visit to Langley, he added.
Kippert said flying against the F-22 provides a new set of challenges for F-16 pilots, familiarizing Luke's instructors with the Raptor's capabilities.
"You don't see a whole lot," he said. "Most of the time, you're just flying straight ahead trying to pick out a visual tally as the best way to see them, waiting to be called dead. We normally have no idea we're being shot."
The training is 'extremely beneficial' to 1 FW pilots, providing a non-stealth adversary which simulates a real-world combat scenario, said Kippert. He called the F-22 "the premier fighter," adding that it is critical for pilots to receive the most realistic training possible.
In addition to training, the use of F-16s eases the financial burdens of launching more Raptors than necessary.
"It's pretty expensive to get an F-22 airborne, so it's also more cost efficient to use the F-16s as counter-air," he added.
2nd Lt. Brandon O'Neil, assistant officer in charge of the 62d Aircraft Maintenance Unit, said the visit gives his maintainers the opportunity to put their intensive training to work.
"At Luke we have an awesome role of training crew chiefs, so there's no better place to do that than in a deployed location like Langley," the lieutenant said. "It's awesome to provide the training to F-22s."
O'Neil added that even though the squadron is flying against a sophisticated platform and outcomes most likely will not be in their favor, the opportunity to train fighter pilots for combat in the fifth-generation warbird is keeping morale high. We're here for a bigger picture."
"The only thing really getting to us is the humidity," O'Neil said, laughing. "We're from out in the desert, so this weather is getting to us."
The visit is the latest in a series of short assignments by other units to provide adversary support for the 1 FW's Raptors, following a visit from the T-38 Talons of the 49 FW from Holloman AFB, N.M., in March.