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Top Gun Trains to Fight MiG's
Story Number: NNS021004-05
Release Date: 10/4/2002 1:28:00 PM
By Journalist 2nd Class Luke D. Johnson, Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center Public Affairs
KEY WEST, Fla. (NNS) -- An enemy Mig-29 has just passed through the crosshairs of a Navy F/A-18 Hornet, and the fight is on. Both pilots bank and turn to battle it out for victory in combat and ultimately air superiority.
This scenario is very much a reality in today’s trouble spots around the world. To help give Navy and Air Force aviators an edge, the German Air Force has provided a real-world threat platform, formidable pilots and the MiG-29 Fulcrum.
Agile Archer O2 is an air combat training exercise hosted by the 125th Fighter Wing of the Florida Air National Guard at Naval Air Station Key West, Fla. The exercise brings together the German Air Force and instructors from the Navy’s Fighter Weapons School (Top Gun), located at the Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center (NSAWC) in Fallon, Nev.
This training provides an excellent opportunity for Navy F/A-18 pilots and Air Force F-15 pilots to train against the most probable and capable adversary either will face. It is a month-long exercise that will run until October 7, 2002.
According to Navy Cmdr. Nicholas Mongillo, Top Gun’s readiness officer, Agile Archer 02 required extensive planning and coordination with the Florida Air National Guard and the German Air Force.
“It is a culmination of a year and a half of planning between the Air Force and Navy to bring together this type of training,” said Mongillo.
Agile Archer 02 exposes Navy and Air Force aircrew to simulated air combat against the MiG-29 Fulcrum, which is the most likely aircraft that they will face in combat.
The types of missions flown in this exercise are one-on-one, where one fighter jet takes on another fighter jet.
During air warfare training exercises, the Navy and Air Force can simulate the MiG-29 by either the F/A-18 Hornet, F-14 Tomcat or F-15 Eagle.
“We actually have a chance now to go up against a MiG-29, and we can examine its flight characteristics, flight controls, weapons systems, sensors, visual signatures. We can look across a circle at it and see how it looks, instead of looking at an American fighter simulating it,” stated Mongillo.
It is one thing to actually read about the capabilities of the MiG-29, however training against the real thing gives aircrew a real sense of what it is like actually flying against the MiG-29. It gives aircrew an opportunity to measure for themselves the capabilities of the threat aircraft, said Mongillo.
The German MiG-29 pilots are the most proficient and capable MiG-29 pilots in the world, giving Navy and Air Force aircrews an opportunity a fly against a more experienced threat than they will most likely face in the combat arena, stated Mongillo.
The German JG-73 “Steinhoff” MiG-29 squadron has been flying for more than 10 years. The squadron was activated after Germany’s reunification, and the squadron was tasked in the air defense role. Most of the pilots flying the MiG’s were trained in the United States.
According to Mongillo, the JG-73 squadron is now an aggressor squadron for NATO. Aggressor squadrons are trained to provide simulated threats for Navy and Air Force aircrews. They also provide a realistic threat so that NATO countries are better prepared for any future conflicts.
Capt. Swen Jacob, a German Air Force pilot, said that it is a great opportunity to train with the U.S. pilots. He feels proud to be helping prepare American pilots for future conflicts.
“It is a cool thing to do this type of training with the American fighter pilots,” said Jacob.
Mongillo says that the experiences gained from this exercise will be used on a limited level at NSAWC.
NSAWC is where the Navy trains entire Carrier Air Wings before they go on a six-month deployment to an aircraft carrier. It is also the primary authority on Naval aviation training and tactics development.
When an instructor is briefing a class at NSAWC about the capabilities of the MiG-29. “He can actually talk about his personal interaction with the MiG and the pilots that flew it,” said Mongillo.
The month long exercise will not only benefit the Navy’s Top Gun pilots and the Florida Air National Guard 125th Fighter Wing, but also many other Navy fleet and training squadrons. The Navy wants to expose as many aviators as possible to the real- world threats that they may go up against in future conflicts, stated Mongillo.
Agile Archer 02 is the perfect opportunity for the Navy and the Air Force to sharpen the sword at the tip of the sphere.
For more news from the Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center, go to their Web site at www.fallon.navy.mil/nsawc.htm.
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