The F-16s of the 80th Fighter Squadron at Kunsan AB, South Korea, took to the skies recently to take on the F/A-18 Hornets of Marine Aircraft Group One’s VMFA-3M “Black Knights” as part of the annual Hollandia dissimilar air combat exercise. More than 150 marine air and ground crews deployed to Iwakuni, Japan, from MCAS Miramar in San Diego. Hollandia commemorates operations during World War II when the 80th FS “Juvats” shot down 33 aircraft in four days without loosing any aircraft. The exercise is set up to steadily increase the overall experience for each pilot, slowly raising the curve from one-on-one aerial combat to a final major exercise involving 10 Hornets and 16 Vipers.
The emphasis on speed in the Pentagon’s newly unveiled slate of acquisition reforms may come with increased near-term cost increases, analysts say. But according to U.S. defense officials, the new weapons-buying construct provides the military with enough flexibility to prevent runaway budget overruns in major programs.
