Hawaii Air National Guardsmen in seven F-15s fired AIM-7 Sparrow missiles at drones while flying over the Pacific Missile Range Facility off the coast of Kauai, as part of the 2006 Rim of the Pacific exercise. The airmen said that normally they must travel to Tyndall AFB, Fla., to get live-fire practice, but even there the missiles contain telemetry equipment rather than explosives. The opportunity was a win-win. “We had the option to either destroy or shoot 14 missiles,” explained Maj. John Traettino, a pilot with ANG’s 199th Fighter Squadron, and added, “It’s actually less expensive to shoot the missiles.” RIMPAC 2006 features airmen and sailors from seven Pacific Rim nations and the United Kingdom.
While the Space Force is still making long-term plans to establish high-fidelity live and virtual test and training ranges in the coming years, officials say they're also working with operators to identify near-term gaps and quickly field capabilities to address them.
