The 366th Fighter Wing at Mountain Home AFB, Idaho, is set to host the first “Gunfighter Flag” air combat training exercise later this month. Gunfighter Flag 2009 starts Sept. 14.and runs through Sept. 25. It will include: F-15Cs and F-15Es from Mountain Home, F-16s from Nellis AFB, Nev., E-3 AWACS aircraft from Tinker AFB, Okla., KC-135 tankers from the Arizona Air National Guard at Phoenix, Navy EA-6Bs and EA-18Gs from Whidbey Island NAS, Wash., and Canadian CF-18s from Cold Lake, Alberta. “This exercise will maximize coalition and Air Force large-force exercise training through realistic dissimilar aircraft training scenarios and advanced air-to-air and air-to-ground tactics,” said Maj. Matt Vincent, assistant director of operations of Mountain Home’s 390th Fighter Squadron, an F-15C unit. (Mountain Home report by SrA. Samantha S. Crane)
The Pentagon has concluded a new agreement to buy laser-guidance kits that turn rockets into drone-killing weapons. BAE Systems and the Defense Department announced a framework deal of up to seven years for 25,000 Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System guidance kits annually for the U.S. military.