Units from all three Air Force components competed earlier this month in the 3rd Wing’s “turkey shoot” combat flyoff at JB Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska. F-22 fighters and C-17 transports operated and maintained by the wing’s Active Duty, Air National Guard, and Air Force Reserve units joined F-15Cs flown in from the Florida Air Guard’s 125th Fighter Wing at Jacksonville for the three-day scored event. “The turkey shoot fosters a competitive spirit and improves camaraderie between participating units,” said Maj. Christopher Miller, planning coordinator at Elmendorf-Richardson. “Operators and maintenance personnel were graded on their ability to produce aircraft and accomplish a tactical mission” representing actual combat, he added. The July 17-19 competition culminated in a combined exercise with F-22s and F-15s escorting a C-17 on a combat airdrop over the Joint Alaska Pacific Range complex against F-16 aggressor aircraft from Alaska’s Eielson Air Force Base and simulated surface-to-air missiles. (Elmendorf-Richardson report by TSgt. Dana Rosso)
The Pentagon announced new long-term agreements with four defense companies May 13 to develop and produce large numbers of low-cost cruise missiles. And while the effort will focus mostly on the Army to start, it pairs with Air Force efforts to find more affordable munitions.