South Carolina scrambles at Falcon Air Meet 2009
By Master Sgt. Richard B. Hodges
South Carolina National Guard
Lt. Col. Scott Bridgers, a pilot with the 169th Fighter Wing of the South Carolina Air National Guard, runs for his F-16 while his unit cheers him on during the Scramble Launch competition at Falcon Air Meet 2009 at Mwaffaq Salti Air Base in Al Azraq, Jordan through Nov. 3, 2009. The 169th represents the United States in the annual competition, which includes F-16 teams Belgium and Jordan. (USAF Photo by TSgt. Caycee Cook, South Carolina National Guard)
download hi-res photo MWAFFAQ SALTI AIR BASE, Jordan (10/28/09) - F-16 pilots from the United States, Belgium and Jordan competed in the Scramble launch portion of Falcon Air Meet 2009, a multi-national F-16 competition hosted by the Royal Jordanian Air Force here Oct. 21.
In the event, an F-16 pilot, working in conjunction with his crew chiefs, runs 10 meters to his aircraft and accomplishes all procedures to a safely executed engine start and then moves forward after the break is released.
“The crew chiefs on the ground are going to do a couple checks,” said Lt. Col. Scott Bridgers, the scramble pilot for the 169th Fighter Wing of the South Carolina Air National Guard. “They have to do the External Power Unit check, arm the weapons on the aircraft and do a few other checks to get us out of the chocks, while the pilot continues to finish his system checks.”
The timing begins with the start and ends when the F-16 moves forward upon brake release. The scramble launch competition also includes an intercept mission.
“We’re going to launch 15 minutes later and intercept a low-flying aircraft, which we’ll have to ID visually within 6,000 feet and then we have to ‘shoot’ them with an AIM-9 heat-seeking missile,” Bridgers said. “We’ll take a two-ship in. I’ll be the leader and the prime shooter, but I’ve got my wingman to back me up in case my missile doesn’t track or I miss the shot.
“Once we shoot ‘em, we get out of the way so that the other crews from Belgium and Jordan can do the same thing 15-20 minutes later.”
The launch competition had several hundred enthusiastic observers from the participating countries of United States, Belgium and Jordan as well the observing nations of Australia, Bahrain, Egypt, England, Greece, Indonesia, Italy, Oman, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.
The goal of the Falcon Air Meet is to train and work through friendly competition between the air forces of the United States, Middle East and other F-16 users from around the world. Another goal is to improve the relationship of Jordan with its partners and the promote stability in the region.
In this year’s meet, F-16 units from Belgium, Jordan and the U.S will compete in the areas of F-16 maintenance and operations centered around Lockheed Martin’s F-16 “Fighting Falcon.”
The 169th Fighter Wing was hand-picked by Air Force leadership to be the U.S. representative in the annual competition, which consists of a four-ship formation arrival, a scramble launch, air-to-air dog fighting, weapons loading, and air-to-ground bombing including inert and live bomb drops.
For the first time in the Falcon Air Meet competitions, Joint Tactical Aircraft Controllers and Special Forces members will also be a part of the competition.
In addition to scored events, the three countries will also train with each other in Basic Fighter Maneuvers, Air Combat Training, and Large Force Employment, as well as overall sortie generation. There will also be observers from several countries whose air forces fly the F-16.
The meet was first organized in 2006 by Prince Feisal Bin Al Hussein of Jordan.
Members of the Colorado Air National Guard are again serving as “White Force” judges for the meet. Colorado, which has a state partnership with Jordan, was instrumental in the formation of the first Falcon Air Meet in 2006. The partnership was formally established in 2004.
The results of the scramble launch competition will be released Nov. 3 during the closing ceremonies.
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