HILL AIR FORCE BASE, Utah, Sept. 29, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — Utah residents may notice a new aircraft in the skies starting this weekend.
Several F-5 Advanced Tiger fighters were scheduled to arrive Saturday at Hill Air Force Base to begin a year of training alongside F-35A Lightning IIs from the 388th Fighter Wing.
The Air Force recently awarded Tactical Air Support Inc. of Reno, Nev., and Jacksonville, Fla., a contract providing adversary-air support to the base. Adversary air support is a type of military training in which aircrews act as an enemy threat against other aircrews, to simulate combat and provide realistic training for fighter squadrons.
“Adversary-air support allows our pilots to train for our primary mission sets with the F-35, instead of spending those hours replicating enemy threats,” said Lt. Col. Jason Chugg, 388th Fighter Wing Plans and Programs director, in a news release.
“The Air Force is freeing up our operations and maintenance teams to focus their training on matching our pacing threats.”
The yearlong contract provides 750 flying hours, about 500 flights, starting this week. The contract includes a four-year option at the Air Force’s discretion.
Tactical Air Inc. will bring 4-6, F-5 Advance Tiger fighter aircraft and 20-30 personnel to Hill depending on the flying schedule, the news release says. The company has held previous contracts with both the Air Force and Navy to provide aircraft and capabilities that replicate peer-to-peer combat threats.
The 388th Fighter Wing, part of Air Combat Command’s 15th Air Force, was the first combat unit to employ the F-35A, the statement says. The wing has 78 aircraft, and approximately 2,000 Airmen in four operational squadrons and six maintenance squadrons.
