Draken Red Air debuts at Eglin

摘要

FOR THE first time, contractor Red Air provided by Draken International has taken to the skies at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. Four of the company's L-159E jets flew an initial mission at the base in support of student pilot air defence training on January 24. Draken's Honey Badger adversary aircraft flew alongside pilots and students from the 58th Fighter Squadron, part of the 33rd Fighter Wing, which provides joint graduate flying and maintenance training for the F-35. In addition to supporting Eglin's Lightning Ils, Draken also challenged MC-130s from the 14th Weapons Squadron from nearby Hurlburt Field. Alongside the Eglin deployment, Draken also performed simultaneous operations at other locations during January. These included: Nellis AFB, Nevada; Luke AFB, Arizona; Hill AFB, Utah; and Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona. Finally, a detachment at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, California, supported F-22As from the 525th Fighter Squadron from Elmendorf AFB, Alaska.