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Iron Thunder to light up the skies

  • Published
  • By Kimberly Champagne
  • 20th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
SHAW AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. --  The 77th Fighter Squadron is hosting more than 100 aircraft from three branches of the U.S. military and the British Royal Air Force Feb. 6-9 for Operation Iron Thunder.

"The objective of the exercise is to prepare units for future contingency operations by offering a chance for players to be exposed to missions identical to those faced in combat," said Capt. Kevin Pugh, 77th Fighter Squadron weapons and tactics large force exercise officer.

Participating aircraft include Air Force B-1B bombers; F-15, F-16C and F-16CJ fighters; KC-135 aerial refueling tankers and an E-3C airborne warning and control system aircraft, he said. Navy and Marine Corps F-18 fighters are also participating.

Some aircraft will travel across an ocean.

A British E-3D airborne early warning crew and a U.S. Air Force KC-135 tanker from Royal Air Force Mildenhall, U.K., are also participating.

"U.S. participation includes units from as far west as Texas. There will be a large F-16 presence including the 77th, 55th and 79th Fighter Squadrons and aircraft maintenance units at Shaw, along with the Alabama Air National Guard's 8 F-16s," Captain Pugh said.

The captain said 33 tankers are scheduled to participate in the exercise, off-loading more than 2.5 million pounds of JP8 aircraft fuel.

Iron Thunder is in some ways similar to Red Flag. It has robust scenarios and approximately the same number of aircraft participating, Captain Pugh said.

One of the ways Red Flag and Iron Thunder differ is the cost to the participating units.
Most Iron Thunder participants do not deploy here. They take off and land from their home stations saving their unit's a lot of money, he said.

"Operation Iron Thunder's airspace reaches from 225 nautical miles off the coast of Jacksonville, Fla., to roughly 250 nautical miles off the coast of Norfolk, Va. Realistic air and surface threats are simulated during the exercise," he said.

"This is an excellent opportunity for our F-16 units to work together in large-force scenarios," said Lt. Col. Donavan Godier, 77th FS commander.

"Operation Iron Thunder is an invaluable opportunity for pilots to sharpen and hone critical skills in preparation for future contingency operations," he said.

"In addition, other American and European air and ground units have the opportunity to train the way we would all fight if called upon," the colonel said.