The Oregon Air National Guard’s 142nd Fighter Wing will host pilots and jets from Arizona-based 21st Fighter Squadron for air combat training today through Sept. 29 to practice maneuvering against potential adversary pilots.
The flights from the Portland Air National Guard Base will take off at 8 a.m. and end before 4 p.m.
The training, called dissimilar air combat training, pits American pilots against each other in mock air combat, but one side flies different aircraft. For some training missions, opposition pilots may have been trained to fly in a manner that replicates the tactics of potential adversaries, and the characteristics of their aircraft.
With this month’s training, the pilots of the 142nd, in their F-15 Eagle fighter jets, will go up against pilots in smaller, single-engine F-16 Falcons from Luke Air Force Base.
