From the cockpit: F-16 flies in formation with a C-130J Super Hercules

This is something you don’t see every day: an F-16 flying alongside a C-130J Super Hercules.

In the last few days, the 148th Fighter Squadron, a unit of the Arizona Air National Guard, 162nd Fighter Wing, based at Tucson Air National Guard Base, Arizona, helped U.S. Air Force C-130 pilots train in developing self-defense tactics to avoid airborne threats by simulating enemy pilots.

Called to operate close to or inside contested airspaces, transport planes regularly train with fighter aircraft (performing HVAAE – High Value Air Asset Escort) as well as in low-level flying that can be useful to avoid interception by Red Air aircraft.

The 162nd FS is tasked with the training of F-16 pilots for the Royal Netherlands Air Force and other air arms which have purchased the Viper via the Foreign Military Sales program.

148FS training with C130s from Niki Luysterburg on Vimeo.

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About David Cenciotti

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David Cenciotti is a journalist based in Rome, Italy. He is the Founder and Editor of “The Aviationist”, one of the world’s most famous and read military aviation blogs. Since 1996, he has written for major worldwide magazines, including Air Forces Monthly, Combat Aircraft, and many others, covering aviation, defense, war, industry, intelligence, crime and cyberwar. He has reported from the U.S., Europe, Australia and Syria, and flown several combat planes with different air forces. He is a former 2nd Lt. of the Italian Air Force, a private pilot and a graduate in Computer Engineering. He has written five books and contributed to many more ones.