The Air Force s Brand-New F-15EX Fighter Is About to Appear in its First Major Exercise
An F-15EX Eagle II from the 85th Test and Evaluation Squadron, 53rd Wing, takes flight for the first time out of Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., April 26, 2021, prior to departure for Northern Edge 2021. (U.S. Air Force/1st Lt Savanah Bray)
30 Apr 2021
The U.S. Air Force is sending its new F-15EX fourth-plus generation fighter to participate in a large-scale exercise in and around Alaska next month.
The 53rd Wing out of Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, announced Thursday that the F-15EX, now known as the Eagle II, will conduct operational tests while flying in Exercise Northern Edge 21, a joint Indo-Pacific Command drill incorporating approximately 15,000 service members from each branch, multiple Navy ships and roughly 240 aircraft.
33 JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON – Aspiring innovators from across the 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, also known as the Spartan Brigade, presented ideas during a SPARwerx meeting with top leadership at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, April 14, 2021.
Paratroopers from across the Spartan Brigade pitched their projects to brigade and battalion commanders. Each project offered to solve a unique challenge the brigade and its paratroopers face in an Arctic environment. The brigade and battalion command teams then voted whether to provide resources to the project or not.
“Spartan Paratroopers face environmental challenges seldom encountered in the lower 48 states,” said Col. Chris Landers, commander of the Spartan Brigade. “This kind of event gives our aspiring paratroopers a chance to present and pursue their unique solutions for the challenges we face daily in an Arctic environment.”
By: Meghann Myers “There’s so much misinformation on social media and the internet, it’s incredibly frustrating,” she added. “By volunteering, I hope to prove it all wrong.” The E-6 said she works as a recruiter and regularly interacts with the public, increasing her risk of catching the highly contagious coronavirus. “I feel very passionate about the vaccine because I grew up in a home full of asthmatics and I worry about my family every day,” she said. “I know what it’s like to see someone struggling to breathe.” She also got the shot to set a good example for her coworkers, but when her office was offered the vaccine, she said she was the only one who took it.
Working outside in 40 degrees below zero isn’t something a person generally thinks of doing, at some point, the numbers start to lose value and cold is just plain cold. But that didn’t stop the U.S. Army and Air Force from what they do every year for,
20 JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska – Working outside in 40 degrees below zero isn’t something a person generally thinks of doing, at some point, the numbers start to lose value and cold is just plain cold. But that didn’t stop the U.S. Army and Air Force from what they do every year for Exercise Arctic Warrior.
Primed with extreme cold-weather gear, a mind-over-matter tenacity and a varsity mentality, over 25 aircrew members assigned to the 374th Airlift Wing boarded four C-130J Super Hercules and short-notice deployed from Yokota Air Base, Japan, to support the more than 500 paratroopers of the 3rd Battalion, 509th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division (Spartan Brigade) for Exercise Arctic Warrior 21, at Donnelly Training Area, Alaska., Feb. 8.