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Senior Airman Brett Egan, 79th Fighter Generation Squadron weapons load crew member, ensures the readiness of training munitions before takeoff during exercise Checkered Flag 24-2 and the Weapons System Evaluation Program at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., May 15, 2024. Weapons maintenance Airmen increased operations to support both CF 24-2 and WSEP simultaneously, quickly swapping between live and training munitions to ensure uninterrupted exercise operations for 79th Fighter Squadron pilots. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Steven Cardo)

Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida. (June 28, 2024): In this photo by Senior Airman Steven Cardo, Senior Airman Brett Egan, 79th Fighter Generation Squadron weapons load crew member, checks training munitions before takeoff during exercise Checkered Flag 24-2. Checkered Flag is a live fire exercise that is part of the Air Force’s Weapons System Evaluation Program. This event is the Department of Defense’s largest air-to-air live fire evaluation and is used to assess the performance of pilots and air crews under simulated combat conditions.

The maneuvers were led by the 79th Fighter Squadron "Tigers", a combat ready F-16C/D squadron tasked with air-to-air, air-to-surface, and suppression of enemy air defense missions. Organized in 1918, the 79th is one of the oldest squadrons in the Air Force that saw action in both world wars and was part of the United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) during the Cold War.

This year’s maneuvers involved sixty aircraft from the 79th Squadron flying over 230 hours in 111 sorties to evaluate its enemy air suppression abilities on a large-scale. The evaluation allowed ground crews and pilots to conduct air-to-air missile and 20 mm gun live-fire training while rehearsing tactics they would use in real combat.

Data from these missions is crucial to DOD systems engineers to determine how well the weapons systems work and to improve aircraft and munition guidance systems.  For pilots and their crews, this was a chance to practice their skills using live ammunition in highly stressful, fast-paced combat operations.

The 79th Fighter Squadron is part of the 20th Fighter Wing based at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina.

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