Tag Archives: f-4

Technology

Phinal UN-manned Phantom Phlight

Video

On 21DEC2016, the QF-4E was officially retired.

Video report, Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico, phinal UN-manned Phantom phlight, August 2016:

2015 video from Tyndall AFB, Florida, a phather’s phinal Phantom phlight is his son’s phirst Phantom plight:

Video, QF-4E last plight out of Tyndall 24JUL2015, heading to Holloman AFB:

In 2017, former QF-4E pilot reminisced about the Phantom Phans, and his phinal phlight:

Hill Air Force Base 2016: PHINAL manned PHANTOM PHLIGHT, and the phinal phate of USAF F-4 PHANTOMS!

U.S.

Bombing Range Bats: Endangered bat nest found on U.S. Air Force base

Video

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced the discovery of the first natural Florida Bonneted Bat roost since 1979, on a U.S. Air Force (USAF) base!

Aline Morrow, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Biologist, happy to be in charge of researching the Bombing Range Bats. U.S. Air Force photo by Technical Sergeant Perry Aston, 19APR2019.

The Florida Bonneted Bat is considered one of the most endangered bats on the North American continent.  The bat nest was found on Avon Park Air Force Bombing Range in 2014 (not even a year after the bat was officially declared endangered), yet its discovery has been kept relatively quiet since then.

Video interview, Aline Morrow explains the discovery:

Deuce-n-a-half truck used for gunnery practice. USAF photo by Technical Sergeant Perry Aston, 19APR2019.

USAF photo by Technical Sergeant Perry Aston, 18APR2019.

Parts of Avon Park Range are also home to cattle allowed to graze as part of agreements with local ranchers.  Along with intentional field burns, the grazing is hoped to reduce the chance of wildfires.

USAF photo by Technical Sergeant Perry Aston, 19APR2019.

Expended practice bombs are collected and recycled.

USAF photo by Technical Sergeant Perry Aston, 19APR2019.

This is what it looks like inside a steel Connex container after being hit with a small practice bomb.

USAF photo by Technical Sergeant Perry Aston, 18APR2019.

According to USAF claims, the skeleton of the F-4 Phantom-2 is now intentionally missed by pilots dropping bombs, because they want what’s left to remain.

USAF photo by Technical Sergeant Perry Aston, 18APR2019.

Besides being a bombing range, grazing land and animal preserve, Avon Park is on the verge of becoming a National Historic Place.

USAF photo by Technical Sergeant Perry Aston, 18APR2019.

Archaeologists have been busy finding ‘ancient’ remains.  Already a small storehouse of boxes of artifacts could qualify the range for the National Register of Historic Places.

NEW JERSEY NATIONAL GUARD SAVING PETS IN QATAR!

TO SAVE THE ANIMALS, U.S. MILITARY DEPLOYED TO GEORGIA!

Idaho, Technology

Idaho: Mountain Home AFB update, F-15E walk-around, Micron Bus

Video

22SEP2018 (16:34 UTC-07 Tango 06) 31 Sharivar 1397/11 Muharram 1440/13 Xin-You (8th month) 4716

U.S. Air Force photo by Technical Sergeant Sandra Welch, 20AUG2018.

In August, the 17th Special Tactics Squadron took part in Jaded Thunder.

A child tests a plasma ball on the Micron STEM Bus. USAF photo by Senior Airman Malissa Armstrong, 07AUG2018.

Mountain Home AFB got a visit from Idaho based computer tech company Micron‘s STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) Bus.

Students try out a game recreating an image they see on a tablet. USAF photo by Senior Airman Malissa Armstrong, 07AUG2018.

USAF photo by Staff Sergeant Jeremy L. Mosier, 04AUG2018.

Also in August, while many local Idaho school districts struggle, grade school students on Mountain Home AFB got 2-hundred new backpacks filled with supplies, courtesy of the Airman and Family Readiness Center’s Back to School Brigade.

USAF photo by Staff Sergeant Jeremy L. Mosier, 04AUG2018.

F-15Es from the 366th Fighter Wing, Mountain Home Air Force Base, on Gowen Field National Guard base, Boise Airport, Idaho, 12JUL2018. Idaho Air National Guard photo by Technical Sergeant John Winn.

In July, F-15E Strike Eagles from Mountain Home AFB, along with C-17 transports from Travis AFB in California, converged on Idaho National Guard’s Gowen Field for what’s called Adaptive Base Training (aka Gunfighter Flag 18-3).  The Louisiana National Guard’s 159th Fighter Wing joined in, as well as Idaho National Guard A-10Cs.

Idaho Air National Guard photo by Technical Sergeant John Winn, 12JUL2018.

Idaho Air National Guard photo by Technical Sergeant John Winn, 12JUL2018.

USAF photo by Airman First Class JaNae Capuno, 12JUL2018.

USAF photo by Airman First Class JaNae Capuno, 12JUL2018.

USAF photo by Airman First Class Hailey Bivens, 30JUN2018.

366th Security Forces Squadron took part in exercises to prep them for Defender Challenge 2018.

391st Fighter Squadron from Mountain Home AFB bombs Utah, 03JUL2018. USAF photo by Airman First Class Codie Trimble.

USAF photo by Senior Airman Parker Dubois, June 2018.

The first weekend of June, the F-22 Raptor made an appearance at the Gunfighter Skies Air and Space Celebration, over Mountain Home AFB, even dogfighting a P-51D Mustang (hey, that’s one of ours!).

USAF photo by Senior Airman Parker Dubois, June 2018.

Idaho Air National Guard Photo by Airman First Class Mercedee Schwartz, 06MAY2018.

In May, Idaho National Guard A-10C Thunderbolt-2s shot-up the Saylor Creek Range on Mountain Home AFB.

The following video is from 2017, but shows you what Idaho National Guard A-10s do to the Saylor Creek Range:

 

Video, Mountain Home AFB F-15, Thunderbolts and Bold Tigers:

Video report, history of 366 Thunderbolts/Gunfighters:

 

 

March 2018: MOUNTAIN HOME AFB, IDAHO, UPDATE

Kit Bashing

1/1 scale F-4 Phantom-2 model

24 April 2017 (15:42 UTC-07 Tango 06) 03 Ordibehest 1396/26 Rajab 1438/28 Jia Chen 4715

The USAF 36th Maintenance Squadron and Civil Engineering Squadron worked together to refurbish an old F-4E Phantom static display on the U.S. Island territory of Guam.

Veterans of Foreign Wars members, and Vietnam conflict vet, pose in front of the 1/1 scale F-4E Phantom II display at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam.

During the Vietnam occupation many U.S. Air Force operations were launched from Guam.  The USAF version of the F-4 Phantom II was first deployed in support of the Vietnam occupation in December 1964.  For some odd reason the squadrons who rebuilt the static display painted the aircraft to represent a USAF bird based in West Germany from 1973-75.

DRONE WARS: QF-4 TO QF-16

UTAH: PHINAL PHANTOM PHLIGHT

Technology, U.S.

Utah: Phinal Phantom Phlight, no more USAF F-4 Phantoms!

Video

03 November 2016  (12:10 UTC-07 Tango 01) 13 Aban 1395/02 Safar 1438/04 Ji Hai 4714

“I felt like we had an opportunity and an obligation to get this aircraft on the road one more time because so many people have this connection with it. It’s just been absolutely amazing for me to do this.”-Lieutenant Colonel Ron King

One of two QF-4 Phantoms on Phinal Phlight at Hill AFB

At the end of October, just in time for Halloween, a couple of Phunky Phantoms of the U.S. Air Force drone type made their phinal phlights at Hill Air Force Base in Utah.

In the 1990s iconic F-4 Phantom-2s were converted, at Davis-Monthan in Arizona, into QF-4 target drones for the U.S. military.  In 2015 they were transferred to Holloman in New Mexico for phinal phlight preps.  The last unmanned drone phlight took place in August 2016: “Ironically, the majority of QF-4 missions are flown in the manned configuration to support manned presentation, unmanned flight chase missions, and pilot proficiency training.”– Scott Johnson, Air Force Life Cycle Management Center

The remaining 13 USAF QF-4s will be converted to ground targets for use at White Sands in New Mexico.  Utah’s Hill AFB AFLCMC (Air Force Life Cycle Management Center) System Program Office will continue to be involved with the creation of new target drones for the USAF, like the QF-16.

Official USAF video explainer: