LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va. (ACCNS) -- The Air Forces first William Tell air-to-air competition in eight years takes flight at Tyndall AFB, Panama City, Fla. Nov. 8 19.
William Tell 2004 will test aircrew performance in the air dominance and air sovereignty missions, while evaluating cold/live-fire weapons employment and the tactics executed. The meet also includes weapons loading, maintenance and weapons director competitions.
The two-week event will showcase the air-to-air capabilities of F-15C units representing four major commands and the Air National Guard. Participating units are:
Air Combat Command: 71st Fighter Squadron from the 1st Fighter Wing at Langley AFB
Air Education and Training Command: 95th Fighter Squadron from the 325th Fighter Wing at Tyndall AFB
Air National Guard: 123rd Fighter Squadron from the Oregon ANGs 142nd Fighter Wing in Portland, Ore.
Pacific Air Forces: 19th Fighter Squadron from the 3rd Wing at Elmendorf AFB, Alaska
U.S. Air Forces in Europe: 493rd Fighter Squadron from the 48th Fighter Wing at RAF Lakenheath, England
This year marks the 50th anniversary of William Tell. The competition is named after the legendary Swiss archer, and has been a biennial competition that has encouraged the most challenging air-to-air scenarios since 1954. The meet was placed on hold the past eight years due to military operations tempo and contingency requirements.
Although operations tempo remains high with Air Force members supporting the Global War on Terror, William Tell planners hope resuming the event will help foster the exchange of tactics and better prepare Airmen for combat operations, said Lt. Col. Edward Nagler, William Tell director.
We are very excited about re-energizing and modernizing this competition. There will be new scenarios incorporated in the competition to represent the wide-spectrum of Air Force operations today. said Colonel Nagler.
Members of the 64th Aggressor Squadron based at Nellis AFB, Nev., will serve as adversaries for the first time. Other changes include the aircraft being equipped with short-range, medium-range and long-range weapons and aircrews will be evaluated on their response to the threats in day and night scenarios, Colonel Nagler said.
This competition has left its roots as an air intercept event to become an air superiority event, he said.
William Tell is sponsored by Air Combat Command.