A fully loaded, action packed scorcher of a day at RAF Lakenheath. Action includes AV and SP F-16 Fighting Falcon (or to be more savvy, VIPER) takeoffs, Two Royal Norwegian Air Force F-35A's arrival, the usual F-15E Strike Eagle action and 'Til Valhalla, the Valkyries on heat flying their Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II

If the line-up doesn't sound exciting enough, the video starts off with an emergency landing from an F-15E. We are not 100% certain of the reasons for the emergency, but we do know is that one of the engines was shut down during landing. Pilots and all crew were safe.

Runway 06 is always exciting for the Ted Coningsby crew as there are some lovely spots to mix up the footage. You can take advantage of the sun's position when they use 06.

Home of the 48th Fighter Wing, this is a major and important United States Air Force in Europe base. It currently homes four fighter squadrons;
492d FS The Madhatters / Bolars. The 492nd Fighter Squadron is a combat-ready McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle squadron capable of executing strategic attack, interdiction, and counter air missions in support of United States Air Forces in Europe, United States European Command, and NATO operations. It employs the full array of air superiority and surface attack munitions to include the most advanced precision-guided weapons in the USAF inventory. The squadron is capable of deploying to any theater of operations in the world. Their mascot is a kestrel.

493d FS The Grim Reapers (Currently retired their F-15C and awaiting to be reinstated with F-35's). The squadron has earned multiple commendations and awards, including the Air Force Association's Hughes Trophy in 1997 and 1999 and the 2007, 2014, 2016 and 2019 Raytheon Trophies, for being recognised as the top fighter squadron in the United States Air Force. I believe once upon a time they may have been nicknames "the Roosters"?

494th FS The Panthers, another combat ready Fighter Squadron of the USAF that is ready to be deployed anywhere in the world.

495th FS The Valkyries who are currently the only F-35 squadron at Lakenheath. Reactivated on 1 October 2021, it became the first overseas United States Air Force squadron to operate the Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II on 15 December 2021. The 495th FS previously operated the General Dynamics F-111F Aardvark at RAF Lakenheath between 1977 and 1991.

There are news of 2 new F-35 squadrons that will be stationed at RAF Lakenheath, but this is all that we know so far. Of course, in future videos, we will keep you updated.

You will also see 3 F-16's in the video, there was forth (but Nikos thought it was a Hawk) LOL. There were two AV tail and two SP. The AV tail code is for the Aviano Air Base in Italy and the SP tail code is for Spangdahlem. Joining them were two F-35A's of The Royal Norwegian Air Force that arrived on the day of recording. The F-16's arrived a few days before and I believe they are possibly being deployed on a NATO exercise, possibly "Point Blank".

The Royal Norwegian Air Force F-35A's have a unique modification added to the aircraft, a drag chute. Norway's climate can include icy conditions so the drag chute assists with the landing in icy and slick conditions and to reduce landing distance on short airfields. Can you spot the fin/bump on the top rear of the aircraft? This is the drag chute.

Norway’s F-35 fleet operates out of Ørland Air Base. In addition, a Quick Reaction Alert base is being stood up at Evenes Air Base.

On 6th January 2022, Norway’s new F-35s officially took over the QRA mission, ending the F-16 fleet’s 42 year-long mission serving Norway and NATO.

Norway conducts the QRA mission on behalf of NATO. This means that Norway continuously has to fighter jets on standby at all times. If unknown aircraft come close to Norwegian – and NATO – airspace, the F-35s are scrambled and airborne within 15 minutes. Then they find, observe and document any unknown aircraft that come close to Norway and NATO airspace.

Evenes Air Base is located along the border of Nordland County and Troms and Finnmark County in northern Norway. Evenes is will be the Air Force’s most significant base in the north, serving as a complex base for the F-35, in addition to being the main base for the coming fleet of P-8 Poseidons.

#usaf #trending #raflakenheath #48fw #f35 #f16 #f15

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