Aircraft from the US Air Force and Michigan Air National Guard trained on a highway near Alpena, Michigan, on August 5,
marking the first time modern military aircraft had intentionally landed on a civilian road on US soil.
Four A-10 Thunderbolt IIs and two C-146 Wolfhounds
took part in the training exercise, which involved the aircraft
taking off and landing from the closed stretch of highway.
In this footage, Lt Col Brian Wyrzykowski, the commander of the exercise, said
it "represents a new capability...for the United States military.
Our adversaries have advanced weapon systems and advanced technology that they can immediately put our forces and our bases and our personnel at risk...we need to be able to operate from austere, unpredictable locations."
Comment: Rather strange claims considering an American highway is not exactly comparable to an 'austere and unpredictable' location, nor how this ability is any match for advanced weapon systems.
MLive reported on August 2nd with more
details on the preparations building up to the event:
Crews from several military units will land six aircraft on M-32 near Alpena on Thursday, Aug. 5, according to a news release from the Michigan Department of Military and Veteran Affairs (DMVA). The highway will be closed for the exercise from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. from east of Herron Road to west of King Settlement Road; traffic will be detoured on M-65, Werth Road, US-23 and Ripley Street.
"This is believed to be the first time in history that modern Air Force aircraft have intentionally landed on a civilian roadway on U.S. soil," U.S. Air Force Col. James Rossi, Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center commander, said in a statement. "Our efforts are focused on our ability to train the warfighter in any environment across the continuum so our nation can compete, deter, and win today and tomorrow."
The exercise is part of the annual Northern Strike war-readiness training event happening through Aug. 14 at the National All Domain Warfighting Center (NADWC), which encompasses the Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center and Camp Grayling Joint Maneuver Training Center.
Units participating in the highway landing are the Michigan Air National Guard's 127th Wing from Selfridge Air National Guard Base, the Air Force's 355th Wing from Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona and the Air Force Special Operations Command from Duke Field in Florida. They will land four A-10 aircraft and two C-146 aircraft on M-32 near the Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center.
The exercise is meant to "demonstrate how active duty and reserve-component units can integrate to project combat airpower in austere environments," according to the release.
The A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft is specifically designed to operate in this kind of location and the ability has already been demonstrated, the release said. In June 2018, A-10s from the Michigan Air National Guard conducted highway landings in Estonia as part of the multinational exercise Saber Strike.
Civilians should not gather near the closed roadway and should avoid the landing zones.
Northern Strike is an annual training exercise hosted by the Michigan National Guard since 2012. This year, there are about 5,100 participants from three U.S. Army components, U.S. Air Force active duty and guard, U.S. Marine and U.S. Navy components, plus units from the United Kingdom, Latvia and Liberia.
The yearly training exercise simulates "a realistic wartime environment" and focuses on expeditionary skills, command and control, sustainment and joint-integrated fires, according to the DMVA. The program includes exercises that require units from different military branches, and even different countries, to work together in complex, time-sensitive scenarios.
One wonders just why this ability and its demonstration was suddenly deemed necessary?
See also:
Comment: Rather strange claims considering an American highway is not exactly comparable to an 'austere and unpredictable' location, nor how this ability is any match for advanced weapon systems.
MLive reported on August 2nd with more details on the preparations building up to the event: One wonders just why this ability and its demonstration was suddenly deemed necessary?
See also: