Talk About A Lane (Wart)Hog, Military Aircraft Take Over Michigan Highway
 

Talk About A Lane (Wart)Hog, Military Aircraft Take Over Michigan Highway
By: Michael Gauthier - CarScoops News - 08-06-21
Re: https://www.carscoops.com/2021/08/ta...higan-highway/

Photo link: https://www.carscoops.com/wp-content...t-Landing.webp

Northern Michigan has seen an influx of travelers, but the latest visitors didn’t arrive by car. Instead, they touched down in military aircraft.

Six planes landed on M-32 outside Alpena and the Michigan National Guard says it was a historic event as they “successfully landed and generated modern military aircraft from a United States highway for the first time.”

The training exercise, known as Thunder Landing Zone, saw two A-10 Thunderbolt IIs from Selfridge Air National Guard Base, two A-10s from the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base and two C-146 Wolfhounds from the Air Force Special Operations Command land on a closed section of the highway. The exercise was designed to give pilots experience with highway landings and takeoffs as well as give ground crews practice with arming and refueling aircraft in remote locations as part of the U.S. Air Force’s Agile Combat Employment concept.

Video link: blob:https://www.facebook.com/d40183cd-6a...8-9e4d3a248e5b

Held as part of the larger Northern Strike exercise, U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Brian Wyrzykowski said “Thunder LZ gave the pilots the opportunity to land in an austere environment that they’re not used to.” He added, “Our adversaries have advanced weapons systems and advanced technology that they can use against us, so we need to be able to operate efficiently in austere situations and gain proficiency in those operations.”

The Northern Strike exercise kicked off on July 31st and involves approximately 5,100 participants from various states and countries. It’s designed to give participating units a “chance to conduct robust and relevant scenario-based, full-spectrum readiness training and complete mission essential tasks.”

Photo Gallery: https://www.carscoops.com/wp-content...-3-300x163.jpg
Note: There is a series of 10 photo's of the planes landing and taking off.

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Personal note: They are still considering taking the A10 WarHog's out of service - I think that is a bad idea.
They are like flying tanks and can do some real damage to inland troops moving in on ours. Hell I'd even
like to see the Puff-The-Magic Dragon - still in service - they put the hurt on a lot of enemy folks during NAM.
Come in and flying low and cut down the tree's and all the critter's hiding in and/or around them!
They saved a lot of lives in some pretty tough areas.
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Boats