MOUNTAIN HOME, Idaho — Fighter jet pilots with the U.S. Air Force are sharpening their combat skills at the Saylor Creek Bombing Range near Mountain Home Air Force Base, where open desert terrain and specialized personnel create training conditions unlike almost anywhere else in the country.
On a recent training day, F-15s dropped inert training bombs, non-explosive munitions designed to mimic the real thing. This type of training run is called strafing, where an aircraft fires or releases munitions toward a target on the ground.
WATCH: A behind-the-scenes look at training inside the Saylor Creek Bombing Range
Major Colin Asbury, 366th Operations Support Squadron Range Master, said the purpose of the range is to prepare pilots before they ever face a real mission.
"For example, in the Middle East, you don't want the first time you employ weapons on a target to be when it needs to be absolutely perfect— 100%. The point of the range is practice," Asbury explained.
The range spans more than 100,000 square feet and has drawn interest from military branches and allied nations alike. Asbury said the range's open space and access to members of the 266th Range Squadron are what set it apart from other facilities across the country.
"There's not a lot of range squadrons left in the Air Force, actually," said Asbury. "We don't have as much infrastructure around as some of the other ranges, like for example, there's one out in North Carolina that is kind of built up to the edges almost, so it's a little bit more restrictive on what you can do there.”
Master Sergeant Troy Hayes, the operations superintendent with the 266th Range Squadron Cowboy Control, said his team plays a critical role in making training as realistic as possible by simulating threats on the ground that pilots could encounter in real-world combat.
"We've got little computers on the ground that send a signal out to the jets. It sets an off alarm in the jets so that they can react accordingly," Hayes said.
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The squadron essentially acts as the opposing force, sending fake missile signals so pilots can practice their responses. The team's reputation has extended beyond U.S. borders. They were specifically requested by the United Kingdom to support joint exercises.
"They are good systems to replicate multiple types of surface-to-air missiles for the aircraft. So I say the biggest things are the amount of threats that we have at our disposal for the aircraft to simulate multiple threats that they might see in real-world combat," added Hayes.
Beyond the technical capabilities of the range, Asbury said the tight-knit community around Mountain Home Air Force Base adds another dimension to the training environment.
"I think because Mountain Home is a little bit further away from a major city, it really creates a sense of community with the squadrons. You are really tight-knit with the people that are out here, because you just end up spending so much time together," Asbury said.
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