This Is What It Looks Like When You Get Intercepted By An F-15C Eagle

Updated Mar 29, 2018 8:51 PM EDT

he 142nd Fighter Wing is one of the world’s premier air F-15 Eagle units. An F-15C from the 142nd Fighter Wing. USAF

The 142nd Fighter Wing is one of the world’s premier air F-15 Eagle units. Based in Portland, Oregon, their mission includes sitting alert all day, every day, waiting to scramble at a moment’s notice to intercept everything from airliners having emergencies, to enemy cruise missiles attacking from the sea, to even more ‘exotic’ aerial targets . So they have to be trained in the unique procedures and techniques used to find and engage with a wide variety of aircraft with vastly different performance capabilities.

The F-15C typically weight over 50,000lbs at takeoff and packs a pair of Pratt and Whitney F100 turbofans that crank out 47,500lb of thrust in afterburner. Compare this to a Cessna 172 that weighs a couple thousand pounds loaded and runs on a 160hp piston engine and you get the picture of how vast the disparity in performance can be between the Eagle and its target. This makes flying tricky for Eagle drivers attempting to execute safe and effective intercepts.

With this in mind, the Air National Guard constantly trains to execute intercepts on various targets, and because wayward light aircraft pilots straying where they shouldn’t is a constant source of scrambles, this training includes intercepting Cessnas from the Civil Air Patrol.

One of these intercepts can be seen in dramatic fashion in the video below.

The video comes to us from Civil Air Patrol pilot Michael Clarey who had the pleasure of helping provide prey for the Eagles last June. We asked Michael about his experience, here’s what he said:

“On June 25th, 2017 I was asked if I would like to participate in a Felix Keynote mission on June 29th. The mission was for a flight crew to fly a Cessna into “restricted airspace” and have the Portland Air National Guard F-15s scramble to come intercept us. Obviously I said yes to the mission! We get down near Bend, Oregon, out in the middle of nowhere and we were told by 9AM the F-15s would be on us. 9:05 comes up and off our four and eight o’clock we see two F-15’s slowly approaching us. They confirmed we’re the aircraft in question and were entering into restricted airspace. Over the comms we hear, repeated three times, “Red, White and Blue Cessna, N101SP you are entering restricted airspace. Please turn left to a heading of 230.” We were instructed to ignore any communication between us. After their third attempt of contacting us you can see they get really close of our left wing. Still, we can’t acknowledge them. After a few passes they disappear. Minutes go by as we’re trying to find them, then BAM they perform a hammer head right in front of our Cessna to intimidate/grab our attention to turn around. All in all, it was an awesome experience that I would do again in a heart beat.”

“On June 25th, 2017 I was asked if I would like to participate in a Felix Keynote mission on June 29th. The mission was for a flight crew to fly a Cessna into “restricted airspace” and have the Portland Air National Guard F-15s scramble to come intercept us. Obviously I said yes to the mission!

We get down near Bend, Oregon, out in the middle of nowhere and we were told by 9AM the F-15s would be on us. 9:05 comes up and off our four and eight o’clock we see two F-15’s slowly approaching us.

They confirmed we’re the aircraft in question and were entering into restricted airspace. Over the comms we hear, repeated three times, “Red, White and Blue Cessna, N101SP you are entering restricted airspace. Please turn left to a heading of 230.”

We were instructed to ignore any communication between us. After their third attempt of contacting us you can see they get really close of our left wing. Still, we can’t acknowledge them. After a few passes they disappear. Minutes go by as we’re trying to find them, then BAM they perform a hammer head right in front of our Cessna to intimidate/grab our attention to turn around.

All in all, it was an awesome experience that I would do again in a heart beat.”

In the video we can see the 142nd Fighter Wing’s fully armed color bird do a slow high-alpha flyby of Michael’s Cessna, before punching the afterburners to maneuver around again. Michael noted to The War Zone that is was really odd hearing the Eagle’s thunderous engine noise inside the Cessna’s cockpit.

A 142nd FW Eagle returns to PDX. , Tyler Rogoway/Authro

Air Guard Eagles protect the maritime perimeter around the United States as well as large swathes of land in regions which they are bases. Five Air Guard Eagle squadrons based in Massachusetts, Florida, New Orleans, California and Oregon are America’s primary cadre of aerial sentinels. Their aircraft are now equipped with the world’s most power AESA fighter radar , the APG-63V3, as well as Sniper targeting pods that are used for long-range indentificaiton of aircraft at day or at night.

The pod’s telescopic, stabilized optics can be slaved to the F-15’s radar, allowing it to easily get an ID on an aircraft from well beyond visual range. Other upgrades are also in the works, which you can read all about here and here .

Eagles taxi in unison out of their base at Portland International Airport during a snap readiness drill. , 142nd Fight Wing

Recently the 142nd Fighter Wing, which guards airspace ranging from British Columbia all the way down to Northern California, had a snap readiness drill where they sortied 13 of their 21 aircraft at once in less than 24 hours. It was an impressive display, especially considering their jets are over 30 years old.

Still, they are some of the newest F-15C/Ds made. Considering how much the USAF has shrunk in terms of number of fighter squadrons since 2003, and especially since 1991, Air Guard Eagles have to be ready to deploy on short notice during a crisis abroad.

So no, the Air National Guard is not a bunch of weekend warriors who fly obsolete gear and would only be deployed if the world was coming to an end. Quite the opposite. Today they are a key element of the Pentagon’s front line air combat force.

A special thanks to our friend and aviation photographer Paul Schweizerhof for pointing us towards Michael’s video.

Contact the author: Tyler@thedrive.com

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更新于美国东部时间2018年3月29日晚上8:51

第142战斗机联队是世界上顶尖的F-15“鹰”式战斗机部队之一。图为隶属于第142战斗机联队的F-15C战斗机。美国空军

第142战斗机联队是世界上顶尖的F-15“鹰”式战斗机部队之一。该联队驻扎在俄勒冈州波特兰市，其任务包括每天24小时保持高度戒备，随时准备紧急起飞拦截各种目标，从突发紧急情况的客机、从海上发起的敌方巡航导弹攻击，到更加“特殊”的空中目标，无所不包。因此，他们必须接受专门的训练，掌握发现并拦截各种性能差异巨大的飞机的独特程序和技术。

F-15C 的起飞重量通常超过 50,000 磅，配备两台普惠 F100 涡扇发动机，加力燃烧室可产生 47,500 磅的推力。相比之下，塞斯纳 172 满载重量仅几千磅，且仅配备一台 160 马力的活塞发动机，由此可见“鹰”式战斗机与其目标之间的性能差距有多么巨大。这使得“鹰”式战斗机的飞行员在执行安全有效的拦截任务时面临诸多挑战。

考虑到这一点，空中国民警卫队不断进行训练，以拦截各种目标。由于误入歧途的轻型飞机飞行员经常在不该去的地方飞行，导致紧急起飞，因此这项训练包括拦截民用航空巡逻队的塞斯纳飞机。

其中一次拦截行动的精彩片段可以在下面的视频中看到。

这段视频来自美国民用航空巡逻队飞行员迈克尔·克莱里，他有幸在去年六月为老鹰提供猎物。我们询问了迈克尔的经历，以下是他的回答：

2017年6月25日，有人问我是否愿意参加6月29日的菲利克斯·基努特任务。任务内容是让一个飞行机组驾驶一架塞斯纳飞机进入“限制空域”，并让波特兰空中国民警卫队的F-15战斗机紧急升空拦截我们。我当然答应了！我们在俄勒冈州本德附近降落，那里地处偏僻。我们被告知，F-15战斗机会在早上9点前抵达。9点05分到了，我们在四点和八点钟方向看到了两架F-15战斗机缓缓靠近。他们确认我们就是任务目标飞机，并且正在进入限制空域。通过通讯设备，我们听到重复了三遍的指令：“红白蓝塞斯纳飞机，N101SP，你正在进入限制空域。请左转，航向230度。”我们被告知不要理会彼此之间的任何交流。在他们第三次尝试联系我们之后，你可以看到他们已经非常靠近我们的左翼。尽管如此，我们仍然不能理会他们。几次飞过之后，他们消失了。我们花了数分钟试图找到他们，然后突然，他们就在我们的塞斯纳飞机正前方做了一个锤头转弯，试图恐吓/吸引我们的注意力让我们掉头。总而言之，这是一次很棒的经历，我肯定会毫不犹豫地再来一次。

“2017年6月25日，有人问我是否愿意参加6月29日菲利克斯·基努特的一次任务。任务内容是让一个飞行机组驾驶一架塞斯纳飞机进入“限制空域”，然后让波特兰空中国民警卫队的F-15战斗机紧急升空拦截我们。我当然答应了！”

我们降落在俄勒冈州本德附近，那地方荒无人烟。有人告诉我们，早上9点F-15战机就会出现。9点05分到了，我们从四点和八点钟方向望去，看到两架F-15战机正缓缓向我们靠近。

他们确认我们就是那架飞机，并且正在进入限制空域。通过通讯设备，我们听到重复了三遍的指令：“红白蓝三色塞斯纳飞机，N101SP，你正在进入限制空域。请左转，航向230度。”

我们被告知不要理会彼此之间的任何通讯。在他们第三次尝试联系我们之后，你可以看到他们已经非常靠近我们的左翼。尽管如此，我们仍然不能理会他们。几次飞过之后，他们消失了。我们花了数分钟试图找到他们，然后突然，他们猛地在我们塞斯纳飞机正前方做了一个急转弯，试图恐吓/吸引我们的注意力，让我们掉头。

总而言之，这是一次非常棒的体验，我肯定会毫不犹豫地再去一次。

视频中可以看到，第142战斗机联队的一架全副武装的彩绘飞机以缓慢的高攻角低空掠过迈克尔的塞斯纳飞机，然后打开加力燃烧室再次绕飞。迈克尔告诉《战区》节目，在塞斯纳的驾驶舱内听到“鹰”式战斗机的轰鸣声感觉非常奇怪。

第142战斗机联队的一架鹰式战斗机返回波特兰国际机场。（泰勒·罗戈威/Authro摄）

美国空军国民警卫队“鹰”式战斗机负责保卫美国周边海域以及其驻扎地的大片陆地。驻扎在马萨诸塞州、佛罗里达州、新奥尔良、加利福尼亚州和俄勒冈州的五个空军国民警卫队“鹰”式战斗机中队是美国空中哨兵的主力。他们的飞机现在配备了世界上功率最强大的AESA战斗机雷达APG-63V3，以及用于昼夜远程识别飞机的“狙击手”瞄准吊舱。

该吊舱的伸缩式稳定光学系统可以与F-15的雷达联动，使其能够轻松地从视距外识别目标飞机。其他升级也在进行中，您可以在这里和这里了解详情。

在波特兰国际机场进行的一次快速战备演习中，第142战斗机联队的“雄鹰”战机整齐划一地滑出基地。

近日，负责守卫从不列颠哥伦比亚省到北加利福尼亚州空域的第142战斗机联队进行了一次快速战备演习，在不到24小时内同时出动了21架飞机中的13架。考虑到他们的战机机龄已超过30年，这次演习令人印象深刻。

尽管如此，它们仍然是最新制造的F-15C/D战斗机之一。考虑到自2003年以来，特别是自1991年以来，美国空军战斗机中队的数量大幅缩减，空中国民警卫队的“雄鹰”战斗机必须随时准备在海外危机发生时迅速部署。

所以，不，空中国民警卫队并非一群周末战士，他们驾驶着过时的装备，只有在世界末日才会被部署。恰恰相反。如今，他们是五角大楼前线空中作战力量的关键组成部分。

特别感谢我们的朋友兼航空摄影师保罗·施韦泽霍夫，是他向我们推荐了迈克尔的视频。

联系作者：Tyler@thedrive.com

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