‘They told me you’d never load 8 missiles on an F-15E’
The USAF recently released an amazing 36-minute doc, “Dangerous Game” about the 13 April 2024 overnight air-to-air swirling fight involving a squadron of F-16Cs (D.C. Air National Guard’s 113th Wing) and two of F-15Es (335th and 494th FS) vs 185 Shahed loitering munitions, followed by at least 30 cruise missiles, and 120 ballistic missiles.
“I can’t emphasize how dangerous this mission set is. At times, I’m 1,000 feet above the ground. Minsafe altitude was 4,000 feet. I am 3,000 feet below the altitude that is going to keep me alive because I can’t see the ground. There’s not enough ambient light.”
They even tried to get a hole-in-one shot on a moving drone with a LJDAM, as they were out of missiles, with the concept of hitting the ground ahead/around the low-flying UAV and knocking it out with the blossom.
Screaming across the desert to get back to base with all their ordnance expended, they wound up flying through a 360-degree hailstorm of Iranian ballistic missiles being launched ahead of them while IDF ABMs were reaching out and intercepting them in flight above them, leaving green flaming shrapnel to rain down on the F-15Es.
Then came 32-minute Integrated Combat Turnarounds (ICT) to get refueled and rearmed aircraft back in the fight– as Iranian missiles were inbound to their base.
It is well worth your time.