Private aggressor aircraft crash near Nellis AFB

y_p_w

y_p_w

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I've heard of these private contractors providing aggressor pilots and aircraft. Apparently Draken International is pretty new to this and has a variety of mostly foreign aircraft. This one was a Mirage F1. The story says he retired from the USAF last year after 20 years.

www.rgj.com

'This great loss': Family remembers pilot, a Reno native, who died in Las Vegas crash

Nicholas Hunter Hamilton died Monday after taking off from Nellis Air Force Base and crashing in a Las Vegas neighborhood.
www.rgj.com

I've kind of wondered what kind of support these companies get from the manufacturers since the aircraft are often way outdated as front line aircraft. I get that many are still pretty maneuverable though.
 
Hi.
Can someone explain how this works please? I can see the value in dissimilar air combat training, but what is to be gained by training against what is essentially a museum piece?

Hawker Hunter was a decent aircraft 50 years ago. How is it relevant to training F35 in 2017?

Thanks.
 
Tikka said:
Hi.
Can someone explain how this works please? I can see the value in dissimilar air combat training, but what is to be gained by training against what is essentially a museum piece?

Hawker Hunter was a decent aircraft 50 years ago. How is it relevant to training F35 in 2017?

Thanks.
Click to expand...
Not sure about the Hawker, but some times it's radar/intercept training against a target with or without electronic countermeasures (ECM). Almost any platform would suffice. Up until the late 80s F-15 wings had integral T-33s to perform this role. They were replaced with ECM equipped contractor Learjets for 5 years or so before the program was killed.
IMO, from a short sighted fiscal standpoint using contractor targets or Aggressors makes sense. Taking the long view however, it makes no sense to be putting flight hours on anyone that isn't active duty or Guard that can be used in a real war, if needed. Having pilots gaining or maintaining proficiency in these roles in reserve outweighs the cost savings factor.
Using contractors now might have something to do with the history of the Aggressors. They used to travel to F-4 units to train them against Mig-21 surrogates using T-38s, then later F-5s. They would poach the best F-4 pilots from these units by recruiting the few who could kick their tails in air-to-air engagements. Aggressors were the best of the best, and assignment their units was highly sought after.
Fast forward to now. An F-22 or F-35 would have to really screw up to lose to an Aggressor. So instead of winning 90% of fights, they now lose 90% of them (or more). Pilots aren't Floyd Mayweather like they used to be, they are now a second rate sparring partner.
Less desirable assignment, less influence in the general staff, let the shoe clerks and bean counters make the decision to use cheap contractors.
 
Mirage F1 is still a high-performance aircraft, aerodynamically.

I do wonder what performance limitations are placed on it due to age/time/cycles. I believe the one that crashed was about 40 years old.

RIP to the pilot and prayers to the family.
 
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