A U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III performs evasive countermeasures by launching flares during a Mobility Air Forces Exercise Nov. 16, over the Nevada Test and Training Range. The U.S. Air Force Weapons School holds MAFEX twice a year to test the ability of C-17A Globemaster III and C-130 Hercules aircrews from Air Force bases around the world to join together in a formation at a specific time and location to insert ground forces anywhere in the world. The 820th RED HORSE will also be involved in the exercise.
NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. — The Air Force Weapons School will simulate a “forced entry†Mobility Air Forces Exercise over the Nevada Test and Training Range May 23, 2012. Locals should expect increased noise as a result of increased aircraft activity in North Las Vegas.
The exercise, involving 22 C-17 and 29 C-130 aircraft and 820th RED HORSE Squadron civil engineers, simulates a seizure of a landing site in hostile territory. The goal of the exercise is to teach the skills needed to integrate mobility aircraft into operations with land forces, air and space capabilities, intelligence gathering operations and tactical strike forces embodied in aircraft like the F-22, F-15 and F-16.
The aircraft will conduct simulated and actual low-altitude drops of airborne forces on a drop zone. After the drops, aircraft will land on a nearby dirt airstrip and recover the paratroopers. All operations are coordinated and tracked by orbiting Airborne Warning and Control System aircraft.
MAFEX is the Weapons School’s capstone sortie for C-17 and C-130 weapons instructor school students. Following successful exercises, they are “patched-in†to the elite class of weapons school graduates. These graduates are responsible for working with all services to employ Air Force weapons platforms during enemy engagement effectively.
For more information about MAFEX, the Weapons School, and media coverage opportunities, contact the Nellis Public Affairs Office at (702) 652-2750.
