WEBVTT 00:00.009 --> 00:02.359 We're at Northern Lightning 2023 . Uh 00:02.369 --> 00:04.425 What that is for us , we brought six 00:04.425 --> 00:06.647 airplanes uh and about a dozen pilots , 00:06.647 --> 00:08.810 about 100 ish total stingers from the 00:08.819 --> 00:12.109 1/80 out here to participate in 1/4 5th 00:12.119 --> 00:14.420 gen air to air air to ground exercise , 00:14.430 --> 00:17.190 to really refine uh integration tactics 00:17.200 --> 00:19.540 in a joint environment at home will 00:19.549 --> 00:21.954 typically train to our specific 16 00:21.965 --> 00:23.687 tactics . Here , we get to fly 00:23.687 --> 00:25.844 alongside F-35s from the Marine Corps 00:25.854 --> 00:28.334 and the Air Force against a variety of 00:28.344 --> 00:30.784 different threats and adversaries . So 00:30.795 --> 00:32.851 we get to practice our piece of that 00:32.851 --> 00:35.073 puzzle at home . But here we get to put 00:35.073 --> 00:37.239 it together in the joint environment , 00:37.239 --> 00:39.295 practice with other services , other 00:39.295 --> 00:41.517 aircraft , the way we would actually do 00:41.517 --> 00:43.573 it for real . You know , you can see 00:43.573 --> 00:45.573 the difference between an F-16 that 00:45.573 --> 00:45.439 ours that were purchased by the Air 00:45.450 --> 00:47.506 Force in the late eighties and those 00:47.506 --> 00:49.672 F-35 sitting out there that are mostly 00:49.672 --> 00:52.130 purchased in the mid 2010 . So one of 00:52.139 --> 00:54.083 those aircraft is built to be very 00:54.083 --> 00:56.310 stealthy , the F-35 and ours is not . 00:56.319 --> 00:58.430 So there's a lot of things that those 00:58.430 --> 01:00.652 airplanes can do that we can't , uh and 01:00.652 --> 01:02.430 vice versa . We get to come and 01:02.430 --> 01:04.375 practice here and play off of each 01:04.375 --> 01:06.208 other's strengths and weaknesses 01:06.208 --> 01:08.263 because there's a lot of complicated 01:08.263 --> 01:08.199 mission sets that we would encounter in 01:08.209 --> 01:10.330 the real world that we require their 01:10.339 --> 01:12.450 help to be successful . But there's a 01:12.450 --> 01:14.395 lot of things that we bring to the 01:14.395 --> 01:16.450 fight that , you know , augments the 01:16.450 --> 01:18.561 capabilities of an F-35 as well . The 01:18.561 --> 01:20.506 scenarios we have built are really 01:20.506 --> 01:22.395 difficult and sometimes it can be 01:22.395 --> 01:26.319 challenging to find a good fit for 1/4 01:26.389 --> 01:28.650 gen asset . Uh When we're talking about 01:28.660 --> 01:30.827 the types of threats we are fighting . 01:30.827 --> 01:33.049 I believe the 1/80 has performed really 01:33.049 --> 01:35.160 well . I think , uh , you know , from 01:35.160 --> 01:37.049 the pilot perspective , they've , 01:37.049 --> 01:39.049 they've flown really well . I think 01:39.049 --> 01:41.160 they've had to face some really tough 01:41.160 --> 01:43.160 problems that even in the F-35 , we 01:43.160 --> 01:45.160 consider hard problems so made even 01:45.160 --> 01:47.480 more difficult uh in the F-16 . And yet 01:47.489 --> 01:49.545 they've persevered through it from a 01:49.545 --> 01:51.433 maintenance perspective . I think 01:51.433 --> 01:53.267 they've done really well for soy 01:53.267 --> 01:55.211 production . Uh We haven't had any 01:55.211 --> 01:57.378 Toledo aircraft fall out of the bowl , 01:57.378 --> 01:59.660 which is really uh big to make sure we 01:59.669 --> 02:01.613 get all our training required with 02:01.613 --> 02:03.650 everyone up in the air . It's been 02:03.660 --> 02:06.589 outstanding when we deploy to a combat 02:06.599 --> 02:08.766 zone , they're going to be expected to 02:08.766 --> 02:10.821 perform everything that they've been 02:10.821 --> 02:10.660 trained to do . And here they get to 02:10.669 --> 02:12.725 practice it that way in that type of 02:12.725 --> 02:15.020 setting , knowing how to turn the 02:15.029 --> 02:17.251 wrench and do the job correctly . Keeps 02:17.251 --> 02:19.418 our aircraft fully mission capable and 02:19.418 --> 02:21.585 being ready to meet the mission at all 02:21.585 --> 02:23.696 times helps us defeat our adversaries 02:23.696 --> 02:25.696 that way . You know , we have great 02:25.696 --> 02:27.862 maintainers and I'm , I'm , I expected 02:27.862 --> 02:30.085 nothing but great maintenance from them 02:30.085 --> 02:32.362 and they've done great . I think there , 02:32.362 --> 02:34.473 there aren't plans for the F-16 to go 02:34.473 --> 02:34.119 away any time in the , in the near 02:34.130 --> 02:36.241 future . So these airplanes are gonna 02:36.241 --> 02:38.408 be flying for a while . The , the ones 02:38.408 --> 02:40.630 we have in Toledo are honestly probably 02:40.630 --> 02:42.574 the best F-16s that exist anywhere 02:42.574 --> 02:44.741 thanks to our maintenance and just how 02:44.741 --> 02:46.963 well these jets are taken care of . You 02:46.963 --> 02:46.059 know , we have a specific set of 02:46.070 --> 02:47.903 capabilities that are still very 02:47.903 --> 02:50.470 relevant to the fight and you know , we , 02:50.479 --> 02:52.949 we fit into that puzzle pretty well 02:52.960 --> 02:53.330 still .