Heading Out To the Highway

A number of Air National Guard aircraft—to include: A-10 Thunderbolt II, USAF Special Operations Command MC-12W Liberty, C-145A Combat Coyote, U-28 Draco, and USAF Reserves C-146a Wolfhound landed, took off and performed integrated combat turns on a closed 9,000-foot section of Michigan Highway-28.

The occasion marked the first time integrated combat turns—which enable the quick rearming and refueling of running aircraft—have been conducted on a U.S. public highway. The roadway landings were one of several progressive training scenarios undertaken during the Michigan Air National Guard’s Northern Agility 22-1 exercise on Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. 

The endeavor underscored the Air Force’s Agile Combat Employment doctrine, which sets out to execute missions quickly and in unpredictable ways. 

The landing zone was named Hawk LZ in honor of F-16 pilot Major Durwood “Hawk” Jones, who lost his life in a 2020 training accident in Michigan. 

Northern Agility 22-1 lead operations planner Lieutenant Colonel Brian Wyrzykowski expressed gratitude to local Michigan agencies, stating: “Northern Agility 22-1 would not be possible without the long-term partnerships that exist between the Michigan National Guard and the Michigan State Police, Michigan Department of Transportation, Alger County Sheriff’s Office, and of course, support from our neighbors in the Upper Peninsula.”

FMI: www.af.mil