Aircraft Ops Among Owyhee Mountains

March 12, 2022

March 9, 2022 - Idaho Army National Guard and Idaho Air National Guard aviation units conducted combat search and rescue and escort training together throughout Idaho’s Owyhee Mountains. The training rescue missions involved 124th Fighter Wing A-10 Thunderbolt II pilots escorting Idaho Army National Guard Aviation Group’s UH-60 Black Hawk pilots along the safest route of a simulated combat zone and advising them of any possible enemy threats.

Airframes such as the UH-60 Black Hawk require A-10 Thunderbolts or other fighter jets to escort them in CSAR missions during combat operations because Black Hawks are a transport aircraft designed to extract or recover personnel and do not have the capacity to carry heavy weapons.

Image created by USA Patriotism! from U.S. National Guard photos by Master Sgt. Becky Vanshur.