Photo By Staff Sgt. Victoria Hanson | Members of the 132d Wing and 119th Wing wheel out the MQ-9 Reaper from the hangar that...... read more read more
The Iowa Air National Guard’s 132d Wing conducted a Hawki Fury Exercise alongside the 119th Wing, North Dakota Air National Guard, September 13-14, 2024 in Des Moines, Iowa. The exercise marked the second occasion that an MQ-9 Reaper was launched, flown and recovered in Des Moines airspace.
The exercise team comprised of 124th Attack Squadron, IANG, and maintenance personnel and equipment from the 119th Wing demonstrated Agile Combat Employment (ACE) concepts by executing MQ-9 SATCOM launch and recovery (SLR) capabilities operating between Fargo, North Dakota and Des Moines, Iowa. The 132d Wing aircrew flew the entirety of the exercise via SATCOM from local cockpits; departing from the requirement to have 119th Wing aircrew takeoff and land the airplane via line-of-sight datalinks.
A key highlight of the event was the successful launch, flight, and recovery of the MQ-9 Reaper in Des Moines airspace. This marks only the second time the 132d Wing has flown and recovered the MQ-9 Reaper over the city, demonstrating significant advancements in their operational ability and tactical precision. This milestone achievement demonstrated the ability for a Mission Command Element (MCE) to fly an aircraft from a dislocated wing and execute a multi-day exercise with only local aircraft maintenance support being outsourced from the 119th Wing.
“The Hawkeyes and Happy Hooligans have formed a sound working relationship over the years, through combat operations, CONUS continuation training (CT) flights and local exercises,” said Maj. Joshua Rudolf, 124th ATKS director of operations. “The 119th Wing has served a vital role in providing local training sorties for our crews to maintain flying and weapons employment currencies, tactical proficiencies, SATCOM launch and recovery training, and opportunities to execute large force exercises at multiple air-to-ground ranges across the United States.”
The MQ-9 Reaper, a remotely piloted aircraft primarily used for intelligence gathering and strike missions, plays an increasingly crucial role in the Air National Guard’s ability to conduct surveillance and reconnaissance missions. The successful execution of the Hawki Fury exercise emphasizes the Air National Guard’s ability to adapt to modern warfare tactics and integrate emerging technologies.
“This year’s exercise reenergized local exposure to the MQ-9 flying mission at the 132d Wing and demonstrated improvements to agile MQ-9 Reaper employment from Hawki Fury 2022,” said Rudolf.
| Date Taken: | 09.20.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 09.20.2024 14:28 |
| Story ID: | 481422 |
| Location: | DES MOINES, IOWA, US |
| Web Views: | 240 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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