Consistent CAP over a fleet from a land base

Ed Rasimus wrote:
On 7 Feb 2006 16:38:54 -0800, "KDR" wrote:

Ed Rasimus wrote:
On 6 Feb 2006 18:59:34 -0800, "KDR" wrote:

Ed Rasimus wrote:

When we exercised with Spanish air defense forces, which is apparently
the closest mission to respond to your question, we would configure
with three tanks, AIM-9s and AIM-7E. In that configuration on CAP, we
could maintain station for slightly over two hours. If you translate
that into distance, you could get one hour out at approx 500 kts
ground speed, ten minutes of engagement time at altitude and one hour
back: that defines a 500 nautical mile combat radius. That could be
increased if you jettisoned tanks as they went dry to reduce drag.


When you exercised with the Spanish, what was the assumed scenario? For
instance intruders would always come from the East, and they would be
multi-engined bombers, etc.

I guess only Tu-95 Bear and Tu-16 Badger could have flown that far...

The exercises with the Spanish air defense forces were not so
stereotyped. Scenarios varied and threat ingress routes were all
quadrants and altitudes.

Let me note that US/Spanish air defense goes back a long way, at least
to the fifties. And, the Spanish radar environment was excellent.

I've recounted here previously one exercise in which my profile as
attacker involved starting after tanker drop-off in the Mediterranean
near Malaga with full fuel in a three tank configuration and running
supersonic from the coast to Madrid at FL 400 or higher. Starting in
full AB and hitting M 1.1 at the coast, I was able to leave it in
reheat all the way to Madrid and as fuel load decreased the
acceleration took me to M 1.6 by the capital.

I was successfully intercepted by a Mirage III out of Valencia at FL
480 and M 1.6--the best high speed intercept I've ever seen!


Ed Rasimus
Fighter Pilot (USAF-Ret)
"When Thunder Rolled"
www.thunderchief.org
www.thundertales.blogspot.com

What weapon did that Spanish Mirage III "use" to intercept you at that
time?

BTW, I'd greatly appreciate if you could recount any exercise in which
your F-4C defended the fleet against air threat.