Ladder ops

A maintainer with the 56th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron from Luke Air Force Base, Ariz., waits to bring the ladder to the recently returned F-16 at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., March 18. The F-16s were brought here to provide familiarization training to the 33rd Fighter Wing pilots prior to the arrival of the F-35 and to establish a “battle rhythm” for the 33rd flightline operations. Currently, Marines and Air Force pilots are completing daily sorties. (U.S. Air Force photo/Samuel King Jr.)

Aircraft crossing

F-16s from Luke Air Force Base, Ariz., taxi in after a morning sortie mission at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., March 18. The F-16s were brought here to provide familiarization training to the 33rd Fighter Wing pilots prior to the arrival of the F-35 and to establish a “battle rhythm” for the 33rd flightline operations. Currently, Marines and Air Force pilots are completing daily sorties. (U.S. Air Force photo/Samuel King Jr.)

Silencio

A C-12 Huron sits in the anechoic chamber at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. The aircraft was part of a joint retrofitting test mission among the Army, Navy and Air Force to test their electronic warfare systems. The Army provided the aircraft that housed the Navy's electronic countermeasure systems, which was tested by the Air Force. An anechoic chamber is a room designed to stop reflections of either sound or electromagnetic waves. They are also insulated from exterior sources of noise. The The Joint Preflight Integration of Munitions and Electronic Systems, a subsidiary of the 46th Test Wing, has hosted similar joint test missions for more than five years in the chamber. JPRIMES provides an environment to facilitate testing air-to-air and air-to-surface munitions and electronics systems on full-scale aircraft and land vehicles prior to open air testing. (U.S. Air Force photo/Samuel King Jr.)

Wild blue

An F-16 Fighting Falcon from the 40th Flight Test Squadron tests a weapon over the Gulf of Mexico Feb. 8. The mission tested the capabilities of the Miniature Air Launch Decoy-Jammer. The Miniature Air Launched Decoy-Jammer is an air-launched programmable craft that duplicates the combat flight profiles and signatures of U.S. and allied aircraft. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Joely Santiago)

Lift off

A CV-22 Osprey from the 413th Flight Test Squadron begins to lift off from Duke Field Feb. 11. The 413th FTS is a squadron of the 46th Test Wing stationed at Hurlburt Field. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Samuel King Jr.)

Tail spotting

A CV-22 Osprey from the 413th Flight Test Squadron touches down as a 919th Special Operations Wing MC-130E Talon waits to be launched at Duke Field Feb. 11. The 413th FTS is a squadron of the 46th Test Wing stationed at Hurlburt Field. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Samuel King Jr.)