Photo: USAF/Master Sgt. Genevieve Armstrong
We get to see military aircraft in action here on autoevolution almost daily. Some of them belong to operational units, others to aerobatic teams, but they all are flown by highly skilled pilots. Until we stumbled upon this pic here though, we doubt any of the planes we’ve seen so far were flown by Air Force generals, chiefs, and marshals.
But let’s take things one at a time. The photo you’re looking at was snapped back at the beginning of September, but was made public more recently by the U.S. Air Force (USAF). It shows three planes flying over Australia’s Northern Territory during what the military branch calls “a demonstration of friendship and cooperative leadership.”
The planes we’re looking at are an F-22 Raptor (the one furthest out), an EA-18G Growler (closest to the viewer), and a very colorful Eurofighter Typhoon in the middle. They are deployed with the USAF, German Air Force, and Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), respectively.
Now, getting three planes of different allied nations in the same place for a show of force is impressive in itself, but even more impressive is who was flying these three planes: not regular pilots, but the men who lead them.
The Raptor seen here is flown in this pic by USAF General Kenneth Wilsbach, Pacific Air Forces commander; the Typhoon is piloted by Lieutenant General Ingo Gerhartz, German Air Force’s Air Chief; and the Growler is controlled by Robert Chipman, RAAF Air Marshal.
The display of might and so many stars in the sky at the same time is not something that happens everyday and is probably the most impressive Photo of the Day we’ve featured in recent times.
More importantly, the three men did not fly alone, but with other pilots and aircraft as “part of a dynamic force employment demonstration,” and that makes this rare instance even more meaningful in the current global context.
The planes we’re looking at are an F-22 Raptor (the one furthest out), an EA-18G Growler (closest to the viewer), and a very colorful Eurofighter Typhoon in the middle. They are deployed with the USAF, German Air Force, and Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), respectively.
Now, getting three planes of different allied nations in the same place for a show of force is impressive in itself, but even more impressive is who was flying these three planes: not regular pilots, but the men who lead them.
The Raptor seen here is flown in this pic by USAF General Kenneth Wilsbach, Pacific Air Forces commander; the Typhoon is piloted by Lieutenant General Ingo Gerhartz, German Air Force’s Air Chief; and the Growler is controlled by Robert Chipman, RAAF Air Marshal.
The display of might and so many stars in the sky at the same time is not something that happens everyday and is probably the most impressive Photo of the Day we’ve featured in recent times.
More importantly, the three men did not fly alone, but with other pilots and aircraft as “part of a dynamic force employment demonstration,” and that makes this rare instance even more meaningful in the current global context.
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