Photo: USAF/Master Sgt. Tristan McIntire
Pretty much anywhere on this planet, having fighter jets flying over an in-progress high school football game is a sign of alarm. Military planes are generally expensive to operate, and the world’s militaries tend to use them in case of need. But not Americans.
Whereas in most of the world fighter jets can be admired by civilians only at air shows or when some threat is detected, Americans like to show off their birds of prey as often as they can, including ahead of high-profile races, or other sporting events.
The main pic of this piece (click photo to enlarge) is a vista the people gathered for a high school football game in Niceville, Florida, got to enjoy back at the end of September.
The planes you see in this painting-like image are assigned to the Eglin Air Force Base from the same state, and they were there for more than just show. The F-16 Fighting Falcons were on sight to support a Prisoner of War/Missing In Action remembrance ceremony organized by the Okaloosa County schools.
Even if they are some of the most widespread military aircraft currently used in the world (over four and a half thousand have been made since its introduction in the 1970s), the F-16s, especially when flying in formation, are quite the sight, even in this toned-down, no-weapons guise they take on when trying to impress civilians.
When they go out hunting, these planes can fly at speeds of up to Mach 2 (1,535 mph/2,470 kph) and can keep going for 2,620 miles (4,217 km). The weapons they carry range from missiles to bombs.
September’s sortie over the Florida high school was added to the over 13 million already performed by the aircraft fleet around the world, activities that amount to some 19.5 million flight hours.
The main pic of this piece (click photo to enlarge) is a vista the people gathered for a high school football game in Niceville, Florida, got to enjoy back at the end of September.
The planes you see in this painting-like image are assigned to the Eglin Air Force Base from the same state, and they were there for more than just show. The F-16 Fighting Falcons were on sight to support a Prisoner of War/Missing In Action remembrance ceremony organized by the Okaloosa County schools.
Even if they are some of the most widespread military aircraft currently used in the world (over four and a half thousand have been made since its introduction in the 1970s), the F-16s, especially when flying in formation, are quite the sight, even in this toned-down, no-weapons guise they take on when trying to impress civilians.
When they go out hunting, these planes can fly at speeds of up to Mach 2 (1,535 mph/2,470 kph) and can keep going for 2,620 miles (4,217 km). The weapons they carry range from missiles to bombs.
September’s sortie over the Florida high school was added to the over 13 million already performed by the aircraft fleet around the world, activities that amount to some 19.5 million flight hours.
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