State Partnership Program

Video by Master Sgt. Kevin Wallace

Multinational exercise wraps-up in Idaho

366th Fighter Wing

Oct. 21, 2013 | 2:36

Produced by Master Sgt. Kevin Wallace
366th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
10/21/2013 - MOUNTAIN HOME AIR FORCE BASE, Idaho --
Two Luftwaffe "Blue" AG-51 Tornados zoomed through the desert skies, closing in on a U.S. Navy "Red" E/A-18G Growler, that just fired missiles at a U.S. Air Force convoy moving across the desert about 15 miles from Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho. Available in high definition.

"I got a lock-on," bellows one of the German Air Force pilots.

Moments later, the Super Hornet's threat is neutralized, and a combat search and rescue team heads off into the desert to rescue a downed pilot.

Fortunately, that action-packed 20 minutes was fictitious yet wasn't much different than the hundreds of other sorties flown during a multinational combined-joint exercise dubbed Mountain Roundup 2013, which took place here from Sept. 30 through Oct. 16.

The exercise was part of the German Air Force Tornado Fighter Weapons Instructor Course Mission Employment Phase, where hundreds of GAF, Royal Canadian Air Force, U.S. Marines, Navy, and Airmen trained in realistic ground operations, close-air support (CAS), urban combatives, convoy operations, basic fighter maneuvers, counter air and multiple air-to-air training scenarios.