Fighter Pilot focuses on the experience of Captain John Stratton, a fighter pilot participating in Red Flag, a demanding, high-tech air combat exercise that prepares U.S. and Allied pilots for the realities of war. The film takes audiences behind-the-scenes of the Red Flag exercise, follows an Air Force training mission over the Nevada desert and reveals the special teamwork that allows pilots to succeed and survive under pressure. Upon completion of Red Flag, graduates have the equivalent of their first 10 combat missions accomplished.
NATO and the air forces of 27 other countries have joined the U.S. in these intensive exercises since 1975, as well as individual members of other countries (such as India) who have participated as observers.
The E-3 Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) and E-8C Joint Stars aircraft play a significant role in the training by using their unique capabilities to monitor and support many aspects of the “Blue” force effort.
Red Flag’s “Blue” forces comprise most of the aircraft and personnel deployed for the exercise . Their mission is to attack Nellis range targets such as mock airfields, vehicle convoys, tanks, parked aircraft, bunkered defensive positions and missile sites. These targets are defended by a variety of simulated ground and air threats to give participant aircrews the most realistic combat training possible.
-Red Flag’s aggressor “Red” forces are deployed to attack the “Blue” forces and protect the target area. “Red” force threats include electronically simulated surface-to-air missiles and anti-aircraft artillery, communications jamming forces and an opposing enemy air force composed of 64th Aggressor Squadron pilots. These pilots fly the F-16C and are specially trained to replicate the tactics and techniques of potential adversaries.
-The “White” forces utilize the Nellis Air Combat Training System (NACTS) to monitor this mock combat between “Red” and “Blue.” NACTS, the world’s most sophisticated tracking system for combat training exercises, allows commanders, safety observers, and exercise directors to monitor the mission and keep score of simulated “kills” while viewing the simulated air battle as it occurs.
Our challenge for this production was to create a “civilian” version of NACTS… that system is so sophisticated that you just can’t film it and expect the audience to understand what they are seeing. We wanted to show that with NACTS, the “Air Bosses” not only see what’s going on in a bird’s eye view of the battlefield, but, they can actually switch their monitors to any of the fighter’s cockpit views and see what the pilot sees !! including all the vital signs of the pilot ! Hart rate, G forces and all !!
Our other job was to help create air fight scenes with the footage shot at Nellis combined with CG generated F16’s and F15’s. It was out of the question to strap heavy cameras to these planes to get the close-up shots. The brute G forces and aerodynamics of the fighter jet would have created too much risk for the pilots…
Some of these notes are from the film’s website that you can find here; http://www.fighterpilotfilm.com/