In a display of tactical ingenuity and operational readiness, the Montana Air National Guard (MT ANG) conducted a groundbreaking training exercise on Sept. 25. The exercise involved landing a C-130 Hercules aircraft on a stretch of US Highway 87 between Great Falls and Belt, marking the first time the MT ANG has performed such a maneuver with this aircraft type.
Col. Jason Green, Mission Support Group commander for the 120th Airlift Wing, emphasized the strategic importance of the exercise: “We are working on skills we need to be able to engage with the next peer that we have, which is China. We’re proving that we could [land our aircraft] in remote places.”
The exercise, dubbed “vigilante landing zone training,” serves multiple purposes beyond potential conflict scenarios. Col. Green explained, “Places that we’ll possibly fly out to, in different countries and stuff, may not have runways readily available or during civil emergencies at times we may not have runways available. This helps us to understand, with our partners and with the Army, how we can land in these austere places and get the job done.”
The training is particularly valuable for enhancing pilots’ situational awareness and adaptability. “In times of hurricanes and stuff like that, sometimes we have to use runways that we wouldn’t normally use,” Col. Green noted. “This helps them train for those situations where they’re bringing in supplies to people and they’re taking out wounded, or they’re med-evacing people. This is a very helpful skill for them.”
To facilitate the exercise, authorities closed the relevant stretch of US Highway 87 from 8:00 AM to approximately 11:00 AM on the day of the operation. Local drivers were required to use detours during this period, highlighting the logistical challenges involved in conducting such realistic training scenarios.
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