Marine Lightnings and USAF Raptors
The Marines and USAF work together in a giant mil sim and looking back on a fateful training mission
“The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave…”
– Patrick Henry
Mission Briefing
In a major leap forward for joint-force readiness, U.S. Marine Corps F-35 and U.S. Air Force F-22 pilots trained together for the first time in a high-fidelity, digitally simulated combat environment. This milestone event, which took place March 24–27 at the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division’s (NAWCAD) Joint Simulation Environment (JSE) in Patuxent River, Maryland, marks a new chapter in how America’s most advanced fighters prepare for tomorrow’s conflicts.
Marine Fighter Attack Squadrons 122, 225, and 311 joined forces with four Air Force F-22 Raptor crews for 17 immersive combat scenarios designed to push the limits of fifth-generation air combat. Each mission was followed by detailed debriefs using cockpit video and audio recordings, offering pilots a chance to dissect their performance, identify weaknesses, and build on successes.
“This milestone is a game-changer,” said Rear Adm. John Dougherty IV, NAWCAD’s commanding officer. “It ushers in a new era of interoperability for aviation’s combat community and served as a pivotal exercise getting NAWCAD ready to make this joint training standard for Navy and Air Force fighters.”
The JSE, now integrated with the Navy’s elite TOPGUN program, offers a hyper-realistic training environment with dome simulators outfitted with real defense hardware, software, and simulated adversaries. These scenarios replicate the complexity and pace of modern air combat more safely and cost-effectively than live training.
Why Joint Training Matters: Lessons from Red Flag
Exercises like this echo the same philosophy that underpins larger, live-fly events such as Red Flag—the U.S. Air Force’s premier aerial combat training exercise. Created in the aftermath of Vietnam, Red Flag was born from a sobering realization: the first ten combat missions are often the most dangerous. The solution? Give aircrews a chance to “survive” those first ten missions in a training environment rather than real combat.
That same logic drives the expansion of the JSE. High-fidelity simulators now allow pilots to train against cutting-edge threats without the limits of range space, logistics, or budget. Crucially, it also enables multiple services—Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps—to train together in scenarios that mimic the joint operations they would execute in a real war.
Whether it’s a Red Flag mission over the Nevada desert or a JSE scenario inside a domed simulator, these exercises sharpen combat skills, test communication and coordination across services, and build the trust necessary for real-world success. As Marine Corps pilot Maj. Patrick Kaufer put it, “It’s going to be the people that win our nation’s wars… person-to-person connections between the Air Force, the Navy, and the Marine Corps [in the JSE] is the most important part.”
What’s Next for the JSE
The Joint Simulation Environment isn’t just for fast jets. NAWCAD plans to expand its use to a broader range of platforms, including the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye, the Navy’s airborne early warning powerhouse designed to detect enemy aircraft and missiles at long ranges.
Coming next year: the inclusion of F/A-18 Super Hornets and EA-18G Growlers, which will allow even more complex joint training missions involving strike, electronic warfare, and command-and-control roles—all within the same simulation environment.
As threats around the world evolve, so must our training. And exercises like Red Flag—and now JSE missions—ensure that when the time comes, America’s aviators are ready to fight and win, together.
This Week in Aviation History
7 April 1961 – A Training Flight Turns Tragic
High over the rugged terrain of New Mexico, what began as a routine training mission ended in disaster when a live missile unintentionally struck a U.S. Air Force B-52 Stratofortress. The incident, while accidental, serves as a stark reminder of both the dangers inherent in military aviation and the relentless pursuit of safety and precision through training.
The Mission
7 April 1961, a Boeing B-52B Stratofortress named Ciudad Juarez, tail number 53-380, took off from Biggs Air Force Base in El Paso, Texas. Assigned to the 95th Bombardment Wing, the aircraft was on a standard training flight under the command of Captain Donald C. Blodgett.
Meanwhile, two F-100A Super Sabres from the New Mexico Air National Guard, piloted by Captain Dale Dodd and 1st Lt. James W. van Scyoc, departed Kirtland Air Force Base. Armed with GAR-8 Sidewinder missiles (later reclassified as AIM-9Bs), their mission was to conduct practice intercepts on the lumbering B-52 at 34,000 feet—a simulation meant to refine skills without any real weapon deployment.
A Deadly Misfire
As the exercise neared completion, Lt. van Scyoc’s Sidewinder seeker locked onto the B-52’s hot engine exhaust—as designed. But what followed defied training protocols. Without warning, one of his missiles launched.
“Look out! One of my missiles is loose!” van Scyoc radioed.
It was already too late. The missile struck the left wing of Ciudad Juarez, detonating under the inboard engine nacelle. The blast sheared the wing clean off. The bomber rolled violently and entered a fatal spin. It would never recover.
A Fight for Survival
The crew of the B-52 experienced chaos. Copilot Captain Ray Obel managed to eject instantly, his departure causing explosive decompression that pulled Crew Chief SSgt. Manuel Mieras into the cockpit ceiling. He survived but later lost his leg due to injuries.
Captain Blodgett struggled to control the aircraft, unaware the wing was gone. Overcome by g-forces but still trying to signal a bailout, he finally pulled his ejection handle. He was blasted from the aircraft at over 600 knots, flying through fire and a spray of fuel. His ejection seat remained briefly tangled with him midair, but he managed to free himself and parachuted into a blizzard, bleeding from a deep gash in his arm.
The bomber crashed into Mount Taylor, a 11,305-foot stratovolcano near Grants, New Mexico, carving out a 75-foot crater. The impact killed three crew members: Captain Peter Gineris (navigator), Captain Stephen Carter (bombardier), and 1st Lt. Glenn Blair (electronic warfare officer).
Others were scattered across the remote terrain. Staff Sgt. Ray Singleton, the tail gunner, was severely burned. He and Captain Blodgett were rescued by helicopter later that day. Obel and Mieras were found two days later.
What Went Wrong?
The investigation revealed a rare but deadly electrical malfunction. Moisture inside a worn connector had shorted out the firing circuit of van Scyoc’s missile. He was fully exonerated—he had followed procedure precisely. But the incident forever altered the protocols for armed training missions.
The Sidewinder That Struck
The missile in question, the AIM-9B Sidewinder, was the first production model of what would become one of the most iconic and widely used air-to-air missiles in history. At just over 9 feet long, with a 10-pound fragmentation warhead and a max speed of Mach 2.5, the AIM-9B was a potent weapon—deadly even when unintentionally launched.
Named after the sidewinder rattlesnake, which uses heat-sensitive pits to hunt prey, the missile’s infrared guidance system made it ideal for locking onto engine exhaust, just like the F-100 pilots practiced that day.
Why Incidents Like This Still Matter
Though tragic, the Ciudad Juarez accident underscores the constant balancing act in military aviation between training realism and safety. Just like today's simulated environments—such as the Joint Simulation Environment (JSE)—this incident highlights why training protocols, system safeguards, and inter-service exercises are continually evolving.
Modern simulators (such as the one mentioned in the lead story in today’s newsletter) may now prevent incidents like this with digital realism and zero live ordnance, but the lessons from 1961 remain etched into aviation doctrine: even in training, vigilance and system integrity are paramount.
In Case You Missed It
There have been more sightings of the J-36 flying - it may be time for an update video soon:
Photo Outlet
Every issue of Hangar Flying with Tog gets you a free image that I’ve taken at airshows:
Feel free to use these photos however you like, if you choose to tag me, I am @pilotphotog on all social platforms. Thanks!
Post Flight Debrief
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-Tog
The photo is an AT-6 Texan trainer.