The US Air Force’s Most-Feared Squadrons

YouTube / Forces News

Learn, Teach, Replicate

Meet the US Air Force’s 64th and 65th Aggressor Squadrons. Based at Nellis AFB, these squadrons are the Air Force’s “enemies” that teach adversarial tactics and provide air combat training to fellow pilots.

That day, the USAF will conduct parts of the Exercise Red Flag over the ocean for the first time ever. 

You can see them vacuum the air out of their dry suits at 0:46, which is done to avoid air pockets that make it harder to move around. These suits are designed to keep them warm in cold water. 

They also carry a vest with a survival radio to contact rescue forces and a horse collar that inflates if deployed. 

The 64th’s aircraft of choice is the F-16 – an older but still highly capable aircraft. Each “bad guy” has six lives. If they were “shot down,” they’d only need to get back to the Regeneration Line, tag it, and come back, simulating the enemy sending out backups.