In The Wild, March 2008

The Mojave desert is the site of nearly continuous military aircraft operations. The R-2508 Restricted Airspace Complex stretches from Bishop to Edwards Air Force Base and from Tehachapi to the Nevada State line. Approximately 18,000 low level test and training missions are conducted within the R-2508 Complex annually.

Under the R-2508 Complex, the Saline Valley, adjacent to Death Valley, is used by military aircraft to transit between China Lake NAWC, Edwards AFB, and test ranges in Nevada. Aircraft from Fresno ANG Station and Lemoore NAS aircraft use the area for training.

I spent four days in March camping in the Saline Valley photographing military jets. Air traffic wasn't as busy in the Saline Valley as it was on my last visit in November 2005. We saw no quad jets, just Hornets and Falcons. There was no RAF presence at all.

Call signs heard over the Joshua Owens frequency included Hyper (Fresno ANG), X-Ray (China Lake), Satan, Ivan, Raven, Vampire, Expert, Switch, Reefer, Jason, MiG, Flanker, and Talon. The MiG MiGht have been MiG-15 N515MG flying out of Edwards. A Bloodhound P-3 from Naval Air Station Pt Mugu was in the vicinity of a drone, but it wasn't clear if it was on a related mission.

We listened to Raytheon's 727 Voodoo1 talking to Joshua Owens a couple of days. We also heard Alpha Jet N707XA.

The first morning we were greeted by a Fresno ANG Falcon passing over camp in afterburner and making a climbing roll. One Hornet made a loop after passing over camp. The last night, a pair of Hornets buzzed the camp in afterburner at about 11:30 PM. They became audible just seconds before they screamed over camp, pairs of blue triangles of light moving fast across the starry sky.

Saline Valley Birdwatching: Slideshow of Boeing-McDonnell-Douglas F/A-18 Hornets from NAS Lemoore and NAWS China Lake and General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcons from Fresno ANG and Edwards AFB flying at low altitude in the Saline Valley in March 2008.

General Dynamics F-16C Block 32C Fighting Falcon 86-256 of the Fresno Air National Guard.

F-16C 86-256

Boeing-McDonnell-Douglas F/A-18E Super Hornet #204

F/A-18E #204

Boeing-McDonnell-Douglas F/A-18F Super Hornet #103 of VFA-122 Flying Eagles based at Naval Air Station Lemoore.

F/A-18F #103 of VFA-122

McDonnell-Douglas F/A-18C Super Hornet #355 of VFA-125 Rough Raiders based at Naval Air Station Lemoore.

Boeing-McDonnell-Douglas F/A-18F Super Hornet #107

Boeing-McDonnell-Douglas F/A-18F Super Hornet

Boeing-McDonnell-Douglas F/A-18F Super Hornet of VFA-115 Eagles based at Naval Air Station Lemoore.

F/A-18F of VFA-115

Boeing-McDonnell-Douglas F/A-18F Super Hornet

General Dynamics F-16A Block 15 Fighting Falcon 80-0584 of the 412th Test Wing is the last operational F-16A in the U.S.Air Force inventory.

F-16A 80-0584 of the 412th Test Wing was flown by a pilot of the Royal Netherlands Air Force Solo Display at the Edwards Air Force Base open house on October 28, 2006.

Boeing-McDonnell-Douglas F/A-18F Super Hornets

Boeing-McDonnell-Douglas F/A-18F Super Hornet of VFA-122 Flying Eagles

F/A-18F of VFA-122

Spring Time in Saline Valley

Scenic photographs from the journey.

More In the Wild Displays:

Link to the In the Wild index page for more pictures of jets in the desert.

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