Airmen's Terrifying Rush to Scramble F-16s and Intercept Russian Fighter Jet

And what have the Russians done in the meantime?

I am a former USAF Air Traffic Controller and was stationed at a TAC base in the 70s.... Our "Alert" aircraft were manned 24/7 and would be airborn within about 2 minutes. These guys are a "little slow" getting into the air.... JMHO

I,too, was a spark chaser. It was the MG-13 AWCS on the F-101-B and F back at the height of the Cold War, 1960-63. Our alert crews ate and slept in the center section of the alert pods called the "alert shack" from which they could be in their seats and taking off in a matter of minutes. The ladders were already hooked to the side of the jet and the crews helmets were in the cockpit. The weapons systems were in a standby mode to get to full power before the jet left the pod. No time wasted with our crews. Great time and great memories.

I worked as an Alert aircraft crew chief a long time ago..meaning F-102’s fueled ,armed..ready to go. We had 5 minutes to be airborne at that time and it typically took 3 minutes. The quarters were central with 2 open hangars on each side .

As a former Crew Chief on the F-16. I believe this could have been just a practice exercise video. If it was an actual alert, takeoff would happen so soon there would be no video. Just a post-flight briefing.

Does anyone remember when the B52's came on line in the early 50's. When they launched, they took off at 15-second intervals. In 1966, my first was Minot AFB. B52's and Minuteman missles.

I don’t know maybe I am just an old Cold War airman but, if we were launching an alert jet half the equipment those guys were grabbing was at the jet. Canopies are open and ladders are in place. And with a B-52, it was a cart start. A shotgun shell the size of a Folgers coffee can inside each engine. The co-pilot would hit a switch and all eight would fire. Gotta haul ass ya’ll! You had to when people were throwing megatons at you!!! LOL 😆

As always, PROUD of our military guys.

This has got to be one of the coolest jobs I've ever seen.

Respect towards these guys. Cheers from Poland.

An air craft flying at 4000 has already done the damage

i saw 2 f-16's on an intercept in canada and let me tell ya they were open for business. may god bless them all. air national guard units..

Seems to take a long time to scramble. Incoming jets can go a long way at top speed while this scramble procedure takes place.

梯子とエンジンカーバーが一緒になっている。すごい

This is the SC Air National Guard training....no Russians in sight lol

AWESOME, SPECTACULAR, BEAUTIFUL!!! Simply amazing. This video is like watching a symphony. The pilots, the ground crew and everyone. I’m in awe. Keep fighting the good fight! Stay safe and God bless. Thank you.

Surprised to see a sergeant pilot -- I was a radar controller of 102's, Thule Greenland, 1957 -- USAF Retired

All of these fellows are operating like a well-oiled machine!! God bless them one and all. Thank you for my and my families freedoms.

Alot slower than the Uk pilots

Considering how broken up and edited this video is, a lot of comments saying they were too slow are unwarranted. If this was a continuous shot, then maybe people would be right, but it's highly edited and kind of out of sequence. Too many armchair quarterbacks in the comments.😂