ONE: The Five F-15s

In the summer months of 1980, we prepared for a classified air mission. I met with four other officers, all were high ranking brass and all were fit and flight ready. We briefed in the early morning. I pointed out the flight plan and what to look for at what time and at what coordinates, then we suited up shortly afterward. We took off and flew west from Vandenberg AFB, CA. We flew F-15s and had an air tanker KC-135 follow for refueling. Each fighter was armed with four long range standard missiles. We knew we needed more fuel than what’s in the wings and one center fuel tank so that’s why the tanker. I was in the lead to show the way since I had prior experience with this sort of thing. It’s sort of a show and tell for me. Once we got to where we needed, I instructed the tanker to pick a radial then hold in a pattern.  We looked out and waited for it to appear and when it did, we tried to kill it with all we got! Each man wanted some blood in his hands before he went home that day. It was a long day. The thing was fast and not easy to kill. We used our guns and missiles conservatively. It was fast compared to our fighters even with a top speed of Mach 2.5 but that wastes a lot of fuel so that’s why the long range standard missiles. We needed to refuel twice in that scrimmage that day. Eventually each fighter pilot fired off his missiles and struck the alien craft. This was a baby craft to say the least. All while we paid attention to the mother ship that spawned it for us to kill. In the end the ET craft foundered and we were empty and dry. Everyone was tired and drenched in sweat. The mothership disappeared into the upper atmosphere and then all the fighter jets headed back to base and the tanker. That day was monumental and gave the four high ranking brass Generals an idea of how human technology can hold up to an alien race. I never knew the names of the generals and likewise they didn’t know mine. We were all given code names for this hop. - Cobalt Migration, Tom Luong’s Additional Writing, Written by Julian Phillips. Released 2024.