Viper Photograph - Dressed to Kill by Brad Brizek

Dressed to Kill is a photograph by Brad Brizek which was uploaded on September 1st, 2014.

Dressed to Kill

Name: Dressed to Kill Greeting Card
SKU: dressed-to-kill-greeting-card

This is a 310th Fighter Squadron Block 42 F-16CM getting ready to be armed for takeoff at Luke AFB, AZ. The 310th FS is the only squadron in the... more

by Brad Brizek

Canvas Print

Framed Print

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Greeting Card

Title

Dressed to Kill

Artist

Brad Brizek

Medium

Photograph - Digital Photograph

Description

This is a 310th Fighter Squadron Block 42 F-16CM getting ready to be armed for takeoff at Luke AFB, AZ. The 310th FS is the only squadron in the F-16 community that trains Forward Air Controller (Airborne), or FAC(A), pilots in the Air Force.

What are those you ask? A FAC(A) is responsible for getting bombs and bullets on target close to friendly troops. Due to the high chance that an errant bomb could kill friendly troops, these pilots are specifically trained in how to mitigate that risk while taking out the maximum number of enemy combatants.

The only other aircraft in the USAF inventory that performs this mission is the A-10C. Many of the strikes performed in Afghanistan and previously Iraq were done close to friendly troops, so having qualified pilots is a must.

For the shot, I traveled out to the arming area for over a week at night before I caught a rocket pod jet with a strobe flash on the tail. This one is armed with rockets and a GBU-12 laser guided bomb.

And the title? Well the TopHats standard radio response is "Dressed to Kill." Clever, huh?

Uploaded

September 1st, 2014