Some great photos which were made during the USAF exercise "Cope Elite 81" in November 1981 in the beautiful skies over Hawaii. It was one of the first major USAF exercises which saw the participation of the at that time still brand new F-16A/B. Part of the training sessions were simulated air combat scenarios, ground attack missions, formation flight and aerial refueling, most of it is also visible on the photos. The F-16A/B`s on the photos (A - Single Seat version/ B - Twin Seat version) came from the 428th Tactical Fighter Squadron to Hawaii, where they operated from the Marine Corps Air Station Kaneohe, Oahu, Hawaii.
Normally based at Nellis Air Force Base in the desert of Nevada, the 428th TFS also exercised the rapid deployment from the continental US to hot spot regions in the Pacific. Hawaii was used in this scenario as such a kind of simulated region. The vast distances in the Pacific made aerial refueling not only extremely important, but also necessary, especially with the fact in mind that the F-16 was not a long range fighter and had only limited fuel capacities. Such a aerial refueling process is visible on one of the photos which shows two F-16A`s and a KC-135A tanker.
The F-16`s on the photos were mainly armed with the AIM-9L "Sidewinder", which was the first version of the AIM-9 with "all aspect" capabilities, which means it was able to lock and hit an enemy aircraft from all directions. Previous versions lacked such a capability and made a hit only possible from a rear direction, with the engine exhaust as the main heat source for the seeker head of the missile. So as the AIM-9L entered USAF and US Navy service during the late 1970s, it was not only a major technical breakthrough but also regarding air to air combat.
