Click. Click. Click. The sound of her flight boots clicking against the hard concrete tile of the hallway rung in Second Lieutenant Navarre's ears. Out of all her titles. Duchess of Savoy, Lady of Este, Princess of Italy, this one title: Sottotenente Navarre of the Regia Aeronautica, was the one that made Rozenn the most proud. The others she obtained by right of who her brother, the King, was. This one, however, she earned herself. The youngest female to graduate from the Accademia Aeronautica, this right here was her proving ground. She'd spent the last few months flying the M-346 Master, and in just a few days, maybe a couple weeks, she'd be among the first Italian pilots taking to the skies in the new F-16V Block 70/72s.
She was one of 10 Pilots chosen to be squadron leaders for these new fighters, and it was time for her test. Three F-16 Falcons were being lent to the Training Squadron by the 5th Tactical Fighter Squadron, "Storm." Armed with training versions of the IRIS-T and AMRAAM Missiles, these F-16s would face off against 5 Su-47 Berkuts from the 8492nd Aggressor Squadron, "Grabacr." These too were outfitted with training missiles calibrated to provide similar lock-on capability to that of active-duty russian equivalents. 2 Instructor Pilots would fly the flanking element and tail. With more modern avionics, the F-16s were expected to win in a fair fight at range. However this was neither a fair fight, nor was it going to be at range. with an engagement distance of 10 km, and a hard deck of 10,000 feet, the F-16 was placed out of its bread and butter and right into the Su-47's home field, and beyond that, the F-16s were outnumbered. In truth, this wasn't a test of whether or not she could win. The F-16s were expected to lose. It was a test of whether or not she could lead.
As she approached the F-16 she'd be flying, she fastened her helmet and climbed the ladder up into the cockpit. A few switches and the plethora of displays lit up in front of her, right now filled with information almost entirely non-substantial. A few more flicked switches and she could hear the General Electric F110-GE-132 Engine start to come alive, the displays starting to show fuel flow, hydraulics systems, sensors, and the like. Her and the marshal went down the pre-flight checklist, checking the control surfaces, the brakes, the electrical systems, making sure that everything on the plane was ready for take off. With quick thumbs up from the marshal before he ran out of the way, Rozenn pushed out of her hangar and onto the taxiway, where the two instructors lined up in positions next to her. They watched the Su-47s take off before them, maintaining perfect formation as they took off, before it was their turn.
The force of the engine as the afterburner sped her down the runway and into the air pressed Rozenn into her seat.
This feeling would never get old. "Provisional Air Squadron, Rook., Climb to 30,000 ft and maintain to the engagement zone. Rook Leader out."
And so the test began.
She was one of 10 Pilots chosen to be squadron leaders for these new fighters, and it was time for her test. Three F-16 Falcons were being lent to the Training Squadron by the 5th Tactical Fighter Squadron, "Storm." Armed with training versions of the IRIS-T and AMRAAM Missiles, these F-16s would face off against 5 Su-47 Berkuts from the 8492nd Aggressor Squadron, "Grabacr." These too were outfitted with training missiles calibrated to provide similar lock-on capability to that of active-duty russian equivalents. 2 Instructor Pilots would fly the flanking element and tail. With more modern avionics, the F-16s were expected to win in a fair fight at range. However this was neither a fair fight, nor was it going to be at range. with an engagement distance of 10 km, and a hard deck of 10,000 feet, the F-16 was placed out of its bread and butter and right into the Su-47's home field, and beyond that, the F-16s were outnumbered. In truth, this wasn't a test of whether or not she could win. The F-16s were expected to lose. It was a test of whether or not she could lead.
As she approached the F-16 she'd be flying, she fastened her helmet and climbed the ladder up into the cockpit. A few switches and the plethora of displays lit up in front of her, right now filled with information almost entirely non-substantial. A few more flicked switches and she could hear the General Electric F110-GE-132 Engine start to come alive, the displays starting to show fuel flow, hydraulics systems, sensors, and the like. Her and the marshal went down the pre-flight checklist, checking the control surfaces, the brakes, the electrical systems, making sure that everything on the plane was ready for take off. With quick thumbs up from the marshal before he ran out of the way, Rozenn pushed out of her hangar and onto the taxiway, where the two instructors lined up in positions next to her. They watched the Su-47s take off before them, maintaining perfect formation as they took off, before it was their turn.
The force of the engine as the afterburner sped her down the runway and into the air pressed Rozenn into her seat.
This feeling would never get old. "Provisional Air Squadron, Rook., Climb to 30,000 ft and maintain to the engagement zone. Rook Leader out."
And so the test began.
