ALTUS AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. – The 97th Air Mobility Wing will be conducting a large formation exercise starting at 9:00 a.m. on March 24, 2023. A large formation exercise involves most or all operational aircraft from a unit taxiing and taking off rapidly within short succession of each other.
The wing’s large formation exercise will be conducted to demonstrate the readiness and training capability of Altus AFB. After aircraft assembly and launch, all available Altus AFB aircraft will disperse across the region to conduct training and recover back to the base.
This rapid, agile, and highly synchronized exercise will demonstrate the wing’s mission of training exceptional mobility Airmen. The exercise will also demonstrate the capability to rapidly generate and disperse aircraft in the event of severe weather.
Mobility air operations are essential to project power across the globe in support of national objectives. Altus AFB is the world’s largest Mobility training base producing more than 2,000 combat-ready mobility aviators per year. The base is a key component of America’s global air logistics enterprise.
During the large formation exercise, base personnel and local residents may see more aircraft than usual in the skies above mobility’s hometown.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Altus AFB Public Affairs at (580) 481-7700, or by email at 97amw.pa@us.af.mil.
The 97th Air Mobility Wing serves as “Mobility’s Hometown” - training 70% of the Air Force’s mobility aircrew on the C-17 Globemaster III, KC-135 Stratotanker, and KC-46 Pegasus.