Flares put to test at Eglin

C-5 ejects flares over Eglin range March 2.
Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Naomi Shipley

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- Aircraft countermeasures were put to the test recently when aircrews from two West Coast bases came to the Gulf Coast. Participating in the Air Mobile Command flare effectiveness test were the 62nd Airlift Wing C-17 Globemaster III aircrew from Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., and a C-5 crew from Travis Air Force Base, Calif. The aircraft-dispensed flares are used as infrared countermeasures designed to defeat heat seeking surface-to-air or air-to-air missiles. Typically, cargo-carrying aircraft like the C-130, C-5 and C-17 carry flares as countermeasures. The tests began late last month. (Source: 62nd Airlift Wing, 03/07/16)