Skip to main content (Press Enter).
 News
    
        Photos

    Week in Photos

    Air Force TV

    Commentaries

    Features

    Art

    About Us
    
        Air Force Senior Leaders
    
        SECAF

    CSAF

    CMSAF

    Biographies

    Fact Sheets

    SECAF Reading List

    CSAF Leadership Library
    
        CSAF Leadership Library 2022

    CSAF Leadership Library 2021

    CSAF Reading List Pre-2020 Archive
    
        2018 CSAF Reading List

    2017 CSAF Reading List

    2016 CSAF Reading List

    CSAF Leadership Library 2023

    CMSAF Leadership Library

    50 Years of the CMSAF

    Adjunct Professors

    Air Force Strategic Documents

    Arctic Strategy

    Empowered Airmen

    State Licensure Portability

    Careers

    AF Federal Advisory Committees

    AF 75th Anniversary

    Policy Updates

    AF Content Management

    Contact Us

    AF Sites
    
        Site RegistrationU.S. Air Force LogoAir Force

        Policy UpdatesNewsroomReoptimizationBIOGRAPHIESAF Senior Leaders      PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. – An Afghanistan air force pilot, right, joins his trainer for a morning sortie of high-density altitude training in an A-29 Super Tucano aircraft at Peterson Air Force Base, Colo., Aug. 24, 2016. The Afghanis are participating in a program training 30 pilots and 90 maintainers for the aircraft, which will be used mainly for close air support functions. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Dennis Hoffman)Colorado stands in for Afghanistan during pilot training
                        
                        
                        An Afghanistan Air Force pilot, right, joins his trainer for a morning sortie of high-density altitude training in an A-29 Super Tucano at Peterson Air Force Base, Colo., Aug. 24, 2016. The Afghan Air Force is participating in a program training 30 pilots and 90 maintainers for the aircraft, which will be used mainly for close air support functions. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Dennis Hoffman)
                
                Photo Details /
                        Download Hi-Res

Colorado stands in for Afghanistan during pilot trainingPublished Aug. 31, 2016
                    
                    By Dave Smith
                    
                    
                    21st Space Wing Public Affairs
            **PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. (AFNS)  --**The beautiful vistas and rugged mountainscapes of Colorado and Afghanistan are so similar that training for warfighting in one is done in the other.The 81st Fighter Squadron from Moody Air Force Base, Georgia, spent two weeks at Peterson AFB training six Afghan Air Force pilots to fly A-29 Super Tucano. The pilots are participating in a program that began in 2015 and will ultimately train 30 pilots and 90 maintainers through 2018. Most training takes place at Moody AFB, but the area’s geography doesn’t replicate Afghanistan.Colorado Springs is a good fit in simulating conditions the pilots will face back home in Afghanistan, said Lt. Col. Ryan Cleveland, the director of operations for the 81st FS. The mean elevation for Afghanistan is 6,181 feet and 6,800 feet for Colorado, making Peterson AFB a match for high-density altitude training.The half-dozen Afghanistan Air Force pilots currently in training represent roughly the halfway point in the program. Experienced Afghan pilots who want to fly the A-29 are selected for the program and after completing language school they enter the training phase for 12-14 months. At the end of training they return home and fly the exact aircraft they trained with, Cleveland said.The A-29 is a turboprop aircraft designed for light attack, counter insurgency, close air support, and aerial reconnaissance missions. Twenty of the aircraft will be delivered to the Afghan Air Force by 2018. The first close air support missions carried out by U.S. trained Afghan A-29 pilots took place in April 2016.Practice and training sessions are carried out in southern Colorado utilizing the Airburst Military Operations Area and the Two Buttes MOA.“We want to say thank you to Peterson for the hospitality,” Cleveland said. “It’s great that they gave us space to work in and (they are) sharing their air space.”The recent training visit in Colorado Springs is the third time the 81st FS used the base to meet the specific needs required to successfully train pilots from Afghanistan.Colorado 



Afghanistan 



pilots 



A-29 



Peterson AFB 



ACC 



Moody AFB 



AFSPC 



training Featured News
        Senior Leader Priorities
                SecAF, CSAF, CMSAF begin Indo-Pacific trip focused on ACE
                    
                    DAF leaders talk budget, reoptimizing the force
                    
                    DAF leaders speak at National Character and Leadership Symposium
                    
                    DAF members recognized during BEYA STEM awards
                    
                    DAF senior enlisted advisors discuss Airmen, Guardians in the fightInnovation
                F-16s arrive to be modified for autonomous testing
                    
                    AFWERX director discusses role of tech startups, quick innovation in Great Power Competition
                    
                    DAF delivers lethality at the speed of data during Project Convergence Capstone 4
                    
                    DAF welcomes industry partners to HQ development program
                    
                    DAF announces Spark Tank 2024 finalistsMAJCOM News
                Safety enterprise announces new mission, vision, goals in 2024 strategic plan
                    
                    Air Combat Command welcomes new commander
                    
                    USAFE-AFAFRICA commander discusses Integrated Air, Missile Defense during Munich Security Conference
                    
                    Flosi to AFMC family: Embrace change, make every day count
                    
                    AMC rises to increasing global tension
 Quick Links
AccessibilityContact UsEqual OpportunityFOIA | Privacy | Section 508Information QualityInspector GeneralJAG Court-Martial DocketLink DisclaimerNo FEAR ActOpen GovernmentOSI Tip LinePlain LanguageQuestionsResilienceRSSSite MapVeterans Crisis LineCareers
Join the Air ForceAir Force BenefitsAir Force CareersAir Force ReserveAir National GuardCivilian ServiceConnect
            Get Social with Us
            
            Official United States Air Force Website
    Hosted by Defense Media Activity - WEB.mil