page_title: V formation
section_title: Military flight missions
hierarchical_section_title: V formation / Military flight missions
caption_attribution_description: English: Five 60th Fighter Squadron F-15Cs, from the 33rd Fighter Wing, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., soar over the mountains ranges of Alaska during their overseas deployment to Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska, to participate in Red Flag Alaska 07-1. The exercise is to prepare them for their Air Expeditionary Force 9/10 deployment window. Approximately 16 F-15s and more than 240 Airmen traveled to Elmendorf March 28 as part of the deployment.
context_page_description: A V formation is the symmetric V-shaped flight formation of flights of geese, swans, ducks, and other migratory birds, improving their energy efficiency. V formations also improve the fuel efficiency of aircraft and are used on military flight missions.
context_section_description: The "V", or "Vic" formation is a basic flight formation for military aircraft in many air forces. The Vic formation is also common in ceremonial flyovers and airshow flights.
  Air Mobility Command, which accounts for 20 percent of all avionic fuel usage by the United States federal government, is experimenting with autopilot changes to find the best tradeoff between the reduced drag of 'vortex surfing' and the resulting 'ride qualities' of flying through another aircraft's wake.
caption: USAF F-15s over Alaska.
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