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Two Air Defense F-16s on alert status launch in the night from Hato International Airport on the resort island of Curaçao in the Netherlands Antilles. Vectored to a target by the US Navy, they acquire it on their radar. NVGs in place, they close in — and hit the pickle button? No. They identify the target and radio the information back to federal drug agencies in Florida. Without a single volley, these F-16As from the Coronet Nighthawk mission provide the first-look response in the war on drugs flowing into the United States from Latin America.

Coronet Nighthawk, an ANG counter-drug operation, works under the Joint Inter-Agency Task Force East (JIATF-East), in Key West, Florida, explains Lt. Col. Laney McNealy, commander for the 12th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron, also known as Nighthawk. “We are employed to provide the first look on a possible target that fits the narco profile.”

“The interrogator allows us to look at the codes aircraft normally squawk when they’re flying,” adds Maj. Bill O’Brien, pilot for the 148th. “Although drug smugglers don’t usually turn on their transponders, they do tend to follow flying procedures in the area. The IFF helps us identify them.”

Another way to identify these targets is to get close enough to read their tail numbers. But a lot of aircraft try to sneak through the JIATF-East area with their lights out. “In these cases, we can use our high-power spotlight to illuminate aircraft as we fly alongside them,” says McNealy.

“The night vision goggles also help identify these targets,” adds Cossalter. “As part of its longstanding air defense role, the ANG has trained and used NVGs the longest. All night scrambles depend heavily on the goggles.”

Before the radar, IFF, or NVGs can identify a target, the F-16s must first get to it. “Obviously, the F-16 can go fast,” O’Brien says. “And we can comfortably operate to 400 miles or so, weather permitting. In fact, speed and distance are two reasons that drove the counter-drug operation to the military side. We have the airplanes that can get out farther and faster and get that monitoring job done.” A mission capable rate of about ninety percent ensures that F-16s are always available for the operation as well.

Counter-narcotics became a Department of Defense priority in the early 1990s under the US Southern Command, or Southcom, the regional military command for Latin America. Today, Southcom monitors the geographic areas in Latin America and the Caribbean (excluding Mexico and French Guiana) and the waters surrounding them.

“We track targets JIATF-East is observing to determine whether or not the targets are, in fact, transporting illegal drugs,” adds Col. Timothy Cossalter, commander of the 148th Fighter Wing, an ANG unit from Duluth, Minnesota, that supports the effort. Guard units deploy to Curaçao for about six weeks at a time.

JIATF-East, established in 1992, plans counter-narcotics operations, trains and advises the hemisphere’s counter-drug forces, and monitors South America’s skies for suspicious, drug-related activity. It consists of the US military (US Navy, Army, and Coast Guard in addition to the Air Force), Drug Enforcement Administration, US Customs Service, and civilian intelligence personnel.

“The ADF F-16 is the best platform we have for this mission,” continues McNealy. “Its APG–66 radar and aircraft interrogation system detect the targets and sort them out for us.” Almost 300 Block 15 F-16s were converted to the air defense fighter configuration, called ADF, beginning in the late 1980s. Aside from the interrogator and an improved radar, the configuration has a special high-frequency radio and a spotlight mounted on the left side of the forward fuselage.

Ironically, flying slow enough to get near the slower targets was an initial problem for the F-16. However, “the F-16 ADF allows us to perform this mission a little better than some of the other aircraft,” Cossalter says. “The slow speed is the biggest challenge. But most of us are trained to fly slow, though the aircraft has its lower limits.”

Being able to go slow helps identify targets in the water, too, like ships and fast boats. “We get down to 1,000 feet over the water, which is a good altitude for identifying boats, to see if they are trafficking drugs,” says Cossalter.

Target location comes from the Navy, which scours the area for suspected drug activity. “When the Navy finds something, they tell us where it is. They can pinpoint the location,” says Cossalter. A two-ship of F-16s is then sent on a mission that lasts about two hours. “We are the eyeballs to watch and follow the airplane, get an ID, a tail number, and colors. If the pilot drops drugs to a boat below, we can follow the boat.”

The target information is then passed on to DEA agents in Key West. “They use that data to determine if the target is a bad guy,” says Cossalter. “Once they know that, they can reposition their forces in the direction the target is going and track the ultimate location with our aid.”

The Coronet Nighthawk mission originally operated from Howard AFB in Panama until the base was vacated on 31 December 1999 under the terms of the 1977 Panama Canal accord. The mission now operates as a forward operating location in Curaçao. Forward operating locations allow US aircraft on detection and monitoring missions to have access to international airports or air bases. Accommodations at some of these locations can be quite austere, as at Curaçao. “The Dutch military is outstanding,” says McNealy. “They have improved conditions here, providing us with a lot of equipment and supplies.”

JIATF-East, which also includes military representatives from Argentina, Brazil, Columbia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela, focuses on boththe source zone, where drugs are produced, and the transit zone, where drugs are transshipped to the United States. Once two task forces (East and South), now only one (East) coordinates counter-narcotics activities in both zones. Through deliberate integration of communications and information systems, the task force has created a single organization capable of “seeing” from the Florida Straits into the Andean Ridge.

“Our quick reaction and capabilities allow law enforcement to arrest and seize as well as gather intelligence on the source operation and location,” adds McNealy.

“That is the real benefit of using a ‘go-fast’ interceptor to provide that initial look.”

Mary Lou Vocale is the editorial assistant for Code One.
Lans Stout is a Florida-based photographer.