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The 555th FS from Aviano AB in northern Italy deployed to Laage AB outside Rostock, Germany, last fall to train against MiG-29 Fulcrums over the skies of the former East Germany. The last time Aviano-based pilots faced MiG-29s in combat was May 1999 when an F-16 pilot shot down a Fulcrum over Serbia during Operation Allied Force. The pilot, from Shaw AFB, South Carolina, was deployed to Aviano as part of the 31st AEW.
 Although the MiG-29 resembles an F-15 Eagle, it is often compared to the F-16 in terms of performance and flight characteristics. “It’s a worthy opponent for the F-16,” said Lt. Col. Jon Huss, deployment project officer and assistant director of operations for the Triple Nickel, “and the German aviators behind the controls are nothing less than tough and professional sparring partners.” Almost ninety percent of the German pilots earned their wings alongside US pilots at European Joint Jet Pilot Training at Sheppard AFB, Texas. About seventy people and six F-16s deployed from Aviano, including maintenance crews who were also able to train on the MiGs.
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