mlive ALPENA, MI – The Michigan Air National Guard made history today, Aug. 5, when it landed modern military aircraft on a Northern Michigan highway, officials said.
Crews from several military units landed four A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft and two C-146 aircraft on M-32 near Alpena, videos show, in what was the first time modern U.S. Air Force aircraft have landed on a civilian roadway in the United States. The mission was dubbed Thunder Landing Zone (LZ).
The highway was closed for five hours for the training exercise, which is part of the annual Northern Strike war-readiness program hosted by the Michigan National Guard at Camp Grayling and the Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center through Aug. 14.
The Michigan Air National Guard 127th Wing made history with the landing of an A-10 Thunderbolt II on M-32 near Alpena in Northern Michigan on Thursday, Aug. 5, 2021. The exercise, believed to be the first time modern military aircraft have been landed on a U.S. civilian roadway, was part of the annual Northern Strike war-readiness training exercise hosted by the Michigan National Guard. Provided by the Michigan Department of Military and Veteran Affairs
“Thunder LZ gave the pilots the opportunity to land in an austere environment that they’re not used to,” said U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Brian Wyrzykowski, the mission commander for Thunder LZ and a KC-135 Stratotanker instructor-pilot at the 127th Wing. “Our adversaries have advanced weapons systems and advanced technology that they can use against us, so we need to be able to operate efficiently in austere situations and gain proficiency in those operations.”
Units that participated in the highway landing were the Michigan Air National Guard’s 127th Wing from Selfridge Air National Guard Base, the Air Force’s 355th Wing from Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona and the Air Force Special Operations Command from Duke Field in Florida.
Northern Strike is an annual training exercise hosted by the Michigan National Guard since 2012. This year, there are about 5,100 participants from three U.S. Army components, U.S. Air Force active duty and guard, U.S. Marine and U.S. Navy components, plus units from the United Kingdom, Latvia and Liberia.
