The US Air Force revives the legendary "William Tell" competition, in which F-35 Lighnting II, F-22 Raptor and F-15 Eagle fighters will compete

The US Air Force has decided to revive the legendary William Tell competition. This is due to the service's renewed focus on aerial combat.

Here's What We Know

The William Tell competition first took place during the Cold War in 1954. The last event was held 19 years ago to mark the 50th anniversary. The competition has offered pilots an opportunity to demonstrate their skills and compete for the title of Top Gun for decades.

The event is scheduled to take place Sept. 11-15, 2023. It will be held at Savannah Air National Guard Air Force Base, Ga. Crews of F-35 Lightning II, F-22 Raptor and F-15 Eagle fighters will take part in the competition.

It is possible that the role of opponents will be F-16 Fighting Falcon, Mirage F1 and unmanned aerial vehicles QF-16. So far this information has not been officially confirmed by the US Air Force command.

Each team must have one captain, a maximum crew of eight, two reconnaissance pilots and three people to load weapons. Competitors will compete for both individual and team awards.

The William Tell competition is expected to help prepare pilots for combat operations in the Indo-Pacific region. In actual combat, they may face Chinese fighters like the J-16, which recently made a dangerous manoeuvre near the RC-135 Rivet Joint aircraft.

Source: Defence News