Falcon Nest: Gorillas train with Royal Saudi Air Force Published Dec. 8, 2006 By By Capt. Brooke Brander 33d Fighter Wing Public Affairs EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- More than 100 Nomads and a half-dozen jets arrived in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Nov. 30 to take part in a three-week exercise with the Royal Saudi Air Force. The 58th Fighter Squadron is the only U.S. Air Force unit participating in "Falcon Nest" and will spend about two weeks flying sorties and training with the RSAF. "The purpose of Falcon Nest is to exercise security cooperation with our allies, the Saudis," said Lt. Col. Matt Isler, 58th FS Commander and 58th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron Commander during Falcon Nest. "We will be training with them and their new AIM-120 AMRAAMs." The AIM-120 advanced medium-range air-to-air missile, or AMRAAM, is a new generation air-to-air missile. It has an all-weather, beyond-visual-range capability and is a follow-on to the AIM-7 Sparrow missile series. The deployment and exercise has been in the planning stages for more than a year. This is not the first time that the 58th FS has trained with the RSAF with the last time being during an Operation Iraqi Freedom deployment in April 2003. "Falcon Nest is an awesome training opportunity for both the 58th and the Royal Saudi Air Force," said Col. Russ Handy, 33d Fighter Wing Commander. "The exchange of ideas, tactics and knowledge between our two air forces will reap benefits for years to come. I'm confident that the Gorillas will return to the 33d FW with a bag full of knowledge gleaned from their time with the Saudis and vice versa." For the next few weeks, the Nomads participating in Falcon Nest will call King Khalid Air Base in Khamis Mushayt, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, home. Participating fighter squadrons from the RSAF are the 6th and 5th Squadrons, with F-15S and F-15C aircraft, respectively. Falcon Nest participants also include a rainbow of support from across Team Eglin and the Air National Guard. Mission support personnel include members from the 96th Air Base Wing, 46th Test Wing, 1st FW, Langley AFB, Va., and the Oregon Air National Guard. "This opportunity would not have been possible without the hard work and dedication of Maj. Tim Lawrence, the project officer from the 58th FS, and Master Sgt. Todd Sterner, the maintenance NCOIC," said Colonel Isler. "Both of these gentlemen spent the last year making Falcon Nest a reality." Participants are scheduled to return home from Falcon Nest around the middle of December.