Today my wife and I were on FS 24, which is a gravel, rock and dirt road which goes from Hwy 16 (scenic route to Yellowstone) to Battlepark TH and horsecamp adjacent to the CloudPeak Wilderness area. FS 24 is 24 miles one way and back out which takes about an hour to hour and a half to traverse as top speed possible is maybe 15mph at best. Coming back out we heard a loud jet engine noise, and about a second later, a gray fighter went overhead at a low height above us. A second or so later another fighter flew overhead but slightly higher than the first and at a bank. Wings were delta shaped with and tail was slightly separated from the wing but we only saw both for a second as they passed over. Checking the ANG of Wyoming, Idaho, Montana, and Colorado, the Colorado ANG flies the F-16, and the other are military airlift wings, primarily C-130. They were definitely close to the ground at the point they flew over and the road was about 8500' with high peaks all around. Several large thunderstorms were forming off to the east but somewhat close. None of the locals we encountered , working cow camps, hauling hay in recalled ever seeing jets this low before? Thoughts, ideas, etc. appreciated.

Jim,

Might very well have been some aircraft that were involved in exercises at the Powder River Training Complex whose airspace encompasses much of a number of states (Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, and North Dakota). Its one of, if not, the largest USAF training area. They could have been transiting back to their home base. ≥500' above terrain is not uncommon.

I've seen numerous fighter aircraft around here beyond the B-1B bombers stationed at Ellsworth.

https://www.ellsworth.af.mil/P...s/AFD-140421-027.pdf
https://www.ellsworth.af.mil/H...er-Training-Complex/

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Wings were delta shaped with and tail was slightly separated from the wing

What does this mean exactly? Were there horizontal stabilizers? One or two vertical stabs?

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Originally posted by kkina:

quote:

Wings were delta shaped with and tail was slightly separated from the wing

What does this mean exactly? Were there horizontal stabilizers? One or two vertical stabs?

F-117?

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Originally posted by bald1:

quote:

Originally posted by kkina:

quote:

Wings were delta shaped with and tail was slightly separated from the wing

What does this mean exactly? Were there horizontal stabilizers? One or two vertical stabs?

F-117?

Very likely, but it's not the only delta wing fighter.

It was Aliens.

although the 117 is officially retired, a few still fly

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Originally posted by kkina:

quote:

Wings were delta shaped with and tail was slightly separated from the wing

What does this mean exactly? Were there horizontal stabilizers? One or two vertical stabs?

Sorry unable to give a better description? We were traversing a one car wide very rocky road and at the time of occurence the road was going through dense lodgepole pines on either side, so at most saw for 1/2 second, more a flash picture, while glancing through the windshield, but defintely lots of noise! Was not exactly an airshow type field of view. First impression was F-18 look, but only maybe, of the banked fighter, as that fleeting! Now I have learned about the Powder River Taining Complex, so have more info than before. See B-1's quite regular over the house, landing and takeoff pattern from Ellsworth, but so far nothing like today.

Could it have been an F4 Phantom?, some are used for drones for missile training, might still use them for dog fight training. They are pretty loud, and Smokey too.

Could it have been F-35s?

At a bare minimum details such as how many engines and whether the jet has one or two vertical stabilizers (or a V tail) would be needed to even begin to narrow down the list of possibilities. I doubt it was a true delta-winged jet (ie F-106 Delta Dart) but more likely a hybrid delta or swept wing design.

I'd suggest going online and searching pictures of the A-10, AV-8, F-15, F-16, F-18, F-22, F-35, and F-117 and seeing if any of these match your flash memory of the jet. It's likely the jet is one of these...but if it is not then we can start running down the list of jet trainers, older jets, or even some of the foreign fighters that can be seen flying in the U.S.

Although it hasn't happened often I've had a pair of F-16s scream through a canyon I fly fish sometimes...the roar tends to shut the fishing action down for awhile and while I get mildly irritated I have to remind myself that when I was flying I never missed an opportunity to buzz somebody or something and if I had access to a jet fighter I'd probably do the same thing. If I've got to miss out on fishing at least I got a private little air show in it's place.

Let us know what type plane you determine it was.

The following are longshots, but if you really did see a delta-wing aircraft, it could be that they were of foreign-origin.

The RAF has sent Eurofighters to Red Flag. Not sure if they make it all the way to Wyoming, but if so, you're very lucky to have seen one in the US. The Eurofighter Typhoon is a true delta wing and one of the few of that design still in service (other than some aging Mirages and Israeli kfirs, some of the later which are US Navy/contractor flown). The Luftwaffe also has a presence in Holman AFB in New Mexico, though I don't know if they fly typhoons out of Holman.

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Originally posted by bald1:


F-117?

Not any more.

Probably an F-22 engaged in a ACM exercise

Hill AFB in Ogden, UT has F35s. Some are in Idaho right now too. It's possible that's what you saw.

Out here in southeastern Virginia, there is a private company that flies old foreign fighters so the USAF can practice against them out over the Atlantic. They have a number of older Israeli Kfir fighters that sound like what you saw.




They also fly some older Swedish Drakken fighters.


And they fly older Hawker Hunters.

Private Air Forces are big business in the US and there are a great many of them that the USAF contracts with to play the bad guys.

https://theaviationgeekclub.co...uperiority-fighters/

F15? Depending on viewing angle, main wing could appear delta-like.

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Thoughts, ideas, etc. appreciated

Have you perused the inter-webs images to try and find something similar? That’d be my first step, barring having pics.

If you look at a VFR ‘sectional’ chart of the area, it would likely depict a ‘VR training route’ over the location you saw the jet(s).

The route itself may be 10 miles wide, possible ends in a ‘restricted area’. The floor may be 500’(or less) above the ground.

Back in the day, an EA-6B ‘Prowler’, up on the power at 200’ would get your attention.

There’s a military training route that guns right through that area. You can look at an aviation chart and find IR 473. I would bet the aircraft you saw were flying that route. That doesn’t account for the low altitude, but perhaps it answers the question of why were they they there.