The Aviation Magazine Volume 6, Issue 3, April-May 2015 | Page 80
©Norman A. Graf
MiG‐23 Flogger and MiG‐29 Fulcrum displayed inside, above and
the MiG‐29’s cockpit on the right.
“Inside the Petting Zoo” aka the Threat Training Facility, Nellis AFB, NV
Nellis AFB, located outside of Las Vegas, NV, is home to the U. S. Air Force Warfare Center whose mission it is to
ensure that deployed forces are well trained and well equipped to conduct integrated combat operations against
all threats. Central to this mission are the Red Flag exercises in which Aggressor units employ tactics based on
those expected to be used by foreign adversaries. The most familiar of these units are perhaps the 64th and the
former 65th Aggressor Squadrons whose aircrew are trained to simulate foreign fighter tactics and whose aircraft
are boldly marked in foreign paint schemes. Less well known is the existence of other Aggressor units whose mis‐
sions, although not as visible, are equally important. Behind them all stands the 547th Intelligence Squadron which
is the “Center of Excellence” for adversary tactics analysis for the United States Air Force. The squadron analyzes,
refines and disseminates intelligence on adversary air, air defense, electronic warfare, cyber and space tactics and
weapons employment, condensing this information into the Air Force Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures Threat
Guide: “Threat Reference Guide and Countertactics.”
However, the 547th IS does more than just prepare and deliver training documents. Another major focus is to pro‐
vide hands‐on training with real equipment. To do so, it operates and maintains the Air Combat Command Threat
Training Facility (TTF). Established in the early 1970s during the last years of the Vietnam War, this collection was
designed to amass a broad variety of Cold War threats and targets: aircraft; surface‐to‐air missiles; early warning,
acquisition and targeting radars; anti‐aircraft artillery; ground vehicles; and small arms. In addition to being able to
test the capabilities of the hardware, the facility has provided hands‐on access to generations of military person‐
nel, gaining it the affectionate nickname of the “petting zoo.”
"Nellis really is the Air Forces home for adversary tactics. Having foreign military systems here where all the pilots
come through for things like the weapons school and the Red Flag exercises and are able to take advantage of the
incredible training range we have here, it just made sense to put it here at the home of tactics." was how Lieuten‐
ant Colonel Greg Brown,