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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsThis Man Owns The World's Most Advanced Private Air Force After Buying 46 F/A-18 Hornets
https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/32869/this-man-owns-the-worlds-most-advanced-private-air-force-after-buying-46-f-a-18-hornets?utm_source=pocket&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=pockethitsFor the last 30 years, Don Kirlin has been flying for the airlines, working on real estate deals, setting up the world's biggest skydiving meets, and building a private air force the likes of which even he has a hard time believing is possible. Just last month, The War Zone was among the first to report that his company would be purchasing multiple squadrons worth of surplus Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) F/A-18 Hornets to be used in the contractor adversary air support role here in the United States. In that role, they would primarily fly against U.S. military fighter pilots, replicating aerial threats from potential enemy nations. So basically, they are bad guys for hire, but strictly for training and development work.
Now, not only do we have all the details on that purchase, which is even more impressive than it initially seemed, but we talked at length with the entrepreneur owner of Air USA, located in Quincy, Illinois, about his company's past and what is turning into a remarkable, if not downright historic, future.
Don Kirlin imported his first foreign military jet, and L-39 Albatross, in 1994, at a time when doing so was an extremely complex and convoluted affair full of pitfalls and unknowns. Since then, he has repeated the process dozens of times over and was the first owner of a private MiG-29 Fulcrum in the United States, among a long list of other exotic flying firsts. He now holds eight licenses with the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), allowing him to own military machine guns and cannons, as well as thousands of rounds of ammunition to fire through them.
snip
Fast forward to today and Kirlin now owns an impressive fleet of ex-military aircraft that perform a wide number of roles for the Defense Department, from training Joint Terminal Attack Controllers (JTACs), the modern designation for Forward Air Controllers on the ground, to saturating the sensor systems of America's most advanced tactical fighters with aggressor adversaries in the air. With the individual contracts that will underpin the Air Force's gargantuan adversary air support tender about to doled out, Air USA's operation has to grow in capacity and complexity in order to even attempt to meet demand.
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This Man Owns The World's Most Advanced Private Air Force After Buying 46 F/A-18 Hornets (Original Post)
WhiteTara
Apr 2020
OP
mitch96
(13,816 posts)1. I wonder if he is the guy that bought a fully armed MIG back when the USSR collapsed..
I believe they flew it to Germany and the inspectors freaked out that it was armed!!!
oopsy....
m
WhiteTara
(29,676 posts)2. I don't know
but this guy sure likes weapons-grade aircraft.
DFW
(54,047 posts)3. Well, in case Illinois ever wants to invade, conquer and annex Iowa
Al least now we know who will be providing the air cover..........
Hermit-The-Prog
(33,021 posts)4. Will that be on youtube?
DFW
(54,047 posts)5. An invasion of IOWA?
How many clicks would that get? 5?