On Wednesday, September 25, 2024, along US Highway 87 between Great Falls and Belt, the Montana Air National Guard conducted landing zone training - landing a C-130 airplane directly on the road.
“We are working on some skills we need to be able to engage with the next peer that we have, which is China, and so we're working on some stuff with these organizations to prove that we could [land our aircrafts] in remote places,” explained Colonel Jason Green, the Mission Support Group commander for the 120th Airlift Wing.
This training helps to equip the Guard with non-routine technical skills to better serve the state and the nation during emergency situations.
“Places that we’ll possibly fly out to, in different countries and stuff, may not have runways readily available or during civil emergencies at times we may not have runways available,” said Col. Green. “This helps us to understand, with our partners and with the Army, how we can land in these austere places and get the job done.”
Col. Green said training such as this is incredibly beneficial to pilots for several reasons, including relying more heavily on their situational awareness.
“In times of hurricanes and stuff like that, sometimes we have to use runways that we wouldn't normally use, and this helps them train for those situations where they're bringing in supplies to people and they're taking out wounded, or they're med-evacing people. This is a very helpful skill for them,” Col. Green explained.
This was the first time the MT ANG has conducted "vigilante landing zone training" using their C130-Hercules aircraft.
The stretch of highway was closed for several hours for the training, requiring drivers to detour during that time.
