Cracks in America’s Air Defenses by W. Thomas Smith, Jr.

On the morning of Nov. 2, 2007, four Missouri Air National Guard F-15 Eagles -- the primary fighter aircraft for air defense over the continental United States -- roared out of Lambert Field, Missouri on a routine combat-training exercise.

A few minutes into the flight, the four pilots each made a couple of four-to-five “G” warm-up turns. Then at an altitude of 18,000 feet, one of the pilots, Major Stephen Stillwell, closed to within 9,000 feet of the flight leader’s jet. “Fight’s on,” Stillwell transmitted over the radio.

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