[MilCom] Exercise Bold Quest

[Mac McCormick III]

I got home from Brunswick yesterday morning and after getting settled at
home I turned on the radios. Around 1000 or so, many interesting aircraft
began to take off from Savannah IAP and head down to the Coastal MOAs and
Townsend Range. They were later joined by other aircraft including two E-3
AWACS and aircraft from the USS Harry S Truman (CVN-75) Carrier Strike
Group. Several of the aircraft, as they checked in, stated they were
scheduled for Bold Quest, confirming that the exercise operating out of
Savannah is a Bold Quest (there was also one last year around this same
time).

The exercise is a multi-national one, including aircraft from the United
States, Canada, France, and Germany. The United States aircraft include an
F/A-18F and E/A-18G from the US Navy’s VX-31, E-3s from the 964th ACCS and
966th ACCS, A-10s from the 23rd FG, and F/A-18Es and Fs from the Truman
CSG. From Canada, there is Convair C-FNRC from the National Research
Council Flight Research Laboratory. From France, there are two Mirage 2000s
from ECE01.030, a French Air Force test and evaluation squadron. From
Germany, there are two Lear 35s, D-CGFA and D-CFGC, from Gesellschaft fuer
 Flugzieldarstellung.

Between the morning and afternoon sorties from the aircraft based out of
Savannah IAP and during the afternoon sorties, aircraft from VFA-11,
VFA-211, and VFA-81 with the USS Harry S Turman CSG worked the Coastal MOA
and Townsend Range, some of them using the same check-in frequency as the
Savannah-based aircraft but working different ground stations. I’m not sure
if they’ve blended some of the Truman CSG activity into Bold Quest or if
they were just using the range at the same time, but it definitely made for
some interesting listening.

Below is a list of frequencies, callsigns, and Mode-S/ADS-B codes from
today’s activity. I’m not sure how long the exercise will last, but it
should definitely continue through this week if not into next week.



*Frequencies*
119.100/257.800 – Savannah IAP Tower
124.975/279.575 – Hunter AAF Tower
120.400/353.775 – Savannah App/Dep
125.300/371.875 – Savannah App/Dep
118.400/307.225 – Savannah App/Dep

237.000 – Air Dominance Center Ops
138.625 – Air Dominance Center Ops
293.300 – Air Dominance Center; ECE01.030 Air-to-Air
256.275 – VX-31 Air-to-Air

269.025/127.575 – Jax Center Waycross Low
277.400/126.750 – Jax Center Brunswick Low
282.200/124.675 – Jax Center Jekyll Low
285.650/126.125 – Jax Center Statesboro High
363.200/132.925 – Jax Center Allendale/Savannah Low

127.350/279.625 – Fort Stewart Marne Radio
119.225/228.400 – Townsend Range Control
252.900 – Townsend Range Control
120.950/284.500 – Sealord North Primary

344.375 – Bold Quest Check-In
262.850 – Bold Quest Air-to-Ground
265.950 – Bold Quest Air-to-Ground
311.875 – Bold Quest Aerial Refueling
235.950 – Bold Quest
245.050 – Bold Quest
256.100 – Bold Quest
257.450 – Bold Quest

254.475 – AWACS Discrete; Bold Quest or Truman CSG
325.500 – Bold Quest or Truman CSG
337.500 – Bold Quest or Truman CSG
371.750 – Bold Quest or Truman CSG

293.525 – 116th/461st ACW “PEACHTREE OPS”

*Callsigns*
BLUE STAR (JTAC?)
BLUE WATER (JTAC?)
COSO 1# (F/A-18F & E/A-18G, VX-31)
COSO 4# (F/A-18F & E/A-18G, VX-31)
GUNSTAR 33/34 (F/A-18E, VFA-136) (From USS Truman CSG)
HANGOVER (Controlling Agency)
JUICE (unknown, related to C2)
KITE 16 (LJ35, D-CGFA, Gesellschaft fuer Flugzieldarstellung)
KITE 17 (LJ35, D-CFGC, Gesellschaft fuer Flugzieldarstellung)
KITE 45 (LJ35, D-CGFA, Gesellschaft fuer Flugzieldarstellung)
KITE 46 (LJ35, D-CFGC, Gesellschaft fuer Flugzieldarstellung)
NICKEL 31/32 (F/A-18F, VFA-211) (from USS Truman CSG)
PHOENIX/FENIX 92 (unknown)
PIRAT 63 (KC-135R, 61-0315, 6th/927th ARW)
RAGE 1# (Mirage 2000, ECE01.030)
RAGE 4# (Mirage 2000, ECE01.030)
RESEARCH 09 (CVLT, C-FNRC, NRC Flight Research Laboratory)
ROADRUNNER (JTAC?)
ROOSTER (unknown)
SENTRY 41/BANDSAW (E-3B, 78-0577, 964th ACCS)*
SENTRY 60/DRAGNET (E-3B, 80-0137, 966th ACCS)
SHARK 2# (A-10C, 75th FS)
SUNLINER/LINER 26 (F/A-18E, VFA-81) (from USS Truman CSG)
VALKYRIE 03 (MQ-1?, E/3 AVN?)
VALKYRIE 28 (MQ-1?, E/3 AVN?)
VORTEX (JTAC)
N127AR (C208, 1055 LLC); related to Bold Quest?

*Note: SENTRY 41/BANDSAW (E-3B, 78-0577, 964th ACCS) operating out of
Robins AFB

*Related Mode-S/ADS-B Codes*
249249 – Mirage 2000, ECE01.030 (RAGE 13 on ATC)
3CD05A – LJ35, D-CGFA, Gesellschaft fuer Flugzieldarstellung
3CD05C – LJ35, D-CFGC, Gesellschaft fuer Flugzieldarstellung
AE0237 – KC-135R, 61-0315, 6th/927th ARW
AE11E5 – E-3B, 78-0577, 964th ACCS
AE11EA – E-3B, 80-0137, 966th ACCS
C02411 – CVLT, C-FNRC, NRC Flight Research Laboratory


Mac McCormick III
KF4LMT
Savannah, GA
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Mac McCormick III
KF4LMT
Savannah/Brunswick, GA