It remains unclear why the uncommon drill was executed, although the defense posture of American air power has steadily become more rigid since Russia invaded Crimea in 2014. Other peer state competitors, like China, not to mention rogue regimes, in particular North Korea, would also be the targeted consumers of such a show of force.

It's worth noting that many Americans still have a distorted view of the Air National Guard's tactical aircraft units. What once were units with dated gear and second priority funding are now front line squadrons with upgraded aircraft that would likely be deployed if any form of large scale combat operations were launched.

This is a product of the shrinking USAF which has just a fraction of the squadrons it had during the invasion of Iraq in 2003, and the service's force structure at that time was just a shadow of what it was during Desert Storm. In fact, there are just three active duty F-15C/D squadrons left, all of which are based overseas (Kadena Air Base and RAF Lakenheath) and that number will be pared down further in the not so distant future.