VIDEO: Military Makes History, Lands Planes On Michigan Highway

MICHIGAN — The Michigan National Guard accomplished a unique milestone Thursday by landing several aircraft on a rural state road.

“This is believed to be the first time in history that modern Air Force aircraft have intentionally landed on a civilian roadway on U.S. soil,” said U.S. Air Force Col. James Rossi, Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center commander.

The Michigan Air National Guard’s 127th Wing based in Selfridge worked closely with the Air Force’s 355th Wing from Arizona and the Air Force Special Operations Command out of Duke Field in Florida to perform the landings.

Drivers near Alpena were asked to avoid M-32 for several hours as the training exercise, known as Northern Strike, took place. According to military officials, the purpose of the exercise was to test the readiness of Michigan’s joint-reserve force and its ability to land aircraft on roadways designed for cars and trucks.

“Our efforts are focused on our ability to train the warfighter in any environment across the continuum so our nation can compete, deter, and win today and tomorrow," Col. Rossi said in a news release.

Four A-10 Thunderbolt II and two C-146 planes landed on a closed-off portion of the highway near the Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center.

According to the Michigan National Guard, the U.S. Air Force is shifting its operations concepts to project power through Agile Combat Employment (ACE) and has been applying ACE tactics to train and sustain its agility. Dynamic exercises like the highway landing during Northern Strike demonstrates the Air Force’s ability to deploy rapidly from anywhere, at any time, which it said is a critical edge the Air Force maintains over its adversaries.