Should we see this as a medal in game under
Swedish medals. If so, how would it be implemented, possibly getting “air force rescuer” 1000 times?
The Medal in question:
Some historical context:
On June 29, 1987, Lt. Cols. Duane Noll and Tom Veltri were flying in their SR-71 over the Baltic Sea at Mach 3.0 and at 75,000 feet when their Blackbird’s right engine suddenly exploded. Noll immediately went into action, veering the stricken blackbird away from their proximity to Soviet airspace and directly into Swedish territory, approaching Gotland Island. This airspace violation prompted the Swedish Air Force to redirect nearby Viggens to intercept.
“We were performing an ordinary peacetime operation exercise,” recalled retired Maj. Roger Moller, Swedish Air Force Viggen pilot. “Our fighter controller then asked me ‘are you able to make an interception and identification of a certain interest?’ I thought immediately it must be an SR-71, otherwise he would have mentioned it. But at that time I didn’t know it was the Blackbird.”
As the Viggens approached, the damaged Blackbird descended all the way down to 25,000 feet, creating a dangerous situation. The Swedish pilots had been directed to conduct a visual identification of the aircraft spotted on radar, but seeing the SR-71 operating on one engine, excitement about the intercept turned to concern. Soviet violation of Swedish airspace were not uncommon, and it was all but certain that any Soviet pilot would be eager for a chance to shoot down America’s “invincible” spy plane. That fact was not lost on the SR-71 crew.
“We did not know who would find us first,” Veltri recalled. “Seeing the Swedish plane escorting us was a pure liberation. I’m absolutely sure that the Swedish presence on meant that other interceptors were at distance and could not therefore come to intercept us.”
The crippled Blackbird continued to lose both speed and altitude, to the point where the Swedish pilots worried that the crew might have to eject – but they stuck by the American jet’s side until their fuel reserves ran low and they were relieved by another pair of Viggens that continued to escort, and defend, the Habu. Eventually, the recon plane made a safe landing in Nordholz, former West Germany.
Should we see this in game?
- Yes
- No