Noemi Schweighöfer
Noemi Majlis Schweighöfer | |
|---|---|
 Schweighöfer in 2019 | |
| Born | 28 May 1983 Veljestad, Steiermark, Acrea |
| Allegiance |  Acrea |
| Service/ | Royal Acrean Air Force |
| Years of service | 2004-Present |
| Rank | Lieutenant Colonel |
| Unit | Jagdgeschwader 62 |
| Battles/wars | Zemplen War |
| Awards | see below |
Noemi Majlis "Maestra" Schweighöfer is a Royal Acrean Air Force officer and pilot. She is best known for actions during the Zemplen War, where she was credited with 6 aerial victories against Syaran aircraft over the course of the war. Her actions during the conflict made her Acrea's highest scoring female fighter ace, and has made her a celebrity within the Acrean aviation community.
Early life
Schweighöfer was born on 28 July 1986, in a hospital on Veljestad Air Station to Amalie Schweighöfer, a nurse, and RAAF Lieutenant General Mads Schweighöfer. Raised alongside two brothers in a military household, Schweighöfer participated extensively in aviation-related activities in her youth under the influence of her father. She joined a gliding club at the age of 11, and earned a civilian student pilot's license at the age of 15.
Military service
Schweighöfer applied for and was accepted into the Royal Air Force Academy's secondary gymnasium at 16, and subsequently began her studies in the academy proper after completing her abitur. She entered the Academy at a time when the Acrean Air Force and Navy were facing a shortage of pilots in general, and so academy-specific tracks to develop potential candidates earlier had become commonplace at both the Air Force and the Naval academies. A total of 36 candidates in Schweighöfer's class were selected for an accelerated pilot program. With her academic aptitude in her first years at the academy and prior experience with aviation, Schweighöfer was selected as one of those candidates. She began initial flight screening in her second year of higher education at the academy, and underwent extended basic aviation training until she was able to enter undergradaute pilot training once she completed her studies.
Schweighöfer was a distinguished graduate from her undergraduate pilot training and received her first choice aircraft, being selected to fly the EF 135 Draken. After completing individual fighter training, and went on to advanced weapons school with the 106th FTS at Vadsø Air Station. Upon completing advanced weapons school, Schweighöfer was ranked second in her class and thus had second choice during assignment selection for her class. She selected an opening to fly with the 62nd Tactical Fighter Squadron (Jagdgeschwader 62) based in Stavanger. She was assigned her callsign "Maestra" at the squadron.
Schweighöfer joined the squadron flying the Draken. She initially served as the wingman for Colonel Thor Neuer, before then being partnered alongside Major Mikael Kjellström. JG 62 was designated as part of the RAAF's rapid response force; from the moment she joined the squadron, Schweighöfer was immediately put into a high operational tempo, conducting patrols and training in Shalum. In 2006, pilots of JG 62 averaged four to five sorties a week, and 25 flight hours per month.
In June 2007, JG 62 had been selected as one of three squadrons who would the first to convert to new EF-662 Vampyr fighters. The unit began conversion training for the aircraft in August 2007, and assumed delivery of their new aircraft in December.
Zemplen War
JG 62 was deployed in support of Acrean Forces Ruvelka prior to the arrival of ground troops, arriving in Ruvelka in March 2009 along with JG 57, an EF-135 squadron tasked with training Ruvelkan pilots on the airframe, and several other squadrons of a mixture of EF-135s, EF-161s, and EF/A-121s. The squadron began combat operations almost immediately, being deployed primarily in the airspace above Army Group Centre where the highest concentration of fighting was taking place. Ruvelkan command saw the Vampyrs as a valuable asset, and determined that they would provide a distinct edge in the air war in that region.
Her first credited kill came on 16 June 2009 during one of the most notable and intense single aerial engagements of the war. Schweighöfer's flight was vectored towards a flight of eight Syaran fighters, which had been picked up by Ruvelkan ground radar supporting a mission of Ruvelkan strike aircraft. With no Ruvelkan aircraft or ground radar possessing compatible datalinks in the area to transmit radar locks to the Acrean fighters, the Acrean pilots began tracking the Syarans at a range of 60 nautical miles using their onboard radars. Although they remained undetected on Syaran radar, the Syarans oriented themselves towards oncoming Acrean aircraft. Subsequent analysis of the engagement showed that the Syarans had likely believed the radar spikes were originating from a flight of Dragos traveling at higher altitude and a good distance behind the Acrean fighters. Once they closed to 30 nautical miles, the Acrean aircraft fired M-13 MSRA active-radar missiles, catching the Syarans unaware who thought they were being engaged by Dragos. Though the Acrean missiles came off the rails at high speed and with good tracks, skilled maneuvering into denser air at low altitude and countermeasure employment by the Syaran pilots allowed them to evade three of the missiles, while the fourth fired by flight lead Colonel Thor Neuer struck a Ceyx.
The two flights closed fast with one another, and utilising their electro-optical systems a flight of four Zephyrs within the Syaran formation managed to observe the infrared signatures emanating from JG 62's Vampyrs. Too close to run away and with an additional four Dragos bearing down on their position, the Zephyrs forced a merge with the Acrean aircraft to eliminate the Vampyr's stealth advantage while the Ceyxs attempted to disengage to focus on the incoming Ruvelkans.
The Zephyrs engaged the Vampyrs in a dogfight. Schweighöfer achieved the first hit, striking the Zephyr piloted by Lt. Colonel Libarid Hovnatanian with an M-9 IRSS heat-seeking missile. The second kill was scored by Neuer on a second Zephyr, with a third kill being scored on a second Ceyx. The remaining Syaran aircraft, with the energy of the Acrean flight depleted, subsequently turned cold from the fight and lit their afterburners, indicating their intentions to withdraw from the airspace. Neuer opted to not pursue and continue the engagement, with the Ruvelkans likewise ordered to not pursue the Syarans back into more heavily defended airspace. The engagement made Schweighöfer the first Acrean pilot to shoot down a Zephyr.
The squadron participated primarily in routine combat air patrols and offensive counter-air operations over the next several months, serving as an intercept force and a deterrent in areas where CAF activity was particularly heavy. Over this period, Schweighöfer was credited with another four kills:
- AFGSF-5 Tartaruga, piloted by Senior Lieutenant Nikodemos Sarlo on 29 August 2009
- Zephyr, piloted by Captain Miko Stojković on 6 November 2009
- Ceyx, piloted by Captain Gero Krasimirov Strashilov on 2 January 2010
- Strix, piloted by Captain Ilarion Atsev on 14 March 2010
Her final credited kill came during Operation Homefront, on 8 July 2010. While providing escort for a strike group of Ruvelkan AFASF-10s and AFSF-9s, the strike group was engaged by several Syaran fighters. Flying above the strike group and using them for radar cover, Schweighöfer's four-ship engaged. After a short period of maneuvering, Schweighöfer fired an IRSS and struck the Zephyr of Major Zoran Pašalić, shearing the rear fuselage off the aircraft and securing her sixth and final kill of the war, 11 days before the war ended.