Noemi Schweighöfer
Noemi Majlis Madsdóttir Schweighöfer | |
|---|---|
 Schweighöfer in 2021 | |
| Born | 28 May 1982 Veljestad, Steiermark, Acrea |
| Allegiance |  Acrea |
| Service/ | Royal Acrean Air Force |
| Years of service | 2004-Present |
| Rank | Colonel |
| Battles/wars | Zemplen War |
| Awards | see below |
Noemi Majlis "Blondie" Madsdóttir Schweighöfer is a Royal Acrean Air Force officer and pilot. She is best known for being one of Acrea's highest scoring female fighter aces, with a total of 11 aerial victories. Most of these were claimed during the Zemplen War, where she was credited with six aerial victories against Æþurian and Syaran aircraft, and the Midsummer War where she was credited with two aerial victories against Æþurian aircraft.
Early life
Schweighöfer was born on 28 July 1982, 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 graduation. She entered the Academy at a time when the Acrean Air Force and Navy were facing a shortage of pilots, 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-165 Draken. After completing individual fighter training, and went on to advanced weapons school with her training squadron, VFT-114, at Vadsø Air Station. Upon completing advanced weapons school, Schweighöfer was ranked second in her class. She was assigned to fly with the 83rd Fighter Squadron (VF-83) based in Stavanger. She was assigned her callsign "Blondie" at the squadron. However, during her transition to her line squadron, it was selected to convert to the EF-662 Vampyr which had just achieved initial operational capability. As a result, she went through familiarity training with her squadron, and began her frontline service in the Vampyr.
Zemplen War
VF-83 was deployed in support of Acrean Forces Ruvelka prior to the arrival of ground troops, arriving in Ruvelka in March 2009 along with VF-57, another Draken squadron tasked with training Ruvelkan pilots on the airframe, and several other squadrons flying a mixture of EF-662s, EF-165s, 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 in the conflict came on 16 June 2009. 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 very long range. Once they closed the distance, the Vampyrs fired a volley of M-13 MSRA active-radar missiles, catching the Syarans unaware. 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 Schweighöfer's wingman struck a Ceyx.
Schweighöfer achieved the second hit, striking a Zephyr piloted by Lt. Colonel Libarid Hovnatanian (CAF) with an M-9 IRSS heat-seeking missile. The second kill was scored by Neuer on a second Zephyr. The remaining Syaran aircraft, 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 and URAAF activity was particularly heavy. Over this period, Schweighöfer was credited with another four kills:
- JF9 Fiskeørn, piloted by Major Storolf Trygg and Major Rune Selander on 29 August 2009 (URAAF)
- Nephele, piloted by Captain Miko Stojković on 6 November 2009 (CAF)
- Ceyx, piloted by Captain Ilarion Atsev on 2 January 2010 (CAF)
- JF10 Svart Ørn, piloted by Major Valter Sköld on 14 March 2010 (URAAF)
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 a short-range infrared missile and struck the Zephyr of Major Zoran Pašalić (CAF), shearing the rear fuselage off the aircraft and securing her sixth and final kill of the war, 11 days before the war ended.
Midsummer War
Continuing to serve with VF-62 into the 2010s, Schweighöfer was deployed with her squadron to perform offensive counter-air missions as part of Operation Harvest during the Midsummer War, this time flying the EF-662 Vampyr. During this conflict she was credited with two aerial victories:
- JF10 Svart Ørn, piloted by Lt. Col. Björn Sparre on 5 July 2015 (URAAF)
- JF10 Svart Ørn, piloted by Major Johan Bloch on 15 August 2015 (URAAF)