Sentry Savannah 2022 has come and gone and it was if not the biggest, one of the biggest since they first started having the exercise back in 2014. In addition to the number of participants, it will also be long remembered for the presence of an F-117 Nighthawk as one of the red air players. I think the influx of Aircraft Spotters to the area in week one for the F-117 may have brought as much economic impact to the area as having the units themselves visit! The rest of the participants were the 43rd FS (F-22A) and 2nd FTS (T-38A) from Tyndall AFB, both of whom have participated in many of the Sentry Savannah exercises over the years, the 157th FS (F-16CM) from McEntire JNGB, the 192nd FW (F-22A) from Joint Base Langley-Eustis, and the 419th FW (F-35A) from Hill AFB. Also participating from their home base in Jacksonville was the 159th FS (F-15C). Aerial Refueling support was provided by the 117th ARW (KC-135) from Birmingham JNGB, the 190th ARW (KC-135) from Forbes Field ANGB, and 157th ARW (KC-46A) from Pease ANGB. Control was provided by the 117th ACS based here in Savannah. Prior to the start of the exercise, I caught C-130s from the 120th AW from Great Falls ANGB and the 182nd AW from Peoria ANGB supporting the arrival of some of the fighters. The 419th FW’s participation is, to the best of knowledge, the first time F-35As have been involved in Sentry Savannah and the 157th ARW’s participation, as far as I’m aware, marks the first time that the KC-46A has been involved in Sentry Savannah.

Although I only had two and a half days out of the two weeks to listen to both the morning and afternoon sorties, I was able to catch the departures and first part of the morning sorties during both weeks. Along with some other listeners here in the southeast, we were able to put together a pretty good list of the frequencies and callsigns being used.

Frequencies

The frequencies used for Air Traffic Control, Tactical Control, and Aerial Refueling during Sentry Savannah 2022 were pretty much the same as those used in previous years. The Ops and Air-to-Air frequencies used were almost completely different from previous years, so it took a lot of time to find those. Thankfully, using my AirSpy R2 SDR for searching the military UHF band made the job a lot easier. If you haven’t used an SDR for aviation or military aviation monitoring, I highly recommend the R2; it’s a great radio for a great price.

Air Traffic Control

119.100/257.800 – Savannah Tower
124.975/279.575 – Hunter AAF Tower
120.400/353.775 – Savannah TRACON
125.300/371.875 – Savannah TRACON
277.400/126.750 – Jax Center Brunswick Low
269.025/127.575 – Jax Center Waycross Low
282.200/124.675 – Jax Center Jekyll Low
282.300/135.975 – Jax Center Alma High
285.650/126.125 – Jax Center Statesboro High
363.200/132.925 – Jax Center Allendale/Savannah Low
307.050/126.425 – Atlanta Center Dublin High

Ops and Air-to-Air

237.000 – ADC Ops
138.625 – ADC Ops
226.475 – ADC; 2nd FTS Ops
256.325 – ADC; 43rd FS/192nd FW Ops
315.125 – ADC? 419th FW Ops?
318.775 – ADC?; 157th FS Ops
228.000 – ADC?; 43rd FS Air-to-Air
231.000 – ADC?; 43rd FS Air-to-Air
233.200 – ADC?; 43rd FS Air-to-Air
234.200 – ADC?; 43rd FS Air-to-Air
242.100 – ADC?; 157th FS Air-to-Air
242.200 – ADC?; 157th FS Air-to-Air
242.400 – ADC?; 157th FS Air-to-Air
257.250 – ADC?; 157th FS Air-to-Air
242.600 – ADC?; 192nd FW Air-to-Air
245.200 – ADC?; 192nd FW Air-to-Air
335.750 – ADC?; 192nd FW Air-to-Air
244.250 – ADC?; 419th FW Air-to-Air
271.650 – ADC?; 419th FW Air-to-Air
320.600 – 2nd FTS Air-to-Air
363.775 – 157th FS Air-to-Air
234.800 – 159th FS Air-to-Air
141.675 – 117th ARW Air-to-Air

Tactical and Air Refueling

120.950/284.500 – SEALORD North Primary
313.700 – SEALORD North Secondary
133.950/267.500 – SEALORD South Primary
349.800 – W-137 Discrete (replaced 316.300 for 9 May afternoon sortie)
376.900 – W-137 Discrete
270.600 – SEALORD Discrete

288.400 – NORAD Discrete; Primary Check-In
235.900 – NORAD Discrete; Secondary Check-In
293.600 – NORAD Discrete; Blue Air Control
316.300 – NORAD Discrete; Red Air Control
254.200 – NORAD Discrete; Aerial Refueling?
265.400 – NORAD Discrete; Aerial Refueling
274.400 – Aerial Refueling
278.000 – Aerial Refueling
282.600 – NORAD Discrete; ACM separate from LFE

228.400 – Townsend Range/Coastal MOA

Callsigns

STEALTH (117th ACS)
SHOWTIME (RTO)
HORNET ## (F-22A, 43rd FS)
STINGER ## (F-22A, 43rd FS)
HELLCAT ## (F-22A, 43rd FS)
SATAN ## (F-22A, 192nd FW)
DEMON ## (F-16CM, 157th FS)
SNAKE ## (F-16CM, 157th FS)
WEASEL ## (F-16CM, 157th FS)
FANG ## (F-15C, 159th FS)
BASH ## (F-22A, 192nd FW)
SATAN ## (F-22A, 192nd FW)
ALTA ## (F-35, 419th FW)
BEAGLE ## (T-38A, 2nd FTS)
DOG ## (T-38A, 2nd FTS)
GROUCH ## (T-38A, 2nd FTS)
KNIGHT 11 (F-117, 84-0828, USAF)
DIXIE ## (KC-135, 117th ARW)
PACK ## (KC-46A, 157th ARW)
WYLIE ## (KC-135R, 190th ARW)
POSSE ## (C-130H, 120th AW)
TORCH ## (C-130H, 182nd AW)

It was a really fun two weeks of scanning and monitoring. Cooperating with with other hobbyists to find the activity was the most fun I’ve had on the radios in quite awhile. Hopefully, this will not be the last Sentry Savannah exercise. The Department of Defense, despite all the money that they have spent at the Savannah CRTC and Air Dominance Center over the last few years, have proposed that it be closed. Our Senators and several Representatives are united across party lines in trying to keep it open, but we are yet to see what will happen. If you live in the area around Savannah you might want to contact your Senators and Representatives and support the CRTC and ADC, it’s a resource that the Air National Guard and Air Force would be poorer without.