AT the "go" signal, the pilot and ground crew of an F-16 sprinted toward their aircraft on the ramp of a desert air base. Word came down from the Air Defense Opera- tions Center that unidentified aircraft had appeared or radar, heading for large populated area. Main- tainers ran down preflight checks, as the pilot got the engine turning. Minutes later, checks complete, the jet taxied to the flight line, and the pilot punched the throttle and streaked off to intercept the intruder. The drill was a basic run-through of an air defense scramble-a mission many members of the Colorado Air National Guard's 120th Fighter Squadron watching the launch had flown countless times back at Buckley AFB, Colo. But this particular day in June, the "Mile High Militia" was drilling far from Colorado, on the home turf of one of their closest partners. The F-16 that had just scrambled belonged to No. 6 Squadron of the Royal Jordanian Air Force, flying from Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Azraq, Jordan, a desert hamlet some 60 miles east of the capital, Amman. The sortie was one of many simulated air defense scrambles that would take place in the coming days, as Colorado ANG and Jordanian pilots spent nearly two weeks this past June flying daily aerial exercises.
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机译：一架F-16的飞行员和地勤人员在“出发”信号时，在沙漠空军基地的坡道上冲向飞机。防空作战中心传来消息，有身份不明的飞机出现或出现雷达，前往人口稠密的地区。当飞行员转弯时，维修人员进行了飞行前检查。几分钟后，检查完成，喷气机滑行到飞行路线，飞行员猛踩油门并划过身来拦截入侵者。演习是防空争夺战的基本演习，这项任务是科罗拉多航空国民警卫队第120战斗机中队的许多成员，观看了这次发射，无数次飞回科罗拉多州的巴克利空军基地。但是在6月的这一天，“ Mile High Militia”正在与其最亲密的伙伴之一的家乡草坪上从科罗拉多州远去钻探。刚刚混乱的F-16属于约旦皇家空军第6中队，从约旦阿兹拉克的Muwaffaq Salti空军基地起飞，这是位于首都安曼以东约60英里的沙漠小村庄。这次出击是未来几天发生的许多模拟防空战斗之一，因为科罗拉多州空军和约旦飞行员于今年6月花费了将近两个星期的时间进行日常空中演习。
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