When Iran dispatched some 200 attack drones and cruise missiles toward Israel in a brute-force attack on April 13, 2024, all of Capt. Carla Nava\u2019s training was suddenly put to the test. A weapons systems officer with the 494th Fighter Squadron out of RAF Lakenheath, United Kingdom, Nava knew her F-15E Strike Eagle was prepped to be first in a two-ship formation if called upon. But when the pair of aircraft were launched from their undisclosed location in the Middle East \u2014 in the dark of night and more urgently than the crews expected \u2014 the intensity of the real-world mission was still disorienting. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt just hits heavier when you know the Master Arm hot switch is on,\u201d Nava recalled. <\/p>\n\n\n As the swarms of one-way attack drones came into view within just minutes of takeoff, the planes, flying at low altitudes, were tasked with taking them out before they could reach their targets. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The No. 2 aircraft got the first shot at an incoming drone, but missed. That cued up Nava\u2019s aircraft and her role of double-checking the Strike Eagle\u2019s targeting pod and giving the all-clear to shoot. The drone went down: a confirmed kill. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s nerve-wracking, and then once you see it hit, it\u2019s the biggest relief that you can have before you move on to the next target and rinse and repeat,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Nava, 29, is Military Times\u2019 Airman of the Year. A first-generation American whose parents came to the U.S. from Venezuela, she fell in love with aviation while a cadet at the Air Force Academy. Nava had volunteered for the Middle East deployment that would put her unit in the action against Iranian drones. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The April 13 mission made her, along with pilot Capt. Claire \u201cAtomic\u201d Eddins, the Air Force\u2019s first all-female crew of aces \u2013 signifying five air-to-air kills. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Beyond her achievements in combat, Nava has worked to improve the service for other female airmen, coordinating a \u201cFlying While Pregnant Roadshow\u201d while stationed in the UK and representing her unit at a convention focused on improving uniforms and equipment for women aviators. <\/p>\n\n\n\n During the counter-drone mission, an unprecedented Iranian assault and the largest air-to-air engagement for the Air Force in more than half a century, Nava also took on risk, delaying a refueling to remain in position as other aircraft expended their missiles and had to depart the area. They reached a \u201ccombat bingo\u201d fuel state, meaning they\u2019d have to land at a friendly foreign base near their location if they couldn\u2019t secure an aerial refueling, which they ultimately did. <\/p>\n\n\n\n By the time they headed back to home station, the crew had expended all their missiles and taken out five Iranian drones. Their status as newly minted aces didn\u2019t set in, Nava said, until the next day when they reviewed the plane\u2019s targeting history. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt was a win for everybody,\u201d Nava said, adding that the Air Force hadn\u2019t seen new aces in decades prior to the Iran showdown, with male and female aircrews alike were celebrating the achievement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Now, Nava teaches future combat systems officers at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Being named Airman of the Year, Nava said, \u201cspeaks to the village that raised me,\u201d adding that her village includes her parents and the Air Force itself. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s an honor \u2026 and I hope I do it justice.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Capt. Carla Nava is the 2025 Airman of the Year. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":109509,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"single-post-featured-layout","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":69,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[101,12,25,69],"tags":[],"coauthors":[2551],"class_list":["post-72849","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-news","category-newsletters","category-your-marine-corps"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"M3VDSI6MVZC7LCNUH7VUVBLJTY","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/your-military\/2025\/09\/04\/this-air-force-wso-became-an-ace-in-showdown-with-iranian-drones\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"featured-layout","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"\n