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Australia C-130, P-3, And F-111 Elmendorf F-22 Operations Indian Air Force At Red Flag

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2009

PHOTO BY TOM REYNOLDS

A Norwegian F-16 operating from the Mid-Life Update program at Edwards AFB, California, flies low over the Owens Lake bed on the eastern flanks of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in southeastern California. The striking red color is the result of the high mineral content.

Fifty Years of Hercules Down Under A Milestone In C-130 Operations

VOLUME 24

NUMBER 1

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EDITOR

Eric Hehs

Orions Wet And Dry

ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Jeff Rhodes ART DIRECTOR

Stan Baggett VICE PRESIDENT, COMMUNICATIONS

Australian P-3Cs Fly Dual Missions

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Mary Jo Polidore EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, LOCKHEED MARTIN CORPORATION PRESIDENT, AERONAUTICS COMPANY

Ralph D. Heath

Australia’s Big Stick F-111 Still Strong And Formidable

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ISSN 1071-3816 A08-26300

Elmendorf Raptors F-22 Raptors Fly Hot In The Cold

18 Building Friendships Indian Air Force Flies At Red Flag

ABOUT THE COVER Front: The Royal Australian Air Force marked fifty years of C-130 operations in 2008. As the first international operator of the Hercules, the RAAF has flown four generations of C-130s. Here, a C-130H (lead) and a C-130J (echelon left) in special anniversary markings fly with another C-130J (center) to show off the new low-visibility paint scheme.

Photo by LAC Christopher Dickson Back: An F-22 Raptor from the 90th Fighter Squadron at Elmendorf AFB, Alaska, receives fuel from a 168th Air Refueling Wing, Alaska Air National Guard KC-135 Stratotanker. The 90th is one of two Raptor squadrons that fall under the 3rd Wing at Elmendorf.

Photo by A1C Jonathan Steffen

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F IFTY Y EARS O F H ERCULES D OWN U NDER

C O M PI L E D B Y J E F F R H O D E S PHOTO BY CPL Bill Louys

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new era in Australian airlift began on 13 December 1958 when Wing Commander Ian O l o r e n s h aw, a former fighter pilot, and his crew touched down at RAAF Richmond west of Sydney, completing t he delivery flight of the first C-130A Hercules for the Royal Australian Air Force. Just two years after the US A i r Force accepted its f i rst Hercules, Austra lia became the first international C-130 operator.

Over the course of the next fifty years, the RAAF became the only international operator to f ly four generations of C-130s. Crews from 36 Squadron operated the original t w e l v e C -1 3 0 A s . I n 1 9 6 6 , 3 6 Squadron was joined at RAAF Richmond, the RAAF’s second oldest base, by 37 Squadron, a World War II-era unit that was reformed to fly twelve C-130Es purchased to expand the RAAF fleet.

In 1978, 36 Squadron replaced its A-models with a dozen C-130Hs, which arrived in a camouflage paint scheme to emphasize its tactical airlift focus. In 1999, 37 Squadron retired its E-models and started flying the first of a dozen light gray, longer fuselage C-130Js. In 2006, 36 Squadron moved north to RAAF Amberley, near Brisbane, to operate the RAAF’s new C-17s.

To d ay, 37 S qu ad ron, st i l l at R A AF R ichmond, is the only squadron in the world that operates both the C-130H and the C-130J. Pa r t ly for oper at iona l re a sons and partly to enhance squadron cohesion and unity, all twenty-four squadron aircraft are being repainted in a new, standard lowvisibility scheme. These are the same aircraft that were originally delivered, as the RAAF has not had a major accident in five decades of flying the Hercules.

What follows is not the complete h i s tor y of t he He rc u le s D ow n U n d e r, b u t o b s e r v a t i o n s a n d thoughts of just a few of the many people associated with the C-130 in Australia today.

Air Commodore Ian Scott is the commander of Air Lift Group, the RAAF’s umbrella organization that oversees the Air Mobility Control Centre; 84 Wing at RAAF Richmond, which conducts VIP airlift, tanking, training, and Air Movements Training and Development Unit; and 86 Wing , which conducts tactical (C-130H/J and C-7 Caribou) and strategic (C-17) airlift operations. He is a former navigator with more than 6,300 f light hours in the Hercules.

We love the Hercules and we’re going to keep t hem. T here is somet h i ng about the Hercules—it is so f lexible and such a versatile aircraft. Nothing in the world can replace it. Although some newer aircraft are better in some aspects, not hing per forms li ke t he Hercules. It is hard to imagine our Air Force without C-130s.

Of course, the aircraft has changed.

The Hercules has gone from a platform with a large crew conducting benign operations to being an aircraft with highly technical capabilities. In the process, it has become t he world ’s most prodigious airlifter. The C-130 has gone from mandraulics, if you will, to having highly automated systems.

The aircraft has changed, but its role hasn’t. The C-130 still delivers goods and people on time, where required, regardless of conditions.

Pilots used to need top-notch stickand-rudder skills. The f light management system in the J-model does that now automatically. The aircraft tells you what time it is and where you are.

The navigator in the H-model used to gather information and make decisions.

Now, the nav focuses more on strategy and tactics.

The environment in which the aircraft operates has also changed. What used to be a relatively benign environme nt for a i rc r a f t op e r at ion s now requires higher performance, tactics, and countermeasures to defeat threats.

A n a i rl i f t crew c a n’t go a ny where without self-protection. In the old days, the C-130 announced help was arriving, so it was not considered a target. Our enemies don’t treat it with the same respect today. A Hercules is just another target to them.

Despite the R AAF’s focus on the combat role of the Hercules, the vast majority of our work has been humanitarian. We flew medevac missions out of Vietnam, f lood relief in Australia, disaster relief in Iran and Pakistan, and famine relief and refugee support in many places around the world. A C-130E was the first aircraft into Darwin the night Cyclone Tracy hit in 1974. The crews worked like Trojans pulling people out of there. We flew well in excess of the aircraft’s rated capacity. One crew had to perform a three-engine takeoff because the base commander said no spare parts were available to fix the engine.

We have also had some unusual and sometimes critical f lights. We f lew a gift bull to the People’s Republic of China in the 1970s. We flew a valuable Jackson Pollock abstract painting called “The Blue Poles.” We pulled the Australian embassy staff out of Saigon two days before it fell in 1975. We also evacuated 120 orphans from Tan Son Nhut AB in South Vietnam. That was a very moving flight.

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Group Captain Tim Innes is the commanding officer of 84 Wing and the director of the Air Mobility Control Centre, or AMCC, at RAAF Richmond.

He has about 2,500 hours as a pilot in C-130s.

All C-130 aircrew training is conducted by 84 Wing and 285 Squadron.

We don’t have a direct operational role. Whether pilots need basic flight school instruction or conversion instruction, we train them for tactical operations, dirt strip operations, assault landings, airdrop missions, and tactics.

We conduct night vision goggle training in the C-130J. The Air Mobility Control Centre starts the operational tasking for all airlift missions, including the C-130. The planners at the centre set the parameters and say, “Here’s your task, now go.” They have to understand the aircraft and what it ca n do. For A MCC , t he J-model is easier to task because it doesn’t have a navigator or f light engineer. Without them, an H-model crew can’t operate.

From a tasking perspective, an H-model f light has a much more detailed brief.

With the J, the pilot knows he’ll get to the vicinity of the airfield.

The C-130J carries more people and has more space. We task it for some special missions. From the flyer’s point of v iew, t he J is magnif icent in t he terminal portion of the f light. If it is dusk or dusty, the HUD is invaluable.

All the things we teach pilots about the basics of f lying are all shown on the HUD. In the C-130J, the pilot can look through the HUD and concentrate on tactical operations.

Combining the squadrons was a big cultural adjustment for the 37 Squadron crews. The H-model crews had to overcome seeing the J-model as a threat.

The J has premier airdrop capability and can drop in weather. The aircraft PHOTO BY CPL Michael Davis

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has a lot of latent capability we haven’t fully developed. The J is an amazing piece of technology. The f light deck is larger than that of a 747—we have carried celebrities up there.

The C-130 has done just about everything from conducting relief missions to operating as an airline. The government brought us in to provide some commercial air transport during a pilot strike. We’ve f lown f lood relief missions. We’ve dumped hay to feed stranded cattle.

We are always the first on call. In two-to-six hours after we get the word, the crews will be off. At any time, we can put up twelve aircraft. We regularly break that mark.

Wing Commander Mark McCallum is the executive of ficer of 84 Wing a t R A A F R i c h m o n d . A He rc u l e s pilot w ith 5,6 0 0 C -13 0 hours , he trained the initial cadre of R AAF C-130J crews.

The C-130 has taken over the role of the C-47 Dakota as the classic airlifter worldwide. When the Australia Defense Force is engaging internationally, the C-130 is always there. It covers a wide range of operations. The Hercules takes over from the much smaller Caribou and goes up to strategic operations.

I was part of the introduction of the C-130J to the RAAF and involved in the writing of the standard operating instructions. Having just the two pilots a nd t he load ma s ter i n t he C -13 0J changed the crew dynamic. Before, the pilot dealt with the navigator or the loadmaster. The copilot mostly worked the radio. Now the copilot is an integral part of the operation and has a lot of responsibility in the crew’s decisionmaking process.

The C-130J started as an E-model replacement. But we quickly realized the capability of this brand new slick toy.

PHOTO BY Mark Mcintyre

The initial crew cadre transferred to 285 Squadron while 37 Squadron focused on introducing the aircraft into operation.

The H-model will be in service until 2013. We will retain a core of H experience until then. We need to continue to build C-130J experience. The J-model requires fewer crew positions. We have a lot of aircrew transitioning from the H to the J. Currently not very many crew members go from J to H. Our operational bread and butter t hese days is t he Midd le East. The C-130H and C-130J have similar performance envelopes, and tactics are similar for both models. But at 300 knots and 300 feet, the C-130J is stable and smooth. Everybody in the J cockpit looks at the same information. On a properly planned mission, the airspace information is present on the HUD or cockpit displays. The cockpit patter is all operational. In theater, we f ly with two pilots and two loadmasters to watch out for threats on each side of the aircraft.

Getting there is half the fun on the C-130. Nothing is better than traveling around the world with a C-130 crew.

Group Captain Gary Martin, commander of 86 Wing at RAAF Richmond, is in charge of RAAF combat airlift operations, which includes the C-130. He has recorded 3,100 f light hours as a Hercules pilot.

We provide responsive global airlift using an interconnected hub-and-node PHOTO BY FSGT Craig Sharp

PHOTO BY JEFF RHODES

system, similar to that used by the airlines. We remove a pallet from a C-17 or a KC-30A ta n ker, load it on t he C-130. That same pallet gets put on a Chinook helicopter and it gets to the front lines. Under this system, we position the Herks at the nodes, so that the aircraft can work at its most efficient rate. We used to have to use the C-130 on intermediate-length missions. The C-130 can take a pallet a long way, but we trade range for payload. It makes more sense for a Hercules to be full and make shorter trips. After the tsunami hit Sumatra in 2004, we flew the C-130 at a high rate from Butter wor t h in Malaysia into the affected area. We had about ninety percent load rates. We were f lying into short fields, fighting bad weather, and landing in damaged areas.

That’s what the C-130s are all about.

The Army is starting to believe in t h is system a nd is i nteg rat i ng t he Chinook and Black Hawk. The Army is not just a customer. It is our partner as well. Whatever the piece of equipment is, it is packaged at the point of departure and unpacked at the point of need. The pallet is lashed today and delivered tomorrow. We have never been able to do that before this system was put in place.

Managing a mixed fleet of Hercules aircraft is a challenge. The H-model requires more maintenance and its inspections take more time. Technicians t r a i ned on t he E -model had to be retrained for the J-model. As we went through this technical swapout, we put the focus back into training. As a result, our techs today are far more educated in how a part or a piece of equipment on the C-130 is connected to every other pa r t or piece of equ ipment on t he Hercules. In areas such as aircraft battle damage repair, training had to change from repairing control rods to repairing

data busses. But the Army doesn’t care who’s doing the job or how he got qualified. The customer needs the aircraft to open in the dead of night, deliver what he needs, and then go away.

Having the C-130J on a mission is seen as less of a technical and operational risk. The government is more inclined to commit aircraft when their confidence is high the aircraft won’t be lost. Our government also likes that i nteg r at i ng t he C -130J w it h ot her nations is easier. One of our C-130Js happened to be at the Lockheed Martin in Marietta, Georgia, for a software update on 11 September 2001. Three days later, our crewmembers were tasked to ta ke a tea m of doctors from t he Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta

to New York City. That C-130J was the only aircraft flying in the United States that morning. Our government would have never approved that flight without confidence in the Hercules.

Flight Lieutenant Glen Bruhn is a pilot in 37 Squadron with approximately 2,800 f light hours in the Hercules— about 1, 50 0 hours in the C-130E , 800 hours in the C-130H, and 500plus hours in the C-130J. The C-130E had a good autopilot.

The C-130H started getting electronic instrumentation. The C-130J has more automation. The C-130E and C-130H have more crew. On the C-130H, everybody has to check in on the intercom when checklists are read. The checklists

PHOTO BY FSGT Craig Sharp

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PHOTO BY LAC Rodney Welch

in the C-130J are more efficient. The C-130J also has much better situational awareness for pilots. We are amazed at how much more aware we can be. And the increase in power in the C-130J is also a good thing. The C-130H is a more mechanical aircraft that requires equipment to be fixed. The fix on the C-130J sometimes involves pressing control, alt, delete.

The difference in flying a J-model is that we have to f lare a little bit earlier on landing because of the longer fuselage. When we do our dirt work, the C-130J requires a five- or seven-point turn versus a three-point turn in the H-model. Turning the longer J-model reminds me of the movie Austin Powers when Powers tries to turn the cart in the hallway.

We have four-month deployments to the Middle East because that time period is bearable for the families. At the same time, we can get the most out of people in the cockpit.

Our requirements to keep current are not necessarily being miss i o n q u a l i f i e d . We a r e required to stay current in emergenc y procedures every six months. Keeping current also involves a tactical component. Missions in t he Midd le East are a ll airland. Landing in Afghanistan in winter is difficult, so we airdrop loads. To enable better, more accurate air drops, we are getting what the United States calls the Joint Precision Airdrop System, or JPADS. Since we are not joint with anybody—the R A A F do e s a l l of Au s t r a l i a’s a i rdrops—we just call it PADS here.

I have been to some interesting places in the C-130 and done some interesting things. I’ve been to Midway Island and I’m going to a Cope Thunder exercise.

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I flew on the last E-model to carry two armored personnel carriers weighing 21,000 pounds each. That much weight was almost bending the aircraft. I have flown flood relief missions in Western Australia and have been on strips that had a 500-foot dropoff at one end. I once flew a load of toilet paper into East Timor. I’ve made some shocker landings and survived. Crews can do a lot of things in the Herky Bird.

War ra nt O f f ice r Ru dy Mec h i s a 37 Squadron loadmaster with more t h a n 12 , 0 0 0 f l i g h t h o u r s o n t h e C-130E, C-130H, and C-130J. Crews on the C-130J are probably closer since they have more responsibilities and the crew is smaller. But the loadmasters here are dual qualified on both the C-130H and the C-130J. The tasking is nonstop.

We are always busy.

I have loaded emus in boxes. I once loaded a periscope for an Oberon-class submarine. Because of its length, we had to keep the periscope high in the Hercules cargo hold to get it over the ramp. We used five connected pallets to go from the 245 bulkhead [where the f light deck ends and the cargo compartment begins] to up over the loading ramp. It was a bit weird to get that off the airpla ne. We f ind a l l ways a nd means to get around cargo loaded.

We look at every possibility and minimize anything that can go wrong. I get a lot of satisfaction doing this job day in and day out.

Wing Commander Matt Hegarty is the commander of 37 Squadron. He is a Hercules pilot with 3,800 hours.

The C-130H workforce was merged into the C-130J workforce two years ago to become the largest flying unit in the

RAAF. The squadron now consists of more than 500 people. Some rivalry may exist between the C-130H and J aircrews, but there isn’t division. We are all doing the same job in this unit but with different tools. We have different philosophies, but we’ve grown to accept those d if ferences. None of t he pi lots a re qualified to fly both types of Hercules.

Too much time would be spent trying to keep crews dual-qualified.

Although the maintainers work in d i f ferent lo c at ion s w it h d i f ferent equipment, we have a large joint force that does generally achieve partnership. In the airframe shop, for example, a technician is just one of the guys.

On the maintenance line, however, we have dedicated flight line maintenance teams on the C-130H and the C-130J. Recent ly, we have emba rked upon changes to the f light line maintenance structures and are planning to merge teams so that we ultimately have aircraft technicians qualified to work on both C-130H and C-130J. The J has a lot more automation.

Those functions are built into the aircraft. It does take some time to get used to them, though. The 3,000 hours I flew in the E and the H didn’t prepare me to f ly a C-130J. But I’ll say this: The C-130J does what a C-130 has always done. It features a lot of improvements, but it is still a C-130.

RAAF C-130s have had heavy tasking in support of operations in the Middle East for nearly six years as part of the Australian government’s contribution to the war on terror. For eighty-to-ninety percent of the missions, we can use either type of aircraft. But some differences in the mission mean one type of C-130 is preferred over another. If bulk is the issue, we take the C-130J even though both aircraft have the same all-up weight.

If the mission calls for crew endurance,

we take an H because more crew can share the workload. If the mission calls for range, we tend to go with the C-130H because it carries an extra 18,000 pounds of fuel in the external wing tanks. Our J-models don’t have externals. Most missions are also determined by the availability of the crew.

Everything we do in an H we can do in a J. Both models are busy all the time.

We do have a couple of missions that have not gone to the C-130J because we

haven’t completed heav y equipment airdrop tests on the J yet and the procedures need to be finalized.

Fifty years is a very long time to be operating the same type of aircraft. The J-model looks like a Herk and sort of sounds like Herk, so the tradition lives on. Most Australians could not understand an Air Force without C-130s based here. The C-130 is synonymous with air transport in this country.

Jeff Rhodes is the associate editor of Code One.

PHOTO BY FSGT Craig Sharp

S ELECTED RA AF HERCULES HIGHLIGHTS – Disaster relief missions after floods, cyclones, and droughts in Australia, 1958-present

– Concourse D’Elegance Trophy at International Air Tattoo, 1989

– SEATO air logistics support to Thailand, 1962

– Operation Immune – C-130s used to fly passengers inside Australia because of an airline pilot strike, 1989

– Troop movement and aeromedical evacuation flights to/from Vietnam, 1964-1972

– Humanitarian assistance missions to Iran, Lebanon, Cambodia, Pakistan, Southeast Asia, and Southwest Pacific, various dates

– Delivery of Saber Bogong, a stud bull, a gift of the Australian government to China, 1973

– Operation Habitat – Delivery of humanitarian assistance to the Kurds in northern Iraq, 1991

– Evacuation of orphans and also the Australian Embassy staff in Saigon, 1975

– Assisted in the search and rescue of sailors in the Sydney-Hobart yacht race who were scattered after a severe storm, 1998

– Relief missions into Darwin, Australia, following Cyclone Tracy, Christmas Day 1974 – Evacuation of the Australian Embassy in Tehran, 1979

– Transport of a team of doctors from the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta to New York City on 14 September 2001

– Exercise Distant Bridge, the first RAAF paratroop drop since World War II, 1981

– Operation Bali Assist I and II, 2002 and 2005

– Bullseye Tactical Air Transport Competition winner, 1989

– Operation Slipper (Afghanistan) and Operation Catalyst (Iraq) since 2003; also currently supporting Operation Astute (East Timor), and Operation Anode (Solomon Islands)

– Best C-130 Aircrew, Best Foreign Aircrew, and Best Overall trophies at the US Air Force’s worldwide Airlift Rodeo competition, 1989

– Operation Falconer, special operations support in Iraq, 2003

– Operation Tsunami/Sumatra Assist, 2005-2006 Vol. 24 No. 1 2009

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ne of the first things visitors notice at RAAF Edinburgh is the digital clocks.

Hanging in the 10 and 11 Squadron buildings, in the 92 Wing headquarters, in the simulator, in the maintenance hangar, and even in the life support equipment workroom, the clocks at the Royal Australian Air Force’s AP-3C Orion base north of Adelaide display not only the loca l and Greenwich Mean Time—a standard at any military base—but also the hour at the wing’s deployed location in the Middle East Area of Operations, or MEAO. By Jeff Rhodes

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The clocks are an apt symbol for the current dual mission tasking for the RAAF Orion crews.

“The traditional roles for us are antisubmarine warfare, antisurface warfare, surveillance, search and rescue, and any other national tasking that might come up,” says Wing Commander Warren McDonald, the 11 Squadron commander. “We have a detachment operating from Butterworth, Malaysia, for Operation Gateway, which is ship and nautical traffic surveillance in the Indian Ocean. Operation Resolute is run from RAAF Darwin in the north of Australia. That mission includes border protection, monitoring fishing vessels, and watching for illegal immigration into Australia. Those are all natural taskings for us.”

But since 2003, 92 Wing has had an additional mission. “Now, we also perform overland intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions in Iraq as part of Operation Catalyst,” McDonald continues. “Our role there is surveillance and to provide feedback to the commander on the ground. This is a very nontraditional role for us, but we made the shift very quickly. Our Orions are very flexible.”

Wing crews currently fly about 7,000 to 8,000 hours a year, with close to thirty percent of that total coming from operations in the Middle East.

“We used to participate in a lot of exercises because we were more oriented toward training,” explains McDonald. “Now we focus on operations and on providing capability to the Australian Defence Force, specifically operations in the Middle East. We have a heavy tasking to meet, but it is sustainable.”

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PHOTO BY CPL Pete Gammie

PHOTO BY Ab Paul Berry

PHOTO BY ACW Shannon Urie

SOUTHERN SKY ORIONS Many former 10 and 11 Squadron and 92 Wing commanders, past crews, maintainers, and their families all gathered at RAAF Edinburgh in May 2008 to celebrate the fortieth anniversary of the P-3 entering RAAF service.

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when the first of ten heavyweight P-3Bs was delivered to replace the RAAF’s a g i ng P 2V-5F Ne pt u ne f le e t . T he delivery flight was short, as the aircraft was only flown up the California coast from the then-Lockheed Aircraft Company facility in Burbank to NAS Moffett Field near San Jose. The initial cadre of personnel from Australia’s 11 Squadron had already temporarily relocated at Moffett to begin P-3 transition training with the US Navy.

In 1978, Australia became the first operator to join the US in f lying the up d at e d P-3 C , r e c e i v i n g t e n n e w Orions to replace the SP-2H Neptune t hen i n ser v ice w it h 10 Squad ron.

Two y e a r s l a t e r, a f t e r s t u d y i n g a potent ia l upg rade prog ra m for it s e x i s t i ng P-3B s , t he Au s t r a l i a n government decided the more costef fective approach was to order a n

additional ten P-3Cs and standardize its f leet. The f irst of t hese new a ircra f t was delivered to R A AF Edinburgh in 1984.

The R AAF initiated a multiphase program, designated Project Air 5276, i n 19 95 to upg r ade t he r ad a r a nd i n f r a re d s ens ors a nd en ha nc e t he acoustic suite—needed for antisubmarine warfare—on the f leet of nineteen operational Orions. Another aim of the program was to extend aircraf t service life through the f leet’s planned retirement, now scheduled for 2018.

Once the modifications were made, the a i rc r a f t were re de sig nate d A P-3C for Australian P-3C. “The AP-3C is an entirely dif ferent aircraf t now,” McDonald notes.

I n add it ion, t he R A A F recent ly started an additional upgrade effort for the aircraft called the Capability Assurance Program, or CAP. “These upgrades substantially increase capability for the AP-3C on top of what it already has,” notes McDonald. “We have an electrooptical capability, an infrared detection system, and an upgraded radar. The electronic support measures system is very capable. We have a further upgrade to the acoustic system. The mission system is great. The crew situational awareness has gone from looking at a green blob on the radar to looking at an image that requires no interpretat ion.” CA P w i l l a lso add com mon d at a l i n k s a nd r e pl a c e m e nt v id e o recorders by 2011.

Still other enhancements came with operations in the MEAO. “We added electronic warfare self-protection measu re s for t he M idd le E a s t ,” not e s McDonald. “We’ve upgraded communications, which is the key to success over there. We now have two HF radios, one SATCOM, two VHF, and three UHF radios. It’s quite a good comms kit.”

Projec t A i r 5276 a lso or ig i na l ly included the purchase of three former US Nav y P-3Bs to be mod i f ied for aircrew training. Later changes to the project resulted in only one aircraft bei ng mod i f ied , a nd t hat a i rcra f t, redesignated TAP-3, has since been retired. The final part of Project Air 5276 is a new advanced operational mission system simulator that is up and running on base at Edinburgh.

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M u c h l i k e t h e A P-3 C s , R A A F E d i n bu r g h w i l l b e u p g r a d e d a nd expanded as well, with 92 Wing getting new hardstands, a new taxiway, and a new passenger/cargo terminal.

An Australian Army battalion will also be located there. “We are going to build on a green field site with new hangars for the aircraft and other new facilities, including new crew facilities to replace the original 10 and 11 Squadron buildings,” notes McDonald.

The RAAF AP-3C training unit is 292 Squadron. Equivalent to a Replacement Air Group in the US Navy, 292 Squadron, using aircraft loaned from

PREPARATION Aust ra l ia is a n isla nd cont i nent roughly the size of the United States with more than 12,000 miles of coastline and territorial waters that cover close to 2 .4 m i l l ion squ a re m i le s , ranging from the western Pacific to the east; south to near Antarctica; west into the Indian Ocean; and north to Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore.

“Being at a base on the southern tip of t he countr y puts us in a centra l location,” McDonald observes. “We’re equally distant from the Navy’s f leet bases on the east and west coasts and RAAF Darwin to the north.”

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10 and 11 Squadrons, also conducts ab initio aircrew training and maintenance training.

“The major user of the simulator is 292 Squadron, but we a lso get line crews coming in,” says Richard Balfourth, simulator manager. “This sim is miles ahead of what we used to have.

It is much more like the real aircraft.”

Some of the equipment in the simulator is taken directly off the aircraft, and some of the equipment is replicated in t he sim. Radar images are simulated while the electronic support measures signals shown to students are computer-generated.

Simulator runs are generally split between the aircrew and the mission crew in the back of the aircraft, although full-crew familiarization missions are a lso possible. “ Those new to t he squadron get a mix of the simulator and actual experience in the aircraft. Navigators get a couple of flights here before they go on the aircraft,” Balfour adds.

Like Orion crews all over the world, the RAAF has hard crews—the same thirteen crewmembers f ly with each other all the time. The simulator is also a v a lu a ble to ol i n helpi ng t he si x assigned aircrews in both 10 and 11 Squadrons mentally and operationally make the shift from missions over water to missions over land, and back again.

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Some of the equipment in the simulator is taken directly off the aircraft, and some of the equipment is replicated in the sim. Radar images are simulated while the electronic support measures signals shown to students are computer-generated.

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1 DUAL MISSIONS Over-water operations are an Orion squadron’s bread and butter. “We have operations with the US Navy mainly through exercises,” McDonald notes.

“While 11 Squadron was in the Middle East earlier this year, 10 Squadron participated in the multinational Rim of the Pacif ic exercise. We sent crews to a maritime exercise in Japan. We perform a lot of operations with the South Pacific island nations. We regularly have crews fly Operation Solania missions, where they monitor tuna fishing in and around the economic exclusion zones for South Pacific island nations.”

Two AP-3Cs, two crews, and approximately thirty-five maintainers along with support personnel are assigned to the MEAO at one time, with 10 and 11 Squadrons alternating three-month deploy ment s . “We a re t he g rou nd commander’s eyes from above,” says McDonald. “We have a target deck, and we look to see if there are any changes.

We have a tactical communications datalink that we keep on the aircraft in theater. That data link is a much sought-after capability.”

A small number of Air Combat Officers, the RAAF’s general heading for navigators, tactical coordinators, or

sensor operators, have now been trained as Air Liaison Officers, or ALOs. “Our interaction with the Army, and occasionally with the US Marine Corps, has taken on a new form,” McDonald adds.

“We just used to look at each other over the fence. Now, we work the ALOs up on communications, the same as they do on the aircraft, and get them up to speed on Army-speak. The ALOs are a new capability, but having them can further enhance operations.”

Keeping the aircraft’s specialized equipment, such as the laser rangefinder, enhanced electro-optical sensors, or the laser illuminator, cool is not an issue at

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: : 10 12 5:24 7 15 : : 6 2 19 04 1:12 6:40 altitude. But during preflight, the maintenance crew has to wear ice vests.

“We can’t get around the heat there,” observed one crewmember.

“We perform maintenance on the aircraft as soon as it gets back from a mission,” says Sg t. Derek Field, a n 11 Squadron maintenance supervisor.

“Both the interior and the exterior temperatures of the aircraft are cooler then.

Sometimes the ambient temperature will be 30 degrees C (86 degrees F) overnight and up to 42 to 47 degrees C (107 to 116 degrees F) during the day.

We have to wear horse riding gloves, thin leather with mesh on the top, to keep from getting burned.”

On a deployment, the maintainers work twelve-hour shifts on a two-shift operation. “We work four or five days st ra ig ht a nd t hen get t wo or t hree days off,” notes Field. “The whole idea is to keep two aircraft f lyable. We try to keep one aircraft flying and one ready to go. We get in a groove over there— twelve hours on, twelve hours off. We sleep, eat, and hit the gym. It’s like the movie Groundhog Day.

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“Our government has made a commitment to operations in the Middle East.

What we have done there is a testament to the flexibility of the aircraft, our crews, and our maintainers,” McDonald notes.

“I’ve presented 200 medals in the year since I’ve been comma nder of t his squadron. The RAAF rarely gave out medals before. But we now work in an operational environment.”

Like the clocks on the walls at RAAF Edinburgh, the Australian Orions will

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c o nt i nu e t o w o r k f o r s o m e t i m e .

“Project Air 7000 is a P-3 replacement program. The R AAF is looking at a Maritime Unmanned Aerial System as a first step. The second phase will likely be a new manned aircraft,” concludes McDonald. “But we’ll keep the AP-3s flying. They will be important through the next decade.”

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Jeff Rhodes is the associate editor of Code One.

PHOTO BY LAc Allan Cooper

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“THE ROYAL AUSTRALIAN AIR FORCE ORDERED THE F-111 IN 1963 BEFORE THE FIRST AIRCRAFT WAS EVEN BUILT. IF YOU THINK ABOUT IT, WE ORDERED THIS AIRCRAFT JUST EIGHTEEN YEARS AFTER THE END OF WORLD WAR II. WE THOUGHT THE F-111 WOULD GO THROUGH THE 1960S AND WELL INTO THE 1970S. A SHORT WHILE AGO, WE WERE TALKING ABOUT THEM SERVING THROUGH 2020,” EXPLAINS SQUADRON LEADER DAVID RIDDEL, THE EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF 1 SQUADRON AT RAAF AMBERLEY. “THE IDEA HAS ALWAYS BEEN TO GO A LONG WAY AND DROP A BIG PAYLOAD. THE F-111 IS ONE HECK OF A CAPABILITY FOR A SMALL AIR FORCE.” With 32,5000 pounds The RAAF has plans of i nter na l f uel, t he to move on f rom t he Australian F-111Cs can F-111 a nd e vent u a l ly carry more than 12,000 tra nsition to t he F-35 pounds of ordnance on Lightning II. That trana high-low-high mission sition is part of a larger profile more than 1,100 recapitalization effort. miles at dash speeds of “We have C-130J. We are up to Mach 1.2 at night, considering the F-35, are in weather, using terraindeveloping the Wedgetail following radar down to airborne early warning a lt it u d e s of a ppr ox iand control aircraft, and m a t e l y 2 5 0 fe e t . “ No we are t he f irst inter­ ot her tactica l a ircra f t nat iona l operator for c a n do w hat t h i s one JASSM [AGM-158 Joint can,” Riddel says.

Air-to-Surface Standoff “The RAAF has had a Missile],” notes Riddel.

B Y J E F F R H O D E S policy of deterrence for “ We ’ l l h a v e o u r n e w many years. The F-111 is the main part of that,” adds Wing tankers [KC-30B] up and running as we enter the last twelve Comma nder Michael Gray, comma nding of f icer of 1 months of F-111 operations. Effectively, all our aircraft will Squadron. “The aircraft is the government’s Big Stick.” be changed out in the next decade.”

“Unfortunately, in an era of true look-down, shoot-down R A A F A mberley, about t h i r t y m i les sout hwest of radars on enemy fighters, the F-111 is also an aircraft that Br isba ne, is t he R A A F ’s la rgest ba se. It w i l l a lso be can’t defend itself well,” adds Riddel. “Flying it, the crews the benef iciary of the recapitalization effort. The new really have to sweat the small stuff. The cockpit has no headAust ra l ia n C-17s a re ba sed t here, a nd t he cou nt r y ’s up display, so the crews really have to work to the best of new tankers will be based there as well. To protect all the their abilities. The aircraft is old. It requires 187 maintenance assets at Amberley, the base has erected a higher fence around man-hours per flight hour. The time has come to move on.” the flightline to deter the local kangaroo population.

RAAF PHOTO

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PHOTO BY AC DANIEL PINHORN

Australia ordered twenty-four of the swingwing F-111s in November 1963, thirteen months before the aircraft was first f lown. Picking the F-111 was seen by many as a bold move, but the government felt the RAAF needed a very longrange strike aircraft.

“We had always operated bombers, like the Lincoln and Canberra,” notes Gray. “Our Air Force was looking for a replacement aircraft.

They did a worldw ide eva luation—[British] TSR.2; [French] Mirage V; and the [US] F-4, A-5, and F-111. The F-111 was still in development, but it offered range and payload. There were a lot of firsts on the F-111, such as an afterburning Wing Commander Michael Gray, turbofan engine and fully automatic terrain- 1 Squadron Commander following radar.”

A series of mishaps during the US Air Force’s first combat deployment with the F-111 in Vietnam in 1968, followed by another accident in the US, revealed a design weakness and a subcontractor manufacturing defect in the aircraft’s

PHOTO BY AC DANIEL PINHORN

ONLY OPERATOR

wing carry-through box, the complex internal structure that holds the pivots of the wings.

The Australian government decided to delay delivery of its F-111s until the issue was fully resolved and to obtain F-4 Phantom IIs as an interim combat aircraft. The RAAF F-111s were put in storage at the then-General Dynamics facility in Fort Worth, Texas, where the aircraft were manufactured.

The solution to the wing issues was an improved, stronger w ing carr ythrough box. The new structure was installed in the F-111Cs along with a host of other improvements. Cold-proof load testing—a ground test in which the entire aircraft is cold-soaked and acoustic sensors on the structure are used to listen for cracking—was also conducted, a process that is still continued in Australia.

The first six F-111Cs arrived at RAAF Amberley on 1 June 1973 making Australia the first—and, as it turned out, only—international operator to ever fly the aircraft. The US retired its F-111s in 1996 leaving Australia with the last flying F-111s in the world today.

RAAF PHOTO

PHOTO BY AC DANIEL PINHORN

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The Australian F-111Cs are, as one pilot described them, a “bit of a Frankenstein aircraft.” The RAAF opted for the longer wings, sturdier undercarriage, and bigger brakes of the FB-111 nuclear-capable bomber version of the aircraft ordered by the US Air Force, but retained the inlets, engines, and avionics installed in the F-111A. The RAAF also opted for the self-protection system equipment of the later F-111Es. The Air Combat Officers—weapons systems officers who sit in the right seat—have a control stick on their side of the cockpit and are taught to land the aircraft in case of emergency.

Affectionately and universally known as Pig—for its ability to conduct missions at night with its nose in the weeds, thanks to the terrain-following radar—the F-111Cs have been continuously updated over their career.

“We had four aircraft modified for reconnaissance in the early 1980s,” notes Gray. “We used a wet film-based camera suite with high- and low-scanning cameras and an infrared line scanner.” Those aircraft were designated RF-111Cs. The film cameras were later converted to digital imaging equipment.

In 1986, the Pave Tack infrared and laser targeting system was added to the aircraft, along with the capability of launching the AGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship PHOTO BY LAC Scott Woodward

PHOTO BY LAC Scott Woodward

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standoff missile. In the mid 1990s, the Avionics Upgrade Program incorporated digital flight controls, digital mission computers, multifunction displays, and a new terrain-following radar.

In the last decade, the aircraft have received electronic warfare updates, including a new jamming pod, are fully modified for nightvision goggle operation, and are capable of firing the AGM-142 Popeye TV-guided standoff weapon.

The aircraft are still being modified.

“We have a 256K data transfer card in the cockpit. It is a big box that doesn’t hold much information,” Riddel notes.

“We have started using an electronic kneeboard computer that connects into the cockpit. The kneeboard is a commercial product modified with FalconView for mission planning and includes mission rehearsal and review. We also use it for moving map situational awareness and targeting information.”

“On the flightline, we’re to the point of needing a lot of hours to produce a sor tie,” says Squadron Leader Stan O’Donnell, senior engineering officer for 82 Wing, the base’s host unit. “The aircraft is labor-intensive. For example, we have individually rigged components in the wing that require more time to install versus a part that can be plugged in. But the guys love working on the Pig and then admiring the jet in the air.

We’ll go to Nellis [AFB, Nevada] for a Red Flag exercise, and we’ll have old US Air Force chiefs come over and ask if they can touch the jet again. There are not a lot of aircraft that generate feelings like that.”

PHOTO BY LAC Scott Woodward

PHOTO BY AB Raphael Barton

Unique Variant

PHOTO BY LAC Christopher Dickson

PHOTO BY AC Craig Barrett

Finish Line In Sight

“We are getting ready to go through a lot of changes,” notes Gray. “We are merging 1 and 6 Squadrons, our two F-111 squadrons, late this year. We’ll merge maintenance in advance of that.”

After the merge, 6 Squadron will operate the remaining eighteen F-111s until 2010. When it is retired, 6 Squadron, which had been the crew conversion training squadron, will have flown the F-111 for thirty-seven years, the longest serving of its twelve previous assigned aircraft. The squadron itself dates back to 1917.

Much like what happened with the F-4 prior to the introduction of the F-111 forty years ago, the RAAF will obtain twenty-four two-seat F/A-18Fs to serve as an interim capability until the F-35 Lightning II comes online. 1 Squadron, which dates back to 1916 and is the RAAF’s oldest squadron, will re-form and will then start flying the F/A-18F. Crews will again go through 6 Squadron, which will serve as the Super Hornet conversion unit. Both units are scheduled to convert to the F-35 around 2020.

In the meantime, F-111 operations continue. “We only have a small number of crews. But they have to be proficient in all roles,” notes Gray. “There is strong integration on the crews. A seamless crew is fundamental to the operation

of the aircraft. Both crew members need to understand what is going on during the mission.”

In addition to its roles of long-range land and maritime strike, F-111 crews also practice close air support and air defense. “We can carry twelve Mk. 82 [500-pound] low-drag bombs 350 nautical miles to the target, engage in ninety minutes of CAS, and fly back 350 nautical miles—all in 3.5 hours,” notes Riddel. “We can use the AIM-9 [Sidewinder air-to-air missile] in a limited air defense role. We can shoot any maritime patrol aircraft shadowing our ships.

We can dash out to the fleet and hustle the enemy away.” “ We r e g u l a r l y p a r t i c i p a t e d i n la rge joi nt force ma neuvers l i ke Exercise Pitch Black, where we recently f lew 103 out of a planned 106 sorties,” says Gray. “Overseas, we’d go to Red Flag every two years. We also go to Butter­w orth, Malaysia, in support of the Five-Power Defence Agreement twice yearly. We have participated in Cope Thunder in t he Phi lippines a nd in Alaska, and we go to New Zealand for maritime exercises.”

But the end is, indeed, in sight for t he F-111. T he F-111G s t he R A A F obtained from the US were retired in 2007. These aircraft were the former US Air Force FB-111s, but the aircraft

PHOTO BY AC DANIEL PINHORN

PHOTO BY AB Andrew Black

didn’t have the Pave Tack targeting pod or Harpoon capability. “We used them mostly for conversion training,” notes Gray. “Those aircraft, because they were nuclear capable at one time, will have to be scrapped by treaty.” There has been strong sentiment to give the remaining F-111Cs to museums.

But the F-111 will not go quietly.

Crews will undoubtedly be asked to perform the F-111’s signature maneuver, t he du mp a nd bu r n, severa l t i mes before t he a ircra f t is retired. “ The dump and burn maneuver is a f luke of the aircraft’s design,” Gray notes.

“The fuel dump vent is between the engines. You go to full af terburner and dump the fuel. That maneuver is regularly requested at airshows and civic events. We do it ever y year at the Brisbane Riverfire. We f ly pretty low level through the suburbs and pull up into a steep climb to 2,800 feet.

It’s quite a thing—sight, vibrations, sound, and the smell of kerosene.” The dump and burn maneuver was used to punctuate the closing ceremonies to the 2000 Olympics in Sydney.

“The F-111 has stayed in the hearts and minds of people in and out of the air force,” observes Gray. “The Pig is wellloved. It is an icon in Australia.”

Jeff Rhodes is the associate editor of Code One.

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Lt. Col. Chris Niemi “The weather here makes for some cha l leng i ng f ly i ng ,” s ay s Lt . C ol .

Chris Niemi, director of operations for t he 9 0 t h Fi g ht e r S qu a d ron at E l me ndor f, t he f i r s t F -2 2 R aptor squadron at the base. “The weather is more difficult to predict here than 18

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in any other place I have been before.

We can take off in beautiful weather and return to a snowstorm with visibility of a mile or less.” When pilots encounter drastic weat her cha nges bet ween ta keof f a nd la nd i ng, t hey might not have enough fuel to divert

Anchorage locals are fond of saying, “If you don’t like the current weather, wait an hour.” Within that hour, the weather can change from glaring sunlight to blinding snow, making forecasts in Alaska’s largest city more entertaining than useful. While such unpredictability amuses the locals, it can complicate operations for the F-22 Raptors at nearby E l m e n d o r f A F B. A R T I C L E A N D P H O T O S BY E R I C H E H S

to other landing strips. “The runways i n A l a s k a a r e s p r e a d f a r a p a r t ,” explains Niemi. “The closest divert base, besides Anchorage International Airport, is Eielson—250 miles away.

Weather conditions, then, demand a higher level of piloting skills.”

The 90th FS is one of three fighter squadrons that fall under the 3rd Wing at Elmendorf. The 90th and the 525th operate F-22 Raptors. The 19th flies the F-15C Eagle. The wing is also home to the 517th Airlift Squadron, which operates the C-17 Globemaster III and the

C-12 Huron, and the 962nd Airborne Air Control Squadron, which operates the E-3B Sentry airborne warning and control system, or AWACS, aircraft.

The 90th, known as the Pair-o-Dice squadron, received its first F-22s in spring 2007. The unit deployed f ive F-22s to Guam in July 2008 and reached initial operating capability, or IOC, status in September. The second F-22 squadron at Elmendorf, the 525th FS, known as the Bulldogs, was still taking delivery of F-22s in October 2008 when Code One visited the base. The squadron is expected to have its full complement of F-22s in 2009.

The 3rd Wing is also home to the 477th Fighter Group, Air Force Reserve Command’s first F-22 Raptor unit. The 477th was reactivated in October 2007 as an associate unit at the base. The group provides a combat-ready force of approximately 425 Air Reserve technicians, traditional Reservists, and civil servants assigned to operations, maintenance, medical, and mission support units. Reserve pilots, who fall under the 302nd Fighter Squadron, integrate with their active duty counterparts in both the 90th and 525th fighter squadrons.

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COLD-WEATHER PERFORMANCE “Last year was our first winter to operate t he F-22 i n A lask a,” notes CMSgt. William Holm, the aircraft maintenance unit superintendent for the 90th Aircraft Maintenance Unit.

“During the coldest days of that first winter, we hosted a lot of visitors.”

CMSgt. William Holm

While some of those visitors expected the weather to cause a lot of problems for the Raptors, only minor issues arose.

“A few computers and boxes on the fighter didn’t start up as quickly as we wanted,” continues Holm. “Also the alcohol/water mixture we use to clean the F-22 canopy froze at very low temperatures. We didn’t expect that.”

The low-observable coatings challenge maintainers because the technology is new to most of them. But they are learning to work with the coatings.

“Maintaining coatings requires a different mindset,” explains Holm. “They are not just paint. They are another system on the aircraft and have to be treated as such.” The aviation-grade sand used to provide traction on icy runways can affect the coatings. “We clea n t he jets a f ter ever y f l ig ht to ­t horoughly inspect the coatings,” Holm

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THE WEATHER IS MORE DIFFICULT TO PREDICT HERE THAN IN ANY OTHER PLACE I HAVE BEEN BEFORE. WE CAN TAKE OFF IN BEAUTIFUL WEATHER AND RETURN TO A SNOWSTORM WITH VISIBILITY OF A MILE OR LESS.

”

continues. “That activity takes additional time. The F-22 isn’t dainty or oversensitive—it’s just different. And we have to use different procedures to maintain it.”

The F-22 offsets these additional requirements with a much more capable laptop-based ma i ntena nce system.

“Overall, the F-22 is very maintainable,” Holm says. “It represents a n advance in self-diagnostic capabilities.”

The F-15C employs an aircraft status panel that shows a little white ball popping up to indicate which line replaceable unit is bad. The F-15E uses fault codes to provide a little more information on what might need attention.

“The F-22 generates fault reporting codes that tend to be real accurate,” offers Holm. “While the Strike Eagle fau lt codes got us i n t he ba l lpa rk, the fault reporting codes on the F-22 tell us exactly what is wrong.

“We have also done away with phase inspections with the F-22,” Holm adds.

“The F-15 requires phase inspections every 200 flying hours. That frequency demands planning because the detailed inspections require an airplane to be down for a week or longer. Losing too many aircraft to phase inspections can impact a flying schedule.

“The F-22 has a completely different inspection concept,” Holm continues.

“First, it’s every 900 hours. Second, the inspections are not as complex as the phase inspections for the F-15.”

Routine maintenance on the F-22 and every other aircraft is just subject to the environment of Alaska. Changing a tire at 15 degrees Fahrenheit is a little more

Elmendorf has six flow-through shelters (above left) used by the combat alert cell. The alert aircraft support the North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD, by providing air superiority over Alaska and parts of the northern Pacific Ocean. The alert aircraft and pilots must be ready to launch on very short notice, twenty-four hours a day, 365 days a year. Both the F-22s and F-15s perform this mission at Elmendorf. diff icult than changing a tire at 70 degrees Fahrenheit. And those 15-degree days represent the average for January— t he c old e s t mont h i n A nc hor a ge .

“Elmendorf is fairly dry most of the year, which may seem counterintuitive,” says Niemi as he looks out his office window to a line of F-22s parked on a ramp covered in three inches of snow.

The snowfall is the third of the season— and it’s only mid October.

“The airplanes do best when we can park them in our flow-through shelters to prevent the snow from accumulating on them,” Niemi continues. The f lowthrough shelters are heated hangars with doors on two facing sides. The 90th has only eight of these shelters for its twenty F-22s, so the unit always has aircraft parked in the weather.

“Snow doesn’t present a particular problem,” Niemi explains. “It affects our schedule more than anything else because de-icing the airplane requires more time. We have to clear the wings and f light control surfaces of any ice before we take off. On the plus side, the engines prefer the cold dense air.

Jet engines put out more thrust and wings are more efficient in this climate.”

When the Air Force canceled one of the F-22 squadrons at Langley AFB, Virginia, deliveries to Elmendorf were accelerated. So Elmendorf is playing catch-up in terms of infrastructure.

S e ver a l c on s t r uc t ion proje c t s a re planned, including additional f lowthrough shelters. The 525th operates from a temporar y location but will

eventually move to the other side of the runway from the 90th.

LEARNING CURVE Elmendorf is one of six bases operating the F-22. Flight testing takes place at Edwards AFB, California. Operational tactics development and Weapons School training occur at Nellis AFB, Nevada.

Pi lots a nd ma i ntena nce person nel are trained at Tyndall AFB, Florida.

Raptors have been assigned to operational squadrons at the remaining three bases—La ng ley; Elmendor f; a nd Holloman AFB, New Mexico. (Hickam AFB, Hawaii, will be the fourth operational base. F-22s are scheduled to arrive there beginning in 2010.) The two F-22 squadrons at Langley reached full operational capability in 2007, making the units fully combat ready. The 90th FS at Elmendorf reached IOC in September 2008. The 525th expects to reach IOC in 2009.

“Si x or seven A i r Force Reser ve Command pilots are attached to the 90th Fighter Squadron,” notes Niemi.

“They may wear 302nd Fighter Squadron patches, but they are more or less the

same as any other F-22 pilot on the base.

The Reserve is doing a great job at hiring exceptionally qualified people, particularly pilots with experience flying F-22s on active duty. We are making the most of that experience.”

At the other end of the experience spec t r u m, bot h F-22 squ ad rons at Elmendorf are about to receive two of the first four lieutenants to graduate from pilot training at Tyndall. These graduates will be the most junior pilots to step into an F-22 cockpit.

The new pilots will go through a mission qualification program, which supplements the training they received at Tyndall. The training is specific to the types of missions f lown at Elmendorf and to the arctic environment, which is quite different from the environment in Florida.

“The learning curve for a new pilot coming to an operational unit is not harder or easier for an F-22 compared with an F-15,” Niemi notes. “It is just

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different.” Some in the US Air Force were initially concerned that F-22 tactics would be harder for an inexperienced fighter pilot to learn. According to Niemi, the instructors at Tyndall report otherwise. “Although new pilots may not have the experience or airmanship,” he says, “they pick up the tactics associated with the F-22 as readily as they pick up the tactics associated with the F-15.

“We fly a lot of detached mutual support in the F-22,” Niemi continues. “That is, we don’t fly in visual formations like they do in the F-15. We f ly far apart.

Raptor pilots rely on sensors and other equipment in the aircraft to determine their wingman’s position. Detached mutual support is a foreign concept for F-15 pilots because they are used to looking out their windows to see their wingmen. F-15 pilots have to unlearn that habit when they transition to the F-22.

Pilots trained in the F-22 understand the concept from the beginning.”

MISCONCEPTIONS Detached mutual support is one of many operational concepts unique to

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the F-22. As Raptor squadrons train with units that f ly other fighters, this concept and the unique qualities and advantages of a fifth-generation fighter become clearer. “A lot of people in the Air Force don’t know what an F-22 can do,” explains Niemi, one of eight USAF pilots to f ly the F-22 during its initial operational test and evaluation phase at Edwards AFB, California. “They have seen photos and videos of the airplane, but they have never operated with it in the same exercise.”

The biggest misconception? “Some roles for the airplane are not well understood,” Niemi answers. “The airplane can also do many things no one knows about. We focus our efforts on capabilities that tend to be classified, so we don’t talk about those. This lack of accurate information leads to some erroneous conclusions.”

According to Niemi, close air support falls into the misconception category, at least for now. “The Raptor can perform CAS because it can carry JDAMs,” he says. “We type in coordinates, and the bombs fall on target. But fighters that carry targeting pods are more suited for CAS. Our sensors are optimized for air-to-air targets. However, that situation will change as our air-to-ground modes grow and mature.

“The F-22 is most capable in a highthreat environment,” Niemi continues.

“For example, the Raptor is very effective against advanced air-to-air platforms, such as the latest Russian fighters.

In addition, it can shoot down the threats, support other fighters, and drop bombs in that environment. Signature, speed, and avionics make the F-22 survivable in threat environments in which an F-15 simply can’t survive. Iraq and Afghanistan don’t have those advanced threats.

But other countries the United States and its allies could be facing in fifteen or twenty years may have them.”

ALASKAN EXERCISES Preparing for those potential threats forms the foundation of regular largeforce exercises that take place in Alaska.

Fighter units from around the world come to Alaska to take advantage of the expansive airspace and extensive ranges.

Pacific Air Forces hosts its own Red Flag exercises here three times a year.

Red Flag officially transitioned from Cope Thunder Exercises in 2006. Two of the three Red Flags are usually open to international air forces. Alaska also plays host to Northern Edge exercises once a year. Northern Edge concentrates on joint multiservice employment and is limited to US forces.

MSgt. Keith Brown

Lt. Col. Greg Franklin Both Red Flag and Northern Edge last two weeks and are run by the 353rd Combat Training Squadron at Eielson AFB. Lt. Col. Greg Franklin is the detachment commander for the 353rd CTS at Elmendorf. “Bringing Red Flag to Alaska had a lot to do with the available airspace here and the threat capabilities we offer,” Franklin explains. “The Alaskan ranges have a large array of simulated surfaceto-air threats. They have been in place for a while under Cope Thunder exercises, but we have built on them to make them even more challenging.”

A typical Red Flag Alaska involves eight to ten squadrons with a variety of aircraft. Three fighter squadrons normally operate from Eielson and two from Elmendorf. Other participants include an airlift squadron and an E-3 AWACS unit both flying from Elmendorf and a bomber squadron and various aerial refueling units flying from Eielson. Personnel can total anywhere from 1,500 to 1,700. “The exercises are great for the local economies,” notes Franklin.

“Many visiting units have never seen the Raptor,” adds Niemi. “The 80th Fighter Squadron is here from Korea for Red Flag this week. They have never had the opportunity to fly with an F-22.

They arrive with some of those mis­ conceptions I mentioned. Here, we c a n d iscuss some of t he cla ssi f ied

capabilities. By the end of the two-week exercise, they walk away with a good sense of what an F-22 can do and how we can exploit our unique advantages if we ever go to war together.”

T he c apabi l it ies of t he F-22 a re changing the dynamics of these exercises across the board. “The capabilities of an air-to-air configured Raptor are phenomenal,” says Franklin, himself a former Aggressor pilot. “The situational awareness and the ability to pass this awareness to others change the fight. Integrating that increased awareness into a force package is something we are practicing here at Red Flag.”

While this Red Flag Alaska isn’t Capt.

Jammie Jamieson’s first time at, it is her first time to fly the F-22 in the exercise.

“I’m f lying as a wingman in this Red Flag,” she explains, “but I have f lown in Red Flag before as an F-15 pilot in the 12th and 19th Fighter Squadrons here at Elmendorf.” Jamieson has accumulated just under 700 hours in the F-15 C a nd ju s t ove r 10 0 hou r s i n the F-22. She flies with the newest F-22 squadron at Elmendorf, the 525th.

Capt. Jammie Jamieson delivered Raptor 118 directly from the production line in Marietta, Georgia, to Elmendorf. The aircraft has her name painted on the outside of the left nosegear door. Since the 525th is still acquiring F-22s, each pilot in the squadron gets a jet with his or her name on it.

“A lot of the flying in the F-22 is similar to the F-15 in Red Flag since the Red Flag scenarios are the same for both aircraft,” she says. “The F-22 in this Red Flag is tasked for defensive counterair role, surface attack, and offensive counterair escort.”

These roles are similar to those performed by the F-15C. One difference is the Eagle doesn’t drop bombs. But the biggest difference flying an F-22 is performance.

“We spend more time at higher altitudes,” says Jamieson. “The stealth capability of the F-22 is also a big advantage. We can get into the visual arena undetected because the adversaries are generally looking at the big radar returns from fourth-generation aircraft on their displays.

We can see them, but they can’t see us.”

The primary objective of the exercise is to get pilots from one unit to interact with pilots from other units. Together they constitute a strike package that includes surveillance aircraft, bombers, and escorts. They face surface-to-air threats as well as Red Air threats, which are provided by the Aggressors of the 18th Fighter Squadron from Eielson.

“The exercise attempts to simulate the fog and friction of a real-world air war,” Jamieson explains. During the exercise, pilots have to deconflict from other airplanes, avert f lying into each other, and avoid running out of gas.

They can also encounter weather. These conditions are much different from a controlled two-versus-four engagement practiced in regular training. The exercise can include forty or fifty airplanes airborne at the same time. “When the F-22 integrates with fourth-generation fighters in a composite force, we raise ever yone’s capabi lit ies,” cont inues Jamieson. “We can go in undetected and identify targets, which allows the F-15s to make better use of their firepower. We take advantage of our ­sensors and pass that information to other Blue forces, allowing them to execute proven air-to-air and air-to-surface tactics to overwhelm the adversaries.

“We are still learning new things about employing the F-22,” Jamieson sums up. “In the context of exercises such as Red Flag Alaska, we hope to teach f light leads and mission comma nders how to ma ke t he most of our capabilities.”

Eric Hehs is the editor of Code One. Vol. 24 No. 1 2009

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BY ERIC HEHS PHOTOS BY K ATSUHIKO TOKUNAGA AND ANDY WOLFE 24

Code One

BUILDING FRIENDSHIPS INDIAN AIR FORCE PARTICIPATES IN RED FLAG

E

very fighter pilot’s dream is to come to Red Flag.

This is a very famous exercise.

It helps to fly in a different environment, to fly away from home, to fly in what we call large force engagements.

The exercise exposes our air force to different aircraft— aircraft we are not used to flying with and against.

– Air Marshal Pradeep Vasant Naik, vice chief of air staff, Indian Air Force Dream became reality for a large contingent of Indian Air Force personnel last August as they deployed eight Su-30MKI fighters to the United States to participate in Red Flag 08-4 exercises at Nellis AFB, Nevada. The deployment, a first for the Indian Air Force, ref lects the warming relationship between India and the United States.

“The United States and India have been partners for a long time with a make-and-break relationship,” said Air Marshal Naik, who visited his personnel at Nellis. “We have been close and far and close and far. I am very glad that we are in a phase of getting closer and closer together.”

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Lt. Gen. Loyd Utterback, USAF, commander of the 13th Air Force, also addressed the Indian contingent. “The USAF and IAF together form an incredible team,” he said. “We have been planning to get the Indian Air Force team to Red Flag for some time. Our plans have now materialized—for peace and security in South Asia. I am looking forward to working with you more.”

The eight Su-30MKI fighters from 20 Squadron, based at Lohegaon Air Force Station in Pune just southeast of Mumbai, represent the most modern fighters in the Indian Air Force. The Su-30s were accompanied to the United States by two Ilyushin Il-78 tanker aircraft from 78 Squadron of Agra Air Force Station in Agra (southeast of New Delhi) and one Ilyushin Il-76 transport aircraft from 44 Squadron based at Sonegaon Air Force Station in Nagpur in central India.

Before arriving at Nellis, the Indians completed a two-week workup phase with the US Air Force at Mountain Home AFB, Idaho, where they f lew more than 100 sorties with F-15 pilots from the 366th Fighter Wing at Mountain Home and the 85th Test and Evaluation Squadron from Eglin AFB, Florida, and with F-16 pilots from the 18th Aggressor Squadron at Eielson AFB, Alaska. The sorties consisted of air defense missions, offensive counter-air operations, large force engagements, and dy namic targeting. The f lights ­familiarized the Indians with Western standards for communication and battle management.

Red Flag f lying exercises formally began at Nellis on 10 August with initial briefings and mission planning by the participating air forces occurring the week before. The Indians were not the only international participants in Red Flag 08-4. The French Air Force brought four Rafales, and the Republic of Korea Air Force brought twelve F-15Ks. US participants included F-15s from the 125th Fighter Wing, the Florida Air National Guard unit at Jacksonville IAP; from the 85th TES at Eglin; and from the 65th Aggressor Squadron at Nellis. Participating F-16s came from Nellis’s own 422nd Test and Evaluation Squadron and 64th Aggressor Squadron.

Red Flag is a realistic combat training exercise involving the air forces of the United States and its allies. The exercise is conducted on t he 15,000-square-mile Nevada Test and Training Range, north of Las Vegas. Red Flag is one of a series of advanced training­ programs administered by the US Air Force Warfare Center and the 414th Combat Training Squadron at Nellis.

The two-week exercise is held several times throughout the year.

By integrating the participants into large strike packages and flying

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them against Red forces—highly trained adversaries flying F-15 and F-16 fighters—the realism of Red Flag is unmatched by any other exercise. Participating units complete several thousand sorties.

The simulated air war involved the IAF’s Su-30 aircraft participating in a variety of roles but predominately in the suppression of enemy air defense missions.

Many of the IAF pilots were junior ranking officers identified and specially trained in India more than one year before being deployed to the United States for Red Flag participation. “The younger aircrews will stay in the fleet much longer than our senior pilots so that our air force will benefit from their Red Flag experiences and exposure for a longer duration,” explained Group Capt. Ajay Rathore, exercise coordinator for the IAF. “They have done a marvelous job taking on this large responsibility.”

The IAF pilots deployed to Red Flag represented more than themselves. They represented the entire Indian Air Force. “We want to exemplif y the highest levels of professionalism,” said Group Capt. Diptendu Choudhury, the team leader for the IAF. “We are acutely aware that everyone is watching us as we deal with different languages, platforms, and technologies. But we must still perform as part of a larger team. To that end, we have done exceedingly well.”

The professionalism IAF pilots presented ref lected well on the IAF. “The Indian Air Force is a world-class air force with great aircraft, great pilots, and great leadership,” said Capt. Marcus Wilson, an Aggressor pilot at Nellis and the team chief for the exercise. “Red Flag afforded an excellent opportunity for the US Air Force and Indian Air Force to integrate our assets in a training environment.

We would like to have the IAF back as a regular participant.”

The prime minister of India set several national objectives for participating in Red Flag to reflect India’s zone of influence increasing beyond its mainland. “We want to see if we are capable of projecting power over long distances,” explained Naik. “We want to see if our logistic and administrative abilities could support such a large number of people so far away from home.” IAF’s success at Red Flag is­ credited to the careful planning by a lot of people back home in India. “Red Flag allows us to evaluate how good we are in large force engagements with aircraft India does not operate,” added Naik.

“Overall, I am very satisfied with the results.”

Eric Hehs is the editor of Code One.

Vol. 24 No. 1 2009

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EVENTS . . . And Then Goes Fast Forward

Lightning To Edwards . . .

PHOTO BY DAVID DRAIS

PHOTO BY TOM REYNOLDS

The first F-35A Lightning II was successfully flown from Fort Worth, Texas, to the Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards AFB, California, on 1 October to begin expanded flight testing and to initiate test activities at Edwards. The flight was the F-35’s first long-range cross-country sortie. During the F-35’s deployment to Edwards, the flight test team conducted ground and flight test activities for propulsion, aerial refueling, and logistical support, and held training exercises for the test team.

Before the ferry flight, the F-35A completed a final series of inflight refueling tests with the aircraft taking on 12,000 pounds of fuel during a three-hour flight on 25 September.

The F-35A was flown supersonically for the first time on a flight out of Fort Worth, Texas, on 13 November. The aircraft accelerated to Mach 1.05, or about 680 miles per hour, at 30,000 feet. The test was accomplished with a full internal load of inert weapons on the one-hour flight. The mock-up weapons duplicate the dimensions and weight of a typical F-35 strike mission load-out in full stealth configuration: two inert 2,000-pound GBU-31 Joint Direct Attack Munitions and two AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles, or about 5,400 pounds of payload. Chief F-35 test pilot Jon Beesley made the milestone flight, the sixty-ninth sortie of the aircraft. Roughly eight minutes of the flight were flown at supersonic speeds.

Wings For Orion, Aurora

. . . Completes First Tests . . .

PHOTO BY JOHN ROSSINO PHOTO BY AMN JULIUS DELOS REYES

During the three-week deployment at Edwards AFB, California, most of the activity with the F-35A centered on crucial tests that validated the aircraft’s ability to shut down and restart its Pratt & Whitney F135 turbofan engine in flight. These tests were conducted to ensure that the aircraft can regain power and be flown safely in the event of an unanticipated engine flameout. Twelve test cases were completed, and the F135 repeatedly restarted on command. Test pilot Jeff Knowles then flew the aircraft back to Fort Worth in late October. By the end of 2009, all nineteen F-35 test aircraft will be built, and test activities will be under way at Edwards and at NAS Patuxent River, Maryland.

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In September and November, the US Navy and the Canadian Forces became the latest operators to order replacement wings for P-3 Orion and CP-140 Aurora maritime patrol aircraft. Lockheed Martin will build thirteen new outer wing sets for the Navy’s P-3 Orion fleet. The new outer wings will be delivered to the Navy beginning in early 2010.

Under the Aircraft Service Life Extension Program, or ASLEP, contract, ten Canadian CP-140 Aurora aircraft will receive life extension kits consisting of new outer wings, center wing lower surface assemblies, horizontal stabilizers, wing and horizontal stabilizer leading edges, and other items as necessary. Replacement P-3 wings are also being built for Norway and US Customs and Border Protection.

EVENTS Right To Raptors Four student pilots, 1st Lt. Dan Dickenson, Capt. Marcus McGinn, and 1st Lts. Ryan Shelhorse and Austin B. Skelley, became the first graduates of the Air Force’s F-22 Raptor Basic Course at Tyndall AFB, Florida, on 1 November. These pilots are the first in the Air Force to have the F-22 as their first operational aircraft rather than transitioning to the Raptor from another fighter. The course syllabus included approximately ninety hours of simulator training, twenty-seven academic tests, and more than sixty hours of flight training. The students will now complete mission qualification training at their operational F-22 squadrons. Dickenson, McGinn, Shelhorse, and Skelley are shown here with Col. William H. Mott, the 325th Operations Group commander at Tyndall (center).

A Into AMP

PHOTO BY SSGT. VESTA ANDERSON

Rapid Part Delivery A Royal New Zealand Air Force P-3K Orion aircrew assisted Airmen from US Pacific Command’s Joint Task Force Support Forces Antarctica by delivering a mission-essential part for a disabled C-17 transport stuck at Pegasus White Ice Runway, Antarctica, on 27 October. The Orion crew delivered an electronic engine controller for the C-17 along with three maintainers. Under the established Emergency Recovery Support agreement between the US National Science Foundation and New Zealand, and with US LC-130 Ski-Herk crews still in the United States, the RNZAF was called to assist. The RNZAF has regularly conducted flights to the ice with its P-3Ks since 2006, usually in conjunction with routine patrolling of the Southern Ocean.

PHOTO BY JOHN ROSSINO

The first C-5A Galaxy transport was inducted into the production A­ vionics Modernization Program, or AMP, modification line in mid September. AMP replaces the analog cockpit instruments and systems in the C-5 with digital displays and equipment. All 111 Air Force C-5s are scheduled to undergo the AMP modifications. A total of forty-two production installations have been completed as of September. The three C-5M test aircraft—which includes one former A-model—have also received the AMP modifications. AMP installations are taking place at Dover AFB, Delaware, and at Travis AFB, California. They are scheduled to be completed in the second quarter of 2014. The C-5 AMP fleet has flown more than 9,400 sorties and 40,000 operational flight hours.

Penguins Do Fly

PHOTO BY MICHAEL BOOTH

More than 370 rescued penguins took to the skies on 3 October on a Brazilian Air Force C-130 transport bound for Pelotas, Brazil, where they were released back into the ocean. The International Fund for Animal Welfare assisted the Instituto Mamíferos Aquáticos to save the juvenile Magellanic penguins that had mysteriously become stranded on the beaches of Salvador, eight miles north of São Paulo. The airlift departed Salvador and flew 1,550 miles to Pelotas. After landing, the penguins were loaded onto trucks for an overnight stay at the Center for Recovery of Marine Animals.

The next morning, the birds were released with a smaller group of adult penguins that had been rehabilitated after becoming oiled.

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EVENTS Cheney Award

Mackay Trophy

PHOTO BY MICHAEL J. PAUSIC

Four F-16 pilots were awarded the Mackay Trophy by the National Aeronautic Association on 3 November. Col. Charles L. Moore, Lt. Col. Stephen C. Williams, Capt. Lawrence T. Sullivan, and Capt. Kristopher W. Struve were cited for the strike assistance they provided ground forces in Afghanistan in 2007. The four pilots were on a mission out of Balad, Iraq, on 12 to 13 August 2007 when they were called on to conduct airto-ground strikes on sixteen high-value targets in the Tora Bora region of Afghanistan to enable ground forces to conduct raids on known Taliban positions. This mission marked the first time fighter aircraft stationed in Iraq were used to support an Operation Enduring Freedom mission. The Mackay Trophy honors the most meritorious flight of the year by an Air Force person, persons, or organization.

PHOTO BY SRA JULIANE SHOWALTER

Capt. Chad Bubanas, the aircraft commander of an AC-130H Spectre gunship that provided close air support to the crew of a downed CH-47 Chinook helicopter in Afghanistan in May 2007, was named the recipient of the Cheney Award on 6 October. For nearly seven hours, Bubanas and his crew provided direct support to the survivors and also coordinated with approximately fifteen other units, including Army AH-64 Apache helicopters and another Spectre. Bubanas is assigned to the 18th Flight Test Squadron at Hurlburt Field, Florida. The US Air Force has presented the Cheney Award every year since 1927 to aviators who demonstrate an act of valor, extreme fortitude, or self-sacrifice in a humanitarian venture.

Synthetically Fueled The F-22 Combined Test Force at Edwards AFB, California, carried out the Air Force’s first aerial refueling using a synthetic fuel on 4 September. The test was the culmination of a program to certify the use of synthetic fuel on the F-22. During the test, a KC-135 Stratotanker crew from March ARB, California, dispensed the fuel, a 50-50 mix of JP-8 and a natural gas-based fuel, to the F-22 using the standard aerial refueling process. No modification or changes were made to either aircraft. The test program was part of the Air Force’s initiative to certify that its entire fleet of aircraft can burn synthetic fuel to lessen dependence on foreign oil.

PHOTO BY KEVIN ROBERTSON

Teamed Up

PHOTO BY TSGT. JAMES B. PRITCHETT

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Code One

Two Air Force Reserve WC-130J Weatherbird aircraft and a Naval Research Lab RP-3 Orion were deployed to Andersen AFB, Guam, in August to conduct a month-long meteorological research effort on tropical cyclones in the Western Pacific. During the project, labeled Tropical Cyclone Structure 2008, aircrews from the 53rd Weather ­Reconnaissance Squadron, known as the Hurricane Hunters, at ­Keesler AFB, Mississippi, worked with scientists from the US Office of Naval Research and the US Naval Research Laboratory to observe, understand, and predict the potential impacts of Pacific tropical cyclones.

The research project is part of a nine-nation study. The WC-130J crew recorded weather data while the RP-3 crew collected data from its specialized Doppler radar to map the structure of the storms.

EVENTS 2,000 In 2008 The Variable-Stability Inflight Simulator Test Aircraft, or VISTA, F-16 surpassed 2,000 hours of flight time during a USAF Test Pilot School, or TPS, sortie at Edwards AFB, California, on 10 September. The school’s chief pilot, Bill Gray, was at the controls as safety pilot, and student Maj. Chun Hao Lee was the evaluation pilot on the milestone mission.

VISTA is a highly modified flight research and flight test training platform used to train the TPS students how to test modern flight controls and avionics systems. The aircraft, which can be programmed to replicate the handling characteristics of nearly any aircraft, was transferred to the Test Pilot School in October 2000.

Combat Hour Mark

PHOTO BY SSGT. RACHEL MARTINEZ

The 41st Expeditionary Electronic Combat Squadron at Bagram AB, Afghanistan, surpassed 10,000 combat hours in the EC-130H Compass Call communications-jamming aircraft in September while supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. The milestone occurred while assisting International Security Assistance Force troops move a forty-one vehicle convoy. During the flight, an EC-130H crew flew overhead to disrupt enemy command and control communications and limit adversary coordination. The squadron’s 10,000 combat hours were amassed over four years beginning with the unit’s first Operation Enduring Freedom deployment in March 2004 from their home base at Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona. Two squadrons operate the EC-130H. The entire fleet consists of fourteen aircraft, but only one or two are deployed at a time.

75K For Italian Js The 46th Air Brigade, the Italian Air Force’s transport unit, achieved 75,000 flight hours with its fleet of C-130J Super Hercules aircraft on 15 October. Based at Pisa, the 46th Air Brigade put its first C-130J into service in August 2000. The Italian C-130Js were the first Super Hercules to be flown in combat and have even been used to fly relief supplies to the United States in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The 46th Air Brigade operates twelve standard-length C-130Js that can also be used as tankers and ten longer-fuselage Super Hercules aircraft. The National Training Centre, where C-130J aircrew and maintainers train, is also located in Pisa.

PHOTO BY JOHN ROSSINO

Golden Eagles Safety Milestone

PHOTO BY MCS1 DANIELLA COSSIO

Patrol Squadron 9 (VP-9), a US Navy P-3 Orion unit currently deployed to Iraq, reached thirty years and 180,000 hours of mishap-free flying when one of its crews safely completed an eighthour mission in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom on 26 October. Known as the Golden Eagles, the squadron deployed 155 personnel, including twelve aircrews, as well as support and intelligence personnel. The VP-9 aircraft have upgraded sensor capabilities; and the crews have provided intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance support for ground troops, contributing to counter-occupation, terrorism, and insurgency efforts. VP-9, based at MCB Hawaii at Kaneohe Bay, is scheduled to complete its sevenmonth deployment to the Middle East in early 2009.

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EVENTS Sixty Years And 200,000 Hours

PHOTO BY D. BRACKX

Belgium’s 15th Transport Wing at Melsbroek AB, near Brussels, commemorated both its sixtieth anniversary and reached 200,000 flight hours on its fleet of C-130H transports during a training flight on 12 September.

Base commander Col. Bernard Flamang piloted the specially decorated Hercules on the milestone flight. The Belgian Minister of Defence, Pieter De Crem, was in attendance at the event, which also included static displays of several of the wing’s former aircraft, including a DH-89 Dominie and a C-47. Today, the Belgian Air Component operates ten of the twelve C-130H Hercules aircraft originally delivered. A replacement C-130 obtained from the US is now being overhauled. Belgium is expected to operate its current Hercules fleet until 2018.

Hauling Little Brother

Viper Lance

A C-5 crew from the 105th Airlift Wing at Newburgh, New York, transported the entire fuselage of a retired C-130E from Quonset Point, Rhode Island, to Stratton ANGB, New York, on 10 September. The fuselage will be used at the Air National Guard Base, located near Schenectady, to train loadmasters, aeromedical evacuation, aerial port, and maintenance technicians. As the 109th Airlift Wing’s LC-130H Ski-Herks are regularly deployed to Greenland or Antarctica to support the National Science Foundation, or are in maintenance, the C-130 fuselage will allow ground training to occur anytime. The 143rd Airlift Wing, the Rhode Island Air National Guard unit that donated the C-130E fuselage, now operates C-130Js. Planning for transporting the fuselage took nearly two years.

PHOTO BY SRA JUSTIN WEAVER

PHOTO BY MSGT. CHRISTINE WOOD

Viper Lance, a recurring flying training deployment between the US and Romanian Air Forces, took place at Câmpia Turzii in northwest Romania, in late August and early September. Twelve F-16s from the 510th Fighter Squadron and approximately 250 personnel from Aviano AB, Italy, were deployed for the two-week long exercise. Viper Lance demonstrates the continuing commitment of the US Air Forces in Europe units to train with and support NATO allies. The exercise strengthens relations and interoperability between the two air forces. The 510th FS trained with the Romanian Air Force’s 71st Air Base Squadron, which flies upgraded MiG-21 fighters.

C-141 Memorial Dedicated The Airmen assigned to McGuire AFB, New Jersey, who gave their lives while serving aboard the C-141 StarLifter transport and the StarLifter itself were honored on 11 November during the dedication ceremony for the base’s new C-141 StarLifter Memorial Park. The park is the latest contribution to the base from the Maj. Thomas B. McGuire Foundation, whose mission is to honor military service and to support the local McGuire and Fort Dix military communities. The first C-141 was delivered to McGuire in 1967.

Five McGuire-based StarLifters were lost in accidents during the C-141’s thirty-seven year career at the base.

The park serves as a memorial to the seventy-two crew members and passengers who died in those incidents.

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Code One

PHOTO BY CAPT. DARRICK LEE

NOTAMS Nonagenarian Milestone The Italian Air Force’s 23rd Fighter Squadron at Cervia AB celebrated its ninetieth anniversary in September. The anniversary celebration included an open house, a fly-in of more than forty aircraft from across Europe and NATO, and an aerial demonstration by the squadron’s commander flying the unit’s flagship F-16 painted in a special livery. The F-16 is the eighteenth aircraft the squadron has flown since its inception. Prior to the F-16, the squadron flew the F-104S Starfighter for thirty years.

Mosquito Mission

A C-130H Hercules from the 910th Airlift Wing of the US Air Force Reserve Command at Youngstown ARS, Ohio, deployed to Barksdale AFB, Louisiana, on 17 September to perform aerial spray missions over parts of the state in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike. The 910th AW is the only unit in the Department of Defense tasked to maintain a full-time, fixed-wing aerial spray capability. The unit’s C-130s are capable of spraying insecticide over approximately 80,000 acres per day.

Proper Spin An Iraqi airman observes the propellers of a C-130 Hercules aircraft at Joint Base Balad, Iraq, to ensure they are functioning properly. Iraqi airmen from the 23rd Squadron used the C-130 to conduct a cargo resupply mission on 11 October with US airmen assigned to the 370th Air Expeditionary Advisory Squadron.

This space is devoted to announcements and items of general interest. For our non-pilot readers, NOTAM is short for Notice to Airmen. NOTAMS, briefed before every mission, contain important information that may concern the flight.

C-130Js For Qatar The State of Qatar became the latest country to buy the C-130J Super Hercules airlifter. Qatar’s new C-130Js will be the longer fuselage variant of the C-130J. The contract includes four aircraft, training of aircrew and maintenance technicians, spares, ground support and test equipment, servicing carts, forklifts, loading vehicles, cargo pallets, and a team of technical specialists who will be based in Qatar during an initial support period. Deliveries are set to begin in 2011.

First GBU-54 Combat Mission Two F-16 pilots with the 77th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron at Joint Base Balad, Iraq, employed a GBU-54 laser-guided direct attack munition for the first time on 12 August in support

of a combined Iraqi army and US Marine Corps operation in Diyala province. The GBU-54, the Air Force’s newest 500-pound precision weapon, is equipped with a special targeting system that uses a combination of GPS and laser guidance to accurately engage and destroy moving targets.

Tankers Over There A Royal Air Force TriStar K. Mk. 1 tanker is marshaled out for a recent mission over southern Afghanistan. The RAF’s involvement in Afghanistan dates back to October 2001 when RAF crews and aircraft provided reconnaissance and air-to-air refueling capabilities in support of US strike aircraft on Operation Enduring Freedom. Approximately 850 RAF personnel are currently in Afghanistan. The RAF recently began painting its TriStar fleet in a new overall light gray livery.

On Deck Aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious from the United Kingdom Royal Navy steamed up the River Thames on 4 November with a full-scale model of the F-35 Lightning II tied down at the foot of the ship’s ski jump ramp. The Illustrious spent eight days moored at the historic Old Royal Naval College at Greenwich as

part of England’s Remembrance Sunday commemorations, a day in which England honors those who died in armed conflicts. Both the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force are expected to fly the F-35B short takeoff/vertical landing variant of the Lightning II. 10K MRAP

The 10,000th mine-resistant, ambush-protected, or MRAP, vehicle was delivered to coalition troops supporting Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom on 25 September.

The milestone MRAP was flown from Charleston AFB, South Carolina, on a C-5 Galaxy transport assigned to the 60th Air Mobility Wing at Travis AFB, California. MRAPs were introduced in theater in 2007. Air Mobility Command crews have transported nearly 3,000 of the vehicles so far.

Thunderbirds Are Go The US Air Force Air Demonstration Squadron, the Thunderbirds, recently received its eleventh Block 52 F-16, completing the team’s transition to the newer model aircraft. The new aircraft were modified to remove the threat warning and Helmet-Mounted Cueing System equipment and the 20 mm cannon. The Thunderbirds will perform in the Block 52 aircraft during the 2009 season.

The team’s current Block 32 aircraft will be returned to the operational fleet.

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