TALES FROM THE COCKPIT COMBAT IRCRAFT STATESIDE (si) Tesi ROS e eatery GUARDS GIVING GASVERSATILE INTERCEPTOR le eee RU) from the 1930s to present day- Tite Tea eC RET of the Legendary Supermarine Spitfire! Control any vehicle using your mouse and keyboard, gamepad or joystick. Now available for FREE OSCE EUS ROD e m8 mle WARTHUNDER. ee ne on : , Oe EA cote a oe ae Me MS ce ot 1 1> WELCOME // OCTOBER 2023 US ARMY AVIATION & EASY TARGETS ER eee ee erect eee cee cpaebghierorbonbes) Aeinecure iat ARDInz0Is| | _seshg he mimentof ba ser eeretrenr ict Could Utne havefaredbeterf{ 10 Thunderbolt aso known he treriockedtythemedia, hadamorecapableymoretacicaly ‘Ta E-8C STARGE 8 Mercy, are mite twtnotus-see Above asutecewsandavelhesouced __R-4Gobl Hors, and U2s The st re a ‘the Best, p50-59. Army helicopter fleet? Probably. Certainly, with four make up the USAF's Command and Reimar sation wl pay avialpartin ny theapropratese protection systems Controlnetworkendarebelogelinated TelSKg neerpest confi. Thee are good andlonerrongemisslesieicopers becouse they cole sig ck ond ee fees! ‘reasons why heavy lift, supportand would have supported Ukrainian ground could be replaced by space-based assets as aaa a ee ee eee cred Lunt supporting the nfantiesthatmightbe breskthvough the Rusan inesdsing the KCT2R with ‘nvanced batlespace ‘Cavaly Regment fighting on the ground. what is known as the ‘Spring Offensive’ ‘communication capabilities. A trials i MeaoeSnpeis Todaythe US Army anditscommand The Army/sARIsawnearly20Qairrat_ aircraft from the Utah ANG was tested in ppeparsionalea isaware ofthe challenges they willface eliminated, including the 368 strong therecent Northern Edge 232 exercise, patch wth uring any confer with the kes of (OH-S8D Kiowa Wariorscouthelicopters _anditwillbeinteresting to knowhow it eet baie near-peers,China and Russia,Aswesaw _—oncea common sight during land fared —for more on this see Cuting Edge ‘ness fae t during both Iraq wars and the drawn-out operations. Theeldery Warriors which on p96. ssseaact byte confictin Afghanistan, Army helicopters were easly identified withtheirMast Alan Warnes {ie ieatd porn toopson te gouniwere MereedSafn OWNS were cejtages. Group Eero arp ‘lens le #25y amust.Thethreat mightnothavebeen They were replaced by AH-64D/E Apaches. its aero tent as persistent or complexasthe onefrom —aswellast tactical unmanns Tsay sgtoanes Russiaand China,and thatiswhy after _aicraftsystems that joined the Heavy Sao Scvaeder2nd AER nearly 20 years offighting aguerrlla __Attack Reconnaissance Squadrons, On ecoraconbateraiouralcm EAA oe cee 2) Se a Ne ; ~ Eas ——— no ee Ocha 07 ——————— si‘aay ty camera tree ee Enc te aero | een ey aennatn Leen mre eel 28 Flying the F-117 Nighthawk! CAI Speci Contour ef Beton peaks cxcsvely tote formerF-17 Banat plots orthetre ide story of what 'tke tofiythe legendary single-seat Backes nothing lke you may imagine. 36 The Green Mountain Boys Two senior Vermont Ait National Guard ofcerstelTed Carlson of Fotodynamicscom about their units conversion and the busy Y operational schedule since receiving the Fist r F-35Ain 2019 42 McGuire says farewell to the KC-10 The farewell ceremony forthe last KC-10 Extender at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst t00k place on June 21, Don Linn looks back atthe KC-10 in service atthe New Jersey base and its impending retirement from the active feet i; 46 Wild ‘Hawgs’ in Greece Ten A-10¢ Thunderbolt i assigned tothe 3031d Fighter Squadron KC Hawgs' visited Europe in May this year to take partin the US ‘Amy's Exercise Defender Europe 23.George Koravantos reports on te role they played i 50 Above the Best Inthe frst part of Combat Aircraft Journar's overview of US Army Aviation, Tom Kaminski assesses the curent state ofits operational active-duty forces Somaru ay Screen} Ba) (arta) FULL DETAILS60 Sunset for the Eagles The USAFS remaining F15Csandwo-seat F-18Dsarenow almost 40 yearscld on average ‘and have 4400 ying hours‘ the dock The ‘ypehas performance tinting structural issues _andisbengrpiy withdrawn fom servic 38 Joo Lake explains 68 Taking on Iran Asthe United States deploys fighters to countera tse in attacks on ol tankers by ansnavy Babak Taghvace assesses the impact USAF F355 F165 and A105 wi havein countering the menacein the Pesan Gulf 74 Guards giving gas from Geilenkirchen For over three decades, NATOS AWACS Force has ‘maintained a continuous partnership wth the ANG robust tanker community t support 3A Sentry icew training, 35 Ben Gorsk exons 80 Island warriors “Tom Kaminskicontnues our State Report series focusing on Rhode lan krown as New Englonds‘Ocean State 82 Fighting Fit Focusing onSouth Carolina, om Kans ceaminesthe home fey unis the i Force frmy and Moines 90 Whatever happened to... B-52RE ‘The 8524 Stratofortress eight Prat & Whitney “TF33 engines are noterious for producing great clouds of backsmakeand high noise levels. David Wl foks aad atterntstore-engine the aircraft 92 Glory Days... Good luck in bad weather Col Lawrence Gxarch USMC rt refets ona dangerous CAS mission in Vietnam that could have ‘endedincatasvophe but endedup wth DFCS 96 Cutting Edge — Tanker Command 7 Dispatches from the front ine of aerospace technology by David Axe siete Peer ators eet ure) pene etc re Pe gedbess US APPROVES TRANSFER OF FIRST F-16s TO UKRAINE THE US government has given toourmenandwomenwhoare with Dutch Prime Minister Matk number oF-16 that willbe permission forthe Netherlands studying andvwillworkwithF-16s _Rutteandvisted Eindhoven Air provided toUkraineafterthe ‘and Denmarkte donatea here and then in our skis” Base inthe Netherlands training of pilots and enginee numberof -16AM/BM (MLL) His comments came after talks "another step to bolster Zelenskyy added. Fighting Falcons to Ukraine With Danish Prime Minister Mette Ukraine sky shields 16s. IRisunderstood that taining Following an announcement Frederiksen, who joined himin We wil use thesejets tok ‘of Ukrainian pilots isaready bythe US State Department, thecockpitofan FGAM/EM at Russian terorissaway fom underway, with a unitset tobe Ukrainian President Volodymyr Skrytrup Air Base. That same Unrainin cies and vilages ‘established at Fetes, Romania, Zelenskyy embarked on day, Zelenskyy also held talks Markandthave agreed on the _aswellasonein Denmark. histle-stop tour of the counties which are to hand over the jets. Asper the deal, Denmark hasannouncedi will donate 19 examples ofits F-16AM/BM {MUU} feet, with five due tobe handed over before the end of 2023 followed by eight in 2024 ‘and afurther Five in 2025. The Netherlands, which operates 42 F-16AM/BMs has yt to publily veal how many aircraft itll be handing over. During avistto Denmark on August 20, Zelenshy sal" We haveagreed onthe transfer of 19F-16jets by Denmark Thisis avery powerful suppor forus . - Training misionsare akeady er eee ed Sta LeieNNORSSI 11 r berg ac F109 crys isp Basen Rast 0s the Preset of aie ‘SPADS’ SET TO RELINQUISH ‘VIPERS’ Seed my De oe cr cd Sed eae en ee ee eed eet Se ee ec a ee ees eT ee Tee During theirtimeatPSAB, Seer iy Reece ead Rau ees Se er Ce ad Cee Cee eter eo Se uct Sa ed Fe eer Cee) than 30 years. eee ts teen etd Pret tee a peered F-16C/D spans decades:"My Se ee) Toe ad Se ec a eee en Ce eed Partner Nation integration fights conceptsand closeair support See ee hr ee eee etd en oe Cee et ee) eee ores eect eee eet ee ee eed Se Cee ot Deen) ree oer ty Cee Sd eee ee Cee) Dace tte) Cee ‘WoF-18Cs om the USA 579 EFS Spacs' fy tga aman ter anducting a-ring oeraans the AFCENT ADR emery ‘ny 6 The 57s FS tte ORAS Fo Nth, es, tae he a tA cgi oan edhe nat GC dept, Pomme ai en) iF Reck Secs Fnk irene TeDuring briefing on Northrop Grumman’ second-quarter financial esuits on July 27 Kathy Warden the company's (CEO- revealed that‘wehave notified the USAF that we'renot planning to respondto the [Next Generation A Dominance (NGAD) request for proposals RFP) as the prime contractor)” Ithad previously been widely ‘assumed thatthe competition tobuld the USAFSNGAD fighter platform would bea three-horse ‘ace between Boeing, Lockheed ‘Martin and Northrop Grumman, Inmid-May,the USAF announced ithad isueda cased soictation fran engineering and manufacturing development contract for NGAD, an that it would selecta contractor forthe Dt ul ee Sr artaehairdeiepee dari rogram in 2024, Within days of thisannouncement, Ai Force Secretary Frank Kendal tated that only two companies were actively involved in NGAD, though it was. stressed that more vendors could Join the competion inthe future Northrop Grumman's decision Isprobablya reflection ofthe company expectations that [NGAD may not be profitable, and Kathy Warden confirmed that the firm stil not expecting to generate profit from the B-21 Reider’loveat intial production (LIP) phase, and that a loss of up ta$12bn onthe five expected LIP ots was"teasonabiy possible laren sai"We are remaining lscplined in assessing the right programs to pursue and thats ‘one where we feel we'e well UKRAINE SHOWCASES INA ceremony thatincluded Ukrainian President Volodymye Zelenskyy at Vasykiv Air Base.on ‘August 6, the Ukrainian Ai Force displayedal ofits main types of ‘combat aircraft armed with West donated weapons. Within the past year. NATO has been working with the UKrAF 10 ‘add some long range bite ts frontine jets and the ceremony ‘was organized ta highlight this, ‘The ceremony sa MiG-29Fuloum ‘and 5u-27 Fankerfghters,aSu-24 Fence fighter-bomber anda Su-25 Frogfeot ground atackilose air suppor aircraftallarmed with ‘Western weapons ‘The MiG29 carved aUS-suppled (GPS,guided Join Direct attack Munition Extended Range UDAM- ER lide bomb; the Su-24 was fited with both French supplied SCALP-£G and UK-supplied Storm Shadow alr Saunched cruise missiles (ALOMs} the Su-25 was equipped witha US supplied 127mm (Sin) Zuni unguided Folding Fin Aircraft Rocket FFAR) na four shot LAL-10 Pod:and the Su27 was carrying a Us-supplied AGM-88 High-speed ‘Ant Radiation Mile HARM) Inaddtion tothese,aUS-supplied Patriot and German-supplied IST SLM ground-based air defense (GBAD) systems, lusa Czech supplied F-16 fight simulator were also.on display. The donation ofthe latter was announced by the Czech sgovernmentin Julyand aimed t0 support Ukraine efforts to acquire theF-16 postioned with mature offerings, and where the business deal reflects an appropriatebalance ofriskand reward forboth the customerand the industrial base? Northrop Grumman sti Interested in serving asa sub- contractor and mission systems supple forthe NGAD program andisthought likely to bid onthe associated Callaborative Combat, ‘Act (CCA) program. This wl produce the Loyal Wingmen’ low-cost atritable, A drven LUCAvs- that will augment the manned NGAD fighter within thesame system ofsystems in the future, It may be nomere coincidence that Northrop showed. off mockups ofits Mode 437, and Model 101 UAVS atthe Royal International ArTattoo (IAT at HEADLINES RAF Fairford in Gloucestershive, UK, indy, The company may also pursue ‘opportunities relating tothe US Nawys FIAXX fighter program, ‘though the fm has not produced 8 manned fighter o tactical aircraft since the ¥F-23 Black Widow. However it does play a major role inthe Joie Strike Fighter F-35) program. Northrop has previously witha from a number of procurement competitions when itcouldnotseea compelling business case fora profitable program. For example, tis was the company’s explanation when itwithdrew from the USAFSTX advanced trainer competition in 2017, despitehavng built and flown a ful-cale Mode 400 Swift prototype WESTERN FIREPOWER ‘The Fen-suppied SCAL-EG ACM was cared on theta ite u-24 (08) tn asf send the Mh Tactical Avaton Brigade (hl that was spayed ding he common at ashi i Base on Rost 6 Meet he resient of Urine Undoubtedly, thehighlight of the event was the appearance of SCALP-EG ALCM the French variant ofthe Storm Shadow cruise missle. ts donation was announced byFrench President Emmanuel Macton on May 15 anda quantity (0 50 missles was quoted by French, THES25TH FW has formally welcomed its rst four F35ASto Tyndall AB in Florida, where some ‘Te examples ofthe ith- generation fighter wil eventualy equip three projected fll combat capable LUghtning I squadrons. Tyndall AFB received sina three F-35As (18'5416°TY/32506; 20-5626 "TVi825FW'and 20-5627°T/95FS) ‘on August, beforea fourth ‘@ample (serial unknown) followed ‘wo days later (on August 3) These firsfourF-35As wil ntly equip the 325th FW 95th FSBoneheads which wa reactivated to operate the typein June following afour year hiatus. The base previously hosted the USAFS#-22 Formal Training Unit (FTU) before it was badly damaged byHuricane Michal in October 2018and was rebuilt asthe USAF tnstalaton of the Future house 2 fully combat-capable F354 fighter wing The F-22 FTU mission was temporary relocated tonearby Elin AFB - wth ll ound. based traning and simulators remaining at ‘yndall-before twas permanently ‘moved to Joint Base Langley Eusts invrgina earlier this year sce p19) ‘TheTyndaltbased F35As wll enjoy rect access tothe Eastern Guifof Mexico and the Join Gif Range Complex. withthe 325th FW ‘expected to form the centerpiece of the USAF Force Generation’ model _asalead wing that willbe capable TUS has ed Clits een informa sed YW. — ‘of conducting both worldwide deployments and homeland defense missions itis ako expected that once operational Tyndall F-35As will participate roe scale exercises that aim to improve Interoperabilty berweenfth-and fourth-generation fighters as wells Joint fore tasks. Having flwin one ofthe ist TY- coded F35As 0 Tyndal. Col George Watkins ~commander ofthe 325th FW —saidThe arrival ofthe F35 rmarksa new chapter forTyndal it represents the introduction ofthe ‘mestadvanced and technologically sophisticated fighter acraftinto the [225th] operational feet” The S5thFSis expected to receive 16F-35Asby the end of summer 2024 and pans toreach FullOperatonal Capabity with 24 primary asigned aircraft and two reservesby mid-2025.Two other squadrons of equa strength wl then be formed to complete the 325th FW Tis wing wll ain as whole unit and wile ableta deploy en masse rather thanas indvdal units that join others ‘under a diferent commander that ‘noone’ ever met Watkins ai, Thisis the i Force’ vision forhow we wll deployin the future” jon start-up JZ n esin and ul ul se les wig to (6B) eons wt sins yan tal pte —bich as rea) Stay De fre rat eal revealed the elon ele ase eel th BI dans dig» ott aneaocee ete bythe eSpace Foes aston Rugs 16 The arn ofthis cont flows ang clon pres manage by the Dlr reorstion Unt (ON) tats ‘nae ute ai-t- recing art and ates sigfcarty re fue ecient, th eave ing cpailtes ant ager murs of el wun. ishoped ta ths inti could el infer the equramens re USAF Net Seeran A Reelng Syste GAS) and Na-Ca (NHL) pogans; te dea of which ae il bing eine ye sani are Gunma’ Scale Cmpestes as sonra Ze ~ ws bul has pete a bes Boeing 87a dont, eich shes take fg in 027, USAF Se URL nyLATEST ISSUES OUT NOW: save 20% when you subscrik r-) Color EES eA {ceric | eer Se Bern see > aves East. ._/2ustes.20 my Cen Order direct TYPHOONS IN AZERBAUAN’S 44- SHAPINGTHE FAR THE ROOM KILLER NATO’S EAST DAY WAR FUTURE Boeing's AH-6 Little sItalians over Romania How the Air Force BAE Systems Bird is making its mark + RAF in Estonia claimed glory FalconWorks WEASELING ABOUT ROGACHEVO AIR PERFECT In Germany's Air BASE PLANNING Defender 23 Russia's remote Arctic Commercial aircraft outpost leasing, the challenges TAKUBA ahead Another secret French war Simply enter discount code Simply enter discount code at the checkout page when ordering from | at the checkout page when ordering from ta)IN LATE July, British media channels reported thatthe USAF had applied to the UKs aviation regulator the iv Aviation ‘Authority (CAA) to change itsairspacerulesin oder to allow RQ-48 Global Hawk HALE UUaVsand MO-9A Reaper MALE LUCAVS toy from RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, /Atpresent uncrewed aircraft that ly beyond -visualine-f sight are not currently allowed toflyin the UKunless they are in ‘segregated airspace The USAF hopes toestablsh segregated airspace corridors tallow these UAVS to transit through UKaitspace, with a"working assumption’ that any such corridors would be activated two orthree times per weekand with allactvatons being "between ‘one hour after sunset and one hour before sunrise unless in There's some consideration of'acivation periods that ‘exceed these assumptions bothin frequency and time periods of uiization’ however. The RAF i curently secking similar arrangements to enable Ittoffy the UKs new MO-98 Protector RGIS from RAF Wiadington, Lincolnshire, and the USAF may choose to wait for the CAA decison inthis case before proceeding withits ‘wn application. However, RAF Fairford —located in the UKS. already crowded south west region -has more complexand congested airspace sting asit doesin an aea ofintense aerial activity just ter miles fom RAF Bize Norton the RAFsmain transport base), 50 miles from Bristol Airport and approximately 65 miles from London Heathrow [igport and Biemingham Airport. ‘recent update of the USAF application states that while “the [US AirForces in Europe (USAFE) requirement for MALE PAS at RAF Fairford remains, Itistemporarly pausing the eer Per oie = Poon romero process in der to reassess how itean comply with the curent regulatory Famework. The USAF application has aleady provoked some opposition, with concems expressed over safety, the lack of Ukjurzliton ‘over US operations from British bases and the fong history ofthe Us military’ we of unmanned platforms for controversial strikes and targeted kings. Nether of the aircraft types that the USAF wants to operatefrom Fairford are ited with Detectand Avoid Systems, which would allow ‘themto avoid confi with ‘other air traffic in congested environments LAKENHEATH STRIKE EAGLE CLOCKS UP 10,000 HOURS ANF-15E Strike Eagle assigned tothe492nd Fighter Squadron Bolas became the fst 15 assigned tothe 4h Fighter Wing at RAF Lakenheath to reach the milestone of 10000 fying hours (on July 28,2023 Only 86 of more than 800 US Air Force -15shave reached 10,00 ying hours including 53 F-15E, Because the Liberty Wing is equipped wit ater variants (FISE-SY-MC through to F15E. {54NC) only one has soar it the 10,000-ving hour mark Thisarcraft (-15ES1-MC 91-0308) wasthus the very fst Lakenheath F15 toreach this milestone while asigned to RAF Lakeneath, This F-15E has served the ath Pre Fighter Wing forthe last 31 years, ater arriving at Lakenheath on September 17, 1992.The aircraft has flown over 4100 sorties and hasbeen through more than 20 ‘Phase inspections as partofthe Liberty Wing. sat Evan Wilby, 42nd Fighter Generation Squadron aircraft section chief sad:"The original servicelifewhen te acraft was designed was onlyabout 3,000 fight hours which showcases the declcation the 48th Maintenance Group has had ver the years to keep this alcraft inthe ait He calculated that said at least 30.000 maintenance hours haelbeen putinto the aircraft justin terms ofthe three-hour Inspections that are completed at theend ofeach fying day."That doesnt consider the inspections thatare done in between each Aight ofthe day Wilby said “Thatalso doesnot consider the Inspections that are done by the phase section every 400 fight hours orallthe scheduled or hentsth 15 91-0308 prepares tan at AF Lake, Risteist SF She ag rath 1.00 he tows Bon Slane Ma unscheduled maintenance hours ‘thatare put into every je Thealcraft New missions during ‘Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and Operation Inherent Resolve over raq/Sya, including a deployment to Jordan from Aprito October of 2021,CATALINA TO INDONESIA OPTS FOR MORE FLY AGAIN Ingres has ode fre TBanpes cleat generation Raa eas arto are Son eee as Forcein a deal confirmed on ‘August 10. Peete) Cee eed Cet eos Cesena Lc Cees ees eer ts eet occas ree pete ee Cee red fe ee ets eats ee ee en Perec] es es ance See Sed Sree a confidence testifies the sategic etre eee See ety etme ete rete re TS a ea Ue (ON August 4 2023, Maine Ce eas Seen Cee Operational Capabilty with the eee eas Ce eee) ea Cen rN ee Cee cmte eto) Unmanned Expeditionary (MUX) force. Rene ed ee See) Dee eel Ceo ccd Eee eee Teena Sener y Sree ee eet) See er ee Roney Cee ert oy ren eos) CeCe Ce eeu eee oer eee tS eee na) Dee Se and Sets Cad OO ronan) eoconeeemcis cl Government Operated (GOGO) noe} Se oie feocelieid Cee Re een) aa ear) es enn ore purchased by the USMC in ‘August 2021 With plans or eu squatens an aia msn tDars Martha Fors asthe fit of he nits cent hase thr are being to ‘tan own, Th 47FSDogptce the 34 FS Buldgs nd the 3575 Dagon wile natn de tinea a he caret 78 ‘10Thuntot lar wl ei the Aa Maietancs ad Repeat Grey AMAR ls called te Dear, On i 1 nthe fs 3570 FS 8-10 Tune so be ete, 1-095N0M was tome io he 27, fal pking re. Dino van Doorn CATALINA Aireraft holder ofthe Type Crticates forthe Consolidated Model 28-5ACF Catalina, announced ‘the rebirth oftheir icanic amphibian asthe Catalinall Amphibious Tutboprop during the Experimental Acraft Associations Ainfenture show _at Oshkosh, Wisconsin on July 25 ‘The company planstore- star production of what it calls ‘the Catalina Next Generation ‘Amphibious Aircraft (NGA) 3s Variant Addition tothe 28 SACF Catalina Type Cetficate. It believes that this vill addeess a market requirement fora Western Certficated Large Transport Category amphibious aicraft with the oreater payload and capability required by mary customers and end Catalina Aircrafts offering two ew production variants, an NGAA ‘Gvilian Variant and an NGA Special Use Variant and could begin deliveries ofboth configurations by2028.n each case the company plans to offer a’straight fying boat option with greater payload _valable and eliminating the weight ofthe retractable landing gear. The new variants willbe powered by ‘modem turboprop engines diving five-bladed propellers and wil feature mader avionics and cockpit displays, ‘The NGAACatalina Civil Variant will have 8 32000! maximum take-off weight (MTOW) and will be sea state 2-capable able to ‘accommodate up to 34 passengers ‘0r12,00bs of cargo. The NGA Catalina Special UseVarant will have a 400001 MTOW and will be ableto operatein seastate3 ‘conditions, carrying upto 30 fully ‘equipped troops, or up to 160001bs ‘ofcargoand/or equipment, and will beable to carry two 250016 Uunderwing stores ‘witha maximum fue capacity ‘of up to 2,710 gals, the Special Use Variant willhavean endurance of up to 19hours, “The Catalina could represent an Intriguing alternative to the oat- ‘equipped MC-120 being proposed to Ussocom, Sec ea KSA W-9A Reape URN the USAF 56 TES is smn eupe with an AWALG-167 Ay Kon ECM pn ing esting at Cech FB, Neat np 2023 64S THE USAF hasstartedtesting an AN/ USAF byleveraging a Co-operative demonstrates its possible use on |ALO-167 Angry Kitten electronic __Researchand Development future aircraft countermeasure ECM) podonan Agreement. Using the MO-9A for electonic [MQ-9A Reaper UCAV. The podvwasflown fromCreech attack sa compeling capably, Theaimofwhatisexpected to AFB, Nevada, on an MO-9A ‘offering an unmatched degree of beaone-to-twoyear program. operated bythe SSéthTestand _persstence—with thetype able Isreportedly todevelop tactics, Evaluation Squadron forthefirst_ to remain on station fo atleast techniques and proceduresfor_—_timefrom April 10-18.Theseflight 1S hous. relatively cheapand future unmanned aicraftin support testsremained unannounced until expendable platform, ke the ofthe Joint Force and partner GrASlissuedapressreleaseon Reaper, can massively complicate rnations.The Angry Kiten ECM pod July 20,PatrckShorsleeve, vice an enemystask and calculations wassuppied tothe USAFby the president of US DOD Strategic by providing athreat that must be GeorpiaTech Researchinsttuteand DevelopmentatGA-ASL said"t eliminated or avoided. Anary Kitten Wasintegrated onto the MO-8A —_wasgreattoseethe AnaryKitten _hasalso been tested on -16C/Ds byGeneral Atomics Aeronautical podon an AirForceplatform for and A-10Csin Alaska including Systemsinc(GA-ASN inlessthan __thefisttime.Fying thisfelecronic during Exercise Northern Edge rinemonths,andatno osttothe _warfarelcapabiltyonanMQ-9A 2023, MAINE ARNG HURON HEADS TO DJIBOUTI sing -12U2 Huon 50085) rom he Mie Ay Maton Cu ANE Opertinl Suppor it Cmmand (SACOM) uta Bang ‘ANG apart of Bang trata pt ini —as dpe tan nds eatin nytt tcc priya anspat ass ‘or approamay sve math Te aca eared Bane 28, falling en-f eenany fe the pets ante fames. HOON oes foe. wing avatn elena a parr 2a salamat an ait capabtisin supa of cxtngnces sce bythe Nana Command tary. This alsa covers operations, 5 elas suppot fr US Tanstaien Commands it Opera Suppor it Cente Maine Natoral uardMo| en Wit Dre CaN aL) arate IN HYPERSONIC TESTING? Seer NTS Cee ee ee es Cen Se Dey tohelp mitigate availabilty problems with the Cold War-era Deen Dea Seo De esos eee eens Denon Roe ed De ee ena Ce) Demented) Perera eee) Dee ees ere Cece Cee eee oreo) rect eed ‘operations including the nuclear Peete) ‘growing recognition that the Deters) Need Fea eed Dae ee Ceres ee Cee ee Dec Cee nd oer Ts eet the 852 today tohaveittest Dee eCa nS Cy Bee eset tote eee Cees aa Pee) ene designed anew Load Adaptable Le ar Deere cs Cremer asRUSSIA USING NEW S-70 UCAV TEST? 1 me FOR UKRAINE OP ERATIONS? cs Rusal scot pps $70 Otetnik-6 UAVs leat at th Nowsibs tn Pant en scons, 2021. The pope stag bbid ‘aa es pe! natin tere si of he te which es ms 20 mtr ns Ud Area Corporation WHILE STATE testing of Sukhols 5-70 Okhotnk-B UCAY was not ‘expected to conclude before the ‘end of 2023, media reports have indicated that Russia may have already started using the platform ‘toconduct operational missions ‘over Ukraine Photographs purporting to show the UCAV fying over Ukraine have bbeen published across Ukrainian Telegram channels and other media outlets reported atacksin Sumy and Kremenchk- both of which arelocated inthe nation’s Potava Oblast inthe afternoon of June 27.The fist S-70 Okhotnik 8 prototype completedits maiden fight on August3, 2018, beforeit ‘autonomously flew information witha fith-generation Su'7 Felon fighter on September 27,2019, In January 2021, the S70 reportedly used 5009 unguided bombs to destroy a ground target and, May last year, red Kn- ‘59MK2 precsion guided munition ‘during continued weapons tralsat the 185th Combat Application and Training Center in Ashuluk, near the Caspian Sea. The Kh-36 Grom £2 (Thunder2)-0r9:8-7759-glide bomb has also been integrated ‘ont the $70. ‘The second Okhotnik8 prototype flew with anew flatened exhaust nozalein December 2021 — due tobea feature ofthe definitive production aircraft. third and fourth prototype followed for further testing and evaluation purposes, and these were sid tobefully representative ofthe planned production configuration. Seta production and delivery of the 5-70 was due tobegin in 2024, Under contract terms that Russias ‘media agency, TASS described as providing forthe delivery of several dozen aircraft" from Novosibirsk ‘ation Plant by 2025, BOEING FINALLY SHOWS OFF ITS FIRST OPERATIONAL F-15EX EAGLE II Ast e-alerts wo F-1SE wee ele th USA for tt and esto pups, Bain ck socal mea ‘ocektrattie lo he thd Eagle n hugs 16. The aera — hl prs ad pen pein na show cng the Stet at dies Boe’ psu facity wih St Les Lanter ana Arpt Misa wi als max stutral ongoees te asie fom te ang Ths F-1SE theft be alts the act product fqn rere byte USAF aisha tbe ered ‘Dan pratnal USAF sua erties ea. A er creas, he 23d FS Rehan’ ~ compet ofthe Oregon ANTS ‘Wd Eat Prand A —le opco F1SEC ant, but is Sao anstin th ape ul 2025 Boog PENNSYLVANIA ANG's 193d Special Operations Wing (SOW) formally welcomed its fist new MC-130) Commando 11 (21-5965) toHarisburg [ANGB in Middletown on July 27.The 193ed SOW 193d Special Operations Squadron (505)is transitioning from the EC-130) Commando Solo lito the MC-130) -a mission change that makes the unit the frstin the ANG to operate the Commando I, While the Unit recelved its ist MC-1203 (08-6206) in February, this aircraft had previously served with the 27th SOW at Cannon AFB, New Mexico, and was the second Commando I produced. Tom Kaminski BOEINGHAS launched production ofthe fst of sk |AH-64E Apache Guardian attackhelicopters for the Indian Army Aviation Corps WAAC) atits facility in Mesa Arizona, The femannounced the milestone on August 16, confirming it had received ts fist AH-64E fuselage from the Tata Boeing Aerospace Li facility in Hyderabad, India has ordered 28 AN-64Es in total, 22 of which are already operational with the Indian Ai Force IAF, while the remaining six will be employed by the AAC. USAF CAPT Audrey \Wilson became the 1000th student pilot to graduate from the 56th FIs F-35, training program at Luke ‘AFB, Arizona, on August 3. For her final training fight, Wilson executed a six versus: four offensive counter air ‘operation and said: "The last couple of fights are a culmination of everything we've learned: definitely tough training she now fies With the 95th FS foneheads ofthe 325th FW at Tyndall AFB, Ford, Creer)USAF RC-135s HEAD TO ALASKA THEUS Air Forces sth Wing has announced the activation ‘ofthe 55th Operations Group Detachment 1 at Joint Base Eimendorf Richardson, Alaska Wile intended tobe a small unit with no permanentyasigned arr its said that this ‘geographically separated division ‘ofthe 55th Operations Group, headquartered at Offut AirForce Base, Nebraska, will provide ‘Combat Command with an additional strategic launch and recovery point for R135 ‘operationsin the Indo-Pacific. In recent years the sole dedicated RC-135 operating locaton inthe region has been With he 82nd Reconnaissance Squadron at Kadena AB, Japan, This unithas typically had the highest operations tempo inthe '55thWing due tothe intense ‘geostrategic environment inthe theatre. The establishment ofthe 55th OG Det.1 increases regional coverage ands the only one of itskind in the Arctic Gee, The fistaircra tobe deployed toAlaska was RC-135V Rivet Joint, 64-1484, throughout July 2023. However, the open-source ‘community has noted several adhoc deployments by Rivet Joints and Cobra Balls to both Elmendorf and Bon prior to this, stretching backto 2021 ‘The USAF has confirmed that Core ato the new detachment wil be able tohosta variety of capabilities ‘across the 55th WingS repertoire, Including the R-1355 Cobra Bal RC-135U Combat Sent and WC-135R Constant Phoenix This will enable wide range of specialist information-gathering capabilitiesto be employed from ‘Alaska, ranging fom signals and electronic intelligence to atmospheric sampling The USAF hasallong history of conducting RC-135 operations from Alaska, Throughout the Cold War both Eson and SShemya Air Force Bases hosted deployments ofRC-135s and were the permanent homes ofthe 45th Reconnaissance Squadron and 24th strtegic Reconnassance Squadrons, most notably operating the RC-135E ivet Amber and RC-135X Cobra Eye respectively. These aircraft were specially configured to ‘monitor activity across Russian missle testranges particularly Inthe Kamchatka peninsula This, role—known as measurement and signature inteligence (MASINT) ~is current filed bythe 55th WingS leet ofthree C1355 Cobra Bal. The activation of Detachment 1ispart ofa widereffortto increase readiness and be able to quickly respond tothe combatant command and ‘Move Wena othe nen eabished Sb Oprars Grup Detchmert1 angse RC 135) Re! ICE dng the aches action aly 2023. as WosesYasmeSIF Belo a R135 Catal pacing RAF Nena, foiving deploento (hte Comma 205 Th Cab Ba tara wing is uu pied lc in ‘inolgenet of te sical equiemerto ree sb ler aking camer, luca chadek rational levelinteligence in the Indo-Pacific The 5th Operations Group commander, Colonel Derek Rachel sid that“the ‘new [detachment] will provide Lusmoreflebility and alow sto expand our operations Inresponsetoincreased Inteligence requirements This posture reflects the USS TALES FROM THE CRYPT con thelist ‘good dude shithot guy ~ ke a bro You could have 25 positive remarks... it one"wanker’ was enough to inka prospect. Unfai? Yes, But tmade sure that the ones who made it through were good and would be compatible with everyone else that was ving in challenging environment Robin: For the most par, we were all from one of the other Fighter platforms, F-5,F16,A-10,etc We even hada few F-171 brosstil around atthe time! There were aso the Navy brethren ether onan exchange assignment or thathad crossed coverto the good ife of no cruises and 10km runways. They had F-14,F/A18, oF EAB backgrounds ates hing gts ATTA B81, seen hea range inthe stg th 16h 6 his NFS Bak Soe Flin onanpoech ‘aEl contain 854‘CA: What was the general program pilot's mental makeup in a program labeled fighter butprecision bomber in ‘execution? Batman: think everyone understood thatthe ole of the et was prety special Most of us ddr get wrepped up inthe ‘game of ealing a fighter orbombe. We lef that discussion forthe singleole haha, Mae we eftit ‘alone because the jet could have been armed with aito-ar missles and then what would you cali tcouldhave been armed with many ferent weapon. itjusthappened to be laser guided bombs combined with stealth For those desing to yank and bank, we had the A7 atTonopah and the AT-38 at Holloman because we were qualified inal three aircraft—kind ofthe best ofall works. [realy thinkthis question was more for armchair quarterbacks who wanted to str aictoairfols 6-087 sen ere at Pot ini 198. Ths er ede 31 isons in eset Som up controversy whee there ala Inthe real combat forces eveyone knows therole-thosewhoneedto ty to put cher" plac ar simply aking tome themes more mportantthan theyre ate Teely that eveyone hasaroleand goat You ime fan ait that employ weapons ANA10can and hasshot downotheracf. 01k a foheed Arden F5E cops bomb 0 wet bomber Why wey 8 theFor8 prt The purecombat warn concenzateson puting the hut on oe woul be adiraries Any exchange aout prefs spl good ard barter over abeerathe ba Wat atest you dbrtcomehomeaterthingcombatto ston at your former vith someone wearing aredstaron hiro, lest Robin woullsy"pecsion tack” mah 108 Inexecwion We ould ays etthe Nghhans nary ‘question about why itwas-alled fighter as when tant havea gun... which s valid! We certain flew tke fighter toand fromthe ight formation refueling ops pattems, et Weighing in at under 500006 With single seat and two bombs hardly qualifies fora bomber Had been in charge Inthe'705 1would have called ithe A-117 Byrdman: Precision bomber in execution, thinks due to circumstances fat, the aircrafts tremendous capabilties Include the carage of i-to-ar misses. thinkaboutthat-tankers transport, AWACS (Airborne Warning And Contol Sytem, ec, allbecome vunerable oan inisible aircraft. ‘CAL: The aircraft was given the moniker (of Wobbiin’ Goblin’. Was that either ‘accurate o fair for the experienced ‘program pilot during that time? Robin: es, that fairasessmentin my personal experience. While somewhat ww Key Aero October 2023> TALES FROM THE CRYPT noticeable when fying the et lone it was, actualy most apparent when fying close formation on one, let me tll your those fight controls were working their asses off Byrdman: No idea. That name never ‘made sense to me, Extremely stable platform in my experience ‘Batman: realy think his sllyname was ‘mere for those (agin) who want ostrup controversy where there really sn Sure, the aircraft needed computerstofy the ‘exotic shape - but with astickand rudder pedals (for irs rather than allt was rock Solid stable thinkthe’misnomer came fram those who never actualy flew the Jetbut figured that must be inherent Unstable To be honest Inever really id know what the hack he fight surfaces were doing back here, but who cares It few just ike ary other moder et: push the stick forward and the houses get bigger. pullback and the houses get small, "Mary wer jealous that they could never fly this beoutifal Calla You didit need extra fying sl — you justneeded the cexperiencelcomposureto trust the tick eyealass dudes to do ther jobs righ... and have the courage to srapinand gogetit ‘CAi:Related othe above question, how would you describe fying the airplane from apiloting as opposed toa weapons system standpoint? Byrdman: tis pretty boring tofly because Ieisalmost avays on autopilot. Two ‘minutes from Initial Point (P) othe target ‘an get fay excting depending onthe Aitficulty ofidentifyng the target and how heavily defended it might happen tobe. “WHILE THE F-117 WAS AN AMAZING AIRPLANE, IT WAS THE F-117 COMMUNITY THAT MADE IT A ‘SPECIAL ASSIGNMENT.” ROBIN ‘October 2023 // wow Key. Aero81-1079540 ' seen te tain at Vents, Ch 92 = eta cs ow ‘poring the mans of eaamFH Ast sing ho poeratons at Sahat be Ear tie relia Te issn th Fax stabi the boca Tis Fl peated yt FS Bick Ste is ste anthem tits me bo Fallon 8 ‘Batman: Climbing in and cranking down the canopy was something els. The‘apex ofthe canopy was interesting to say the least When you flew athigher airspeeds at loner altitudes you gota very interesting sound... teminded you that there really wasaie rushing by just inches away from your nagin at ridiculous aspeeds. Robin: |alvays though the et flew ike an underpowered Eagle. whichis tosay it handled great but had zero extra thrust It was designed to have just enough power toget airborne with full bags of gas and ‘wo 2000-pounders and that'sabout ll she could do! (Alve always heard that F-117 ‘missions were rigorously automated, ‘much ke the 8-2 fying the Blue Line today. Is that accurate, andifso, please draw any unclossifed contrasts between those approaches inthe B-2and F-117. ‘Batman: Not going to compare and contrast... America adversaries can craw thai own conclusions from thee ‘wn experiences or lack thereof But will genercally say that any automation that relieves the actual plot ofthe basic ‘monotonous piloting skis to allow them to concentrate onthe tassthateally gets theJob done the way toga, Whether iis alloning the alcaft to flya blue or black or whatever Robin: Very automated, even more so than the 8:2 given thatthe F117 had an auto throttle anda more capable autopilot. Untillatein the program the F-117 was a Laser Guided Bomb (LG) wa Keyaero Octobe 2023 EES> TALES FROM THE CRYPT “THE SUCCESSFUL SINGLE-SEAT FIGHTER PILOT IS FORTUNATE TO STILL BE ALIVE AND SURVIVE.” BATMAN platform, wich cetated fying dvecty lover the target with ees onto provide the laser for terminal guidance ofthe bombs. Thismade it much more intimate than simply fying lose enough tolob GPS. guided bombs at target Otherwise the profile between the two was very simi, justalot more targets with the -2 ‘Byrdman:l passon this one, not my Jet ‘Az What were your major personal ‘ilestonesin the program? Combat, flight test etc. Batman: |thinka major milestone for me would be my istfight when took this awesomely tifferentshapeinto the air and retuned it safely. Also, possibly every fight where you were basically ying an ceerimental aicaf with the possibilty cof handling anew and crazy stuation - at right andin the weather— aby youself Yeah, yeah the Viper babies say they do it also... notthesame. Another milestone forme was also instructing in the RTU Replacement Training Unit, Thinkabout it: how do you Instruct someone ese to idea motorcycle at several hundred miles per hour - with you riding on a separate motoreyele next tohim? Such was the role of instructing 9 ‘new Bandit plot fying in his single-seat F-1173825000R at better than 400s just 1 from your cockpit canopy Window: Imagine. You had to predictand anticipate what he would do just by the way his head turned or the movement of hishand on the DEP (Osta Entry Panel) in front ofthe HUD Heads Up Display) Robin: My timing was perfect for Operation aqi Freedom, fr which ew, fought, and won with the Black Sheep of the Eth Fighter Squadron Byrdman: Focty-four combat missions to Ira. Few the jt to many ashows upon retuen fom the wart help selstealth tothe nation, ‘CAs: Favorte unclassified (or scrubbed) F-117 personalstory? Robin: Aside rom the employment, the F-117 wasa great airshow airplane. We would usually take two and while one plot was fying the other would narrate I met some amazing people during thoseairshows including the staf other performers and mostimportanty, the patios ofthis great nation, who were always supportveand genuinely a pleasure to talkto, Byrdman: Bombing the Osak nuclear facility Saddam's palace orthe Samarra biological plant! Iraq had weapons ofmass A engah cede ITA 86-0822 othe 37th FM sen on arial ‘ofa FB Vin (ober 1991 Ath Sena Denns Agha, 85-0816" seen eat an ys CAin 984 destruction, Isaw them, and | blew alot of them up. Batman: As vith any tight kit and closed community, there are many epic stores... most tobe shared over ber. ‘The successful single-seat fighter pilots fortunate to still beallve and survive. ‘A personal story that stillcomes tome inmy seep: the time while ying alone inthe middle of somewhere along the designated route at night andin bad weather then being struckby ightning, Strange how! went fiombeing able to see to being temporary bined for what seemed like an eternity ‘Thats when you rele how much you ‘depend on your vison - and you scramble tocompensate with your other senses I ‘ould happen, and fm sureit does happen tootherpilotsand inotherjets... but wenitdoes happen to you... Wow! Mainly since the F117 depends entirely ‘nits computers tof the apprehension _and confirmation that those computers are sillguiding the autopilot becomes ctcal AN cansayis that was glad that my hearing wasnt affected and that could hear the engines stil runing The fact that did her Bitching Betty ‘announce the autopilot had kicked off was no comfort because that whole system might be knocked out What was comforting wasthat the sound ‘ofthe arrushing overthe apex waset. ‘getting louder so wasnt screamingtoward the ground totally blind. The most Incredible thing? As my vision returned ‘ted the weather into aclerstarfiled night Thats probably my favoritstry. Of couse for every mission where cheated death and laughedn the face of danger the legend grows bigger each and. ‘everytime tell Iwas always incredible to climb into thatawesome cockpit and know that there was some supercool solo adventure tobe alowed by dismounting and ‘going backto doit yet again oann0 asthe petite TIL deeds 4 seonhaintie sic Se cis t+ al (CAlsFinal thoughts on the F-117? Byrdmanz Ben Rich gott right. He took ‘over fom the legendary Clarence Kelly Johnson at Lackheed Martins Skunk Works. The F117 washisfirst project. Very Fishy! But he knew he was onto true ‘game changer and had the courage to rmakeithappen, Batman: Damn proudto have the honor and trust tof the lack Jt and do it wel Ifthad the opportunity todo it again ~ heck yes. fle ery proud when saw the 117 fying with the underbody painted inthe colours ofthe American lag. Robin: Every Ar Force fying assignment has three aspect to consider: the plane, the peopl, and the location. While the F-117 was anamazing et twas the F-117 community that madeita special assignment. We were a close-knit fami all competent pilots and laid-back which sincerely appreciated ‘ww Key. Aero Mf October 2023