Page 1 - Desert Lightning News, Nellis-Creech AFB Edition, Jan. 10, 2020
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vol. 4, no. 1 Serving Southern Nevada’s military community, including Nellis, Creech and NTTR Jan. 10, 2020
An Aerotech news And review publicAtion • www.Aerotechnews.com
USAFWS uses crew swaps to enhance training
by Airman 1st Class Dwane R. Young Air Force photograph by Airman 1st Class Bailee A. Darbasie so this operation can run as smooth as
possible.â€
Nellis AFB, Nev. A pilot assigned to the 17th Weapons Squadron grabs his oxygen mask during a rapid
crew swap at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., Dec. 19, 2019. In a rapid crew swap, aircrews land More importantly, these training ex-
The U.S. Air Force Weapons School and stay with the aircraft, while maintenance performs the minimal actions required to ercises, supported by the 757th Aircraft
fighter pilots are preparing for rigorous relaunch the jet. Maintenance Squadron Strike Aircraft
combat battle rhythms with the integra- Maintenance Unit and the 99th Logistics
tion of rapid crew swap exercises. These “These swaps can be dangerous if has to understand our role, maintenance Readiness Squadron, serve to prepare
exercises require aircrews and aircraft things are not done correctly,†said Maj. has to know their checklist, and fuels Airmen for peer adversaries in deployed
maintainers to launch and recover the John McFarland, 17th Weapons Squad- must be properly inspected and ready environments.
jets in one-third the normal time. ron weapons systems officer and F-15E to go. Everyone must be educated on
Weapons School instructor. “We have their primary tasks and responsibilities “The Air Force has been looking at the
In a rapid crew swap, the aircrew lands to make sure proper safety procedures expeditionary wing in terms of having a
and stays with the aircraft while main- are followed given the short amount of jet from an austere location land, refuel
tenance performs the minimal actions time we are operating in. The aircrew with gas, reload with weapons and im-
required to relaunch it. After checks are mediately take off for the fight,†said Mc-
complete, and the aircraft is refueled or Farland. “These exercises have real world
re-armed, a new crew takes over and the implications for agile combat support.â€
aircraft is launched.
In real world scenarios efficiency is
Performing within shorter f lying crucial and time is critical. A rapid crew
windows necessitates communication, swap from landing to take-off is about an
increases the number of training sor- hour. The normal turn time for recovery
ties and strengthens real-world combat and launching jets are about three hours.
training.
“Rapid crew swaps allow mainte-
The logistics of a rapid crew swap can nance to spend less time launching
be complex, so success hinges on the and recovering jets,†said McFarland.â€
communication between the air crew Maintenance can launch two additional
and multiple supporting units. jets in the same flying window, saving
man-hours while buying pilots more
Scheduling is also a vital part of the time in the air.â€
preparation for a rapid crew swap. With
limited flying windows for maintenance To take advantage of this additional
and refueling, communication between air time, the USAFWS integrates rapid
units is key. Participants must under- crew swamps into their Basic Fighter
stand their role in order to make the Maneuver phase of the Weapons School
flying window and ensure safety during F-15E course. Within this phase, which
this exercise. is a classic three-dimensional dog fight,
students learn how to engage the full
Air Force photograph by Airman 1st Class Dwane R. Young Air Force photograph by Airman 1st Class Dwane R. Young capabilities of the aircraft, so training
time is essential, said McFarland.
An F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jet assigned to the 17th Weapons Squadron (WPS) taxis on Airman 1st Class Carl Eslava, a fuels specialist
the flight line at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., Dec. 19, 2019. The 17th WPS participated in a assigned to the 99th Logistics Readiness In the fight to sustain lethality and
rapid crew swap exercise where air crews, maintenance and fuels trained to launch and Squadron gives a thumbs up during a rapid stay ahead of our adversaries, the US-
recover jets in one-third the normal time increasing flying time for pilots. crew swap refueling at Nellis Air Force Base, AFWS have integrated rapid crew swap
Nev., Dec. 19, 2019. Fuels specialists are exercises to enhance their training. They
responsible for operating vehicles, equipment believe that improvements on current
and storage facilities that are essential to exercises and the way we train will pay
refueling operations while ensuring the major dividends in the future.
compliance of safety regulations.
“We train to better our procedures
and to produce more sorties,†said Air-
man 1st Class Bonifacio Garcia II, 757th
AMXS Strike AMU tactical aircraft
maintainer, who has participated in
more than 20 rapid crew swaps, assigned
to the 757th AMXS. “Rapid crew swaps
are great training because they prepare
us for combat or real-life situations.â€
2019 Year in review — Pages 10 and 11
