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BULLSEYE News February 17, 2017 5 www.aerotechnews.com/nellisafb Facebook.com/NellisBullseye
F-35A proving its worth at Red Flag combat exercise
By Micah Garbarino
75th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. — After eight days “at war” the F-35A Light- ning II is proving to be an invaluable as- set during Red Flag 17-1, the Air Force’s premier combat exercise held here.
The F-35A is a fifth-generation, multi- role stealth fighter designed to gather, fuse, and distribute more information than any other fighter in history.
Lt. Col. George Watkins, an F-35 pilot and 34th Fighter Squadron commander, said flying the F-35A in combat “feels like air dominance.”
“I’ve had four of my (F-35A) pilots come back from missions, guys who have flown the F-15 (Eagle) and F-16 (Fighting Falcon) at Red Flag for years, and tell me ‘This is amazing. I’ve never had this much situational awareness while I’m in the air. I know who’s who, I know who’s being threatened, and I know where I need to go next.’ You just don’t have all of that information at once in fourth- generation platforms,” Watkins said.
Pilots and maintainers from the 388th and 419th Fighter Wings at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, deployed the F-35A for Red Flag Jan. 20 and began flying in the ex- ercise Jan. 23.
Since the exercise began, Hill AFB’s Airmen have generated 110 sorties, including their first 10-jet F-35A sor- tie Jan. 30 and turned around and launched eight jets that afternoon. They have not lost a single sortie to a maintenance issue and have a 92 percent mission-capable rate, said 1st Lt. Devin Ferguson, assistant officer in charge of
“The number of adversaries has in- creased, their skill level has increased, the sophistication of the surface-to-air threat has increased,” Watkins said.
Facing highly sophisticated surface- to-air threats is a challenge for fourth- generation aircraft. With the F-35A, pilots can gather and fuse data from a multitude of sources and use the jet’s advanced sensors to precisely pinpoint a threat. Then they can take it out with one 2,000 pound bomb. It would be im- possible for a fourth-generation aircraft to survive such a mission, according to Lt. Col. Dave DeAngelis, F-35 pilot and commander of the 419th Operations Group, Detachment 1.
While the F-35As eliminate the advanced ground threats, F-22s are dominating air threats and the pair are clearing the way for fourth-generation assets to operate.
“It is a step up and a look into the future for us,” said Royal Australian Air Force Group Captain Stuart Bell- ingham, Air Operations Center director at Red Flag. “It’s really exciting to work alongside the F-35A and the F-22 to un- derstand how we best integrate that into a high end fight in the training scenarios that Red Flag provides.”
The first operational F-35As arrived at Hill AFB in October 2015. The base will eventually be home to three operational F-35 fighter squadrons with a total of 78 aircraft by the end of 2019. The active duty 388th FW and Air Force Reserve 419th FW will fly and maintain the Air Force’s newest fighter aircraft in a Total Force partnership, which capitalizes on the strength of both components.
U.S. Air Force photo by R. Nial Bradshaw
An Air Force weapons load crew assigned to the 34th Aircraft Maintenance Unit, Hill Air Force Base, Utah, loads a GBU-12 into an F-35A Lightning II aircraft at Nellis AFB, Nev., Feb. 1.
LEFT: An F-35A Lightning II aircraft from Hill Air Force Base, Utah, takes off from Nellis AFB, Nev., Feb. 2. Airmen from the 388th and 419th Fighter Wings at Hill AFB are participating in Red Flag 17-1. Red Flag is the U.S. Air Force’s premier combat training exercise. This is the first F-35A deployment to Red Flag since the Air Force declared the jet combat ready in August 2016.
U.S. Air Force photo by R. Nial Bradshaw
Airman 1st Class Santos Vargas, 34th Aircraft Maintenance Unit at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, operates a jammer while loading a GBU-12 into an F-35A aircraft during Red Flag 17-1 at Nellis AFB, Nev., Feb. 1.
the 34th Aircraft Maintenance Unit. Legacy aircraft average 70 to 85 percent mission-capable.
Red Flag is designed to provide Air- men with realistic combat scenarios and increase survivability in real combat. The three-week exercise pits “Blue Air” (friendly) against “Red Air” (enemy) in an all-out air war featuring air-to-air, air-to-ground, search and rescue, and special forces elements. Planners say this is rigorous training for even proven weapons systems and a good test for the F-35A, still in the initial stages of operational capability.
Flying alongside F-22 Raptors, as well
as a variety of U.S. and coalition fourth- generation aircraft from Australia and the United Kingdom air forces, the capabilities of the F-35A are being put to the test with robust combat scenarios that focus on the jet’s core capabilities – air interdiction, suppression of enemy air defense.
“The first day we were here, we flew defensive counter-air and we didn’t lose a single friendly aircraft,” Watkins said. “That’s unheard of.”
Because of the aircraft’s increased capability, exercise planners have in- creased the complexity of the scenarios for the “Blue Air” players.
U.S. Air Force photo by R. Nial Bradshaw