Page 3 - Aerotech News and Review, Feb. 17 2017

F-35A proving its worth at Red Flag combat exercise
by Micah Garbarino
Nellis AFB, Nev.
After eight days “at war” the F-35A Lightning II is proving to be an invalu- able asset during Red Flag 17-01, the Air Force’s premier air combat exer- cise held at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev.
The F-35A is a fifth-generation, multi-role stealth fighter designed to gather, fuse, and distribute more in- formation than any other fighter in history.
Lt. Col. George Watkins, an F-35 pilot and 34th Fighter Squadron com- mander, said flying the F-35A in com- bat “feels like air dominance.”
“I’ve had four of my (F-35A) pi- lots come back from missions, guys who have flown the F-15 and F-16 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 platform,” Watkins said.
Pilots and maintainers from the 388th and 419th Fighter Wings at Hill AFB, Utah, deployed the F-35A Light- ning II to Nellis Jan. 20 and began fly- ing in the exercise Jan. 23.
Since the exercise began, Hill’s
Airmen have generated 110 sorties, including their first 10-jet F-35A sortie 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 34th Aircraft Mainte- nance Unit. Legacy aircraft average 70 to 85 percent mission-capable.
Red Flag is designed to provide Airmen with realistic combat scenar- ios 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 Austra- lia and the United Kingdom air forces, the capabilities of the F-35A are be- ing put to the test with robust combat scenarios that focus on the jet’s core capabilities – air interdiction, suppres- sion 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
Air Force photograph by Airman 1st Class Kevin Tanenbaum
A pilot assigned to the 388th Fighter Wing, Hill Air Force Base, Utah, performs preflight checks in an F-35A Lightning II before a night operation Red Flag 17-1 at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., Jan. 24, 2017. Aircraft and personnel deploy to Nellis AFB for Red Flag under the Air Expeditionary Force concept and make up the exercise’s “Blue” forces.
said. “That’s unheard of.”
Because of the aircraft’s increased
capability, exercise planners have in- creased the complexity of the scenari- os for the “Blue Air” players.
“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 impossible for a fourth-generation aircraft to survive such a mission, ac- cording to Lt. Col. Dave DeAngelis, F-35 pilot and commander of the 419 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.
“Itisastepupandalookintothe future for us,” said Royal Australian Air Force Group Capt. Stuart Belling- ham, Air Operations Center director at Red Flag. “It’s really exciting to work
alongside the F-35A and the F-22 to understand how we best integrate that into a high end fight in the training sce- narios that Red Flag provides.”
The first operational F-35As arrived at Hill AFB in October 2015. The base will eventually be home to three op- erational 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.
On the cover ...
An F-35A Lightning II aircraft from Hill Air Force Base, Utah, takes off from Nellis AFB, Nev., Feb. 2, 2017. Airmen from the 388th and 419th Fighter Wings at Hill are participating in Red Flag 17-01. Red Flag is the U.S. Air Force’s premier air-to-air 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.
Air Force photograph by R. Nial Bradshaw
Lockheed delivers 200th F-35 center wing assembly
The 200th F-35 Center Wing Assembly built in the Lock- heed Martin facility in Marietta, Ga., was delivered to the Fort Worth, Texas, F-35 production line in January, marking a major milestone.
The CWA is a major structural component and represents approximately one quarter of the aircraft’s fuselage. The air- craft’s wings are attached to the CWA during final assembly, which takes place at the Lockheed Martin facility in Fort Worth.
Since the Marietta F-35 team delivered its first CWA in September 2011, all 200 assemblies have been delivered to Fort Worth on or ahead of the final production line need dates, including 51 in 2016. The current Marietta production rate calls for one completed CWA to be delivered approxi- mately every 3.5 manufacturing days.
Approximately 350 people are assigned to the F-35 pro- gram in Marietta. In addition to assembling the CWAs on a state-of-the art production line, technicians also apply specialized coatings to the aircraft’s horizontal and vertical tail assemblies and to spare and repaired doors, panels and covers.
February 17, 2017
Aerotech News and Review
3
www.aerotechnews.com ........ facebook.com/aerotechnewsandreview