Page 3 - Aerotech News AZ Edition 7-3-15

31st TES F-35s take on Green Flag 15-08

Air Force photographs by SrA. Joshua Kleinholz

An F-35A Lightning II assigned to the 31st Test and Evaluation Squadron, Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., approaches a KC-135 Stratotanker assigned to the 927th Air Refueling Wing, MacDill
AFB, Fla., for a refuel during a Green Flag 15-08 training sortie in the skies over the National Training Center, Calif., June 10, 2015. Green Flag iteration 15-08 brought about an increased role for
the F-35 as it continues through its stages of operational testing.

CZ4S"+PTIVB,MFJOIPM[ from the 1st Brigade Combat gray triangle darting through what is a full team effort.” the air was called upon, F-35 pi-
Nellis AFB, Nev. Team, Fort Bliss, Texas, were the clouds was doing its job ef- The roles played by the two lots from the 31st TES communi-
joint terminal attack controllers fectively — just like those that cated and used their systems with
F-35A Lightning IIs from the assigned to the 7th Air Support came before it. operational test fighters seem precision.
31st Test and Evaluation Squad- Operations Squadron who were relatively modest when exam-
ron, Edwards Air Force Base, are tasked with creating and “We’re working for mass ined within the immense scale of They created strategic effects
Calif., played the U.S. Army’s maintaining that vital link be- inter-agency effects here,” said a National Training Center rota- that left troops on the ground
“eyes in the sky” during the lat- tween units on the ground and U.S. Army Col. Matthew Moore, tion. Fourteen days of maneuver- largely unware and unconcerned
est iteration of the Green Flag airpower soaring above. NTC Operations Group deputy ing against adversaries in vast of what airframe they might be
exercise, GF 15-08, as the Air commander. “We’re glad to have desert mountain ranges makes using — seamless integration at
Force’s program works toward Intelligent adversaries operat- the support of the F-35s here and Green Flag a test of the mind and LWV¿QHVW
its goal of declaring initial op- ing on the ground as well as the that it was able to play its role in body alike. But when help from
erational capability by the end air, space, and cyberspace realms
of this year. are constructed to test the sol-
diers and airmen on their ability
The exercise, conducted ten WRSHUVLVWDQG¿JKWEDFNLQMRLQW
times annually on the 1,200 multi-faceted attacks.
square-mile ranges of the Na-
tional Training Center at Fort Ir- During iteration 15-08, two F-
win, Calif., pits more than 5,000 35s took on a primary exercise
Army soldiers against simulated role as the close air support pro-
enemy forces in a two-week long viders, penetrating a contested
SUHGHSOR\PHQWWULDOE\¿UH and degraded battlespace, await-
ing calls for fire from ground
“Green Flag trains us to never commanders below.
become victims of our terrain,”
said U.S. Army Maj. Ian Lauer, Developments in the F-35
NTC Operations Group opera- program remain a high priority
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standing the context in which Air Force leadership alike, as
ZH¶OO¿JKWDQGXVLQJWKDWXQGHU- pressure mounts to realize the
standing to build an aggressive system’s full capabilities. It’s
advantage.” a positive that for JTACs and
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Working alongside soldiers from the sand, the sleek looking

Right: A tactical air control party airman from the 7th Air Support Operations

Squadron, Fort Bliss, Texas, looks on as an F-16 Fighting Falcon executes
a “show of force” in the skies over the National Traning Center Range, Fort

Irwin, Calif., during a Green Flag 15-08 training scenario June 12, 2015. After
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and aircraft alike, this display of air dominance can act as a deterrent for any

remaining enemy combatants in the area.

July 3, 2015 Aerotech News and Review 3

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