Page 8 - Aerotech News and Review 12-18-15
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Draken International provides support to Nellis

CZ"$3BDIFM-PGUJT                                 in 2014 further limited the 57th Wing’s capa-                                                                                                                                     Air Force photographs by A1C Rachel Loftis
                                                     bility of providing support to training and test
Nellis AFB, Nev.                                     DJHQFLHVDURXQGWKH$LU)RUFHDQG'HSDUWPHQW         'UDNHQ,QWHUQDWLRQDO$DLUFFUDIWDZDLWSUHÀLJKWFKHFNRQWKH1HOOLV$LU)RUFH%DVH1HYÀLJKWOLQH
                                                     of Defense.                                           Dec. 3, 2015. Draken was recently awarded a short-term contract to supplement adversary air
   Draken International, a commercial fleet of                                                             training at Nellis.
ex-military aircraft, recently won a bid for a          ³:HKDYHDOZD\VÀRZQDQGZHVWLOOKDYHRXU
year-long contract to provide adversary support      )VIURPWKHWK$JJUHVVRUV6TXDGURQ´VDLG       is going to be very happy with the product were        )RUFH LV DEOH WR SURGXFH WKUHH WR IRXU VRUWLHV
DW1HOOLV$LU)RUFH%DVH1HY                      6KHSKHUG³:HDOVRKDGXQWLOODVW0DUFKWKH        providing to them.”                                    WKURXJK'UDNHQIRUWKHVDPHFRVWDVRQH)
                                                     WK$JJUHVVRUVZKLFKZHUH)V6RZHVWLOOÀ\                                                            sortie.
   'UDNHQ ,QWHUQDWLRQDO LV EDVHG LQ /DNHODQG  WKH)VEXWZHKDYHDJUHDWHUQHHGIRURXWVLGH        7KHFXUUHQWFRQWUDFWVWDUWHG1RYDQGZLOO
)ODDQGKDVDÀHHWRIRYHUWDFWLFDODLUFUDIW  DJHQF\VXSSRUWWRKHOS¿OOWKHQXPEHURIDLUFUDIW    go through Dec. 19.                                       “When we closed the 65th Aggressors we
7KHFRPSDQ\RZQVDQGRSHUDWHVWKHZRUOG¶VODUJ-      WKDWÀ\DVDGYHUVDULHV´                                                                                     recognized the need for adversaries was still as
HVWFRPPHUFLDOÀHHWRIH[PLOLWDU\DLUFUDIW                                                                 ³,W¶VDWKUHHZHHNWULDOSHULRGIRUWKH$LU)RUFH  great, if not more so,” said Shepherd. “So while
                                                        7KRXJK'UDNHQLVKHUHIRUDGYHUVDU\VXSSRUW      to evaluate us to provide adequate adversary sup-      we still have that great need to produce adversary
   Draken’s extensive fleet is equipped with         WKH\DUHQRWVFKHGXOHGWRSDUWLFLSDWHLQ5HG)ODJ    port,” said Scott. ”It’s also a time to where we       DLUFUDIWZHVLPSO\GRQ¶WKDYHWKH$LU)RUFHDV-
fourth-generation technology and is flown by         RU*UHHQ)ODJH[HUFLVHV                             DW'UDNHQOHDUQZKDWWKH$LU)RUFHUHTXLUHPHQWV       sets. Draken has been contracted because they
IRUPHUDQGFXUUHQWPLOLWDU\WUDLQHG¿JKWHUSLORWV                                                        DUHDQG¿WLQWRWKHV\VWHPKHUHWRPDNHVXUHRXU      can do it cheaper and because they can still rep-
                                                        ³:HKRSHWRVXSSRUW5HGÀDJDQG*UHHQ)ODJ´      employment and execution is as seamless as pos-        resent adversary tactics.”
   “Draken International has been asked to come      VDLG7HUU\6FRWWGLUHFWRURI1HOOLVRSHUDWLRQVIRU  sible.”
LQDVFRQWUDFWHGDGYHUVDULHV³VDLG/W&RO0L-    Draken International. “Currently, we are support-                                                               $FFRUGLQJWR6KHSKHUG1HOOLV$)%LVDWHVW
FKDHO6KHSKHUGWK$GYHUVDU\7DFWLFV*URXS        LQJWKH86$):6:HKRSHDQGWKLQNWKDWLQWKH           Draken was required them to have a certain          base to see if contract adversary air will work for
GHSXW\FRPPDQGHU³7KH\À\WKH$6N\KDZN        IXWXUHZHZLOOEHVXSSRUWLQJ5HG)ODJDQGZH¶YH      number of aircraft that were readily available to      WKH$LU)RUFHDQG'2'
DQGWKH\KDYHZRQDFRQWUDFWWKDWSURYLGHV1HOOLV   talked casually about that. It’s going to be deter-   deploy within 60 days of completing the contract.
with contract adversary air or adversary support.    mined after the trial period.                                                                                   “I think this is the way of the future for the
So they are ultimately helping us supplement our                                                              ³2XU$VZHSXUFKDVHGIURPWKH1HZ=HD-           $LU)RUFH´VDLG6KHSKHUG³:HSDLQWHGRXUVHOYHV
red air capabilities so that we can present better      ³$IWHU WKH WULDO SHULRG WKH WK$7* FRP-   land air force,” said Scott. “We brought them          into a place where we need outside agencies to
SLFWXUHVDQGSUHVHQWDWLRQVWRWKH86$LU)RUFH    mander will make an evaluation on us to deter-        EDFNDQGUHIXUELVKHGWKHP%HIRUHWKH1HZ=HD-        FRPHDQGKHOSXV)LQDQFLDOO\ZHVLPSO\MXVW
:HDSRQV6FKRRO5HG)ODJDQGRWKHUWHVWDJHQ-       PLQHLIZHDUHVXLWDEOHWRVXSSRUW5HG)ODJVRU-      ODQGDLUIRUFHKDGDPRGL¿FDWLRQDQGHIIHFWLYHO\      don’t have the money and resources to do that
cies here on base.”                                  ties. At Draken we feel very strongly that we can     ZKDWWKDWGLGZDVSXWDQ)DYLRQLFVUDGDUVXLWH    LQRXU$LU)RUFH6RZKHQLWFRPHVWLPHWRWUDLQ
                                                     GRWKLVYHU\HIIHFWLYHO\DQG,WKLQNWKH$LU)RUFH   in the airplane.                                       $PHULFD¶VEHVW²ZKHWKHULWLVWKH86$):6
   7KHWK$JJUHVVRUV6TXDGURQ¶VLQDFWLYDWLRQ                                                                                                                   WKURXJKWHVWRU5HG)ODJDQG*UHHQ)ODJ²ZH
                                                                                                              ³6RZKHQZHJRRXWDQGZH¿JKW²IRUH[-            need the help of other agencies to come out here.
$'UDNHQ,QWHUQDWLRQDODLUFUDIWVLWVRQWKH1HOOLV$LU)RUFH%DVH1HYÀLJKWOLQHDZDLWLQJSUHÀLJKW      DPSOH))DQG$V²ZHORRNHOHFWURQL-        Draken is doing that currently and we’ll see how
check Dec. 3, 2015. Draken is used to support various types of military training objectives around         FDOO\YHU\PXFKOLNHZKDWDQ)ZRXOGORRNVR      this experiment goes If they do that well, we plan
the globe.                                                                                                 we blend in very well with the current aggressor       on rebidding this contract.”
                                                                                                           force that is out here.”

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0'$IURP                                                            PLQXWHVDQGVHFRQGVDIWHUWKH65$/7:KLOH.RHWKHUDQG5LV      experimental carriage extraction system to pull it out of the aircraft.
                                                                       ZHUHÀ\LQJWKHDLUFUDIWWKHUHZDVDWHDPRIKLJKO\VSHFLDOL]HGHQ-  7KHQRQVWDQGDUGULJJLQJLVXVHGWRPLWLJDWHWKHLVVXHVDVVRFLDWHG
7+$$'ZHDSRQV\VWHPORFDWHGRQ:DNH,VODQGDQGWKH$HJLV              gineers ensuring the rocket was ready to launch in the back of the  with high altitude airdrop and launch the missile in the safest,
%DOOLVWLF0LVVLOH'HIHQVHIURPWKH1DY\¶V866John Paul Jones          aircraft conducting a countdown “similar to what you would hear     PRVWHI¿FLHQWZD\SRVVLEOH7KHPLVVLOHZHQWXSLQWRVSDFHDQG
guided missile destroyer.                                              on the news for a space shuttle launch.”                            came back down.

   After three months of preparation and multiple delays, the test,       “A test this complex, with multiple dynamic players, made the       Koether added that due to the highly complex nature of the test,
GHVLJQDWHG³)OLJKW7HVW2SHUDWLRQDO(YHQWD´ZDVVXFFHVVIXOO\    ¿QDOPRPHQWVRIWKHFRXQWGRZQYHU\LQWHQVHIRUDOOSDUWLHVLQ-      FRRUGLQDWLRQZDVDWWLPHVFKDOOHQJLQJ7KHUHZHUHSHUVRQQHOIURP
executed Oct. 31.                                                      volved,” said Ris.                                                  WKH0'$$LU)RUFH1DY\$UP\DQGFRQWUDFWRUVDOOZRUNLQJDW
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   6RXWKHDVWRI:DNH,VODQGD&VXSSOLHGE\$LU0RELOLW\&RP-         Koether added, “We’re really max-performing the airplane to
PDQGODXQFKHGD6KRUW5DQJH$LU/DXQFK7DUJHW65$/7RYHUWKH        PDNHVXUHZHGURSWKHPLVVLOHDWDVSHFL¿FORFDWLRQDWDVSHFL¿F     Each C-17 was paired with a P-3 Orion chase plane for photo
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weapon system from Wake Island.                                        and we did that very well.”                                         NQRZQDV3DFL¿F&ROOHFWRUDFWHGDVDWHOHPHWU\DQGUDQJHVDIHW\
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   $VWKH$0&&WXUQHGWRZDUGVKRPHWKH$)7&&PDQQHG             In addition to the precise timing, the high-altitude drop was    missile throughout the launch until its termination.
E\DQ(GZDUGVFUHZODXQFKHGDVHFRQGWDUJHWDQH[WHQGHG0HGL-        GRQHIURPMXVWEHORZIHHWUHTXLULQJWKHFUHZWREUHDWKH
XP5DQJH%DOOLVWLF0LVVLOHH05%0LQWRWKHGHEULV¿HOGFUHDWHG       R[\JHQIRUWKHGXUDWLRQRIWKHLQÀLJKWEXLOGXSWRWKHGURS      According to Ris there were also two control rooms in other
E\WKH7+$$'ZHDSRQV\VWHPZKLFKLQWHUFHSWHGDQGGHVWUR\HG            LWVHOI7KHH05%0ZDVH[WUDFWHGIURPWKH$)7&&XVLQJDQ        parts of the world monitoring the test.
WKH65$/72QHLPSRUWDQWDVSHFWRIWKHWHVWHYHQWZDVWRGHP-
RQVWUDWHWKDW$HJLV%0'ZDVDEOHWRGHWHFWDWDUJHWLQVLGHRID       “High altitude, heavy weight airdrop is something                      “It was a long test and I think the Edwards crews and the main-
GHEULV¿HOG                                                            we’re doing a lot of here at Edwards, supporting                   tenance crews with their planes were very professional the entire
                                                                       not only MDA, but NASA with the Orion capsule                       WLPH´VDLG.RHWKHU³>/DUJH	KHDY\KLJKDOWLWXGHDLUGURSVDUH@
   $HJLV%0'GHWHFWHGDQGWUDFNHGWKHH05%0ZLWKLWVUDGDU             drops that we’ve been doing out at Yuma. Drop-                     never an easy thing and every drop presents challenges. I think
IURPWKH866John Paul Jones while simultaneously engaging a           ping something that heavy at that high of an alti-                  we have the expertise here at Edwards and at the test center to
%40(DLUEUHDWKLQJWDUJHWZLWKD6WDQGDUG0LVVLOH%ORFN           WXGHLVQRWWULYLDODQGWKHWHVWFHQWHUVSHFL¿FDOO\             overcome those challenges and bring success to the mission both
IIIA guided missile.                                                     is getting very good at those unique missions.”                   IRUXVDQGWKH0LVVLOH'HIHQVH$JHQF\´

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VLOH%ORFN,%7KUHDW8SJUDGHJXLGHGPLVVLOHEXWDQDQRPDO\                                                                             %DOOLVWLF0LVVLOH'HIHQVHZKLFKLVWKHQDYDOFRPSRQHQWRIWKH
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minal defense role, acquired and successfully intercepted the target.

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8                                                              Aerotech News and Review                                                                           December 18, 2015

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