Combat Aircraft Monthly 2014-10.pdf

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USAF 2014 AIR POWER REVIEW
SPECIAL ISSUE
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NORTH AMERICA’S BEST SELLING MILITARY AVIATION MAGAZINE
AGGRESSOR FAREWELL
Vol 15, No 10 | www.combataircraft.net
OCTOBER 2014
UK £4.30
IN THE
NEWS:
US FORCES IN
IRAQ MISSIONS
F-35
s
TO BE BASED
AT EIELSON
USAF
AIR
POWER
AIRCRAFT • UNITS • PROCUREMENT • STATUS
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‘HAWGSMOKE 2014’
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THE FUTURE OF BOEING FIGHTERS
•
CHINESE ‘FLANKERS’ ON EXERCISE
Glory Days
•
‘VIPERS’ AT HAHN
EXERCISE
REPORT
PILOT PROFILE: BLUE ANGELS
NO
ON
W A
V
K
WI INDL
A I L
ND E F
A B
OW IRE
L E
S8 &
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493RD FS ‘GRIM
REAPERS’ ON THE
NATO FRONT LINE
presidential overthrow, NATO
found itself needing to respond
with diplomacy and strength.
The ‘Grim Reapers’ of the 493rd
Fighter Squadron were already
well positioned to answer the
call of duty and provide air cover
for the Baltic States.
report and photos:
Rich Cooper
I
n the aftermath of the Ukrainian
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F
A pair of ‘Grim Reapers’ F-15Cs armed
with live AIM-9X and AIM-120 AMRAAM
missiles on patrol in the Baltics.
OUR F-15C EAGLES had
deployed to Lithuania on regular
Baltic Air Policing duties in
January, and this presence was
increased to 10 jets in March.
With this came a new focus
of attention, a revised strategic impetus and
increased geopolitical significance.
It is well known that the Russian military
has found its feet — or, rather, wings — over
recent years, and intercepts of Russian
aircraft on probing and intelligence-gathering
missions are frequently on the alert menu.
Regularly we have seen images of Royal Air
Force Typhoons escorting Tu-95MS ‘Bears’
over the North Sea (eight times in 2013), or
jets from Nordic air arms shadowing Tu-22M3
‘Backfires’ off their coastlines. Now, the heat
has turned up more than a little, some would
almost say to Cold War levels.
Ukraine is one matter, Poland another, and
Belarus perhaps a waiting complication. These
players are deeply ensconced in their own
military moves as the world watches their
leaders’ next steps, and factions develop.
But what of those nations in NATO whose
airspace is of strategic importance, or whose
geography puts them directly in the shadow of
Russian military awakenings, and yet have no
means of their own to respond?
The Baltic nations of Latvia, Estonia and
Lithuania, NATO members for 10 years, have
not yet modernized to the extent that they
can carry out fast jet interception, and yet
they nestle on Russia’s borders. What’s more,
their coastlines lie along a corridor of airspace
that serves as a doorway between Russia
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August 2014
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30-41 Eagles on Patrol C.indd 30
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What’s inside
30
A NEW AIR WAR OVER SYRIA
Tom Cooper analyses the widely di ering
reports about the activity of the Syrian
Arab Air Force (SyAAF) in the Syrian civil
war during recent months
Vol 15, No 10 October 2014
72
BEST OF ENEMIES
34
SPECIAL REPORT:
JAPAN’S FUTURE FIGHTER
With news that the US Air Force’s 65th
Aggressor Squadron at Nellis AFB is to
de-activate on September 26, 2014,
Rens van Rijn and Dennis Vink/PHODOCU
make a timely visit to the Nevada base to
take a look at the 57th Adversary Tactics
Group in action
news
HEADLINE NEWS
US NEWS
WORLD NEWS
Mitsubishi’s prototype of the Advanced
Technology Demonstrator-X (ATD-X) was
rolled out on July 12. Andreas Rupprecht
investigates how a maiden ight of the
aircraft can be expected later this year
82
SPECIAL REPORT:
‘AVIADARTS’ GOES
INTERNATIONAL
36
PILOT PROFILE:
THE BLUE ANGELS
As reported in last month’s issue, the latest
phase of the ‘Aviadarts 2014’ joint exercise
involved participants from Russia, Belarus
and China. Anatoliy Shevchenko reports
Ken Neubeck talks to LCDR Nate Barton,
Blue Angel 3, to nd out how the US
Navy Blue Angels are back in action after
sequestration all but wiped out their
attendance at airshows during 2013
86
GLORY DAYS:
FIRST WITH THE FALCON
40
INDUSTRY REPORT:
THE CASE FOR THE GROWLER
With renewed questions about the service-
entry timeline of the F-35C Lightning II
and the future importance of electronic
attack platforms, Brad Elward evaluates
continued e orts to keep the Super
Hornet and Growler production line open
beyond 2016
As the pioneering US Air Force F-16 unit
in Europe, the 50th Tactical Fighter Wing
at Hahn AB, Germany, found itself in the
vanguard of forces ranged against the
Warsaw Pact. Ben Dunnell recalls this
famous wing’s ‘Viper’ era, and recounts
how it was also one of the rst casualties of
post-Cold War cuts
6
8
20
24
The latest news from the Iraqi air
operation
Aggressor F-15 squadron disbands
at Nellis, F-35s set for Eielson and
Apache Guardian goes to sea
Fourth J-20 takes ight, Indonesian
F-16s delivered and Indian upgrades
in trouble
EUROPE NEWS
Russian heavies at ‘Aviadarts’, AWACS
upgrades take shape and Naval
‘Hokums’ ordered
96
GERMAN EUROFIGHTERS
GO MULTI ROLE
PLUS:
Special report on Litening targeting pod
training at Luke AFB, Robert F. Dorr’s Front Line
column and all the latest military Losses
Alexander Golz ies with the German
Luftwa e as its Euro ghters turn multi-role
47
US AIR FORCE 2014
Robert F. Dorr opens
Combat
Aircraft’s
detailed overview
of America’s air force with a
review of the current status
of USAF procurement. In the
following pages Tom Kaminski provides
a detailed look at units, bases and aircraft at
a time when challenges have never been
bigger for the world’s greatest air force
AIRCRAFT
•
UNITS
•
STATUS
102 BRAZIL’S SOCCER WATCHERS
Cees-Jan van der Ende and Tieme Festner
witness preparations by the Brazilian Army
for one of the world’s most high-pro le
sporting events
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108 EXERCISE REPORT:
HAWGSMOKE 2014
18
SPECIAL REPORT:
Luke trains with Litening
CA
details how the 56th Fighter Wing at
Luke AFB has started training new pilots
with the Litening advanced targeting
pod.
Jim Haseltine
Every two years the A-10 community
comes together to do what ‘Hawgs’ do
best — punish targets! Neil Dunridge
heads to Arizona and tastes the cordite at
‘Hawgsmoke’
112 CUTTING EDGE
Combat Aircraft’s
monthly column
reporting from the front line of aerospace
technology, by David Axe
Capt Andrew Glowa of the 74th Fighter
Squadron at Moody AFB punches out ares
from his A-10C Thunderbolt II. In this issue
we comprehensively review the US Air Force
in 2014.
USAF/SSgt Jamal D. Sutter
Combat Edge
CONTRIBUTOR
PROFILE
A
CEES JAN VAN DER ENDE
s a regular contributor
to
CA,
‘CJ’ is currently
working on an
extended feature highlighting
Brazil’s Army Aviation.
During his first visit to Brazil
with colleague Tieme Festner,
he stumbled upon the Army’s
intensive preparation for the
World Cup soccer
tournament. For this
assignment, ‘CJ’ was able to
use Nikon’s brand-new D4s
camera, which enabled him to
push night photography to a
new limit.
THE WAITING GAME
H
earing the news that the
65th Aggressor Squadron
at Nellis AFB is to disband
in September came as little
surprise. The US Air Force
is struggling to fund its ‘big
ticket’ programs, so something has to give.
However, the figure quoted in terms of
savings afforded by culling the 19 aggressor
F-15s is $35 million annually. Compare that
with the reductions we are told will come
in the F-35 Lightning II program. The F-35
Joint Program Office says that an F-35A
currently costs $112 million, but that it will
come down to $80 million by 2019 (others
say the current figure is an awful lot higher).
Ignoring this fact, the JPO figure still suggests
a reduction of $32 million per aircraft by
2019. So, to fund and save the aggressors
would require just one F-35 to be deferred
each year until 2019. Not fewer jets, just
deferring them!
Of course, that doesn’t work. If everyone
just waited for F-35 costs to come down as
promised, the price cut wouldn’t happen.
Production needs to ramp up now in order to
yield the cost reductions. Pile them high, sell
them cheap(er).
So, why can’t customers just sit it out and
play the waiting game — wait for an F-35 that
has come down the cost curve, wait for an
F-35 that doesn’t have all the concurrency
issues; a more mature jet that has completed
testing and doesn’t require modifications?
Some argue that the expensive jets coming
out in the initial LRIP batches will have
little combat capability and will require the
sort of costly mid-life upgrade that the F-16s
needed in the 1990s. With the high cost of
concurrency (bringing these jets up to full
capability standards), will these early F-35s
be rendered obsolete? Are they going to have
any useful combat capability?
In the longer term, they surely will, but
many less complex fighter aircraft programs
have taken a decade to be brought up to a
meaningful standard after entering service.
The question is whether air forces will be
forced to sacrifice useful fighter fleets in
order to pay for a new jet with little real
immediate combat capability.
4
October 2014
www.combataircraft.net
THIS
MONTH
RIP-ROARING
‘BACKFIRE’
This month we are taking another look at the fascinating ‘Aviadarts’ exercise in Russia. The latest phase saw
Tu-22M3 ‘Back res’ ying with live munitions!
Dimitry Pichugin
Someone, however, has to pick up the tab.
If the F-35’s unit cost is going to come
down to levels that make it ‘affordable’
in the long term, Lockheed Martin and
the US government are relying on foreign
governments to remain committed to the
program and keep the orders flowing. With
the US already deferring some orders,
there are fears that stalling by international
partners will disastrously affect the long-
term affordability of the program. Low
production rates mean high cost, but high
cost may force low production rates — that
is the F-35 dichotomy. The quicker air forces
buy them, the faster costs should come down.
But then that just increases the concurrency
problem…
Jamie Hunter,
Editor
E-mail: jamie.hunter@keypublishing.com
www.combataircraft.net
October 2014
5

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