C a M 2013 10 Downmagaz.com-Su-35

OCTOBER 2013 £4.20

USAF STRATEGIC BOMBERS

USAF SPECIAL ISSUE FIGHTER FOCUS: SU-30 ‘SUPER-FLANKER’

IRANIAN TOMCATSOLD BUT BOLD

B-1B • B-2A • B-52H

Vol 14, No 10 | www.combataircraft.netNORTH AMERICA’S BEST-SELLING MILITARY AVIATION MAGAZINE

MARINE CORPS’ BATTLE HERCULES

USUSUSUSAAAAUSAUSUSAUSUSAUS F F BBBBOOOOOOMMMBERSBERSBERSBERSBERSBERSBERSBERSBERSSPECISPECISPECISPECISPECISPECISPECIAAAAL ISSUEL ISSUEL ISSUEL ISSUEL ISSUEL ISSUEL ISSUEL ISSUE

USAF BOMBERSSPECIAL ISSUE

STEALTHY SUPER HORNET FIRST FLIGHT

JOINT RUSSIAN-CHINESE EXERCISE

MARINE MUSCLE: SCARFACE COBRAS MARINE CORPS F-4S PHANTOM II TACTICS

Glory Days

JOINT RUSSIAN-CHINEXCLUSIVE IMAGES

1 Cover c(UK).indd 1 22/08/2013 17:15

72 SAY HELLO TO MY LITTLE FRIEND Dr Séan Wilson, assisted by Paul Mulligan, visits Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 367 (HMLA-367) ‘Scarface’ to sample some Marine Corps ‘Whiskey’, and meets the successor to the Super Cobra, the impressive AH-1Z

78 GLORY DAYS: BLIVET TACTICS Lt Col John Scanlan (ret’d) recounts what happened when two US Marine Corps Phantom crews took on USAF F-16s over South Korea — complete with underwing luggage pods

82 EXERCISE REPORT: PEACE MISSION 2013 Combat Aircraft reports on the joint Sino-Russian exercise held in early August that attracted a small but significant Chinese aviation element, with world exclusive images by Dimitry Pichugin

88 FIGHTER FOCUS: ‘FLANKER’ ASCENDANT In the second of a two-part series, Alexander Mladenov profiles the plethora of Su-30MK sub-versions of the ‘Flanker’ for export, as well as the thoroughly re-designed Su-35S single-seater, already fielded in experimental service with the Russian Air Force

96 CUTTING EDGE Combat Aircraft’s monthly column reporting from the front line of aerospace technology, by David Axe

HEADLINE NEWS

Boeing flies Advanced Super Hornet, South Korea indicates F-15SE has won fighter competition and SABR selected for US F-16 radar upgrade

US NEWS

NASA’s third WB-57F flies, C-17 Globemaster III production extended and latest F-35 test news

UK NEWS

BAE Systems in push to sell Typhoons to Bahrain and Puma HC2 on test

EUROPE NEWS

‘Phinal’ F-4F flight as Manching test aircraft retires, A400M achieves milestones and France revises Rafale production plans

WORLD NEWS

Exercise ‘Talisman Saber’, Egyptian F-16 deliveries are halted and Sudanese ‘Fencer’ breaks cover.

news68

141626

PLUS: Special reports on Trial MACE and Colombia’s F-AIR exhibition, plus Robert F. Dorr’s Front Line column and all the latest military Losses

What’s insideVol 14, No 10 October 2013

In this issue we examine the USAF heavy bomber �eet, spearheaded by the mighty B-1B Lancer. Jim Haseltine

SUBSCRIBE AND SAVESubscribe to Combat Aircraft Monthly and make great savings on cover price. See pages 86 and 87 for details.

34 A HELLUVA HAWK Ted Carlson discovers how the Harvest HAWK adaptation of the C-130 Hercules is providing Marine Corps ‘leathernecks’ on the ground with a powerful counter-insurgency capability

42 MAGIC BUFFS Voted the premier squadron in Global Strike Command, Ted Carlson visits the 69th Bomb Squadron ‘Knighthawks’, part of the 5th Bomb Wing at Minot AFB, South Dakota — one of three wings at two bases that continue to fly the mighty ‘Buff’

52 DYESS ‘BONE’ TEAM Robert F. Dorr enters the world of the B-1B Lancer at the bustling Dyess Air Force Base, home of the 7th Bomb Wing. With exclusive photos by Jim Haseltine

60 FACT FILE: GLOBAL SPIRITS This December the US Air Force will mark 20 years of the B-2 at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri. Jamie Hunter details where this ultimate symbol of US air power is situated two decades on, and how will it fit into a future air force

USAF GLOBAL STRIKE

66 NINE LIVES OF THE PERSIAN CATS The Islamic Republic of Iranian Air Force (IRIAF) continues to operate three squadrons of the Grumman F-14 — Babak Taghvaee describes how the combat-proven Tomcat remains the pride of the Iranian air arm

60Fact File: Global Spirits

p60p60603 Contents C.indd 3 22/08/2013 17:28

Combat Edge

CONTRIBUTOR PROFILE

TED CARLSON

Ted Carlson is a professional aviation photojournalist running California-based

Fotodynamics.com. With over 1,600 hours of flight time performing aerial photography, he specializes in such work. As a writer, Ted has had hundreds of his articles published worldwide. His material can be found in magazines, books, calendars,

Department of Defense publications and posters, and his images have adorned over 400 covers of various titles. He has flown with all branches of the US military in just about every type of aircraft, and has also flown with various agencies and several foreign air forces. Ted has been a leading contributor to Combat Aircraft for many years.

THE NEWS FROM Seoul that South Korea has probably selected the F-15SE in its FX-III fighter contest comes as a big boost for Boeing. Not only would this secure the future of the F-15 production line at St Louis past 2020, but it also casts doubt

over export ambitions for the Lockheed Martin F-35.Boeing executives have subtly pressed customers,

including the US Air Force, to realise that their advanced Eagle and Super Hornet offerings both provide viable alternatives to the F-35. The push to include stealthy weapons pods on both types, new large area display cockpits, AESA radars and embedded forward-looking infra-red sensors all offer JSF-like capabilities, albeit in much older core platforms, which are not inherently stealthy.

US Air Force pilots have long suggested (off the record) that a Block 60 F-16 on steroids, or new Silent Eagles, would provide capabilities approaching those of the F-35, but with far lower program risks — and, as Korea has seemingly illustrated, at a more acceptable and predictable acquisition cost.

In this issue of Combat Aircraft, we are cementing our status as North America’s best-selling military aviation magazine, bringing you all the latest news and features

on the important issues in military aviation. This includes an exclusive report from the incredible ‘Peace Mission’ exercise in Russia, a rare up-close chance to view the Chinese JH-7A in action.

Jamie Hunter, EditorE-mail: [email protected]

A boost for Boeing

4

4-5 Combat Edge C.indd 4 21/08/2013 12:13

THIS MONTHCombat Edge

PEACE MISSION

5

Boeing appears likely to remain in the F-15 production business well into the next decade. Jamie Hunter

In this issue we bring you extraordinary photographs from August’s ‘Peace Mission’ exercise in Russia that featured �ve

PLAAF JH-7As. Dimitry Pichugin

4-5 Combat Edge C.indd 5 21/08/2013 12:14

News

6 October 2013 www.combataircraft.net

Stealthy ‘Super Bug’Boeing test-�ies F/A-18F with new features

BOEING HAS COMMENCED the first test flights of its Advanced Super Hornet. The maiden flight of an F/A-18F fitted with new conformal fuel tanks (CFTs) was made

from the company’s St Louis, Missouri, facility, on August 5; the initial sortie with both the CFTs and the Enclosed Weapons Pod followed two days later. The tests are intended to demonstrate flight characteristics with the new modifications and also to assess radar cross-section (RCS) reductions compared with wind-tunnel data.

The testing is set to be continued from NAS Patuxent River, Maryland, alongside

the US Navy. It will likely comprise up to 20 individual flights.

The new CFTs add 135nm of combat radius, an attribute valuable to the Super Hornet that has been criticized in the past for not being blessed with ‘long legs’. The centerline conformal weapons bay will allow the Super Hornet to operate in a ‘first day of war’ stealthy mode. It will be configured to accommodate six Small Diameter Bombs (SDBs) and two AIM-120 AMRAAMs, or a pair of 500lb laser-guided bombs and two AMRAAMs.

Other enhancements may also be integrated, such as the new large-area display in the cockpit and the chin-mounted infra-red search and track (IRST) sensor.

Korea selects F-15SEBoeing candidate reportedly successful for F-X Phase III

AS THIS MAGAZINE went to press, reports from Seoul indicated that Boeing’s F-15SE had won through in the $7.3-billion F-X Phase III future fighter competition.

Yonhap News Agency announced the Silent Eagle’s success on August 18. The decision was apparently made after the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) found flaws in the bidding documentation provided by EADS, which was promoting its Tranche 3 Eurofighter Typhoon.

A matter of days earlier, the competition had been narrowed down to two candidates

— the F-15SE and Typhoon — after the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II had been removed from the bidding process on cost grounds. Meanwhile, although DAPA requested proposals based on 45 single-seat and 15 two-seat jets, EADS is reported to have quoted prices for just six two-seaters in order to reduce costs and meet the budget requirements.

Some observers had seen the F-35 as the leading contender for F-X Phase III, which was launched in 2011, and which, after some delays, now aims to field 60 new fighters for delivery between 2017 and 2021. The stumbling block for the Lightning II was

concern about the Foreign Military Sales price guaranteed by the US government. With the company submitting a price exceeding the fixed budget, the F-35 was subject to automatic rejection from contract negotiations, although on paper at least it still remains within the assessment phase of the evaluation.

Boeing won the previous two F-X contracts that provided the Republic of Korea Air Force with 60 F-15Ks. A final winner will be formally announced in mid-September, but, with both the EADS and Lockheed Martin bids apparently unsatisfactory, the way seems clear for Boeing to continue its success story in Korea. Thomas Newdick

Boeing has completed deliveries of the �rst two batches of F-15K Slam Eagles for Korea, with a third tranche of the more advanced F-15SE now appearing likely. Boeing

6-7 Headlines C.indd 6 22/08/2013 16:01

Headlines

7www.combataircraft.net October 2013

UK pitches Typhoon to Bahrain Euro�ghter’s Gulf sales push continues. See UK News

NASA’s third WB-57F returns to the skies Refurbished aircraft makes �rst �ight in 41 years. See US News

‘Phinal’ �ight The very last German F-4F �ight was marked at Manching on July 30. See Europe News

ALSO THIS MONTH...

Lockheed Martin chooses SABR USAF F-16s to receive Northrop Grumman AESA upgrade

Boeing’s Advanced Super Hornet above St Louis on August 7, carrying both the

Enclosed Weapons Pod and the conformal fuel tanks. Boeing

LOCKHEED MARTIN HAS selected Northrop Grumman’s Scalable Agile Beam Radar (SABR) for retrofit to US Air Force Block 30/35/40/45 F-16s under the Combat Avionics

Programmed Extension Suite (CAPES) program. The multi-function airborne fire-control radar was selected over Raytheon’s Advanced Combat Radar

(RACR). The USAF plans to install the new radar on as many as 300 F-16C/Ds, under a project that forms an element of the Common Configuration Implementation Program (CCIP), managed by Lockheed Martin. The contractor had previously selected SABR for the Republic of China’s planned F-16 upgrade.

Joseph Ensor, vice president and general manager of Northrop Grumman’s

ISR and Targeting Systems Division, commented:

‘SABR will provide

F-16s with unprecedented operational capability, greater reliability and viability in threat environments beyond 2025.’

‘The conclusion of the AESA radar competition marks the next chapter in the Fighting Falcon’s ongoing evolution — the F-16V’, said Roderick McLean, vice president and general manager of Lockheed Martin’s F-16/F-22 Integrated Fight Group. Other AESA radars developed by the company are currently flying on the Block 60 F-16, F-22 and F-35 Lightning II.

6-7 Headlines C.indd 7 22/08/2013 16:01

NewsWB-57 back in the airNASA’s third high-altitude research aircraft returns to the sky

NASA HAS TAKEN a major step towards increasing its fleet of Martin WB-57 high-altitude research aircraft to three following the return to flight of a recently

refurbished example on August 9. NASA currently operates a pair of

WB-57Fs from Ellington Field, Texas. Its ‘new’ aircraft, serial N927NA, more commonly referred to as NASA 927, started life as a B-57B with the 13th Bomber Squadron and with a serial of 53-3918. In 1964 this airframe was one of 21 that were rebuilt as RB-57Fs by General Dynamics, and was re-serialed as 63-13295. The RB-57F had almost double

the wingspan of the original B-57B at 122ft, and the Wright J65 turbojets were replaced with Pratt & Whitney TF33 turbofans, which provided twice the thrust of the original engines.

63-13295 was retired to the then MASDC (Military Aircraft Storage and Disposal Center) on June 26, 1972. The aircraft was displayed on Celebrity Row at the facility, now called AMARG (Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group), for a number of years, and was pulled from storage and dismantled in May 2011. It was then trucked to the Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) at Centennial Airport, Colorado, in order to be stripped and rebuilt back to flying condition.

Following restoration, the aircraft is now known as a WB-57F, which is simply a re-designation ‘paper exercise’ completed when these aircraft are transferred to NASA.

N927NA came out of major rebuild on July 30, 2013 to perform engine and system runs for the first time. Taxi runs were performed at Centennial on August 8 and were deemed to be a success, with departure slated for the following day. On August 9, NASA 927 took to the runway for its first flight in 41 years.

There will be further test flights from Colorado Springs before the aircraft is handed over to NASA to join the other two WB-57Fs in the fleet at Ellington Field. Paul Filmer

Moody receives Combat King IIsLockheed Martin delivered the �rst HC-130J to the 347th Rescue Group at Moody AFB, Georgia, on July 19. Serial 11-5725 will be operated by the group’s 71st Rescue Squadron. A second delivery took place on August 14 when serial 11-5727

made the short �ight to the Valdosta base. The Combat King IIs are the �rst of nine HC-130Js that will be delivered to Moody AFB. The squadron is due to begin �ying missions with the new aircraft in October.

Air Guard unit certi�ed for nuclear operationsThe Missouri Air National Guard’s 131st Bomb Wing has achieved full operational capability with the B-2A and was certi�ed to conduct nuclear missions after completing a four-day initial nuclear safety inspection. The milestone concludes the unit’s six-year transition from the F-15C to the B-2A. The wing operates the B-2s under a classic association with the active-duty 509th Bomb Wing at Whiteman AFB and is the only Air National Guard unit currently cleared to deliver nuclear weapons.

Block 45 training under wayCrews assigned to the 22nd Air Refueling Wing �ew the �rst training mission with a KC-135R that has been equipped with the Block 45 upgrades

at McConnell AFB, Kansas, on July 22. Two of the wing’s Stratotankers have received the upgrade, which installs a new autopilot, radio altimeter and an electronic engine instrument display that replaces numerous analog gauges, as well as other minor changes. These aircraft are serving as the prototypes for the project. A further batch of 17 KC-135Rs will be upgraded under the initial production e�ort.

Keesler ‘Herc’ move delayedThe USAF has postponed the planned move of 10 C-130Js from Biloxi, Mississippi, to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, until April 2014, at the earliest, and this could be further delayed to October. The transfer of the aircraft from the 403rd Wing at Keesler AFB to the 440th Airlift Wing at Pope Army Air Field had been scheduled to begin in October. The move will result in the inactivation of the 403rd Wing’s 815th Airlift Squadron, which shares the aircraft with the USAF’s 345th Airlift Squadron. Both the 403rd Wing and the 440th Airlift Wing are Air Force Reserve Command units.

USAF UNIT NEWS

WB-57F NASA 927 gets airborne from Centennial Airport, Colorado, on August 9. Paul Filmer

Above: The second HC-130J for the 347th Rescue Group departs Dobbins ARB, Georgia, on August 14. Serial 11-5727 is one of nine HC-130Js that will be delivered to the base. USAF


8-12 US News C.indd 8 23/08/2013 09:01

United States

F-35 latest

The F-35 Integrated Test Force, along with F-35B test aircraft BF-01 and BF-05, embarked in the USS Wasp (LHD 1) for the second phase of sea trials under the Developmental Test 2 (DT-2) effort from August 12. Expected to last 18 days, DT-2 is the second of three planned tests that will define and expand the F-35B’s shipboard operating envelope and is one of several key milestones required in order for the US Marine Corps to achieve initial operating capability (IOC) with the Lightning II in 2015. DT-2 will test refinements to the F-35B’s integrated propulsion and flight control systems.

Tests will expand the F-35B’s allowable wind envelope for launch and recovery and evaluate the dynamic interface between the aircraft and the ship’s moving flight deck. They will include initial mission systems evaluations at sea. Just two days after arriving

on the ship, the F-35B conducted the first of eight night launches and recoveries. Lt Col C. R. ‘Jimi’ Clift conducted the first F-35B night landing aboard the USS Wasp on August 14.

In advance, the Wasp underwent a series of shipyard modifications that improved its ability to accommodate the F-35B. In addition to receiving a new composite deck coating that offers additional heat protection, some lights and sensors were re-located to better support F-35 landings.

Meanwhile, having previously announced its intention to assign the first overseas combat-ready F-35A unit in the Asia-Pacific region, the Air Combat Command and the Pacific Air Forces are now determining the most suitable location for the fighters. Nine facilities are currently being considered but PACAF expects to reduce that number to four by the fall and select its ‘preferred alternative’ location in early 2014. Likely options include Eielson AFB, Alaska; Kadena and Misawa Air Bases in Japan; and Kunsan and Osan in the Republic of Korea.

The first pilots destined to serve as the initial cadre of instructors with the 61st Fighter Squadron were recently transferred from Eglin AFB’s 33rd Fighter Wing to the 56th Fighter Wing at Luke AFB, Arizona. The wing is scheduled to receive the first of a planned fleet of 144 F-35As next spring.

• As part of the plan to re-balance US forces in the Asia-Pacific region, the USAF will likely begin rotating fighter and tanker aircraft through RAAF Base Darwin or RAAF Base Tindal in northern Australia in 2015. The commander of the USAF’s Pacific Air Forces has revealed that Darwin will support the initial rotations, which may eventually also include bomber deployments.

• Marine Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron 2 (VMAQ-2) departed MCAS Cherry Point, North Carolina, at the start of a six-month deployment to MCAS Iwakuni, Japan, on July 14. The departure of the ‘Death Jesters’ allowed VMAQ-4 ‘Seahawks’ to return to Cherry Point from the Japanese base. The latter became the first EA-6B squadron to deploy to Japan in support of the Unit Deployment Program (UDP) since 2006 when it arrived in February 2013. VMAQ-4’s Prowlers remained at Iwakuni and were transferred to VMAQ-2.

• The USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) Carrier Strike Group departed Norfolk, Virginia, on July 22 for a deployment in support of 5th and 6th US Fleet operations that will span eight to nine months.

• Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 122 (VMFA-122) completed a six-month deployment to MCAS Iwakuni, Japan, and returned to MCAS Beaufort, South Carolina, on July 11. While flying in support of the Unit Deployment Program (UDP) the ‘Werewolves’ were attached to Marine Aircraft Group 12 (MAG-12) as part of the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing. The ‘Werewolves’ were replaced by aircraft from the Marine Corps Reserve’s only Hornet squadron. Assigned to the 4th Marine Aircraft Wing’s MAG-41, VMFA-112 ‘Cowboys’ arrived at MCAS Kaneohe Bay on Oahu, from NAS JRB Fort Worth, Texas, on July 9.

DEPLOYMENT NEWS

Exercise ‘Eager Lion’A pair of Royal Jordanian Air Force F-16s leads a 120th Fighter Squadron, Colorado Air National Guard F-16C and two US Marine Corps F/A-18Cs from VMFA-115 during Exercise ‘Eager Lion’ in July. US ANG/Sr MSgt John P. Rohrer

F-35B BF-01 prepares to land aboard the USS Wasp (LHD 1) during the

second at-sea F-35 developmental test event on August 12. US Navy

Rescue helicopter contract delayedThe US Air Force has delayed plans to award a $6.8-billion contract for 112 new Combat Rescue Helicopters (CRH) to Sikorsky Aircraft until the first quarter of Fiscal Year 2014. Sikorsky became the only bidder for the project when EADS North America, Boeing, and Northrop Grumman and its partner AgustaWestland all dropped out of the competition in December 2012. Sikorsky offered an updated variant of the UH-60M Black Hawk with its partner Lockheed Martin.

Inset: The 100th Joint Strike Fighter has entered the �nal assembly phase at Lockheed Martin’s Fort Worth, Texas, facility. Known as AF-41, the F-35A will be the �rst example delivered to the 56th Fighter Wing at Luke AFB, Arizona, in 2014. Lockheed Martin


8-12 US News C.indd 9 23/08/2013 09:01

NewsKC-46 makes progressFirst forward fuselage completed as test unit established

SPIRIT AEROSYSTEMS ROLLED out the first completed Boeing KC-46A fuselage section at its Wichita, Kansas, facility on July 26. Forward fuselage section 41, which forms the cockpit, was

subsequently shipped to Boeing’s assembly facility in Washington, where various fuselage sections will be mated together. In addition to the forward fuselage section, Spirit is

responsible for the construction of the strut and nacelle components, and the fixed leading edge, for the KC-46A tanker.

Meanwhile, Air Force Materiel Command activated Detachment 1, 418th Flight Test Squadron at Boeing’s Seattle facility at King County International Airport/Boeing Field on July 11. The unit will support the developmental testing of the KC-46A tanker and will have around 40 personnel assigned

by next summer when the first aircraft is scheduled to make its maiden flight. The personnel assigned to the detachment will include pilots, refueling boom operators, flight test engineers, logisticians, and engineers. The main body of the 418th FTS is stationed at Edwards AFB, California, and is assigned to the 412th Test Wing. KC-46A development testing is scheduled to run until the end of 2016.

The cabin section for the USAF’s �rst Boeing KC-46A awaits shipment from the Spirit Aerosystems facility in Wichita. Spirit Aerosystems

Combat Air Forces resume flyingFollowing up last month’s news, Combat Air Forces units assigned to Air Combat Command (ACC), Pacific Air Forces (PACAF) and US Air Forces Europe (USAFE) that had been grounded since April 9 as a result of the US budget sequestration returned to the air on July 15. The USAF’s restored flying-hour program was funded with $208 million after lawmakers allowed it to re-program $1.8 billion that had been allocated to other projects in order to pay for near-term shortfalls in war funding. The

authorization allowed the US Air Force to re-instate critical training and test operations for the Combat Air Forces until the end of Fiscal 2013 on September 30.

Within ACC, the flying hours have been allocated to combat aircraft and crews assigned to operational and test units, including the Air Warfare Center’s Weapons School, Aggressors and the Thunderbirds air demonstration squadron, and active-duty pilots assigned to associate Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve Command

units. In April, Air Combat Command announced it would reduce its flying hours by 45,000 and 17 squadrons would be grounded immediately or upon their return from deployments. The influx of funding means that the squadrons that had stood down will begin to return to full combat mission-ready status. According to USAF officials, if the US Congress does not act to avoid a further round of automatic cuts it could be forced to ground more than half of the Combat Air Forces in Fiscal 2014.


8-12 US News C.indd 10 23/08/2013 09:02

United States

The Oklahoma Army National Guard’s Detachment 1, A Company, 641st Aviation held a ceremony to mark the retirement of its last C-23C at its facility at Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City on July 23. While the US Army continues to place all but eight of the National Guard’s remaining C-23s into flyable storage at Fort Sill, the US House of Representatives passed a provision to the Fiscal Year 2014 Defense Appropriations bill that would halt these moves. As many as 26 of the aircraft are currently being put into storage and the remainder have been scheduled to follow by the end of September. The aircraft had previously been scheduled for a phased retirement that stretched out to December 2014, but the Army began placing the aircraft into flyable storage several months ago in an attempt to save much as $34 million. In accordance with the Fiscal 2013 National Defense Authorization Act, the service is not permitted to retire the aircraft. The amendment reportedly provides funding for the Sherpa fleet, which has served in the homeland mission, delivering relief supplies and personnel in the aftermath of recent hurricanes and other weather events, and regularly supports special operations missions and training.

C-23C serial 93-1328 is towed from the hangar at Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, in preparation for its �nal �ight on July 23. Oklahoma National Guard via Tom Kaminski

Mildenhall’s special ops upgradeOn June 24, the 352nd Special Operations Group welcomed the first two of 10 CV-22B Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft (serials 11-0057 and 11-0058) at RAF Mildenhall, UK. The remaining eight Ospreys are scheduled to arrive by the end of 2014, with the next batch of two due in September, followed by another trio in February 2014, and the final three arriving in August 2014. Meanwhile, the MC-130J inventory is scheduled to take up to five years to complete, marking a phase of major expansion at the base.

The 352nd SOG is composed of the 352nd Special Operations Support Squadron, the 352nd Special Operations Maintenance Squadron, the 321st Special Tactics Squadron, the 7th Special Operations Squadron and the 67th SOS, the latter two being the only flying squadrons.

Commander of the 352nd SOG, Col Christopher Ireland, commented: ‘Last summer as we started this growth

transition we had around 780 military personnel; by next summer, two years on, we are looking to almost be around 1,200 total... We are welcoming back vertical airlift to special operations forces in Europe. It’s been almost six years since we’ve had it here in Europe and this modernization of the force improves our efficiency and effectiveness.’

The 7th SOS ‘Aircommandos’ currently operates the MC-130H Combat Talon II and now the CV-22B Osprey. The 67th SOS ‘Night Owls’ flies the MC-130P Combat Shadow and is upgrading to the MC-130J Commando II. The first MC-130J (serial 10-5714) was delivered to the 67th SOS on June 7, with the second (09-6210) being a loan airframe from Lockheed Martin that is used purely as a ground loading and maintenance trainer. Once all training is complete this example will return to Cannon AFB in New Mexico. Ashley Wallace

The US Navy’s sixth carrier-based Electronic Attack Squadron recently began its transition from the EA-6B to the EA-18G electronic attack aircraft. VAQ-133’s conversion to the Growler left just four fleet squadrons flying the Prowler at NAS Whidbey island, Washington. On July 1, VAQ-140 concluded its final Prowler deployment when it returned from a five-month combat cruise aboard the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69). Rather than going back to NAS Whidbey Island, the squadron’s EA-6Bs were turned over to the US Marine Corps in advance of VAQ-140’s switch to the EA-18G. While deployed the ‘Patriots’ flew 90 combat sorties, and logged over 661 flight hours in support of Operation ‘Enduring Freedom’.

VAQ-209 ‘Star Warriors’, the Naval Reserve’s only Prowler squadron, is also preparing to convert to the EA-18G. The squadron flew its last EA-6B sorties at Joint Base Andrews-NAF Washington in May and will re-locate to NAS Whidbey Island. The Navy continues to transition two squadrons to the Growler annually and the final Prowlers will be retired in 2015. In addition to the carrier-based squadrons, three expeditionary VAQ squadrons also operate the EA-18G. The Navy’s 2014 budget request includes funding that will be used to establish two additional expeditionary squadrons, which will replace capacity lost when the Marine Corps phases out its EA-6Bs in 2019.

Ashley Wallace

Growler fleet grows

Sherpas retired


8-12 US News C.indd 11 23/08/2013 09:02

News United States

BOEING HAS ANNOUNCED that it will build as many as 12 more C-17A airlifters using company funds in anticipation of receiving new orders from international customers. It

has already spent $620 million on long-lead parts for those aircraft. The decision could extend production at the Long Beach,

California, facility by more than a year. Boeing already has confirmed orders that will allow it to continue building C-17s into the third quarter of 2014, but, based on current output of 10 aircraft per year and construction of the unsold so-called ‘white tails’, production might continue into the fourth quarter of 2015. The manufacturer is reportedly in discussions with several

new and existing customers that likely include India, Australia, Saudi Arabia and Singapore. It will deliver the last of 223 C-17As to the US Air Force in September. According to Boeing, if additional orders are not received, the contractor will decide later this year whether to continue building aircraft at a reduced production rate or shut the line down.

Contractor support for African operationsBerry Aviation has received a $10.7-million contract to provide Trans-Sahara short take-o� and landing (STOL) services in support of the US Transportation Command, US African Command and a Joint Special Operations Air Detachment based in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. Under this e�ort the contractor, which is based in San Marcos, Texas, will provide casualty evacuation, personnel airlift, cargo airlift and air-drop services. Work will be performed throughout the numerous countries in North Africa and the sub-Saharan African continent.

Bomber enters mod programThe �rst B-52H to receive the Combat Network Communications Technology (CONECT) upgrade was �own from Barksdale AFB, Louisiana, to Tinker AFB, Oklahoma, on July 16. The CONECT updates include software and hardware such as new servers, modems, radios, datalinks, receivers and digital workstations. Installed by the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center, the upgrade will allow B-52 crews to receive and send real-time digital information such as updated intelligence, mapping or

targeting information at a cost of $1.1 billion. Funding has been provided to upgrade 30 aircraft and the service plans to fund 10 additional upgrades annually until the entire �eet is upgraded.

Upgraded Orion deliveredLockheed Martin delivered an upgraded P-3B airborne early warning aircraft to the US Customs and Border Protection’s O�ce of Air and Marine on July 18. The upgrades were completed in just 10 months and the Orion was delivered 78 days earlier than required by the contract. It is the eighth of 14 CBP P-3s that will receive the Mid-Life Upgrade (MLU) modi�cations and undergo phased depot maintenance at the contractor’s facility in Greenville, South Carolina.

Presidential Osprey actionA pair of MV-22Bs operated by Marine Helicopter Squadron 1 (HMX-1) conducted the type’s �rst operational mission in support of the President on August 10 when they transported sta�, Secret Service personnel and the President’s dog from Washington DC to Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts.

IN BRIEF

Boei

ng

Globemaster continuesBoeing extends C-17 production

Spartans retiredThe first C-27J to be retired arrived at Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona, on July 21. Serial 09-27021, which had been operated by the 186th Air Refueling Wing at Key Field Air National Guard Station in Meridian, Mississippi, will be placed in storage with the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (AMARG) at the Tucson base.

Although some of the C-27Js could be made available to the US Forest Service, an analysis commissioned by its Fire and Aviation Management determined that the aircraft’s fire retardant-carrying capacity will likely not meet the 2,000-gallon minimum required for a medium tanker asset. If the USAF does decide to dispose of the Spartans, in accordance with the 2013 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) both the Forest Service and the US Coast Guard have been authorized to obtain the aircraft and the former has first right of refusal over seven examples. US Special Operations Command has also reportedly expressed an interest in obtaining eight.

With budgetary restrictions slowing its recapitalization plans, the Coast Guard is seriously pursuing the purchase of 14 of the Spartans. Obtaining the C-27Js would allow the service to reduce acquisition of its planned fleet of 36 HC-144A Medium-Range Surveillance (MRS) aircraft, saving as much as $500 million.


8-12 US News C.indd 12 23/08/2013 09:02

News United Kingdom

Eurofighter export targets UK in Typhoon push to Bahrain

BAHRAIN HAS EMERGED as the latest target for BAE Systems as it spearheads the Eurofighter sales

effort in the Gulf region. Having secured orders from Saudi Arabia for 72 aircraft and from Oman for 12 jets, additional orders are being sought. Qatar, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain are all thought to be potential customers. Saudi Arabia is also widely expected to place a follow-on order for

Typhoons, with a Bahraini deal possibly being included.

BAE Systems is known to be targeting the six nations of the Co-operation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf, leaving the Typhoon well placed to become the ‘fighter of choice’ in the region.

Officials have been clear to point out that negotiations with Bahrain are at a very early stage, and it is unclear whether Bahrain currently has a formal requirement to replace its F-16C/Ds and/or its F-5E/Fs.

Royal Navy receives Merlin HM2The first AgustaWestland Merlin HM2 helicopters have been handed over to the Royal Navy. The delivery of the initial five helicopters to the Navy’s Fleet Air Arm allows the establishment of the first squadron to use the mark.

Based at RNAS Culdrose in Cornwall, 824 Naval Air Squadron will serve as the training unit, with its Merlins now equipped with a new mission system and avionics suite in an effort led by Lockheed Martin as part of the Merlin Capability Sustainment Programme (MCSP).

The Merlin HM2 features a new ‘glass’ cockpit and improved aircrew console and avionics, with touch-screen displays, and an enhanced ability to detect and track targets and share data with

other aircraft and ships while airborne.

Lockheed Martin is converting 30 Merlin HM1s to HM2 standard, the upgrade being part of a £750-million contract. The helicopters are expected to be ready for operations by summer 2014.

Cdre Andy Lison, responsible for the Merlin, Lynx and Sea King teams for the Ministry of Defence’s Defence, Equipment and Support Organisation, said: ‘I am delighted that we are now firmly in the delivery phase of the project. The Merlin Mk2 is a truly exceptional aircraft and the program to develop and build this aircraft has brought together the very best of the MoD and defense industry to future-proof this vital capability.’

Puma Two on testRoyal Air Force Puma HC2 serial XW232 was noted in July operating from MoD Boscombe Down, Wiltshire, sporting an orange test probe. The helicopter is part of the test program for the HC2 upgrade, which has been under way since January when

XW216 joined the Rotary-Wing Test and Evaluation Squadron at Boscombe. This photo shows XW232 at work on the Salisbury Plain Training Area, carrying out con�ned landing operations. Liam Daniels


13 UK News C.indd 13 22/08/2013 16:01

GLOOM AND UNCERTAINTY were the themes when the Pentagon’s chief spoke about the broken-down budget process in Washington and likely forthcoming cuts in the

US armed forces. In his terse, no-nonsense manner, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel talked about problems without defining a solution and spoke not at all about a US Congress that won’t fix the budget mess but won’t allow Hagel to make key cuts, either.

At a July 31 press conference to discuss the Pentagon’s Strategic Choices and Management Review, or SCMR, Hagel talked bluntly about a bleak future in which the US armed forces may lose $1 trillion in funding over the next 10 years.

Hagel appeared before reporters at a time when automatic budget cuts, known as sequestration or ‘the sequester’, leave US military leaders with no choice but to plan painful cuts in the full knowledge that Congress won’t appropriate the money to prevent them but won’t allow them to take place. Even before the sequester took effect late last year, the Obama administration had already laid plans to cut $487 billion from defense spending by 2023. The sequester, which results from Congress not doing its job, means the total would double.

The SCMR recommended options and spoke in generalities rather than suggesting steps for the Pentagon to take. The review doesn’t have the force of law but it bolsters the credibility of whatever military cuts Hagel ultimately chooses to recommend and makes

it harder for lawmakers to block them on narrow, parochial grounds.

Hagel hinted strongly at coming measures that will be painful for people in uniform — involuntary separations, a freeze on military pay, and limits on access to health care for some.

Hagel didn’t say which of the SCMR options he would choose. The options listed in the review are many and notably vague but they can be summed up as a choice between technology and numbers — or, as Hagel put it, between ‘high-end capability’ and ‘size’. As one senior officer described it to me, ‘We fight smart or we fight big’. This officer repeated the widely-held view that the United States succeeded in World War Two not because of advanced technology but because of sheer numbers.

Without ruling out other options, Hagel pointed to expected reductions in the size of the US Army and Marine Corps, of ‘potentially as many as five’ US Air Force tactical combat squadrons, and of the C-130H Hercules airlifter fleet. He said that, unless the budget environment changes, the US Navy’s aircraft carrier fleet could be reduced (probably from 10 to eight hulls) and many Navy and Air Force squadrons will cease to exist.

The US defense chief acknowledged ‘difficult trade-offs’ and ‘strategic choices’ but didn’t bother to mention that lawmakers on Capitol Hill — once they return from their five-week summer vacation — would be fighting hard to resist any cuts that affect their home districts.

HAGEL DISCUSSES OPTIONS BUT NOT DECISIONS IN A TIME OF TROUBLE

‘Hagel said that unless the budget environment changes, the US Navy’s aircraft carrier fleet could be reduced (probably from 10 to eight hulls) and many Navy and Air Force squadrons will cease to exist’

Left: Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel answers questions during the Pentagon press brie�ng on the recent Strategic Choices Management Review on July 31. Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Sta� ADM James Winnefeld Jr joined Hagel for the brie�ng. DoD/Glenn Fawcett

This photo: A pair of F-35Bs on delivery to MCAS Yuma in August. The Joint Strike Fighter has so far evaded any o�cial talk of order reductions in the US. Lockheed Martin/Liz Kaszynski


Combat Aircraft’s regular column — taking a look behind the headlines

by Robert F. DorrContact the author at [email protected]

FRONT

14-15 Front Line C.indd 14 21/08/2013 12:14

Air Force inventoryThe SCMR speaks of the ‘minimal risk’ of reducing the C-130H inventory, something the Pentagon has long wanted to do anyway but Congress has resisted. Some in the Air Staff would like to quickly transition to a fleet consisting entirely of second-generation C-130J-30s, while relegating first-generation H-models to overseas allies or the boneyard. As Brian Everstine reported in the trade journal Air Force Times, last year Capitol Hill lawmakers directed the Air Force to retain 32 older C-130Hs that had been earmarked for retirement, including 22 scheduled to go before September 30. Congress also blocked a plan last year to retire two A-10 Thunderbolt II squadrons.

‘It’s a time of incredible paradox’, said a Pentagon officer. ‘Hagel is under orders to make cuts because nobody expects Congress to do its job, enact a real budget, and overturn the sequester. But Congress wants it both ways. Congress won’t open the purse strings but it won’t allow bases to be closed or aircraft to be retired, either’. The gloom and uncertainty beneath all this is exacerbated by the simple reality that no-one in the Pentagon can realistically plan anything.

So if the US Air Force can’t retire a small number of C-130Hs, can it take an aircraft type entirely off the boards? Getting rid of at least one fleet of aircraft is what the Air Staff is talking about. Despite its rock-star successes — satellite-guided munitions and advanced targeting pods have transformed it into a precision, close air support asset that can remain tens of thousands of feet above the fight and pick off insurgents ruthlessly — the

B-1B Lancer, alias the ‘Bone’, is at the top of the list of potential retirees because it costs too much to operate.

This isn’t the first time somebody in the Pentagon wanted to give the ‘Bone’ a pink slip. Then-chief of staff Gen T. Michael Moseley wanted to rid himself of all B-1Bs in 2006. Moseley told me the B-1B ‘is a drag on all of us’. But that was before its transformation and before it began to appear that a new bomber is being rendered out-of-reach by the budget mess.

Today, the bomber inventory has been reduced to just 162 airframes: 76 B-52 Stratofortresses, 66 B-1Bs and 20 B-2 Spirits. In that circumstance, retiring the B-1B would have huge implications for overall readiness.

Fighter forceAlso imperiled by the gloom and uncertainty is the US Air Force’s tactical air armada. The inventory currently includes 343 A-10s (down from 502 a couple of years ago); 249 F-15C/D Eagles (down from 500); 229 F-15E Strike Eagles and 1,015 F-16C/D Fighting Falcons (an F-16C of the District of Columbia Air National Guard was lost in a collision over the Chesapeake Bay on August 2; the pilot ejected and was rescued). Hagel said SCMR recommendations include drastically reducing these numbers and/

or slowing down efforts to upgrade some of the types. The updates include installation of AN/APG-63(V)3 active electronically scanned array radar on 150 of the F-15Cs and service-life extension work and avionics improvements for 350 F-16C/Ds.

The elephant in the room that received barely a mention from Hagel was the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter. Air Force chief of staff Gen Mark Welsh has repeatedly said his top priorities are a new bomber, the KC-46 air refueling tanker and the F-35. While neither Hagel nor the SCMR said as much, the F-35 program is increasingly viewed in Washington as a prime target for cancellation. Despite some recent improvements, the JSF continues to experience delays, cost issues and technical glitches. The idea of scrapping the F-35 and equipping, instead, with advanced F-15s and F-16s — once taboo in Washington — was being discussed openly by reporters and staffers when they walked out of the Hagel press conference.

The gloom and uncertainty in the US capital elicited a quip from retired Col Charles Vasiliadis, a Vietnam veteran of combat in the A-1E Skyraider and F-105 Thunderchief. ‘The only answer is to run for Congress’, Vasiliadis told me. ‘That way, you can grab a five-week vacation while everybody else is watching everything fall apart.’

‘Despite its rock-star successes, the B-1B Lancer, alias the ‘Bone’, is at the top of the list of potential retirees because it costs too much to operate’


14-15 Front Line C.indd 15 21/08/2013 12:14

XVXVXVSPECIAL REPORT

FROM JULY 1 to 12, aircraft from the UK, Denmark, Poland, Belgium and Spain participated in Trial MACE XV. Running on an ad-hoc basis since 1978, MACE is a series of NATO

aircraft electronic warfare trials, and the aim of MACE XV was to continue the development of radio frequency countermeasures (RFCM) and tactics to enhance aircraft capability, and survivability, in hostile RF environments against both existing and emerging threats.

Week one saw Royal Air Force Chinook HC2, Royal Navy Sea King HC4 and Lynx HMA8 helicopters, together with an RAF C-130J Hercules, operating against threats on the Electronic Warfare Tactics Range at RAF Spadeadam in Cumbria, and at nearby Brunton Airfield. They were joined by Royal Danish Air Force F-16AM Fighting Falcons flying from their home base of Skrydstrup. The second week saw activity ramping up with an influx of aircraft and 140 personnel to RAF Leeming, 60 miles south-east of Spadeadam. The North Yorkshire station hosted Polish Air Force Block 52+ F-16C/Ds, Belgian F-16A MLUs and Spanish EF2000s, each nation deploying three aircraft. Spain’s C-295M transport aircraft also stayed to participate in the trials and a No 41(R) Squadron Tornado GR4 operated from RAF Coningsby.

Leading the trials was the Air Platform Protection Test and Evaluation Squadron (APP TES), headquartered at the Air Warfare Centre at RAF Waddington, in conjunction with Defence Scientific Technical Laboratories (DSTL), and operating under a NATO banner. ‘Our remit is to conduct mainly trials work

to evaluate aircraft countermeasures and defensive aids systems, whether it is new equipment, improvements to current systems, or new software in response to operational requests’, explained Sqn Ldr Paul Sanders, APP TES’s Trials Management Officer. ‘We continuously develop our programs to stay ahead of what the other side might be doing with their threat systems and we try to ‘de-risk’ the future in terms of allowing our aircraft to operate safely when they’re in theater.’

Each nation was usually allocated two one-hour slots on the range per day, flying set patterns at high and low altitudes into, and away from, the various threat systems to evaluate their defensive aids suites. RAF Spadeadam offers a mix of real surface-to-air missile (SAM) systems including SA-6s and SA-8s, SAM emulators that mimic real threats, and simple simulators. Each nation came to the trials with its own objectives and a total of 35 analysts and scientists from 13 countries were on hand at Spadeadam to help achieve those aims. In addition to representatives from the flying nations, personnel came from the US, Canada, the Netherlands, France, Germany, Norway, Sweden and Australia. ‘There is a lot of knowledge-sharing going on within the group here’, said Sqn Ldr Sanders. ‘Absolutely key is the sharing of best practice. With personnel now flying on other nations’ aircraft in theater it’s vital that we understand each other’s systems. Almost certainly any future operation will involve a coalition and most of those people are here.’

Sqn Ldr Sanders said that they don’t ask the specifics of what the participants are looking to achieve, but, ‘generically it’s all

about improving platform self-protection. So, understanding your defensive aids suite better, knowing how your RWR [radar warning receiver] might work better with new software, evaluating new chaff programs and new countermeasure techniques that have been programmed into aircraft systems.’

Trial MACE XV was a continuation of September 2012’s MACE XIV that also took place at Spadeadam and was the first MACE to be hosted by the UK. The infrastructure at Spadeadam was developed between the two trials to include a semi-permanent analysis network, which has advanced the way data can be shared locally and among the nations. Aircrew could be debriefed almost as soon as they had returned to RAF Leeming. Sqn Ldr Sanders told Combat Aircraft that feedback from the countries involved had been very positive and that they had exceeded their expectations.

Aerospace Capability Group 3 within the NATO Air Force Armaments Group (NAFAG) addresses the survivability of NATO nations’ aircraft and interoperability within the organization, and Sub Group 2 specifically looks at EW self-protection measures. Sqn Ldr Sanders told Combat Aircraft that the board sits every six months to decide on what the nations want to do in a co-operative way and that, while further MACEs are likely to be held, there are no plans for further trials at Spadeadam in the near future.

This Belgian F-16A MLU carries an ALQ-131 jamming pod on the centerline.

Acknowledgments: Thanks to Wg Cdr Matt Lawrence, Sqn Ldr Paul Sanders, Sgt Jamie Johnson and Mrs Heidi Garstang.

TESTING NATO’S ELECTRONIC COUNTERMEASURESTRIAL MACEXVreport and photo: Neil Pearson

SPECIAL REPO

XVXVXVXV


16 Trial MACE XV C.indd 16 22/08/2013 16:02

p17..indd 17 21/08/2013 11:37


News

First Dutch F-35 deliveredOn July 15 the Netherlands took delivery of the first of two F-35A Lightning II test aircraft at Fort Worth, Texas. The aircraft will both be put into storage at Eglin AFB, Florida prior to a final decision on the program by the Dutch government. This is the first F-35A conventional take-off and landing variant to be delivered to an international customer. Ordered in 2009, it was intended for use in the operational test phase of the F-35 program. A second test aircraft ordered in 2011 is now undergoing test and acceptance flights. Meanwhile, Saab has again pitched its Gripen NG to the Netherlands as an alternative F-16 replacement. The latest offer includes compensation for possible late delivery.

Germany bids ‘Pharewell’Final F-4F Phantom II �ight at Manching

ON JULY 30 the last flight by an F-4F Phantom II was conducted at Manching in Bavaria, Germany. The WTD 61 test unit officially marked the final retirement of the type a few days earlier on July 24, when the unit’s two Phantoms were formally decommissioned after 40 years of service within the German military. The F-4F bowed out in style, with a flying demonstration by Lt Col Hierl and Herr Kilian in 37+15, and Lt Col Ritter and Lt Col Geisee in the specially marked 38+13. In keeping with tradition, the air base fire service provided both aircrews with a shower on landing.

Portuguese Persuader flies with SLARThe Portuguese Air Force C-295MPA Persuader has begun flying with the new SSC MSS6000 side-looking airborne radar (SLAR). The new pods are seen here attached to both fuselage sides of C-295MPA serial 16710 (S-063) during a test flight from San Pablo Airport in Seville on July 17. Antonio Muñiz Zaragüeta

Antonio Muñiz Zaragüeta

18-21 Europe News C.indd 18 23/08/2013 09:02


Europe

First NFH for BelgiumBelgium received its first NH90 NATO Frigate Helicopter (NFH) on August 1. The machine is also the initial NH90 to be completed on the German production line at Eurocopter’s Donauwörth facility. Belgium ordered a total of eight NH90s, comprising four NFHs for the Naval Component of the Belgian Armed Forces, and four Tactical Transport Helicopters (TTHs) for the Belgian Land Component. The aircraft was delivered in Full Operational Capability (FOC) and is identical to the NFH for the Netherlands. Training of Belgian flight and maintenance crews on the NFH began in August, and operations with an initial two aircraft are due to begin in 2014.

A dramatic study of F-4F 38+13 over the

Manching facility on July 4. Dietmar Fenners

Belgium has ordered four NH90 NFHs to succeed its Sea Kings. NHIndustries

Italian F-35A progressNorthrop Grumman has delivered the center fuselage for Italy’s first F-35 Lightning II. After arrival on board a US Air Force C-5B, the fuselage barrel was handed over at Italy’s recently completed Final Assembly and Check Out (FACO) facility at Cameri on July 12. The receipt is the first step in the initial assembly of an initial F-35A (AL-1) for Italy. In all, 90 center fuselage sections will be delivered to the Italian FACO facility in order to provide for the full production run of Italian conventional take-off and landing (CTOL) variants of the Lightning II. Work on AL-1’s center fuselage began in September 2012 and it is the 115th to be constructed by the contractor on its Integrated Assembly Line (IAL) at Palmdale, California. In related news, Lockheed Martin has been awarded a $70.4-million contract modification to provide long lead-time parts, material and components required for seven CTOL F-35As and one short take-off and vertical landing F-35B for Italy.

Spanish Mirage F1s continue to fly onThe Spanish Air Force resumed flights with the Mirage F1M on August 8 within the framework of a maintenance program that is intended to keep a number of these aircraft airworthy. The F1M fleet was officially withdrawn from use on June 23, although some aircraft continued to fly additional missions until the last day of June. Since the Spanish government intends to try to sell a number of aircraft to a third country — with Argentina being seen at present as the most likely option — some aircraft were taken out of preservation status in July for immediate flight testing from August onwards. Roberto Yáñez

Landing at Albacete on August 8 is Mirage F1M C14-64/14-37, wearing its old Tiger Meet color scheme and with 142 Escuadrón pilot Cdr Sallés at the controls. Such check �ights last around 40 minutes per aircraft and have been staged regularly following formal retirement of the type in June. Roberto Yáñez



News

A400M latestFrench Air Force receives MSN7 • First Turkish example takes flight

ON AUGUST 2, the French Air Force received the first production Airbus A400M to be formally delivered to a customer.

Arriving from Seville, Spain after a two-hour flight, MSN7 (wearing the French civil registration F-RBAA) landed at Orléans-Bricy at 14.30hrs, flown by a French crew. It had previously been accepted by the DGA (Délégation Générale de l’Armement) armament procurement agency, having already flown French President François Hollande to the Paris Air Show and taken part in the Bastille Day flypast over Paris prior to delivery. Known as the Atlas in French service, two further aircraft are expected to be delivered to France by the end of 2013. The arrival of the A400M comes at a good time for the Armée de l’Air, as its existing C-130 and C-160 transport fleets have become increasingly tired while still being worked hard on overseas operations.

Meanwhile, the German Defense Ministry has countered reports suggesting that delivery of the A400M to the Luftwaffe will be delayed. The news magazine Der Spiegel said that

the existing schedule could be subject to setbacks due to a mistake in the ministry’s certification procedures. An initial delivery is planned for November 2014. Der Spiegel uncovered documents from 2003 showing that errors in the original sales contract mean that the chosen commercial certification procedures fail to comply with German military standards, leading to potential delays and cost over-runs. Germany has allocated €9.5 billion for the purchase of 53 A400Ms. In response to the dilemma, the Defense Ministry has moved to establish a new military aviation authority responsible

for the certification of all service aircraft.

In further news, the first production A400M for the Turkish Air Force made its maiden flight on August 9. MSN9 took off from Seville, Spain, at 13.56hrs and returned after a flight lasting 5 hours and 30 minutes. Turkish Air Force pilots, loadmasters and maintenance technicians have already begun instruction at the Airbus Military International Training Center at Seville. Turkey has ordered 10 A400Ms. MSN9’s maiden flight was preceded by a simultaneous run of its four engines on July 29.

This photo: Pictured arriving at Orléans-Bricy on August 2, MSN7 will initially be used for continued aircrew training before joining the operational transport �eet. Patrick Bigel

Inset: The �rst production A400M for the Turkish Air Force made its maiden �ight on August 9. Airbus Military



Europe

TF-X cost analysisReports in the Turkish media have highlighted the cost of Turkey’s planned �ghter purchases. Hürriyet Daily News puts a price tag of $50 billion on plans to build and acquire 200 locally-built TF-X �ghters and 100 Lockheed Martin F-35s, plus the cost of engines for the TF-X. The cost of building eight TF-X prototypes is put at over $10 billion. Should Turkey eventually order 200 indigenous �ghters, o�cials hope to provide a unit cost of $100 million, representing a total expenditure of at least $31 to $33 billion. Added to this are costs of around $16 billion for the Lightning II acquisition. Turkey is hopeful of �ying a prototype TF-X by 2020, and TAI is currently working on three di�erent design con�gurations. Whether further development is authorized will probably be decided before the end of the year.

Turkish Navy receives �rst ATR-72 TMUAAlenia Aermacchi has delivered the �rst of two ATR-72-600 Turkish Maritime Utility Aircraft (TMUAs) to the Turkish Navy, the company announced on July 24. Under a contract signed with Turkey’s Defense Industries Undersecretariat on May 8, Alenia is supplying a total of eight ATR-72-600s, comprising two in the TMUA con�guration and the remaining six con�gured as Turkish Maritime Patrol Aircraft (TMPAs). The second aircraft was due to follow in the �rst half of August. The �rst TMPA will

arrive with the Turkish Navy in February 2017 and deliveries will be completed by 2018.

An-124 renaissance? Russia and Ukraine have begun talks regarding the possible re-opening of production of the Antonov An-124 heavy airlifter. A memorandum of understanding could be signed as early as September, according to reports in the Russian press. In order to provide the Russian Air Force and commercial operators with additional An-124s, Moscow and Kiev are considering joint production of a modi�ed version, likely to feature a reduced load capacity and advanced D-18T engines.

MiG-35 purchase delayedOn August 17 it was reported that the Russian Defense Ministry had delayed signature of a contract to purchase 37 MiG-35 �ghters for the Russian Air Force. Originally expected in June, the deal will now be postponed until 2016. The move is apparently intended to save the Ministry some $1.1 billion within its current budget. Another reason cited for the move is cited as ‘delays in drawing up the design’. In its place, MiG is hopeful of a possible Russian order for the MiG-29SMT, for delivery by 2016.

‘Blackjack’ upgradeThe Russian Defense Ministry has signed a deal worth $103 million with Tupolev and the Kazan Aircraft Plant to upgrade three Tu-160 strategic

bombers. The updated aircraft are expected to be delivered to the Russian Air Force in December 2015. In 2012 it was announced that at least 10 Tu-160s would be modernized by 2020, in order to remain in service until the �elding of a successor, under development in the PAK-DA program.

Russia buys An-148sRussia’s Defense Ministry has bought 15 An-148 regional airliners. The contract between the Defense Ministry and Voronezh Aircraft Production Association (VASO) was announced on July 31. According to Russian press reports, the �rst An-148 will be delivered to the Russian Air Force in 2013. Four more aircraft will follow in 2014, another quartet in 2015, three in 2016 and the remaining three in 2017.

Polish helo tender progressesOn July 15 the Polish Defense Ministry opened talks with prospective candidates to supply 70 new helicopters to the Polish military. Warsaw hopes to have decided on a bidder in 2014, followed by initial deliveries in 2016. The program is worth an estimated €1.6 to €2.1 billion. Poland favors local production or assembly of the aircraft, with Sikorsky apparently being the front-runner thanks to its manufacturing facility at Mielec. Other candidates are Eurocopter and AgustaWestland, the latter with established interests at Swidnik.

IN BRIEF

Luftwaffe’s latest Tornado ‘special’Luftwaffe Tornado IDS 43+01 from Jadgbombergeschwader 33 has received these special markings in honor of the 55th anniversary of the fighter-bomber wing and the re-naming of JaBoG 33 as Taktisches Luftwaffengeschwader 33 (Tactical Air Force Wing 33) from October 1. The jet was painted at Erding before returning to its home base at Büchel.

Rafale production revisedFrance is likely to halve its purchases of Dassault Rafale fighters in the coming years, it has been revealed. In a bid to reduce defense spending, the government has proposed acquisition of just 26 Rafales over the next six years. In order to keep the Rafale in production after 2016, therefore, Dassault will be reliant upon securing sales in India, as well as winning potential new contracts in Brazil, Malaysia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Previously, Dassault was to supply Rafales to the French military at a rate of 11 per year — already considered the minimum necessary to keep the production line open. The latest plan relies upon at least one country placing an order for the Rafale before 2019. Overall, France still plans to acquire 180 Rafales, of which around 120 have been delivered.

Dr Andreas Zeitler


In a world in which the focus of the aviation industry is shifting to new regions, the latest edition of the F-AIR exhibition in Colombia showed that the local market is fast becoming a key concern.

report and photos: Santiago Rivas

BETWEEN JULY 11 and 14, the fifth edition of the Feria Aeronáutica Internacional (F-AIR) airshow and exhibition took place at José María Córdova airport in Río Negro,

near the Colombian city of Medellín. Perhaps the most significant feature of this latest show was the increased presence of European companies, as in previous editions the event had been dominated by US and Israeli firms. Eurocopter, Thales, MBDA, EADS, Sener and Let were among the European concerns present at Río Negro. All were trying to break into a difficult market, in which Colombia has traditionally bought US, Israeli or Russian equipment.

On the military side, Canada attracted much attention with its CF-188 demonstration. Two Hornets were taken to

Colombia, escorted by an Airbus CC-150 Polaris tanker.

Another interesting presence was that of the Beechcraft AT-6 Texan II, part of the Raytheon delegation. The model is being offered to the region, despite the Super Tucano dominating the local market. It is difficult to imagine the US model gaining a foothold in Latin America, as all potential operators have so far ordered the Super Tucano or, in the case of Peru, the Korean KT-1. The company also showed for the second time the Beechcraft 350 Special Missions, which is being offered for a variety of duties including intelligence and maritime reconnaissance. The Colombian Air Force and Police already use different versions of the Super King Air for special operations.

As always, the Colombian Air Force was the main exhibitor, with most types in use being shown. As usual, especially interesting

were the relative rarities: the Rockwell OV-10 Bronco, the Basler AC-47T Fantasma, the Cessna T-37C and the IAI Kfir C10 and C12 — this time including an example that took part in the recent ‘Red Flag’ exercise. The latest version of the Calima trainer, the T-90C, was also on view, with changes that include a new instrument panel, landing lights, new wing with different leading edge, and other modifications. The Corporación de la Industria Aeronáutica Colombiana (CIAC) has delivered 11 Calimas from a total of 24 ordered.

Also on display were the two newly-received Boeing 737-400Fs and the last Airbus Military C-295 received by the Colombian Air Force.

The force’s interest in the F-16 as a replacement for the Kfir fleet is growing. Lockheed Martin sent two US Air Force two-seaters to be exhibited, and in particular

2013


22-23 F-AIR Special Report C.indd 22 14/08/2013 10:29

SPECIAL REPORT

to carry high-ranking Colombian officers on familiarization flights. The company also brought an F-16 simulator and showed a model of the jet in Colombian colors. Colombian Air Force officers announced that a contract could be signed very soon and that the aircraft might arrive in two to three years. Most probably, a deal will involve modernized second-hand jets.

The flying display was less spectacular than at the previous F-AIR, but the presence of four Broncos flying together was perhaps the most interesting item. Currently, the air force has just six OV-10s operational and a seventh is being returned to service. As well as the four specimens flying, a fifth was shown in the static display.

The Sikorsky AH-60L Arpía was arguably the star of the programme, this time with two examples performing an impressive aerobatic

display. Another was present on the ground, together with a UH-60 Angel, used for combat search and rescue operations. During the demonstration, another UH-60, not modified to Angel standard, performed a CSAR demonstration escorted by an Arpía. In total, the air force has three Angels, which are Black Hawks modified with a FLIR turret and cameras and equipped with extra fuel tanks, a hoist and self-protection equipment.

A new version of the Arpía was also announced, which could include anti-tank missiles, improved avionics and multi-function displays among other changes. The plan is to modernize all examples to bring them up to this definitive standard.

The Colombian Air Force also exhibited its Boeing Scan/Night Eagle tactical UAVs, used by the Grupo de Protección de Infraestructura Vital to search for guerrilla forces around major

military and strategic civil facilities. Another innovation was the XMT-14 door gunner simulator, developed by the Comando Aéreo de Combate 14, which includes a simulated

This photo: Four of Colombia’s seven remaining OV-10 Broncos perform a �ypast at F-AIR.

Right top to bottom: A Colombian Air Force Boeing 737-400F transport.

A Basler AC-47T Fantasma gunship.

Inset right: This model of an F-16 in Colombian markings re�ected growing interest in the type locally. Many expect a deal to be forthcoming soon.



‘Huey’ or Bell 212 helicopter cabin and which can be equipped with weapons including GAU-17 and GAU-19 Miniguns.

Other forcesColombian Army Aviation put on show its first recently-delivered Sikorsky S-70i, a major advance over the earlier models in use with the force. In total, there are now more than 50 Black Hawks of different versions in Army service. The service also participated with the Mi-17 veteran of the famous Operación ‘Jaque’ rescue mission, which has been present at every F-AIR since 2008.

Naval Aviation brought its third and final CN235MP Persuader, another recent newcomer in service. Plans were announced to buy three more, for a total of six: two based in the Caribbean, two on the Pacific coast and a final pair in maintenance and reserve. Furthermore, the Navy is ordering four Bell 412 helicopters for interdiction operations, to operate on the Almirante Padilla-class frigates. It intends to buy a bigger and more capable helicopter, preferably the H-60 Seahawk, to fly from the future frigates, and to offer more capacity and range. For the show, the Navy sent a Bell 212, equipped with a GAU-17 Minigun, an M240 machine gun and a Barrett .50 sniper rifle, the latter being used to destroy the engines of the ‘go-fast’ vessels used by drug traffickers in the Caribbean Sea.

From its impressive inventory, the National Police provided one of its medevac Fairchild Metros, an Air Tractor used in the past for the eradication of illegal plantations (now employed for ground training after being replaced by the Turbo Thrush) and a Huey II armed with a GAU-17. The Police Basler BT-67 was missing from the exhibition.

The challenge for the next F-AIR, in July 2015, is to keep showing new products and to develop a more interesting aerial demonstration. On the military side, an increased Navy, Army and Police presence would be welcome. The Colombian market, together with the entire region, is growing fast and becoming a very attractive area for companies from around the world.

Above: The Sikorsky AH-60L Arpías are already in line for a further upgrade to bring them up to a de�nitive standard.

One of �ve new Colombian Army Sikorsky S-70i Black Hawks was on show. Delivered in March, the �ve aircraft were built in Mielec, Poland, and were then custom-equipped in the USA to meet Colombian requirements.

Below: A pair of upgraded K�r C10s in the static display at F-AIR.



NEW FREE Aviation Specials App NEW

Simply download to purchase digital versions of your favourite aviation specials in one handy place! Once you have the app, you will be able to download new, out of print or archive specials for less than the cover price!

NOW AVAILABLE

ON KINDLE FIRE &

WINDOWS 8

How it Works.Simply download the Combat Aircraft

Monthly app and receive your sample issue completely free. Once you have the app, you

will be able to download new or back issues (from January 2011 onwards) for less than newsstand price or,

alternatively, subscribe to save even more!

Don’t forget to register for your Pocketmags account. This will protect your purchase in the event of a damaged or lost device.

It will also allow you to view your purchases on multiple platforms.

Requirements for app: registered iTunes account on Apple iPhone 3G, 3GS, 4, 4S, 5, iPod Touch or iPad 1, 2, 3 or 4. Internet connection required for initial download. Published by Key Publishing Ltd. The entire contents of these titles are © copyright 2013. All rights reserved. App prices subject to change. 593/13

FREE APP with sample issue

IN APP ISSUES $5.99/£3.99

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Monthly $4.99/£2.996 issues $28.99/£19.99

12 issues $49.99/£34.99

SEARCH: Combat Aircraft


640/12

ALSO AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD

S E A R C HAviation Specials

SEARCH: Britain at War

FREE APPwith sample issue


FREE APPwith sample issue


SEARCHAIRFORCES MONTHLY

SEARCHAIR INTERNATIONAL

Your favourite magazine is now available digitally. DOWNLOAD THE APP NOW FOR FREE.

Read on your iPhone & iPad Android PC & Mac Blackberry Windows 8kindle fi re

AVAILABLE FOR

iTunes PC, Mac & Windows 8

593 CAM Digi Iss.indd 25 21/08/2013 10:48

News

EXERCISE ‘TALISMAN SABER’ is a large-scale exercise held every two years involving Australia and the US, with the objective of improving interoperability

between the armed services of both nations. This year’s exercise, the fifth and largest in the series, was held between July 15 and August 5, and was conducted mainly on land, water and airspace around Queensland. The US committed almost 20,000 personnel, along with 15 ships and significant aviation elements drawn from the US Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps, which trained alongside their counterparts from the Australian Army, Royal Australian Air Force and Royal Australian Navy.

TS13 marked the debut of a number of aircraft types, notably the MV-22 Osprey from the ‘Dragons’ of VMM-265

(Reinforced), as part of the USS Bonhomme Richard’s Expeditionary Strike Group. Other than the Ospreys, VMM-265 (Reinforced) comprised CH-53Es, UH-1Ys and AH-1Zs detached from other USMC squadrons and deployed to Futenma, Okinawa under the Unit Deployment Program (UDP). The helicopters were augmented by another UDP detachment of AV-8B+ Harrier IIs from VMA-214 ‘Blacksheep’. However, if one combat aircraft type dominated the skies at TS13, it was the Super Hornet. RAAF F/A-18Fs were heavily committed during TS13, with flights of four to eight aircraft completing up to two sorties a day between RAAF Base Amberley and Shoalwater Bay. They were joined by their US Navy counterparts from Carrier Air Wing Five (CVW-5) on board the carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73), contributing four

more squadrons of Super Hornets. CVW-5 also included the EA-18G Growlers of VAQ-141 ‘Shadowhawks’, which joined Japan-based CVW-5 in early 2012. The Super Hornets mostly flew offensive and defensive counter-air (OCA/DCA) missions, and also supported ground forces working with Joint Terminal Air Controllers (JTACs).

Meanwhile, in the first operation of its kind, USAF C-17s conducted tactical supply air-drops alongside RAAF C-17s of No 36 Squadron. For the supply drops, all the C-17s operated from Amberley. Special operations-related aircraft that were sighted operating out of Australian airfields during the exercise included HH-60H Seahawks of HSC-85 ‘Firehawks’, S-70A-2s of the Australian Army, and USAF Special Operations Command MC-130H/Ps and Dornier C-146As. Mike Yeo

‘Talisman Saber 2013’Australian-American combined arms exercise

A trio of RAAF F/A-18F Super Hornets formates on a RAAF KC-30A Multi-Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) o� the coast of the Australian state of Queensland prior to refueling. Mike Yeo


26-31 World News C.indd 26 23/08/2013 10:14

World

Rapid progress for ‘Romeo’On July 24 the �rst Royal Australian Navy MH-60R arrived at the Lockheed Martin Mission Systems and Training facility in Owego, New York. Here, the Seahawk will receive its digital cockpit and integrated mission systems and sensors.

The �rst �ight of an Australian MH-60R on June 26, followed by its acceptance on June 29, occurred only two years after contract signature and six months ahead of the original schedule as approved by the Australian government in 2011. An initial mission-ready aircraft is to be delivered to the Australian Defence Force in December. Sikorsky has three additional aircraft for the RAN in various stages of assembly at its Seahawk completion line in Stratford. Those will be handed over to the US Navy in August and September for completion by Lockheed Martin in early 2014. Australia is expected to take delivery of all 24 MH-60Rs by late 2016 via the US government’s Foreign Military Sales program.

RNZAF NH90s on exerciseThree Royal New Zealand Air Force NH90s undertook an intensive �ying training program around Waiouru in July. The exercise was designed to evaluate the helicopter’s ability to deploy in a more austere environment, and involved around 90 Air Force personnel and 30 Army personnel. It was the �rst time that the NH90 had carried fully equipped NZ Army troops, as well as the �rst occasion that low-level formation �ying had been undertaken away from the NH90’s home base at Ohakea. Two A109s were also deployed to Waiouru and trained alongside the NH90s as part of this type’s operational test and evaluation.

Australasia

Egyptian F-16 deliveries haltedAs civil unrest continues in Egypt, Washington has put a stop to arms transfers to the country. US officials announced that delivery of the latest batch of four Block 52 F-16s, due to arrive with the Egyptian Air Force on July 23, has been halted. US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel informed Egypt’s military chief, Gen Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, of President Barack Obama’s decision to stop the delivery. According to available information, the first batch of EAF F-16s from the latest order was delivered in January 2013 and consisted of four aircraft. The next quartet was noted passing through Lajes in April. The third group of aircraft comprised those that were due to be delivered on July 23. An additional batch of eight F-16s was set to follow in December, competing the 20-aircraft Peace Vector VII contract.

Sudanese ‘Fencer’ breaks coverThe Sudanese Air Force has been confirmed as the latest operator of the Su-24M fighter-bomber. Delivery of four former Belarusian Air Force aircraft occurred in April 2013. It was initially rumored that the ‘Fencers’ had been transferred to Yemen, until photographs emerged of the Su-24s at Wadi Sayyidna air base near Um Dorman in Sudan, together with Belarusian personnel and crews.


26-31 World News C.indd 27 23/08/2013 10:14

News

Brazilian �ghter developmentsThe Brazilian Air Force commander, Lt Brig Juniti Saito, recently attended an open meeting with the Congressional commission responsible for defense and foreign a�airs. The talks concerned the current status of the Brazilian �ghter �eet and the retirement of the Mirage 2000s, now planned for before the end of the year. Saito announced that the Mirages will be replaced by upgraded F-5EMs currently deployed in four Brazilian Air Force squadrons. They will be augmented by former Jordanian Tiger IIs as soon as a modernization program for these aircraft is completed.

September is the deadline for the current proposals presented by the F-X2 contenders. If any one of these is selected, the �rst �ghters should arrive within a timeframe of four to six years. Saito declared a preference for the Super Hornet, although the recent revelations by Edward Snowden concerning US espionage in Brazil may make the acquisition of F/A-18E/Fs problematic. During the meeting Saito stated that ‘the best �ghter is the one which can made by ourselves’, words that were interpreted by some as a reference to the Gripen NG, since the Brazilian

manufacturer AKAER is involved in the design and production of certain parts of the aircraft, including the wings. Sérgio Ricardo

Modernized Skyhawk �iesThe �rst prototype of the modernized A-4KU Skyhawk (locally named AF-1) �ew for the �rst time at Embraer’s Gavião Peixoto facilities in São Paulo state on July 17. The new model, designated AF-1B and C (for the single- and two-seat versions, respectively) is now beginning its �ight tests after development of the new version started in 2009. It is planned to deliver the �rst of 12 modernized jets in March 2014, while the remaining 11 aircraft will be used for spares.

The Skyhawks will receive new radar and avionics, including MFDs and a new HUD for the cockpit, using most of the systems already installed on the Brazilian Air Force’s upgraded F-5EMs. Santiago Rivas

Brazilian police to receive Air Force helosThe Brazilian Air Force is to deliver two UH-1H and four Esquilo helicopters to the Rio de Janeiro Civil Police. The aircraft are currently stored at the Parque de Material Aeronáutico

dos Afonsos (PAMA-AF), in Rio. They will reinforce the force, which lost an Esquilo last May, and will be used to provide security in the city during the 2014 World Cup and the Olympic Games in 2016. The helicopters to be transferred are UH-1Hs FAB 8695 and 8688, and Esquilos FAB 8811, 8816, 8818 and 8819. The Brazilian Air Force UH-1Hs are being supplanted by Black Hawks and Super Cougars, while the Esquilos of the ‘Poti’ Squadron were succeeded by the Mi-35. Santiago Rivas

Chile interested in Indra P2006TWith the intention of replacing its Cessna O-2As, which are being withdrawn from use, the Chilean Navy is studying the purchase of a batch of up to eight Indra P2006T MRI small maritime patrol aircraft for coastal patrol and search and rescue duties. The Cessnas were used extensively to patrol Chile’s coasts for the past 20 years but are still considered to not be well-suited to the mission. The intention is to �eld a new aircraft that can also supplement the force of P-3 Orions and P-295 Persuaders that are already in service, and which could also be used to replace the EMB-111 Bandeirulhas.

Latin America

First Omani C-295M appears in full markingsThe first Airbus Military C-295M for the Royal Air Force of Oman, serial 901 (c/n S-100) is seen with full markings during a test flight from San Pablo Airport, Seville on July 29. This aircraft is the 100th C-295 built, and although it was displayed at the Paris Air Show earlier in the year it was exhibited there without full markings, with the tail markings covered up. Antonio Muñiz Zaragüeta

Indonesian Hercules rolled outFormer RAAF aircraft provided as gift

Antonio Muñiz Zaragüeta


26-31 World News C.indd 28 23/08/2013 10:14

World

The P2006T MRI uses the Selex Galileo Seaspray 5000E scanned array radar and other systems in order to operate at night and in adverse weather. The aircraft sends the information obtained by its sensors to a ground station in real time, making it possible to �y with only a pilot and a co-pilot. Santiago Rivas

Chilean Navy to modernize OrionsInstead of buying more P-295 Persuaders, the Chilean Navy has decided to extend the service life of its three remaining Lockheed P-3A Orions to retain them in service until 2030. They are the last from a total of eight received 20 years ago from the US Navy, while a fourth is used for transport. The aircraft will receive new wings, and new avionics, making them capable of deploying AGM-84 Harpoon missiles, while the engines and airframes will be overhauled. Two of the P-3As recently received new equipment in New Zealand, including Elta EL/M 2022A scanned array radars. Santiago Rivas

Colombia moves closer to F-16The Colombian Air Force is negotiating with Lockheed Martin for the provision of a batch

of F-16 Fighting Falcons in order to replace the K�r C10 and C12s currently in service. Air Force o�cials expect to receive the �rst �ghters in two or three years. Although not o�cially announced, the negotiations concern a batch of second-hand jets, most likely Block 30 or 40 examples, which will receive some degree of modernization. The quantity under discussion is 12 to 24 aircraft, perhaps in two separate batches. Santiago Rivas

Additional Bell 412s for Colombian Navy The Colombian Navy will receive four new Bell 412s before the end of the year, to increase its �eet of helicopters used on interdiction, assault and transport missions. The Bells will mainly serve on board the Almirante Padilla-class frigates against the ‘go-fast’ vessels used by drug tra�ckers. They will be equipped with GAU-17 Miniguns and Barrett sniper ri�es.

The force is also interested in buying a larger helicopter to be used on a future class of frigates, which will have a larger �ight deck. The Navy is especially interested in the H-60 Seahawk. Santiago Rivas

THE FIRST OF four C-130H Hercules that will be transferred from Australia to the Indonesian Air Force was recently rolled out of the maintenance hangar at RAAF Base Richmond, New South Wales, where Qantas Defence Services conducts heavy maintenance on the RAAF Hercules fleet. The aircraft, which formerly wore the RAAF serial A97-006, will be delivered to Indonesia in October wearing serial

A-1330. Australia retired its C-130H fleet in November 2012 and subsequently announced that it would provide four of the aircraft to Indonesia as a gift. Qantas will upgrade the three remaining C-130Hs under a $58-million contract signed in July 2013 and the aircraft will be delivered in April, August and October 2014. Indonesia subsequently agreed to purchase five additional C-130Hs, a simulator and associated equipment from Australia at a cost of $13.9 million. Tom Kaminski

Second C-17 for IndiaBoeing has delivered the second C-17A Globemaster III to the Indian Air Force. The airlifter was handed over at the company’s Long Beach, California facility on July 22, a month after the IAF’s �rst C-17 arrived in India. Boeing will deliver three more C-17s to India this year and �ve in 2014, thus providing the full complement of 10 aircraft.

India launches carrierIndia’s �rst Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC), the Vikrant (P 71), was launched at the port of Kochi on August 12. The 37,500-tonne vessel is due to enter service in 2017. The previous Vikrant, India’s �rst carrier, was decommissioned in January 1997. The new carrier is equipped for short-take o� but assisted recovery (STOBAR) operations, with a ‘ski jump’ ramp. Design and construction of the IAC was approved by the government in January 2003 and the keel was laid in February 2009. In addition to MiG-29K and Tejas �ghters, the Vikrant is intended to operate Ka-31 and Dhruv helicopters. The next phase of construction will see the out�tting of the ship, �tment of various weapons and sensors, and integration of the propulsion system and the aircraft complex. The carrier is due to be handed over to the Indian Navy in around 2016-17.

In related news, the Indian Navy aircraft carrier Vikramaditya began a series of �ight tests recently. It departed the Russian port of Severodvinsk on July 3 for sea trials in the White Sea. In early August the Vikramaditya proceeded to the Barents Sea to begin trials of the MiG-29K carrier-borne �ghters and related maintenance equipment.

Kaveri dropped for TejasAfter numerous setbacks, India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has �nally abandoned plans to use the indigenous Kaveri engine to power the HAL Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA). Design and development work on the Kaveri began in 1989, but the engine has consistently failed to generate the required thrust for combat aircraft applications. While the Tejas will rely on the General Electric F404 and F414 engines, a non-afterburning version of the Kaveri is intended for use in the Indian Unmanned Strike Air Vehicle (IUSAV).

IndiaThe second C-17A for the Indian Air Force departs Boeing’s Long Beach facility during its delivery �ight on July 22. Boeing

ADF


26-31 World News C.indd 29 23/08/2013 10:14

News

First flight for RoKAF C-130J Lockheed Martin receives boost in Korea

THE FIRST C-130J-30 Hercules for the Republic of Korea Air Force completed its maiden flight at the Lockheed Martin production facility adjacent to Dobbins Air Reserve Base in Marietta, Georgia, on August 14. C-130J serial 5730 is scheduled for delivery to the RoKAF in 2014.

Meanwhile, ockheed Martin has received a $223-million contract to supply South Korea with Modernized Target Acquisition Designation Sight/Pilot Night Vision Sensor (M-TADS/PNVS) systems for the nation’s AH-64E Apache helicopters. The contract includes 36 M-TADS/PNVS systems and spares, with production being due to continue into 2018.

North Korean ‘Candid’ camou�age Spotted recently in North Korea is this Il-76TD wearing an unusual camou�age scheme. The airlifter is probably one of those previously operated by the state-owned Air Koryo carrier and received in the early 1990s. It seems that three examples were ordered, which so far have operated only in a civilian livery.

In related North Korean news, Panamanian authorities uncovered two MiG-21 �ghters on board a North Korea-�agged ship that was seized on July 21 as it tried to pass through the Panama Canal after departing from Cuba. The �ghters were part of a consignment that also included radar, missile and other weapons components apparently concealed in a shipment of sugar. Cuba announced that the shipment consisted of obsolete weapons that were being sent to North Korea to be refurbished and returned, and therefore did not constitute a breach of UN sanctions.

Z-9 for Bangladesh NavyThe Bangladesh Navy is to acquire two Harbin Z-9C naval helicopters for shipborne anti-submarine warfare and search and rescue missions. The Z-9C is based upon the Z-9B airframe, a copy of the Eurocopter AS365N Dauphin 2. The Bangladesh Army already operates two Eurocopter AS365N3+ utility helicopters. Under the Vision 2030 plan, the Bangladesh Navy is gaining new naval aviation capabilities including helicopters and maritime patrol aircraft.

New Chinese carrier developmentsPhotographs that emerged recently from the Jiangnan Shipyard led some observers to suggest that construction of the �rst indigenous carrier for the People’s Liberation Army Navy — dubbed CV-001A — was under way at the facility. The module, apparently a pre-fabricated section of a new aircraft-carrying vessel under construction, was seen at the Changxingdao-Jiangnan Shipyard (JNCX), also known as the Changxing Dao-Jiangnan Shipyard (INC). The latest information available to Combat Aircraft suggests that the module is in fact a mock-up or a construction model built by JNCX to test and demonstrate to the PLAN the building capabilities of the shipyard, and not to test various functions of the module itself. According to reports, the module was completed last fall, so it is clear that activities relating to the construction of the true CV-001A are not only still ongoing but have also progressed in the meantime.

Meanwhile, on August 15 the PLAN carrier Liaoning left port in Qingdao for its latest training cruise, the third this year. In February the carrier tested its weaponry and equipment. Between early June and early July, the carrier-borne J-15 �ghters completed their initial training on the vessel. The latest cruise is planned to include further test �ights as well as related systems tests.

Japan launches new helicopter carrierThe Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) launched its largest-ever vessel on August 6 at the Japan Marine United shipyard in Isogo, Yokohama. The 24,000-tonne helicopter carrier Izumo (DDH 183) is scheduled to enter service in March 2015. The Izumo can carry up to 14 rotorcraft, including MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotors. The take-o� or landing of �ve helicopters can be conducted simultaneously. Classed as a helicopter destroyer, the Izumo will join the two Hyuga-class helicopter destroyers already in service. Observers have pointed out that the new class of vessel is potentially capable of deploying F-35B Lightning IIs, although Japan has to date only ordered the conventional take-o� and landing F-35A, and the Izumo was not speci�cally designed for the use of �xed-wing aircraft.

Asiavia Chinese internet


26-31 World News C.indd 30 23/08/2013 10:14

World

Cameroon joins CN235 communityThe Cameroon Air Force became the latest operator of the CN235 when, on July 16, Airbus Military announced the hand-over of the first and only CN235-300M for the air arm. This machine is seen here during a training flight from San Pablo Airport in Seville on July 22. The CN235-300M carries the Cameroonian registration TJ-XDG and the military serial C208. Antonio Muñiz Zaragüeta

Iraq requests helicoptersOn July 25 the US Defense Security Co-operation Agency (DSCA) announced that Iraq has requested the purchase of 12 Bell 412EP helicopters to be used for search and rescue missions. The proposed sale, which is valued at $300 million, includes associated equipment, parts, training and logistical support. Among the equipment requested are Star SAFIRE III electro-optic infra-red systems, Pratt & Whitney PT6T-3DF engines for improved ‘hot and high’ performance, Night Vision Imaging System-compatible cockpit lighting and searchlights, as well as communications and navigation items.

Fourth C-130J for IsraelThe US Department of Defense announced on July 25 that Lockheed Martin has been awarded a $13-million Foreign Military Sales contract for the advanced procurement of an additional C-130J-30 for Israel. Work on the airlifter, the fourth Super Hercules to be purchased by Israel, is expected to be completed by the end of 2015.

Lebanon to get HOT missiles The French government has announced plans to provide the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) with HOT anti-tank missiles. The precision air-to-ground weapons will arm the LAF’s �eet of SA342L Gazelle helicopters.

Colombian wants more PersuadersColombian Naval Aviation, which recently received its third and last CN235MP Persuader, is now negotiating the purchase of an additional batch of three aircraft. The plan is to have two aircraft deployed in the Caribbean Sea area, two in the Paci�c Ocean area and two under maintenance or in reserve. Santiago Rivas

Venezuela negotiating more CougarsThe Venezuelan government is negotiating with Eurocopter for the purchase of a new batch of 12 Cougar helicopters to equip the country’s Military Aviation arm. They will join the �eet of 11 AS332B1 Super Pumas and AS532AC/UL Cougars purchased in 1989 and 1999 respectively, and which are now being overhauled by Eurocopter in France. Santiago Rivas

Venezuela receives more Y-8sThe Venezuelan Air Force received the second batch of two Y-8F-200W transport aircraft from China in early July. They are part of a contract for eight aircraft ordered at the end of 2011 to reinforce the tactical transport �eet, and will serve with the Grupo Aéreo de Transporte No 6 at El Libertador Air Base, in Palo Negro. The �rst two were received by the end of 2012 and the others are expected to arrive during 2013. Santiago Rivas

IN BRIEFLockheed Martin

Final UAE A330 MRTT deliveredAirbus Military has delivered the third and final A330 MRTT to the United Arab Emirates, the company announced on August 5. The A330 will serve with the United Arab Emirates Air Force and Air Defense at Al-Ain air base. The MRTT was converted from an Airbus A330 airliner by Airbus Military at Getafe near Madrid. Following an extensive series of flight tests in Abu Dhabi, the aircraft has successfully completed receiver qualification for the Block 60 F-16E/F and Mirage 2000. The first five UAE A330 MRTT crews finished their training in August and the final five will begin the process in September for completion in early 2014.

Ant

onio

Muñ

iz Z

arag

üeta


26-31 World News C.indd 31 23/08/2013 10:14

• Statements from the Free Syrian Army claimed three or four Syrian Arab Air Force aircraft downed by rebel ground forces between August 17 and 18. At least one of these — probably a MiG-21bis — was clearly videoed being shot down by a Chinese-made FN-6 man-portable surface-to-air missile somewhere near Salma. The pilot ejected.• An A-29B (EMB-314B) operated by the Brazilian Air Force crashed during a training flight in São Paulo on August 12, killing both pilots. The Super Tucano, assigned to the Air Force Academy’s Esquadrilha da Fumaça (Smoke Squadron) team, came down near the runway at Pirassununga air base.• An Ethiopian Air Force An-24 crashed and burned at Aden Adde International Airport in Mogadishu, Somalia, on August 9, killing four crew and injuring two. The transport was reportedly carrying weapons and ammunition for peacekeeping troops with the African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM) when it went down while landing.• A Yemeni Air Force Mi-8 crashed after it was reportedly struck by a rocket or gunfire while flying over the al-Qaeda stronghold of Wadi Ubida in central Yemen on August 6. The helicopter was en route between the capital Sanaa and the province of Marib. Eight personnel including a brigadier general were killed.• A US Air Force HH-60G operated by the 18th Wing’s 33rd Rescue Squadron crashed at the Central Training Area near Camp

Hansen on Okinawa on August 5, killing the flight engineer. The mishap occurred near the city of Ginoza and resulted in a fire on the ground.• A109BA serial H39 of the Belgian Air Component made a hard landing on a post-maintenance check flight at Beauvechain air base on August 2. The pilot was unhurt but a flight mechanic suffered minor injuries. • The crew of a US Coast Guard MH-60T from Air Station Elizabeth City rescued a pilot assigned to the District of Columbia Air National Guard’s 113th Wing on 2 August. He had ejected from his US Air Force F-16C off the coast of Virginia following an apparent mid-air collision with another fighter from the same unit at around 23.00hrs local time on August 1. The second F-16C recovered safely to Joint Base Andrews/NAF Washington, Maryland. The Coast Guard 5th District Command Center received notification via an automated Search and Rescue Satellite Aided Tracking distress signal from the fighter’s ejection seat at 22.28hrs, picked up the pilot from the Atlantic Ocean around 35 miles (56km) south-east of Chincoteague Island at around 00.30hrs local time and returned him to Andrews.• A US Air Force T-38C assigned

to the 12th Flying Training Wing made a gear-up

landing at Joint Base San Antonio/Randolph

AFB, Texas on July 29. Neither the

instructor nor the student

pilot in the Talon was injured in the mishap.• K-8W serial 2702 (c/n L8W3200261), operated by the Venezuelan Air Force’s Special Operations Air Group, crashed during tactical air exercises near Maracaibo, in north-west Zulia state on July 26. The pilot, 1st Lt Milenia Bolívar, ejected safely before the crash, which occurred near Rafael Urdaneta air base.• US Air Force T-38C serial 61-0891 assigned to the 80th Flying Training Wing crashed south of Sheppard AFB near Wichita Falls, Texas, following an apparent bird strike on July 19. The instructor and German student pilot both ejected safely before the trainer went down at around 06.48hrs local time.• A remotely controlled US Air Force QF-4 full-scale aerial target crashed while taking off from the drone runway at Tyndall AFB, Florida, on July 17. The accident involved a Phantom assigned to the 53rd Weapons Evaluation Group. • The student and instructor pilot aboard a Kazakhstan Air Force L-39C were killed when the Albatros crashed into a hangar while landing at a military airfield in Akhtobe on July 17. The accident involved a trainer operated by the Talgat Begeldinov Air Defense Military Institute.• The Royal Canadian Air Force grounded its fleet of Sea King helicopters following a mishap at 12 Wing/Canadian Forces Base Shearwater in Halifax, Nova Scotia, on July 15. CH-124 serial 12425 was heavily damaged while taxiing after it apparently tipped forward,

causing its main rotor to strike the ground and the aircraft to roll on to its side. Although no personnel were injured in the accident, flying debris damaged several buildings. The Sea Kings returned to flight several days later.• Enstrom F-28F serial EP-912 (c/n 828) operated by the Peruvian Army Aviation School suffered major damage as a result of an emergency landing on July 15. The mishap occurred near San Antonio in Moquegua, and neither crew member was seriously injured.• A MiG-21 of the Indian Air Force crashed while landing at Air Force Station Uttarlai in Rajasthan on July 15. The pilot was killed in the mishap.• The pilot of an A-5 operated by the Bangladesh Air Force ejected safely before the aircraft crashed into a rice paddy in Patia, Chittagong, on July 14. The attack aircraft went down shortly after take-off from Zahurul Haq air base. • Operators at Tyndall AFB, Florida, destroyed an unmanned US Air Force QF-4 full-scale aerial target over the Gulf of Mexico for safety reasons on July 10. The Phantom was returning to the base when operators activated the drone’s self-destruct charge at 10.28hrs, local time.• A B-1B Lancer of the US Air Force’s 28th Bomb Wing at Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota, crashed near Broadus, Montana, during a training mission on August 19. Two pilots and two weapon systems officers were on board. All four ejected safely, albeit sustaining some minor injuries.

Compiled by Tom Kaminski

CH-124 serial 12425 rests on its side after su�ering a ground mishap while taxiing at 12 Wing/CFB Shearwater on July 15. DND


LossesNews

32 Losses C.indd 32 22/08/2013 16:02

p33.indd 33 21/08/2013 11:59

A VMGR-352 KC-130J in Harvest HAWK con�guration �ies a mission from its home base at MCAS Miramar, California.


34-41 Harvest Hawk C.indd 34 22/08/2013 17:08

EACH YEAR, US Marines are killed in Afghanistan by improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and small arms fire at the hands of various insurgents, primarily Taliban.

More often than not, the enemy is a terrorist working solo or with just a few other individuals. There are no enemy tanks, no foe aircraft; only individuals that merge with the civilian population, attack and quickly slip back into the cover provided by innocent civilians.

So how exactly do the Marines take on stealthy foes that operate in such a manner? One way is to catch them in the act, by employing surveillance at stand-off distances, and then taking care of business to ensure that it will be the terrorist’s final act. The Marines have a new and powerful weapon to do just that. Meet the KC-130J Harvest HAWK (HAWK stands for Hercules Airborne Weapons Kit), designed specifically for this type of warfare.

Development decisionsThe Hercules Harvest HAWK has been a work in process for the past five years. Initially, the HHK was envisioned with a 30mm cannon, but the USMC eventually never installed a cannon on a KC-130J due to the speed at which the program was fielded, and the cannon was removed from the HHK proposals. Instead, the use of precision-guided munitions

(PGMs) for pinpoint accuracy and less invasive airframe modifications became the favored options. The PGMs of choice are the proven AGM-114P-2A Hellfire II and the AGM-176 Griffin.

The AGM-114P-2A is a laser-guided and modified anti-tank/armor version of the Hellfire II with a special blast sleeve that gives the missile a more-effective anti-personnel fragmentation capability. The HHK can carry up to four Hellfire IIs, all mounted on a single M299 four-round launch rack located on the outboard pylon under the port wing, where the drogue refueling pod previously resided.

The Griffin is basically an airborne version of the man-portable FGM-148 Javelin anti-tank missile. Griffin guidance is initially provided by an inertial navigation system slaved to a GPS, and transitions to a laser seeker for the terminal phase. Firing Griffins can be achieved by two methods, either from the specialized ‘Derringer door’, the aft paratroop door that has a pair of built-in launch ports, or from the 10-round

launch assembly located on the cargo ramp. The missiles are received in tube assemblies (looking similar to sonobuoys) and are stowed in a 10-round storage rack, located on the left-hand side of the fuselage just forward of the Derringer door. The 10-round launcher, while still strapped to the ramp, is seldom used now. To fire Griffins using that system, the Harvest HAWK must de-

The US Marine Corps prides itself on the ability to adapt to di�cult situations and this trait endures in Afghanistan today, where the Harvest HAWK adaptation of the C-130 Hercules is providing ‘leathernecks’ on the ground with a powerful counter-insurgency capability.

report and photos: Ted Carlson/Fotodynamics.com



pressurize and the cargo ramp must be opened in flight — all taking valuable time, during which a target might fade into the civilian populace. Simply launching from the Derringer door without having to de-pressurize tends to be the crews’ method of choice due to the quicker response time, and it is unusual for crews to have to fire more than two Griffins at any given time. An initial shotgun shell-type burst coupled with a pneumatic plunger is used to launch the Griffins. Prior to launch, the missile is set to detonate on impact or above the ground, typically at seven feet. To date, approximately 140 Hellfires and 35 Griffins have been fired from Harvest HAWKs in combat.

A new weapon being explored (but yet to be fielded on the HHK) is the GBU-44 Viper Strike glide bomb. Similar to the Griffin, the GBU-44 uses a hybrid guidance system but has a smaller warhead and an extended range.

Viper Strike is designed to complement the Griffin, but current enemy tactics negate any differences between the two munitions and crews are happy with the Griffin.

Technically, the HHK is a kit that is configurable between airframes. It is not simply installed and removed in an afternoon. This may bring to mind the Marines’ ATARS (Advanced Tactical Airborne Reconnaissance System) Hornet, also a kit. However, the ATARS installation is so involved that the kit is never de-configured and the F/A-18D, once configured, will retain the system indefinitely. Realistically, the HHK is somewhere between the two.

It takes around a week to remove or install all the components, so the HHK kit is only removed when an HHK KC-130J is slated for some major-phase work during which it will be out of service for a long time. Ten KC-130Js will receive wiring (known as the A-kit) for

the Harvest Hawk configuration: five for Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 352 (VMGR-352) and the other five for VMGR-252. At the time of writing, there were three D-kits (the hardware element, consisting of the HHK sensors, console and weapons systems), with a total of six kits planned. VMGR-252 and VMGR-352 will be the only two operators of the system.

Sensor suiteThe HHK utilizes the same electro-optical AN/AAQ-30 Target Sight System (TSS) sensor found on the AH-1Z Viper. It has a daytime color TV camera and a large-aperture mid-wave FLIR, and possesses a laser designator. While the hardware is the same as that on the ‘Zulu’, the software had to be significantly modified for Harvest HAWK use. The TSS, along with the supporting avionics, is physically mounted in a specialized

The ‘Raiders’ of VMGR-352 are based at MCAS Miramar, California, where they fall under the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing (3rd MAW) and Marine Aircraft Group 11 (MAG-11). This was the unit designated to pioneer and initially bring the HHK to fruition. Training of crews, whether enlisted or o�cers, begins with approximately two weeks of ground school. Depending on the crew position, the next phase of training will vary. The �ying portion includes a full week of �ights, which can be spread out over time. Each FCO shoots one Hell�re and one Gri�n in a live-�re exercise in order to be quali�ed. The squadrons have dedicated HHK instructors, and the core of instructors has been growing between the two units over time.

TRAINING REGIME

Right and inset: KC-130J pilots are now being trained as Fire Control O�cers. The cockpit is con�gured with a pair of TacView displays.

Below: The electro-optical AN/AAQ-30 Target Sight System (TSS).



underwing pod, replacing the port inboard external fuel tank.

The Fire Control Console (FCC) is an adaptation of the US Navy’s Seahawk helicopter sensor operator’s station, and even includes a LAMPS (Light Airborne Multi-Purpose System) computer. It has two large displays, the upper one typically showing a digital moving map, while the lower screen is dedicated to the TSS sensor and targeting operation. Recording decks, plus other avionics, are mounted to the right of the console.

The FCC is mounted on a standard 463L pallet and includes two side-by-side seats. The primary Fire Control Officer (FCO) resides in the right-hand seat during the mission and effectively handles the sensor, fires the weapons, and records the video and audio from that location. The left-hand seat is occupied by another FCO who assists the primary FCO during attacks and will trade

off spots during the sortie to prevent fatigue. The FCO position did not exist as a Marine Corps billet prior to the Harvest HAWK, and squadrons were staffed with an additional three officers. FCOs came from other communities with close air support experience, namely the AH-1, AV-8B and F/A-18. The billet was treated in a similar way to a pilot completing a forward air controller (FAC) tour. However, KC-130J pilots are now being trained as FCOs, thus

widening the scope of their responsibilities while keeping the number of squadron personnel at the same level as the other TACAIR aircrew are phased out. KC-130J pilots with the requisite flight leadership and a background as a FAC are the prime candidates for the FCO position.

The HHK has a crew of seven, consisting of two pilots, two FCOs, a crewmaster, and two loadmasters. Both pilots have special removable TAC VIEW displays in the

‘The success story and what makes the Harvest HAWK so lethal is not only the tremendous loiter time, but the synergy of the seven crew members working in unison’ Maj Michael ‘Britney’ Spears



cockpit, immediately behind the yoke. They can be selected to view the digital moving map or can repeat the targeting video/IR feed where the sensor is looking (less the data from the FCC). There is also a ‘consent to lase’ and ‘consent to fire’ panel, which keeps the pilot in command during the decision-making process. The only other difference in the HHK cockpit is a rack jettison switch.

More ‘bang for the buck’So, what about using a fast-mover to combat the terrorists? It can be done, but the time on station is miniscule compared to the KC-130, and the weapons these types carry are typically designed to take out large vehicles, aircraft or buildings, rather than one or two individuals. Many fast jet anti-personnel weapons are designed primarily for large masses of enemy troops where collateral damage is not a major concern. Essentially, the Harvest HAWK excels at the pinpoint anti-insurgent mission and delivers an excellent ‘bang for the buck’, especially with its long loiter time and the advantages conferred by having a sizeable crew.

The HHK first deployed to Afghanistan in October 2010, and at least one example has always been in theater since. VMGR-352 and VMGR-252 routinely swap aircraft and crews as needed.

The primary mission in theatre is Multi-Imagery sensor Reconnaissance (MIR), which essentially equates to scanning, searching, surveillance and looking for targets. This is usually achieved in support of USMC troops on the ground. In addition, the Harvest HAWK is more than capable of completing standard KC-130J missions, such as moving troops, aerial refueling and cargo-hauling. That said, the HHK is normally tasked to support the Marines by providing MIR and close air support, since its unique capabilities make it the platform of choice for the Marine FACs in Afghanistan.

HAWK hands‘After a while, we get good at picking out activity where individuals are placing IEDs’, commented Maj Michael ‘Britney’ Spears. He is an F/A-18 pilot by trade, having served with both VMFA(AW)-121 and VMFA(AW)-332 in

the past. He recently completed a two-year tour as a Harvest HAWK FCO and conducted two combat deployments with VMGR-352, having accrued 1,400 combat hours in the Harvest HAWK alone. Maj Spears continued, ‘Between the ground FACs and the Harvest HAWK crews, we are always very certain of targets. The weapons we carry are specialized as small, anti-personnel PGMs.

‘In theater, we have been trying out a ROVER (Remotely Operated Video Enhanced Receiver) system in conjunction with the HHK. It gives us feeds from other MIR assets such as Harriers and Predators, and enhances our situational awareness within the battlespace. It gives us a second set of eyes and is mostly valuable for close air support.

‘Generally the four Hellfires do the trick, and there were only two occasions in combat that we needed more than four. About 90 per cent of the time in theater, the Hellfire is the weapon of choice, and Griffins are used only around 10 per cent of the time. The Hellfire is a better weapon for moving targets, and most of our targets move. We use Griffins when the height-of-burst is a factor, or if our relayed

This photo: A KC-130J Harvest HAWK lets rip with an AGM-114P-2A Hell�re II.

Right top to bottom: Four AGM-114P-2A Hell�re IIs are carried on a single M299 four-round launch rack located on the outboard pylon under the port wing, where the drogue refueling pod previously resided.

Loading the Harvest HAWK’s lethal complement of Hell�res.



‘The Harvest HAWK has provided the Ground Combat Element with exactly what they need in today’s fight; unsurpassed on-station time, a complement of weapons that is suitable and proportional in an extremely complex environment’ Maj Gen Steven Busby

targeting co-ordinates are a product of GPS inputs only.

‘Some targets, such as a guy in a tree line quickly moving in and out, or someone on a motorcycle perhaps in a congested area, can be challenging. Sometimes it feels like approvals take a long time to come from below, and, even if we see something we know is obviously a target, as fliers we still cannot make our own on-scene decisions to fire. It must come from the ground commander, without exception, in the typical HHK MIR role.

‘My most memorable HHK mission was last summer. There was a 30-plus friendly vehicle convoy that was in an IED trap. One vehicle had been hit by an IED, and a couple of insurgents were firing at our vehicles with a mortar on a ridge. On the opposite side, there were others shooting at the vehicles from a village. This all took place over a two-day period, day one being when they were first hit.

‘We had a tough time finding the bad guys on the ridge line based on our sensor geometry, their movements, and hiding spots.

If we fired and missed by a couple of meters we probably would not have hit them. The next day the second HHK crew linked up with a Shadow UAV, which had the bad guys in site. We buddy-lased, shot all four Hellfires, and took out the guys on the ridge line, relieving the pressure from our convoy. That was rewarding.

‘The success story and what makes the Harvest HAWK so lethal is not only the tremendous loiter time, but the synergy of the seven crew members working in unison; that results in a lot fewer mistakes, with all of the checks and balances, plus making certain everything looks right. We even have seven different radios on the HHK and our crew can be talking with a multitude of different sources simultaneously. This cannot be accomplished in other platforms.’

Capt Adam Christianson is a VMGR-352 KC-130J pilot and deployed for Operation ‘Enduring Freedom 12.1’ in the Harvest HAWK as a co-pilot, with 540 combat hours flown in theater. He added, ‘Sometimes we can locate infra-red differences (hot versus cold) and see where IEDs are hidden, or just seeing activity



in spots where IEDs are placed is another method to catch them. We may see them digging, or perhaps rolling wire. It is usually cued in with the guys on the ground: what they see, relay to us, and what we see. That makes a good double-checking system, too.

‘In theater, we use Android tablets for the gridded-reference graphics (GRG) for targeting information, such as nine-lines when working with the ground troops. Before a typical HHK attack, the FCO will have been talking with the JTAC (Joint Terminal Attack Controller) on the ground, while we loiter above. Either we will catch someone doing something such as planting an IED, or a target will be relayed to us by the JTAC. Sometimes it could be an insurgent shooting at our troops as well. The troops on the ground work up a game plan as to what they would like to see, and the ground commander makes the decision for what we need to do, effects, and what are valid targets. They will work the mission approval on their end.

‘In the meantime we keep our eyes on the target. Then, after the approval to fire comes through, there is the nine-line, and then what we do forks one of two ways depending on which weapon we are using. We do our crew risk management and look at the best geometry, attack angles and headings to achieve the goal. We derive a weaponeering plan, if a Hellfire or Griffin makes more sense, and will set the height-of-burst accordingly.

‘During this evolution, the co-pilot is flying the HHK, and the pilot in command is busy with helping with the attack plan. The FCO inputs the data and prepares to fire, with the pilot in command doing the final quality assurance, ensuring the grids are read back correctly, and that all involved agree and are on board with the same plan and target location. Once all looks good, the pilot in command selects the consent switch to ‘on’. A ‘rifle’ call is given to make the launch, followed by ‘splash’ when the weapon

detonates on target. One mission we fired a Hellfire involved a task force. We were flying MIR and, below in a village, some bad guys were shooting at troops behind a wall. We used a Hellfire to quickly resolve that situation.’

Capt Jason ‘J-Bone’ Ellis, a Harvest HAWK aircraft commander and FCO, has made one combat deployment. He has about 200 combat hours and over 2,000 KC-130 flight hours. When asked about the HHK and his experiences, he commented, ‘A product of the low-collateral damage weapons we carry, we are normally looking for individuals, rather than targets such as vehicles or tanks, etc…

‘With the weapons and sensors all on the left side, asymmetry and drag is still not a factor since the ‘Herc’ is so large. The Hellfires are light and only weigh 105lb each. We do lose the extra fuel from the fuel tank, but even then the endurance for our standard missions is not an issue. We can fly for up to 11 hours.

This photo: The HHK’s Fire Control Console (FCC) features the primary Fire Control O�cer (FCO) in the right-hand seat with another FCO in the left-hand seat to o�er support.

Right: AGM-176 Gri�n missiles are received in tube assemblies and can be deployed from the specialized ‘Derringer door’, the aft paratroop door that has a pair of built-in launch ports.



‘Supporting coalition forces usually ends up being eventful. They do not always get priority for support. One day the assets they had originally requested didn’t show up, and we were the only show in town. We often carry more fuel than planned, so we started in the morning and landed at night, with bingo fuel.’

Making headwayDependent on funding, among the improvements that crews would like to see is an upgrade for the TSS and its re-location from the underwing pod to a position under the nose. With the pod always on the port side, this restricts the aircraft into having to make left turns, which is not always tactically advantageous. In addition, the APU exhaust blows out near the thermal sensor, creating a manageable, but less than ideal, plume situation. Another item discussed regards possible changes to the FCC — making it more

user-friendly, adding overlays to the moving map, and employing HOTAS (hands on throttle and stick) technology.

The J-model fleet should all receive the Link 16 with Block 7 software that integrates the aircraft into the battlespace network, increasing the situational awareness of the HHK crew and other aircraft working in the same area.

Maj Gen Steven Busby is the Commanding General of the 3rd MAW, and a KC-130 pilot by trade. He was instrumental in the creation and implementation of the KC-130J Harvest Hawk concept. Busby concluded, ‘The Harvest HAWK has provided the GCE (Ground Combat Element) with exactly what they need in today’s fight; unsurpassed on-station time, a complement of weapons that is suitable and proportional in an extremely complex environment. Most importantly, perhaps, it is flown by fellow Marines as part of that unique air-ground

team: aviators and infantry Marines who work together routinely, may know each other personally, and who certainly appreciate the dangers of the Marines out on patrol. I am proud to see that Marine Corps ingenuity, coupled with the tremendous flexibility of the ‘Battle Herc’, are writing a new chapter in the legacy of both Marine Corps aviation and the KC-130 Hercules.’

Acknowledgments: Maj Gen Steven Busby, Col John ‘Dog’ Jansen, Lt Cols J. D. ‘Bunny’ Kindred, Majs Mark ‘Snoty’ Bortnem, Louis ‘Hank’ Delia, Paul ‘Flu�er’ Hudson, James ‘Postal’ Knipe, ‘Zero’ Pope, Casey Shea, Michael ‘Britney’ Spears, David Stark, Christopher ‘Timmy’ Timothy, Chris ‘Wizard’ Usrey, Capts Adam Christianson, Jason ‘J-Bone’ Ellis, ‘STORQ’ Hatala, Dustin ‘Dusty’ Hook, 1st Lt Drew Hopson, and the many others from MAG-11, VMGR-352 and VMGR-252 that helped.



Voted the premier squadron in Global Strike Command, the 69th Bomb Squadron ‘Knighthawks’ at Minot AFB, South Dakota is part of the 5th Bomb Wing — one of three wings at two bases that continue to �y the mighty ‘Bu�’, still the most visible expression of the US Air Force’s strategic deterrent.

report and photos: Ted Carlson/Fotodynamics.com

USAF GLOBAL STRIKE

B-52HS OF THE 69TH BS ‘KNIGHTHAWKS’MAGIC BUFFS

October 2013 www.combataircraft.net42

42-49 B-52 C.indd 42 07/08/2013 15:10

MINOT, NORTH DAKOTA, has a population of over 35,000, is the fourth largest city within the state, and is nicknamed

the ‘Magic City’. Located in the mid-northern portion of North Dakota, not far from Canada, the city began life as a small railway stop and sprouted up into a sizeable city in under a year in the late 1880s — just like magic! This is Teddy Roosevelt territory, and proud references around the base and community are widespread. Nestled just to the north of Minot and with a workforce of 6,000 active duty personnel is Minot Air Force Base, home to Air Force Global Strike Command’s 5th Bomb Wing operating the B-52H Stratofortress and the 91st Missile Wing, one of three Minuteman III operational sites.

Activated in 2009, Air Force Global Strike Command is essentially responsible for nuclear-related assets of the US Air Force. The command exercises control over two of the three legs in the nuclear triad (missiles,

bombers, submarines), and its creation was intended to permit the Air Force to maintain proper focus on the nuclear mission and associated deterrence. The bombers were previously Air Combat Command-owned aircraft and the ICBMs were Air Force Space Command assets. Global Strike Command was the first major Air Force command to be created in the past 30 years. On December 1, 2009, Global Strike Command assumed responsibility for the ICBMs and the 91st MW, and on February 1, 2010 it adopted the bombers and the 5th BW.

Construction of Minot AFB began in 1955, and the first operational unit flew from the base in 1957. Since then, it has only grown. Minot AFB has undergone many changes throughout the years, but the Team Minot spirit continues to reign, re-emphasizing the base’s motto, ‘Only the Best Come North.’

‘Bu�s’ and the FifthThe 5th Bomb Wing is commanded by Col Alex ‘Ted’ Mezynski and has two reporting B-52H squadrons, the 23rd BS ‘Barons’ and

the 69th BS ‘Knighthawks’. The 69th is a somewhat newer unit that was established when the ‘Buffs’ were essentially split between Barksdale AFB, Louisiana’s 2nd BW and the 5th BW, resulting in about a squadron’s worth of aircraft being moved to Minot. Currently the 5th BW has 27 B-52Hs in its inventory, split between the two squadrons (the 23rd BS has 14 and the 69th 13). Global Strike Command and Strategic Command are committed to keeping the B-52 modified and sustained so as to remain an effective combat platform for years to come.

The United States Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM) is a joint command with other military services on staff — essentially the warfighter group that dictates the missions. It’s no coincidence that the USSTRATCOM patch is very similar in design to the old Strategic Air Command ‘mailed fist’ logo. Although Global Strike Command is nuclear weapon-centric, it is well aware that its bombers must also maintain a conventional role. However, the over-arching function remains deterrence, whether achieved by


42-49 B-52 C.indd 43 07/08/2013 15:10

conventional means, nuclear weapons, or simply presence.

‘Broken Arrow’‘Broken Arrow’ exercises, known as ‘Prairie Sentries’, are periodically held at Minot in order to maintain readiness. The term ‘Broken Arrow’ is used whenever a nuclear asset is damaged, and everyone on base knows what to do and where to go (just like going to battle stations) should an actual ‘Broken Arrow’ occur at the base. The exercise that this magazine covered centered upon a mock C-17 crash that occurred during take-off with a nuclear weapon on board. Gunshots were heard, and the 5th Security Forces Squadron reacted accordingly. Depending on the situation, the priority level must be adhered to — the highest level is PL1 in the case of a

nuclear weapon. The PL1 team serves as a protective moving bubble, and even follows the aircraft as far as possible until it is airborne and on its way.

The Fire Department (belonging to the Fire Emergency Services Flight, 5th Mission Support Group, 5th Civil Engineer Squadron) came out with numerous trucks and firefighters, while security forces secured the area after donning their NBC (nuclear, biological, chemical) gear and masks.

The aircraft in the fire pit was lit up, the firefighters (each with 60 minutes of self-contained air) had to extinguish the flames, and security cordoned off and secured the area. A couple of 69th BS pilots represented the C-17 crew, while other units involved included the 5th BW, 5th Ops Group, 5th Mission Support Group, tower personnel, base

security, 17th Munitions Squadron, public affairs, and just about every squadron on base.

‘Bu�’ basicsThe B-52H crew of five comprises two pilots, an EWO (Electronics Warfare Officer), a radar navigator, and navigator. Although most of today’s Stratofortresses were built in 1960 or 1961, they have been consistently updated. Long-term plans call for the type to remain in service until 2040. Upgraded with modern software, the ‘Buff’ can handle a wide range of newer weapons, carried in concert with the Litening AT and Sniper targeting pods. The eight engines are still the reliable Pratt & Whitney TF33-P-3/103 turbofans, and the ‘Buff’ requires about 20 maintenance man hours per flight hour — around half the number needed by the B-1B Lancer.


42-49 B-52 C.indd 44 07/08/2013 15:11

The jets are now going through the Block 4 software upgrade, known as BSB-04 (BSB-03 is now the older version), allowing them to make use of the Sniper pod (but no longer the Litening AT), along with other enhancements. On July 25, Lockheed Martin announced that the Sniper had achieved operational flight status on the B-52. When BSB-05 software is released, the B-52s will be able to use either pod. However, the Litening AT pods will be phased out in favor of the Sniper once the full complement of Sniper pods is in place.

The B-52H is crammed full with an array of radar warning receivers, electronic warfare, aircraft survivability equipment, electronic countermeasures gear, and other avionics. The alphabet of system designations includes the bewildering array of AN/ALT-16, ALT-28, ALT-32, ALE-20, ALE-24, ALE-50, ALQ-122,

ALQ-155, ALQ-172 and others. In the nose is the AN/APQ-166 mechanically scanned array (MSA) strategic radar which has been utilized on the ‘Buff’ for some time now. New and more capable infra-red sensors are being installed in the chin as the older ones are replaced.

‘Bu�’ fangsThe B-52’s weapon versatility is second to none. Conventional general-purpose bombs take in the 500lb Mk82, the 750lb M117 (now a unique weapon to the B-52), 2,000lb Mk84, and BDU-48 10lb practice bomb. The M117 is used in lieu of the more ubiquitous 1,000lb Mk83 due to load spacing limitations. The M129 is a specialized bomb custom-made for the PsyOps role, which disperses leaflets. As for sea mines, the ‘Buff’ carries Mk62,

Main image: The view from the ‘o�ce’ is actually not too bad for a heavy aircraft from the early Cold War era. Note the eight throttles and eight sets of ‘steam gauges’ for the engines. Even the B-52 yoke has been around longer than almost all ‘Bu�’ drivers.

Above, from top: The vast bomber �ightline at Minot AFB, with B-52Hs prepped for the day’s �ying.

Security is taken very seriously at Minot — the ‘Bu�’ may be old but it’s the cornerstone of the US strategic deterrent.

The ‘Bu�’ has eight Pratt & Whitney TF33 turbofan engines. The bomber needs a Hu�er to start the �rst engine, and pilots switch over to bleed air to light up the rest of them.


42-49 B-52 C.indd 45 07/08/2013 15:11

Mk63 and Mk65 Quickstrike mines (the Mk56 mine is no longer carried). Cluster munitions employed by the B-52 include the CBU-87, CBU-89, and CBU-103/4/5/7 Wind-Corrected Munitions Dispenser series, while laser-guided bombs are the 2,000lb GBU-10 Paveway II, 500lb GBU-12 Paveway II and 5,000lb GBU-28 ‘bunker-buster.’

The GPS-guided Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) series includes the 2,000lb GBU-31(V)1 and GBU-31(V)3. The (V)1 is based on the Mk84, while the (V)3 is a penetrator version using a BLU-109 bomb body. There is also a smaller JDAM, the 500lb GBU-38. Cruise missiles encompass the AGM-86B Air-Launched Cruise Missile (ALCM), AGM-86C Conventional Air-Launched Cruise Missile (CALCM), AGM-158A Joint Air-to-Surface Stand-off Missile (JASSM), AGM-154 Joint Stand-off Weapon (JSOW) and AGM-129 Advanced Cruise Missile. The AGM-142 Popeye/Have Nap is now not used.

The AGM-84 SLAM-ER (Stand-off Land Attack Missile — Expanded Response) can be used for the anti-ship and maritime role, although the B-52 no longer carries the earlier Harpoon. The B-52 arsenal also contains both the B61 and B83 nuclear weapons. The ADM-160B/C Miniature Air-Launched Decoy (MALD) is a new weapon for the ‘Buff’, used for the suppression of enemy air defenses (SEAD) mission. The MALD can only be carried by B-52s or F-16s. One test B-52H has been modified to tote the new 21,000lb GBU-43/B MOAB (Massive Ordnance Air Blast) that the B-2 Spirit also carries, but, due to the extensive modification requirement, that capability will not be made fleet-wide.

Mission sets are broken down by category, and the most important is strategic stand-off, this being the nuclear mission. Then there is strategic tactical, typically using the CALCM and JASSM cruise missiles. Counter-air and counter-land missions commonly employ

general-purpose bombs, GBUs and JDAMS. The B-52s also perform interdiction and close air support with such weapons, usually in support of the US Army.

As for US Navy support, the mining mission dictates use of Quickstrike mines in harbors, seaports and sea lanes. The air-interdiction of maritime targets is essentially a ‘search and destroy’ role in relation to enemy ships. Other missions include NTISR (non-traditional intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance), MISO (military information support operations, previously known as PsyOps), and the suppression of enemy air defenses (SEAD) using MALDs. Almost all B-52 missions are carried out at medium- or high-altitude regimes, aside from mining operations. In the past, B-52s used to fly terrain avoidance missions (not to be confused with terrain following, which the type never officially conducted) in the range of 300 to 500ft above the ground, but these are not performed today. The B-52Hs are also rotated through Guam in support of US Pacific Command’s Continuous Bomber Presence (CBP).

‘Bu�’ drivers‘The 69th BS was just voted as the best squadron in the Global Strike Command’, commented Capt Chris ‘Gov’na’ Duff, who has 1,600 ‘Buff’ flight hours and is an instructor radar navigator with the squadron. He is responsible for all the weapons and employment during missions. Capt Duff, born in the UK and now a US citizen, is a Weapons School graduate (having won two of the three awards possible) and previously served with the 20th BS at Barksdale AFB. His job with the 69th BS is flight commander of weapons and tactics.

He continued, ‘One memorable mission was a fly-over we did over Michigan for the navigator from the ‘Raider 21’ accident. That was a 20th BS B-52H on a standard

unit rotation in Guam that crashed, with the tragic loss of all six on board. He was a good friend of mine, 1st Lt Bobby Gerren, and everyone on our crew knew him, so it was quite emotional. It was an honor to pay our last respects to him, and do the flyby for his family and friends.

‘I recently graduated from Weapons School, and during the school I was selected to be the Big Team chief; it was a complicated tactical scenario. It was my responsibility to come up with a plan for the entire tactical combat air force to solve the problems. I had to brief a two-star general on the plan, and had over 120 assets, including F-22s, F-15Es and F-16Cs, at my disposal to employ. That was two days of no sleep; it was a success, and was an awesome experience.

‘The ‘Buff’ has a lot of history, and has been in almost every single conflict dating back to Vietnam. Being 1960-vintage, my grandfather could have flown it. And with my little boy at four years old right now, he could even be a pilot of one too. The versatility of weapons is second to none, and the US has really got its money’s worth out of the B-52.’

Maj Blake ‘Love’ Fore is a B-52H instructor pilot and the assistant director of operations for the squadron. A Weapons School graduate, he oversees the weapons and tactics department. Fore has over 2,000 flight hours in the ‘Buff’, cutting his teeth with the 20th BS at Barksdale AFB, and later serving with the 23rd BS at Minot before his current position with the 69th. He added, ‘My most memorable mission was when I became a brand-new aircraft commander, and we did a 36-hour sortie. I was required to perform an aerial refueling at night and take on 120,000lb of fuel from a tanker. If I failed, that would have been a show-stopper, and I was very nervous. Fortunately I succeeded and joined the 100k club, at night. That was an extreme feeling of achievement. It felt so good to be topped off!

This Minot ‘Bu�’ was photographed in July at Andersen AFB, Guam, where it was deployed as part of the continuous bomber presence in the Western Paci�c. USAF/A1C Marianique Santos


42-49 B-52 C.indd 46 07/08/2013 15:11

‘The ‘Buff’ has a lot of history, and has been in about every

single conflict dating back to Vietnam. My grandfather could

have flown it. And with my little boy at four years old right

now, he could even be a pilot of one too’

Capt Chris ‘Gov’na’ Du�

Clockwise from right: The B-52H crew of �ve comprises two pilots, an EWO (Electronics Warfare O�cer), a radar navigator and a navigator. There are no more B-52 tail guns (deemed obsolete in today’s world) and thus no gunner position. B-52 crews can number six or seven since they train constantly in order to remain sharp.

Up close during a tanker bracket, this B-52H is �ying high above Afghanistan clutching a deadly load of GBU-31 JDAMs. USAF/ MSgt Lance Cheung

Even though the ‘Bu�s’ still in service all date from FY 1960 and 1961, the B-52H has only become more lethal over time, a product of ongoing upgrades and smart weapons.

Deep within the belly of the ‘Bu�’ reside the radar navigator (left) and navigator (right) as pictured here. Navigators are essentially mission controllers, and the more senior radar navigators essentially serve as the bombardier. When training, a less senior individual may take the radar navigator position.


42-49 B-52 C.indd 47 07/08/2013 15:11

‘Another mission, as I was graduating from the Weapons School, was during the Mission Employment phase, and it was a huge scenario. There was a multitude of simulated threats, a hundred other aircraft, and during ‘Red Flags’ the large-scale events do not always go smoothly. In this case, it worked exactly how we briefed it and I had the opportunity to see how a bunch of really sharp people working together handled an extremely complex problem. It all came together and worked out incredibly well.

‘The ‘Buff’ is a legend and it has always excelled in combat. I started my flying career through Embry-Riddle and received my commercial pilot’s license. I was a twin-engine flight instructor, became bored with it, joined the Air Force, and went to Sheppard AFB, Texas, for UPT. I would have been happy with anything I was assigned, and was excited when I was assigned to the mighty ‘Buff’. It is a multiple-crew aircraft, which I wanted, and has an impressive history. It is indeed old, and while many jets of the same era are long gone the difference is that Boeing created the most perfect airplane ever — it is as relevant today as it was back in the 1960s.

‘As General Kowalski puts it, the B-52 is like an iPhone. Any type of weapon you want,

there is an app for that, and it can be put on a B-52. The software, engines, avionics, all can be continually upgraded for years to come. The general also says we use nuclear weapons every day — as a deterrent.

‘With the B-52, we are big on that philosophy and we train every day for that mission. We have babied the B-52, and there are airliners that were built in the 1980s and 1990s that have three times the flight hours of our ‘Buffs’. The B-52 is also our cheapest bomber to fly. The old man still has something left in him, and that has been proven time and time again.’

The 69th BS commander Lt Col Doug ‘Goz’ Gosney has experience as a T-38 instructor pilot in addition to being a ‘Buff’ driver. Of 3,100 total flight hours to his name, 212 are combat hours. ‘I remember my very first combat sortie, which was during Operation ‘Allied Force’ during the war in Kosovo’, he told CA. ‘I was in a two-ship flight, we launched out of Fairford, UK, and we had a list of targets, not knowing which ones we would be tasked with at the time until on scene. We even had media members on board, including a CNN correspondent on our aircraft. It was a long mission, we had some problems with one of our jets, and in the end we were only tasked to attack one target, an

Powerplant Eight 17,000lb (7,711kg) Pratt & Whitney TF33-P-3/103 turbofans

Performance

Maximum speed Mach 0.84

Service ceiling 50,000ft (15,151m)

Range 7,652nm (14,162km)

Weights

Empty weight 185,000lb (83,250kg)

Maximum take-o� weight 488,000lb (219,600kg)

Dimensions

Wingspan 185ft 0in (56.40m)

Length 159ft 4in (48.50m)

Height 40ft 8in (12.40m)

Wing area 4,000 square feet (370 square meters)

Ordnance Approximately 70,000lb (31,500kg) of mixed ordnance including bombs, mines and cruise missiles

B-52H STRATOFORTRESS SPECIFICATIONS

enemy radar site. We made a direct hit, and it was rewarding to play our part in a major campaign such as that. Going into combat for the first time was a neat experience, but it is also very surreal.

‘Later I was flying an Operation ‘Enduring Freedom’ sortie, planning on spending four to five hours over Afghanistan. We received a ‘troops in contact’ call, [the soldiers] being over-run by al-Qaeda members. We were directed to the scene, and a pair of helicopters was dispatched to evacuate the Special Operations Forces team. One of the two helicopters was shot down as we were coming up on the end of our VUL [vulnerable timeframe, usually four to six hours, of flight over hostile regions] period, and now we became the on-scene commander of the crash.

‘We were a good fit for that mission since we have so many crew members, secure radios and great endurance. We co-ordinated for an emergency tanker so we could get additional fuel to extend our VUL period to aid in the rescue effort. A RESCAP mission was initiated and it ended up being a long sortie, but it felt good to do our part. The entire search and rescue operation lasted for five days in the

This photo: The impressive wingspan, comparatively narrow fuselage width and o�set main gear doors are characteristic of the mighty ‘Bu�’, seen here with main bomb bay doors open.

Left: GBU-31 JDAMs are loaded onto the port wing external pylon. USAF/SSgt Chad Warren


42-49 B-52 C.indd 48 07/08/2013 15:12

end. It was frustrating knowing that your brother in arms was on the ground below, but there was no way to communicate with him due to the fact that the team had either lost their communications equipment or it was not operational.’

‘Bu�’ futureFlying hours have been reduced at Minot as the ‘Buff’ falls prey to the sequester budget cuts. The squadron has prioritized those missions most important to remaining proficient, and the nuclear deterrence tasking is understandably the number-one priority.

Pending budget approval, a high-priority upgrade desired by the community is the Combat Network Communications Technology (CONECT), essentially a new digital backbone for the B-52 that greatly enhances situational awareness. It will include new nuclear-survivable multi-functional color displays (in a hybrid ‘glass’ cockpit), new computers, a digital nine-line capability, enhanced datalinks, an advanced wideband satellite terminal, and beyond line-of-sight battlespace secure communications, also allowing crews to receive new missions or change targeting in real time.

One other upgrade is the addition of a second Mil Std 1760 databus. One such item is currently used to interface with smart weapons carried externally on the underwing racks, such as JDAMs, GBUs, CBUs and JASSMs. In the weapons bay, the older 1553B bus system is still in place, meaning that only non-smart weapons can be used internally, creating some limitations. An upgrade to replace the 1553 bus with a 1760 bus to drive the weapons bay is planned. Other updates being eyed include replacement of the aircraft’s landing gear, along with an improved anti-skid braking system.

As for upcoming new weapons, the GBU-54 Laser JDAM should soon make its debut in the fleet, as well as the extended-range AGM-158B JASSM-ER. There is also the GBU-39 Small Diameter Bomb, a 250lb glide bomb, but that has only been talked about to date.

‘There is not a mission that we can’t do and the ‘Buff’ is extremely versatile, like a Swiss Army knife’, Lt Col Gosney concludes. ‘It is incredibly flexible, and we are the most visible deterrent in our nation’s nuclear triad. The message to our enemies is that we are ready to go, and they shouldn’t cross that line. There are always some new missions that we are training for, so it never gets

boring. We pride ourselves on always being ready to go at a moment’s notice, and can get anywhere in the world in pretty short order, including simply flying out of Minot and back if required.

‘We just returned from a six-month deployment at Guam in support of the Continuous Bomber Presence mission. The CBP is very important, and it continues to become more so as time marches on and the President focuses more and more on the ‘Pivot to the Pacific’. It is not only about nuclear deterrence, but also conventional deterrence. We prefer not to go to war, and hope that deterrence alone works, but in the end we are ready to perform whatever mission we are tasked to accomplish. Our squadron is always busy and we have done very well on all our inspections, including a demanding Defense Nuclear Surety Inspection. We continue to prove we are ready to answer the call.’

Acknowledgements: Lt Gen James Kowalski (AFGSC/CC), Col Alex ‘Ted’ Mezynski (5th BW/CC), Lt Col Doug ‘Goz’ Gosney (69th BS/CC), Maj Blake ‘Love’ Fore, Capt Genieve David, Capt Chris ‘Gov’na’ Du�, and Ms Kiley Swopes.

‘While many jets of the same era are long gone, the difference is that Boeing created the most perfect airplane ever — it is as relevant today as it was back in the 1960s’ Maj Blake ‘Love’ Fore


42-49 B-52 C.indd 49 07/08/2013 15:12

Photos Jim Haseltine and USAF/SSgt Bennie J. Davis

50-51 centrespread C.indd 50 14/08/2013 10:29

US AIR FORCE STRATEGIC BOMBERS

50-51 centrespread C.indd 51 14/08/2013 10:29


USAF GLOBAL STRIKE

In the world of the B-1B Lancer, some pilots and crew members refer to the bustling Dyess Air Force Base as the ‘big hive’. Combat Aircraft visited the Texas base to �y with the ‘Bones’ of the 7th Bomb Wing.

report: Robert F. Dorr photos: Jim Haseltine

FLYING THE B-1B LANCER AT DYESS AFB, TEXAS

DYESS ‘BONE’ TEAM

52-59 B-1 C rev.indd 52 07/08/2013 16:47


OF THE 66 Lancers, or ‘Bones’, in the USAF inventory, more than half are assigned at any given time to Dyess, just outside Abilene in west central Texas. The

7th Bomb Wing, commanded by Col Glenn VanHerck, is the B-1B parent unit. The wing’s 7th Operations Group, commanded by Col Mark Bennett, oversees the work of the 9th Bomb Squadron — a combat unit — and the 28th Bomb Squadron, which is the only B-1B formal training unit (FTU). Also part of the ‘Bone’ community at Dyess is the 337th Test and Evaluation Squadron, which is currently evaluating upgrades.

Dyess also claims to be the world’s largest operator of the C-130J Hercules tactical airlifter, with 28 C-130J-30 models equipping the 317th Airlift Wing as of

March 2013. Small wonder, then, that Dyess is constantly buzzing with activity. ‘If it’s not a beehive then maybe we should call it the ‘Bone Yard’, an airman told Combat Aircraft.

It’s also Texas. Yes, you do see a lot of pick-up trucks, cowboy hats and steakhouses, our favorite being The Beehive on Cedar Street. ‘Bone’ crews and maintainers generally like Dyess as an assignment: the locale offers a diverse range of entertainments that are family-friendly and reasonably priced. Aviation buffs may feel the place is a little less user-friendly: as part of the wave of cancellations ravaging the airshow circuit amid the United States’ debt and deficit crisis, Dyess’ airshow, the Big Country Airfest, was called off this year. This is also the era of increased security, so it’s not easy for a buff, or even a community

member, to gain access to the base. There are no obvious, close-up locations for enthusiasts with cameras.

Shotgun weddingThe marriage between the US Air Force and the B-1B Lancer was preceded by a long courtship and troubled by a tumultuous beginning and a near-separation. Back in the mid-1990s, before many changes under the skin, no-one in the Air Force leadership liked the B-1B with its (then) low mission-capable rates and (still) high operating costs. Things almost came to a head back in 2008 when then chief of staff Gen T. Michael Moseley told this magazine he wanted to retire all B-1Bs as an economy measure. Since then, with technological changes under the skin, the B-1B has racked up extraordinary achievements in the combat zone.

In the world of the B-1B Lancer, some pilots and crew members refer to the bustling Dyess Air Force Base as the ‘big hive’. Combat Aircraft visited the Texas base to �y with the ‘Bones’ of the 7th Bomb Wing.

report: Robert F. Dorr photos: Jim Haseltine

A �ne study shows the sleek lines of the B-1B with wings fully swept to 67 degrees.

52-59 B-1 C rev.indd 53 07/08/2013 16:47


In fact, the ‘user’ isn’t always sitting at home. Deployments are frequent, some involving one or two aircraft, others much larger.

Flying far a�eldTypical of the larger deployments: on August 2, 2012, nine B-1Bs and more than 400 airmen from the 7th Wing returned home after six months of duty in South-west Asia in support of combat operations in Afghanistan. This overseas stint marked the biggest B-1 deployment in terms of numbers of aircraft and personnel in the past 10 years, according to a Dyess press release. ‘There wasn’t a single moment during our deployment that we did not have a B-1 in the air over Afghanistan’, said Lt Col Matthew Brooks, then commander of Dyess’ 9th Bomb Squadron.

The expeditionary contingent of B-1s ‘flew 130 more sorties than any B-1 squadron had flown in any other six-month deployment’, he noted. The B-1s delivered more than 400 weapons on target, states the release. They were replaced overseas by a new B-1B contingent from Ellsworth AFB, South

‘There wasn’t a single moment during our

deployment that we did not have a B-1 in the

air over Afghanistan’Lt Col Matthew Brooks

So far, no divorce has taken place in spite of the B-1B’s low mission-capable rate of 57.03 per cent for the period ending September 12, 2012, its $40,665 per hour flying cost, and its need for 39.08 hours of ground maintenance for every hour spent in the air. Those are huge negatives but the B-1B also has big positives: the four-engine, four-crew, swing-wing, 477,000lb bomber is probably fully entitled to call itself the most versatile warplane in the world today. Far from ending its espousal, the USAF is investing heavily in upgrades that will take the B-1B fleet fully into the digital age.

‘The B-1B is in many ways the workhorse of the Air Force’, Lt Col William ‘Emcon’

Lynch told this magazine. He’s deputy for operations (DO) of the 377th TES, which recently finished its work on the B-1B Radar Modification Improvement Program (RMIP) and is now working on the Integrated Battle Station (IBS). Lynch’s 377th TES operates two of the ‘Bones’ at Dyess. They frequently have new equipment installed as the Air Force explores new ways to redeem its enormous investment in this beautiful but costly-to-operate bomber. ‘A lot of our kind of development work was previously done at Edwards’, said Lynch, referring to the fabled test center in California, ‘but it makes more sense for us to be right here where the user is.’

52-59 B-1 C rev.indd 54 07/08/2013 16:48


Dakota. At the request of Dyess officials, Combat Aircraft is not publishing the name of the well-known base where these deployments take place.

These deployments are ‘real-world’ — they enable the B-1B to accomplish its new-found mission of close air support (CAS) for ground troops in Afghanistan. A mission can consist of simply loitering and being available when needed by troops down below — that’s called overwatch — or it may entail heart-stopping moments of action, engaging a target from high overhead. Said one crew member: ‘We don’t fly together but we fly in a two-ship. The B-1B has a large payload and air-refueling capability. We’re up 24 hours a day seven days a week over Afghanistan.’

Basics of the ‘Bone’In terms of outward appearance, the ominous-looking B-1B Lancer hasn’t changed since the 100th and last aircraft rolled off the final assembly line on January 20, 1988. It’s painted in ‘air superiority gray’, or federal standards color FS36118.

The B-1B is reported in literature to have a radar cross-section one-fourth that of a B-52. Much use is made of radar-absorbent materials throughout the bomber’s key components. Power for the ‘Bone’ comes from four 30,000lb (13,620kg)-thrust General Electric F101-GE-102 turbofan engines. Its variable-geometry, or ‘swing’ wing — a cantilever, fail-safe design blended at the root into the fuselage center section — gives the B-1B greater pre-launch survivability because it can get airborne faster than a B-52. The wing spans 79ft (24.10m) when fully swept for high-speed flight and 137ft (41.80m) when extended for lower-speed operations and for handling in the airfield pattern.

Pilot and co-pilot of the B-1B are seated side-by-side and view an instrument panel that initially had a few digital and mostly analog instruments and several cathode ray terminals. In the B-1B the two pilots’ stations are identical, unlike the B-52 where they’re in mirror image. The B-1B is flown in a manner akin to a fighter, using stick and rudder pedals, though it has no head-up

display. The pilot or co-pilot handles air traffic control and flying communications while one of the back-seaters, when necessary, talks to the joint terminal attack controller (JTAC) on the ground.

The third and fourth crew members are both rated navigators and are called weapons systems officers. All four crew on board sit in Douglas-designed, Weber-built ACES II (Advanced Concept Ejection Seats). These are ‘zero-zero’ seats that can operate on the ground or at any speed or altitude. Parachutes and individual oxygen supplies are stowed aboard the seats.

Side-by-side behind the pilots, separated by bulkheads and equipment, the two back-seaters have plenty in common but function separately as the B-1B’s offensive systems operator (OSO) in the right-hand seat and defensive systems operator (DSO) in the left. They’re facing forward but have no view outside the aircraft: the tiny window beside each back-seat position is so small crew members call it a ‘day or night indicator.’

Under the original scheme, the OSO is a navigator whose job is to get the aircraft to

Left: The Block G upgrade centered upon cockpit avionics, with

Global Air Tra�c Management (GATM) system compatibility,

improved GPS navigation, cockpit display upgrades, UHF satellite

communications and the Link 16 NATO standard datalink.

Top right: The bustling �ightline at Dyess AFB as maintainers load

GBU-31 JDAM and AGM-158 JASSM weapons.

Right: Making the B-1’s weapons bays more versatile, in order

to accommodate a wider range of weaponry, has been a major

initiative over recent years. USAF

52-59 B-1 C rev.indd 55 07/08/2013 16:48


the target and release the ordnance at the right time, and might have been called a bombardier in an earlier era. The DSO is a navigator trained as an EWO (electronic warfare officer) and operates the AN/ALQ-161 defensive avionics system.

The back-seaters in the B-1B are proud, capable people who believe strongly in their mission and know that the pilots up front would be helpless without them. The Air Force has at least one set of husband-and-wife B-1B back-seaters — Capt Ajay ‘Ramrod’ Giri and Capt Kaylene ‘Frau’ Giri.

‘Frau’ Giri told Combat Aircraft: ‘When we go into combat we have on board our self-protection measures. In performing the defensive mission, the DSO is a left hand of the OSO. The DSO can see patterns of light, IR [infra-red] hot and cold spots, and a real-time picture of the ground. We do armed overwatch to provide whatever the ground commander for whatever he

needs. We use the Sniper pod the entire time we’re in combat. It has a high-fidelity camera and we can see things in IR and TV [television] mode. It gives us a real-time feedback from that tool.’

The OSO-and-DSO arrangement is changing. The terminology for the all-important back-seaters is changing too. Until recently, the two were collectively dubbed weapons systems officers (WSOs, or ‘wizzos’), but combat systems officer (CSO) is the official collective term today, even though troops don’t use it much.

The original B-1B ECM (electronic countermeasures) suite, which is only now beginning to change, is an integrated warning/countermeasures array of no fewer than 107 separate items, housed in the tail cone, fin cap, wing roots and avionics bays. The AN/ALQ-161 is largely automatic, detecting hostile emissions through receivers placed strategically around the aircraft and analyzing and

prioritizing them before instructing jammers to obliterate or confuse them.

The last time Combat Aircraft talked with B-1B veterans of Afghanistan overwatch, the back-seaters were still using off-the-shelf laptop computers to communicate with their own AN/AAQ-33 Sniper XR targeting pods. An upgrade effort described later eliminates the need for the laptop, enables the use of Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMs), enhances radar capabilities, and introduces a Fully Integrated Data Link (FIDL). In their original configuration and as still in use throughout the fleet today, ‘Frau’ Giri said, ‘Our displays are now green and black, kind of like MS DOS back in the day’. Another back-seater compared the original screen to ‘that weird feeling of looking through a submarine periscope in the middle of the night.’

It is worthy of mention that for long missions the B-1B provides a chemical toilet accessible to all four crew, easing a

52-59 B-1 C rev.indd 56 07/08/2013 16:48


bodily function that B-52 crew members prefer to postpone. On the ground, the B-1B is boarded by climbing a retractable ladder up through a hatch, reaching a cabin with far more room for its crew than the interior of the B-52 offers. There is also a miniature galley with microwave oven for hot snacks and a full-sized jump seat, as compared with the B-52’s half-sized jump seat, for an IP (instructor pilot). However, the practice of carrying extra personnel aboard was discontinued after four B-1Bs were lost early in the career of the aircraft. If you’re going to ride in a Lancer today, you must occupy one of its four ejection seats — as both the author and photographer did for this article. When a visitor is aboard, he occupies the front-left pilot’s seat, one of the back-seaters stays home, and the co-pilot sits out back.

Big B-1B changesEver since the B-1B lost its status as a Cold War nuclear bomber, and was re-born as a

close air support and conventional bomber, Air Force leaders have complained about its high operating costs, contemplated retiring it, and ultimately decided instead to improve it. Changes have been constant and costly. The biggest change is reflected in contracts of $65.8 million (so far) for a Lot 1 upgrade to enhance crews’ situational awareness and communications and a Lot 2 follow-on under which B-1Bs will be modified by Boeing at Tinker AFB, Oklahoma, to take on the previously mentioned Integrated Battle Station (IBS). The term IBS covers a family of changes to the crew positions that will wipe away the ancient IBM 286-era ‘steam-pump’ dials and replace them with 21st-century digital wizardry.

Combat Aircraft talked about IBS and other ‘Bone’ upgrades with Rick Greenwell, Boeing’s B-1B Program Manager.

‘Most important is the IBS mod going into the aircraft at Tinker’, said Greenwell.

‘IBS strives to enable you to use any data at any crew station. It’s the culmination of three development programs.

‘First: in the Vertical Situational Display Upgrade (VSDU), the crew members’ monochrome displays are being replaced by color. You won’t hear people talking about that ‘submarine periscope’ any longer. And we’re adding a digital map. These changes will improve the cockpit from a sustainability standpoint and offer more situational awareness.

‘Second: at the weapons station in the back we have a Fully Integrated Data Link (FIDL), which provides five displays altogether — three 8 x 10s [inches] and two 6 x 8s, plus Link 16 datalink capability, including beyond line-of-sight capability. The DSO has two 8 x 10s and one 6 x 8 while the OSO has one 8x10 of each — and has no room for a second because the original radar display is still there.’

Above: A B-1 Weapons School graduate pilot slams into a hard right-hand turn over the Lancer Military Operating Area (MOA). Note the laptop screen running the Falconview moving map. Tablet computers have also now been cleared for use in the B-1B.

Left top to bottom: Seated side-by-side behind the pilots are the o�ensive systems operator (OSO) in the right-hand seat, seen here, and the defensive systems operator (DSO) on the left. The OSO is pictured using the Falconview system.

The AN/AAQ-33 Sniper XR targeting pod program for the B-1 dates back to 2005 and involved uncovering sealed attachment points. These originally carried long-range air-launched nuclear cruise missiles, but are now used for the pod.

52-59 B-1 C rev.indd 57 07/08/2013 16:48


Initial testing by a B-1B with FIDL was completed at Edwards AFB, California in 2009.

‘Third’, Greenwell told Combat Aircraft, ‘we’re adding a Central Integrated Test System (CITS). Think of this as the protection system you have in your car: this adds another display. And crew members can interchange what they’re looking at.’

According to Greenwell, IBS has over 16,000 parts and almost 1,000 part numbers. ‘We’ve received two contracts — in June 2011 for four B-1B aircraft and in June 2012 for nine aircraft’. Except for two developmental ‘Bones’ operating in flight-test status at Edwards (83-0068 named Predator and 85-0075 named Ghost Rider), the first airframe for IBS was Dyess’s 86-0122 No Antidote, which began IBS modification at Tinker in November 2012. Said Greenwell: ‘We hope to complete this on the whole fleet of 66 aircraft by 2019.’

Other upgradesIt’s hard to believe that the B-1B, which has a futuristic look from some angles, is actually quite old, but it’s almost geriatric. The average B-1B has 10,000 hours on its airframe and will reach 20,000 hours by 2019. These bombers have flown 10,000 combat sorties. Boeing is overseeing an aircraft structural integrity program, doing what Greenwell calls ‘predictive work’ to look ahead to potential trouble. The company is doing a full-scale fatigue test near Seattle in the Puget Sound area — ‘at

Powerplant Four 30,000lb (13,620kg)-thrust General Electric F101-GE-102 turbofan engines

Performance

Maximum speed under ‘clean’ test conditions Mach 1.2

Maximum speed ‘clean’ for operational mission 652kt (1,207km/h) at 500ft (152m) or Mach 0.99

Cruising speed Mach 0.85

Service ceiling about 35,000ft (10,668m)

Range 6,300nm (11,675km)

Weights


Gross ramp weight 485,000lb (223,418kg)

Gross take-o� weight 477,000lb (216,368kg)

Maximum landing weight 360,000lb (163,300kg)

Dimensions

Wingspan 79ft (24.10m) when fully swept, 137ft (41.80m) when extended

Length 147ft (47.80m)

Height 33ft 7.25in (10.24m)

Wing area 1,960 square feet (181.10 square meters)

Ordnance

Up to 84 500lb (227kg) Mk82 or 24 2,000lb (907kg) Mk84 conventional bombs; nearly all USAF satellite-guided munitions (GBU-39 Small Diameter Bomb planned); up to 24 AGM-158 JASSM or JASSM-ER; all ordnance to a maximum of 125,000lb (56,250kg)

B-1B LANCER SPECIFICATIONS

52-59 B-1 C rev.indd 58 07/08/2013 16:48


Boeing’s test area for large aircraft’, said Greenwell — using a wing and a fuselage from a long-ago retired ‘Bone’. ‘The wing is being tested now’, Greenwell added.

In the B-1B community, they often speak of the Main Operating Bases (MOB), by which they mean Dyess and Ellsworth. Some work on B-1Bs is being done directly at the MOBs. That includes wing lower skin repairs. There were crack indications in 10 per cent of B-1B wing fasteners but without safety issues. Said Greenwell: ‘We ream out the holes and re-install fasteners in the lower wing. Other repairs: wing carry-through. The ‘38 rib’ location on the aircraft has some crack indications.’

Also at Dyess and Ellsworth, ground crews are replacing the B-1B inertial navigation system (INS) as part of what’s called Sustainment Block 15 (SB 15).

Lynch, of the test squadron at Dyess, had special praise for the improved ways the B-1B can zero in on a target and deliver a bomb. ‘We can use the modified [Sniper] pod to receive co-ordinates and pass the co-ordinates directly into the weapon. Previously, the OSO had to input the co-ordinates manually. We have a moving target capability for the 500lb GBU-54/B Laser JDAM. We’re just starting to test the second-generation Sniper SE [pod] with better optics. This enables a ground party to send content through the pod to someone else — for example, when we’re in a CAS mission talking to the JTACs on the ground. We have the ‘John Madden’

upgrade — named for a football coach — enabling the JTAC to put the crosshairs on the target’. This refers to the capability to mark a target on the targeting pod image so the pilot or back-seater can pinpoint its location. After a successful athletic career, Madden was a sportscaster who used graphics on television to circle a football player on the field when showing the re-play, a process similar to what happens on the B-1B’s displays.

Lynch seemed to make the point that the changes on the B-1B interior make the bomber a good candidate for ‘near-peer’ warfare and, thus, the ideal tool for the Obama administration’s much-touted ‘pivot’ toward Asia and the Pacific. ‘The IBS improves and fully integrates Link 16 [datalink] capability. With this, we fit in well with a big fighter package and communicate well with everybody. With the new partial ‘glass’ cockpit — engine instruments will still be analog — we have much better displays in the front. Again, we’ll be able to pass target co-ordinates in the air.’

Among the new capabilities of the B-1B is the AGM-158 Joint Air-to-Surface Stand-off Missile (JASSM). Lynch told CA that the B-1B can carry the most JASSMs of any warplane in the USAF inventory — 24. Soon the AGM-158B JASSM — Extended Range, or JASSM-ER — first tested using a B-1B at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico in 2006 — will join the broad range of other bombs and missiles that are part of the Lancer’s ordnance quiver.

This, again, is a sign of a US strategy shift from Afghanistan-style counter-insurgency to near-peer warfare: the JASSM is a true stand-off weapon. On day one of a conflict, a B-1B can remain distant from the target and employ JASSMs to knock out the so-called ‘double-digit SAMs’, or surface-to-air missiles — a reference to the S-300 family of SA-10 ‘Grumble’, SA-12 ‘Gladiator’ and SA-20 ‘Gargoyle’ missiles and their attendant radar sites. As one expert described it, ‘If we go to war with Iran, North Korea or China tomorrow morning, you can bet several B-1Bs with JASSMs will play a big part during the opening hours’. Images accompanying this article are among the first to show JASSM on an operational B-1B.

No-one wants this real-war scenario to play out in real life. For now, most airmen at Dyess simply would like to have a little more ‘dwell’ time (time spent at home), although all take pride in their CAS achievements in Afghanistan. For now, the shift from counter-insurgency to near-peer warfare doesn’t involve any actual fighting. The B-1B Lancer crews and maintainers at the 7th Wing at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, are ready if the worst happens — but for now, they have a little time to enjoy the western music in the saloons of Abilene. Oh, and the Abilene Philharmonic Orchestra is performing regularly, too — although for many, the real music is those F101 turbofan engines emitting their throaty growl on take-off.

52-59 B-1 C rev.indd 59 07/08/2013 16:48

USAF GLOBAL STRIKE


ON DECEMBER 17, 1993, the first bat-shaped B-2A Spirit winged its way into Whiteman AFB, Missouri. Less than a week later, on December 22, the initial B-2 sortie was launched, and this year

the 509th Bomb Wing and the US Air Force will mark two decades of Spirit operations from the former ICBM base that was transformed into the home of the US ‘stealth bomber’ force.

The USAF announced full operational capability for the B-2 force no less than a decade later, on December 17, 2003, and the type is now expected to remain in service until around 2058.

President Jimmy Carter authorized the B-2 program in secret in 1979, and a year on the US Air Force issued a formal requirement for the Advanced Technology Bomber (ATB). After the competition had been initially narrowed, two competing camps were left in the running: Lockheed/Rockwell’s ‘Senior Peg’ design was pitched against Northrop/Boeing’s ‘Senior Ice’. Even when the latter was selected in 1981 to manufacture 132 aircraft, it was still billed as a ‘study contract’ in order to maintain secrecy. In fact, despite the acknowledgment that work was under way on a stealth bomber, the B-2 remained in the ‘black world’ for many years. It wasn’t until November 22, 1988 that the aircraft was publicly unveiled, ahead of its first flight on July 17, 1989 at Palmdale, California.

For an aircraft that was already dubbed as being too expensive, changes in operational imperatives, looming defense cuts and widespread skepticism simply served to pile pressure on politicians to cut numbers of aircraft, sending unit costs spiraling. In the event, only 21 aircraft were manufactured. The

This December the US Air Force will mark 20 years of the B-2 at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri. So, where does this ultimate symbol of air power stand two decades on, and how will it �t into a future air force?

report: Jamie Hunter

THE USAF’S B-2A STEALTH BOMBER IN DETAIL

B-2A serial 88-0331 Spirit of South Carolina gets airborne from Nellis AFB, Nevada, for a ‘Red Flag’ exercise mission in March 2013. Jamie Hunter

60-65 B-2 Factfile C.indd 60 22/08/2013 16:04


60-65 B-2 Factfile C.indd 61 22/08/2013 16:04


US Air Force says the B-2 costs $1.2 billion per copy, while others put the cost at twice that sum after factoring in development costs.

Under the skinAlthough it may not be the most demanding of pure flying roles, the kudos of piloting the world’s most expensive aircraft — a national asset and something of an enigma — has rendered B-2 pilots highly respected. However, that respect is tempered by the reality of the somewhat austere conditions provided within the machine. Although a three-man crew was initially envisaged, the B-2A was in the event built for a complement of two pilots.

The cockpit was state-of-the-art when it was designed and manufactured in the 1980s, but, as with so many aircraft, it reflects a US inventory that appears ultra-modern on the surface but which is actually getting older by the day, with no replacement in sight. Costly upgrade paths have been a key factor in keeping the B-2 on its toes. Crew accommodation away from the two ejection seats is crude at best: in a ‘bunk area’, pilots set up a ‘cot’ for rest during their double-digit-hour global missions — although many just stretch out on the floor — and pilots have to make use of a crude stainless-steel bowl for a toilet.

This working environment has made Spirit crews experts in taking rest when able — napping is essential when one is staying airborne for a day or more. In March 2011, B-2s completed an 11,418-mile, 25-hour round trip from Whiteman to strike Ghurdabiya air base in Libya. Lt Gen James Kowalski, head of US Air Force Global Strike Command, commented: ‘We struck 45 of the 48 planned targets with precision munitions. The targets were all hardened aircraft shelters.’

On 28 March this year, two B-2s flew a round trip of 13,000 miles from Whiteman to South Korea, dropping dummy ordnance on the Jik Do range, and marking the first time that B-2s had overflown the Korean peninsula.

The B-2 can reportedly fly for 6,000nm on its internal fuel tanks, so these trips require several tanker brackets. Not surprisingly, longer range comes top of the average B-2 pilot’s ‘want list’. The need for tanker support is clearly a burden, and not just on the creaking KC-135R and KC-10A communities — it also creates upheaval during rest periods and limits routing criteria.

Of course, over the life of a program that spans several decades, the operational

backdrop changes. Early in its development, the B-2’s role was switched to low-level penetration. It reverted to high level at the beginning of its operational career, while the need for a range of smart conventional weapons became apparent.

The nature of stealth operations means that B-2 pilots want to show their hand for the minimum amount of time. The ‘penetration’ mode battens down the hatches and makes the Spirit as radar- and emissions-silent as possible. It does not possess all-aspect stealth, and so (as with the F-117) careful mission planning is vital for ‘spike management’. A B-2 pilot will always try to make full use of the aircraft’s low frontal-aspect radar signature

This photo: Close to the boom window of a KC-135R, it can be seen that the upper

surfaces of the B-2 are littered with discreet sensors. The crash of the Spirit of Kansas was

attributed to three of the network of 24 data-gathering sensors on the aircraft’s surface.

USAF/A1C John Linzmeier

Below: A crew chief with the 509th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron performs a pre-�ight

check on a B-2. USAF/SrA Kenny Holston

60-65 B-2 Factfile C.indd 62 22/08/2013 16:04


P2 (Block 20)Upgrade cycles for the B-2 were initially dubbed Blocks; however, these are now allocated P numbers. P2 provided partial terrain-following and GPS-Aided Targeting System/GPS-Aided Munition (GATS/GAM) conventional weapons capability following the demise of the B-2-spec�c AGM-137 program. The Spirit was able to carry a maximum of 16 GAMs. Tests successfully demonstrated the B-2’s ability to achieve a 6m (20ft) Circular Error of Probability (CEP) requirement. An interim weapon, GAM was quickly replaced by the Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM). The B-2 can carry the 2,000lb GBU-31(V)1 and (V)3, the latter having a penetrating warhead.

P3 (Block 30)This dealt with radar cross section (RCS) issues. The Block 30-standard aircraft has necessary radar modes for terrain following and terrain avoidance at altitudes as low as 60m (200ft), although such a requirement is now less necessary. The B-2 ceased carrying cluster munitions and the 5,000lb GBU-37 GPS-Aided Munition (GAM) after P3.

Weapons options by this time included the EGBU-28 deep-penetration weapon �tted with a standard JDAM tail kit and additional INS/GPS receivers that allow the B-2 to strike deeply-buried targets.

P4The P4 upgrade bestowed the B-2 with a Link 16 capability, and Advanced Communication Suite (ACS) BLOS (beyond line of sight) satellite communications. BLOS is being upgraded in line with the TENCAP (Tactical Exploitation of National Capabilities) initiative, which is designed to exploit commercial-o�-the-shelf components for greatly reduced cost. See also P6 below.

P5P5 was largely centered upon the Radar Modernization Program. This adds a state-of-the-art hybrid active electronically scanned array (AESA) to the AN/APQ-181 radar. Following successful operational evaluation in 2008 at Edwards AFB, California, the USAF awarded Northrop Grumman Integrated Systems a $468-million production contract for RMP. The Milestone C decision to enter full-rate production was granted in December 2009 and followed the low-rate initial production phase. Initial low-rate production kits were installed from mid-2010, and completion of all installations followed in 2012.

RMP provides capability in two separate radar Mode Sets. Mode Set 1 consists of conventional mission and weapons delivery capabilities. Mode Set 2 incorporates nuclear mission capabilities and allows the B-2 to conduct both nuclear and conventional missions in a GPS-degraded/denied environment.

P4 and P5.3-upgraded aircraft can carry as many as 80 independently-targeted 500lb GBU-38 JDAMs on a new ‘smart’ bomb rack, 16 2,000lb Mk84 general-purpose bombs, 16 AGM-154 Joint Stand-O� Weapons (JSOWs), or 16 AGM-158 Joint Air-to-Surface Stand-o� Missiles (JASSMs).

In 2011 the USAF completed integration of the GBU-57A/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP). The e�ort provides the stealth bomber with the capability to deliver two of the 30,000lb ‘bunker-busting’ conventional payloads.

P6This includes ‘survivable communications’ using advanced extremely high-frequency (EHF) radios to give crews direct secure communications to the US President.

Ongoing testing over the last year includes the EHF Satellite Communications (SATCOM) and Computer Upgrade Program. These three elements are designed to o�er capability across distinct increments. Increment 1 upgrades the core �ight management processing capability of the B-2 and lays the foundation for subsequent avionics upgrades. This replaces the existing aircraft �ight management computers with two new Integrated Processing Units and two new Data Drive Units to increase data storage. It also re-hosts the aircraft Flight Management Operational Flight Program from its previous �ight management software programming language, JOVIAL, to C.

EHF SATCOM Increments will remove the older MILSTAR AN/ASC-36 Ultra High Frequency (UHF)/Air Force SATCOM System, and add the BLOS terminals and a low-observable antenna to support EHF communications connectivity.

The �nal Increment is planned to centre around the software and provide full software integration of the B-2 EHF SATCOM upgrade, including Global Information Grid connectivity.

With developmental testing complete, the Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center (AFOTEC) conducted Initial Operational Test and Evaluation (IOT&E) from June to August 2012. This took in six sorties and 56 hours of dedicated �ight-testing including navigation, long-duration missions, and both conventional and nuclear weapons deliveries.

Results from the IOT&E indicate B-2 met the requirements for existing SATCOM, nuclear and conventional weapons accuracy, and navigational system accuracy.

Looking further ahead, in 2013 plans emerged for the USAF to arm the B-2 with a new nuclear Long-Range Stand-o� Weapon (LRSO) cruise missile. Flexible Strike Phase 1 — formerly known as Stores Management Operational Flight Program re-host — will re-combine and re-host the current B-2 stores management software on to a new integrated processor, providing the processing and bandwidth to handle advanced digital weapons such as the free-fall B61-12 bomb or LRSO. Production and �elding of the Flexible Strike Phase 1 program is planned for Fiscal Years 2016 to 2017, in time to receive the new B61-12 bomb in 2019 and the LRSO cruise missile in the mid-to-late 2020s.

B-2 UPGRADE BLOCKS

The B-2’s P5.3 upgrade paved the way for carriage of up to 80 independently targeted 500lb GBU-38 JDAMs on a new ‘smart’ bomb rack. USAF

60-65 B-2 Factfile C.indd 63 22/08/2013 16:04

to present the lowest cross-section to the enemy’s eyes.

Weapons employment is a crucial phase of the mission in many ways, not least due to accuracy and vulnerability — a B-2 with open bomb bays is one that is exposed to detection. Pilots plug in target information and the jet calculates the desired release point, automatically opening the bomb bay for the minimum amount of time in order to deliver the lethal payload. The Mixed Conventional Loads Pattern (MCLP) management system allows re-targeting of weapons in the air and new attacks may be made with up to 16 weapons, of up to four different types per pass.

Changing objectivesDespite well-publicized usage during ‘Iraqi Freedom’ in 2003, and in 2011’s ‘Odyssey Dawn’, the B-2’s role since becoming fully operational has been one of deterrent. It represents perhaps the ultimate symbol of global air power.

There have also been setbacks. One Spirit was lost when it crashed on take-off from Andersen AFB, Guam, on February 23, 2008. The accident was the first loss of a B-2, the two-man crew ejecting as the Spirit of Kansas (serial number 89-0127) came down next to the main runway. The subsequent seven-week investigation attributed the crash to three of the network of 24 data-gathering sensors on the aircraft’s surface having become moist and thus supplied distorted data, resulting in incorrect airspeed and angle of attack information being provided to the cockpit.

The B-2 is also something of a headache for maintainers. Some parts were manufactured uniquely for the type and have been tough to maintain or keep in stock, their suppliers long since having


Powerplant Four General Electric F118-GE-100 turbofans, 17,300lb (7,847kg) thrust each

Performance

Maximum speed High subsonic

Service ceiling Approximately 50,000ft (15,200m)

Range Approximately 6,500nm (12,038km) without refueling, or 10,000nm (18,520km) with one aerial refueling

Weights


Take-o� weight 336,500lb (152,634kg)

Dimensions

Wingspan 172ft (52.4m)

Length 69ft (21.0m)

Height 17ft (5.18m)

Wing area 5,140 square feet (478 square meters)

Ordnance Up to 40,000lb (18,144kg) of conventional or nuclear weapons, including precision-guided munitions and gravity bombs

B-2A SPIRIT SPECIFICATIONS

ceased production. Use of commercial off-the-shelf components must be a key consideration.

In the current climate of tightening defense budgets, many question how long an aircraft without a clear requirement can survive. Luckily for the B-2, as the war in Afghanistan winds down it becomes increasingly

relevant. The B-2, along with the F-22, has no application in the Afghan theater. However, the Pentagon’s gaze is moving east, with the well-publicized ‘pivot to the Pacific’ and potential near-peer adversaries.

The Australian Defence Association has played down the possibility of the USAF

60-65 B-2 Factfile C.indd 64 22/08/2013 16:04


positioning B-2s as required at RAAF bases in northern Australia. Gen Herbert ‘Hawk’ Carlisle, chief of USAF operations in the Pacific, was quoted in Foreign Policy magazine as suggesting that the high-tech bombers could be sent to Australia’s Northern Territory on a rotational basis.

The new strategic posture is not only right up the B-2’s avenue, but it is also garnering support in justifying its future stablemate — the Next-Generation Bomber (NGB) or Long-Range Strike (LRS) aircraft. Funding is already flowing, and some speculate that development at Lockheed Martin, Boeing and Northrop Grumman is well under way.

Planners argue that the new aircraft — be it manned, optionally manned, or unmanned — should be more than just a bomber and thus able to act as a combat ISTAR platform, whether gathering intelligence, being used as a communications relay platform, or as a close air support hub. However, the bomber community may see its role as being sufficiently complex to preclude straying from the pure bomber role. The new type’s strike mission will probably be even more complex than that of the B-2, all manner of exotic weaponry being likely — perhaps even including directed-energy weapons and cyber warfare capabilities.

B-2 serial 92-0700 Spirit of Florida became the first Spirit to surpass the 7,000-flight hour mark on April 1 this year. SSgt Kent Sedgwick, the 13th Aircraft Maintenance Unit dedicated crew chief assigned to the jet, enthused: ‘It feels great to work on something that has such a powerful presence. The ‘health’ of our aircraft shows just how much time and effort our crew chiefs and maintainers put into making sure everything is taken care of, so our jets can take off at any moment.’

Ted

Carls

on

This photo: The B-2’s outboard elevons split horizontally and function as fast-moving drag

rudders and speed brakes. Jamie Hunter

Right top to bottom: The four General Electric F118-GE-100 turbofans on the B-2 are mounted

in pairs within the wing structure. A Pilot Alert System (PAS) can detect the onset of contrails at high altitude and allows the pilot to adjust �ight parameters to avoid this tell-tale visual

signature. Jamie Hunter

The 509th Bomb Wing regularly undertakes Nuclear Operational Readiness Exercises.

USAF/A1C Bryan Crane

60-65 B-2 Factfile C.indd 65 22/08/2013 16:05

PERSIANPERSIAN CATS

NINE LIVES OF THE

CATSCATS


66-71 Iran F-14 C.indd 66 22/08/2013 17:03

PERSIANB

EFORE THE SHAH was forced out of power in 1979, Iran viewed Washington as one of its closest allies and was more than willing to acquire the most modern US military hardware.

So it was that Iran was able to buy America’s latest fleet fighter, the F-14A Tomcat.

On January 26, 1976 the Imperial Iranian Air Force (IIAF) received its first two Tomcats at the 8th Tactical Fighter Base (TFB.8) at Khatami, part of Isfahan International Airport. Over the next two years, 77 more Tomcats were received to form three Tactical Fighter Squadrons (TFS). Of these, the 71st was based at TFB.7 at Shiraz and two others, the 81st and 82nd, were located at Isfahan. Additionally, in 1977 the 83rd Tomcat Flight and Weapon Training Squadron was formed at Isfahan, in order to train F-14A flight crews locally. Until then, Iranian pilots, mostly F-4 veterans, had received training on the new type in the US, beginning in 1973.

It was Iran’s intention to purchase a further 70 Tomcats, bringing the fleet up to 150 examples, and form two new squadrons at TFB.6 in Bushehr plus one more at either TFB.1 at Mehrabad or TFB.8. In the event, the arms embargo ended those aspirations. Although 79 F-14As were delivered to Iran (two batches, one of 50 and the other of 30 aircraft were ordered), the 80th aircraft, BuNo 160377, was retained in the US for trials.

By the time of the Islamic Revolution in 1979, the training school was on course to convert 100 Tomcat crews, both pilots and Radar Intercept Officers (RIOs), by 1981. However, all plans for air force expansion were cancelled by the new regime, leaving just 60 pilots and 24 RIOs for the country’s 77 fully mission capable aircraft. Before the revolution, the 83rd Squadron generated 24 training sorties per day but this fell to zero once the new government decided to try and sell the F-14A fleet. A further problem for the armed forces was the purging of experienced personnel; anyone even suspected of dissenting from the official line was liable to be retired, dismissed, imprisoned or even executed. The arms embargo imposed on Iran following the revolution prevented the delivery of spare parts for the country’s mostly American-made equipment, and within a very short time only a few F-14s were classed as fully mission-capable (FMC).

In order to appreciate the level of combat readiness of the IRIAF’s F-14s prior to the outbreak of the Iran-Iraq War on September 22,

The Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force (IRIAF) continues to operate three squadrons of the Grumman F-14 Tomcat — still one of the world’s most impressive interceptors. Though much of its technology dates back to the Cold War era, the combat-proven Tomcats remain the pride of the Iranian air arm.

report and photos: Babak TaghvaeeCATSCATS

This photo: F-14A serial 3-6042 leads a gaggle of Tomcats during a formation training sortie near Isfahan in late 2011. 3-6042 has lost its canopy twice. The

�rst time was in 1977 when a soldier jettisoned it in front of Mohammad-Reza Shah during his visit to TFB.8 in order to scare him, and the second

during the early 2000s when the crew lost control during landing. They both ejected but the aircraft engaged the barrier and was relatively undamaged.


66-71 Iran F-14 C.indd 67 22/08/2013 17:03

1980, it is instructive to look at a report from the Air Force’s General Office of Inspector concerning TFB.8’s F-14 fleet in August 1980. From 61 F-14As at the air base just seven were flyable, a combat readiness level of 12 per cent. Guidelines stipulated that each aircraft should be overhauled after 36 months of flying, but, due to restrictions on the supply of spare parts, two fighters had reached the 48-month mark and were grounded, awaiting programmed depot maintenance.

During the first week of the war with Iraq, technicians at both TFB.7 and TFB.8 brought a group of grounded F-14As back into action by means of cannibalizing other aircraft for their parts. However, the number of FMC aircraft remained low at both bases.

IRIAF technicians integrated the AIM-9J and radar-guided AIM-7E-4 Sparrow air-to-air missiles with the Tomcat’s fire-control system over the course of the war years. Before that, the only weapons available for aerial engagements were the long-range AIM-54A Phoenix and the M61 20mm gun. As such, pilots even used the Phoenix against enemy aircraft at very short range. One of the closest recorded shoot-down ranges achieved by an AIM-54A during the war was 12 miles.

With the number of mission-capable Tomcats reduced to 10 or 12, the non-operational

aircraft badly required programmed depot maintenance. The first (serial 3-6001, BuNo 160299) was sent to Mehrabad for overhaul by Iranian Aircraft Industries (IACI) in 1981. Work was completed in 1982. By 1985, the number of airworthy Tomcats comprised 18 FMC and 16 partially mission capable (PMC) aircraft in service with the 71st, 81st and 82nd TFS.

After the war only 34 airworthy examples remained, most of them FMCs with healthy AN/AWG-9 radars

or fire-control systems; more than 20 others were either undergoing overhaul or awaiting overhaul at the IACI facilities at Tehran-Mehrabad airport or at TFB.8 Baba’ee (formerly Khatami air base) in Isfahan.

Iranian Tomcat losses during the war numbered eight aircraft: one was lost due to ‘friendly fire’ from an F-4E, three others fell to Mirage F1s, one was shot down by a MiG-21bis, two others were downed by two unknown fighters on different occasions, and finally F-14A serial 3-6075 (BuNo 160373) fled to Iraq. American special forces destroyed the latter Tomcat during an operation deep inside Iraq territory, in order to prevent it falling into Soviet hands. According to Iranian documentation, there exist 64 confirmed victories from 200 claimed Tomcat kills between 1980-88.

Twenty-four F-14As took part in a flypast on September 22, 1988, marking the first Holy Defense Week parade after the ceasefire. This led Western military experts to conclude that these were the only surviving Tomcats available to Iran, the rest having been lost in the war or grounded by a shortage of spares. These same experts asserted that perhaps as few as two jets had operational radars and that Iran had expended its entire stock of AIM-54As. While the true situation will probably never be known, these were ‘worst case’ scenarios. Despite the embargo, Iran had received spares for its Tomcats as well as for its AIM-54As. Some sources state that supplies, including 200 new AIM-54As, were delivered to the IRIAF between 1985-87 as part of the arms supplied under the Iran-Contra affair.

Six months after the end of the war, a detachment of Tomcats that had been deployed

to protect Bushehr returned to TFB.8 where the entire dwindling fleet of F-14s was now concentrated with the 81st, 82nd and 83rd TFS; the 71st TFS at Shiraz had been disbanded in 1986. Four Tomcats were left behind at Bushehr to maintain the Quick Reaction Alert along with two F-4Es.

Persian cats in peacetimeIn 1991, the IRIAF initiated an ambitious expansion plan, purchasing Russian equipment including 24 MiG-29s and 12 Su-24MKs. Plans were in place to acquire 48 more MiG-29s and 24 MiG-31s plus 100 second-hand Su-24Ms. The number of airworthy Tomcats doubled in 1991, following overhauls. The 83rd TFS was disbanded and all of its 16 Tomcats re-located to TFB.6 at Bushehr to reform the 62nd TFS, formerly an F-4E squadron. However, the efficiency of the squadron gradually reduced as delicate sub-systems succumbed to the hostile coastal conditions.

Bushehr was significant for another reason. Before the revolution, work had begun on a nuclear reactor, and in the early years of the 21st century this was completed with Russian help. The plant was the subject of numerous Iraqi attacks during the war and at the end of hostilities an increasing number of American surveillance flights were observed over the facility. To counter these, the 62nd’s Tomcats were tasked with mounting combat air patrols over the plant; despite several confrontations with American aircraft, no more serious incidents arose.

The poor serviceability record of the type led to the disbandment of the 62nd TFS in 2007. Most of the grounded machines were sent to

‘In the years between 1998 and 2002, two proposals were offered to adapt Russian anti-aircraft missiles for the Tomcat fleet due to the shortage of healthy AIM-9Js and AIM-7E-4s in IRIAF stocks’

The Tomcats at TFB.8 are housed in pairs of shelters with large blast walls in a large complex shared with F-7Ns. F-14A serial 3-6039 is one of the Tomcats modi�ed as a bomber in 1988. It has retained its Asian Minor II camou�age because it was stored until being delivered to the 82nd TFS in March 2013.


66-71 Iran F-14 C.indd 68 22/08/2013 17:03

IACI for major overhaul and the remaining airworthy examples went back to TFB.8 to re-form the 83rd TFS, which still occasionally provides Tomcats to stand alert at Bushehr.

Iran’s air defense backboneThe Islamic Republic of Iran and its armed forces have been under various arms embargoes since the 1980s. As such, the IRIAF has no chance to suitably re-build. The result is that the backbone of its air defense fleet remains the aged fleet of Tomcats.

In January 2001 the Iranian Defense Minister visited Moscow and signed a contract that covered the acquisition of new military equipment including 24 MiG-31BMs. The Pentagon later forced Russia to cancel the delivery. At the same time, the IRIAF lost its best chance to replace its aged F-14 fleet. Iran then looked towards China for its ‘last chance’. In 1997 and 1998, Shenyang offered its F-8IIM. However, both the IRIAF and Ministry of Defense rejected the type as a fighter-interceptor, considering its capabilities insufficient to replace the F-14.

With no suitable successor in sight, the IRIAF is now dedicated to keeping its F-14s in service and has made efforts to update the fleet. In the first such attempt, the MIM-23B surface-to-air missile was integrated with the fire-control system of four Tomcats during 1984-89. The missile was installed by means of an adaptor pylon on stations 1 and 8. A computer interface was fitted to translate both incoming and outgoing commands from the aircraft’s fire-control system and the MIM-23B missiles (which were now called the MIM-23C Sedjil). Some unsuccessful trials against target drones over the Semanan missile ranges led to further changes. After successful live tests involving the project testbed, serial 3-6073 (BuNo 160371), the IRIAF HQ permitted the same modifications to be made to 3-6060 and 3-6067. Finally, a first successful live launch against an enemy aircraft occurred in winter 1987 (probably one of two Iraqi Mirage F1s shot down near Khark Island in February). A

Serial 3-6041 (seen here) was a testbed for the ‘Toufan’ project that unsuccessfully tried to add R-27R missiles in the early 2000s. Rahim Shara�

3-6067 is one of �ve Tomcats modi�ed to carry the MIM-23C ‘Sedjil’. It is pictured at IACI’s Tomcat overhaul center.

Serial 3-6021 was one of the last Tomcats attached to the 62nd TFS before its disbandment in 2007. When this photo was taken in 2009, it was still carrying TFB.6 markings on its �ns. This aircraft is now in service with the 83rd TFS.


66-71 Iran F-14 C.indd 69 22/08/2013 17:03

fourth and fifth aircraft undergoing overhaul with IACI were chosen to receive the same modifications in 1988. The main goal of the project was to field a replacement for the AIM-7F, which was never delivered to Iran due to sanctions.

The next project was to provide the Tomcats with an air-to-ground capability, beginning in the final year of the war. Modifications were made to the armament system in order to provide the ability to drop the free-fall Mk80 series and M117 iron bombs. Four aircraft were chosen as the first to be modified as ‘Bomb Cats’, receiving changes to their head-up display, armament computers and so on. A bomb rack installed within the LAU-93 missile launchers under the belly made

possible the carriage of eight Mk82s or four Mk83s simultaneously. As an alternative, two M117s or Mk84s could also be toted. After the acquisition of the Su-24MK, the ‘Bomb Cat’ project was abandoned and only four aircraft were ever adapted.

In the years between 1998 and 2002, two proposals were offered to adapt Russian anti-aircraft missiles for the Tomcat fleet due to the shortage of healthy AIM-9Js and AIM-7E-4s in IRIAF stocks. The first was the fourth-generation R-73E infra-red-guided missile, 300 of which were delivered by the USSR in 1990-91. The second involved the radar-guided R-27R, 150 of which had been delivered. The AIM-54As had not been operational since the mid-1980s. However, in the early 2000s, some

work began in both the IRIAF’s Self-Sufficiency Group and the Ministry of Defense. Some rumors state that at least 10 AIM-54As were refurbished and brought back into service to be used by the QRA Tomcats of TFB.6 and TFB.8 from 2004-08. The Ministry of Defense then presented its own ‘new’ AIM-54A, which was named AIM-54A+ Faccur. This missile combined MIM-23C systems inside an old AIM-54A body. Except for the Faccur, all these missiles were live-tested on Tomcats, but the various programs were later cancelled. However, newly-refurbished AIM-54As from the Self-Sufficiency Group have given a new lease of life to the fleet. On exercise, F-14A serial 3-6054 (BuNo 160352) has successfully launched just such an AIM-54A against a target drone.

The IRIAF HQ decided during 2008 fully to modernize an F-14A under a program named Baba’ee. Work began during the overhaul of F-14A serial 3-6049 at Tehran in January 2009. Old electronic parts, especially those related to its AN/AWG-9 radar and armament system, were replaced with new, faster and lighter components. The AN/ALQ-100 electronic countermeasures (ECM) system was upgraded and a new pre-amplifier, analyzer, processor and antenna replaced the older ones. All wiring was replaced, and stations 1 and 8 were strengthened to carry the MIM-23C or R-73E. A new internal navigation system package, a secure U/VHF radio system, and other items were installed. After the completion of modernization work during the overhaul process, and once all engine tests and ground checks had been passed, a 30-minute functional check flight was completed on January 18, 2012. Finally, the aircraft was delivered to the 82nd TFS at Isfahan in April 2012. The modernized fighter was first shown to the public during a television documentary


66-71 Iran F-14 C.indd 70 22/08/2013 17:03

in September 2012. The aircraft was painted in the original Asian Minor II three-tone desert camouflage colors but these were now applied in a splinter pattern.

IRIAF Tomcat accidents and incidents suffered as a result of pilot error or technical failure due to low-quality maintenance have decreased during the past two decades. The standard of engine maintenance has increased two-fold compared to 20 years ago, and flight-training safety has improved. On June 21, 2004, an F-14A crashed due to pilot error while engaged in a training flight near Isfahan, killing a flight instructor and student. As a result, the IRIAF made attempts to refurbish and restore the F-14A front-seat simulator at TFB.8.

‘UFO hunters’During the last 20 years, IRIAF Tomcats, and especially those of the 62nd TFS, have been scrambled to intercept foreign and unknown aircraft, especially those of coalition forces during Operation ‘Iraqi Freedom’ in 2003. In some cases the Tomcats even engaged them, for example during the ‘Way to Jerusalem’ war game on April 24, 1997. But the Tomcat’s most important combat record in recent times began in 2004.

When Iran’s suspicious nuclear program was revealed to the public, Western nations, led by the US and Israel, warned it to abandon its nuclear activities. The US attempted to gather information concerning the activities at three important Iranian nuclear facilities: the reactor at Bushehr, an additional reactor in Arak and the fuel enrichment plant at Natanz. A number of reconnaissance UAVs were sent to collect intelligence to help prepare for a possible attack. Due to increased UAV overflights, the IRIAF HQ requested four F-4Es and four

F-14As from the 61st and 62nd TFS at Bushehr to serve as QRA interceptors, 24 hours a day, every day during fall 2004. Meanwhile, four F-4Es from the 31st TFS and four F-14As from the 81st and 82nd TFS were also maintained on alert and were even flown at night under the command of a Boeing 707 command post and an ELINT/SIGINT-configured C-130H. Between them, these monitored local airspace from 20.00hrs to 06.00hrs.

According to Iranian sources, the CIA’s intelligence drones displayed astonishing flight characteristics, including an ability to fly outside the atmosphere, attain a maximum cruise speed of Mach 10, and a minimum speed of zero, with the ability to hover over the target. Finally, these drones used powerful ECM that could jam enemy radars using very high levels of magnetic energy, disrupting navigation systems. These machines were spotted several times by IRIAF ground radar sites, ELINT aircraft and airborne command posts, and they even presented some problems for the IRIAF’s routine night training flights in Bushehr. Because the intelligence drones created considerable light during their night photography work, they were dubbed ‘luminous objects’ by Iranian government media. In several cases, IRIAF F-14s faced them but were unable to operate their armament systems properly.

In one case over Arak in November 2004, the crew of an F-14A armed with two AIM-9Js and two AIM-7E-4s spotted a luminous object flying near the heavy water plant of the Arak site. When the beam of the jet’s AN/AWG-9 radar ‘painted’ the object, both the RIO and pilot saw that the radar scope was disrupted, probably due to the high magnetic energy of the object increasing the power of the reflected radar waves. The pilot described the object as being spherical, with something like a green

afterburner creating a considerable amount of turbulence behind it. The Tomcat crew achieved a lock-on when it was flying a linear and constant flight path. Once the pilot selected an AIM-7E-4 to launch against it, the object increased its speed and then disappeared like a meteor.

After similar attempts by F-4Es and F-14As in the Bushehr, Arak and Natanz areas, the IRIAF HQ ordered an end to the missions flown against the ‘luminous objects’. After two years of research on the objects’ flight profiles and examination of remnants of a crashed example recovered in 2006 (in both Iran and then by experts in Russia), the Iranian Army specified that they were US intelligence drones. However, the government media in Iran has attempted to cover up all news of them. In 2004 and 2005, when the public spotted the objects near Arak, Ardebil and Sarab, they were described as the planet Venus!

At around 04.20hrs on January 26, 2012, an Iranian Air Defense Command radar site near Bushehr identified an unknown aircraft flying towards the area. An F-14A was ordered to scramble. At 04.30hrs it took off from TFB.6, but seconds later the fighter exploded, killing both crew instantly. The reason for the incident remains a mystery, and the aircraft involved was one of the ‘fittest’ IRIAF Tomcats, with the lowest flying hours in the fleet.

The IRIAF has a program under way to modernize all of its F-14 fleet to Baba’ee standard by 2020. In the meantime, the 81st, 82nd and 83rd TFS at TFB.8 are the last operators of this legendary interceptor. Meanwhile, F-7Ns stationed at TFB.8 are used together with F-14As for tactical training. According to most Western sources, 40 F-14s are still flyable in Iran, but the actual number is somewhat higher.

Top left: Daily �ying often involves the F-14s being towed from their shelters to be operated from a main ramp, as pictured here at TFB.8. Like US Navy Tomcats, IRIAF F-14s �y without the in-�ight refueling probe cover because it increases the risk of snagging the tanker basket. Rahim Shara�

Left: This is the 14th Tomcat delivered to Iran — it remains airworthy with the 81st TFS. It was a dedicated trainer Tomcat in early 2000s and was recently overhauled and returned to its squadron in March 2013. Babak Taghvaee

Above: In 2008, the IRIAF decided to upgrade an F-14A under a program named Baba’ee. The chosen aircraft, 3-6049, is seen at Mehrabad ready for its �rst functional check �ight after modernization work in early 2012. The aircraft was painted in the original Asian Minor II three-tone desert camou�age colors but these are now applied in a splinter pattern.


66-71 Iran F-14 C.indd 71 22/08/2013 17:03

AT THE TIP of the ‘Marine Air’ spear is the Bell AH-1W Super Cobra. This close air support asset, better known as the ‘Whiskey’, has developed a fearsome

reputation during the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. ‘Scarface’ has long been associated with the Cobra, the unit having received its first AH-1Gs in 1969. HMLA-367 operates the AH-1W as its primary attack platform, alongside the UH-1Y Venom.

With two hardpoints on each stub wing, the lightweight AH-1W is capable of packing a heavyweight punch. In addition to the three-barrel 20mm M197 chin-mounted cannon, with a 110° field of fire and provided with up to 750 rounds of ammunition, the ‘Whiskey’ can be equipped with BGM-71 TOW, AGM-114 Hellfire and AIM-9M Sidewinder missiles. LAU-68 and LAU-61 rocket pods can each contain a variety of, respectively, seven or 19 2.75in high-explosive (HE), illumination, smoke or flechette rockets.

‘Recent Whiskey upgrades’Thanks to a series of enhancements, the current AH-1W is a vastly superior gunship to the one that made its maiden flight on November 16, 1983. One such modification, introduced in 2005-06, was the ‘turned exhaust’ designed to re-direct the flow of hot exhaust gases away from the tail boom, thereby reducing the AH-1W’s heat signature.

‘In 2009-10 the AH-1Ws were upgraded to allow them to carry more chaff, which is now

comparable to the amount that can be carried by the new ‘Zulu’ [AH-1Z]’, explained Maj Henry ‘Deebo’ Dolberry Jr, Executive Officer of HMLA-367 at the time of Combat Aircraft’s visit. ‘Based on evolving threats, various upgrades were made to the countermeasures. We have covert and overt flares, depending on the threat. Certain heat-seeking missiles use certain ways of finding the aircraft. Some just detect that something is hot and others that are kind of hot; therefore we are equipped with flares that generate a variety of heat signatures. Some burn intensely and others less so but they do produce the signature required to defeat certain missile systems.’

While conducting close air support missions, identifying the correct target can be a lengthy process, especially in an urban environment. During the heat of battle, seconds can mean the difference between life and death. Reducing not only the risk of fratricide but also of civilian casualties is something that all aircrew agree is of the utmost importance. Therefore, one of the key upgrades made to the ‘Whiskey’ was the addition of a tactical video datalink. This now allows crews to transmit sensor video to a ROVER (Remotely Operated Video Enhanced Receiver)-equipped forward air controller (FAC). With the correct frequency match, the Cobra is also able to receive video from UAV sensors and the Litening pod of an AV-8B or F/A-18. First introduced in 2010, the datalink now features on all AH-1Ws. ‘The tactical video datalink has allowed us to be much more efficient’, stated Maj Dolberry. ‘A target talk-on for an inexperienced pilot

Combat Aircraft visits Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 367 (HMLA-367) ‘Scarface’ to sample some Marine Corps ‘Whiskey’, and meets the successor to the Super Cobra, the impressive AH-1Z.

report: Dr Séan Wilson, assisted by Paul Mulligan

HMLA-367 ‘SCARFACE’ AND THE AH-1 COBRA

72

72-77 AH-1 Scarface C.indd 72 22/08/2013 16:05

Right: Targeting for the AH-1W is provided by the night targeting system (NTS). This integrates a forward-looking infra-red (FLIR), which provides automatic target tracking with a laser designator/range�nder and video recorder. Dr Séan Wilson

Below: HMLA-367 ‘Scarface’ has now relocated to Hawaii’s MCAS Kanoehe Bay. USMC/Sgt Reece Lodder

73


can take upwards of 30 minutes. Now we have a system that enables the guy on the ground to put our eyes on the point of interest immediately.’

OEF ops Following several deployments in support of Operation ‘Iraqi Freedom’ (OIF), ‘Scarface’ was once again called upon, this time as part of the current Operation ‘Enduring Freedom’ (OEF) mission in Afghanistan. Maj Dolberry, a veteran with 1,700 hours in the Cobra, 350 of which were clocked during OEF, recounts some of his experiences while operating in Afghanistan from October 2009 to May 2010: ‘Our typical in-theater weapons load was the gun, HE and flechette rockets, and the Hellfire. It was the gun that was employed more than anything else as with it you can minimize collateral damage. We normally engage with the cannon at about 1,000 to 1,200m away, and around 800m away for rockets. The Hellfire is an 8km weapon. You would think that the Hellfire is an ideal weapon because of its guidance and the fact that it can be fired from further away, but based on collateral damage it isn’t. Sometimes maybe the gun or flechette rocket is the best way to go. With civilians and houses around, the gun is the better option to minimize collateral damage.’

‘Scarface’ flew close to 5,000 hours during the seven-month deployment to Afghanistan. ‘The biggest difficulty we faced over there was the time taken to identify insurgents’, Maj Dolberry continues. ‘In Iraq it was much easier to identify them, but in Afghanistan, with insurgents blending in, it’s a different kind of

warfare. We have had to evolve. You have to understand their culture and the pattern of everyday life to be able to determine what is considered normal or odd behavior.

‘The Cobra has been very successful in Afghanistan, but I don’t define successful as just killing insurgents. I define successful as ensuring the safety of the troops on the ground. At the end of the day I’m not out there to kill people. I’m there to ensure that the troops can take care of their mission and get back safely. If the mere sound of me being there is enough to enable them to move safely, then ‘mission accomplished’.

‘The ‘Whiskey’ with its two blades has a distinctive beat to it. What the guys on the ground would tell us was that during a fight, as soon as they heard the distinctive sound of the ‘Whiskey’ in the distance, the shooting would stop. The business end of a ‘Whiskey’ is not friendly-looking when it’s pointing at you. We have documentation from some insurgents that when they hear that noise they’re done. Strictly speaking, when we get there we are very lethal. Once we have identified where our guys are, where the non-hostiles are and where the bad guys are, it’s over. That word circulates through the insurgents and they change their tactics by trying to blend in or not shoot and disperse. The norm for me in Afghanistan was to arrive in the area, the shooting would stop and then start again as soon as we would leave. So you try to make sure that the winds are to your advantage.

‘When we are out there supporting the ground guys it’s personal, but always professional. We don’t let the passion

overwhelm us into making a decision that may be costly. On one particular mission Marines were being engaged from a tree line that was right next to a town. Using the ‘Whiskey’ sensors we were talked on to the target area and I saw what appeared to me to be children running back and forth to the tree line. A quick look at the village indicated that it appeared to be empty. Then around 20 women and children suddenly ran from the tree line, stopped, and then ran back again almost like someone was directing or influencing them. This pattern was repeated before eventually they all went back to their town. Something was going on but we do not shoot unless we know exactly what’s happening. The rules of engagement are there for a very good reason. We don’t shoot unless we have approval to shoot, unless we know exactly where the target is and we can identify it. Our training

‘The business end of a ‘Whiskey’ is not friendly-looking when it’s pointing at you. We have documentation from some insurgents that when they hear that noise they’re done’ Maj Henry ‘Deebo’ Dolberry Jr

An AH-1W Super Cobra and UH-1Y Venom of HMLA-367 �y o� the coast of Oahu, Hawaii.

USMC/Sgt Reece Lodder74


during the work-up cycle deals not only with tactics but also with flight leadership. As the senior guy in the cockpit I’m going to make sure that we are professional. We are not just animals out there shooting. We are identifying the target, our guys and non-hostiles and making the right decisions as far as tactics and weapons systems to employ. That was one of my favorite missions and I didn’t even shoot that time, yet we accomplished the mission as the ground guys were able to disengage and the civilians in the tree line were not engaged. On this occasion a UAV was put overhead to

watch the area and eventually the insurgents were observed leaving later that night; then we picked them up. Winning does not necessarily involve shooting. Exercising tactical patience can lead to a victory later on.

‘There was another mission in that same area. We have certain weather requirements that determine what conditions we can fly in, and it comes as no surprise that the bad guys figured this out. Bad weather, no helicopters. So when we took off the weather was OK but there was a cloud layer over the area. As we were heading back to base a hole opened up

in the weather. So air ops switched me up to this JTAC (Joint Terminal Attack Controller) who informed me that he had just caught word that they were about to be attacked. Right at that moment I saw the puff of smoke from the attack. So the bad guys had expected us to return to base due to the bad weather, but they were caught with their pants down. Even from a couple of thousand feet up I could see that they were not happy that we had shown up. We ruined their surprise party. The Marines were receiving effective fire from them; I could see the exchanges of fire and I could

Right: A �ne head-on study of the business end of a ‘Scarface’ AH-1W, �ying at MCAS Camp Pendleton before the squadron moved to Hawaii. Dr Séan Wilson

Above: HMLA-367 was in 2011 tasked with training crews on the upgraded AH-1Z and UH-1Ys for the outgoing MEU (Marine Expeditionary Unit). This AH-1Z was photographed at MCAS Camp Pendleton when HMLA-367 became the �rst operational squadron to �y the AH-1Z and UH-1Y. Dr Séan Wilson

‘Scarface’ AH-1W Supercobra and a UH-1Y Venom �y over Oahu, Hawaii, on June 14, 2013, past the USS Missouri and USS Arizona Memorial. USMC/GySgt Wade Spradlin

75


see the insurgents right there in the open. They disengaged and scattered. Them fleeing enabled the Marines to engage them and allowed us to engage another fire position that was trying to move on the unit.’

MEU work-up Following a successful operational tour in Afghanistan, ‘Scarface’ found itself tasked with a new assignment, as Maj Dolberry explained: ‘We were the first operational squadron to get the ‘Whiskey’, ‘Zulu’ and ‘Yankee’ [UH-1Y]. Now that we are out of the OEF rotations our mission is to provide crews and upgrade aircraft to the outgoing MEU (Marine Expeditionary Unit).

‘The work-up period for the MEU takes seven months. We will identify the aircraft, pilots and maintainers that are going to the MEU and have them work together within a unit. Then, ‘Zulu’ and ‘Yankee’ crews fly missions together so that they are all on each other’s wavelength before detaching them to the MEU squadron. There are always at least three active

MEUs on station at any given time — one from the East Coast, one from the West Coast and the 31st MEU which is on Okinawa and on station in that area all of the time. While one MEU is gone, another MEU is working up. The 31st MEU is an ongoing MEU, so we fly guys out there from the States to turn around with the guys already out there. The 31st MEU is always ready to go. Simultaneously you have infantry units, combat surface support units, HMLAs and fixed-wing squadrons constantly preparing themselves to go.’

The summer of 2012 marked the beginning of a new era for the squadron, with the re-location of HMLA-367 from MAG-39 at Camp Pendleton to MAG-24 at MCAS Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii. This also saw the unit ending its initial work with the AH-1Z. Upon completion of this period of transition, forecasted to stretch into FY17, MAG-24 will consist of HMLA-367, one HMH (CH-53E) squadron, one VMU (UAV), two VMMs (MV-22), a Marine Wing Support Detachment, and the Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron.

‘Zulu’ dawn On December 7, 2000, the maiden flight of the latest evolution of the AH-1 family, the AH-1Z Viper, took place. Just over 10 years later, in February 2011, the type achieved initial operating capability. Accordingly, in November 2011, the ‘Zulu’ began its maiden deployment aboard USS Makin Island (LHD 8) as part of HMM-268 (Reinforced), the Aviation Combat Element of the 11th MEU.

The AH-1Z, and UH-1Y with which it shares 84 per cent parts commonality, were developed under the H-1 Upgrade Program. The current plan is for the US Marine Corps to receive 189 AH-1Zs, 58 of which will be new-builds and 131 re-worked AH-1Ws. Key features of the ‘Zulu’ include the more powerful General Electric T700-GE-401C engines in place of the T700-GE-401s found on the AH-1W, ‘glass’ cockpit, upgraded landing gear, a new transmission, and an Automatic Flight Control System (AFCS). Composite four-bladed main and tail rotors replace the two-bladed metal rotors used on the ‘Whiskey’. Of the new rotors, Maj Dolberry said: ‘The main improvements they offer are increased cruise speed and performance. The ‘Whiskey’ is very maneuverable and the see-saw-type blades allow you to do a lot of things as long as you maintain positive g on the system. We cannot fly negative g [on the AH-1W] but the new blade system on the ‘Zulu’ and ‘Yankee’ means that we can unload the rotor head and fly a certain amount of negative g.’

With the exception of the ageing TOW missile, the ‘Zulu’ will be able to employ the

‘I define successful as ensuring the safety of the troops on the ground. At the end of the day I’m not out there to kill people. I’m there to ensure that the troops can take care of their mission and get back safely’ Maj Henry ‘Deebo’ Dolberry Jr

A �ne study of a ‘Scarface’ AH-1W Super Cobra and a UH-1Y Venom �ying near MCAS Kaneohe Bay. USMC/GySgt Wade Spradlin



same weapons that currently equip the AH-1W. At the moment, Low-cost Guided Imaging Rocket (LOGIR) and Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System II (APKWS II) guided rockets are also being tested. Larger pylons, which can also accommodate additional fuel, enable the ‘Zulu’ to be equipped with 16 Hellfires, twice as many as on the ‘Whiskey’.

At present the AH-1Zs are not fitted with a datalink, but one will be installed in future. The ‘Zulu’ will also feature the same countermeasures suite with which the ‘Whiskey’ is currently equipped.

In the early 1990s the AH-1W fleet was fitted with the nose-mounted Kollsman Night Targeting System (NTS). Comprising a telescopic sight, laser designator/rangefinder, CCD daylight camera and a FLIR sensor, the NTS is compatible with Hellfire and TOW missiles. One of the key improvements found on the AH-1Z is the addition of the nose-mounted Lockheed Martin AN/AAQ-30 Target Sight System (TSS) in place of the NTS. This new system, which features a FLIR, digital color TV and laser designator, offers enhanced target recognition and detection range, as Maj Dolberry explained: ‘In the ‘Whiskey’ at night, depending on the atmospherics, we could recognize and identify a target at about 2-3km. The new system in the ‘Zulu’ will identify the target at 8km. Now we are talking about a situation where we can use that sensor to keep an eye on a potential target, outside of his engagement zone and far enough away to

also not be heard. Right now in the ‘Whiskey’ the limiting factor for a Hellfire engagement is our sensor. For an autonomous shot in the ‘Whiskey’ during the day you want to be at least 4-5km away to guarantee a good shot. In the ‘Zulu’ you can see 10-12km away. The Hellfire is an 8km weapon, so when the ‘Zulu’ pilot pushes in for the Hellfire attack he will be able to engage from much further away — not just with the Hellfire but also with the gun and rockets, because they now have various Continuously Computed Impact Point (CCIP) and release points. The system allows them to fly parameters that ensure that the gun has a successful hit first time. With regards to firing rockets in the ‘Whiskey’, you’re talking about firing three to four to ensure that the target is suppressed, neutralized or destroyed. In the ‘Zulu’ that first rocket is steel on steel. So we can now find, engage and destroy targets and still be able to pull out of the attack without ever entering the target’s weapons engagement zone.’

AH-1W crews fly with a head-up display (HUD), the Helmet Sight System (HSS), which is slaved to the gun, and a single display screen located above the NTS in the front cockpit. The weapons operator in the front seat can slew the NTS to enable him to see what the pilot in the back seat is looking at during a target hand-off. ‘Zulu’ crews will benefit from the Optimized TopOwl helmet-mounted sight and display system integrated into the AH-1Z’s avionics and weapons systems, enabling all relevant information to be projected directly on to the visor. Each

crew station has two 8 x 6in multi-function displays (MFDs) and a single 4.2 x 4.2in dual-function display, thereby greatly improving target correlation.

A range of improvements has ensured that the ‘Whiskey’ has remained a potent tool in the US Marine Corps’ arsenal for almost 30 years. However, the arrival of the ‘Zulu’ marks the beginning of the end for the AH-1W. Maj Dolberry summed up by saying: ‘The ‘Whiskey’ is already a proven aircraft but the ‘Zulu’ has evolved based on emerging threats, not just in the current fight in Afghanistan. The next fight might not involve close air support or looking for insurgents but may be in an environment with complex threats and radar-guided missiles. So, in a situation where we may have to go in and destroy a high-value target we now have the TopOwl, the AFCS that can help you fly the aircraft more efficiently, redundant MFDs that reduce the time taken to correlate targets, and sensors that enable us to operate at safer distances. We as an HMLA are shifting our tactics so that if I have a ‘Zulu’ in my section then I will make it my primary shooter due to the fact that it can engage at much greater distances. The ‘Zulu’ makes HMLA and the Marine Corps ready for the next fight.’

Acknowledgments: The author would like to thank Maj Henry ‘Deebo’ Dolberry Jr, 1st Lt Josh Diddams, 2nd Lts Tyler Balzer and Chad Hill, Sgt Derek Carlson, Cpl Steven Posy and Mr Andrew Keasler.



What happened when two US Marine Corps Phantom crews took on USAF F-16s over South Korea — complete with underwing luggage pods. John Scanlan recalls an atypical incident from the swansong days of the ‘�ying cement truck’ in Marine Corps service.

report and photos: Lt Col John Scanlan (ret’d)


An F-4S of VMFA-212 over a snowy South Korea. Note the ‘Blivet’ or travel pod, under the port wing behind the centerline drop tank.

78-81 Glory Days Blivet Tactics C.indd 78 20/08/2013 09:46

IN THE MID-1980S, I was a ‘bonehead’, First Lieutenant Radar Intercept Officer (RIO) with Marine Fixed-Wing Fighter Attack Squadron 212 (VMFA-212). At the time, the ‘Lancers’ were conducting a six-month deployment to Iwakuni,

Japan, flying the venerable McDonnell Douglas F-4S Phantom II.

Suffice to say that the Marine Corps Air Station at Iwakuni was a dismal place. Rainy, damp, gray and cold, a crematorium was the main business out in the local town.

Thus, a week-long detachment to Osan Air Base in South Korea was a welcome escape for both aircrew and maintenance personnel. Such a detachment meant two things: outstanding two-versus-two training against US Air Force F-16s, and even better shopping!

Yes, the city of Osan was a shopper’s paradise. Renowned for its good deals, shopping in Osan was best summarized by the statement, ‘You go broke saving money’. With

its real bargains on wool overcoats and silk suits, and its perceived bargains on counterfeit polo shirts and Converse basketball shoes, Osan was the ideal place to buy gifts for the wife and kids.

There was just one problem: how do you get all that merchandise back to Iwakuni when you’re flying an F-4S? After all, the RIO’s lap was only so big.

Enter the ‘Blivet’. Looking like an external fuel tank, the Blivet was a cigar-shaped, metallic container that was affixed on a pylon beneath the F-4’s right wing. In the center of the Blivet’s right side, there was a small, square door panel that was removed by undoing about a thousand screws. Thus, anything could be stuffed into a Blivet and ferried anywhere in the West Pacific.

On Saturday, February 15, 1986, my section of two F-4s faced a dilemma. Earlier in the week, we had flown over to Osan with an empty Blivet on each F-4, and maintenance


‘Now the Blivets were

back on our jets and crammed

full of merchandise; however, we

were scheduled to fly a

two-versus-two against F-16s

and then return into Iwakuni’



This photo: An F-4S eases out into the chill of Osan during the detachment of early 1986.

Above left to right: The daily operations board marked up with the planned missions for the day against Osan’s 36th TFS.

A clean F-4S sits in the shelter at Osan. In order to stand any sort of chance against an F-16 during a close-in �ght, the squadron stripped the jets of external stores.

Left top to bottom: John Scanlan (right) with his pilot ‘Hawg’ in the shelter at Osan prior to a mission.

Aircrews from VMFA-212 pose with typical ‘Blivet loot’.


troops had removed them for the week’s training flights. Now the Blivets were back on our jets and crammed full of merchandise; however, we were scheduled to fly a two-versus-two against F-16s and then return from that hop straight back into Iwakuni.

The crux of our dilemma was the Blivets. Against F-16s, the standard F-4S game plan

was to get maximum knots on the jet, shoot them in the face, achieve a close aboard pass, and blow through the merge. To turn and burn with Air Force ‘Lawn Darts’ was not an option! The F-4S would not survive.

Paci�c mismatchThis led to the question: at those maximum airspeeds, would the Blivet remain on the F-4? Or would the Blivet be ripped from the jet, causing our container of gifts to rain down upon some hapless South Korean farmer?

Worse yet, what if an F-16 entered the merge with an offensive advantage, and an F-4S was forced to turn and engage? That led to a second question: at that G, would the Blivet be torn from the F-4? Overall, it wasn’t looking like a good day for South Korean farmers.

In the pre-brief planning, the young lead pilot suggested employing ‘Blivet Tactics’ — not flying the F-4S to its maximum parameters in order to ensure that the Blivets remained on the wings.

My pilot, a salty TOPGUN graduate, vehemently countered with, ‘I’ll be damned if I’m going to fly ‘Blivet Tactics’! By God, this is a fighter squadron!’

Then more questions arose: even if the Blivets did remain on the jets, would that rickety door panel survive the airspeeds and/or the G? What if the door panel came off?

The lead RIO chimed in to answer that one. Another crusty TOPGUN graduate, he laughed and then said, ‘I can just hear an F-16 calling a kill shot: ‘Fox Two on the F-4 streaming crap out of his Blivet!’’

Frustrated, the young lead pilot suggested cancelling the F-16 portion of the flight and just going straight back to Iwakuni.

Again, my pilot countered vehemently, this time with, ‘I’ll be damned if I’m going to cancel a two-versus-two with F-16s! By God, this is a fighter squadron!”

It may be hard to believe, but in the end, common sense prevailed. We emptied the Blivets of all our merchandise and gave it to the maintenance troops, dispatching them to ensure its safe return back to Iwakuni in the troop transport aircraft. The beer bribe probably helped.

Then we flew a two-versus-two against the Lawn Darts… and survived. We landed at Iwakuni with two empty Blivets still under our right wings.


‘The lead RIO chimed in. A crusty TOPGUN graduate, he laughed and then said ‘I can just hear an F-16 calling a kill shot: ‘Fox Two on the F-4 streaming crap out of his Blivet!’’



EXERCISE REPORT

Above: JH-7A crews walk to their jets as the morning wave of missions gets under way.

This photo: Four JH-7As from the 31st Air Regiment at Siping, part of the 11th Ground-Attack Division, taxi out for a mission at Shagol.

82-85 Chinese exercise C.indd 82 22/08/2013 16:06


PEACE MISSION 2013’ was billed as a joint anti-terrorism military exercise, based out of Russia’s 6980th Air Base at Shagol (Chelyabinsk), and held from July 27 to August 15. Alongside a large contingent from

the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA), Army Aviation elements included four Z-9WZ armed helicopters and a pair of Mi-171 transports from the 9th Army Aviation Brigade, which operated inside the Chebarkul combined training range operated by Russia’s Central Military Area Command. In total, the exercise included some 1,500 Russian and Chinese personnel.

Maj Gen Sergei Chuvakin, deputy chief of staff of the Central Military Area Command, commented: ‘Having held a maritime joint military exercise not so long ago, Russia and China are now holding a joint anti-terrorism exercise. The two exercises have demonstrated the high level of co-operation between China and Russia’. Maj Gen Chuvakin

was referring to the recent ‘Joint Sea 2013’ exercise, staged in the Sea of Japan near Russia’s Far East port city of Vladivostok.

The highlight during Combat Aircraft’s visit to Shagol was the participation of five Xi’an JianHong-7A (JH-7A) fighter-bombers from the 31st Air Regiment at Siping, which operated alongside, but not with, the resident Su-24Ms from the 2nd ‘Guards’ Bomber Aviation Regiment and Su-24MRs from the 313th Independent Reconnaissance Aviation Regiment. Part of the 11th Ground-Attack Division of the PLAAF, the JH-7s are normally assigned to the Shenyang Military Region Air Force.

Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Gen Yansheng said: ‘The maneuvers will be held in three stages and include the redeployment of troops, the planning of the operation and joint military actions’. This year marked the sixth ‘Peace Mission’ exercise since its inception in 2003.

PEACE MISSION

2013The joint

Sino-Russian exercise held

in early August attracted a small

but signi�cant aviation element,

and provided a rare opportunity

to get up close to the PLAAF in

action.

photos: Dimitry Pichugin

‘


Clockwise from top left: This JH-7A carries four 500lb iron bombs on triple ejector racks.

A fabulous shot of a JH-7A as it taxies back at Shagol following a ‘Peace Mission 2013’ sortie.

A pair of Z-9WZ armed reconnaissance helicopters launch for a mission. The WZ variant features an under-nose electro-optical turret and the ability to carry either 57mm or 70mm rockets on modi�ed stub-pylons.

Russian participation included Su-24Ms from the 2nd ‘Guards’ Bomber Aviation Regiment and Su-24MRs from the 313th Independent Reconnaissance Aviation Regiment. In 2010 the 6980th Air Base at Shagol (Chelyabinsk) received Su-24M �ghter-bombers after the re-location of the 2nd ‘Guards’ Bomber Aviation Regiment from Dzhida.

These JH-7As both carry a WMD-7 laser designator pod and a pair of KAB-500 laser-guided bombs.


ONLINE PHONE POST

3 EASY WAYS TO ORDER... IMAGE: U.S. AIR FORCE PHOTO/STAFF SGT. ANGELITA M. LAWRENCE

Complete the form and post toCombat Aircraft Monthly,

3330 Pacific Ave, Suite 500, Virginia Beach, Va 23451, USA.

www.imsnews.com/combator email:

[email protected]

TOLL-FREE: +1 800 428 3003

NEW LOWCLAIM YOUR FREE DVD* WHEN

YOU SUBSCRIBE TO

596 CAM US Subs.indd 86 22/08/2013 16:29

MAKE HUGE SAVINGS!when you subscribe by quarterly credit card

payments - NOW JUST $17.49! YES, I would like to subscribe to

Signature ......... ............................................... Today’s date ............. ...................................................

I enclose a check for $ ................................. made payable to International Media Service

SPECIAL OFFERS (PLEASE TICK)

*Key Publishing and IMS News will hold your details to process and fulfi ll your subscription order. All prices exclude applicable taxes. Prices correct at time of going to press. Occasionally we may wish to contact you to notify you of special offers on products or events. Savings based on subscription cost versus newsstand single purchases. If you do not wish to receive this information

please tick here or mention when calling. Free magazines refers to savings compared to full cover price. Gift subject to change. Any replacement gift will be of equal or higher value. Please allow up to 28 days for gift delivery. 596/13

PAYER’S DETAILSTitle

First name

Surname

Address

Zip Code

Country

Email address Please complete to receive news updates and offers from us by email.

DELIVERY DETAILS (IF DIFFERENT)

Title

First name

Surname

Address

Zip Code

Country

Email address

CHECK

PAYMENT METHODS

CODE: USOCT13 OFFER CLOSE DATE: 31 OCTOBER 20133

Issue number Start date Expiry date Security Code

Please debit my Mastercard Visa

NEW LOW PRICES!Subscribe today from just $17.49!

Quarterly payment agreement: If you wish to take advantage of the quarterly payment offer, you must consent that your credit card will charged on a quarterly basis for the duration of one subscription year. Charges will appear on your credit card statement under International

Media Service. Once your 4 quarterly payments are complete your subscription will automatically be renewed for individual quarterly subscription at the preferred renewal rate available. All subscriptions can be cancelled or suspended at any time by emailing

[email protected] or by calling our toll free number: (800) 428-3003

SAVEOVER 20%

12 ISSUESFOR THE PRICE OF 10

24 ISSUES FOR THE PRICE OF 19 PLUS FREE DVD

USA andCanada

12 issues $81.00 24 issues $159.00

12 issues $69.90 24 issues $132.49

WORTH$14.99

Gift choice: F-16 Afghanistan DVD F-14 Cockpit DVD

USA/Canada Quarterly Payments $19.99 $17.49

PLUS FREE DVD!

See page 97 for detailsREST OF WORLD CUSTOMERS

FREE MAGAZINES5 WITH A 2 YEAR SUBSCRIPTION2 WITH A 1 YEAR SUBSCRIPTION

NEW LOWCLAIM YOUR FREE DVD* WHEN

YOU SUBSCRIBE TO

F-16: MISSION AFGHANISTAN DVDStrap on your very own F-16 Fighting Falcon and experience the visual spectacle of the air war over Afghanistan! Witness the daily challenges that face the brave men and women (both in the air and on the ground) from training sorties in the USA to actual deployment and live operations in Afghanistan!Region-free DVD, running time 60 minutes.

F-14 COCKPIT DVDJoin AirUtopia onboard an F-14 during a real wartime mission! Enjoy low level fl ights up to Mach 2 over desert and mountain terrain from carrier takeoff to carrier landing! Experience the view from an F-14 during taxi and take off and experience barrel rolls, in fl ight refueling from a KC-135 and KA6 Intruder and do some touch and go carrier landings all while listening to the live audio.Region-free DVD, running time 75 minutes.

*DVD is free with all 2 year and quarterly credit card subscriptions.

CHOOSE FROM:

OR

596 CAM US Subs.indd 87 22/08/2013 16:29

‘flaNker’ ascendantIn the second of a two-part series, we pro�le the plethora of Su-30MK sub-versions of the ‘Flanker’ for export, as well as the thoroughly re-designed Su-35S single-seater, already �elded in experimental service with the Russian Air Force.

report: Alexander Mladenov

SU-30 AND SU-35 VARIANTS

THE VASTLY IMPROVED two-seat derivatives of the ‘Flanker’, endowed with multi-role capabilities, have achieved significant export success since the early 2000s and have

recently enjoyed major orders from the home market, too.

The Su-30 interceptor for the Soviet and then Russian Air Defense Forces was developed from the two-seat Su-27UB combat trainer in the late 1980s, under the initial Su-27PU designation. The original idea was to use the Su-30 as a long-range interceptor in the far northern territories of the Soviet Union, where a two-man crew was preferred for prolonged combat air patrol missions over the sea or inhospitable terrain; it was a well-established tradition to employ the two-seat Tupolev Tu-128 and Mikoyan MiG-31 long-range interceptors in such operating environments.

The Su-30’s main differences compared to the ‘vanilla’ Su-27UB included

an in-flight refueling probe and improved life support equipment for further extending the range and time on station, as well as a modified SDU-10U flight control system, an improved navigation suite (with a long-range aid to navigation) and dedicated communications and datalink equipment in order for the type to be used as the commander’s aircraft during group operations, with the tactical commander in the rear cockpit.

The Su-30 prototype made its maiden flight in autumn 1988 and the new derivative was launched into production at the Irkutsk Aircraft Plant (now part of the Irkut Corporation) during 1991, just at the time of the break-up of the Soviet Union. In the event, the Russian Air Defense Forces only took five examples on strength between 1994 and 1996, and all are currently in operation with the Air Force’s combat training center at Lipetsk.

Su-30MKI — export success Undoubtedly, the biggest export success for the ‘Flanker’ was the Indian deal that saw procurement of a vastly improved two-seat derivative and establishment of licensed production, with first deliveries taking place in 2002. The last of the 272 aircraft ordered to date are expected to be taken on strength by 2018.

Indian interest in the Su-30 dated back to the early/mid-1990s when the two-seat ‘Flanker’ was actively promoted in India by Irkut, a long-time partner of the Indian Air Force and the local aerospace industry through the program to produce the MiG-27ML, license-built at HAL’s Nasik plant. The Indian requirements for the ‘Flanker’ configuration, however, proved far too ambitious, calling for an advanced avionics suite with a phased-array multi-mode radar. The aircraft was to be capable of employing

a range of precision-guided air-to-surface weapons and to boast

drastically improved maneuverability


88-95 Su-30 pt2 C.indd 88 19/08/2013 16:12

PART 2: FIGHTER FOCUS

thanks to the use of a modified aerodynamic layout with canard foreplanes, a more sophisticated fly-by-wire (FBW) system and thrust-vectoring control (TVC) engines. The all-new avionics suite was required to incorporate a significant share of Indian, Israeli and French systems and sub-systems. The project was the first by the Sukhoi Design Bureau to be undertaken with extensive co-operation with industrial partners from the customer country and major third-party companies from the Western world, these supplying advanced avionics systems.

All the design, development and testing activities of this version for the Indian Air Force (IAF), designated as the Su-30MKI (I standing for India), were fully funded by New Delhi. Three experimental aircraft, designated as the Su-30MKI-2, I-4 and I-5, were built to test the Su-30MKI’s numerous new design features, and another aircraft, the I-7, was added at a later stage.

At the same time, in order to shorten the aircraft’s in-service induction time, Irkut delivered to the IAF as a stopgap measure a batch of eight Su-30Ks (a Su-30 derivative with an export-standard avionics suite, generally similar to that of the Su-27UBK) in 1997, followed by 10 more two years later. All of these Su-30Ks were eventually returned to Irkut and are now kept in storage at the 558th ARZ, a maintenance, repair and overhaul facility in Baranovichi, Belarus, awaiting re-sale to Third World countries. Ethiopia is touted as the most likely customer.

The Su-30MKI contract, valued at some $1.8 billion, was signed between the Indian Defense Ministry and Rosvooruzhenie (the most powerful Russian state-owned arms export agency in the 1990s) on November 30, 1996. On the Russian side, the Sukhoi Design Bureau and Irkut were the designated contractors to respectively develop and test the Su-30MKI configuration and deliver an initial batch of 40 such aircraft. According to the

original project schedule, these were due to be handed over in four batches between 1997 and 2000.

The first batch of eight stopgap Su-30Ks was taken on strength in spring 1997. Their formal fielding into service with the IAF’s No 24 Squadron ‘Hunting Hawks’, stationed at Pune (Lohegadan), took place on July 11 the same year.

The first Su-30MKI prototype, re-worked from a series-production Su-30 and fitted with TVC engines, took to the air on July 1, 1997. It featured the definitive aerodynamic configuration with canards, the modified SDU-10MK FBW flight control system and the AL-31FP TVC engines with thrust-vectoring nozzles fully integrated into the aircraft’s flight control system.

While the development of the new aerodynamic configuration, FBW system and the TVC engines proceeded at full swing, the international avionics suite was considerably delayed by a late decision regarding the final configuration on the part of the IAF. This, in turn, caused a significant hold-up in the Su-30MKI’s production schedule and the first

production-standard aircraft rolled out at IAZ, Irkut’s plant in the Siberian city of Irkutsk, were kept in temporary storage awaiting avionics installation. In order to compensate for the delay, an additional batch of 10 stopgap Su-30Ks was agreed in autumn 1998, with deliveries completed in mid-1999.

International avionics The Su-30MKI’s definitive avionics suite, comprising Russian, Ukrainian, French, Indian and Israeli components, was agreed in March 1998 and was integrated by Russia’s Ramenskoye Instrument Design Bureau. It incorporates several basic Russian systems such as the Tikhomirov NIIP N011M Bars radar, and the UOMZ OLS-30I optronic targeting system with an infra-red search and track (IRST) sensor and laser rangefinder, as well as the Ukrainian Arsenal Sura-K helmet-mounted cueing system (HMCS). The French systems come in the form of the cockpit display system supplied by Sagem, incorporating six MFD55 5 x 5in (127 x

127mm) multi-function liquid-crystal displays (LCDs), three of which are

This photo: The Royal Malaysian Air Force’s Su-30MKM �eet

features French avionics (evidenced by the French �ying

helmets visible in this photo) plus Saab Avitronics MAW300 UV missile warners and LWS350 laser warners.

Giovanni Colla

Inset: Indian Su-30MKI ‘Flankers’ participated in exercise ‘Red Flag’ at

Nellis AFB in 2008. USAF


88-95 Su-30 pt2 C.indd 89 19/08/2013 16:12

installed in each cockpit, as well as one MFD66 6 x 6in (152 x 152mm) LCD display and the Sigma 95 inertial/satellite navigation (INS/GPS) system.

The Indian systems in the Su-30MKI’s avionics suite are represented by the mission computer, based on a DRDO digital processing unit, VHF/UHF communication radios, IFF, navigation aids and the Tarang radar warning receiver (RWR). The Israeli-supplied content includes the Elbit SU967 head-up display (HUD), the Elta EL/M-8222 active jammer system and the Rafael Litening targeting pod, as well as reconnaissance pods such as the Elbit Systems Condor 2 LOROP pod and the IAI/Elta ELM-2060 ISAR pod. The Su-30MKI was also made capable of employing the Cobham 754 buddy refueling pod.

The N011M Bars is a radar set fitted with a passive electronically scanned array (PESA), provided with extra mechanical steering in azimuth and elevation in order to expand its reach: as a result, beam deflection by combined electronic/mechanical steering is 70° to the left and right and 40° up and down. The Bars employs two Indian-made digital processors (designated as the RC1 and RC2) and can work simultaneously in the air-to-air and air-to-surface modes. The maximum detection range against fighter-size targets is 76nm (140km) and it is advertised as being capable of tracking no fewer than 15 aerial targets simultaneously and supporting the simultaneous engagement of four of these with the RVV-AE (R-77) beyond visual range (BVR) missiles.

The air-to-surface radar modes enable detection of fixed and moving targets and ground mapping with low, medium and high resolution as well as facilitating terrain-following flight. The radar is also advertised as being capable of detecting a group of tanks at a distance of 24 to 27nm (45 to 50km) and a bridge or a large ship at 65 to 91nm (120 to 170km). The definitive configuration of the Bars, with all the operating modes as foreseen by the IAF’s technical specification, was delivered for the first time in 2012. There are plans for further enhancements of the radar’s performance by refining the PESA technology in an effort to extend range, improving the resolution and adding a capability to support

The second prototype Su-35 returns to Komsomolsk-on-Amur following its �rst �ight in 2008. Sukhoi

This Algerian Air Force Su-30MKA is one of 44 that have been delivered to the North African nation. Tom Cooper Collection

Indonesian Air Force Su-30MK2 serial TS-3005 was the third such version to be delivered to Indonesia. It was part of a contract for six aircraft, deliveries of which are ongoing. Australian Defense Force

The Vietnam People’s Air Force Su-30MK2 �eet is based at Bai Thuong and Bien Hoa. Note that photos of Vietnamese ‘Flankers’ often have the serial numbers manipulated. Bui Tuan Khiem


88-95 Su-30 pt2 C.indd 90 19/08/2013 16:12

the employment of new precision-guided munitions.

The OLS-30 optronic locator and targeting system integrates an IRST sensor and a laser rangefinder. The former is capable of tracking aerial targets at high altitude at up to 49nm (90km) in tail-on and 27nm (50km) in head-on engagements, scanning through 60° left and right in azimuth) and 15° down and 60° up (in elevation), and working in two fields of width: wide (20° x 5°) and narrow (3° x 3°). The system’s laser rangefinder is useful up to 1.6nm (3km) against aerial targets and up to 2.7nm (5km) when measuring range to ground targets.

The Su-30MKI’s self-protection suite incorporates the DRDO Tarang MkII RWR, the IAI Elta El/M-8222 active jammer and the Russian-made APP-50R/A chaff/flare dispensers containing a total of 96 rounds.

The list of air-to-air ordnance includes RVV-AE active radar-guided BVR missiles (up to 10), as well as the R-27ER1 semi-active radar-homing BVR missile (as many as six), the R-27ET1 IR-homing BVR missile (up to two) and the R-73E within visual range (WVR) IR-guided missile (up to six). The air-to-ground ordnance selection that can be carried by the Su-30MKI takes in the Kh-29TE and Kh-59ME TV-guided missiles as well as the Kh-31A anti-ship missile and the KAB-500Kr TV-guided bomb. Furthermore, the Rafael Litening III targeting pod facilitates the usage of various laser-guided missiles and bombs of Russian and Israeli origin.

The initial pre-production Su-30MKI took to the air for the first time in November 2000, while the first production example flew in Irkutsk during late 2001. The initial production batch of 10 Su-30MKIs was delivered to the IAF in July and August 2002; these aircraft were officially fielded into service on September 27 that year, commissioned again with No 24 Squadron at Pune. In total, the IAF took on strength 50 Su-30MKIs assembled in Russia: 32 ordered within the framework of the initial contract, plus 18 more assembled at Irkut and acquired in exchange for the 18 Su-30Ks that were returned to the manufacturer

in 2007. A separate contract called for the local production of 140 Su-30MKIs and in 2007 another deal added 40 more.

The main contract for the siting of Su-30MKI production at HAL Nasik was signed on December 28, 2000 and foresaw the manufacturing of as many as 140 aircraft in India. The local production process was divided into several stages. At Stage I, HAL Nasik undertook assembly of Su-30MKIs using components from knocked-down kits supplied by Irkut, with the first aircraft rolling out in fall 2004 and taking to the air for the first time on October 1 that year. Stages II and III called for a gradual increase in the use of locally produced components, while Stage IV included local production of Su-30MKIs, assembled from Indian-made parts, components and systems, including radars and engines.

The first Su-30MKI produced using Indian-made components within the scope of Stage IV, made its maiden flight in November 2011. At that time, HAL Nasik had already delivered 99 Su-30MKIs, manufactured under Stages I to III.

Upgrade plansThe Su-30MKI’s airframe service life is set at 6,000 flight hours and 25 years, with an option for further extensions based on the actual technical condition in terms of fatigue and corrosion. The mid-life upgrade program conceived for the existing Su-30MKIs (known as the Super Su-30MKI) called for integration of a range of new Indian-made hardware, such as an integrated defensive aids suite with missile approach warners, a Tarang MkIII RWR and a newly-added management computer. The upgrade plan also took in modern cockpit displays, new radar altimeter, new navigation aids, new communication radios, and faster computers to handle mission-critical and combat processing tasks. The list of new weapons to be integrated features the Russian RVV-MD and RVV-SD air-to-air missiles, successors to the R-73E and RVV-AE respectively.

The Bars radar upgrade in particular, as proposed by Tikhomirov NIIP, is expected to

encompass two stages with a gradual increase in performance and functionality. Stage I will retain the PESA but will add new software and more processing capability, while Stage II offers an active electronic scanning array (AESA) for further performance gains.

An extra contract for 42 more Su-30MKIs was signed in December 2012, priced at $1.6 billion, bringing the total number of IAF ‘Flankers’ to 272. By March 2013, some 170 of these had already been handed over and their total flight time exceeded 100,000 hours.

The newly-ordered Su-30MKIs in the latest batch will feature a considerably more advanced all-new avionics configuration, upgraded radar and add-on stealth features in an effort to reduce the jet’s radar-cross section (RCS). There are hints that the new Su-30MKIs will also be made capable of employing the Indian/Russian BrahMos-A supersonic long-range cruise missile. Deliveries of these aircraft are due between 2014 and 2018.

Expanding customer base The Su-30MKI’s design was used as a basis for developing customized configurations for other customers. The first of these was Malaysia, which ordered 18 aircraft, designated as the

Above: According to Sukhoi’s chief test pilot Sergey Bogdan it is virtually impossible for the Su-35 to stall or enter inadvertently into a spin when the engines are working normally. Sukhoi

Below: The Uganda People’s Defence Air Force (UPDAF) ordered six Su-30MK2s. One is pictured at Entebbe on April 24 this year. Benoît Denet


88-95 Su-30 pt2 C.indd 91 19/08/2013 16:12

Su-30MKM (M for Malaysia), retaining the same basic airframe, powerplant and FBW system. The contract was priced at $900 million, and the aircraft received French avionics in place of the Israeli and Indian-made systems, such as the Thales VEH3000 holographic HUD, an IFF, the Damocles targeting pod and the NAVFLIR night-time low-level navigation pod. Both the mission computers and the electronic warfare system are of Russian origin. The Su-30MKM introduced an enhanced self-protection system with Saab Avitronics MAW300 UV missile warners and LWS350 laser warners, and is also integrated with the Cobham 754 refueling pod.

The initial Su-30MKM prototype was flown for the first time in May 2006, while the first production example took to the air in spring 2007 and underwent customer acceptance at Irkut in May that year. The Malaysian ‘Flankers’ were delivered between June 2007 and August 2009 and serve with 11 Skadron Udara of the Royal Malaysian Air Force, stationed at Gong Kedak.

The Su-30MKA (A for Algeria), also known as the Su-30MKI(A), was designed for Algeria and is a derivative of the Su-30MKI, with the Israeli avionics components replaced by Russian and French equipment. The latter is estimated to represent some 10 per cent of the aircraft’s price, including the Damocles targeting pod and the Areos reconnaissance pod.

A total of 28 Su-30MKAs were ordered in 2006 under a contract reportedly priced at $2.5 billion. All of these were delivered between December 2007 and 2009. The follow-on Algerian order was placed in 2010 and called for 16 more Su-30MKAs, with deliveries performed in 2011 and 2012.

In March 2012, the Russian Defense Ministry also proceeded with an order for the Su-30SM, a derivative of the Su-30MKI/MKM with Russian avionics replacing the Indian and Israeli systems, including the radar, the communication suite, the IFF and the ejection seats; modifications were made to the weapons suite

as well. The Su-30SM, however, retained most if not all of its French avionics including the VEH3000 holographic HUD and the highly accurate Sigma 95 navigation system. The type is capable of using the new RVV-SD BVR missile with a maximum range in head-on engagements at high altitude of 60nm (110km) and the RVV-MD WVR missile, a vastly improved R-73 derivative.

The first two examples were flown during September 2012 and were taken on strength by the Russian Air Force in December that year for a brief test and evaluation program with the Akhtubinsk-based flight test center. In August 2013 the fourth Su-30SM joined the effort.

The initial Russian order was followed in December 2012 by another for 30 more Su-30SMs, slated for delivery between 2013 and 2015. The first Russian Air Force front-line unit to take on the new variant is assigned to the 412th Air Base at Domna, which is expected to receive 12 Su-30SMs by December 2013 to replace the MiG-29s operated here.

A budget upgrade for China Another and notably less advanced two-seat ‘Flanker’ was developed by Sukhoi and KnAAPO in the late 1990s, initially for China, which ordered two batches of two-seaters with improved avionics and in-flight refueling capability and a maximum warload of 17,600lb (8,000kg) on 12 hardpoints. It used the basic Su-30 airframe, which received an

all-new Russian avionics suite, integrated by the Ramenskoye Instrument Design Bureau, providing a useful degree of multi-role capability. The Su-30MK version, customized in order to meet the Chinese military’s requirements, received the Su-30MKK designation (K standing for Kitay — China) and was launched in series production at KnAAPO’s production facility in Komsomolsk-on-Amur. The initial contract was signed in 1999 and included delivery of 38 aircraft.

Designed by the Ramenskoye Instrument Design Bureau, the new open-architecture avionics suite was based on the Russian Mil Std 1553B databus equivalent, driven by four BTsVM-486 mission computers (based on Intel 486DX33 processors) for processing targeting data and providing display processing capability, and using two 6 x 8in (152 x 203mm) MFI-10-5 LCD displays in each cockpit as well as an ILS-31 HUD in the front cockpit.

As integrated on the Su-30MKK, the all-new fire control system incorporated two separate sub-systems: the first of these is the SUV-VE, tasked with handling air-to-air missiles, while the SUV-P handles air-to-surface missions and display of all the target and navigational data on the LCDs in the cockpit and on the HUD.

The air-to-air fire control system incorporates the N001VE radar and the OEPS-30 optronic system, the latter integrating an IRST sensor, a laser rangefinder and the Sura-K HMCS.


88-95 Su-30 pt2 C.indd 92 19/08/2013 16:13

The N001VE is a follow-on development of the Su-27SM’s basic N001E radar with twist-Cassegrain antenna, upgraded with the Baget re-programmable digital signal processor. The N001VE, as installed on the Chinese Su-30MKKs, has a 59nm (110km) maximum detection range against a large fighter-size target at high altitude.

The vastly increased processing power in the air-to-air mode enables the simultaneous engagement of two targets with RVV-AE active-radar BVR missiles, while the newly added air-to-surface modes facilitate detection of radar-contrast ground and sea targets with real beam and by using the Doppler beam-sharpening technique; in addition, there are synthetic-aperture mapping and moving target indicator (MTI) modes. Claimed detection ranges of surface targets vary from 43nm (80km) for groups of tanks to 135nm (250km) for large ships.

The new UOMZ OLS-30 (52Sh) optronic targeting system, incorporated into the OEPS-30, integrates an IRST sensor and laser rangefinder/designator; the former boasts a considerably increased detection range, claimed to be up to 49nm (90km) against a receding target in tail-on attack at high altitude, while the laser rangefinder can be used at up to 5.4nm (10km).

The SUV-P enables the use of a selection of lock-on before launch guided weapons such as the Kh-29TE TV-guided missile, the KAB-500Kr and KAB-1500Kr TV-guided bombs as well as the lock-on after launch Kh-59ME TV-guided missile, used together with the APK-9E datalink pod. The targeting of the Kh-31P anti-radar mission is facilitated thanks to the use of the L150 Pastel RWR, which generates target designation data, sent to the missile’s seeker head before launch. The self-protection suite also incorporates the L203AI Gardenya or the more capable L005S Sorbtsiya podded active jammers and APP-50R/A chaff/flare dispensers with a total capacity of 96 rounds.

The Su-30MKK also features a further refined FBW system and an enhanced

The Su-30MKI’s AL-31FP engine, produced at UMPO, is rated at 16,940lb (75.5kN) dry and 27,500lb (122.6kN) at full afterburner. It is equipped with a two-dimensional moving nozzle which de�ects through 15° up and down, with de�ection of 32° on the horizontal axis. This con�guration creates both vertical and lateral forces, resulting from the thrust vectoring by di�erential de�ection of the nozzles. In combination with the di�erential thrust control provided by the SDU-10MK FBW system, this speci�c design feature enables the Su-30MKI to retain controllability at extremely low or even zero airspeed, when the aerodynamic control surfaces are rendered ine�ective. As a consequence, the Su-30MKI’s low-speed/high angle-of-attack maneuverability has been vastly improved, and this capability was demonstrated for the �rst time and with great e�ect in front of the public during the Aero India show at Bangalore in December 1998.

In June 1999, the �rst Su-30MKI prototype, wearing the serial ‘01’, was displayed at the Paris

Air Show, where it su�ered a widely publicized accident on the �rst day of the show, on June 12, due to crew error during the display routine. The Sukhoi crew, consisting of pilot Vyacheslav Averyanov and navigator Vladimir Shendrik, were lucky to eject safely from the damaged aircraft, just after it had hit the ground and bounced back into the air with engines burning.

The AL-31FP’s assigned service life is 2,000 �ight hours, time between overhaul (TBO) is 1,000 hours, and thrust-vectoring nozzle TBO is 500 �ight hours.

TVC ENGINES

PNK-10PU-02 navigation system with the A-737 navigation receiver, working with both the GPS and GLONASS systems, as well as the K-DLUE communications system, integrating two UHF/VHF radios, one HF radio and datalink equipment for group operations.

The Su-30MKK program used the modified first prototype of the Su-30 for the testing of the new avionics suite and weapons, with a first flight in the new guise reported on March 9, 1999. The first production-standard Su-30MKK, wearing the serial ‘501’, undertook its inaugural flight from the factory airfield in Komsomolsk-on-Amur on March 19, 1999, and together with two more aircraft (‘502’ and ‘503’) it bore the brunt of the test and evaluation effort that was completed by late 2000. The first batch of 10 Su-30MKKs was delivered to China on December 20, 2000, and the remaining 28 aircraft were handed over in 2001. The follow-on Chinese order for the improved two-seat ‘Flanker’ was placed in December 2001; 19 of these Su-30MKKs were handed over in 2002, and the remaining 19 examples followed suit in 2003.

Gen 4+ ‘Flanker’The next Chinese order, dating from January 2003, called for a further improved Su-30MKK designated as the Su-30MK2. This was made capable of employing the Kh-31A anti-ship missile thanks to the addition of another Baget-55 digital processor in order to enhance the capabilities of the SUV-VE fire control system. The Su-30MK2 can also employ the Kh-59MK medium-range air-to-surface missile with an active radar seeker. A batch of 24 aircraft was delivered in 2004 and these two-seat ‘Flankers’ are operated by the People’s Liberation Army — Naval Air Force.

This ‘generation 4+’ version of the ‘Flanker’ rapidly became a baseline configuration for further export derivatives, most if not all of which featured an all-Russian avionics suite, and were sold to a number of foreign customers around the world during the 2000s. Venezuela

ordered 24 aircraft in a configuration known as the Su-30MK2V, which were delivered between 2006 and 2008.

Vietnam, in turn, proceeded by ordering four Su-30MK2s in 2003 (priced at $120 million) and eight Su-30MK2s in 2009 for $400 million. Another deal followed in 2010 for 12 Su-30MK2s, priced at $1 billion, including weapons; deliveries were undertaken in 2011 and 2012.

Indonesia followed suit in 2003 by ordering two Su-30MKs, augmented in 2008-09 by three Su-30MK2s. A further batch of six Su-30MK2s was ordered in 2011 and the first four were delivered between February and May 2013, with the remaining two expected before year-end. An order for six more jets is likely.

The latest known customer of this ‘Flanker’ derivative is Uganda with an order for six Su-30MK2s, taken on strength in 2011 and 2012. There have been hints that another batch of six will be ordered in the foreseeable future.

Finally, in 2009, the Russian Air Force ordered four Su-30M2s featuring an avionics configuration similar to that used in the Su-27SM3, enabling employment of most modern Russian-made air-to-surface guided ordnance. The Su-30M2s were taken on strength in 2011 at the Lipetsk training center and the Akhtubinsk flight test center. The 1st Aviation Group of the 6972nd Air Base at Krymsk and the 5th Aviation Group of the 6883rd Air Base at Dzemgi will also operate the type following a further deal concluded on 29 December 2012 that will increase the Su-30M2 fleet by 16 additional examples by 2015.

Su-35 — the last of the line?The definitive ‘Flanker’ of what is referred to as ‘generation 4++’ was conceived in the early 2000s as a vastly improved design with extensive improvements, in order to bolster performance and overall combat potential. It was initially designed for export under the Su-35BM designation, although in 2009 the Russian Air Force ordered the new ‘Flanker’ derivative, reportedly as an interim fighter until the mass introduction of the Sukhoi T-50 fifth-

Left: The second of two Su-35 prototypes that performed initial testing for the variant. Sukhoi

Left inset: The People’s Liberation Army — Naval Air Force Su-30MK2s are capable of employing the Kh-31A anti-ship missile. via Chinese Internet

Right: The Su-35S’ twin Saturn AL-41F1S afterburning turbofans are equipped with a two-dimensional moving nozzle. Alexander Mladenov


88-95 Su-30 pt2 C.indd 93 19/08/2013 16:13

Customer Variant Number Notes

Algeria Su-30MKA 44

Angola Su-27 1 Second-hand

Su-27UB 1 Second-hand

Belarus Su-27P/UB Around 20In long-term storage since 2012

China

Su-27SK 38

Su-27UBK 40

Su-27SK 95Assembled from kits supplied by KnAAPO

Su-30MKK 76

Su-30MK2 24

Eritrea Su-27 2 Second-hand


Ethiopia Su-27 8 Second-hand


Indonesia

Su-27SK 2 Delivered 2003

Su-27SKM 3 Delivered 2009-10

Su-30MK 2 Delivered 2003

Su-30MK2 3 Delivered 2008-09

Su-30MK2 6 Delivered 2013

India

Su-30K 18New, delivered 1997-99, returned 2007-08

Su-30MKI 132 New, delivered 2002-

Su-30MKI 140New kits for local assembly, delivered 2003-

Kazakhstan Su-27 34 Second-hand


Malaysia Su-30MKM 18 New, delivered 2007-09

Russia

Su-27P/UBAround 120 in active service

Su-27SM/SM363

Su-33 20

Su-30 5

Su-30SM 4 From 30 on order

Su-30M2 4 Plus 16 on order

Su-35S 12+ From 48 on order

United States

Su-27 2 Second-hand, delivered 1995

Su-27 4Second-hand, delivered 2001-03

Su-27UB 2Second-hand, delivered 2009 (for private use)

Ukraine Su-27P/UBAround 15 in active service

Plus some 20 in long-term storage

Uzbekistan Su-27P/UB 31 Status unknown

Venezuela Su-30MK2V 24 New, delivered 2006-08

Vietnam

Su-27SK 7

Su-27UBK 5Plus two lost during transport in 1997

Su-30MK2 12

Su-30MK2 12 Plus 20 on order

Su-27/30/35 OPERATORS 2013generation fighter. The Russian air arm is slated to receive the first batch of 48 Su-35S by 2014 and in 2013 the Russian Air Force is expected to order another 48 examples.

Externally, the Su-35 retains a fair degree of similarity with the baseline ‘Flanker’, although internally it is almost all-new and as such a much more potent tactical fighter, with a completely different airframe structure, avionics outfit, systems and powerplant. It boasts the super-maneuverability of the Su-30MKI family of two-seaters, albeit without using canards, and features considerably more powerful TVC engines and a far more advanced FBW system. The Su-35’s maximum warload, carried on 12 hardpoints, is 17,600lb (8,000kg), while maximum and normal take-off weights are 75,900lb (34,500kg) and 55,660lb (25,300kg), respectively. The range is also extended considerably thanks to the much larger internal tankage, reaching 24,860lb (11,300kg) and providing a 1,834nm (3,400km) ferry range and 863nm (1,600km) combat radius. In addition, two 2,000-litre (528-US gallon) drop tanks can be used for further extending range and combat radius.

The airframe features much-improved aerodynamics, which, in combination with the advanced FBW system, render the canards surplus while at the same time retaining the Su-30MKI’s low-speed maneuverability. The list of airframe novelties for reducing weight, compared to the basic ‘Flanker’, include extensive use of composites in the skin, deletion of the airbrake (this function is now performed by differential deflection of the modified rudders) and introduction of a strengthened undercarriage with a nose leg with two wheels, as well as shorter fins and tail sting. The airframe has an assigned service life of 6,000 flight hours and 30 years, with time between overhauls set at 1,500 hours and 10 years, whichever occurs first. The RCS is claimed to have been reduced by a five- to six-fold magnitude thanks to the use of new stealth coatings for the canopy and the skin as well as a reduction in the number of protruding probes and sensor heads; the RCS reduction is claimed to have been optimized mainly in the X-band for head-on and tail-on aspects.

The new Saturn AL-41F1S (also known as the 117S) afterburning turbofans are each rated at 31,900lb st (142.2kN) at full afterburner and about 19,800lb (88.3kN) at military power. The initial flight tests showed that the Su-35 is capable of supercruising at military power at certain altitudes and fuel load states. The AL-41F1S provides a much higher thrust-to-weight ratio in the air superiority role (accounting for 1.14 at take-off), translated into much faster acceleration and vastly increased low-speed maneuverability.

The Su-35 is equipped with the KSU-35 quadruplex-redundant digital FBW system and


88-95 Su-30 pt2 C.indd 94 20/08/2013 11:44

fly-by-wire controls are also introduced for the rudders (yaw axis) and flaperons (roll axis). In turn, the increased low-speed maneuverability and controllability render the Su-35 much more forgiving to pilot-handling mistakes in air combat. According to Sukhoi’s chief test pilot Sergey Bogdan, the KSU-35’s envelope protection function is so effective that it makes it virtually impossible for the Su-35 to stall or enter inadvertently into a spin when the engines are working normally.

The avionics systems, integrated by the Ramenskoye Instrument Design Bureau, are all-new, providing true multi-role capabilities. The cockpit is dominated by the IKSh-1M wide-angle HUD and two side-by-side large MFI-35 LCD smart displays, measuring 15 x 11.5in (380 x 290mm), and augmented by three smaller displays. The navigation system is also all-new, centered upon the BINS-SP2 hybrid positioning unit with highly accurate ring-laser gyros, quartz accelerometers and GPS/GLONASS correction. The Polyot S-108 communication suite integrates two UHV/VHF radios and one HF radio as well as a Link 16-style datalink system for tactical information exchange.

Powerful PESA radarThe primary sensor of the Su-35S is the NIIP N135 Irbis (Irbis-E on the export derivatives, with downgraded performance) PESA radar, a follow-on derivative of the N011M Bars. It features a much-increased processing capability, a far better range resolution and an expanded beam deflection in azimuth thanks to the increased mechanical deflection of the 900mm radar antenna. In the air-to-air mode, the Irbis can search 120° left and right and detect up to 30 aerial targets, eight of which can be engaged with active radar-guided missiles. The operating mode for the guidance of semi-active radar-homing (SARH) missiles enables engagement of two targets simultaneously, with one missile guided against each of these, illuminated by the radar’s electronically steered beam. Maximum radar detection range against fighter-size targets with the radar operating in the long-range detection mode in a narrow sector in the forward hemisphere is advertised as exceeding 216nm (400km) in head-on engagements or some 81nm (150km) in tail-on engagements. The normal detection mode (in a considerably

expanded sector) provides detection ranges of some 108nm (200km) head-on, while in look-down engagements head-on detection range is reduced to 92nm (170km). The air-to-surface mode facilitates engagement of four targets simultaneously, with low, medium and high-resolution capabilities.

The brand-new OLS-35 optronic system, designed by the Russian company NPK SPP, integrates an IRST, TV camera and laser devices; it is capable to looking 90° left and right, 15° down and 60° up and is advertised as being capable of detecting large-size fighter targets at 49nm (90km) in tail-on engagements and 19nm (35km) in head-on engagements at high altitude; and it can track up to four targets simultaneously. The OLS-35 has a laser rangefinder and a laser target designator, with the former operating at up to 11nm (20km) against aerial targets and 16nm (30km) against ground targets; there is also a laser spot tracker. A totally new targeting pod is currently under development by NPK SPP for the Su-35, with a sensor suite based on that used in the OLS-35 system, providing coverage of 360° in azimuth and -170°/+10° in elevation.

The Su-35S’ self-protection suite includes the L150 Pastel RWR that is standard for all modern Russian fixed- and rotary-wing combat aircraft, and adds UV-based missile approach warners providing spherical coverage, laser warners and a pair of 14-round UV-50 chaff/flare dispensers. The Russian Air Force Su-35S is fitted with the KNITRI L265 Khibini self-protection jammer, with built-in and podded components; the former are used to create jamming signals in the H and J frequency bands while the latter, housed in wingtip pods, works in the E to G bands.

The Su-35S is capable of employing all Russian new-generation air-to-air and air-to-surface guided weapons. It has been advertised that the fighter can even use the RVV-BD long-range missile, capable of destroying targets at up to 110nm (200km) in high-altitude head-on engagements.

The first Su-35 prototype, wearing the serial ‘901’, was assembled at KnAAPO in 2008 and made its maiden flight on February 19, 2008, while the second example, serial ‘902’, did likewise on October 2 that year. The third Su-35, serial ‘904’, had the bad luck to be destroyed by fire during its first ground taxi run at Komsomolsk-on-Amur.

The first Russian Air Force aircraft, designated as the Su-35S-1, flew on May 3, 2011, and was actively used in the type’s extensive state test and evaluation program, undertaken by the Air Force flight test center at Akhtubinsk. By late 2012, as many as 10 Su-35S had been handed over to the Russian Air Force, while 2013 and 2014 will see 12 deliveries each, and the final 14 examples currently under contract will be handed over in 2015. Six of the production-standard Su-35S joined the type’s state test and evaluation effort slated for completion in 2014. This year the first such aircraft will be taken on strength by the Air Force’s training center at Lipetsk, to be used for conversion training of instructors and front-line pilots for the first squadrons slated to be re-equipped with the definitive ‘Flanker’ derivative. The first front-line unit to convert to the Su-35S will be one of the squadrons from the 5th Aviation Group of the 6883rd Air Base, stationed at Dzemgi near Komsomolsk-on-Amur. It is expected to take its 12 new aircraft in 2013, to replace its upgraded Su-27SMs.

There is a memorandum of understanding between Russia and China for the sale of 24 Su-35s in an export configuration, signed in November 2012. Russian sources expect a firm contract (priced at about $1.5 billion) before year-end, with deliveries commencing in 2015, although observers of the Chinese military stress that any Su-35 purchase remains unconfirmed. Talks with other potential customers such as Venezuela, Vietnam and Indonesia are also known to have been under way for some time, but, as of mid-July 2013, no positive developments had been reported.

Inset above: The primary sensor on the Su-35S is the NIIP N135 Irbis PESA radar. Alexander Mladenov

This photo: The Su-30SM was announced in July 2011, when two aircraft were nearing completion at Irkutsk;

a formal order for 30 was announced on March 22, 2012. The �rst two aircraft were handed-over to the

Russian Air Forces on November 22, 2012. Sukhoi

Inset left: A rendition of the cockpit of the Su-35S. Sukhoi via author


88-95 Su-30 pt2 C.indd 95 19/08/2013 16:13

AFTER HISTORY-MAKING AUTONOMOUS landings and take-offs on an aircraft carrier this summer, the US Navy’s two X-47B jet-powered drones quietly flew into

retirement in July. Publicly, the US Navy and drone-maker Northrop Grumman initially said the bat-wing aircraft were done flying. Future efforts would be focused on a new, improved class of carrier-launched drone.

But information obtained by Combat Aircraft reveals details of the US Navy’s new plan: to revive the X-47Bs in a few months and fly them for up to two more years on a fresh series of increasingly challenging tests. The apparent goal is to gather even more data in order to smooth the sailing branch’s transition into a more robotic air arm.

That’s right — arguably the most important drones in the world are not yet done making history. Their distinctive bat-like silhouettes should soon re-appear over the fleet.

The Navy previously hinted at the revival, without going into specifics. ‘I believe you will see continued operation of the X-47B at least into the Fiscal Year 2014 time period’, RADM Mat Winter told a Washington DC television station in early August, as reported by the US Naval Institute. ‘As we go forward we are continuing to assess its operational opportunities.’

Combat Aircraft has learned that the two 62ft-wingspan drones — built at Northrop Grumman’s secretive facility in Palmdale, California and first flown from land in 2011 — will deploy separately on to carriers a combined three more times: at the end of this year, again in the fall of next year, and for the final planned time from the very end of 2014 until early 2015.

They will test out modifications to potentially three more carriers on the East and West Coasts meant to make the flat-tops compatible with autonomous warplanes.

Candidate carriers apparently include the USS Theodore Roosevelt and the USS Harry S. Truman from the Atlantic Fleet and the USS Carl Vinson with the Pacific Fleet. In late 2012 Truman hosted an X-47B for non-flying deck-handling trials, but all of the drones’ at-sea launches and landings took place aboard the new carrier USS George H. W. Bush off the Maryland coast.

Eventually all of the US Navy’s 10 flat-tops will carry drones.

The X-47Bs will also conduct the first-ever aerial refueling of a robotic aircraft in the fall of 2014 and, around the same time, integrate fully

with a 70-aircraft carrier air wing for several weeks — the latter a sort of ‘final exam’ for a new naval warplane.

It’s not hard to guess why the Navy is reviving its robot prototypes. Both X-47Bs were forced to abort their final planned carrier landings in July owing to internal technical problems that, to the drones’ credit, they safely detected on their own.

It’s possible the Navy wants to finally complete those landings and ensure the X-47B’s bugs are worked out. More broadly, the sailing branch is banking hugely on autonomous warplanes and seems eager to reduce technical risk through further experimentation before it selects a front-line model for combat use under the upcoming Unmanned Carrier-Launched Airborne Surveillance and Strike (UCLASS) program.

Northrop, Boeing, Lockheed Martin and General Atomics are all competing to build the definitive UCLASS carrier drone with fielding to begin in 2018 or 2019. The new program could cost billions of dollars on top of the roughly $1 billion the Navy has already spent on the X-47Bs.

And then there’s Congress. The Navy had originally planned on testing out aerial

refueling with the X-47Bs but balked at the cost and cancelled that effort this spring. Congress wants the tests restored — and completed no later than October 2014.

The X-47Bs’ renewed lease on life could prove a major windfall for Northrop Grumman, one of the world’s leading drone manufacturers. The X-47s’ continued testing could help Northrop revise its design for the follow-on, combat-capable aircraft, which almost certainly will be based on the X-47B anyway.

The last time a major airframer got to run a warplane test program immediately before a competition for a production jet was in the 1980s and 1990s. Lockheed spent years trialing radar-evading and vertical-landing designs alongside Pentagon scientists.

And when it came time to pick a design for the international Joint Strike Fighter in 2001, Lockheed Martin had a clear lead on its rival Boeing. Lockheed snagged the contract for potentially thousands of aircraft costing hundreds of billions of dollars.

The US Navy drone program is much smaller in comparison, but arguably more important to the future of US air power. With its X-47Bs set to resume flying, Northrop Grumman could lead America into a new drone era.

US Navy drone’s big comeback

BY DAVID AXE

‘Combat Aircraft has learned that the two 62ft-wingspan drones — built at Northrop Grumman’s secretive facility in Palmdale, California and first flown from land in 2011 — will separately deploy on to carriers a combined three more times’


Dispatches from the

front line of aerospace

technology

An X-47B aboard the USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77). US Navy/MCS2C Tony D. Curtis

96 Cutting Edge C.indd 96 21/08/2013 12:20

‘FLYING’ DVDWitness cutting-edge fi ghter jets in their element with this collection of 5

stunning aviation fi lms from renowned fi lmmaker Lionel Charlet. This ‘best

of’ collection showcases Charlet’s phenomenal camera work to give the viewer a unique look at aircraft including Mirage, Rafale and F-18 in the dramatic setting of the Swiss Alps.

Region-free DVD, Running time 115 minutes.

their element with this collection of 5 stunning aviation fi lms from renowned

fi lmmaker Lionel Charlet. This ‘best of’ collection showcases Charlet’s

phenomenal camera work to give the viewer a unique look at aircraft including Mirage, Rafale and F-18 in the dramatic setting of the Swiss Alps.

Region-free DVD, Running time 115 minutes.

stunning aviation fi lms from renowned fi lmmaker Lionel Charlet. This ‘best

of’ collection showcases Charlet’s phenomenal camera work to

Running time 115 minutes.

CLAIM YOUR CLAIM YOUR FREE DVDWHEN YOU TAKE OUT WHEN YOU TAKE OUT

A 2-YEAR OR DIRECT 2-YEAR OR DIRECT DEBIT SUBSCRIPTIONDEBIT SUBSCRIPTION

TO

2 E A S Y W A Y S T O P AYCall UK 01780 480404Overseas +44 1780 480404 Lines open 9.00am - 5.30pm GMT

OROrder online at www.keypublishing.com/shop

Make HUGE SavingsUK QUARTERLY DIRECT DEBIT

Just £9.99 per quarter PLUS FREE ‘Flying’ DVD

PRE-PAY OFFERS

12 FOR THE PRICE OF 10

24 ISSUES FOR THE PRICE OF 20 PLUS FREE FLYING DVD

UK 12 issues £42.00 24 issues £81.49

Europe 12 issues €66.00 24 issues €121.00

Rest of the World 12 issues £55.00 24 issues £99.99

WORTH

£19.99

IMAG

E - E

VERT

KEI

JZER

USA and Canadian readers see page 86-87 for subscription details.

*Direct debit UK only. See website for full terms and conditions.

596 CAM Subs Single.indd 97 22/08/2013 16:31

PLUS!COLORADO AIR NATIONAL GUARD

Hen

k de

Rid

der

Jam

ie H

unte

r

F-22 RAPTOF-22 RAPTORR— Air Combat Master!


NEXT MONTH

Contents subject to changeContents subject to changeJULY ISSUE: ON SALE FROM 23 JUNEContents subject to changeNOVEMBER ISSUE: ON SALE GLOBALLY FROM 3 OCTOBER

© Key Publishing Ltd 2013All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the copyright owner. Multiple copying of the contents of the magazine without prior written approval is not permitted.

We are unable to guarantee the bona �des of any of our advertisers. Readers are strongly recommended to take their own precautions before parting with any information or item of value, including, but not limited to, money, manuscripts, photographs or personal information in response to any advertisements within this publication.

EDITORIAL EDITOR: Jamie Hunter ([email protected])DEPUTY EDITOR: Ben Dunnell ([email protected])ASSISTANT EDITOR: Thomas NewdickNORTH AMERICAN NEWS EDITOR: Tom KaminskiEUROPE/WORLD NEWS EDITOR: Thomas NewdickDESIGNER: Dominique Maynard

Special Correspondents: David Axe, Luigino Caliaro, Ted Carlson, Richard Cooper, Frank Crébas, Robert F. Dorr, Neil Dunridge, Paul Filmer, Alexander Golz, Robert Hewson, Jon Lake, Ioannis Lekkas, Neil Pearson, Andreas Rupprecht, Warren E. Thompson

Editorial Address: Combat Aircraft, Key Publishing Ltd, PO Box 100, Stamford, Lincs, PE9 1XPTel: +44 (0)1780 755131E-mail: [email protected] site: www.combataircraft.net

Editorial Contributions: The Editor is pleased to receive contributions to Combat Aircraft in the form of articles, news stories, letters and photographs. Items accepted will be retained and paid for at standard rates on publication. Material sent to the Editor, whether commissioned or freely submitted, is provided at the contributor’s own risk; Key Publishing Ltd cannot be held responsible for loss or damage howsoever caused. The opinions and views expressed by authors and contributors within Combat Aircraft are not necessarily those of the Editor or Key Publishing Ltd.

ADVERTISING

Group Advertisement Manager: Brodie Baxter Tel: +44 (0)1780 755131 • E-mail: [email protected] Manager: Ian MaxwellTel: +44 (0)1780 755131 • E-mail: [email protected] Production: Debi McGowan Tel: +44 (0)1780 755131 • E-mail: [email protected] Office: Key Publishing Ltd, PO Box 100, Stamford, Lincs, PE9 1XQ

SUBSCRIPTIONSUS/CanadaCombat Aircraft 3330 Paci�c Ave, Suite 500, Virginia Beach Va. 23451Tel: +1 800 428 3003 (Toll Free for US and Canada)E-mail: [email protected]: www.imsnews.com

UK/Europe/RoWCombat Aircraft Subscriptions DepartmentKey Publishing Ltd, PO Box 300, Stamford, Lincolnshire, PE9 1NA. UK.Tel 01780 480 404, (from UK), +44 1780 480 404 (from outside UK).Email: [email protected]: www.keypublishing.com/shop

Combat Aircraft Monthly (ISSN 2041-7489), is published monthly by Key Publishing Ltd and distributed in the USA by Mail Right Int., 1637 Stelton Road B4, Piscataway, NJ 08854.

Periodicals Postage Paid at Piscataway, NJ and additional mailing o�ces Postmaster: Send address changes to Combat Aircraft Monthly, Key Publishing C/o 1637 Stelton Road B4, Piscataway NJ 08854

Magazine Binders & Back Issues: Available from our UK Subscriptions o�ce

PUBLISHINGManaging Director and Publisher: Adrian CoxCommercial Director: Ann SaundryConsultant editor: Paul HamblinMarketing Manager: Martin SteeleWebmaster: Simon Russell Executive Chairman: Richard Cox

Combat Aircraft is published 12 times a year by:Key Publishing Ltd, PO Box 100, Stamford, Lincs, PE9 1XPTel: +44 (0)1780 755 131 • Fax: +44 (0)1780 757261Registered O�ce: Unit 1-4, Gwash Way Ind Est, Ryall Road, PE9 1XP UK: ISSN 2041-7489 US: ISSN 2041-7470

PrintingWarners (Midlands) plc, The Maltings, Bourne, Lincs. PE10 9PH

Distribution

US/Canada: Enquiries Line 001 973 939 7213UK/Europe/RoW: Seymour Distribution Ltd, 2 Poultry Avenue, London. Enquiries Line: +44 (0)20 3148 3333

(ON SALE DATE MAY VARY BY REGION)

98 Next Month c.indd 98 21/08/2013 12:20

Showroom at NO.1 PARK STREET, Maidenhead. To arrange a personal appointment, call +44 (0)1628 763040

Made in Switzerland / Modified, hand-wound, Unitas 6498 mechanical regulator movement visible through full diameter crystal case-back / Côte de Genève movement finish / Central continuous minute hand with 12 hour and 60 second bi-compax sub-dials / 44mm, satin-brushed, 316L stainless steel case / Anti-reflective sapphire crystal / SuperLuminovaTM “Old Radium” indexes and hands / Vintage leather strap with Bader deployment / Also available with PVD black case

Swiss movement, English heart

260_ChristopherWard_CombatAircraft.indd 1 15/08/2013 17:01

The ultimate choice100,000 long term jobs secured; 40,000 in the UK; huge spin-offs to other sectors including the civil sector; developing

knowledge; advanced industrial processes.

Eurofighter Typhoon: Europe's largest collaborative programme.

Eurofighter Typhoon: Deterrence and security for our borders with the guarantee of absolute superiority against any potential

threats, today and in the future. ww

w.e

urof

ight

er.c

om

n o t h i n g c o m e s c l o s e

Ef Advert2010CampaignDraftFlags_Layout 1 28.01.13 11:22 Seite 5

C a M 2013 10 Downmagaz.com-Su-35

Documents

Transcript of C a M 2013 10 Downmagaz.com-Su-35