18 // September 2019 #378 http://www.airforcesmonthly.comNEWS North America
Spangdahlem
‘Vipers’ in Iceland
THE USAF’s 52nd Fighter
Wing (FW) at Spangdahlem
Air Base, Germany, deployed
six F-16Cs for the Iceland
Air Surveillance 19 (IAS19)
mission on July 25.
The jets are temporarily
deployed to Keflavík, where
they will fly air surveillance
over Iceland in order to
maintain the integrity of
NATO airspace. The sixF-16Cs – all with ‘SP’
tailcodes – comprised
serials 90-0813, 90-0833,
91-0402, 91-0351,
91-0358 and 92-3918.
Personnel from the 52nd
FW conducted scramble
training to prepare for
possible interceptions in and
around Icelandic airspace
before being certified for
the mission on July 27.F-16C 90-0833 ‘SP’ of the 52nd FW departs Spangdahlem for its ferry fl ight to Iceland with a
payload of AIM-120 AMRAAM and AIM-9X Sidewinder missiles, plus twin baggage pods and a
Sniper pod under the intake. Mick BalterLightning IIs join Rapid Forge
Above: F-35A 15-5173 ‘HL’ taxies into place at Ämari air base, Estonia, during Operation Rapid Forge on July 25. US Army/Sgt Alexis Washburn-JasinskiUSAF F-35As of the 421st
Expeditionary Fighter
Squadron ‘Black Widows’- normally based at Hill Air
Force Base, Utah, as part of
the 388th Fighter Wing (FW) - are continuing to rack up
milestones during their current
deployment to Spangdahlem
Air Base, Germany, as part
of a European Theater
Security Package (TSP).
Four F-35As touched
down at Powidz air base,
Poland, on July 16, to
take part in Operation
Rapid Forge – a forward
deployment readiness
exercise across Eastern
Europe. The manoeuvres
marked the first time F-35As
had landed in Poland,
Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia
On July 18, F-35As landed
at Šiauliai air base in
Lithuania, joining F-15Es and
C-130Js that had arrived in
the country two days earlier.
During the manoeuvres,
an MC-130J CommandoII landed at a remote
airfield where equipment
and fuel lines were set
up and an F-35A was
refuelled and relaunched.
Also on the 18th, two
F-35As from the unit visited
RAF Marham, Norfolk, for
joint training with RAF and
Royal Navy ground crew.
The first visit of the A-model
Lightning II to Marham
included ‘hot pit’ refuelling –
topping up the aircraft’s fuel
tanks with engine running.On July 23, F-35As touched
down at Lielvarde air base,
Latvia, again working with
F-15Es and C-130Js.
Meanwhile, Strike Eagles
and Commando IIs arrived at
Ämari air base in Estonia and
Powidz in Poland for refuelling
and rearming operations. The
F-15Es were provided by the
336th Fighter Squadron/4th
FW, Seymour Johnson Air
Force Base, North Carolina,
also temporarily deployed
to Spangdahlem. TheMC-130Js were from the
352nd Special Operations
Wing at RAF Mildenhall,
Suffolk, while the C-130Js
came from the 86th Airlift
Wing (AW) at Ramstein AB,
Germany, and from the 317th
AW deployed to Ramstein
from Dyess AFB, Texas.
Operation Rapid Forge was
completed on July 25, when
F-35As arrived at Ämari,
together with F-15Es and
MC-130Js, for more rapid
refuelling of the fighters.Canadian fi ghter programme advances
The fi rst of Canada’s former Royal Australian Air Force F/A-18As is now fl ying in RCAF colours, evidenced by CF-188A serial
188053, seen at Canadian Forces Base Cold Lake, Alberta, on May 22. This was formerly A21-53 with the RAAF and arrived at
Cold Lake in February. Gary CookCANADA HAS announced
the next step in its future
fighter competition, issuing
the formal request for
proposals (RFP) to eligible
suppliers. The government
has sent RFPs to Airbus
Defence and Space
(Typhoon), Boeing (F/A-
18E/F), Lockheed Martin
(F-35A) and Saab (Gripen
E/F), and the suppliers
have until next spring to
submit initial proposals.
A contract award for 88
new fighters is anticipated
around early 2022, and the
first replacement aircraft is
expected to be delivered
to the Royal Canadian Air
Force (RCAF) in 2025.17-20 USNews AFM Sep2019.indd 18 8/5/2019 4:07:25 PM