AirForces Monthly – September 2019

http://www.airforcesmonthly.com #378 September 2019 // 19

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B-21 Raider to fly

in December 2021

USAF Vice Chief of Staff

Gen Stephen Wilson

announced that the new

B-21 stealth bomber is

expected to make its

maiden flight in December

2021. The USAF has
      said it doesn’t expect
      the aircraft to achieve
      initial operating capability
      before the mid-2020s.
      F-35 set to fail 80%
      mission-capable target
      Supply shortages mean
      the F-35 is likely to miss
      the Pentagon’s goal of
      an 80% mission-capable
      rate by the end of the
      fiscal year. According to
      a report from Secretary
      of the Army Mark Esper,
      ahead of his appointment
      as defence secretary, the
      main issue is a shortage
      of canopy transparencies.
      More internal
      weapons for Lightning II
      Modifications to the F-35’s
      weapons bay will allow
      the fighter to carry a very
      long-range anti-radiation
      missile and, potentially,
      six AIM-120 air-to-air
      missiles. The anti-radar
      missile is expected
      to be the Advanced
      Anti-Radiation Guided
      Missile-Extended Range
      (AARGM-ER). Lockheed
      Martin is under contract
      to complete the weapons
      bay work by July 2022.
      Raytheon selected
      for B-52 radar upgrade
      Raytheon has won a
      contract to provide a
      new active electronically
      scanned array (AESA)
      radar for the USAF’s
      B-52H fleet. The
      modernisation will
      involve a derivative of
      the company’s APG-
      79/APG-82 radar family
      and low-rate initial
      production is scheduled
      to begin in 2024.
      USAF MQ-9s
      move to Romania
      The USAF’s MQ-
      operations in Europe
      temporarily shifted
      south after its recently
      established detachment
      of the unmanned aerial
      vehicles moved from
      Poland to Câmpia Turzii,
      Romania, on July 3.
      The 52nd Expeditionary
      Operations Group
      Detachment 2 was
      previously flying from
      Mirosławiec air base in
      Poland. The Reapers will
      remain in Romania until
      construction at the Polish
      base is completed.

In Brief

USAF F-22As assigned to

the 90th Fighter Squadron

at Joint Base Elmendorf-

Richardson, Alaska, arrive

at Royal Australian Air

Force Base Amberley,

Queensland, for Exercise

Talisman Sabre 19 on July

9. The month-long biennial
   exercise – now in its eighth
   iteration – involves US and
   Australian forces, with
   training elements including
   amphibious landings, land

force manoeuvre, urban and

maritime operations, plus

special forces activities.

As well as Raptors, other

USAF assets deployed for

Talisman Sabre included

the E-3C from the 962nd

Airborne Air Control

Squadron, KC-10A from the

6th Air Refuelling Squadron

and B-52H from the 69th

Expeditionary Bomb

Squadron. The exercise

took place from July 10-24.

MOUNTAIN HOME Air Force

Base in Idaho hosted the

largest ‘off-station’ F-35A

effort to date when the 34th

Fighter Squadron (FS) ‘Rude

Rams’ from Hill AFB, Utah,

arrived there. The squadron,

part of the 388th Fighter

Wing, began operating out

of Mountain Home on May

30, while Hill’s runway is

under construction. The 34th

FS detachment at the Idaho

base comprises 17 jets and

around 300 personnel.

The squadron will continue

to receive new deliveries

while detached, as it builds

up to a planned fleet of 24

Lightning IIs. Meanwhile,

the other two squadrons

from Hill, the 4th and 421st

FS, are currently deployed

to Al Dhafra Air Base in

the United Arab Emirates

and to Spangdahlem AB

in Germany, respectively.

This summer, the pilots of

the 34th FS will have the

chance to fire more than

25,000 rounds of ammunition

and employ more than 70

precision-guided munitions

during training events flown

from Mountain Home. The

F-35As are also integrating

with F-15Es from the resident

366th FW in both offensive

and defensive air-to-air and

air-to-ground scenarios.

Above: F-35A 15-5143 ‘HL’ from Hill AFB refuels in a ‘hot pit’ at Mountain Home on June 20. USAF/Airman First Class Andrew Kobialka

F-35As en masse

at Mountain Home

Raptors at Talisman Sabre

USAF/Staff Sgt Kyle Johnson

TAKING PART in Exercise

Red Flag 19-3 at Nellis

Air Force Base, Nevada,

recently was F-16C 84-

‘WA/57 ATG’, which now

carries the markings of

the 57th Adversary Tactics

Group commander. The

jet’s new ‘Ghost’ aggressor

scheme replicates the

latest colours worn by the

Russian Su-57 fighter.

The finish was selected

after Brig Gen Robert

Novotny, the 57th Wing

commander, posted a poll

on social media to find

a new look for the 64th

Aggressor Squadron. The

jet was photographed

returning to Nellis on the

first day of Red Flag 19-3,

carrying an ALQ-

electronic attack training

pod under the wing rather

than on the centreline. The

exercise took place between

July 15 and August 2.

Nate Leong

‘Ghost’ F-16 at Red Flag

17-20 USNews AFM Sep2019.indd 19 8/5/2019 4:07:43 PM