combat aircraft

ECR (Electronic Combat Reconnaissance).

In 2016, Schafelhofer switched to the F-16

at Luke AFB before joining the Arizona

ANG last year alongside exchange pilots

from Portugal and Japan.

‘The last few years in the German Air

Force lying the Euroighter, I was mainly

tasked with lying air-to-air missions, so

for me ‘Ample Strike’ was a great time

to improve my skills in air-to-ground

and especially CAS’, he said. ‘Seeing

JTACs from diferent countries was great

because we learned that each country

has slightly diferent requirements even

As the JTACs

were taking

cover, I could provide

them with updates

on the enemy’s

position. The JTACs

requested a bomb

to be dropped 100m

north of their position

Maj Thomas Dowd

though most of it is the same across

NATO.’ Schafelhofer hopes to go to

FAC(A) school before his tour ends, which

would make him the irst Luftwafe pilot

to receive the qualiication. ‘We don’t

have FAC-As in the German Air Force, so I

hope to go back to Germany as a FAC(A)

instructor pilot and maybe help start up

a program.’

Schafelhofer says the F-16 has many

similarities with the Euroighter. ‘The

main diference is in the avionics and

how you manage all of your sensors.

Since we are both NATO members we do

Above: This 195th

FS F-16C is flying

alongside a

visiting Lithuanian

Air Force L-39ZA.

Below left to right:

The opportunity

to fly in each

other’s cockpits is

always a welcome

element of a joint

exercise.

Lt Col Johnston

goes through the

technical log of his

assigned jet prior

to a mission.

EXERCISE REPORT // ‘AMPLE STRIKE’

66 December 2018 //^ http://www.combataircraft.net