UNITNEWS
‘Archangels’ reactivated
The US Army reactivated the
166th Aviation Training Brigade
during a recent ceremony at
Fort Hood, Texas. The unit,
known as the ‘Archangels’, was
inactivated in June 2015 during
the US Army’s draw-down and its
mission was consolidated under
a single aviation training support
battalion. Assigned to the First
US Army, the brigade is tasked
to provide pre-mobilization and
post-mobilization training and
certi cation for Army National
Guard and Army Reserve
Command aviation units that
currently comprise around 48 per
cent of the US Army’s aviation
organization. The brigade was
reactivated due to increased
demand for National Guard and
reserve aviation units in various
theaters of operations worldwide;
it is composed of a headquarters
and headquarters company, the
2nd Battalion, 291st Aviation
Regiment and 3rd Battalion,
351st Aviation Regiment. It
will support the 10 reserve
component aviation brigades on
a ve-year rotation and training
will be provided to two brigadesannually for the units designated
in that deployment window.Kodiak receives rst
Super Hercules
Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak,
Alaska received the rst of a
planned eet of ve HC-130Js on
August when tail number 2009
touched down on August 21. The
HC-130J will provide a signi cant
improvement over the HC-130H.
It features a suite of command,
control, communication,
computers, intelligence,
surveillance and reconnaissance
(C4ISR) equipment that includes a
sea search radar, electro-optical/
infra-red (EO/IR) sensors, and an
enhanced communications suite.
The Coast Guard’s Hercules eet
is tasked with missions including
search and rescue, long-range
maritime patrol, enforcement
of laws and treaties, illegal drug
interdiction, marine environmental
protection, and military readiness,
as well as cargo and personnel
transport. Air Station Kodiak is
the second of three air stations
that will employ the HC-130J,
which was initially introduced into
service in 2003. The HC-130Js will
replace the HC-130Hs by the end
of 2019. Besides the long-range
surveillance Hercules, Air Station
Kodiak’s eet includes six MH-60Ts
and four MH-65Ds.Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak,
Alaska welcomed its fi rst
HC-130J when serial 2009
arrived on August 21. US Coast
Guard/PO1 Jonathan HarpEXERCISE ‘NORTHERN LIGHTNING’
‘NORTHERN LIGHTNING 18 2’ took
place between August 13-24 at
the Volk Field Combat Readiness
Training Center in central Wisconsin.
It was the largest edition to date,
with more than 1,600 personnel and
approximately 70 aircraft from 17
di erent units spread across the US
Air Force, US Navy, and US Marine
Corps. USAF Reserve Command and
the Air National Guard also took part.
Prior to 2018, ‘Northern Lightning’
was an annual exercise, but following
the success of the 2017 iteration and
Joint National Training Capability
accreditation, it is now a part of the
regional exercise (REX) program
alongside the likes of ‘Sentry Aloha’
in Hawaii and ‘Sentry Savannah’ in
Georgia. Two instalments per year
will likely be the standard in future.
‘Northern Lightning’ is designed
to enhance fth-generation
ghter integration, and improve
architectures and interoperabilitybetween services in a contested,
degraded, and operationally-
limited (CDO) environment. An
additional component of ’18-2’ was
the presence of active-duty USAF
operational test entities from the
53rd Test and Evaluation Group,
as well as Air National Guard/
Air Force Reserve Command Test
Center (AATC) assets. Test platforms
included F-15C, F-15E, and F-16s,
validating hardware and software
upgrades in a link-intensive, CDO
environment.
Col Chad Milne, exercise director
and state director of operations for
the Wisconsin ANG, said, ‘Ultimately
everyone has the same goal in the
end of becoming a more lethal force.
So, whether you’re participating
in ‘Northern Lightning’ as a test
squadron or a combat-coded
squadron, you’re here for the
very same reason: to be a better
war ghter.’ Scott Wol DRAKEN DEDICATION
Draken International has deployed three A-4Ks and a TA-4K for its fi rst
detachment to NAS Fallon in support of the Joint Tactical Air Support
class that trains forward air controllers. Seen on September 10, one
of the A-4Ks, serial N145EM, carries the name CAPT J. S. McCain III in
tribute to the former navy A-4 pilot and senator from Arizona. Jim DunnPEGASUS RECEIVES FAA CERTIFICATION
BOEING’S KC 46A TANKER program
has received a supplemental type
certi cate (STC) from the US Federal
Aviation Administration (FAA). The STC
certi ed that the aircraft’s refueling
and mission avionics systems meet
FAA requirements. The milestone
marks completion of KC-46 FAA
certi cation, which began in 2015 and
involved a series of lab, ground, and
ight tests to validate that the aircraft’s
boom and drogue aerial refueling
systems met certi cation criteria.
The STC is the second of two
required FAA airworthiness
certi cations. Boeing had earlier
received an amended type
certi cate for its core 767-2C aircraft
con guration in December 2017.
The KC-46A has not yet received its
military type certi cate, which covers
the tanker’s aerial refueling, defensive,
and other military-speci c systems.
MTC testing was completed in July- The various segments of STC
and MTC testing were supported
by six KC-46As. Since the rst ight
occurred in December 2017, the eet
has completed 3,500 ight hours and
o oaded more than three million
pounds of fuel to F-16, F/A-18, AV-8B,
C-17, A-10, KC-10, KC-135, and other
KC-46 aircraft.
The Air Force Life Cycle
Management Center awarded Boeing
a $2.9-billion contract modi cation
for Lot 4 production KC-46As on
September 10. It exercises an option
for 18 aircraft, two spare engines, ve
wing refueling pod kits, spares and
support equipment. The contract
increases the number of tankers
purchased to 52. The three prior
production lots included seven, 12
and 15 aircraft. Boeing also produced
four KC-46As under its original
development contract that was
awarded in 2011.
AV-8B Harrier IIs of VMA-311 on the busy fl ight line at
Volk Field in August. Jonathan Derden[NEWS] UNITED STATES
12 November 2018 //^ http://www.combataircraft.net