tactical timeline still make sense, and do I
need to evolve my ofensive or defensive
responses? The Eagle also had ADCP II and
we were looking for some data points to
run against, and I was a platform for them
to test with. That’s a pretty typical day and it
happens on a regular basis. However, there
are times when we just need time with
our own speciic MDS to check a couple
of squares.’
The 422 its neatly into the maintenance
and support organized by the 57th Wing.
The groups of aircraft all sit together and
OT-coded jets are parked right next to WA-
coded jets of the Weapons School beneath
sunshades along the massive Nellis ramp.
As the commander, staying abreast of
all that the 422 touches is a huge task
for Darling and his team. ‘It is a super
challenge, but the phenomenal people
here are what make it easy and possible
to manage. The squadron director of
operations and the division commanders
own the scheduling; they own the
interaction between the maintenance
and the operations side and making that
magic happen. We have very seasoned
guys that have been around for multiple
assignments and understand the
organizational charts and they’ve got it
mapped. Staying in tune with these people
is what makes my job easy. It makes it easy
to sit back and watch the magic happen.’
As the USAF looks to the future, the
threat will continue to advance. With that
threat, the role of the 422nd Test and
Evaluation Squadron will increase. Darling
sums up: ‘If we can take the time to think
about our role and the future, or where it
looks like it’s going to go, it is just awesome
to do get to do this job.’power that will keep the Eagle viable and
lethal for years to come,’ he enthuses.
Also recently evaluated for the F-15C
was the podded Talon HATE system. This
was mounted on the centerline station
and provided the ability to combine
tactical information from fourth- and
ifth-generation ighter aircraft, as well
as command and control assets in the air
and on the ground. Talon HATE began
testing in 2015 and the work was recently
wrapped up. According to Schuett, ‘We
put a huge amount of efort into Talon
HATE, including taking the system up
to the ‘Northern Edge 2017’ exercise
in Alaska. We worked with a few other
agencies to test the pod and to build
TTPs for the CAF to use, and the system is
already in the ield.’
New operational light programs, mainly
software-based, are in works for both the
A-10 and the F-16. In addition, ways are
being sought to improve the survivability
of each MDS against the latest surface-
to-air-missile (SAM) threats, and the F-16
Division in particular is using upgrades
to develop new methods to evade and
defeat threats in the suppression of enemy
air defenses (SEAD) mission. It is also
developing baseline SEAD TTPs against
the new generation of threats for when
this mission is handed over to the F-35A.
More immediate requirements to meet
emerging operational needs are never far
away. The 422’s A-10 Division, for example,
is working furiously to develop the TTPs
to more efectively employ a new range
of laser-guided rockets, with missions
lown to accurately gauge the rockets’
employment envelope, as well answering
questions as simple as how many rockets
are required to destroy a given category
of target. Darling elaborates: ‘The A-10 is
supporting Operation ‘Inherent Resolve’
right now and they are employing AGR-20
rockets. They have some basic rules of
thumb on how to do so, but the team
here has decided that it’s worth taking
some time to igure out the edges of
that weapon’s envelope and how to
incorporate the AGR-20 into the next
release of software that is coming out.
Depending on the types of target sets they
are seeing right now in Iraq and Syria, what
is the best way to optimize that weapon?’New roles, new expectations
It is no secret that the USAF is under
pressure to up its game in order to meet
near-peer threats. The 422 is now lying
F-35As in Block 3F coniguration. ‘This is the
F-35 that the USAF wanted, bought, and
paid for’, enthuses Darling. ‘This jet is like
the one in the brochure’. The 422 is working
on building the tactics for Block 3F. ‘As
the F-35 continues to ield new weapons
capabilities and non-kinetic capabilities, we
are working out how to best integrate that
into the leet and how does that support
other players, such as fourth-generation
ighters like the F-15E?’
Despite the fact that the squadron has
diferent stovepipes, it strives to avoid
compartmentalizing the various groups.
Whenever possible, missions are planned
and lown together to fully integrate the
squadron. ‘Yesterday I went out in a Raptor
and lew against F-15Cs and their new
AESA radars,’ says Darling. ‘Our question
was: as the threat develops, how does
that impact my airframe, and does myAbove: This
F-15C is carrying
the large Talon
HATE pod under
the centerline.
The system
also includes
unspecified
modifications
to the upper
surfaces with
a scabbed-on
fairing near the
starboard wing
root. Jamie Hunter
Left page: With its
Pratt & Whitney
F100-PW-229
engine in full
reheat, a Block 52
F-16CM cavorts on
the Nellis range
complex.
Below: The
proximity of the
Nellis ranges
means the
422nd TES is
heavily engaged
with developing
new tactics for
upgrades.http://www.combataircraft.net // November 2018 57