combat aircraft

UNIT

NEWS

‘Gamblers’ to relocate

The Arizona Air National Guard’s

162nd Fighter Wing will support

the training of Republic of China

Air Force (ROCAF) personnel

under a proposal that could see

the relocation of the 21st Fighter

Squadron from Luke AFB, near

Phoenix, to Tucson International

Airport. The USAF’s Air Education

and Training Command (AETC)

recently  led a draft environmental

assessment that calls for the

transfer of 14 Taiwanese F-16s and

personnel to Tucson by December

2019. The transfer would align with
      the June 2019 departure of the
      Iraqi Air Force detachment that is
      embedded within the wing’s 152nd
      Fighter Squadron. It currently has
      eight F-16s stationed in Tucson.
      Known as the ‘Gamblers’, the
      21st Fighter Squadron has been
      stationed at Luke as part of the 56th
      Fighter Wing/Operations Group
      since August 1996.
      The move would increase
       ight activity at the Tucson
      base by around 16 per cent to
      approximately 31,723 annually.
      In 2014, the 162nd Wing and the
      Tucson Airport Authority agreed
      that the unit’s operations will
      not exceed 40,000 annually. The
      relocation of the ROCAF unit is
      required to allow Luke to
      support the basing of 144 F-35A
      Lightning IIs.
      AETC initially identi ed the Air
      National Guard base, Holloman
      AFB and Kirtland AFB in New
      Mexico, and Davis-Monthan AFB
      in Tucson as potential sites for
      the Taiwanese training unit. The
      ANG base was selected because
      of its proximity to Arizona training

ranges that were already used by

the Taiwanese and the ability of

the site’s infrastructure to support

the mission.

Twin Huey replacement

sites con rmed

The USAF recently announced that

each of the locations operating

the twin-engine UH-1N helicopter

will receive replacement aircraft.

The Twin Huey currently supports

four missions that comprise

nuclear deterrence operations,

continuation of government

operations, survival school

support, and test and training.

The aircraft are stationed at Eglin

AFB/Duke Field, Florida; Fairchild

AFB, Washington; F. E. Warren AFB,

Wyoming; Joint Base Andrews-

Naval Air Facility Washington,

Maryland; Kirtland AFB, New

Mexico; Malmstrom AFB, Montana;

and Minot AFB, North Dakota. A

contract award for the new aircraft

is anticipated later this year with

deliveries planned for 2020-32.

Alaska FOL opened

The US Coast Guard opened

a forward operating location

(FOL) in Kotzebue, Alaska, on

July 1. The FOL will support

‘Arctic Shield 2018’ operations

throughout the region with two

MH-60T helicopters deployed from

Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak.

In addition the cutters Healy,

Stratton and Douglas Munro will

assist a variety of missions from

Dutch Harbor through the Bering

Strait and along the North Slope

including the northern Alaska

outer continental shelf. The ships

will be supported by deployed

MH-65D helicopters. Begun in

2009, ‘Arctic Shield’ operations

support Coast Guard missions in

response to increased maritime

activity in the Arctic.

ASTARS III FLYING CLASSROOM DELIVERED

THE US NAVAL Test Pilot School

took delivery of C-26A serial 86-

(c/n AC-747B) on June 29 at NAS

Patuxent River, Maryland. Known

as the airborne systems training

and research support (ASTARS) III,

the Metroliner III will serve as the

school’s latest generation of  ying

classroom. The third-generation

ASTARS will replace a contractor-

operated Saab 340A ASTARS II that

has been in service since February

2010. Operated by the Calspan
      Corporation’s Flight Research Group,
      it replaced a modi ed Lockheed
      NP-3D that was retired in mid-2009.
      The ASTARS system provides a
      highly integrated avionics system
      and support instruction in the
      test and evaluation of individual
      navigation and tactical sensors. Elbit
      Systems of America’s M7 Aerospace
      subsidiary developed the ASTARS
      III under a $7.5-million contract
      awarded by US Naval Air Systems
      Command (NAVAIR) in May 2016.
      With the assistance of NAVAIR’s
      AIRWorks aircraft modi cation
      prototyping and production (APSD)
      group, M7 Aerospace carried
      out structural modi cations and
      incorporated an intelligence,
      surveillance and reconnaissance
      (ISR) suite that features a Leonardo
      Vixen 500E active electronically
      scanned array (AESA) radar, Wescam
      MX-15 HD electro-optical/infra-

red sensor turret, video recording

systems and operator consoles.

The Metroliner’s original analog

cockpit instrumentation avionics

were replaced by a Garmin 950

digital glass cockpit that features

three large-format, high-resolution

LCD displays. The interchangeable

displays can be used as either a

primary  ight display (PFD) or

multi-function display (MFD) and

are capable of presenting  ight

instrumentation, navigation,

weather, terrain, tra c and engine

data. Additionally, a removable

laptop serves as a repeater for the

rear cabin work-stations.

Originally delivered to the Indiana

Air National Guard’s 122nd Tactical

Fighter Wing (TFW), the Metroliner

III was one of 10 SA227ACs

purchased from Fairchild Aircraft in

1986. Between 1996 and 1999, the
      bulk of the C-26As were transferred
      to foreign air arms in Latin America
      and the Caribbean, under a program
      managed by the State Department’s
      Bureau of International Narcotics
      and Law Enforcement A airs O ce
      of Aviation (INL/A). Mexico received
      at least three aircraft including serial
      86-0456. Following its retirement
      by the Mexican Air Force it was
      returned to the US and transferred
      to the US Navy in late 2015.

C-26A serial 86-0456 taxies to the US Naval Test Pilot School ramp on

arrival at NAS Patuxent River, Maryland, on June 29. US Navy/NAWCAD

GROWLER EXPANSION PLANNED

THE US NAVY has revealed plans

to station 36 additional EA-18Gs at

NAS Whidbey Island, Washington.

A  nal decision on the plan, which

will bring the base’s inventory to

118 Growlers, will be made in late

summer or early fall after the  nal

environmental impact statement

(EIS) is completed. Under this

plan the navy will establish two

additional expeditionary squadrons

and add two EA-18Gs to each

carrier-based unit. The moves would

result in 88,000 total operations

occurring annually at the air station’s

Ault Field and 24,100 at Outlying

Landing Field (OLF) Coupeville. The

latter would include 23,700  eld

carrier landing practice missions

 own by the EA-18Gs.

GUARD TESTS LAIRCM

THE PENNSYLVANIA AIR National

Guard’s 171st Air Refueling Wing

tested the large aircraft infra-red

countermeasures (LAIRCM) Gen 3

missile defense system for the  rst

time on one of its KC-135Ts on May

25. The LAIRCM is an infra-red (IR)
    directional, active jammer designed
    to defeat heat-seeking surface-to-
    air missiles. It automatically detects
    a missile launch, determines
    if it is a threat, and activates
    a high-intensity, laser-based

countermeasure system to track

and defeat the missile.

The wing operates 16 of the

USAF’s 54 KC-135Ts. Testing on the

KC-135R variant was carried out

by Air Force Reserve Command’s

507th Air Refueling Wing at Tinker

AFB, Oklahoma in December 2017.

Testing was managed by Northrop

Grumman and the KC-135 system

program o ce at Tinker. Production

installation of the LAIRCM could

begin in early 2019.

[NEWS] UNITED STATES

12 September 2018 //^ http://www.combataircraft.net

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