combat aircraft

U

S AIR FORCE engineers,

test pilots and Norwegian

government and

industry personnel have

completed a signi cant

test phase of the new

Kongsberg Joint Strike Missile that is

being developed for the Norwegian

armed forces.

The JSM is Norway’s advanced

anti-surface warfare missile, which is

designed to be carried in the F-35A’s

internal weapons bay. The missile can

be employed against sea- and land-

based targets.

Before proceeding with integration

testing on the F-35A, the JSM

has been tested at Edwards AFB,

California, on F-16s of the 416th Flight

Test Squadron (FLTS). Collin Drake,

416th FLTS JSM project engineer, said

JSM development work at Edwards

began in 2015 and that live-drop

testing veri ed the JSM’s ability to be

safely released from the aircraft and

perform its autonomous functions.

Testing included multiple

variants of the JSM that increased

in complexity and capability

throughout the course of the

program. The  rst JSM was a glide-

only weapon without an engine,

progressing up to the  nal  ight test

events where it was powered and hit

a target on the Utah Test and Training

Range (UTTR) with full mission

systems software and guidance.

The next step is to integrate

the JSM onto the F-35, followed

by further weapons and

integration testing.

This image: A 416th

FLTS F-16C carrying

a developmental test

version of Norway’s

Joint Strike Missile.

USAF/Christian Turner

Right: A JSM is loaded

for the fi nal phase of

testing earlier this year.

USAF/Christopher Okula

UNIT

NEWS

Reaper element for Hurlburt

USAF Special Operations

Command is moving ahead

with plans to activate a new

MQ-9A unit at Hurlburt Field,

Florida, in late 2019. Around

60 personnel will be assigned

to the unit, which will operate

remotely based Reapers via a

mission control element (MCE)

that will be located at Hurlburt.

The new unit will reportedly be a

detachment of the 27th Special

Operations Wing at Cannon

AFB, New Mexico. Hurlburt Field

is already home to Air Force

Reserve Command’s 2nd Special

Operations Squadron, which also

operates an MQ-9A MCE.

Bobcats stand down

The Colorado Air National Guard’s

200th Airlift Squadron  ew its

 nal mission at Peterson AFB, on

May 30. Earlier this year, the USAF

had announced plans to stand

down the 30-person unit by the

end of June. The squadron, which

 ew the C-21A, was a component

of the 140th Wing and employed

the Learjet in the operational

support airlift (OSA) role.

‘Archangels’ receive

new Black Hawk

The California Army National

Guard’s 1st Battalion, 140th

Aviation Regiment, welcomed

its  rst UH-60M on May 22 when

serial 17-20962 was delivered to

Alpha Company at Joint Forces

Training Base Los Alamitos, near

Los Angeles. The assault helicopter

battalion’s three  ight companies

will receive 30 UH-60Ms.

LIGHTNING SERVICE

FLEET READINESS CENTER East at

MCAS Cherry Point, North Carolina,

achieved a milestone in its support of

the F-35 Lightning II program on May

17 when it completed modi cations

on the  rst US Navy F-35C and

delivered the aircraft to VFA-101 ‘Grim

Reapers’. The center received the

F-35C in November 2017 from Eglin

AFB, Florida. Over the following seven

months it received required structural

modi cations and other upgrades.

Although FRC East is the lead site for

depot-level maintenance on the F-35B

it also performs work on the F-35A

and F-35C variants.

PEGASUS BACK AT EDWARDS

A Boeing KC-46A Pegasus returned to Edwards AFB, California, on May

23 for fl ight tests that will run thorough June. The 418th Flight Test

Squadron is conducting tests with the new tanker to clear refueling

operations with the KC-135R Stratotanker. USAF/Christopher Okula

DRAKEN INTERNATIONAL

SUPPORTS F-15 TRAINING

A Draken International L-159E ‘Honey Badger’ taxies out to support a

‘Red Air’ mission during training for the 173rd Fighter Wing in Klamath

Falls, Oregon, on June 5. The new Draken contract is slated to last for

two months as the USAF evaluates a more permanent integration in the

summer of 2019 to help increase F-15C Eagle student pilot training.

ANG/TSgt Jefferson Thompson

UNITED STATES [NEWS]

http://www.combataircraft.net // August 2018 11

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