Airforces

NEWS

14 // SEPTEMBER 2017 #354 http://www.airforcesmonthly.com

North America

A-10 may retire without replacement

Above: An A-10C of the Nellis-based 66th Weapons Squadron down low during training. Jamie Hunter

AIR FORCE Chief of Staff

Gen David Goldfein has

confirmed that the service

may withdraw the A-10C

Thunderbolt II without

a direct replacement.

Interviewed by trade

journal Aviation Week on

July 16, he said the USAF

was yet to commit to

develop a so-called ‘A-X’ as

a like for like replacement

for the Thunderbolt II,

and admitted the single-

mission CAS platform

might disappear from

the inventory when

the A-10C is retired,

currently planned

for the mid-2020s.

The USAF is currently

seeking additional

funds to fly its current

nine squadrons of

the close support

aircraft after 2021.

Air Combat Command

(ACC) chief Gen Mike

Holmes recently spoke of

the possibility of retiring

a legacy fleet – the A-10C,

F-15C or F-16C/D Block

30 – to meet budgetary

demands. Addressing

an Air Force Association

event in Washington

DC, he said: “Right now

[ACC is] too big for the

budget we have.

“The consequences are

that I have squadrons that

are not ready, and I have

acquisition programmes

that, instead of being

executed in two or three

years, are being spread

out over ten years. It

drives up cost, it means

they arrive late.”

Gen Holmes also noted

that the current 55 ACC

squadrons (including 32

active duty) were “not

enough to meet the

demand that combatant

commanders ask for”.

‘Flying Fiends’ F-16 marks 100 years

Above: The 36th FS ‘Flying Fiends’ centennial Block 40E F-16C 89-2043 ‘OS’ alongside other F-16s at Osan AB on July 19. Col Andrew P
Hansen, 51st FW, fl ew the freshly painted jet for the fi rst time during his fi nal fl ight at Osan. USAF/Staff Sgt Alex Fox Echols III
PART OF the USAF’s 51st
Operations Group at Osan
Air Base, South Korea, the
36th Fighter Squadron
(FS) ‘Flying Fiends’ is
celebrating its centenary.
During an event on July
21, a newly refurbished

F-16C was unveiled with

a commemorative tail

flash prepared by the 51st

Maintenance Squadron

Corrosion Control Shop.

“What we see in the tail

flash is the combination

of two distinctive

histories,” said 36th

FS pilot Capt Wayne

Mowery. “The red striped

tail flash represents the

history of the fabulous

‘Flying Fiends’.

“The tail flash specifically

became famous during

the Korean War as we

flew with [it] on our F-

Shooting Stars and F-

Sabres. The chequered

tail design [represents] the

history of the 51st Fighter

Wing, which we officially

became a part of in 1974.”

B-1Bs

respond

to North

Korean

missile

test

US AIR Force B-1Bs

conducted a mission in

the Pacific with South

Korean and Japanese

fighters in July. The ten-

hour flight was described

as “part of the continuing

demonstration of the

ironclad US commitment

to our allies against

the growing threat

from North Korea’s

ballistic missile and

nuclear programmes”.

Two 9th Expeditionary

Bomb Squadron (EBS)

Lancers – deployed

from Dyess AFB,

Texas – launched from

Andersen AFB, Guam,

on July 7, four days after

North Korea tested

an intercontinental

ballistic missile (ICBM).

After flying to the

Korean Peninsula

the bombers, joined

by Republic of Korea

Air Force F-15Ks and

USAF F-16s, released

inert weapons at the

Pilsung Range.

On returning to Guam,

the B-1Bs integrated

with Japan Air Self-

Defense Force ( JASDF)

F-2s over the East China

Sea – the first time

US Pacific Command-

directed B-1Bs have

conducted combined

training with Japanese

fighters at night.

Eagles train

in Romania

Above: Florida ANG F-15C 86-0162 from the 159th EFS takes off from Câmpia Turzii on July 18.

USAF/Tech Sgt Chad Warren

FLORIDA AIR National

Guard F-15Cs from the

159th Expeditionary

Fighter Squadron (EFS)

deployed to Câmpia

Turzii air base, Romania,

in late June in support of

Operation Atlantic Resolve.

An element of the

125th Fighter Wing at

Jacksonville ANG Base, the

unit conducted training

in Romania as part of

a rotational European

Theater Security Package

(TSP) deployment, its Eagles

operating with Romanian

Air Force MiG-21 LanceRs.

Production

order for

LRASM

LOCKHEED MARTIN has

received an $86.5m

contract from the US

Navy and USAF for

production of the Long

Range Anti-Ship Missile

(LRASM), the company

announced on July 26.

The first production

award for the air-

launched variant of

the LRASM includes 23

missiles and engineering

support. Low-rate initial

production Lot 1 is the

first of several expected

annual production lots

of the anti-ship missile.

Longsword

joins OA-X

evaluation

L3 PLATFORM Integration

Division’s AT-802L

Longsword counter-

insurgency aircraft

has entered the US

Air Force’s Light Attack

Experimentation

Campaign, which began

at Holloman AFB, New

Mexico, in early August.

As well as the

Longsword, the air force

will assess the Sierra

Nevada/Embraer A-

Super Tucano and Textron

Aviation’s Scorpion jet and

AT-6 Wolverine turboprop.