AirForces Monthly – June 2018

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http://www.airforcesmonthly.com #363 JUNE 2018 // 15

‘Argonauts’ begin F-35C training

Above: LT Dave ‘Strokes’ Hinkle from VFA-147 prepares for his fi rst fl ight in the F-35C at NAS

Lemoore. Lockheed Martin

THE US Navy’s Strike

Fighter Squadron (VFA)

147 ‘Argonauts’ completed

its first F-35C flight at

Naval Air Station Lemoore,

California, on April 18.

At the controls was LT

Dave ‘Strokes’ Hinkle.

The ‘Argonauts’ are

transitioning from the

F/A-18E Super Hornet

to the F-35C as the first

operational US Navy

squadron to receive and

field the Lightning II.

The unit began the initial

transition last December

after completing a six-

month deployment aboard

USS Nimitz (CVN 68) as

part of Carrier Air Wing 11.

Since the squadron’s return,

pilots and maintainers

have undergone training

at Eglin Air Force Base,

Florida and with VFA-

125 at NAS Lemoore.

VFA-147 is receiving

aircraft from VFA-125, as

well as from the factory,

and transition is due to be

completed before the end of

the year. Initial operational

capability for the F-35C is

expected early next year.

The ‘Argonauts’ will work

towards integration into a

carrier air wing, leading to a

deployment on the USS Carl

Vinson (CVN 70) by 2021.

In related news, the

US Navy and Raytheon

recently completed the

final developmental test

to integrate the AGM-

154C Joint Standoff

Weapon (JSOW) onto

the F-35C. The glide

weapon is expected

to be fully deployed

on the jet next year.

AC-130s

encounter

jamming

over Syria

US SPECIAL Operations

Command (SOCOM) has

confirmed that US Air

Force AC-130 gunship

crews have encountered

“aggressive” electronic

warfare (EW) during

operations in the Middle

East. Speaking at the US

Geospatial Intelligence

Foundation’s GEOINT

2018 Symposium, Gen

Tony Thomas, commander

of SOCOM, said: “Right

now in Syria, we’re in

the most aggressive EW

environment on the planet,

from our adversaries.

They’re testing us

every day, knocking our

communications down,

disabling our AC-130s,

et cetera.” Citing

operational security

concerns, SOCOM has

not provided any specific

information about the

impact of electronic

warfare on operations.

911th Airlift Wing withdraws Hercules

THE US Air Force’s

911t h Airlift Wing (AW) at

Pittsburgh International

Airport Air Reserve Station,

Pennsylvania, withdrew

its last C -130H Hercules

in late April as it prepared

to receive the C -17A

Globemaster II. The unit

began transitioning to

the Globemaster III after

its return from a final

Hercules deployment

last September. The

911t h Maintenance Group

worked alongside the

920th Rescue Wing at

Patrick AFB, Florida,

to recover, inspect and

transition the wing’s

C -130 s to various

locations while workers

at Pittsburgh prepare

the base for the C -17.

The first C -17s were

expected to arrive with the

911t h AW in June, although

they will be maintained

and operated at the 445th

AW, Wright-Patterson AFB,

Ohio, until the Pittsburgh

base is ready for them.

Pittsburgh will eventually

house eight aircraft

and the first two should

arrive there in October.

A C-130H taxies under arcs of water as it returns to the fl ight line at Pittsburgh International Airport Air Reserve Base on

February 13. This was the fi nal fl ight by the unit’s then commander, Col Jeffrey Van Dootingh. USAF/Senior Airman Beth Kobily

Marine Hornets operational with APKWS

US NAVAL Air Systems

Command has announced

that US Marine Corps F/A-

18s have begun operational

flights with the Advanced

Precision Kill Weapon

System (APKWS) guided

rocket. The initial APKWS

were delivered to Marine

Fighter Attack Squadron

( VMFA) 115 ‘Silver Eagles’

at Marine Corps Air

Station Beaufort, South

Carolina, in February.

“This is an incredible

weapons system that our

most experienced pilots,

down to the newest pilots,

can effectively employ,”

said Lt Col Jon ‘TAG’

Curtis, commanding

officer V M FA -.

His squadron received

the new weapon system

in February and the

‘Silver Eagles’ then used

it to conduct ground

and in-flight training.

The F/A-18 is the

second NAVAIR fixed-

wing platform to carry

APKWS, after the AV-8B.

Harry S Truman Carrier

Strike Group deploys

THE US Navy’s Harry

S Truman Carrier Strike

Group (HSTCSG) departed

Naval Station Norfolk on

April 11, for a regularly

scheduled deployment.

The strike group,

including aircraft carrier

USS Harry S Truman (CVN

75) and the embarked

Carrier Air Wing (CVW)

1, is scheduled to

conduct operations

in the US Navy’s Fifth

and Sixth Fleet areas

of responsibility, in the

Persian Gulf, Red Sea

and Arabian Sea, and

the Mediterranean,

respectively.

For USS Harry S Truman,

the deployment follows

more than eight months of

training and preparation

that began when the ship

completed its on-time

periodic incremental

availability in July 2 017.

This culminated in its

Composite Training Unit

Exercise (COMPTUEX)

in March, which certified

the ship for deployment.

The embarked squadrons

of CVW 1 include Strike

Fighter Squadron ( VFA)

11 ‘Red R ipp e r s’, VFA-

211 ‘Checkmates’, VFA-

81 ‘Sunliners’, VFA-

‘Knighthawks’, Electronic

Attack Squadron (VAQ)

137 ‘Ro oks’, Carrier

Airborne Early Warning

Squadron (VAW) 126

‘S e a hawks’, Helicopter

Maritime Strike Squadron

(HSM) 72 ‘Proud

Wa r r io r s’, Helicopter

Sea Combat Squadron

(HSC) 11 ‘Dragon Slayers’

and a detachment

from Fleet Logistics

Support Squadron

(VRC) 40 ‘Rawhides’.

An F/A-18E assigned to VFA-136 prepares to land on the

USS ‘Harry S Truman’ in the Mediterranean on April 30. US

Navy/Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Kaysee Lohmann