LIGHTNING II UPDATE
BLOCK 3F F 35AS assigned to
the 388th Fighter Wing’s 34th
Fighter Squadron ‘Rams’ have
been cleared to employ the
ghter’s full suite of air-to-air
and air-to-ground weapons. This
includes AIM-9X Sidewinder
missiles and 250lb (113kg)
GBU-39/B Small-Diameter
Bombs, plus the GAU-22 25mm
gun. The approval to use the
Block 3F software on operational
jets provides enhanced targeting
and identi cation functionality
and enhanced datalinks that
improve communication and
interoperability.
The Joint Strike Fighter
Operational Test Team (JOTT)
completed cold-weather
testing at Eielson AFB, Alaska,
on January 31. The increment
1 pre-initial operational
testing and evaluation (IOT&E)
test event was carried out in
advance of the full F-35 IOT&E
to prove the ghter’s ability to
operate under extreme cold-
weather conditions. Eielson willbe the rst operational USAF
location outside the contiguous
United States and will be home
to two squadrons of F-35As
beginning in 2020.
Meanwhile, VFA-
‘Vigilantes’ began its transition
from the F/A-18E Super Hornet
to the F-35C at NAS Lemoore,
California, in February. The
‘Argonauts’ are scheduled to
complete the changeover by
October and will support the
rst F-35C deployment aboard
the USS Carl Vinson (CVN
70) in 2021.
Marine ghter attack
squadron VMFA-314 ‘Black
Knights’ is scheduled to be the
rst of four Marine Corps units
to receive the F-35C when it
begins its transition from the
F/A-18C in 2019. The ‘Black
Knights’, stationed at MCAS
Miramar, California, will be ready
for expeditionary operations
in 2021 and the squadron’s
rst carrier deployment will
follow in 2022.‘SCARFACE’ AND ‘ATLAS’ RETIRE SUPER COBRA
MARINE LIGHT ATTACK helicopter
squadron HMLA-367 carried out
its nal ight with the AH-1W
Super Cobra at MCAS Kaneohe Bay,
Hawaii, on March 18. Known as
‘Scarface’, the unit is a component
of marine aircraft group MAG-
and the only one of its kind within
the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing
(MAW). The unit relocated from
MCAS Camp Pendleton, California,
in 2012, and began its transition
to the AH-1Z Viper in December- Three of the squadron’s eight
AH-1Ws will be placed on display
in Hawaii and the remainder will
go into storage with the 309th
Aerospace Maintenance and
Regeneration Group (AMARG) at
Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona.
The last AH-1W assigned to
MAG-39’s light attack helicopter
training squadron HMLAT-303,
departed from Camp Pendleton,
California, on February 6. The Super
Cobra, which was the nal example
assigned to a 3rd MAW unit, was
also own to Davis-Monthan where
it will be placed in storage. Known
as ‘Atlas’, HMLAT-303 has trained
Super Cobra aircrews since 1982 and
will continue to provide training for
the AH-1Z Viper as well as the UH-1Y
Venom. The Marine Corps Reserve’s
HMLA-775 still operates the AH-1W
from Pendleton.VFA-34 ‘Blue Blasters’,
along with the three other
surviving fl eet F/A-18C
units, will transition to the
Super Hornet by the end of- US Navy/MCS3C Elton
Charles Wheeler
AH-1W BuNo 165450 prepares to depart MCAS Camp Pendleton, California,
for Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona, on February 6. USMC/Pfc Juan Anaya Jr[NEWS] UNITED STATES
10 May 2018 //^ http://www.combataircraft.net
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