UNIT
NEWS
‘Scarface’ receives first Vipers
Marine light attack helicopter
squadron HMLA-367 ‘Scarface’
welcomed the arrival of its initial
group of three AH-1Z attack
helicopters on December 15. The
Vipers arrived at Joint Base Pearl
Harbor-Hickam, aboard an Air
Force Reserve Command C-5M.
The aircraft are the first of 15 that
will replace the squadron’s current
fleet of AH-1Ws. ‘Scarface’ relocated
from Camp Pendleton, California,
to MCAS Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, in- The Vipers were flown from
Hickam AFB to Kaneohe Bay on
December 19.
Last Hercules departs Charlotte
The last C-130H assigned to the
North Carolina National Guard’s
145th Airlift Wing departed from
Charlotte-Douglas International
Airport, on December 18. The wing’s
156th Airlift Squadron had flown
the Hercules since receiving its first
C-130B in 1971. Serial 93-1561 was
the first of eight new C-130H2s
delivered to the unit and it was
transferred to the Georgia Air
National Guard’s 165th Airlift Wing
in Savannah. The unit is undergoing
transition to fly the larger C-17A
airlifter, and delivery of the first
Globemaster III to the Charlotte
base is expected in April.Guard Apache plans
The US Army has confirmed that the
Army National Guard (ARNG) will
retain four attack reconnaissancehelicopter battalions operating
the AH-64D/E. As part of the plan,
the guard will retain a fleet of 72
Apaches, resulting in each of the
battalion’s three companies sharing
18 helicopters. Each of the Army’s
active-duty battalions operates
24 helicopters. The battalions,
which comprise North Carolina’s
1-130th AVN, South Carolina’s
1-151st AVN, Utah’s 1-211th AVN
and the 1-149th AVN in Texas, will
receive six additional helicopters
when required for operational
deployments. In addition to two
flight companies that are located in
the home states of South Carolina
and Texas, the 1-151st and 1-149th
are respectively responsible for
single companies located in
Pennsylvania and Mississippi.
Under its 2014 Aviation
Restructure Initiative the Army had
originally planned to transfer all of
the guard’s Apaches to the active
component. The compromise to
retain four ARNG battalions was
largely influenced by the 2016
recommendations of the National
Commission on the Future of the
Army. ARNG units in Idaho and
Missouri have already transitioned
from the AH-64D to the UH-60. The
decision will see the Arizona Army
National Guard’s 1-285th AVN losing
its Apaches.‘Roadrunners’ move south
Marine transport squadron VMR-
formally relocated from MCAS
Cherry Point, North Carolina, to NAS
Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base on
December 31. There it will transition
to the C-40A Clipper alongside the
US Navy Reserve’s fleet logistics
support squadron VR-59. In additionto transferring the squadron flag to
the Texas base, the ‘Roadrunners’
became a Marine Corps Reserve
squadron and were reassigned to
the 4th Marine Aircraft Wing (MAW).
VMR-1 ended flight operations
with two C-9B transports in April
2017, as part of the Marine Corps’
sundown plan for the Skytrain II.
The squadron also operated a pair
of smaller UC-35D operational
support aircraft that were transferred
to Cherry Point’s Headquarters
Squadron on October 1. Established
as the Station Operations and
Engineering Squadron in July 1941,
it was redesignated numerous times
until becoming VMR-1 in September- The ‘Roadrunners’ will operate
alongside VR-59 and will utilize
the latter squadron’s C-40As until
receiving their own aircraft.
Re-engined ‘Herc’ visits Cheyenne
The first C-130H equipped with
engine and propeller upgrades
returned to Cheyenne, Wyoming, for
a brief visit and minor maintenance
on January 6. The Hercules (serial92-1536), which is assigned to the
Wyoming Air National Guard’s 153rd
Airlift Wing, spent the last 18 months
receiving modifications carried out by
the Tyonek Services Overhaul Facility
at Stennis International Airport in
Kiln, Mississippi, where its T56-
turboprop engines were modified
to series 3.5 configuration and new
eight-blade Hamilton Sundstrand
NP2000 propellers and an electronic
propeller control system (EPCS)
installed. The modifications improve
aircraft performance, fuel efficiency
and reliability. The C-130H will
undergo around two years of testing
at Eglin AFB, Florida, before a decision
is made regarding upgrades for the
rest of the (172-aircraft) Hercules fleet.
The 153rd AW had supported testing
of the EPCS and NP2000 in 2008. If
approved, the upgrades will initially
be carried out on C-130Hs operated
by several ANG units including the
189th AW in Arkansas, the 103rd
AW in Connecticut, the 139th AW in
Missouri, the 120th AW in Montana,
the 152nd AW in Nevada, and the
109th AW in New York.AFRC TESTS KC-135 DEFENSE SYSTEM
AIR FORCE RESERVE Command’s
507th Air Refueling Wing has been
supporting the testing of a large
aircraft infra-red countermeasures
(LAIRCM) pod-based defensive
system on one of its KC-135Rs.
The LAIRCM provides the
capability to autonomously detect,
provide warning and employ
laser countermeasures againstair defense system missiles. The
most recent round of tests was
conducted at Eglin AFB, Florida,
and utilized the multi-spectral sea
and land target simulator, which
simulates the threat of incoming
infra-red missiles. During testing,
the tanker made multiple passes
over the simulator to test the
LAIRCM system’s response.Earlier versions of the system are
installed on numerous air mobility
aircraft including the C-130, C-5M
and C-17A. Development of a
system for the Stratotanker has
been under way for more than
five years. The KC-135’s new Block
30 LAIRCM system is portable,
modular and transferable, and
can be installed on an aircraft inapproximately 10 minutes. Testing
of the system is a combined effort
between the KC-135 System
Program Office and the Air
National Guard-Air Force Reserve
Command Test Center (AATC).
At present, he USAF operates
a total of 398 KC-135s, these
including 247 that are flown by the
ANG and AFRC.C-130H serial 92-1536 makes a pass before landing at Cheyenne Regional
Airport, Wyoming, on January 6. The Hercules is the first example to be
equipped with updated engines and eight-blade NP2000 propellers.
WYANG/SMSGT Charles Delano[NEWS] UNITED STATES
12 March 2018 //^ http://www.combataircraft.net
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