Combat aircraft

T

HE 388TH

FIGHTER Wing’s

34th Fighter

Squadron recently

deployed 12 F-35As

from Hill AFB,

Utah, to Kadena Air Base, Japan,

under US Paci c Command’s theater

security package (TSP) program. The

deployment, which is scheduled

to last six months, marks the  rst

operational tasking for the F-35A.

An initial pair of F-35As arrived at

Kadena on October 30 and the main

body of 10 followed on November 2.

Air Force Reserve Command airmen

from the 419th Fighter Wing’s

466th Fighter Squadron are also

supporting the deployment.

Meanwhile, Marine  ghter attack

squadron VMFA-121’s complement

of F-35Bs was completed on

November 15 when the  nal

group of four Lightning IIs arrived

at MCAS Iwakuni. The arrival

increased the ‘Green Knights’

primary aircraft inventory (PAI) to

16 F-35Bs.

CAGBIRD

CORNER

Below top to bottom: Flying in the Mojave desert in October is VFA-

‘Tophatters’ CAG-bird F/A-18E BuNo 168927/200. It features a new

stylized badge based on the ‘Rhino’ nickname for the Super Hornet.

Dan Stijovich

Carrier Air Wing Nine (CVW-9) was at NAS Fallon, Nevada in

November for a three-week Strike Fighter Advanced Readiness

Program (SFARP). The new directive to reduce the amount of color on

CAG-birds is apparent on F/A-18F BuNo 166842/100 of VFA-41 ‘Black

Aces’. Jim Dunn

A rather drab-looking F/A-18E, BuNo 168471/400, of VFA-

F-35B BuNo 169413 arrives at MCAS Iwakuni, Japan, on November ‘Vigilantes’. Jim Dunn

15. The arrival of the  nal group of Lightning IIs completed the
    squadron’s complement of 16 F-35Bs. USMC/Sgt N. W. Huertas

UPGRADED HC130J

DELIVERED

THE US COAST Guard accepted the

 rst HC-130J long-range surveillance

aircraft retro tted with the Minotaur

Mission System Suite (MSS+) from

L3 Technologies on November 6.

The integration work was carried by

the contractor’s Integrated Systems

Platform Integration Division in Waco,

Texas. Tail number 2008 is the  rst of

seven production HC-130Js to have

its existing mission system replaced

by the Minotaur system. It was

delivered to Air Station Elizabeth City,

North Carolina. HC-130J tail number

2003 was previously retro tted and

served as the prototype. Another

new Super Hercules is undergoing

the Minotaur missionization in Waco

along with two HC-130Js that are

being retro tted. A further aircraft

will enter the retro t program in

early 2018.

‘BENGALS’ HEAD HOME

F/A18D HORNETS FROM

VMFA(AW)-224 ‘Bengals’ have

returned to MCAS Beaufort, South

Carolina, following an Operation

‘Inherent Resolve’ deployment.

They stopped at Lajes in the Azores

on November 20. The 10 aircraft

comprised BuNo 164878/WK-00,

BuNo 164957/WK-01, BuNo 164705/

WK-02, BuNo 164679/WK-04, BuNo

164951/WK-05, BuNo 164901/WK-06,

BuNo 164961/WK-08, BuNo 164876/

WK-11, BuNo 164723/WK-13 and

BuNo 164959/WK-14. André Inácio

13

January 2018 http://www.combataircraft.net

UNITED STATES [NEWS]

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