Left page:
While F-35B
maintainer
numbers are
healthy, pilot
manning is a
major concern
for the Marine
Corps.
Above:
Operational
F-35B sorties are
currently flown
with a clean
configuration,
but the arrival
of Block 3F
software in 2018
will see pylons
and external
stores starting
to be carried.‘The F-35’s stealth is awesome, but it’s
just a tool in our toolbox. The airplane’s
center of gravity is its sensors — they
are what make this aircraft so different’
LT COL CHAD VAUGHNVaughn calls basic fighter maneuvers
(BFM), ‘a stepping-stone to everything
we do’ in the air-to-air role. ‘The Raptors
flew a lot of 1-v-1 early on, whereas with
the F-35 our envelope and operating
limits were constrained, but we had far
more mature missions systems. You’ve
got to be able to fight in close if you
can’t take care of the problem at long
range. With the forthcoming Block 3F
software the envelope starts opening
up, so we will be able to do more BFM
and we are starting to learn a lot more
about that as we speak.’ Vaughn expects
to start pumping Block 3F into his jets in
the mid-2018 timeframe after it gets the
thumbs-up from the operational testers,
although, he says, it won’t change the
overall ethos of the mission. ‘We won’t
emphasize the close-in dogfight as
much [as maybe the F-22s] because of
our wider range of missions sets, but
that said, so much can be learned from
flying BFM.’Close air support
The mission that is so often discussed
in relation to USMC tactical aviationis close air support (CAS). Much has
been said of the fact that it’s about
the mindset and training, and that the
platform is largely irrelevant. However,
if that platform can’t permit a versatile
approach to the mission, it does rather
limit the art of what’s possible. ‘As
Marines, CAS has a special place in our
hearts,’ explains Vaughn. ‘CAS is about
effects on targets. You either do or
don’t meet the intent of the ground
commander — that’s who you’re
working for. As long as you can put a
weapon where he or she needs it to be,
then you’re successful in CAS.’
‘The F-35’s stealth is awesome, but it’s
just a tool in our toolbox. The airplane’s
center of gravity is its sensors — they
are what make this aircraft so different.
The combination of the sensors and a
tremendous weapons-carrying potential
once we start adding external pylons
with 3F will be awesome.’
As well as an expanded flight
envelope, the advent of Block 3F
will ultimately see the F-35s starting
to carry external pylons and stores.
This will likely include fairly regularcarriage of AIM-9X Sidewinder missile
acquisition rounds on the outer stations
— necessary for pilots to train with for
close-quarter engagements.
Vaughn says, ‘We like to do block
training — for example, we’re coming
out of an air-to-surface block right
now. It helps operations with the flying
schedule. So when we’ve got a block of
CAS, for example, we may hang some
pylons on if we’re trying to haul a lot
of ordnance.
‘Once we kick down the door and don’t
need the stealth any more let’s load it
up, haul iron, put the cannon on — we’re
absolutely going to get down low and
use it. We’re going to employ the F-35
the same way we do our Hornets and
Harriers. However, on those missions
where we’re rooting around under the
clouds looking for a target, we now have
some pretty spectacular capabilities to
stay above the weather and see though
it, so there are some things that we’ve
not had in the past that we can now use.’
An area where the sensor suite has
come in for some criticism is the electro-
optical targeting system (EOTS), which
has been compared to early-generation
targeting pods. Unlike aircraft that
carry a pod that can be easily detached
and swapped out for a newer system,
the F-35’s EOTS has remained largely
untouched since the jet entered testing.
Vaughn admits that EOTS’ resolution has
‘some limitations’ when compared to
the latest pods, and that a low-light TV
would be a useful addition, but he says
these shortcomings are compensated byVMFAfi211 | UNIT REPORT45
January 2018 http://www.combataircraft.net40-51 VMFA-211 C.indd 45 23/11/2017 11:52