Airforces - Demo Hornet

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NEWS

// AUGUST 2018 #

North America

US Air Force Sentries on BALTOPS duty

TWO US Air Force E-
Airborne Warning and
Control Systems (AWACS)
from the 552nd Air Control
Wing (ACW) at Tinker Air
Force Base, Oklahoma,
deployed to Geilenkirchen
Air Base, Germany for
Exercise BALTOPS. The
Sentries operated from
Geilenkirchen during the
first two weeks of June
and flew missions in Polish
and Baltic airspace.
The Sentries were
preceded by the arrival of
C -17A 00-0178 on June

1. The aircraft, from the
   89th Airlift Squadron at
   Wright-Patterson AFB,
   Ohio, departed the same
   day. Later the same
   day, E-3B 78-0577 ‘OK’
   of the 964th Airborne

Air Control Squadron

(ACCS) touched down in

Germany as ‘WATCH 3 0’.

E-3G 82-0007 ‘OK’ of the

960th ACCS landed on

the 4th as ‘SCOUT 19’.

Both AWACS flew

missions each weekday,

78-0577 using the callsign

‘SNTRY31’ and 82-

flying as ‘SCOUT19’. The

Globemaster III returned

to Geilenkirchen on

June 14 and all three

aircraft departed the next

day. Rolf Flinzner

Above: E-3B 78-0577 ‘OK’ of the 964th ACCS prepares to depart Geilenkirchen on June 15. Rolf Flinzner

USAF

expects

fi rst KC-

in October

THE USAF will receive

its first KC-46A tanker

ready for operational duty

in October, according

to a new plan agreed

between the service and

Boeing. The remaining

17 aircraft under the

initial contract will be

delivered by next April.

The original development

contract called for the

company to deliver the

18 aircraft by August last

year. More recently, the

firm stated it would deliver

the first Pegasus before

the end of this year. In

May, the air force refused

to accept any KC-

deliveries claiming there

were deficiencies in its

boom refuelling system.

“While the KC-46A

flight test programme

is nearly complete,

significant work remains,”

said Undersecretary of

the Air Force Matthew

Donovan in a statement.

“The air force is looking

forward to KC-46A first

delivery and will continue

to work with Boeing on

opportunities to expedite

the programme.”

Boeing is to deliver 179

tankers in total to the

USAF by the end of 2028,

at around 15 per year.

A KC-46A recently

arrived at Edwards

AFB, California, to be

certified as a receiver

behind the KC-135. Umberto Greco

US AIR Force 56th Rescue

Squadron (RQS) HH-60G

89-26208 flies a training

mission on June 12, two

days before a ceremony

was held to welcome the

56th and 57th RQS to

Aviano Air Base, Italy.

The Pave Hawks have

now received the ‘AV’

tailcode to indicate their

new home base. The

first UK-based HH-60G

was transferred from

RAF Lakenheath, Suffolk,

to Aviano on April 6.

THE L ATEST phase of

tests for the Kongsberg

Joint Strike Missile (JSM)

have been completed at

Edwards Air Force Base,

California. The trials

were conducted by a

joint team of US Air Force

engineers, test pilots and

Norwegian government

and industry personnel.

The JSM is designed to

be carried in the F-35A’s

internal weapons bay

and for use against land-

based and naval targets.

The latest trials involved

missiles carried by F-16s

from the USAF’s 416th

Flight Te st Squadron

(FLTS). The next phase

will cover integration of the

weapon with the F-35A.

“As a mature platform

with certified interface

standards, the F-16 makes

a perfect carriage platform

for weapon development

while the eventual host

aircraft is still under

test,” said Collin Drake,

416th FLTS JSM project

engineer. “It made it a

lot more efficient and

effective to use F-16s to

be able to test mid-cycle

a new type of weapon.”

The JSM weapons

development programme

began at Edwards in 2015.

It included ground, captive

carriage and live-drop

testing. The first launches

used glide-only weapons,

before progressing to

using live engines. All

variants of the JSM were

inert until the final flight

test events where it hit

a target with full mission

systems software and

guidance. All live releases

of the weapon were

conducted at the Utah

Te st and Training Range.

Joint Strike Missile tests completed at Edwards

Pave Hawks gain ‘AV’ codes

KC-135R 61-0320 of the 445th FLTS refuels a 416th FLTS F-16C while the latter

carries a developmental test version of the JSM. USAF/Christian Turner