http://www.airforcesmonthly.com #365 AUGUST 2018 // 51
The three FMS nations
Israel: All academic and simulator
training for the initial Israeli pilot cadre
was conducted at Luke and has now been
concluded. The initial two Israeli pilots flew their
first flight within 12 hours of receiving their first
two jets in country, with the support of 944th OG/
Det 2 instructors. At the time of writing Israel
has 12 F-35As in its ranks. Det 2 pilots have
ferried all of the Lightnings to Israel to date.Japan: Training started at Luke in
December 2016. Until recently there were
five Japanese F-35As based at Luke, one of which
was assembled in Japan. Japanese training was
completed at the end of March and all Japanese
F-35s have since travelled to their new home at
Misawa Air Base, Japan (see Five JASDF F-35As
transfer from Luke to Misawa, July, p28). The
training was completed well ahead of schedule,
including extra flights beyond the syllabus. Several
Det 2 instructors will remain in Japan for two months
for the advanced training portion of their syllabus
(including four-ship training). Japan is in the process
of buying 42 aircraft and may add more jets later
on. The F-35A is replacing the F-4EJ Phantom II.South Korea: Next in line, the Republic
of Korea Air Force (ROKAF) will start
training with three aircraft and two students
this summer. Later there will be six F-35As to
support four students. As they train the last two
students, this will go down to four F-35s at the
end of the process. These jets are scheduled to
leave Luke at the end of 2019, by which time there
will be eight qualified student pilots. The ROKAF
received its first aircraft at the end of March.Lightning leadership
“The 944th^ OG/Det 2 supports both sides,
the FMS and the partner nations,” explained
Lt Col Eric ‘Bodhi’ Puels, the ‘Ninjas’
commander. He previously flew F-16C/Ds
at Misawa in Japan and has been at Luke
since 2006. He has worked on the F-35
programme since 2008 and transitioned from
the F-16C/D to the F-35A in 2015. He has
2,400 F-16 flight hours and 300 in the F-35A.
Lt Col Puels continued: “We have two fighter
wings on the base, the active-duty 56th
FW and the reserve’s 944th^ FW. The 944th
Operations Group is associated with the 56th
FW to help them accomplish their fighter
training mission. With both the F-16 and F-35,
we have reservist instructors that help out
in a ‘classic association’ that is active-duty-
led. What is new is that AETC [Air Education
and Training Command] has chopped the
FMS mission to the 944th FW for execution
under an active association. That means it
is reserve-led, comprised mostly of reserve
instructors, and then we have active-duty
augmentation. It’s still technically an active-
duty mission, so we are given operational
direction from the 56th FW Operations
Group and still answer to the 56th FW.
“Working with Japan, we have doubled the
aircraft utilisation rate compared with what
the USAF normally does. Basically, we have
flown the jets numerous times, back-to-back.
Our mission readiness rate is always in the
90-plus percentage range. The Japanese
pilots have come from a mix of communities,
including the F-2, F-4 and F-15. Transitioning
from the F-4 to the F-35 is a big jump, but
they have handled it well. Following Japan,
South Korea is next in line for FMS training
and we will start training them this summer.
“We consider ourselves the best in the
business at the fighter training mission and
have been doing this for decades with the F-16.
Much of our F-35 training has been modelled
off of what we have learned from the F-16.
“Our student training syllabus starts off
in simulators with basic flying, instrument
familiarisation and quite a few emergency
procedures. Then we get into transition
flying, taking actual aircraft into the airspace
and getting a feel for how it flies – perform
instrument work, get used to the avionics,
and have students comfortable in the jet.
“Then we very quickly go into the tactical
phase, which includes basic fighter
manoeuvring, air combat manoeuvring and
tactical intercepts. Next comes basic surface
attack and that differs from what we do in the
F-16, since we carry only precision-guided
munitions such as GBU-31s and GBU-12s
in the F-35. Unlike the F-16, the F-35 has
an air-to-surface radar, which is new for a
lot of us unless you came out of the Strike
Eagle community. Following ground attack,
we get into four-ship training, followed by
suppression of enemy air defences.
“Defensive counter-air, offensive counter-
air and fighter escort are next on the agenda.A lot of that training is done in the simulator
because of the fidelity of the threats and range
limitations. The simulators are extremely
robust, and pilots feel like they are flying the
real deal – it is very representative of what they
have experienced flying the actual aircraft.
“I also fly USAF F-35As on occasion. The
software is one of the most commonly updated
F-35 items, a required process for aircraft
systems expansion. The latest software
version is 3F, and all USAF F-35As are now
being upgraded from the 3i or earlier software.
A structural modification is also in process,
adding more capable ‘fuel stiffeners’ inside
the wings, giving the F-35A a 9g turning
ability. The 3F software will enable us to use
the gun, AIM-9X Sidewinder and the Small
Diameter Bomb. Currently we can employ
the JDAM [Joint Direct Attack Munition], AIM-
120 AMRAAM and laser-guided bombs.
“Our instructors are very seasoned here and
we even integrate into Red Flag exercises.
We currently have 12 reserve F-35 instructors
and most came from the most experienced
fighter squadron in the world – AFRC’s 69th
FS ‘Werewolves’ currently flying F-16s.
Instructors tend to have 2,000-plus hours
including several hundred combat hours. Det
2 is becoming the most experienced F-35
squadron – on average most of our instructors
have more than 300 hours in the F-35A, and
the reserves bring continuity to the fight.
“Using reserve instructors and our skill sets,
the air force gets a lot of ‘bang for the buck’.