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http://www.airforcesmonthly.com #362 MAY 2018 // 15

Successful carrier

qualifi cations for F-35C

THE US Navy has

completed carrier

qualification (CQ) trials

of the F-35C, the service

announced in late March.

Trials took place aboard

the aircraft carrier USS

Abraham Lincoln (CVN

72), while under way in

the Atlantic between

March 17 and 21.

Pilots assigned to Strike

Fighter Squadron (VFA)

125 ‘Rough Raiders’ and

VFA-101 ‘Grim Reapers’

undertook day and night

qualifications with 140

traps in anticipation of

F-35C initial operational

test and evaluation

(IOT&E) later this year.

For the first time, the CQs

involved limited integration

with other aircraft types.

Another milestone was

operational use of the

F-35C’s folding wing.

The trials also continued

integration of the deployable

version of the Lightning

II’s Autonomic Logistic

Information System (ALIS)

with Abraham Lincoln.

Following the upcoming

IOT&E trials aboard

Abraham Lincoln, which

will involve the definitive

Block 3F software, the US

Navy plans to declare initial

operating capability (IOC)

for the F-35C between

August and next February.

An F-35C assigned to VFA-125 performs a touch-and-go on the fl ight deck of USS ‘Abraham

Lincoln’ in the Atlantic on March 18. US Navy/Chief Mass Communication Specialist Mark Logico

US AIR Force B-52H

bombers arrived at RAAF

Base Darwin in Australia’s

Northern Ter ritor y from

Andersen Air Force Base,

Guam, in late March. The

Stratofortresses will train

with the Royal Australian

Air Force as part of the

Enhanced Air Cooperation

(EAC) initiative.

Up to three B-52s

from Barksdale AFB,

Louisiana, operated

with the Australian

Defence Force over

ranges near RAAF Base

Williamtown, New South

Wales, until early April.

EAC 18-2 included

manoeuvres with RAAF

F/A-18As, PC-9A(F)s

and army and air force

Joint Terminal Attack

Controllers (JTACs).

Launched in February last

year, EAC encompasses

a range of combined air

exercises and training

activities between

the US and Australia,

including regular visits

by US military aircraft to

Australia. RAAF Darwin

previously hosted B-52s

in 2012, 2014 and 2016.

B-52s deploy to Australia

More Lakotas for US Army

A B-52H assigned to the 20th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron deploys its drag chute on arrival

at RAAF Base Darwin on March 29. USAF/Staff Sgt Alexander W Riedel

Above: F-35A 10-5017 (AF-29), assigned to the 33rd Fighter

Wing, fl ies over Eglin AFB, Florida on February 27. Aircraft

5017 is the fi rst F-35A to reach 1,000 fl ight hours outside of

the test community. USAF/Airman 1st Class Emily Smallwood

THE F-35 Joint Program

Office (JPO) confirmed

in early March that the

USAF’s F-35A fleet can

now employ the AIM-9X

Sidewinder, GAU-22 25mm

gun and the Small Diameter

Bomb (SDB). According to

the JPO, all these weapons

can be used while flying at

Mach 1.6 and at up to 9G.

The milestone was

reached after the JPO

delivered the required flight

clearances, simulators,

threat information and

logistics system required

for USAF F-35As equipped

with the latest Block 3F

software. The USAF’s

frontline F-35As are

assigned to the 34th

Fighter Squadron at Hill

Air Force Base, Utah, and

are forward-deployed to

Kadena Air Base, Japan.

USAF F-35As add

weapons capabilities

Above: A UH-72A from the 1-183rd Aviation Battalion

conducts a simulated rescue mission in Cascade, Idaho,

Lakota in early March. US Air National Guard/Master Sgt Becky

Vanshur

THE US Department of

Defense has acquired

another 16 UH-72A

helicopters for the US

Army. Airbus Helicopters

received a $116.9m

modification to an existing

contract on March 22.

Work will be performed

at the company’s plant in

Columbus, Mississippi,

and is estimated to

be completed by

September 2023.

The revised contract

also includes technical

and flight operator

manuals and programme

management for the Initial

Entry Rotary Wing mission

at Fort Rucker, Alabama.

Contract award came just

days after the US Army

increased its Program

of Record (POR) for the

Lakota, adding 35 aircraft

to the previous total of 412.

This $273m contract calls

for the additional UH-72s

to be delivered by March

2021, in two configurations:

17 UH-72As for the Initial

Entry Rotary Wing mission

at Fort Rucker and 18 for

the observer/controller

mission at the US Army’s

combat training centres.

Airbus has delivered

more than 423 UH-72As

from its Columbus facilities

since the first contract

was awarded in 2005.