Airforces - Typhoon school

inköping-Malmen air base on

September 14 last. A single JAS 39C

Gripen, callsign ‘Hammer 01’, blasts

off from runway 19 before heading west...

The pilot, an experienced 37-year-old

Flygvapnet (Swedish Air Force) captain,

belongs to the Malmen-based Taktisk

Utprovningsenhet JAS (TU JAS, Gripen

Operational Test and Evaluation [OT&E] unit).

He quickly contacts a two-ship JAS 39C

formation from 72. stridsflygdivision (72 ‘Ghost’

Squadron), part of F 7 Skaraborgs flygflottilj (F 7

Skaraborg Wing), orbiting close to the vast Lake

Vänern, in F 7’s unrestricted aerial ‘playground’.

Led by a young pilot, the three-ship

formation will try to ‘bounce’ and destroy a

four-ship Gripen offensive counter-air (OCA)

strike force, also from 72. stridsflygdivision

and comprising a mix of young pilots

and qualified weapons instructors.

Once within the envelope for a beyond-

visual-range (BVR) missile shot, and using

the pre-briefed tactics and procedures,

all opponents perform a (simulated)

launch of Meteor BVRAAMs.

The aim of this realistic training

mission is simple on the one hand,

but complex on the other. The

participating instructor pilots

(IPs) will assess and evaluate the

performance of their younger

colleagues in utilising the new

Meteor missiles. At the same

time, the IPs will be supervised, screened and

evaluated by ‘our’ Gripen OT&E captain.

After the final ‘shot’, the TU JAS pilot

will return to Malmen and contact 72.

stridsflygdivision for a quick debrief, ensuring

all participants used the correct Gripen

and Meteor tactics as planned during an

in-depth briefing the day before.

Developing, instructing, assessing

and evaluating new type-related air

warfare tactics is just one of the

vital missions of the TU JAS.

Value for money

For decades, the acquisition and

development of defence materiel

for all branches of the Swedish

Armed Forces has been organised

and supervised by the Försvarets

Materielverk

(FMV, Swedish

Defence Materiel Administration),

which answers to the defence ministry.

When a new weapons system is needed,

the FMV triggers a feasibility study in close

co-operation with the armed forces and, in

most cases, local defence industry. Based

on operational and technical requirements

stipulated by the FMV in its project definition,

industry will design and manufacture a solution.

The FMV will then extensively test a

prototype with a technical validation

leading, ultimately, to formal acceptance.

For aircraft, the developmental test and

evaluation (DT&E) phase will involve the

FMV’s five ex-Flygvapnet pilots putting the

Once within the envelope for a beyond-

visual-range (BVR) missile shot, and using

the pre-briefed tactics and procedures,

all opponents perform a (simulated)

mission is simple on the one hand,

and Meteor tactics as planned during an

in-depth briefing the day before.

Developing, instructing, assessing

and evaluating new type-related air

warfare tactics is just one of the

vital missions of the TU JAS.

Value for money

For decades, the acquisition and

Stefan Degraef and Edwin

Borremans visit the Swedish

Air Force’s Gripen Operational

Te s t and Evaluation Unit,

where a small but important

community is responsible

for trials of all Gripen-related

hardware and software

destined for the front line.

StefanDegraefandEdwin

BorremansvisittheSwedish

Gripen masterminds

L

Right: A two-ship break by a pair of TU JAS

Gripens. Nearest the camera is single-seat

JAS 39C serial 39251 ‘251’, suitably adorned

with calibration markings for its test work.

Left: In his ‘offi ce’, a test pilot from the

TU JAS wears the Cobra helmet-mounted

system. This can be used to cue the IRIS-T

missile that was added in the MS19 update.

All photos Stefan Degraef and Edwin Borremans

48 // APRIL 2018 #361 http://www.airforcesmonthly.com

Flight test focus