Right top to
bottom: VMA-311
Harriers and
the multitude of
participants on
the Volk ramp.
VAQ-130 EA-18Gs
provided part
of the US Navy
participation.Marine F-35Bs
were an essential
element of the
integration part
of the exercise
with fourth-gen
fi ghters.
Below: An ANG
F-16C pilot pre-
fl ights his jet
during ‘Northern
Lightning’.tended to be smaller and dedicated more
to close air support (CAS) missions.
A dedicated ‘Red Air’ aggressor force
was provided by the 71st Fighter
Training Squadron ying the T-38A
Talon, while Draken International was
on hand with its Aero Vodochody
L-159E ALCAs (Advanced Light Combat
Aircraft). Additional ‘Red Air’ was
supplied by F-16s from the 176th
Fighter Squadron, F/A-18Es from Carrier
Air Wing Three and AV-8B Harriers from
Marine Attack Squadron 311 (VMA-311).Participants
Word travels fast about quality and
customized training opportunities. With
more than 60 participating aircraft, ‘18-2’
was the largest ‘Northern Lightning’ to
date. Milne said, ‘We were going to have
60-70 participants, but to be honest I
didn’t think that many would come. I
thought for sure one unit would back
out, but in fact it was just the opposite.
I was getting calls a week or two prior
saying, ‘can we bring an extra two jets?’
or, ‘I want to bring more pilots’. Thee ort of the people here that put this
exercise on has drawn a lot of attention
not only to the air force but also to
the navy and marines.’ In the case of
the navy at ‘18-2’, it started out as one
squadron of F/A-18s, then grew to
include a mixture of pilots and aircraft
from all four strike ghter squadrons in
Carrier Wing Three.
Fifth-generation ghters were
represented by Marine Fighter Attack
Squadron 211 (VMFA-211) with the
F-35B and the 1st Fighter Wing ying
F-22A Raptors. While VMFA-211 brought
a large contingent of more than 500
marines to Volk, the participating
Raptors commuted each day from
Langley. The ight of four F-22s refueled
from a tanker upon arrival, then joined
the ght directly before landing at Volk
Field for debrief. The ghters returned to
base the same day but with four pilots
who ew in the exercise the previous
day. The cycle repeated each 24 hours.
Wisconsin ANG
participants
included F-16C/Ds of the 115th Fighter Wing ying
from Truax Field ANGB at Madison and
KC-135R Stratotankers from the 128th
Air Refueling Wing operating out of
their home at Milwaukee’s Gen Mitchell
ANGB. With participating aircraft coming
from multiple bases, the logistics can be
di cult, but Milne described it as, ‘very
realistic, because in combat, an escort of
F-22s may be coming from ‘base X’ and
joining up with a SEAD package from
‘base Y’ that may be joining up with a
striker package from ‘base Z’.’
Maj John Hudock of VMA-311 ‘Tomcats’
talked about preparations for ‘Northern
Lightning’. ‘We studied a lot of air-to-air
before we got here. As attack pilots,
it’s something we get into to maintain
everyone’s currency, but then we go
away from that aspect for six months,
such as on my last deployment where
we only dropped bombs.’ He also
described the importance of non-
ying exercises where they practised
large force planning with a mission
commander who would assign roles and
tasks with an expected product. This48 December 2018 //^ http://www.combataircraft.net
EXERCISE REPORT // ‘NORTHERN LIGHTNING’