Above: Wearing
the Thales
Scorpion helmet,
a Wisconsin F-16C
pilot gets his
game face on.
Below: Draken
International, with
its L-159E ALCAs,
was called in to
boost ‘Red Air’
assets.degraded and operationally limited
(CDO) environment generated during
the exercise. The 85th Test and Evaluation
Squadron (TES) from Eglin AFB in Florida
brought F-15C Eagles, F-15E Strike
Eagles and F-16CM/DMs representing a
wide range of air-to-air, strike and SEAD
capabilities, while the Air National Guard/
Air Force Reserve Command Test Center
(AATC) ew F-16Cs from the 115th FW’s
home eld at Madison.
The AATC’s Maj ‘Option’ Clark provided
some insight to the trials conducted at
‘Northern Lightning’. The center’s team
was testing the latest software and
hardware upgrades for the Block 30 F-16
including the next software revision —
software capabilities upgrade (SCU) 9.1.
He explained, ‘This new software supports
the APG-83 AESA radar, the ASQ-236
SARMAP radar pod, mode 5 IFF, and
several PVI upgrades. The big capability
leaps are with the AESA radar and 236-
pod. The dense forest and agricultural
surface at ‘Northern Lightning’ gave us
a very di erent environment to test the
pod, which was very helpful for tactics
development. Our typical test ights have
been in the Barry M. Goldwater Range or
the Nevada Test and Training Range which
are desert conditions.’
Clark also discussed collaboration
with the 85th TES, part of the 53rd Wing,
which attended ‘Northern Lightning’.
‘We work closely with the 53rd Wing
for F-16 testing. They are the lead testorganization for F-16 MMC [modular
mission computer] software for block
40s and 50s. We have six ANG units that
y MMC, so we assist in testing that
software. The 53rd Wing helps us with
AESA, 236 pod, and CDU [center display
unit] testing. We are working together
at ‘Northern Lightning’ testing the AESA
radar and SCU/MMC integration in a
tactical environment. The exercise has
met our expectations and provided us
with a [very] di erent test environment.A big bene t for us has been ying
and working with our hosts, the 176th
FS. It’s a great opportunity to interact
with our primary customer, a Block 30
[F-16] combat unit.’ The AATC was also
focused on the datalink interactions with
F/A-18s and F-35s since it rarely has the
opportunity to y with those platforms.Proven value
‘Northern Lightning’ has found the
niche market between local home-EXERCISE REPORT // ’NORTHERN LIGHTNING’
50 December 2018 //^ http://www.combataircraft.net