C
OMMERCIAL ADVERSARY AIR
(ADAIR) support is among
the fastest-growing sectors
of the military aviation
market. In the US, ADAIR
requirements have exploded
over recent years, a far cry from the
minor need for contracted adversary
support that was mainly seen within the
US Navy in the past. The US Air Force
went swiftly from zero contractor
support in this area to a multi-layered,
pan-service requirement. In June this
year, the Department of Defense (DoD)
awarded Draken International the
ve-year, $280-million ADAIR II contract.
It built on a ground-breaking study
phase that saw Draken supporting USAF
training activities taking place at Nellis
AFB, Nevada. Now the requirement is
expanding yet further as the USAF seekssimilar solutions across the wider
ghter community.
Although the need for realistic
opposition has rarely been far away
since the realization that dissimilar air
combat training was necessary in the era
of the Vietnam War, at one stage in the
1990s the USAF aggressor force
dwindled to just a handful of aircraft.
Having secured funding to ramp up its
in-house capabilities to a pair of F-16
units and brie y a further F-15C unit,
when the 65th Aggressor Squadron
turned in its brightly painted Eagles in
2014 it freed up jets for Air National
Guard units, but left a gaping hole in the
high-end training required by the USAF
Weapons School and the operational
test units at Nellis.
Today, the USAF has two aggressor
squadrons, both ying old Block 30F-16s. The 64th AGRS at Nellis supports
the Weapons School and ‘Red Flag’
exercises, while the 18th AGRS based at
Eielson AFB in Alaska provides adversary
support for Paci c Air Forces (PACAF).Addressing the shortfall
Shortly after the deactivation of the 65th
AGRS, Air Combat Command (ACC)
conducted an analysis of adversary air
capabilities. The outcome was clear —
there was a cavernous void in capacity,
exacerbated by the advanced fth-
generation ghter eet, which was
growing exponentially. To address this
shortfall the USAF released a proof of
concept tender for ADAIR.
Draken International, Discovery Air
Defense Services (now Top Aces) and the
Airborne Tactical Advantage Company
(ATAC, now owned by Textron),One of Draken’s
former Royal New
Zealand Air Force
A-4K Skyhawks.
Frank Crébas/
Bluelife Aviationhttp://www.combataircraft.net // November 2018 33