combat aircraft

CH-53K BuNo 169021 arrives at MCAS New River, North Carolina, at

the conclusion of its delivery flight from Sikorsky Aircraft’s West Palm

Beach, Florida, flight test center on May 16. The King Stallion is the first

example to be assigned to VMX-1. USMC/Sgt Matthew Callahan

KING STALLION

DELIVERED

FIRST CH-53K FOR

OPERATIONAL TESTING

L

OCKHEED MARTIN’S

SIKORSKY Aircraft

subsidiary delivered the

first CH-53K to marine

operational test and

evaluation squadron

VMX-1 at MCAS New River, North

Carolina on May 16. Before the

King Stallion begins flying locally

this summer, the marines will

evaluate it against their

supportability test plan. As part of

that effort the corps will assess

maintenance, sustainment and

overall aviation logistics support

for the helicopter and validate

maintenance procedures

developed for the aircraft. The

CH-53K is the third system

demonstration test article built

under the program. Sikorsky

expects to deliver a second King

Stallion to the Marine Corps in

early 2019.

C-17A CONDUCTS AFGHAN AIR-DROP

A C-17A RETURNED to the combat

air-drop role in southern Afghanistan

for the first time since 2016 on May

18. During the 15-hour sortie that
    originated at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar,
    the C-17A delivered more than a
    dozen pallets to Bagram Airfield,
    Afghanistan, and then loaded

container delivery system (CDS)

bundles that were subsequently

air-dropped at a forward operating

location. The Globemaster III was

flown by a crew from the 816th

Expeditionary Airlift Squadron, which

was deployed from Joint Base Lewis-

McChord, Washington.

UNIT

NEWS

Task Force ODIN completes

transfer of authority

The US Army’s 206th Military

Intelligence Battalion (Aerial

Exploitation), or 206th MIB(AE),

assumed responsibility for the Task

Force Observe Detect Identify

Neutralize (TF ODIN) mission at

Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan,

during an April 23 transfer of

authority ceremony. The milestone

marked the start of the 11th

rotation of the Task Force in

Afghanistan.

TF ODIN operates several

manned and unmanned aircraft

and provides more than 80 per

cent of all aerial intelligence

surveillance and reconnaissance

(AISR) in Afghanistan in support of

Operations ‘Resolute Support’ and

‘Freedom’s Sentinel’.

The task force is manned by

contractor personnel, Department

of the Army civilians, and soldiers

from US Army Intelligence and

Security Command and US Army

Forces Command. The latter

include personnel from the 206th

and 15th MIB(AE) at Fort Hood,

Texas, the 204th MIB(AE) at Fort

Bliss; Texas, the 224th MIB(AE) at

Hunter Army Airfield, Georgia,

Company F, 1st Combat Aviation

Brigade from Fort Riley, Kansas,

and detachments from the

Wisconsin and Hawaii Army

National Guards.

Pittsburgh changes roles

In preparation for its transition

from the C-130H to the C-17A, Air

Force Reserve Command’s 911th

Airlift Wing was reassigned from

the 22nd Air Force to the 4th Air

Force. The transfer of command

authority occurred at the wing’s

home base at Pittsburgh

International Airport Air Reserve

Station in Pennsylvania on April 6.

The transfer signifies the change in

mission for the wing from a tactical

airlift tasking to a strategic airlift

mission with the Globemaster III.

The 4th Air Force is responsible for

the reserve component’s

long-range airlift and air refueling

units and is responsible for 18

flying wings that provide strategic

airlift, air-drop, aeromedical and air

refueling support.

The wing’s 758th Airlift Squadron

had conducted the tactical airlift

mission since 1972, initially flying

the Fairchild C-123K. It had been

associated with the Hercules since

C-130As arrived in 1980. The

squadron later transitioned to the

C-130H in 1992. It formally ended

Hercules operations on April 30,

when it flew its final mission with

C-130H serial 87-9281. The 911th

expects its first C-17A to arrive in

June and will be fully operational

with eight Globemaster IIIs in

October 2019.

Lakenheath loses

rescue squadrons

The assignment of the 56th Rescue

Squadron (RQS) to the 48th Fighter

Wing came to an end during a

ceremony at RAF Lakenheath,

England, on May 15. The unit,

along with the 57th Rescue

Squadron, is being transferred to

Aviano Air Base, Italy where it will

join the 31st Fighter Wing. The

planned transfer was first

announced in November 2015 and

will be completed in June. The

56th RQS has been stationed at

Lakenheath since it relocated from

Keflavík, Iceland, in June 2006. The

57th RQS was activated at

Lakenheath in March 2015.

TUCANOS DELIVERED TO MOODY

THE 81ST FIGHTER Training

Squadron received a new pair of

A-29B light attack aircraft when the

Super Tucanos arrived at Moody

AFB, Georgia, on April 24 and 26.

The aircraft are the first of a group

of six ordered for Afghanistan

in October 2017. The squadron,

which is assigned to Air Education

Training Command’s 14th Flying

Training Wing/Operations Group as

a geographically separated unit, is

tasked with training Afghan Air Force

pilots to fly the A-29Bs. The Tucanos

are tasked in support of the light air

support mission, which includes the

close-air attack, air interdiction, escort

and armed reconnaissance missions.

RAIDER BASES NAMED

THE USAF ANNOUNCED on May 2

that it plans to station B-21A Raider

bombers at three current Air Force

Global Strike Command bases from

the mid-2020s. The facilities, which

comprise Dyess AFB in Texas,

Ellsworth AFB in South Dakota and

Whiteman AFB in Missouri, are

currently home to B-1Bs and B-2As.

Using the existing bomber bases

will minimize operational impact,

reduce overheads, maximize re-use

of facilities, and minimize cost to

the service. Barksdale AFB,

Louisiana, and Minot AFB, North

Dakota, will continue to support

the B-52H fleet, which will remain

in service through 2050.

The service’s final Raider basing

decision will follow environmental

and regulatory reviews and is due

in 2019. A decision regarding which

base will be the first to house the

new bombers was not included in

the announcement.

In related news, Northrop

Grumman and the USAF recently

completed a preliminary design

review of the B-21A program. The

contractor has delivered the first

software ‘drop’ for the program and

is moving towards a critical design

review that will freeze the design.

This must be completed before

assembly of the first Raider can get

under way.

UNITED STATES [NEWS]

http://www.combataircraft.net // July 2018 11

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