KONINKLIJKE LUCHTMACHT F-16 MILITARY
on February 9–12. Practice ying of display
pilots for the 2017 air show season meant
that operational ying at the base came
almost to a complete standstill. Lt Col Bok
told AIR International: “We managed to get
two ve-minute windows for take-off and
landing with four jets on our rst ying day.
By landing at Tucson after the rst wave and
returning to Davis-Monthan after the second,
we could still y the eight sorties planned for
that day.”
In this case, the short distance between
the bases was an advantage once more, as
the ground crew could easily drive to and
from Tucson while the jets were airborne. In
a similar arrangement, sorties could still be
own the next day.
Training aspects
DetCo Bok continued: “Over here, there are
several advantages compared to ying at
home. Of course, the weather is great – we
did not lose a single sortie for that reason –
and we have three training areas we can use.
The ranges have real targets like air elds,
aircraft, SAMs [surface-to-air missiles]
and revetments. In our F-16s, we can add
simulated threats, including Russian mobile
SAM systems like the SA-22. Together, these
training areas are about three times as big
as the available areas in the Netherlands. We
can y up to 18,000ft [5,486m] under VFR
[visual ight rules] conditions, or 24,000ft
[7,315m] in the training areas or even 48,000ft
[14,630m], if the civil airspace above them
is available. There are considerably fewer
limitations for overland low ying, as well. Of
course, the use of the training areas requires
good planning, as we have to share them
with other users, including Luke [Air Force
Base, Arizona], Davis-Monthan and Tucson-
based aircraft. We could have used live
weapons as well, if we wanted. During our
two weeks, we dropped 20 GBU-12s [500lb
laser-guided bombs] – 14 of them on a single
day – but these were all inert.
“Unlike our participation in Red Flag,
CONUS allows us to train speci cally to
the needs of individual pilots. This requires
smart choices in combining pilots within one
mission, to get the maximum training value
for everyone within the available ying hours.
So, it is not just ying operational missions;
in the two weeks over here, our detachment
conducts 14 training missions for individual
pilots, for them to qualify for their MQT
[mission quali cation training], four-ship lead
training or even to work up for the upcoming
FWIT [Fighter Weapons Instructor Training].”
Because the Tucson-based F-16s could
y the CONUS missions from their home
base and these were limited to participation
in morning waves only, the initial quali cation
training of new F-16 pilots also continued
unhampered in this period.New equipment
Four of the six deployed F-16s carried the
recently introduced AAQ-33 Sniper Advanced
Targeting Pod, the others had the older
AAQ-28(V)4 Litening Block II tted. The
Sniper was accepted for operational use by
KLU F-16 squadrons last September, after
an operational test and evaluation (OT&E)
programme held at Main Air Station Bodø
in Norway proved successful. According to
Lt Col Bok: “Especially in air combat, the
Sniper is much more stable than the old pod.
Both the jet and pod are Lockheed Martin
products, so they integrate well.”
KLU F-16s also used the Raytheon AIM-9X
version of the Sidewinder air-to-air missile for
the rst time during CONUS 2017 operations.
The DetCo said: “The rst visiting unit did an
OT&E for the AIM-9X during their rst days
at Davis-Monthan, which was successful
and led to acceptance. This allowed all pilots
over here to y with the new missile, which is
a huge improvement over the old AIM-9L/M
both in terms of range and angle at which it
can be used.”Enter the F-35
Another bene t of training in the south west
of the United States was that F-16 pilots
could y together with the two KLU F-35A
Lightning IIs of 323 Test and Evaluation
Squadron (TES) based at Edwards, California,for the multinational F-35 OT&E programme.
It was the third time the KLU conducted
fourth and fth-generation combat aircraft
integration trials. Similar training brought
Tucson-based KLU F-16s – as well as a
KDC-10 plus (T)A-4K and A-4N Skyhawks
of contractor Draken International – to
Edwards in August 2015. Both Dutch F-35s
also ew with F-16s during their three-week
deployment to the Netherlands in May-June
2016.
Lt Col Bok said: “The combined missions
with the F-35s emphasised once more that
we really need the F-35 for future operations.
The F-35 will be a very good addition to
the F-16 during the transition period, when
we y both types together. The F-35s can
increase the capacities of our F-16s without
having to add extra sensors to the latter.
These integrated operations allow the F-16 to
perform better than it could when operating
alone. Flying both types together here in high-
end missions generates valuable lessons
learned, which we can use once the F-35 is
introduced into service in the Netherlands
from late 2019.”
Both Dutch F-35s participated in CONUS
2017 during two periods, supporting each
visiting unit for at least one week. They ew
from Edwards to Arizona daily to join the
morning wave, then land at Marine Corps
Air Station Yuma for a hot-pit refuel before
taking off again to y regular OT&E missions
and return to Edwards in the afternoon. This
approach helped minimise the impact on 323
TES’ daily operations and ying hours.
The Dutch F-16s also ew a combined
mission with Davis-Monthan-based A-10Cs
and HH-60Gs. Furthermore, Iraqi Air Force
F-16QCs based at Tucson were called
upon to act as opponents at least once. Lt
Col Bok added: “We also cooperate with
US forward air controllers [FACs] at the
ranges, which makes a change from working
with Dutch FACs and is good for
international cooperation.”A Tucson-based 148th Fighter
Squadron F-16AM taxies to the
runway at its home base.