Airforces - Typhoon school

(Jacob Rumans) #1
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http://www.airforcesmonthly.com #361 APRIL 2018 // 17


B-52 sets bombing record


in Afghanistan


A US Air Force B-52H
Stratofortress set a new
record for the most
precision weapons
dropped in a single
sortie in the first week of
February. Flying from Al
Udeid Air Base, Qatar, the
Stratofortress delivered 24


guided munitions during a
mission over Afghanistan.
Targets comprised Taliban
fighting positions and
vehicles captured from
the Afghan National Army
that insurgents were
adapting into vehicle-
borne improvised explosive

devices (VBIEDs).
On February 6, CENTCOM
announced that United
States Forces-Afghanistan
had launched a series
of precision strikes in
the north of the country,
in an effort to destroy
insurgent revenue sources,

training facilities and
support networks. The
raids also struck Taliban
training facilities in
Badakhshan province,
preventing the planning
and rehearsal of terrorist
acts near the border with
China and Tajikistan.

Above: A B-52H from the 69th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron on the fl ight line at Al Udeid AB in November last year. The
aircraft was deployed to Qatar in support of Operation Inherent Resolve and Operation Freedom’s Sentinel in the CENTCOM
area of responsibility. USAF/Staff Sgt Patrick Evenson L3 delivers


fi rst
HC-130J to
Coast Guard
L3 TECHNOLOGIES
announced on January
31 that it has delivered a
first production HC-130J
integrated with a next-
generation Minotaur
Mission System Suite
(MSS+) to the US
Coast Guard. Work
was conducted by L3’s
Aerospace Systems
division at its facility in
Waco, Texas. Developed
jointly by the Coast
Guard and US Navy,
MSS+ provides improved
long-range surveillance
capabilities. Work
included integration and
testing of the aircraft
under a five-year contract.
L3 will perform full
system integration on
two additional baseline
configuration aircraft and
will retrofit four HC-130Js
under current awarded
contract options. The
contract also includes
the optio n of missionising
five additional aircraft.

New wings
for A-
THE US Air Force is
seeking a new contract to
re-wing its A-10C fleet to
keep the aircraft in service
into the 2030s. The service
aims to conclude a deal in
fiscal year 2019. A previous
effort, under which Boeing
was providing new wings,
has been abandoned. Air
Combat Command (ACC)
chief General James
Holmes said on January 25
that it was no longer cost-
effective for Boeing. The
air force plans to hold a
new competition for the
re-wing programme.

Canadian Open Skies Hercules in US
ROYAL CANADIAN Air Force (RCAF) CC-130J 130617 from 8 Wing, CFB Trenton, Ontario, visited Rosecrans Air
National Guard Base, Missouri, recently for flights in accordance with the Open Skies treaty. The RCAF Hercules
was hosted by the ANG’s 139th Airlift Wing for joint training flights over the US conducted between January 31 and
February 2. Personnel from the US, Canada, UK, France and the Czech Republic participated in the mission.

ANG/Tech Sgt John Hillier

Above: C-21 86-0374 (c/n 35A-624) of the 21st AS during a visit to Seattle’s Boeing Field late last year. Joe G Walker
THE 200th Airlift Squadron
(AS) ‘Bobcats’, operated by
the Colorado Air National
Guard (ANG), has been
threatened with closure.
The squadron – which
operates two C-21s for
VIP transport at Peterson


Air Force Base – includes
just 17 aircrew. Budget
constraints could force
the squadron to disband,
and Air Force Secretary
Heather A Wilson has
reportedly called for it to
be deactivated by June.

In an email to the
Colorado Springs Gazette,
Colorado National Guard
boss Maj Gen Michael
Loh questioned the
decision and wrote:
“The 200th is the most
efficient and effective

operational support airlift
squadron in the air force
delivering great results
proven by the fact that the
200th has won the Joint
Operational Support Airlift
Center small unit award
seven years in a row.”

200th Airlift Squadron under threat

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