Airforces

16 // JANUARY 2018 #358 http://www.airforcesmonthly.com

NEWS North America

C-130H for 16th Special Operations Squadron

THE US Air Force’s

16th Special Operations

Squadron (SOS) at Cannon

Air Force Base, New

Mexico, has received a

single C-130H. Delivered

on November 29, 2017,

the Hercules will be

used to facilitate aircrew

training and allow combat-

coded aircraft to perform

their primary missions.

Previously, the 16th SOS

had been using its AC-130W

Stinger IIs for training.

“This is our first and

only C-130H at Cannon,”

explained Maj Carrie Kerner,

27th Special Operations

Aircraft Maintenance

Squadron operations

officer. “We refer to this as

a ‘slick’ C-130 because it

doesn’t have the additional

capabilities and equipment

that our AC-130Ws have

been modified for, like

the 105mm cannon and

30mm gun. The AC-130W

is essentially a heavily

modified C-130H, in high

demand and short supply.”

The 16th SOS’s newly received C-130H 82-0056 on the fl ight line at Cannon AFB. The aircraft still wears the markings of its

previous operator, the Ohio Air National Guard. USAF/Staff Sgt Charles Dickens

Three-carrier

strike force

exercises

in Pacifi c

THREE US Navy aircraft

flattops – USS Ronald

Reagan (CVN 76),

Theodore Roosevelt (CVN

71) and Nimitz (CVN

68) – sailed together in

the Western Pacific in

November in a show

of force directed at

North Korea. The strike

force, which included

accompanying warships

from the Japan Maritime

Self-Defense Force

(JMSDF) and the Republic

of Korea Navy (ROKN),

began two separate

bilateral exercises

on November 11.

The exercise was the

first time three strike

groups had operated

simultaneously in the

Pacific since 2007.

Dual-carrier strike group

operations have been

carried out more recently

in the Western Pacific.

These typically take place

when a carrier deployed

to the Seventh Fleet area

of operations joins with

its counterpart based in

Japan. For the November

manoeuvres, the Nimitz

was completing a

deployment in the Persian

Gulf and was being

relieved by the Roosevelt.

The Reagan – homeported

in Japan – joined the

other two, based in the

western United States.

‘Black’ 757 makes rare visit to Mildenhall

THE US Air Force’s

‘black’ Boeing 757-22L

N610G (c/n 29304)

lands at RAF Mildenhall,

Suffolk on December

3, 2017. The aircraft

arrived using the callsign

‘RCH585’ but it is not

known why it was passing

through the UK. This

secretive aircraft is

one of two assigned to

COMCO and understood

to operate on behalf of

the US Department of

Defense. The aircraft’s

alternative identity is

‘98-6006’ but in the past

it has also used ‘99-6143’.

Meanwhile, ‘99-6143’ and

‘02-5001’ are currently

used by COMCO N226G

(c/n 22212), a 757-32A.

The two jets are based

at Eglin Air Force Base,

Florida but their unit

remains unknown.

Ryan Dorling

Above: The fi rst KC-46 tanker for the USAF takes off from Paine Field on its maiden fl ight. Boeing/Marian Lockhart

BOEING COMPLETED the

first flight of a KC-46A that

will be delivered to the US

Air Force on December 5,

2017. The 3.5hr maiden
      flight was conducted
      at the company’s Paine
      Field facility in Everett,
      Washington. The tanker,

with the temporary test

registration N50217, was

flown to a maximum altitude

of 39,000ft (11,887m) for

operational checks on

engines, flight controls and

environmental systems.

“Today’s flight is another

milestone for the air

force/Boeing team and

helps move us closer to

delivering operational

aircraft to the warfighter,”

said Col John Newberry,

USAF KC-46 system

programme manager.

The latest Pegasus is the

seventh aircraft to fly. The

previous six are being used

for test and certification

work and to date have

completed 2,200 flight

hours and more than 1,

contacts during refuelling

flights with AV-8B, A-10,

C-17, F-16, F/A-18, KC-

and KC-46 aircraft.

USAF orders

more QF-16s

BOEING HAS been

awarded an $11.2m

modification to a previously

granted contract for

additional QF-16 Full-

Scale Aerial Target (FSAT)

aircraft. The Lot 5B work

will be performed at St

Louis, Missouri, with an

estimated completion date

of April 2021. Although the

number of aircraft in Lot

5B was not specified in the

contract announcement,

US officials confirmed it

comprises 12 aircraft.

In March 2016 Boeing

received a USAF contract

to produce 30 QF-16s.

The QF-16 reached initial

operating capability in

September of the same

year and began operations

at Holloman AFB, New

Mexico, in February 2017.

First fl ight for operational KC-46A