code one vol 25 no 3

8/9/2019 Code One Vol 25 No 3

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L O C K H E E D M A R T I N A E R O N A U T I C S C O M P A N Y V O L . 2 5 N O . 3 2 0 1 0

H ERCULES U

F-16 S AT B AGRAM

S USTAINING THE R APTOR

F-35 CATB IRD


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EDITOR

Eric Hehs

ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Jeff Rhodes

ART DIRECTOR

Stan Baggett

VI CE P RES IDE NT, C OMM UNI CATIO NS

Joseph LaMarca, Jr.

EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT,LOCKHEED MARTIN CORPORATIONPRESIDENT, AERONAUTICS COMPANY

Ralph D. Heath

PERSONAL SUBSCRIPTIONS

Send name, address, and $20 for a one-year subscription(four issues) to PO Box 5189, Brentwood, TN 37024-5189.Foreign subscriptions are $30 (US).Some back issues are available.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Send correspondence toCode One Magazine,Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company,PO Box 748, Mail Zone 1503, Fort Worth, TX 76101

Editorial ofce phone number: 817-777-5542E-mail: [email protected] address: www.codeonemagazine.comFax: 817-777-8655Distribution information: 888-883-3780

This publication is intended for information only.Its contents neither replace nor revise any material inofcial manuals or publications.Copyright © 2010 Lockheed Martin Corporation.All rights reserved. Permission to reprint articles orphotographs must be requested in writing from the editor.Code One is a registered trademark of Lockheed MartinCorporation.Code One is published quarterly byLockheed Martin Aeronautics Company.ISSN 1071-3816A10-32265

ABOUT THE COVER

Front: The US Air Force’s tactical airlift center of excellenceat Little Rock AFB, Arkansas, has been reinvented ove r thelast decade. The 314th Airlift Wing trains approximately1,800 C-130 aircrew members annually primarily usinghigh-delity simulators. Students complete the course inonly eight ights in an actual aircraft like this C-130J.Photo by John Rossino

Back: The rst F-35C, known as CF-1, returned to ighttest in October after a period of extensive ground testsand receiving its nal nishes. The aircraft was ferried toNAS Patuxent River, Maryland, for continued ight testsin November.Photo by David Drais

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2 F-35 FLIGHT TEST UPDATE Lightning II Testing Highlights

Through November

4 NO STATIC AT ALL F-35A Visits Fort Worth Anechoic Chamber

6 HERCULES U C-130 Aircrew And Maintainer Training

At Litt le Rock

12 BUZZARDS OVERAFGHANISTAN

Aviano F-16 Squadron Deploys To Bagram

16 KEEPING THE RAPTORFIT AND FLYING

Comprehensive Sustainment EnsuresRaptor Performance

20 CATB ird F-35 Avionics Demonstrated

In Flying Laboratory

24 F-16 CONFORMAL AERIALREFUELING TANK SYSTEM

Retractable Refueling Probe For F-16s

28 News


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BY ERIC HEHS

F-35

FLIGHT TESTUPDATE

T he previous installment of the F-35Flight Test Update ended with F-35AAF-1 completing its fiftieth flighton 27 August 2010. Since then, theaircraft has been flown an additional

thirty flights and a total of morethan 140 flight hours. AF-2,which is operating withAF-1 from Edwards AFB,California, has accumulatedmore than sixty flights and100 hours.

US Marine Corps andLockheed Martin pilots flyingthe F-35B short takeoff/vertical landing version ofthe Lightning II have completedalmost 300 flight hours in atotal of 216 flights.

The first F-35 carrier variant, theF-35C, was flown for the first timeon 6 June 2010 and took to the airagain on 21 October after a period ofextensive ground testing. The aircraftwas subsequently ferried from Fort Worth,Texas, on 6 November to its new homewith the Integrated Test Force at NASPatuxent River, Maryland. The ferryflight was the twentieth mission for

the first F-35C.Overall, fifteen company and militarypilots are currently qualified to flythe F-35. Eighteen total F-35 pilots haveflown more than 700 hours on more than490 flights (as of 15 November 2010)in the current System Development andDemonstration phase of the program. TheF-35 flight envelope has been expandedto 39,000 feet and to Mach 1.3.

2 Code One

PHOTO BY TOM REYNOLDS


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3Vol. 25 No. 3 2010

23 September 2010Open Weapon Bay Testing Begins On F-35ALockheed Martin test pilot Jeff Knowles completed the first oweapon bay flight tests on F-35A in a 1.5-hour mission fromEdwards AFB, California. The mission included 360-degree rat 20,000 and 30,000 feet.Photo By Tom Reynolds

Fifty Flights For BF-2 US Marine Corps pilot Lt. Col. MattKelly completed the fiftieth flight for F-35 BF-2. The 1.3-houflight, from NAS Patuxent River, Maryland, involved perform

accelerations and decelerations at 30,000 feet to test the airdata system as well as performing flying quality test pointsand envelope expansion.Photo By Andy Wolfe

1 October 2010First F-35C Gets Coated F-35C CF-1 rolled out of the F-35Final Finishes Facility in Fort Worth, Texas, in full color aftereceiving its highly accurate robot-applied coatings. The firstcarrier variant of the Lightning II was flown fourteen timesbefore entering an intensive period of ground testing.Photo By Randy Crites

18 October 2010BF-2 Flown To Mach 1.3 Royal Air Force Squadron

Leader Steve Long took BF-2 to Mach 1.3 on the airplane’sfifty-fifth flight. The test point was accomplished duringa 1.5-hour flight from NAS Patuxent River, Maryland. Theflight also involved hot pit refueling, flutter testing, flyingqualities, and performing other propulsion test points inconventional mode.Photo By Liz Kaszynski

21 October 2010First F-35C Returns To Flight F-35C CF-1 returned toflight after receiving its final finishes. Lockheed Martin tepilot Jon Beesley flew the aircraft on its fifteenth flight froNAS Fort Worth JRB, Texas.Photo By Carl Richards

25 October 2010

BF-3 Pulls Seven g’s F-35B BF-3 flew through seven g’son its fifty-eighth test flight. The flight, from NAS PatuxeRiver, Maryland, consisted of two sorties separated by hotpit refueling.Photo By Andy Wolfe

6 November 2010First F-35 Flight With Block 1 Software US Marine Corpspilot Lt. Col. Matt Taylor was at the controls of F-35B BFfor the first flight of an F-35 with Block 1 software. The nsoftware forms the foundation of all subsequent softwareblocks. It enables information fusion from the F-35’s radar,electronic warfare system, distributed aperture system, andelectro-optical targeting system, as well as informationfusion from other sensors. It also provides initial weapons-

release capability. The first flight occurred at NAS PatuxenRiver, Maryland.Photo By Andy Wolfe

First F-35C Ferried To Pax River F-35C CF-1 arrivedat NAS Patuxent River, Maryland. The aircraft, piloted byLockheed Martin test pilot David N elson, departed NASFort Worth JRB, Texas, and completed successful aerialrefueling during the flight from a KC-130 tanker from VX-The tanker is based at N AS Patuxent River.Photo By Andy Wolfe


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NOSTATICATALL

The anechoic chamber at Lockheed Martin in Fort Worth, Texas, has operated in relative an

opening in 1987. During that time, a variety of Lockheed Martin aircraft and aircraft syste

versions of the F-111 to many versions of the F-16, have been tested in this electromagne

environment. The latest airframe to be tested in the chamber is an F-35A.BY ERIC HEHS

F-35A Visits Anechoic Chamber

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A nechoic chambers are rooms designed to stopre lections o either sound or electromagnetic wavesand to isolate the a ircra t rom outside radiosignals. he RF absorbers on the walls, loor, and ceilinginside the chamber prevent stray internal R F re lectionscreated or the testing rom bouncing back at the a ircra t.

he chamber in Fort Worth is used to characterize andcon irm radio requency interactions and cooperativeoperation o aircra t avionics.

Be ore the F-35A could be tested in the anechoic chamber,the chamber itsel needed to be upgraded. A new 270-voltpower generator, a iber optic-based data acquisition system,and equipment or liquid and air cooling were added. heinitial testing on the irst F-35 was completed in August2010. “ he upgrades to make the acility F-35-compatibleand the test itsel went so smoothly that we inished ninedays ahead o schedule,” said David Hamre, RF testing lead

or the F-35.During the test, RF antennas on the F-35 used or tar-

geting, navigation, satellite communication, voice commu-nications, datalinks, environmental awareness, landing,and the like were assessed to determine i they workedcooperatively with the onboard transmitters and receiverswith minimal inter erence.

he testing was per ormed on F-35A AF-3 because it hasully capable mission systems. he early test versions o the

F-35A (AA-1, AF-1, and AF-2), which were used primar ilyor testing lying qualities, had only partially capable mis-

sion systems. esting on AF-3 included operating the APG-81radar, electronic war are system, tactical air navigationsystem, identi ication riend or oe system, and the radaraltimeter. Not all production F-35s will be put through com-prehensive RF testing. A ter initial tests o the RF systems,

ollow-on testing wil l be conducted when the systems arechanged signi icantly.

“ he anechoic chamber tests reduce the amount oavionics testing we have to do in light,” added Hamre, whowas the F-16 chamber test lead or twelve years be ore comingto the F-35 program. “While the chamber will continue tobe used or the F-16, this test on F-35 AF-3 marks the begin-ning o a new era or this acility.”

Eric Hehs is the editor ofCode One.

PHOTOS BY JACK NOBLE


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here are some notable di erencesbetween this campus and that o a smallcollege, however. he students at th isinstitution o higher learning all weargreen ight suits or tiger-striped AirmanBattle Uni orms to class rather than

sweatshirts and ip-ops. And the nalexams take place on a C-130 Hercules.

“We’ve been in the business otraining C-130 aircrew members andmaintainers or decades,” said Col. PatMordente, the 314th Airli t Wing oper-ations group commander at Little RockAFB, Arka nsas. “Nobody puts theirbrand on the Hercules like we do. hecapability we can present to our studentsis amazing.”

he 314th AW tra ins approximately1,800 C-130E/H and C-130J aircrewmembers annually—about 450 daily—

rom the US and rom nearly thirty-ive countries around the world. Close

to 1,600 Hercules maintainers rom the

US and rom more than i teen alliednations are also trained every year.Students arrive or depart he Rock, asthe base is commonly known, almostevery working day. Similar to a collegearchitecture or computer science labo-ratory, the lights at Hercules Universityare on rom dawn to dusk and late intothe night.

“When I went through C-130 trainingin 1991, we passed quick ly through the

simulator and then headed to the light-line. he whole curriculum was biasedtoward lying,” Mordente said. “Now,we conduct all initial C-130 aircrewquali ication in the simulator, includinga student’s irst check ride.”

Te Air Force’s tactical airlif centero excellence has been reinvented overthe last decade or so. “With the very highdelity simulators we have now and theincreasing incorporation o technology-

based ins t ruc t ion , our ocus haschanged,” added Col. Kirk Lear, the 314thAW vice commander. “Instead o justteaching students how to operate andmaintain the C-130, we get their skillsup to where they need to be or real-worldoperations today. We produce mission-quali ied and combat-ready Airmen.”

Col. Pat Mordente, 314th Airlift Wing operationsgroup commander

Col. Kirk Lear, 314th AW vice commander


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Little Rock, which opened in October1955, could easily be described as theHome o the Hercules. “When al lthe units assigned here are home, thereare nearly 100 C-130s on the ramp,”noted Mordente. “But that hasn’t hap-pened much lately as people and aircra tare constantly deployed.”

Te host unit at Te Rock is the 19thAW, an active duty w ing reporting toAir Mobility Command. Te 19th AWhas our C-130E/H squadrons and oneC-130J squadron in Arkansas, as well asActive Associate squadrons in Wyoming,Mississippi, and Colorado. he 189thAW, which also reports to Air Educationand raining Command, is an AirNational Guard C-130E wing.

he two colleges, i you will, runby the 314th AW at Hercules U, are setup or C-130E/H traini ng and, sepa-rately, or C-130J trai ning. he 714th

raining Squadron manages the C-130Aircrew raining System, or A S, con-tract, which provides academic andsimulator tra ining or legacy Herculesc r e w s . L o c k h e e d M a r t i n G l o b a l

raining & Logistics Company runsboth the A S and the C-130J Mainte-nance and Aircrew raining System,or JMA S, wh ich provide si mulator,

academic, and maintainer tra ining orthe Super Hercules.

Courses or C-130 crew chie s andmaintenance journeymen are taught bymembers o Detachment 4, 373rd

raining Squadron. his uni t hastraining spaces in a purpose-builtbuilding that appear, at irst glance, tobe something out o Dr. Frankenstein’s

laboratory—there are C-130 parts andsections in every bay. he engine shopcomes complete with an engine andpropeller hanging on a wing section,although set lower than on a C-130 toreduce the time it takes to raise andlower the workstand. One tire in thelanding gear simulator is always le t latso students can learn how to change it.Another simulator replicates riggingthe aircra t’s elevators.

“We have twenty- ive early 1960s- vintage C-130Es or training now, and

our maintainers do a great job okeeping them lying,” Lear observed.

“But the E-models are scheduled orretirement by the end o 2011. We’llthen migrate to the C-130H2. We alsohave seven C -130Js and could use acouple more. We need them.”

he 314th AW lies more than 15,600hours annually and uses two local dropzones, two assault landing zones, andten regional air ields to train C-130

aircrews. Actual lying training orlegacy Hercules crews is conducted bythe 62nd Airli t Squadron, whi le the48th AS instructs C-130J crews.

“I we do anything else other thantrain students, like taking part in theHaiti earthquake relie e ort, then thiscompany is not producing its widgets,that is, ai rcrews and maintainers,”noted Lear. “We were ready and eagerto help in the relie e ort. But betweenshi ting gea rs to operational missionsand then shi ting back to school mode,nobody got trained or three weeks. Ittook a whi le to u l ly recover thetraining schedule.”


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he convergence o several actorsled the Air Force to move to ReducedFlying Initial Quali ication, or RFIQ,

or C-130 aircrews. One actor is thereduced number o aircra t available ortraining. With tight budgets, replacingnearly i ty-year-old C-130s one or onesimply or training isn’t likely to happen.

“In our case, the ewer aircra t neededor training means there are more air-

cra t ava ilable to go orward to anoperational theater,” sa id Mordente.

he biggest actor by ar is cost. “Ican use a $50-plus million dollar air-cra t that costs up to $5,500 per hourto train pilots, or I can use a $3 millionWeapon System rainer that costs about$750 per hour to run and conveys thesame in ormation to a student nearlyas well,” Lear stated. Over the courseo a year, that amounts to close to $20million in savings versus the cost o

lying. Plus, the simulators run abouttwenty hours a day. “I don’t lose atraining slot because an airplane isbroken or the weather is bad.”

he introduction o sophisticatedtechnology greatly helped reduce thecost o training. “ he commercial air-lines do very little actual lying trainingwith new pilots. heir training is donein high idelity simulators,” Mordenteadded. “It required a little bit o amindset change, but once the Air Forcesaw that all quali ication requirementsand standards were still being met,resistance to simulator- ocused trainingstarted going away.” As a result, a lotmore t ra in ing has now migra tedto simulators.

he Hill is t he name or the collec-tion o interconnected buildings atLittle Rock where academic, simulator,and hands-on instruct ion takes place.“Because the C-130J is a computer-based aircra t, it lends itsel well tosynthetic tra ining. We have been ableto migrate new technology and use iton the legacy Hercules side,” notedMordente, who can see both he Hilland the lightline rom his o ice inthe Clayton Stiles Building, the wingheadquarters named or the irst com-mander o the 314th roop CarrierGroup in World War II.

“A student begins with a hal -day oin-processing,” said Chuck Cash, theLockheed Martin JMA S deputy pro-gram manager. “ hey get their school-i ssued lap top loaded wi th a l l thecourseware, lessons, and anything elsethey will need. hen they take a tour

o the building. When they come backrom lunch, they start training.” he

laptops are returned and reused whenthe students complete their training.Meanwhile, the A S students across thecourtyard receive a disk with everythingthey need or legacy Hercules trainingwhen they start. he students can keepthe disk.

“We use a structured approach. Teormal training is a little longer, but withewer ights, the students actually get to

their units aster,” said Lee Wiegand, theLockheed Martin A S instructional sys-tems development manager. “We aretrying to drive the training to the lowestlevel we can to reduce costs. rainingthat can come off the aircraf can go inthe WS [Weapon System rainer].

raining that can come off the WS cango to the simpler part-task trainers.

“Also, the Generation Y students wea r e g e t t i n gn o w l e a r nw i t h m o r ethan one ortwo senses,”Wiegand con-

t inued. “Weare incorpo-r a t i n g n e welements, suchas creating theability to put computer-based lessonsor the aircra t Dash-1 [operat ingmanual] on their iPods, iPhones, oriPad. We are trying to reach themwhere they are and teach them the waythey learn.”


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he JMA S sta consists o abouti ty pilot and thirty- ive loadmaster

instructors, while the A S has roughlythe same number o pilots along withroughly thirty instructors each or load-master, navigator, and light engineertraining. he instructors come with a variety o backgrounds. he academic

classes, taught in well-lit, com ortablerooms, prepare the students to go intothe simulators. “We use a crawl-walk-run approach,” said Cash. “ he irstlesson or C-130J students is how to turnon the computers.”

he C-130J students start with theAvionics Systems Management rainer,which teaches the pilots—who are pairedup with a el low pi lot t hroughouttraining—and loadmaster trainees howto manipulate the switches. he traineralso teaches basic procedures o theavionics systems, such as inputting datainto the aircra t’s cockpit managementdisplay unit.

Both C-130J and legacy students gothrough the Cockpit Procedures rainerthat teaches them the initial conceptso lying their aircra t. here is no visualsystem or motion in this trainer, but allthe instruments and systems operate.

his simulator gives students the knowl-edge and hands-on experience to sa elyand correctly operate the aircra t.

Meanwhile, the loadmasters are goingthrough their own academic and hands-on training with an instructor. Initialtraining consists o a combination oactual hardware and computer-generated

images on large displays. hese v ideolessons include things like releasingsimulated loads. Once the students havemastered the various parts o the ca rgocompartment, training moves to theFu , or Fuselage rainer, a ull-sizedsimulator with working systems thatresides on the lightline.

he legacy Fu s are three winglessC-130E uselages sitting side by side ina hangar. Because the C-130J has di -

erent equipment, such as electric cargolocks, ramp actuator arms, and hydrau-lics, the C-130J Fu was specially bui ltand, rather than an aircra t, looks morelike a large house trai ler. he inal pieceo ground training or the loadmastersis several lessons in an actual C-130Eor C-130J that has been pulled o the

lying schedule or a couple o hourshe WS is where all the ground

training comes together. hese motion-based simulators, which look like largewhite boxes on stilts, eature highlydetailed visual systems and ully oper-ational cockpits. he training goes romsimulating simple lights to replicatingcomplicated, low-level combat missionsin A ghanistan. Mission planning or a

our-hour WS ride gets as detailed asplanning or a light. Everything isreplicated—radio calls, weather, eventhe constant hum o propellers turning.It is as close to lying a mission as pos-sible without ordering a box lunch.

One big difference in the C-130J WSand the legacy C-130 WS is the J-modelloadmaster station, complete with videodisplay simulating the cargo hold. Teloadmaster on the C-130J is much moreinvolved in the operation o the aircraf,and all three aircrew members need totrain together. he legacy C-130 WSdoes not include the loadmaster, whousually doesn’t work with pilots untilthey are all on board an actual aircraf.However, the WS does include the nav-igator and ight engineer, and on occa-sion, a loadmaster linked in remotely.


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About 100 days afer starting training,an aircrew is ready to get on a real C-130.Students, afer al l, do still need the expe-rience o actually ying a Hercules, andin particular, the experience o landinga C-130 in a tactical environment. “Whenthe students get to the lightline, thetransition rom their ying what is essen-

tially an elaborate video game to oper-ating the aircraf is nearly seamless,” saidMaj. Mason Stewart, an instructor pilotwith 48th AS. “Te simulator shakes outstudents so well that eight ights in thereal aircraf are enough to get them ullyqualied. Tose eight ights are the cap-stone o the course.” Te students havebeen instructed so well that it is rare thatany student has to rey a sortie.

“Here the students learn to employthe C-130 as a weapon system,” saidLt. Col. Chip Brown, the commandero the 62nd A S, the largest C -130squadron in the world. “Formationairdrop is our bread and butter. We doCDS [container delivery system] dropsat low altitudes, CDS on NVGs [night

v is ion goggle s] , heav y equ ipmentdrops, and assault landings.” he dropzone is busy rom about 8:00 am until2:00 am with students lying ive-hour sorties, six in the day and two atnight, in a timeline oriented to pro-ducing graduates.

he students don’t receive As or Bsat Hercules U—although top gradu-ates do get a certi icate and a com-mendation letter. Instead, they areworking toward a raining Completenotation in their permanent record,known as a Form 8. And that recordis computerized as well. Whether it’s

a mission in the simulator or a CDSdrop, a student’s complete traininghistory is recorded. he electronicscorebook also al lows the student toreview instructor comments and rec-ommendations as well.

However, all the WS s, the part-tasktraining devices, the courseware, andeven the overall R FIQ concept ail ithe ultimate customer is not happy.“ he graduates we receive are ullyquali ied,” noted Lt. Col. Gil Martinez,the commander o the 41st Airli tSquadron, the act ive duty C-130Jsquadron at Little Rock that has hadcrews and aircra t deployed to Iraq andA ghanistan continuously since 2008.“We give the new crew members localunit certi ication and make sure theyare mobility-ready. In less than threemonths o arrival at this unit, they candeploy or combat. hey arrive herepretty much ready to go out and accom-plish their mission.”

“Nearly everyone who has done any-thing with a C-130 has been throughLittle Rock,” concluded Mordente. “Weare going to touch Airmen early intheir career and o ten again later onwhen they come back or additionaltraining such as the weapons instructorcourse. Crew members ca n go romtheir irst day i n a Hercules to gettinga PhD here.”

Jeff Rhodes is the associate editor ofCode One.


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The 510th Fighter Squadron, the Buzzards, one oftwo F-16 squadrons based at Aviano AB , Italy, deployedto Bagram AB, Afghanistan, from May through October2010 for a scheduled Air Expeditionary Force rotation.The deployment marked the one-year anniversary forUS F-16s in Afghanistan. The US forces replaced F-16

units from Belgium and the Netherlands, which beganoperating in Afghanistan in late 2004. Norway alsosent F-16s to the theater beginning in 2006.

The 510th Buzzards and the 31st Aircraft Main-tenance Squadron, or AMXS, from Aviano, r eplacedthe 34th FS Rams and 388th AM XS from Hill AFB,Utah. The 34th was preceded by the 79th FS Tigersand 20th AMXS from Shaw AFB, South Carolina.The 79th replaced the first US F-16 unit to operate

from Afghanistan—the 421st FS Black Widoalso from Hill AFB. Both deployments from included Air Force Reserve Command personfrom the 419th Fighter Wing as well as suppopersonnel from the 388th FW. Both of those winare based at Hill.

Code One was invited by the 510th ExpeditionaFigh te r Squadron Commander, L t . Co l . Gr

Sarakatsannis, to submit questions to the unit personnel about their time in Afghanistan. The responscame from SMSgt. Brian Alexander, the productsuperintendent; Capt. Jason Curtis, an F-16 instructpilot; MSgt. Erik Gatson, the weapons superintedent; and Capt. Joshua Kubacz, the weapons antactics of ficer.

Code One12

PHOTO BY SSGT. ERIC HARRIS


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What other aircraft are operatingat Bagram?

Alexander: Numerous aircra t and vehicles operate rom this base. Just inour operations group a lone, we haveF-16s, F-15Es, HH-60s, an MC-12, andC-130s. [Editor’s note: The MC-12 is amilitary version of the Hawker Beech-craft Super King Air 350. The aircraft isequipped with an electro-optical infraredsensor and other sensors.]

Curtis: We are in a multinationalcoalition consisting o multiple NA Ocountries and other coalition partnersincluding South Korea. We have tankersairborne around the clock. Cargo air-cra t, including C-5s, C-17s, and C-130s,also support our operations.

How are the f lying and workingconditions in Afghanistan?

Curtis: Flying in theater is very chal-lenging. We have to deal with other aerialassets, mountainous terrain, and thun-

derstorms while carrying a ull combatload o bombs, missiles, bullets, sensors,and countermeasures. Flying at nightpresents unique challenges with tryingto support the troops on the ground. Wereally have to know the terrain and knowhow to effectively deal with tactical con-siderations involving sensor coverage otroop ormations, orward operatingbases, combat outposts, and convoys.Ten we have to ormulate a solution to

negate the threats these various riendlyorces may encounter.

Gatson: We arrived in the summermonths and experienced some extremetemperatures. he heat orced us tomonitor the crews more closely or

atigue. We rotated personnel on a work-rest cycle as much as possible so no onewas exposed to the elements longer thanrequired. he weather is extreme here,and ground crews have to be verythorough when loading weapons andwhen per orming light inspections.

Kubacz : Hot, windy, and dusty.he blowing dust can ma ke sensor

coverage and weapon guidance a sig-ni icant chal lenge.

Describe your operations tempoat Bagram.

Alexander: We ly every day. Pilotsusing night vision capabilities ly everynight as well. I can say we rarely haveall the jets on the ground.

Curtis: We cover the entire country.We may get re-rolled into a troops-in-contact situation at the last second.

his change orces us to be ext remelylexible and agi le in the air. We never

know what to expect rom a t ypicalcombat sortie.

All but two o my combat sorties havebeen at night. I have relied upon mytraining experience and i nstinct to besuccess ul on any given night. Fortu-nately, we have leading-edge technologywith state-o -the art systems in the F-16.

he combination o night vision goggles,Link-16, and the Sniper Advanced

argeting Pod gives us a high amounto situational awareness at night.

We have a live range where we can

conduct attack training to maintain ouremployment pro iciency. A majority oour attacks require us to be extremelyprecise with attack parameters. We con-tinually try to improve upon our execu-tion by training to high stress scenarioswhile evaluating our adherence to strictattack parameters.

Kubacz: We ofen get the opportunityto practice nine-lines to help aircrew and

PHOTO BY TSGT. JEROMY K. CROSS

MC-12

C-130J Super Hercules

PHOTO BY SRA MICHAEL CHILDERS

PHOTO BY SRA FELICIA JUENKE


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ground parties maintain prociency inclose air support procedures, that prac-tice depending on how busy things areon the ground a ter completing ourassigned tasking. [Editor’s note: “Nine-lines” refers to nine lines of informationsoldiers on the ground send to pilots oraircrews to direct airstrikes.]

What new F-16 capabilities are youusing in theater?

Curtis: Te most recent advancementin technology is the GBU-54 [500 pound]laser or satellite guided JDAM. hisweapon offers the best o both worldsby having an inertial aided tail kit thatreceives GPS guidance and a nosecone-mounted laser sensor that gets laserupdates rom a laser designator. hiscapability presents a way to deal with a var iety o tactical situations, includingthe ability to target moving vehicles.

Kubacz: Our squadron employed theirst success ul GBU-54 in A ghanistan.

Since then, we have had several subse-quent successes against slow and astmoving targets.

Is the F-16 well suited for yourmissions?

Curtis: Absolutely. he F-16 has been

able to e ectively adapt to multiple mis-sions with close air support being justone example. he F-16 real ly shows itsworth with the integration o new sys-tems as they come online. he resultwe see today is testament to Americaningenuity and willpower to make surethat we can provide support to ourground orces and return home sa ely

rom a hostile environment a ter suc-cess ully completing the mission.

What did you miss the mostabout home?

Alexander: I missed my daughter’shigh school graduation. She is nowout o the house and o to college.Overall, I missed my amily and home-cooked meals.

Curtis: Te thing I missed the most

about Italy was my beauti ul wi e. She isamazing. I couldn’t wait to get back toher. I also missed my amily back in theUS and the mountains o Montana wherethere is peace, and the air is pure.

Kubacz : I m issed my a mily, ocourse. My wi e gave birth to our irstchild two months into the deployment.I couldn’t wait to meet my baby girland to be a part o her li e. I also looked

orward to relieving my wi e o someo the burdens caused by my absence.

What about your missions in Afghanistan brings pilots the mostsatisfaction?

Alexander: Saving the lives o ourground troops by responding to troops-in-contact calls.

Curtis: My motivation is to protectthe eighteen-year-old soldier at a remoteoutpost who is getting shot at every day.Hearing “thanks or being here” on theradio means everything to me.

Kubacz: Knowing my aircra t helpedkeep people on the ground sa e andproviding security to the people oA ghanistan.

The GBU-54 is the Air Force’s newest500-pound precision weapon, equipped

with a special targeting system tha tuses a combination of Global Position

System and laser guidance to accuratelyengage and destroy moving targets.

15Vol. 25 No. 3 2010

PHOTO BY MAJ. MATTHEW BORGOS

PHOTO BY SSGT. CHRISTOPHER BOITZ


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Raptors are operational atLan g l ey A F B, Vi rg i n i a ;Elmendor AFB, Alaska; andHolloman AFB, New Mexico.Hickam AFB, Hawaii, becamethe latest per manent home

or F-22s in July 2010, whenthe base held an arr ival andsite activation ceremony as itreceived the i rs t two otwenty Raptors as part o itsoperational uture.

A key per ormance mile-stone in the li e o any aircraf,but particularly or a systemas complex and advanced asthe Raptor, is reaching 100,000ight hours. Te Raptor eetwill pass that total in the rstquarter o 2011.

Given the vital role theF-22 per orms in projectingair power and consideringthat the US Air Force will

have received 187 productionaircra t by the time produc-tion winds down in early2012, maintaining the leetand keeping Raptors lyingare the new imperat ives.Lockheed Mart in, as theF-22’s orig inal equipmentmanu acturer, or OEM, andsupport integrator, oversees

a comprehensive sustainmentprogram in partnership withthe US Air Force to ensure theRaptor leet is ready to per-

orm its mission.“ L o c k h e e d M a r t i n i s

ocused on delivering a ord-able, per ormance-based

results or the pilots andmaintainers and preservingour strong partnership withthe US Air Force,” said ScottGray, vice president o F-22sustainment. “Our emphasisis on improving aircra t read-iness, reliability, and avail-ability at the lowest possiblecost to the customer.”

Lockheed Martin, as theOEM, works closely withthe Air Force to integratea total l i e-cycle systems

management process to theRaptor leet, enabling theservice to manage the Raptore ectively over its li e spanIn managing t he executiono the F-22 sustainment pro-gram, the company is teamedwith Boeing and has a closeworking relationship withPratt & Whitney.

“We provide a means orthe Air Force to develop,implement, and manage theF-22 weapons system over itsli e cycle,” said Brett Haswelldirector o F-22 logisticssupport and modi ications.“We’re ocused on meetingthe war ighters’ needs ratherthan simply providing goodsand services.”

Integration is the operativeword or overall F-22 sustain-ment—merging what is nor-mally separate sustainmentactivities into a unied whole.

“Integrated sustainmentoperations are completelydi erent rom the more typ-ical ederated sustainmentoperations,” said Haswell.

Federated operations dis-tribute sustainment activitiesamong several Air Force com-mands and air logistics centers,dispersing responsibility andaccountability. Te F-22 inte-grated approach offers a single

point o accountability. Inte-gration removes organizationalbarriers to communication,decision making, and programexecution to optimize the allo-cation o resources.

Since achieving Initial Operational Capability in December 2005,the F-22s have been patrolling the sk ies in critical areas aroundthe globe. From the beginning of June 2009 to the end of May

2010, Raptors have been flown in support of twenty-two deployments, with a da ily average of seventeen aircraft of f home stat ion per day.Raptors have been deployed to Ka dena A B, Japan; A ndersen AF B,Guam; and to the United Arab Emirates. The fighters and their pilotshave participated in exercises such as Northern Edge in Alaska,Red Flag in Nevada, and Inv incible Spirit in Korea.

KEEPING THE RAPTORFIT AND FLYING B Y C H R I S M C G E

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“Integration translates into greater e iciency, lowercost, and enhanced responsiveness to the needs o the oper-ators and maintainers in the ield,” Haswell added.

An integrated approach to F-22 sustainment has been validated by a couple o noteworthy accomplishments. heF-22 sustainment team won the prestigious Contractor-Military Collaboration o the Year Award in 2008, given atthe annual industry-government De ense Logistics Con er-ence. he team was also recognized with the Per ormance-

Based Logistics System Level Award in 20 08 given bythe US Department o De ense.

At the heart o F-22 integrated sustainment is theIn tegra ted Mai n tenanceIn ormat ion Sys tem, orIMIS. his is a highly securesystem that integrates theaircra t technical order data,diagnostics health manage-ment, engineering databases,and con iguration manage-ment into a set o mainte-nance tools that streamlinesF-22 maintenance operationsat bases. IMIS also accel-e ra tes the overa l l sor t iegeneration cycle.

IMIS enables maintainersto tailor automated technicalorder data modules based ona speci ic aircra t’s installed

parts and operational light program. he system alsoisolates aults and automates data collection. IMIS is thecomputing system on which integrated F-22 support capa-bilities are hosted and is integrated with air vehicle systemsand other government and industry data systems.

“IMIS integrates the various maintenance aspects o acomplex integrated F-22 into a single system that makesmaintenance more a ordable, simpli ies maintenance tasks,reduces the required experience level o maintainers, and

reduces the quantity o support equipment needed, all in apaperless environment,” said om Curry, Lockheed Martindirector o support products or the F-22 program. “IMIS i s

The F-22 Technical Support Center at theLockheed Martin facility in Marietta, Georgia,operates as a single clearinghouse for supportinformation, works issues for the Raptor eet,and provides near realtime eet status updates.

PHOTO BY SRA GARRETT HOTHAN

17Vol. 25 No. 3 2010

PHOTO BY JOHN ROSSINO


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the critical element needed to per orm aircra t maintenanceand to initiate light operations.”

Sustainment services a re provided to the F-22 leetthrough an Air Force-awarded Per ormance-Based Logis-tics, or PBL, contract and a comprehensive weapons man-agement program called Follow-on Agile Sustainment orthe Raptor, or FAS eR. hrough these contracts, the AirForce receives a highly integrated support system or theF-22 leet that encompasses supply chain management,

modi ications and heavy maintenance, sustaining engi-neering, training, direct ield support to the war ighter,and a seamless low o technical data to the ield via a24/7 technical support center.

he PBL c oncep tshi ts sustainment roman approach oriented toma in t e na n ce t r a n s -ac t i ons t o one t ha t

o c u s e s o n a i r c r a tper ormance. In basicterms, the contractori s a c c o u n t a b l e o rproviding c apabil i tyor availability o theweapon system.

“ he bene it o a PBLapproach to sustainment

or both the Departmento De ense and the AirForce is an integrated,

a ordable per ormance package,” said Gray. “ his approachis designed to optimize system readiness and meet per or-mance goals or the F-22 weapon system through long-termsupport ar rangements with clear lines o authority andresponsibility. Experience has proven the war ighter bene itswith improved operational avai lability and reduced repaircycle time compared to a legacy sustain ment approach.”

he Raptor susta inment support system includes approx-imately 1,000 suppliers in orty- our US states providing

parts and subsystems or the F-22. Lockheed Martin man-ages the workload and is held accountable or per ormanceo F-22 sustainment activ ities at three Air Force air logisticscenters, or depots. hese depots include Ogden ALC in

Salt Lake City, Utah;Oklahoma City ALCi n O k l a h o m a ; a n dWarner Robins ALCin Georgia.

Modi ications a ndheavy maintenance oF-22s are managed bythe Lockheed MartinPalmdale, Ca li ornia,

acility and Ogden ALC.Depot repair o enginesis balanced betweenPratt & Whitney andOklahoma City ALC.Component depot levelrepairs are spread across

PHOTO BY SRA CYNTHIA SPALDING

PHOTO BY MSGT KEVIN GRUENWALD

Lockheed Martin, as original equip ment manufacturer, works closely with the

Air Force to integrate a total life-cycle systems management process to the Raptoreet, enabling the service to mana ge the Raptor effectively over its life span.

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all three centers. Warner Robins ALC has received most othe electrical system workload.

he F-22 echnica l Support Center, or SC, at theLockheed Martin acility in Marietta, Georgia, operates asa single clearinghouse or support in ormation, works issues

or the Raptor leet, and provides near realtime leet statusupdates. he SC o ers technica l and logistics support tooperational and training sites to analyze and solve problemsin the ield. he center is jointly sta ed with members rom

Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Pratt & Whitney and active dutymembers rom the Air Force’s F-22 program o ice atWright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, and Air Combat Commandheadquarters at Langley AFB.

An example o the SC’s troubleshooting role un oldedin early September when the 1st Fighter Wing at Langleyrequested an alternate repair procedure or a Raptor’s le tchine—the ridge above the inlets where the top hal o the

uselage meets the bottom hal . Since the unit was preparingor a possible hurricane evacuation and lacked the cure time

to per orm a permanent repair, it submitted an expeditedaction request.

“ he SC’s low observables technical support engineerand coatings and inishes engineer developed a temporaryrepair that could be applied quickly and would allow theaircra t to evacuate rom the base,” said Marty Fritz, the SCmanager. “We responded with repair procedures orty- ourminutes a ter receiving the request. he repair was completedthat day, and the aircra t was ready or evacuation.”

Colocated with the SC is the Raptor Support eam, orRS , a small group o Air Force and civilian government per-sonnel tasked with managing various F-22 sustainment issues

or the service. Te team works closely with the SC staff tostay in ormed o developments, monitor action requests, provide in ormation to appropriate Air Force units involved inthe F-22, and help ensure the right audiences are involvedin telecon erences to develop solutions to eld issues.

“We are heavily involved in crisis management and tech-nical issues driving telecons,” said Air Force SMSgt. RichBailey, detachment chie or the RS . “We acilitate invita-tions or contractors through our SC counterparts andensure the proper program o ice, major command, sa ety,and ield units are on board.”

Base-level service teams support Raptor operators andmaintainers wherever the F-22 lies. hese teams consist oa site manager, ield service representatives, on-site engineers,mission support administrators, IMIS administrators, asupply liaison, and a training devices team.

As the F-22 continues to mature, the ocus wi ll zero in onurther improving aircra t availability, reducing maintenance

hours, and improving reliability and diagnostics, whileenhancing e iciency and minimizing costs. Program o i-cials seek to urther mature PBL metrics, institutionalizepartnerships, and lower risks. Doing so will optimize aircra tavailability and enhance the F-22’s ability to project air power,deter con lict, and ensure regional and global security.

Chris McGee is the F-22 program communicator forLockheed Martin Aeronautics Company.

PHOTO BY KATSUHIKO TOKUNAGA



19Vol. 25 No. 3 2010


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CATB irdThe F-35 Coopera t ive Avion ics Tes t Bed

The southernmost run station on the

Lockheed Martin side of the runway at

NAS Fort Worth JRB contains an aircraf t

that is one part airliner and one part

a d v a n c e d f i g h t e r . T h i s c u r i o u s

c o m b i n a t i o n i s a B o e i n g 7 3 7 - 3 0 0

tr ansformed into a flying labor atory

for the F-35 program. BY ERIC HEHS

PHOTO BY CARL RICHARDS

PHOTO BY DAVID DRAIS

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22 Code One

between the main 737 wing and the empennage. hese struc-tures contain rear- acing sensors that are part o the elec-tronic war are system as well as part o the F-35 radaraltimeters. Less v isible appendages are two tail cones o the737 engine airings. hese airings contain two more a t-

acing electronic war are sensors.Te ight deck o the 737-300 was lef mostly intact with

the exception o the addition o an electronic ight bag, whichprovides time/space position in ormation to ground users viaa datalink. Te ight bag, a common upgrade or commercial737s, consists o a color moving map that aids navigation anda system that provides satellite weather downloads, lightcharts, manuals, and other les or the pilots.

A large area just behind the cabin is devoted to hardwareracks. A high- idelity F-35 cockpit sits to the right rear sec-tion o these racks. wenty workstations ill the back halo the aircra t. he rear lavatories were removed to makeroom or additional hardware racks and storage. he aircra tretained the orward lavatory and the galley area.

Minimum pilot crew consists o one pilot and oneco-pilot. All our CA Bird pilots are Lockheed MartinAeronautics employees.

he CA Bird engineering team spent a lot o time re iningthe external design additions o the aircra tto ensure that the aircra t retained the stan-dard lying qualities o a commercial airliner.A ter the 737 was modi ied, a short lyingqualities test program was lown in the springo 2007 to validate that the CA Bird retainedthose lying qualities.

he pilots ly with light test engineersinvolved in the development and testi ng othe mission avionics. he crew also has adesignated test direc tor and a test conductoras well as personnel who monitor the networkand instrumentation.

he typical duration or a Mission Sys-tems test l ight is 2.5 hours, with the longestMission Systems lights lasting slightly more

than our hours. Al l three o the our-hour-plus lights were lown on the CA Bird’sAugust 2010 deployment to Edwards AirForce Flight est Center in Cali ornia. heCA Bird has the ability to ly our-hourmissions routinely.

“Te most complex mission systems testingwe per orm involves multiship, air-to-air usionscenarios,” explains says Ron Kolber, lead or

the CA Bird mission systems. “Tese missionsrequire a tremendous amount o coordinationand logistics. Tey are also some o the mostchallenging or the F-35 systems.

“Sensor usion testing is a key advantageCA Bird brings to the table,” continues Kolber.“While the static in rastructure o usion sof-ware can be tested in ground labs, navigationsystems and various sensors require movinginputs to test the usion algorithms.”

CA Bird testing will ollow a block buildupor mission systems so tware through the current System

Development and Demonstration phase o the program,which inishes with Block 3 so tware. Given its unique capa-bility, CA Bird can also unction as an additional static testlaboratory when it is on the ground.

First light o the modi ied a ircra t occurred at MojavAir and Space Port in Mojave, Cali ornia, on 23 January2007. As o August 2010, it has completed more than130 lights, most o which have been in direct support omission systems testing or the F-35.

A majority o the test lights are rom the a ircra t’s hombase in exas. “In addition to Edwards AFB, we have also visited Eglin AFB in Florida,” notes Bruce Patton, light testlead or CA Bird. “At these government ra nges, we cantest the F-35 mission systems against high- idelity threatemitters and various airborne targets. We have also con-ducted low-level radar altimeter and navigation testing inthe mountains near Holloman AFB in New Mexico.”

CA Bird has lown against one and two air adversariesso ar. he targets, both in the air and on the ground,will increase in number and complexity as the so twareblocks progress.

PHOTO BY JOHN WILSON

PHOTO BY CARL RICHARDS


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he F-35 mission systems are maturing at a rapid pace.CA Bird is currently being used to test the Block 1 avionicshardware and so tware. It has success ully demonstratedair-to-air and a ir-to-ground target detection and trackingwith the radar, the electronic war are system, and theelectro-optical targeting system, both independently andcooperatively with sensor usion. It has also demonstratedsynthetic aperture radar mapping, using that capabilitysuccess ully to target Joint Direct Attack Munition and

GBU-12 guided weapons.“Even in these early so tware releases, the F-35 mission

systems avionics have proven to be very capable,” concludesPatton. “ he capabilities we are re ining with CA Bird willprovide the war ighter with a weapon system that is secondto none.”


PHOTO BY JOHN WILSON

A high-delity F-35 cockpit sits to the right rear of the cabin.

“Sensor usion testing is akey advantage CATBirdbrings to the table. Whilethe static in rastructure o

usion sofware can betested in ground labs,

navigation systems and various sensors requiremoving inputs to test the

usion algorithms.” – Ron Kolber, CATBird mission systems lead

PHOTO BY DARIN RUSSELL

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25Vol. 25 No. 3 2010

T he continuing evolution o the F-16 took another steporward in the all o 2009 when a Fighting Falcon wasaerial re ueled rom a probe-and-drogue re ueling system orthe irst time. While all production F-16s are equipped withreceptacles designed or re ueling rom tankers equippedwith lying booms, CARTS, which is short or Con ormalAerial Re ueling Tank System, allows F-16s to be aerial re ueled

rom the more prevalent probe-and-drogue systems.Probe-and-drogue re ueling on the F-16 has been studied or many years. Some

o the previous e orts to install the capability on the F-16 came as the result oOperation Desert Storm in 1991 when many US Air Force KC-135 boom-equippedtankers were retro itted with probe-and-drogue re ueling systems to support air-cra t with re ueling probes. he problem then became that a re itted tanker couldonly support aircra t equipped with re ueling probes and not those withreceptacles. he KC-10 tankers have always had the capability to support bothprobe-and-drogue and boom re ueling systems during a single mission.

he F-16 program investigated ourteen di erent types o re ueling probesduring these early studies. he design choices were based on probe type ( ixed,pivoting, telescoping), mounting location (over-wing, underwing, strake, uselage,external tank), and probe shape (straight, small dogleg, large dogleg). wo designswere light tested on F-16s: a straight probe mounted on top o the wing and a

large dogleg probe mounted on anexternal, underwing, uel tan k. he

light tests, in the early 2000s, werelimited to lying qualities and dry

hookups with a variety o tanker air-cra t. None o the hookups involved theactual trans er o uel rom the tankerto an F-16.

he most likely air orces to incor-porate CAR S into their F-16 leets arethose that operate probe-and-droguetankers a nd that have F-16s equippedto carry con ormal uel tanks. he capa-bility, however, received add itionalimpetus more recently with t he advento the competition or the Indian AirForce Medium Multi-Role CombatAircra t, or MMRCA.

“All contenders or MMRCA had todemonstrate an in light probe-and-drogue re ueling capability,” explainedDon hompson, ADP’s project managerand engineer or CAR S, who is leadingthe current design e ort. “So we tookall the various concepts that had beenstudied previously and chose the most viable one. We then de signed , bu ilt ,tested, and demonstrated the system inless than eighteen months.”

HOW IT WORKS

he most viable candidate was basedon a modi ication to the con ormal ueltank system ound on the most recent ve rsi on s o the F-16. CAR S uses astraight probe that telescopically extendsand retracts rom the orward sec tiono the right-side con ormal uel tank.

he right side was chosen to avoidengineering issues associated with theinternal gun, which is mounted onthe le t side o the aircra t. he mechan-ically dr iven probe quickly moves theprobe’s nozzle to its ully extended posi-tion just in ront o the pilot’s eyeposition. he probe tip location providesthe appropriate clearances between thedrogue basket and air rame.

Incoming uel does not enter the uelr e se rv o i r s w i th in t h e con o rma l

uel tanks directly. Instead, uel lowsdirectly to the F-16 re ueling mani old.

his approach optimizes low rates and

F-16C ONFORMAL

A ERIALR EFUELINGT ANKS YSTEM

BY ERIC HEHS


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26 Code One

pressures. In essence, the aircra t does not know whether it is being re ueled bya probe-and-drogue system or by a lying boom. During re ueling, the F-16 dig-ital light control laws adjust automatically to provide the pilot with optimum

light control response or air re ueling.he system used or the light demonstration in 2009 required a new con ormal

tank str uctura l design and minor modi ications to the Block 60 F-16 used or thetesting. “We replaced the orward section o the right segment o a con ormaltank with a new tank that contained the telescoping probe,” said hompson. “ he

outer mold line o the new tank matched the outer mold line o the ex isting tankto avoid a ecting the aerodynamic per ormance o the aircra t.”Te aircraf required an additional ll port and a control valve or the uel man-

i old as well as some electrical modi ications and a control panel in the cockpit.Lockheed Martin unded the project, which covered the design, procurement,

construction, assembly, testing, and demonstration o two CAR S tanks andthree aircra t modi ication kits. he modi ication o the F-16 plumbing system,exterior lighting, and cockpit control or the demonstration was per ormed inthe United Arab Emirates.

“We needed a test aircraf version o the Block 60 aircraf ,” Tompson said. “Tetest Block 60 aircra t in the US was tied up with avionics modi ication and

integration to support MMRCA ieldtrials, and we needed a dedicated aircraf

or the CAR S portion o the eld trialsdemonstration. We modied the aircrafin the UAE because it was easier andquicker than bringing another Block 60F-16 into the US to modi y and thensend it right back to the UAE on the wayto India or the eld trials.”

D u r i n g t h e l i g h t t e s t i n g a n dMMRCA demonstrations, the CAR S-equipped F-16 success ully received uel

rom both a modi ied DC-10 and anIndian Air Force Ilyushin Il-78 tankeraircra t and made approximately ortyaerial re ueling contacts. he speedenvelope, as tested, is in the range o 250to 300 knots. he pilot lies the probeinto the re ueling basket o the drogue

rom just below at a closing speed o nomore than ten knots.

PRODUCTION VERSION

Te demonstration version o CAR Sis being urther rened or production.“We are modi ying the structure o thecon ormal uel tank by moving the tankbulkheads and designing some new bulk-heads,” Tompson explained. “Te addi-tional strength is needed or the probe/tank inter ace. We are also adding somelightning strike protective measures tothe production design.” Te production version will have an electrical rather thana hydraulic actuation to simpli y t hedesign and eliminate the ex tra demandon the hydraulic system. Te production version will also be compatible with night vision goggles.

he production design is expectedto be inalized in late 2011 and ieldedby 2015.

he overall design and de velop-ment e ort is a collaboration between

our companies rom our nations:Lockheed Martin is responsible oroverall system engineering, integration,aircra t modi ication, and project lead-ership; Hindustan Aeronautics Limitedin India is responsible or CAR S tankdesign and probe integration; CobhamMission Systems in the United Kingdomis responsible or the telescoping uelprobe design and integration; and IsraelAerospace Industries Ltd. in Israel isresponsible or technical consultingassociated with the tank design.


CARTS uses a straight probe that telescopically extends andretracts from the forward section of the right-side conformal fuel tank.



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28 Code One

200/1,500 MilestoneLockheed Martin C-130 program

employees, sporting red shirts asa visible symbol of their supportfor the US armed forces, gatheraround the 200th C-130J SuperHercules to come off the Marietta,Georgia, assembly line after cere-monies on 23 September 2010.

This particular aircraf t, the secondof twenty-one HC-130J CombatKing II personnel recovery aircraffor the US Air Force, is also the1,500th C-130 delivered to theUS government since productionof the Hercules began in 1954.

The first C-130J, the fifth majorHercules production variant, cameoff the assembly line in 1995.

The C-130J is flown by ac tive dutyAir Force, Air National Guard, AForce Reserve Command, CoastGuard, and Marine Corps crews inthe United States.

Lightning IIs For IsraelIsraeli Ministry of Defense Director General Udi Shani signed a Letter

of Offer and Acceptance, or LOA, in New York on 7 October 2010 forhis country’s procurement of approximately twenty F-35A Lightning IIfighters. Israel, which has options for additional aircraft, will be the firstcountry to receive the F-35 through the US government’s Foreign MilitarySales program. The Israeli Lightning IIs will be designated F-35I.

First Production C-5M Delivered The first production C-5M Super Galaxy was redelivered to the

US Air Force in ceremonies at the Lockheed Martin facility in Marietta,Georgia, on 30 September 2010. This aircraft (Air Force serial number83-1258) was the first C-5B to come off the production line in 1985.Modernizing this aircraft took thirteen months. At rate production, theconversion time on future aircraft is expected to be reduced to eightmonths. Under the current C-5M program, a total of forty-nine C-5Bs andtwo C-5Cs will be modernized. Two C-5Bs and one C-5A were brought upto C-5M standard during the Super Galaxy flight test program. A companyflight crew made the 4.1-hour first flight of this aircraft on 19 September.

Vigilant Eagle

An F-22 pilot forms up on a Gulfstream IV executive aircraf t simulatina hijacked airliner over Alaska as part of Exercise Vigilant Eagle, acooperative exercise involving the North American Aerospace DefenseCommand and the Russian Air Force. The exercise scenario, held 8 and9 August 2010, began when the Gulfstream’s simulated airliner crewsignaled to authorities on the ground that the aircraft had been hijacked.

Two F-22s from Elmendorf AFB, Alaska, and an E-3 Sentry AirbornWarning and Control aircraft were scrambled in response and followedthe aircraft across the Pacific before handing it off to Russian fighters inRussian airspace. On the second day, the mission was flown in reversewith Su-27 fighters handing the target off to F-22s near Alaska.

PHOTO BY DAMIEN GUARNIERI

PHOTO BY MAJ. MIKE HUMPHREYS


PHOTO BY DAVID DRAIS


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29Vol. 25 No. 3 2010

Pakistan Airlift Wraps Up Two US Air Force C-130 Hercules crews conducted the last fixed-

wing aircraft missions to deliver flood relief supplies in Pakistan on3 October 2010, flying humanitarian supplies from Chaklala AB toSkardu Airport in northern Pakistan. The fixed-wing relief missions,which began at the end of July, concluded after the Pakistan govern-ment informed the US government that military airlift was no longerrequired. However, both in-country relief flights by US military heli-copter crews and US Air Force contingency response element aid dis-tribution operations at Chaklala AB continue. US military personneland aircraft working with the Pakistan military delivered more than14.5 million pounds of relief supplies and evacuated more than 21,000people in flood-affected areas during the airlift.

Antarctic RescueA Royal New Zealand Air Force P-3K Orion crew rescued a seriously ill member of the US Antarctic

program on 14 September 2010. A medevac mission during the Antarctic winter months is a rare event andis carried out only when weather conditions permit. The temperature was minus 31 degrees Fahrenheiton the ice when the crew landed at Pegasus Field at McMurdo Station. The mission took the better par t ofthe day. The evacuee, who was not identified, was taken to a hospital in Christchurch and was listed instable condition after the flight. An earlier rescue attempt was aborted after blizzard conditions werereported at McMurdo. The P-3K crew was from 5 Squadron at RNZAF Whenuapai, near Auckland.

4K Falcon PilotLt. Col. Douglas Schaare,

assigned to the 55th Expedi-tionary Fighter Squadron at

Joint Base Balad, Iraq, loggedhis 4,000th flight hour in theF-16 Fighting Falcon during aclose air support sortie overIraq on 1 August. He is thethirty-fourth pilot to reachthe 4,000 flight hour mark inan F-16. Schaare is assignedto Shaw AFB, South Carolina,and is currently serving hissecond deployment to Balad.He is a native of Orlando,Florida, and a 1988 graduateof the US Air Force Academy.Of the pilots to reach that mile-stone, three have been deployedto Balad: Col. Gary Middle-brooks, Col. Robert McCutchen,and Col. David A. Lujan.

Switzerland To Florida To SpaceA joint active duty Air Force and Air Force Reserve Command C-5M

Super Galaxy crew from Dover AFB, Delaware, delivered the 8.3 tonAlpha Magnetic Spectrometer, or AMS, from Geneva to the KennedySpace Center in Florida on 26 August 2010. The AMS, which will belaunched to orbit next year on the last space shuttle mission, willbe docked to the International Space Station to collect evidence ofantimatter, dark matter, and other cosmic phenomena over the nexttwo decades. A team of international physicists from the EuropeanOrganization for Nuclear Research, or as it is better known, CERN, inSwitzerland, specifically requested the C-5M to transport the AMS toFlorida. Prior to arriving in Geneva, the aircrew had dropped supplies off

in Afghanistan and in Iraq.

PHOTO BY SSGT. ANDY KIN

PHOTO BY SRA MATT COLEMAN-FOSTER

PHOTO BY SSGT. RYAN CRANE


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Active Duty Raptor Unit At Hickam

The 19th Fighter Squadron came home to Joint Base, or JB, Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, during a realignment and assumption of commandceremony on 4 October 2010. The 19th FS, previously located at JBElmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, will be the first active duty associate unit tofly the F-22 Raptor. The 19th FS, known as the Gamecocks, was originallyformed in 1917 and was stationed at several locations in the HawaiianIslands beginning in the 1920s. The FS suffered six casualties during theattack on Oahu by Imperial Japanese forces on 7 December 1941, but hadno fatalities. The 19th FS and the 199th FS, the Hawaii Air National Guardhost unit, will jointly operate twenty F-22s at Hickam.

Top Guard Fighter Unit The 114th Fighter Wing, the South

Dakota Air National Guard unit at SiouxFalls, was named the 2010 recipient ofthe National Guard Bureau’s Winston P.Wilson Award on 23 September 2010.

This award marks the fourth time the114th FW has claimed the trophy. Itwas previously presented to the unit in1981, 1983, and 2007. The award isnamed for Maj. Gen. Winston P. Wilson,the chief of the National Guard Bureaufrom 1963 to 1971. It is presentedannually to the most outstandingAir National Guard fighter unit in thenation. The wing was also recentlyselected to convert from the Block 30F-16 Fighting Falcon, which it has flownsince 1992, to the Block 40 F-16.

Orion The HunterAn aviation ordnance team assigned to the Mad Foxes of Patrol

Squadron 5 (VP-5) load a CATM-84K Harpoon captive-carry trainingmissile on to the wing station of a US Navy P-3C Orion at NAS

Jacksonville, Florida, on 31 August 2010. The exercise was part of aconventional weapons proficiency inspection to prepare the unit for anupcoming three-site, six-month deployment.

PHOTO BY DAVID D. UNDERWOOD, JR.

Super Hercules In South AfricaA C-130J from the 143rd Airlift Wing, the Rhode Island Air Nationa

Guard unit based at Quonset Point, was one of the main attractions atthe biennial Africa Aerospace and Defence exposition held 21–25 Sep-tember 2010 at AFB Ysterplaat near Cape Town, South Africa. The RhodeIsland Guardsmen, along with seventy members of the New York Armyand Air National Guards, participated in the show. A C-5 crew from the

105th AW, the New York Guard unit at Stewart ANGB, delivered an ArmNational Guard OH-58 Kiowa Scout helicopter and a New York ANHH-60 Pave Hawk rescue helicopter to the show. The New York NationaGuard participates in a State Partnership Program with the South AfricanNational Defence Force.

PHOTO BY MCS2 JASON R. WILSON

PHOTO BY FRANS DELY

PHOTO BY MSGT. NANCY J. AUSLAND


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Compass Call Relocates The last EC-130H assigned to the

386th Air Expeditionary Wing departedfrom an undisclosed base in South-west Asia on 29 August 2010 andrelocated to another base in USCentral Command area of operations,

capping six and one-half years ofoperation in which Compass Callcrews flew 23,000 flight hours on3,300 combat sorties in direct sup-port of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Themove was part of the drawdown offorces and completion of combatoperations in Iraq on 31 August. Theaircraft and approximately thirtypersonnel are deployed from Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona. The EC-130HCompass Call aircraft is a speciallyconfigured version of the C-130 thatfeatures electronic countermeasuresand specialized communications

jamming equipment.

5K In Combat TalonsLt. Col. Robert Starnes, a navigator with the 15th Special Operations Squadron at Hurlburt Field, Florida,

passed the 5,000 flight hour mark on the MC-130H Combat Talon II special operations transport during atraining mission on 27 September 2010. This milestone is believed to be the all-time record for flight hourson a Talon II. Starnes noted he set his sights on breaking the record ten years ago. His most memorableflights came during the Tsunami relief effort in Thailand and Banda Aceh, Indonesia, in 2004 when crewswere flying sixteen to eighteen hours each day. After a twenty-three year career, Starnes will retire inDecember. He is shown right of Lt. Col. Patrick Wolfe, the 15th SOS commander.

Full-Rate Production For C-5M

The Air Force awarded Lockheed Mar tin a $162.9 million contract on19 October 2010 that will move the C-5 Reliability Enhancement andRe-engining Program, or RERP, modification effor t into full-rate produc-tion. The contract calls for advanced procurement of materials and com-ponents for the eleven aircraft to be modified in RERP Lot 5. Installationis scheduled to begin on those aircraft in late 2012. The Air Force alsoawarded a $115.6 million contract modification that covers installationof the C-5M modification kits in the existing Lot 3 low-rate initial produc-tion contract. A total of fift y-two C-5s (forty-nine C-5Bs, two C-5Cs, andone C-5A) are scheduled to undergo the RERP modification. Four of theupgraded C-5Ms have been redelivered so far.

STRATCOM Commander Flies HighGen. Kevin Chilton, the commander of US Strategic Command (left),

poses for a post-flight photo with a 9th St rategic Reconnaissance WingU-2 instructor pilot and members of the 9th Aircraft MaintenanceSquadron after his flight in a U-2 Dragon Lady dual-seat trainer atBeale AFB, California, on 11 September 2010. Chilton was a guestspeaker at a reunion at Beale of U-2 pilots, maintainers, and supportstaff. In addition to reviewing U-2 operations, Chilton received anoverview of RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned, high altitude reconnaissanceplatform operations. “The U-2 and Global Hawk continue to make sig-nificant contributions today in forward operating areas, such asUS Central Command, and provide surge capability to support com-batant commanders around the world,” noted Chilton.

PHOTO BY SRA LAURA TURNER

PHOTO BY SRA SHEILA DEVERA



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Head ’Em Up, Move ’Em OutA large-scale formation of twenty-six C-130s took off from Little Roc

AFB, Arkansas, on 18 October 2010, to take part in a Joint Readiness Training Center exercise with the US Army. The C-130 crews flew to Aleandria International Airport in Alexandria, Louisiana, to pick up approximately 1,700 Army paratroopers and several tons of cargo that werelater airdropped at the Joint Readiness Center ranges at nearby FortPolk. The C-130s were joined by five C-17s for a total mass formation ofthirty-one transport aircraft. Twenty-one of the twenty-six C-130s flowin the exercise are based at Little Rock. The C-130 fleet consisted of acombination of C-130E, H, and J-models.

September InAfghanistan

The 772nd ExpeditionaryAirlift Squadron at KandaharAirfield, Afghanistan, flewnearly ninety missions in Sep-tember 2010, which resultedin approximately 300 C-130Jsorties. The missions generallylast from twelve to sixteenhours and include cargo move-ment, aeromedical evacua-tions, and airdrops that caninvolve transition through asmany as five or six differentairfields. The unit moved morethan two million pounds ofcargo and 3,261 passengersand completed nine airdropmissions in the month. The41st Airlift Squadron at LittleRock AFB, Arkansas, forms the772nd EAS and has provided

aircraft and personnel forOperation Enduring Freedomsince March 2009.

F135 Completes Thermal Testing

The thermal test program for the Pratt & Whitney F135 propulsionsystem for short takeoff/vertical landing, or STOVL variant, of the F-35Lightning II was successfully completed in mid October. The purpose ofthis test is to demonstrate design margin at the most extreme operatingconditions the propulsion system might encounter. The high temperaturemargin test that took place at Arnold Engineering Development Centerat Arnold AFB, Tennessee, involved intentionally running the engine toturbine temperatures beyond design conditions while simultaneouslyoperating the turbomachinery at or above 100 percent of design condi-tions. The test also demonstrated the ability of the F135 propulsionsystem to produce margin relative to thrust. The test engine producedtwenty-eight percent more thrust than the specification requirement.

Falcon Air MeetFalcon Air Meet 2010 kicked off at Azraq AB, Jordan, on 18 October

2010. The two-week exercise brings military forces from Jordan, theUnited Arab Emirates, Pakistan, and the US Air Force and US Navytogether to share doctrine and procedures, strengthen relationships, andimprove regional security. A friendly competition that includes basicfighter maneuvers, air combat training, and other large force employ-ment missions is a highlight of the exercise. More than 250 US militarymembers are involved in the exercise. The US aircraft contingent includedsix F-16s, one B-52 bomber, one KC-10 tanker, and six Navy F/A-18fighters and one E-2 airborne warning and control aircraft. They were

joined by F-16 pilots from Jordan, UAE, and Pakistan.

Raptors Return From The Pacific The 27th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron from Langley AFB, Virginia,

and the 7th EFS from Holloman AFB, New Mexico, returned to their respec-tive homes in early October after deploying to the western Pacific for fourmonths. This marked the first deployment for the 27th EFS to AndersenAFB, Guam, and the first F-22 deployment for the 7th EFS. The 7th EFS,known as the Screamin’ Demons, were stationed at Okinawa, Japan. Bothunits deployed twelve aircraft as part of a Pacific Theater Security Packageto ensure regional stability. While deployed, the 27th EFS participatedin Exercise Coral Mustang, a separate training operation-within-an-operation involving the forward deployment of eight F-22s, ninetypersonnel, and minimal spares from an already deployed location.

PHOTO BY SSGT. CHRIS WILLIS

PHOTO BY SSGT. ERIC HARRISPHOTO BY TSGT. CHAD CHISHOLM

PRATT & WHITNEY PHOTO

PHOTO BY CAPT. ADRIENNE STAHL


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NATO Tiger Meet 2010 The 2010 NATO Tiger Meet was

hosted by 313 Squadron, the RoyalNetherlands Air Force F-16 unitbased at Volkel AB. This markedthe first time the yearly gathering ofair squadrons with the tiger mascotwas hosted by 313 Squadron.During the eight-day flying meet,715 missions were planned, with644 missions actually flown.Despite reduced attendancebecause of budget constraints oroperational commitments, morethan fifty aircraft were involved,including F-16s, Mirage 2000, JAS-39s, Tornados, and Saab 105s, aswell as Hind and AB212 helicop-ters. The Hellenic Air Force and thePolish Air Force sent observersfrom their F-16 tiger squadrons andhave committed to participate inthe full flying exercise next year.

New Raptor Coming Up The lates t F-22 Raptor to come off the Lockheed Mar tin assembly line

in Marietta, Georgia, was delivered to Langley AFB, Virginia, on26 October 2010. This aircraft (Air Force serial number 09-4168) is thefifteenth F-22 delivered to the US Air Force in 2010 and is the eighty-eighth consecutive F-22 delivered on or ahead of schedule. The C-130Haircraft on the adjacent Dobbins ARB ramp belong to the 94th AirliftWing, an Air Force Reserve Command unit.

New British Defense Strategy

The British government announced a new defense strategy on 19October 2010 in a white paper released in Parliament titled SecuringBritain in an Age of Uncertainty: The Strategic Defence and SecurityReview . The paper details how the country’s armed forces will bereshaped in the coming years to face emerging and future threats.Among the expected changes, the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy willnow operate only the F-35C, the carrier variant of the Lightning II, insteadof the planned purchase of the F-35B short takeoff/vertical landing

variant. With replacement aircraft entering RAF serv ice this decade, the TriStar tanker f leet will be retired after 2013, and the C-130 flee t couldbe retired around 2020, a decade earlier than originally planned.

Remains Of Airmen IdentifiedOfficials from the US Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office announced on 27 October 2010

that the remains of two Airmen missing in action from World War II had been identified: Army Air ForcesSSgts. Claude A. Ray of Coffeyville, Kansas, and Claude G. Tyler of Landover, Maryland. The two Airmenwere part of a twelve-man crew in a B-24D Liberator that took off from an airfield near Port Moresby,New Guinea, on 27 October 1943, and never returned. After receiving location information, a team from the

Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command was able to recover the remains in 2007. The Armed Forces DNAIdentification Laboratory used mitochondrial DNA to positively identify Ray and Tyler.

PHOTO BY TODD R. MCQUEEN

PHOTO BY FRANK CRÉBAS AND ERICK COECKELBERGHS


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