U.S. Air Force’s Newest Fighter Completes First Exercise

Sur le même sujet

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  2 octobre 2019 | International, Aérospatial

  Air Mobility Command exercise tests ability to operate in degraded combat environments

  By: Diana Stancy Correll Operating in austere conditions, beyond well-defended bases, is likely in the event of a conflict with a near-peer adversary like Russia or China, according to Air Force leaders. As a result, the service has increasingly focused on its ability to operate in degraded combat environments the past several years. The biennial Mobility Guardian exercise now underway in Washington state is testing mobility aircraft's readiness to conduct their missions in such contested environments. For Air Mobility Command's largest readiness exercise, more than 4,000 U.S. and troops, including members of the Air Force, Army, Navy and Marine Corps are now at Fairchild Air Force Base in Spokane and other Western locations to train for airlift, air refueling, aeromedical evacuation and global air mobility support. The exercise is also designed to sharpen participants' abilities to conduct forcible entry, airfield seizure, strategic deterrence and humanitarian relief operations, according to the service. As just one example of the kind of training going on, airmen from the 92nd Logistics Readiness Squadron employed a Fuels Operational Readiness Capability Equipment system, marking the first time the mobile fuel bladders have been used stateside in an uncontested environment. “We use the FORCE to help sustain bare bases and allow for fuel distribution anywhere around the world at a moment's notice,” said Master Sgt. Daniel Rey, 92nd LRS fuels information service center section chief. “The bladder can hold up to 50,000 gallons of fuel, which can help service a wide range of friendly aircraft.” Meanwhile, at Moses Lake, about 100 miles southwest of Fairchild, airmen from the 621st Contingency Response Wing provided tactical operations center support during a first-of-its-kind Ability to Survive and Operate scenario Sept. 16, according to an Air Force news release. In the scenario, aircrew from Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom aboard a KC-135 Stratotanker reported chemical contamination while performing an aeromedical evacuation. The Contingency Response Team at the TOC coordinated ground decontamination support and received the aircraft. “We provided command and control coverage, access to ramp space and a location to set up a decontamination line for aircrew flight equipment,” said Master Sgt. Jeremiah Ibarra, 321st CRT chief, in the release. “From the tactical operations center we coordinated with the air operations center to get AFE the equipment and supplies they needed.” CRTs deploy to locations that don't have established air support, and deploy forces that can open and operate an airfield. “We set up airfields and ramps, communicate aircraft landing, parking, maintenance, refueling and fleet service,” Ibarra said. “To my knowledge this is the biggest CRT operation that has ever happened.” The CRT is training alongside the 515th Air Mobility Operations Wing, Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii, and the 521st AMOW, Ramstein Air Base, Germany, at Moses Lake to demonstrate the capability to operate as an integrated team. “To have the CRT embedded with us here isn't something that we do often, but it has been super beneficial.” said Capt. Jennifer Krutka, officer in-charge of Moses Lake, in the news release. “It has truly been a team effort. We have port airmen learning how to do maintenance and maintenance personnel learning port duties. One of Gen. [Maryanne] Miller's initiatives was to be more versatile airman, and we are doing that here.” Miller, the head of Air Mobility Command, stressed the significance of the exercise as it related to the 2018 National Defense Strategy at the Air Force Association's Air, Space Cyber conference last week. “It is imperative that we outpace our adversaries and best position the mobility air forces to defeat the threats of tomorrow,” Miller said. She also said the exercises align with the command's evolution over the past year into a “warfighting component command” that streamlines the mobility of forces through direct coordinating authority. “The world has changed and through our transformation efforts, AMC has adapted to meet the growing requirements and accelerated global demands,” Miller said. “As a more agile organization, we have increased our ability to fully leverage the full complement of our mobility resources.” The Air Force says another element of the exercise is fostering relationships with allies. There are nearly 30 international partners participating in the exercise this year. “The future of warfare will be increasingly joint,” Lt. Col. Joseph Monaco, director of Mobility Guardian, said in an Air Force news release Sept. 9. “This exercise is an unparalleled opportunity to develop joint-minded airmen who can integrate seamlessly with soldiers, sailors and Marines to compete and if necessary, win amidst great power adversaries.” The exercise, which kicked off Sept. 8 and concludes Sept. 28, employs aircraft including the KC-10 Extender, KC-135 Stratotanker, C-5 Super Galaxy, C-17 Globemaster III and C-130H/J Hercules and Super Hercules. Of the 4,000 service members, 2,500 are from AMC. https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/your-air-force/2019/09/25/air-mobility-command-exercise-tests-ability-to-operate-in-degraded-combat-environments

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  19 mars 2024 | International, Terrestre

  Pacific force’s wish list seeks $11 billion more than defense proposal

  Indo-Pacific Command says it faces an $11 billion funding gap for regional military construction, space programs, munitions and Guam missile defenses.

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  15 août 2019 | International, Aérospatial

  Maintainers Maintain Mission Readiness

  By Airman 1st Class Adriana Barrientos Fighter jets and heavies can rule the skies, but they need to get there first. It takes strict attention to detail from aircraft maintainers to service aircraft in order to launch them to the battlefield. Airmen from the 703rd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron identified and fixed a misplaced spoiler control rod on the E-3 Sentry during a Home Station Check at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, June 3, 2019. Aircraft maintainers play a huge role when it comes to mission readiness. After all, they are responsible for the upkeep of aircraft that fly through the skies. It's imperative for these Airmen to be meticulous, confident and disciplined in order to carry out their mission— inspect aircraft and troubleshoot problems. The 703rd AMXS supports JBER's worldwide contingency and maintenance operations for the 3rd Wing, 11th Air Force, and the North American Aerospace Defense Command. They are responsible for the C-17 Globemaster III, E-3 Sentry, and C-130 Hercules. Crew chiefs assigned to the 703rd AMXS are assigned to either the 962nd or the 517th Aircraft Maintenance Units. One type of aircraft maintained by the 962nd AMU is the E-3 Sentry. As an airborne warning and control system or AWACS aircraft, it performs an essential mission, distinguishing between friendly and enemy activity. It also provides airborne command and control in addition to conducting all-altitude, all-weather surveillance. “I come to work and figure out what the flying and maintenance schedule is for the day,” said U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. John Hays, 962nd AMU crew chief lead for two E-3B/C aircraft. “On a typical day, we launch one of the jets for a four to six-hour sortie and recover the jet towards the end of the shift. Once the jet lands, the other crew chiefs and I will perform a post-flight inspection and fix anything we find.” As a crew chief, Hays performs visual inspections of the entire structure of the aircraft. These include calendar inspections, which serve to provide constant observation of all components of the aircraft to ensure reliability. It was June 3rd when an issue with the jet's spoiler rod was identified during an in-depth calendar inspection, known as a Home Station Checks. “Calendar inspections vary, but a really important one is the Home Station Check that is completed every 180 days,” said U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Brandon Solomons, 962nd AMU crew chief. “One of the biggest things we look for during these inspections is irregular rubbing of moving components. During our mid-shift, Senior Airman Eric Goodholm noticed one of the rods was pushed up against another component in the wing called the flap track gearbox.” In this case, it was the spoiler control rod, which was not damaged but could have potentially caused a major problem during the flight. “A spoiler control rod basically helps lift the spoiler— a vital flight control surface that allows the jet to turn in flight, as well as a brake or slow down the jet during approach and landing,” said Solomon. “The pushrod is not supposed to rub on the gearbox, so myself and our production superintendent performed further investigations,” said Hays. “I identified that the two outboard spoilers follow up pushrods were connected incorrectly to the idler arm, therefore causing the pushrod to rub on the gearbox.” The total time to fix the issue was a combined eight hours, to include an operation check. “I led the fix of the malfunction along with Staff Sgt. Solomons,” said Hays. “We disconnected and reconnected the pushrods to the idler arm correctly, which provided the proper clearance from the gearbox.” These kinds of calendar inspections allow maintainers to identify defects before malfunctions cause serious danger or harm to the aircraft or personnel. In any case, a setback with the aircraft is a setback to the mission. “After ensuring the rod wasn't damaged, we got in touch with Tinker Air Force Base, and they found the same problem on three of their jets,” said Solomons. “This discovery drove a Time Change Technical Order, implemented to prevent flight binding across the fleet.” Time Change Technical Orders, or periodic updates to aircraft that authorize the modification of a system, were pushed to keep the operational tempo on track. As an air defense system, E-3s can detect, identify and track airborne enemy forces far from the boundaries of the United States or NATO countries. It can direct fighter-interceptor aircraft to these enemy targets. Thus being a vital component to the mission in day to day operations. “Something like this could have been easily overlooked, but Senior Airman Goodholm is very thorough and paid great attention to detail,” said Solomons. After the team made modifications and the pushrods were properly connected, a rig check was performed to verify if the spoilers were in the proper configuration. “I can say Senior Airman Goodholm, Staff Sgt. Hays and I contributed by identifying and planning a course of action to fix this issue, but it was an effort as an AMU that fixed the discrepancy,” said Solomons. “With the unit's team effort and strong leadership the problem was identified, fixed and the jet was able to go and perform the mission again.” General maintenance actions and inspections by not only the 703rd AMXS, but all maintainers require attention to detail day in and day out. The lives of the crew and mission success depend on it. https://www.jber.jb.mil/News/News-Articles/Article/1933112/maintainers-maintain-mission-readiness/source/GovD/