07/16/2015: Second Line of Defense visited the 33rd Fighter Wing prior to any Academic Training Center (ATC) being built, let alone functioning.
The video produced by the 33rd Fighter Wing shows the ATC operating today and several of the activities conducted at the ATC.
The students in the classroom and on their laptops can pursue training as well, including via simulations, also seen in the video.
The video concludes with a look at how the mockup provides a good venue for maintenance training as well.
Credit Video: 33rd Fighter Wing/Public Affairs:7/14/15
The outside shots at the beginning of the video shows the center as it is today; in an earlier visit we talked with Col. Tomassetti about standing up the center in 2010.
https://www.sldinfo.com/an-update-on-the-eglin-f-35-training-facility/
The approach was highlighted in that 2010 interview:
SLD: The core advantage of integration is crucial to the program and to the savings inherent in co-located training facilities.
Colonel Tomassetti: Right and there is so much potential that comes from integration that’s more than just saving money.
It’s the potential interaction of students at this early level in their career with this new weapon system and all of the ideas that can come from that.
For organizations that are going to go fight jointly wherever we go, why on earth would we not choose to start the training process off with a joint and coalition setup.
We will look for new opportunities to get cross-service interaction.
We will look for new opportunities to get some cross-service buy-in and we start small; and we can find one thing that commonality allows us to do with this airplane that legacy airplanes, as an example, wouldn’t allow us to do.
Then we can argue “Hey, would you all be in agreement if we did this very small thing the same way?” and you start with something small and people agree, yes, and then you can build on that foundation.
As we have communicated to anyone who will listen, we believe that interoperability could start here at Eglin.
Take advantage of the weapon system commonality and adopt best practices available to us.
The interoperability that we want on the battlefield of tomorrow or in the disaster relief response of tomorrow, that interoperability could begin here with integrated F-35 training.
The interoperability that we want on the battlefield of tomorrow or in the disaster relief response of tomorrow, that interoperability could begin here with integrated F-35 training.
Weapons training is facilitated by the F-35 functioning “mock-ups: this also allows for hands on maintenance training as well, including stealth repair training.
https://www.sldinfo.com/f-35-weapons-loading-training-at-eglin-afb/
For a look at the visit of Secretary Wynne, to the 33rd FW and to the ATC, see the following:
https://www.sldinfo.com/visiting-the-33rd-fighter-wing-an-overview-and-update-on-the-f-35-program/
We were able to get an update on low observable maintenance of the F-35, which is the first industrial based LO aircraft built to date.
The LO maintainers emphasized that the heritage experience of the USAF from legacy platforms was being leveraged and improvements were then being proliferated to the services new to LO maintenance, the USMC and the USN.
They also emphasized the considerably greater robustness of the LO system on the F-35 compared to the F-22, and prior systems.
https://www.sldinfo.com/an-update-on-f-35-low-observable-maintenance-at-the-33rd-fighter-wing/
The way ahead as seen in the Fall of 2010:
As noted by Col.Tomassetti in 2010:
That is how true interoperability needs to start.
We have a weapons system available to us that has enough commonality to enable joint operations.
We have a Training center in development at Eglin AFB that can capitalize on that commonality and build strong foundations for Joint operations.
Taking advantage of what is available to us with the F-35 weapon system can and will move us closer towards true interoperability for Joint and Coalition operations.
And for a look at the day in the life of the ATC as seen in 2012 see the following: