Tankers Practice Rapid Launch

Posted on | by Caroline Teames
11/15/2014

11/15/2014: KC-135 Stratotankers from the 92nd and 141st Air Refueling Wings line up in preparation for take-off during an operational readiness exercise at Fairchild Air Force Base, Wash., Aug. 22, 2014.

The Wing Inspection Team-planned exercise allowed the Total Force Integration units to test and evaluate their capabilities providing responsive aerial refueling and operational support for the full range of military missions worldwide.

A KC-135 Stratotanker takes flight during an operational readiness exercise at Fairchild Air Force Base, Wash., Aug. 22, 2014.

During the exercise, the main goal was to evaluate readiness and to generate aircrew and aircraft, ensuring the base’s preparedness for various potential emergency scenarios.

Credit:92d Air Refueling Wing:8/22/14

Joint Training at Fallon Naval Air Station: F-16s Arrive for Duty

Posted on | by Caroline Teames
11/14/2014

11/14/2014: As we learned during our visit to the Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center, air wing integration training includes working with the joint forces.

As the Admiral Scott Conn noted: “We participate in some of the planning for joint exercises. We participate in those exercises as well. Our EA-18G Growlers are often requested to support exercises in Nellis. We need to make sure that folks understand the capabilities of the air wing as well as the Carrier Strike Group.

During our Maritime Employment course, a good portion of the attendees come from various U.S Air Force units. As another example of Joint integration is that the next air wing will be supported by Air National Guard F-16s from the East Coast.”

http://sldinfo.wpstage.net/training-for-the-extended-battlespace-an-interview-with-rear-admiral-scott-conn-commander-naval-strike-and-air-warfare-center/

In these photos Swamp Fox Airmen from the 169th Fighter Wing and South Carolina Air National Guard are deployed to NAS Fallon to support Naval Carrier Air Wing One with pre-deployment fighter jet training, integrating the F-16’s suppression of enemy air defenses (SEAD) capabilities with U.S. Navy fighter pilots.

 

Credit: 169th Fighter Wing:11/12/14

 

British Tornadoes Leave Afghanistan

Posted on | by Caroline Teames
11/13/2014

11/13/2014: British Royal Air Force Tornadoes have taken off for the last time in Afghanistan. 31 Squadron is heading home after doing four tours in-country in recent years.

According to a piece published November 11, 2014 in The Telegraph:

Britain’s RAF’s Tornado GR4 jets have flown their final missions in Afghanistan and are heading back to the UK after five years of operations in the country.

Jets from 31 Squadron flew out of Kandahar airfield early on Tuesday morning and are heading back to their base at RAF Marham via Cyprus.

Their withdrawal marks another milestone in the rapid pull out of British combat forces from Afghanistan where they have been fighting to prop up the Afghan government since 2001. British troops left their main base in Helmand province ten days ago and all combat forces will have left the country by the end of the year.

The Tornado ground attack jets have flown surveillance missions and air strikes since they took over from RAF Harriers in June 2009.

Commanders hope the withdrawal from Afghanistan will now free up RAF resources which have been stretched by the new air campaign against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil).

Eight Tornados from II Squadron have been flying reconnaissance and bombing missions over northern Iraq for more than two months. RAF sources said there were no plans to increase the number of planes flying missions against Isil from RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus to fly over Iraq, but 31 Squadron was likely to be posted there to take over duties against Isil sometime next year.

Air Chf Mshl Sir Andrew Pulford, Chief of the Air Staff, said: “The Tornado force contribution to this operation over the last 5 years has undoubtedly saved lives and should rightly be celebrated.

“Nevertheless, our operational focus and that of the Tornado force must now turn to Iraq where, as in Afghanistan, we will continue to support our allies.”

31 Squadron was first deployed to Afghanistan nearly a century ago, when it fought in the third Afghan War in 1919.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/defence/11223852/RAF-Tornados-leave-Afghanistan-for-last-time.html

Credit: Natochannel:11/11/14

HMH-462 Conducts External Lift Training

Posted on | by Caroline Teames
11/10/2014

11/10/2014:A CH-53E Super Stallion with Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron (HMH) 462 begins to lift an 8,000 pound simulated cargo item during an external cargo lift exercise aboard Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Calif., Aug. 21.

The squadron conducted the training with the help of a Helicopter Support Team with Combat Logistics Regiment 17.

Credit: Marine Corps Air Station Miramar / 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing:8/21/14

  • In the second photo, a CH-53E Super Stallion with Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron (HMH) 462 hovers over a Helicopter Support Team waiting for the team to attach simulated cargo during an external cargo lift training aboard Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Calif., Aug. 21.The Marines moved 120,000 pounds of simulated cargo during the exercise.
  • In the third photo, a Helicopter Support Team with Combat Logistics Regiment 17 waits for a CH-53E Super Stallion with Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron (HMH) 462 to drop off simulated cargo during HST training aboard Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Calif., Aug. 21. The team attached the cargo 15 times, moving a total of 120,000 pounds during the exercise.
  • In the final photo, a Helicopter Support Team with Combat Logistics Regiment 17 prepares an 8,000 pound simulated cargo item for an external lift with Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron (HMH) 462 aboard Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Calif., Aug. 21. The training helped the Marines experience the effects of the aircraft while trying to attach the cargo.

 

 

Commemoration of the Second Battle of Fallujah, Operation AL FAJR

Posted on | by Caroline Teames
11/08/2014

11/08/2014: The Marines and Sailors of 1st Marine Division commemorated the 10-year anniversary of the Second Battle of Fallujah, Operation AL FAJR, by hosting a ceremony at Camp Pendleton.

The ceremony honored all service members who participated in the historic battle, and reunited veterans from private to general officer in a day of commemoration. Retired Lt. Gen. Richard Natonski, commander of the 1st Marine Division during the battle, was the guest of honor.

Credit:1 Marine Expeditionary Force:11/7/14

Urban close air support (CAS) successfully employed in Fallujah in 2004 highlights the capability of Marine Corps-style command and control (C2) of aviation.

The CAS plan was built on Marine Corps C2 basics—procedural control and unity of command, which were enhanced with a common map or grid reference graphic (GRG).

This maximized the fantastic capability of aviation precision weapons and targeting technology, and in the case of Fallujah, made fixed-wing CAS an appropriate option for supporting fires, underscoring the utility and need for tactical aviation (TacAir) in the Marine Corps.

The main assault into Fallujah in November 2004 (Operation PHANTOM FURY/AL FAJR) commenced when eight GBU–31s, 2,000-pound joint direct attack munitions (JDAMs), dropped by Marine Fighter/Attack (All-Weather) Squadron 242 F/A–18Ds, smashed into a railroad-topped berm bordering Fallujah’s north side.

The bombs created breaching lanes for Marines of the 3d Battalion, 1st Marines to exploit later that day. In the follow-on battle, as the Marines, soldiers, and coalition troops fought door to door throughout the city, supporting fires were perpetual, a cacophony of precisely delivered destruction.

Air strikes came continuously and in harmony with other fires; most were “danger-close” and rapidly sequenced.[1]  One battalion air officer remarked:

“I tell you what, for like three weeks, it felt like nothing but a continuous faucet, a continuous fire hose of airplanes. I never knew a time in November when I had a TIC [troops in contact] when I didn’t get an airplane within about a minute”.[2]

Although sporadic fighting continued for weeks after, it took about 10 days for the main resistance to be squelched in Fallujah.

The high-tempo penetrating attack envisioned by Marine commanders was realized. It had been substantially facilitated by CAS.

The Fallujah operation was daunting. Any type of urban CAS qualifies as one of the most complex and demanding tasks known to modern warfare. In Fallujah the additional challenge of a counterinsurgency environment existed, thus the need to minimize collateral damage and win hearts and minds, something not achievable if a city is razed by aerial attacks under the glare of a ubiquitous media.

Also, it was a joint fight, both on the ground and in the air. Ground and aviation units from other Services and nations participated.

Finally there was the blue tracking problem.

There were lots of good guys fighting in Fallujah—ten battalions worth crammed into a five-kilometer square city composed of look-alike and densely packed, low-slung, brown/gray brick buildings.

For more from the above analysis of the Battle of Fallujah and lessons learned see the following:

 https://sldinfo.com/lessons-learned-corner-the-usmc-approach-to-close-air-support-in-fallujah-part-one/

 https://sldinfo.com/lessons-learned-the-usmc-approach-to-close-air-support-in-fallujah-part-two/

 https://sldinfo.com/fallujah-iii/

 

 

Simultaneous Target Acquisition and Destruction Missile Defense Test

Posted on | by Caroline Teames

11/08/2014: The Missile Defense Agency, U.S. Pacific Command, and U.S. Navy Sailors aboard the USS John Paul Jones (DDG 53) successfully conducted a flight test of the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) system, resulting in three successful near-simultaneous target engagements over the Pacific Ocean by the Aegis Baseline (BL) 9.C1 (BMD 5.0 Capability Upgrade) Weapon System configured ship.

11/6/14

November 6, 2014 MDA Press Release:

The Missile Defense Agency, U.S. Pacific Command, and U.S. Navy Sailors aboard the USS John Paul Jones (DDG 53) successfully conducted a flight test today of the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) system, resulting in three successful near-simultaneous target engagements over the Pacific Ocean by the Aegis Baseline (BL) 9.C1 (BMD 5.0 Capability Upgrade) Weapon System configured ship.

One short-range ballistic missile target was intercepted by a Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) Block IB guided missile, while two low-flying cruise missile targets were engaged by Standard Missile-2 (SM-2) Block IIIA guided missiles near-simultaneously. 

 At approximately 12:03 p.m. one short-range ballistic missile target and two cruise missile targets were launched from the Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF) on Kauai, Hawaii.

Following the target launches, the USS John Paul Jones, in Integrated Air and Missile Defense (IAMD) Radar Priority Mode, detected and tracked the missiles with its onboard AN/SPY-1 radar. 

The ship, equipped with the Aegis BMD weapon system, developed a fire control solution and launched one SM-3 Block IB guided missile to engage the ballistic missile target.

The SM-3 missile maneuvered to a point in space and released its kinetic warhead.

The kinetic warhead acquired the target’s reentry vehicle, diverted into its path, and destroyed the target with the sheer energy and force of direct impact.

The ship also launched two SM-2 Block IIIA guided missiles to successfully engage the cruise missile targets.

Program officials will evaluate system performance based upon telemetry and other data obtained during the test. 

This test, designated Flight Test Standard Missile-25 (FTM-25), was the first live-fire event of the Aegis Weapon System in IAMD Radar Priority Mode, engaging a ballistic missile target and a raid of cruise missile targets.

Other test participants included discriminating sensors flown on two MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicles and sensor systems ashore, Command and Control, Battle Management, and Communications (C2BMC) Enterprise Sensors Lab, C2BMC Experimentation Lab, and the Aegis Ashore Missile Defense Test Complex located at PMRF.

FTM-25 marks the 29th successful intercept in 35 flight test attempts for the Aegis BMD program since flight-testing began in 2002.

Across all Ballistic Missile Defense System programs, this is the 66th successful hit-to-kill intercept in 82 flight test attempts since 2001.

The MDA will use test results to improve and enhance the Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS) and support the advancement of Phase 2 of the Phased Adaptive Approach for missile defense in Europe to provide protection of U.S. deployed forces and our European allies and partners.

 

Joint High Speed Vessel in Bold Alligator 2014

Posted on | by Caroline Teames
11/07/2014

11/06/2014: In a USN story written by by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Steve Hill, Expeditionary Combat Camera and published on 11/5/14:

CHARLESTON, S.C. (NNS) — Spearhead-class joint high speed vessel USNS Choctaw County (JHSV 2) is conducting proof-of-concept testing during Exercise

Bold Alligator 2014 as an afloat forward staging base style platform.

Bold Alligator 2014 is underway in multiple states and along the Eastern Seaboard.

In addition to 18 other U.S. Navy and coalition ships, one of the Navy’s newest platforms is getting an opportunity to test itself.

“That includes the communications portion, launching of small boats and also helicopter operations,” said Choctaw County’s Chief’s Mate Patrick Mullaney. “This shows us what we’re able to do as a crew.”

In the last week, Choctaw County hosted members of Special Boat Team 20 (SBT 20) and critical skills operators from U.S. Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command to conduct scenario training.

Mullaney said these scenarios give the ship’s crew an opportunity to accurately represent what the vessel is capable of.

“These aren’t missions that are unrealistic,” said Mullaney. “It’s very much something that these ships are going to be doing in the future. So for them to come aboard and do real-world scenarios and real-world training, it is beneficial to everyone.”

Choctaw County brings many different capabilities to an already durable and powerful fleet.

“The on-station maneuverability and overall speed is fantastic, especially when compared to cargo vessels out there, or even amphibious ships,” said Mullaney.

In addition to reaching maximum speeds of 35-45 knots, Choctaw County is equipped with an expansive flight deck, a load ramp capable of supporting 100 tons of weight and a 20,000 square-foot mission bay.

“The mission bay is also set up more for modular components,” said Mullaney.

“You can fit and fill anything you want in there. The ship was designed to be a ferry boat style vessel – to move, roll on and roll off cargo. However, there are concepts out there to make humanitarian type mission sets for hospitals, disaster relief, things like that. The possibilities for what the ship can do are really endless.”

Mullaney said Choctaw County is proving itself to be a very versatile and capable ship with great possibilities.

“It has potential, but along with potential come the limitations of the vessel,” said Mullaney. “There are communications limitations, as well as sea-states limitations, for launch and recovery of small boats.”

Despite these challenges, the ship and crew continue to learn from both achievements and setbacks.

“It’s really not going to be known whether or not the ship can do all these things well until you try them out,” said Mullaney.

“You need to try them in different sea states, different scenarios and different ports. It’s really a trial and error type situation. That’s exactly what exercises like this are designed to do.”

Bold Alligator 2014 is intended to improve Navy and Marine Corps amphibious core competencies.

Working with coalition, NATO, allied, and partner nations is a necessary investment in the current and future readiness of our forces. The exercise is scheduled to conclude Nov. 10.

 http://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=84273

Credit:Expeditionary Combat Camera:11/5/14

  • In the first photo, the joint high-speed vessel USNS Choctaw County (JHSV 2) transits the Atlantic Inner Coastal Waterway in route to conduct training exercises off the coast of North Carolina during Bold Alligator 2014.
  • In the second through fifth photos, the joint high-speed vessel USNS Choctaw County (JHSV 2) departs Morehead City, N.C., to conduct training exercises off the coast of North Carolina during Bold Alligator 2014.
  • In the sixth photo, a 34-foot patrol boat, assigned to Coastal Riverine Squadron 4, escorts the joint high-speed vessel USNS Choctaw County (JHSV 2) through the Atlantic Inner Coastal Waterway during Bold Alligator 2014.
  • In the final photo, two 34-foot patrol boats assigned to Coastal Riverine Squadron 4 provide security around the joint high-speed vessel USNS Choctaw County (JHSV 2), as it prepares to depart Morehead City, N.C., to conduct training exercises off the coast of North Carolina during Bold Alligator 2014.

 

 

 

Bold Alligator 2014: Long Range Raid to Support Embassy Under Seige

Posted on | by Caroline Teames

11/07/2014: Bold Alligator 2014 is a crisis response exercise and continues the work of BA 2012 and BA 2013.

It is about calibrating insertion forces against various threats. 

The forces are American and coalition with several nations contributing ships, and combat personnel to both the planning and execution of the missions.

The exercise involves working with an evolving C2 capability to manage forces operating throughout key objective areas.

The presence of the Osprey allows the US and its allies to operate against longer range objective areas as well as other objective areas reachable by rotorcraft and reinforced by landing forces.

In this video, the tiltrotar enabled SP-MAGTF deploys from North Carolina to India at Muscatatuck Urban Training Center on November 3, 2014 representing the long-range arm of the exercise.

Credit:Camp Atterbury Public Affairs:11/3/14