U.S. Marines with Combat Logistics Battalion (CLB) 3 and Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron (VMM) 363 team up during a helicopter support team (HST) exercise at Landing Zone Westfield, Marine Corps Air Station Kaneohe Bay, Sept 20, 2018. The HST exercise provides training to landing support specialists with CLB-3 and VMM-363 pilots more proficient in the insertion and extraction of objects in restrictive terrain.
KANEOHE BAY, HI, UNITED STATES
09.19.2018
Video by Cpl. Brendan Custer
USAFE working with the Polish Air Force during the NATO One Sky Exercise.
SFK, UNITED KINGDOM
09.19.2018
Video by Airman 1st Class Alexandria Lee
Crew members aboard USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) conduct maintenance on U.S Navy EA-18G Growlers during exercise Valiant Shield 18, Sept. 19, 2018. Valiant Shield is a biennial, U.S. only, field training exercise with a focus on integration of joint training among U.S. forces.
GUAM
09.19.2018
Video by Staff Sgt. Emili Koonce
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the SAOCOM 1A satellite launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. at 7:21 p.m. PDT.
SpaceX completed the secondary mission of landing the first stage of the Falcon 9 rocket at Landing Zone 4, which was previously called SLC-4W, at Vandenberg AFB.
This was SpaceX’s first land landing attempt at Vandenberg AFB.
VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, CA, UNITED STATES
10.07.2018
Video by Senior Airman Latonya Kim
30th Space Wing Public Affairs
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carried an Argentinian Earth-observation satellite into space Sunday and for the first time landed a first-stage booster back at its California launch site.
The primary purpose of the mission was to place the SAOCOM 1A satellite into orbit, but SpaceX also wanted to expand its recovery of first stages to its launch site at Vandenberg Air Force Base, about 130 miles (209 kilometers) northwest of Los Angeles.
SpaceX had previously flown first-stage rockets back to land after Florida launches but had not done so on the West Coast.
The Air Force last week advised residents on the central California coast they might see multiple engine burns by the first stage and hear one or more sonic booms as it returned.
SpaceX also has successfully landed Falcon 9 first stages on so-called drone ships off the coasts of Florida and California, all as part of its effort to decrease the cost of space launches by reusing rockets rather than allowing them to fall into the ocean.
The satellite is the first of two for Argentina’s space agency, Comision Nacional de Actividades Espaciales, and will work in conjunction with a constellation of Italian space agency satellites. Its name is short for Satelite Argentino de Observacion Con Microondas.
SAOCOM 1A carries a high-resolution instrument called a synthetic aperature radar that will be used for emergency management during disasters and for land monitoring. The second satellite will be SAOCOM 1B.
https://phys.org/news/2018-10-rocket-argentinian-satellite-successfully.html#jCp
Sailors from Electronic Attack Squadron 138 (VAQ-138) perform post-flight operations for a U.S Navy EA-18G Growler as part of exercise Valiant Shield 18, on Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, Sept. 23, 2018.
Valiant Shield is a biennial, U.S. only, field training exercise with a focus on integration of joint training among U.S. forces.
GUAM
09.23.2018
Video by Staff Sgt. Emili Koonce
Held biennially, Exercise KAKADU is a joint exercise hosted by the Royal Australian Navy and supported by the Royal Australian Air Force.
In 2018 it included 23 ships, 21 aircraft, a submarine and more than 3,000 personnel from 27 nations, and delivered a range of activities both ashore in Darwin and at sea. The aim of Exercise KAKADU is to generate active and effective security and humanitarian partnerships, with all nations emerging from the coming weeks more capable, united and focused on safeguarding the region.
Australian Department of Defence
9/13/18
A U.S. Air Force B-52 Stratofortress, U.S. Navy P-8A Poseidon, and a U.S. Air Force E-8 Joint STARS take off from Anderson Air Force Base, Guam to participate in exercise Valiant Shield Sept. 17, 2018.
Valiant Shield is a U.S.-only, biennial field training exercise (FTX) with a focus on integration of joint training among U.S. forces in relation to current operational plans. This training enables real-world proficiency in sustaining joint forces through detecting, locating, tracking and engaging units at sea, in the air, on land, and in cyberspace in response to a range of mission areas
09.17.2018
EIELSON AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska
RED FLAG-Alaska 19-1, a realistic training exercise of simulated combat, is scheduled to begin Oct. 4 and continue through Oct. 18, 2018.
Throughout RF-A 19-1, international partners from the Republic of Korea Air Force and the Finnish Air Force will experience what RF-A has to offer. This will be the first time the Finnish Air Force is participating in the exercise.
“RF-A provides relevant, realistic and integrated combat training for U.S. Air Force and joint international partners in a controlled training environment,” said Lt. Col. John Anderson, the 353rd Combat Training Squadron commander. “Our participants learn how to integrate their unique capabilities to solve twenty-first century problems alongside the U.S. Air Force and U.S. sister services.”
RF-A is designed to train pilots and aircrews in simulated combat situations, and requires the support of Airmen stationed here.
“Airpower is more than just airplanes and pilots,” said Anderson. “That first line of effort is with the wing itself. The 354th Fighter Wing team offers the care and feeding of all of her participants. Without that you cannot generate that amount of airpower.”
RF-A is a unique training experience for many reasons, but one of the most unique features is the Joint Pacific Alaska Range Complex (JPARC) which is the Department of Defense’s largest training venue in the nation.
“The JPARC is unrivaled and having that amount of airspace really allows us to get as creative as possible when it comes to designing our scenarios and execution,” said Capt. Daniel Thompson, RF-A 19-1 team chief.
The video shows U. S. Marines with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 232 performing maintenance checks on an F/A-18C Hornet during Red Flag-Alaska (RF-A) 19-1 on Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, October 5, 2018.
EIELSON AIR FORCE BASE, AK, UNITED STATES
10.05.2018
Video by Sgt. Charnelle Smith