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2015-11-08 As an Italian pilot put with regard to his experience with the F-35.
Question: When we spent time with the Brits and the Marines, we learned that they flew each other’s aircraft, and you did the same by flying USAF and Aussie F-35s.
Could you explain how unusual this is at this phase of your training?
Answer: What you mention is one of the key points of this program.
Starting from training to tomorrow’s operations, we are learning from the ground up.
Shaping common TTPs is crucial to shaping an integrated approach.
We are training on the same basis from the ground up.
This is the very first combat aircraft program which has this capability built into.
We have come to Sheppard to train with the USAF, but it is done on a trainer, and we do not share TTPs as we are doing with the F-35.
We start with the shared TTPs and then go from there.
The first class of future F-35 piloting instructors from Norway and Italy began their training Sept. 21 here at Luke.
The pilots, from countries partnered with the United States in the procurement of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, will learn how to operate the advanced aircraft under the instruction of American pilots from the 56th Training Squadron.
“We are proud and excited to begin this next phase of F-35 training at Luke Air Force Base with Italy and Norway joining Australia as our partner nations, training at Luke alongside Americans to become the world’s greatest F-35 pilots,” said Lt. Col. Michael W. Dunn, commander of the 56th Training Squadron.
With the advanced facilities offered by the 56th TRS, the students will learn advanced flight techniques, piloting skills, and safety in classrooms filled with high-tech simulators and presentation equipment.
The first class of Norwegian and Italian F-35 pilot instructors began training at Luke Air Force Base, Sept. 21, 2015. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Ridge Shan)
While the 56th TRS will handle the pilots’ academic development, the 62nd Fighter Squadron will oversee the pilots’ administrative needs and take over instruction once the pilots enter the cockpit of an actual F-35 for the first time.
“We will train instructors that will be stationed here at Luke on a 3 year basis, and then we will send pilots through a transition program,” said Lt. Col. Martin Tesli, instructor at the 62nd Fighter squadron. “Norway will also send maintenance personnel through Luke for some training on the F-35 starting next year.”
When these pilots return home, they will be equipped and prepared to help develop the training programs of their own Air Forces and will help pioneer the next generation of global F-35 pilots.
“We recognize the important strategic role Luke has in forging relationships that will bind our nations as strategic partners with a common mission of securing peace and settling any future conflicts that challenge this peace,” Dunn said.
“What happens here at Luke is the most important event in the Royal Norwegian Air Force right now. You are building the future of our Air Force!” said Major General Per-Egil Rygg, Chief of Staff of the Royal Norwegian Air Force.
2015-11-02 F-35 test pilot Maj Charles “Flak” Trickey fires the first aerial gun test burst of the GAU-22/A 25mm gun from F-35A aircraft AF-2.
The video shows the aerial gun test, which will provide operational F-35A pilots the ability to engage air-to-ground or air-to-air weapon targets, in addition to beyond visual range air-to-air missiles and precision-guided air-to-ground weapons.
(Credit: Chad Bellay, Edwards F-35 Integrated Test Force)
The F-35A Lightning II completed the first three airborne gunfire bursts from its internal Gun Airborne Unit (GAU)-22/A 25mm Gatling gun system during a California test flight, Oct. 30.
This milestone was the first in a series of test flights to functionally evaluate the in-flight operation of the F-35A’s internal 25mm gun throughout its employment envelope.
AF-2 First Aerial Gun Fire 10/30/2015. Pilot Maj Charles Trickey, Flt 527 Test 778. Test was conducted over China Lake Weapon Range, California.
Three bursts of one 30 rounds and two 60 rounds each were fired from the aircraft’s four-barrel, 25-millimeter Gatling gun.
In integrating the weapon into the stealthy F35A airframe, the gun must be kept hidden behind closed doors to reduce its radar cross section until the trigger is pulled.
F-35A test aircraft AF-2, a loads-instrumented jet, underwent an extensive structural modification at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. to a fully production representative internal gun configuration.
The first phase of test execution consisted of 13 ground gunfire events over the course of three months to verify the integration of the gun into the F-35A.
Once verified, the team was cleared to begin this second phase of testing, with the goal of evaluating the gun’s performance and integration with the airframe during airborne gunfire in various flight conditions and aircraft configurations.
“The successful aerial gun test sortie was a culmination of several years’ planning, which intensified in the first half of 2015 at the Edwards F-35 Integrated Test Force (ITF) Flight Test Squadron with a team of Air Force, Lockheed Martin, Pratt & Whitney, General Dynamics, and Northrop Grumman personnel,“ said Mike Glass, EdwardsITF flight test director.
“The results of this testing will be used in future blocks of testing, where the accuracy and mission effectiveness capabilities will be evaluated.”
The 25mm gun is embedded in the F-35A’s left wing and is designed to be integrated in a way to maintain the F-35’s very low observable criteria.
It will provide pilots with the ability to engage air-to-ground and air-to-air targets.
The first phase of F-35 gun testing started in June, when initial shots were fired from the ground at the Edwards Air Force Flight Test Center’s gun harmonizing range.
The gun system will be further tested with a production F-35A next year for integration with the jet’s full mission systems capabilities.
The test team will demonstrate the gun’s effectiveness in both air-to-air and air-to-ground employment when integrated with the next generation fighter’s sensor fusion software, which will provide targeting information to the pilot through the helmet mounted display.
At the end of the program’s system development and demonstration phase in 2017, the F-35 will have an operational gun.
More than 160 production F-35s have been delivered and the aircraft have flown more than 42,700 flight hours, fleet-wide.
Fifty years ago, 1965, in Bancroft Hall at the United States Naval Academy, Plebes (freshmen) were required when making a very loud announcement to a gathering of fellow Midshipman to began with the alert-“attention world, attention world.”
It was a time when some of those who had fought WWII in the great “Big Blue Blanket” war winning con-ops were still in uniform, several of the Navy Pilots who were featured in the great work “the Bridges of Toko-Ri” were still in uniform, and Vietnam Yankee and Dixie station Carriers were beginning to fight that war.
From Plebe to Four Star Admirals, all in the United States Navy and Marine Corps were constantly engaged and challenged in understanding and mastering the dynamic nature of war at sea and the role of Navy/Marine power projection from across the beach. In those days sailors still in uniform wearing the Dolphins of the “silent service,” the Navy Submarine Community, would proudly point out that with the loss of 52 subs “still on patrol” they actually sunk over 50% of the tonnage of the Imperial Japanese Navy in WWII.
In WWII the Fleet Carriers captured in a famous picture “murders row” carried the fight to the enemy and victory.
It was costly in ships and crews lost.
In the Korean War and Vietnam War, the carriers could operate close to the battlefield and the fight was aggressively pursued by the pilots.
Desert Storm, shorter in duration, again had the luxury of Carriers essentially operating with total sea dominance.
Since those 20th Century combat engagements,everything has changed and nothing has changed.
The US Navy’s Nimitz Class and soon to be Ford Class aircraft Carriers, the most complex and demanding engineering accomplishment ever built in the history of the world, are still a significant and necessary critical component of America’s national security.
The combat function of a carrier designed and crewed to go into battle in any ocean from the Arctic, to the Equator, to the Antarctic is still essential, that has not changed.
The ability at all ranks of the fighting Navy to understand the strengths and weakness of their weapons and train train, train has not changed.
The combat imperative to understand how to fight with all the “ships at sea” in air enabled combat has not changed.
Carriers both large Nimitz/Ford and the smaller ones USS America and others in the Navy/Marine Amphibious forces, along with surface combatants and submarines engaging against a determined well equipped reactive enemy has not changed.
The teaming of the fighting Navy with a fighting Air Force has not changed and understanding how to build fighting alliances with other nations military has not changed.
What has changed is profound.
Because of historic advances in communications coupled with the power of computer, a combat learning 21st Century way of war is now with all combat forces in the world.
How the most senior leaders capture and exploit this dynamic ever evolving revolution is the key to victory in combat.
Dynamic combat learning empowered by a sensor information processing command and control technological imperative is now the key to victory.
It is the melding of a computer-human interface that can make a huge difference if understood and employed correctly.
In the cockpit the F-35 “z-axis” a revolution in air combat can start from the cockpit out.
But as the F-35 is a catalyst for this 21st Century way of war from cockpit out, other combat systems are synergistically connected from the commanders at all levels of the fight.
From legacy aircraft such as F/A-18 to E-2s, Aegis, and other fleet elements, combat commanders at all levels need to learn how to accept and use the information presented to fight, adjust, fight, adjust and win.
The commanders have to practice over and over to evolve a much broader scope of understanding and direction in this 21st Century information world.
It is a 21st Century challenge to understand the dynamic learning from a computer-human interface while also recognizing it is the goal of a reactive enemy to attempt to destroy not only individual platforms, sink ships and subs and shoot down aircraft, but wreck the very synapses of all things command and control.
Information assurance with redundancy and reliability is critical but also the ability to act independently as systems are degraded to fight and win cannot be forgotten in all training exercises.
The enemy always gets a vote but so does the United States Navy.
The decade ahead is not a repeat of the past 15 years; it is not about a continuation of the land-centric and counter-insurgency slow motion war.
It is about global agility, the ability to insert force to achieve discrete and defined objectives, and to maneuver in the extended battlespace to work with allies and joint forces to credibly prevail in the range of military conflict across the range of military operational situations.
For the power projection forces –USN/ USMC, USAF with appropriate elements of the US Army, especially Air Defense Artillery – it is about the capability to work across an extended battlespace with flexible means which can be linked together as necessary to prevail in the military and strategic conditions facing the US and its allies in the period ahead.
It is about building capabilities at the high end, which have the flexibility to operate through the range of military operations or ROMO.
It is about powerful and flexible force packages which can operate and dominate in specific military situations but be linked to other capabilities to provide the kind of reachback and dominance which effective deterrence requires.
By leveraging some of the new platforms coming online and replacing older, costly, and stove-piped platforms and systems, a new scalable force structure can be built. And at the heart of doing so will be the inclusion of allies and U.S. forces within a modular scalable structure.
The strategy is founded on having platform presence. By deploying assets such as USCG assets— for example, the national Security Cutter, USN surface platforms, Aegis, or other surface assets— by deploying subservice assets, and by having bases forward deployed, the United States has core assets that if networked together and end a stovepiped acquisition strategy of platforms bought separately from one another can make significant gains in capability possible. Scalability is the crucial glue to make a honeycomb force possible…..
Two other key elements are basing and weaponization. Basing becomes transformed as allied and U.S. capabilities become blended into a scalable presence and engagement capability. Presence is rooted in basing; scalability is inherently doable because of C5ISR enablement, deployed decision-making, and honeycomb robustness.
The reach from Japan to South Korea to Singapore to Australia is about how allies are reshaping their forces and working toward greater reach and capabilities. For example, by shaping a defense strategy that is not simply a modern variant of Seitzkreig in South Korea and Japan, more mobile assets allow states in the region to reach out, back, and up to craft coalition capabilities.
The approach we have suggested is built around “no platform fights alone,” whereby we look at key platforms as nodes in a honeycomb force which can act with effective lethality throughout an extended battlespace.
Those platforms which can operate in an interconnected manner are the crucial ones to build, deploy and sustain in the period ahead, versus those which are very limited in their capability to provide synergy to joint or coalition forces in the battlespace.
This means as well that force packages need to be examined, less in and of themselves terms, than in terms of their synergy and capabilities in shaping dominant combat power in the interconnected battlespace.
Although seemingly obvious, as the current Deputy Chief of Staff of the Royal Australian Air Force, Air Vice Marshal McDonald, puts it: Even with the blindingly obvious, sometimes you have to be quite innovative to make that blinding obvious come into an executable outcome.
The large-deck aircraft carrier is a clear case in point.
The USS Ford will not be simply a continuation of the Nimitz class carrier, but even the upgraded Nimitz class carriers under the influence of the dynamics of change in their airwing, as well as they systems with which they will connect at sea or in the air or over land will change their contribution as well to an integrated fighting force.
These studies suggest dispensing with the current air wing and building instead specialized longer-range unmanned and manned assets where range is the critical variable for the aircraft flying FROM the carrier.
Leaving aside the small fact that PowerPoint airplanes only kill the audience listening to the brief, the modernization plans of the US Navy are the baseline from which combat capabilities will be generated from the carrier decks.
And the recent Russian actions have clearly shown the limits of current unmanned technology to operate in contestable airspace.
Totally ignored is the question of the reach of the aircraft in the networked battle space.
And the Navy is focusing on building out the capabilities of a multi-mission and multi-tasking air wing of networked capabilities to shape the reach of the carrier into the battlespace.
No platform fights alone.
An Air Force B-2 bomber along with other aircrafts from the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps fly over the Kitty Hawk, Ronald Reagan and Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike groups during the photo portion of Exercise Valiant Shield 2006. Valiant Shield focuses on integrated joint training among U.S. military forces, enabling real-world proficiency in sustaining joint forces and in detecting, locating, tracking and engaging units at sea, in the air, on land and cyberspace in response to a range of mission areas. Credit: Headquarters USMC, 6/18/06
And the real meaning of what the carrier will contribute is not suggested simply by an analysis of what the aircraft carrier can organically do on its own; it is really a question of how the modernization of the air wing alters the capability of the carrier as a highly maneuverable strike asset and shapes convergence and synergy with other elements in the offensive-defensive strike enterprise.
It is the offensive-defensive strike enterprise which is the focus of change whereby key combat elements shape capabilities across an expanded battlespace to rip apart adversary strategies to claim anti-access and area denial capabilities, which a diversified, distributed warfighting force can take apart and destroy.
This is what former Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne calls the attack and defense enterprise. The strategic thrust of integrating modern systems is to create a grid that can operate in an area as a seamless whole, able to strike or defend simultaneously.
This is enabled by the evolution of C5ISR (Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Combat Systems, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance), and it is why Wynne has underscored for more than a decade that fifth generation aircraft are not merely replacements for existing tactical systems but a whole new approach to integrating defense and offense.
By shaping a C5ISR system inextricably intertwined with platforms and assets, which can honeycomb an area of operation, an attack and defense enterprise can operate to deter aggressors and adversaries or to conduct successful military operations.
Inherent in such an enterprise is scalability and reach-back. By deploying the C5ISR honeycomb, the shooters in the enterprise can reach back to each other to enable the entire grid of operation, for either defense or offense.
The modernization of the large deck carrier is seeing several new developments emerge which reshapes its ability to provide synergy across the battlespace.
The new carriers – the USS Ford or the British Carrier the Queen Elizabeth – bring new command capabilities and operational infrastructure which enhance their contributions to other combat capabilities in the battlespace.
The coming of the F-35 puts on the carrier deck a core capability to operate at the edge of the carrier’s battlespace and can reach deep into the operational networks which support each cell of a honeycombed force.
The legacy assets will be modernized under the influence of synergy opportunities as well as fifth generation warfare dynamics to work more effectively in expanding the capabilities of a synergistic joint or coalition force.
Currently, the Super Hornets operating with the new Hawkeye are beginning to demonstrate the expanded reach of the carrier by delivering off boarding weapons capabilities, whereby one asset can direct the fire of another.
The ability to reach back to the carrier or to land-based air changes the meaning of the amphibious force and its impact for presence or as the initial insertion force for an engagement.
As the carrier air wing is being modernized, the USAF is undergoing transformation as well which expands the reach of their operational force.
As General “Hawk” Carlisle recently commented about the strategic direction of the modernization of airpower, the growing impact of the F-22 was really about the overall transformation of warfare, not simply adding new platforms.
It is important to look at the impact of the F-22 operations on the total force. We do not wish, nor do the allies wish to send aircraft into a contested area, without the presence of the F-22.
It’s not just that the F-22s are so good, it’s that they make every other plane better. They change the dynamic with respect to what the other airplanes are able to do because of what they can do with regard to speed, range, and flexibility.
It’s their stealth quality. It’s their sensor fusion. It’s their deep penetration capability. It is the situational awareness they provide for the entire fleet which raises the level of the entire combat fleet to make everybody better.”
The shift is to a new way of operating.
And allies adding new air capabilities with an ability to share information over an integrated and expanded battlespace is crucial as well.
The emergence of a global F-35 fleet is a key contributor as well to U.S. and allied capabilities in reaching deeper into the battlespace.
The Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group and the Indian Navy’s Western Fleet sail in formation in front of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan during a passing exercise. The PASSEX symbolized the completion of the exercise, which was designed to increase cooperation between the Indian and U.S. Navies while enhancing the cooperative security relationship between India and the U.S. Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group is on a routine deployment in the 7th Fleet area of responsibility. Operating in the Western Pacific and Indian Ocean, the U.S. 7th Fleet is the largest of the forward-deployed U.S. fleets covering 52 million square miles, with approximately 50 ships, 120 aircraft and 20,000 Sailors and Marines assigned at any given time.
And the capability of the large deck carrier to empower that integration with an increase in distributed lethality is a key element of the combat synergy to operate in the expanded battlespace and to prevail.
The carrier provides a very flexible, and mobile strike and defense asset capable with its evolving airwing to work more effectively with a joint and coalition force to deliver greater synergy.
It is really not a question of building the wrong airwing; it is about understanding how the evolution of the airwing and the large deck carrier intersect with the evolution and transformation of joint and coalition capabilities to prevail in the expanded battlespace to deliver combat synergy for a resilient honeycombed force.
As Vice Admiral Aquilino, the PACFLEET’s Director of Maritime Operations and now Deputy Chief of Naval Operations, Plans and Strategy (N3/N5) put it in an interview in Hawaii earlier this year:
“We need to have the ability to operate where it matters and when it matters. And we can do that.”
He followed the lead of the CNO who emphasizes that if one fights the high end fight, one can adapt to the other challenges; but the reverse is not necessarily true.
We discussed distributed lethality and the evolving US Navy’s joint and coalition approach to deploying diversified and distributed capabilities which can when combined in coordinated concepts of operations deliver what is needed in the area of interest.
“What I think is meant by distributed lethality is an ability to have an agile and diversified force operating over an extended battlespace but with an ability to concentrate force against the crucial tasks, targets and goals to execute an effective strategy.”
Vice Admiral Aquilino sees the carrier as a key part of distributed lethality not just for the sea services but also for the joint and coalition forces.
When asked what technologies are coming to the Pacific which we enable PACFLEET to achieve this strategy more effectively, he quickly focused on the coming of the F-35 to the fleet and to the region.
“I mentioned earlier that our task is clearly that we need to have the ability to operate where it matters and when it matters.
The F-35 will enhance our ability to do so.
Although I am a naval aviator, I am not speaking as one when I make this point about the new aircraft.
It is a force multiplier and enhancer not just a new combat aircraft. It clearly will enhance or air-to-air and air-to-ground capabilities, but it as a deployed and integrated sensor aircraft it extends our reach and expands our flexibility and agility.”
He focused on the F-35’s role organically with PACFLEET (on carriers and on amphibious ships) but also in terms of being able to draw from the sensor stream of a deployed USAF as well as allied force of F-35s.
“The integration of the sensor grid is a crucial and evolving capability which will be expanded as the F-35 enters the Pacific.”
As we put in our book on the evolution of Pacific strategy:
“In World War II, the USN shaped what became called the big blue blanket of ships to cover the Pacific operations. Obviously, this is beyond the ken of current realities, but shaping a connected set of U.S. and allied forces able to work together to shape defense and security in the Pacific is not.”
The Admiral clearly had a similar thought in mind in our discussion.
So much for building the wrong airwing; the question really is to put the modernization of the airwing within a broader context of shaping U.S. joint forces and those of the coalition to fight effectively in the integrated and extended battlespace.
It is not about carriers fighting on their own in the South China Sea with a mythical robotic airwing; it is about real carriers flying real airplanes and participating in the shift in war fighting capabilities and approaches along with the relevant joint force and those of our allies to prevail in the real world conflicts already upon us.
During my visit to Europe in October 2015, I had the chance to visit with senior RAF officers and to discuss RAF operations as well as the double transition with Typhoon modernization as well as the introduction of the F-35.
For the RAF, it is really a triple transition as the new Queen Elizabeth carriers will be the complimentary platform to the F-35B.
And as Group Captain Ian Townsend, a key officer involved in working the F-35 introduction into service for the RAF, who is also an experienced
Typhoon pilot put it with regard to the Queen Elizabeth and F-35 transition:
As an airman, I like anything that enhances my ability to deliver air power, and the ship certainly does that.
The ship has been tailor-made from first principles to deliver F-35 operational output.
The ship is part of the F35 air system.
I think this is the key change to where we were in Joint Force Harrier where the ship was really just a delivery vehicle.
The ship was just a runway.
The Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers are much more than that.
They are right at the heart of the air system’s capability fundamentally enabling and supporting what the air vehicle is doing three, or four, or five hundred miles away from the ship.
And that wasn’t quite the same in Joint Force Harrier with the Invincible Class CVS carriers.
So it’s very different for us.
Everyone involved in embarked F-35 operations needs to understand what the air vehicle is going off to do because everybody on the ship is much closer to that end delivery of effect.
This is a very different concept of operations from 15 years ago.
In a follow up interview with Group Captain Paul Godfrey, the predecessor of Townsend and about to become the air boss of RAF Lossiemouth and of three Typhoon squadrons and one Tornado squadron along with 11th Squadron Commander Matt Peterson at RAF Conigbsy, there was a chance to discuss RAF operations as well as evolving concepts of operations as the Eurofighter evolves and the F-35 introduced into the RAF.
RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire is the Royal Air Force’s Southern Typhoon Main Operating Base (MOB), home to two front line, combat ready squadrons – 3(Fighter) Squadron and XI Squadron, the Typhoon OCU, 29 (Reserve) Squadron, and 41 (Reserve) Test & Evaluation Squadron, which comprises both Typhoon and Tornado elements.
Coningsby is also one of two Quick Reaction Alert locations to deal with all threats to British air space whether they are potential terrorists or resurgent Russians.
And indeed, this activity has ramped up significantly in the past few years, consuming resources and focusing the attention of the RAF on this core task.
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XI Squadron will be involved in an exercise at Langley Air Force Base later this year with Rafales and F-22s, which is a further step in the direction of working the evolving concept of operations for fifth generation enabled air combat operations.
And Group Captain Godfrey is the first F-35 transition officer commanding an RAF Typhoon base and clearly will be looking at ways to shape the transitional dynamics.
Question: The RAF has had to focus more on British airspace protection with both the terrorist threat and the upsurge in Russian airspace activity impacting on the UK.
What role has the Quick Reaction Alert force played in this process?
Answer: At RAF Coningsby, we are more focused on the terrorist threat whereas at RAF Lossiemouth we focus more on the Russian activities.
But the demand on resources is significant. Everything at each base, from equipment, to logistics to training is focused on maintaining the alert posture and ensuring we are ready 24/7.
The aircraft and pilots on QRA are only the tip of the pyramid of activity to ensure success in such an important mission.
Group Captain Paul Godfrey addressing the Copenhagen Airpower Symposium, April 17, 2015. Credit: SLD
Question: With regard to the Russians, what have they been doing in terms of flying into areas surrounding the UK?
Answer: Russian aircraft haven’t entered UK airspace, but have been escorted by RAF aircraft in international airspace within the UK’s area of interest.
We’ve seen a wide range of Long Range Aviation aircraft, including Tu-95 Bears, Tu-22 Backfires and Tu-165 Blackjacks, with the different variants of Bear being most common.
In the past couple of years, Russian activity has increased and we have therefore adapted our operating procedures to ensure that we can deal with the various Russian aircraft and their activities once inside the UK’s area of interest.
Question: There is a level of activity we have not seen since the Cold War; but the pilots who flew those missions are not doing them now.
Do you think the Russian pilots today actually understand the rules of the old game or are they pushing the envelope?
Answer: That is a good question.
We do have some residual Cold War experience in the Typhoon force from a UK perspective and, although LRA activity dropped off in the early 2000s, they have been visiting sporadically over the years, so we have always kept up the knowledge and procedures; I don’t know what it’s like in Russian LRA force, but they have been through a modernization programme and are clearly getting more proficient at what they do.
However, you are still not entirely sure what is going on in the minds of their pilots, when you intercept them.
Question: At the London Olympics and the Commonwealth Games at Glasgow, you prepared to counter terrorist air threats as well.
How did you approach this mission?
Answer: It is interesting that in your piece on innovation by design you focused on the Air Marshal Dowding approach to the defense of British airspace during the Battle of Britain.
We essentially used this model, with a multi-layered defense including observers on the ground, airborne snipers, fast jets, and various other means commanded by a centralized command and control system.
It was the Battle of Britain model with a 21st century slant.
Question: Godders, you have been involved with preparing the F-35 transition and now will return to Typhoons, with your posting to RAF Lossiemouth. You are the first Typhoon station commander with in-depth F-35-knowledge and are well placed to work the transition with Typhoon.
What is your sense of the way ahead?
Group Captain Paul Godfrey: The penny dropped for me three years ago when I flew Typhoon with USAF F-22s on Exercise Western Zephyr at Langley AFB.
This was the first time I’d seen and operated within a 4th/5th gen fighter mix and I saw exactly how powerful it could be.
The F-22s in the formation demonstrably made the Typhoons more lethal and, more importantly, more survivable.
I then brought this experience into the UK F-35 entry into service program, meaning that we could concentrate on strengths that a fifth gen platform brings to everything else that you’ve got, whether that is the fighter, tanker aircraft, AWACs, or UAVs.
The F-35 has had a troubled history in terms of the press, but for us, it is a revolutionary capability that perfectly suits the current and planned UK capabilities.
It has also been very interesting working closely with the USMC who have also seen the F-35 for what it can do and have disregarded the negative press and just got on with it.
At the same time, the modernization of Typhoon is underway and we have seen real progress in terms of electronic warfare, sensors and integration, and improvements in the human machine interface which is going to the cockpit more effective to operate the aircraft in the expanded battlespace with 5th gen assets.
F-35s, whether a two, four or eight ship formation working with Typhoons is going to make a significant a difference in expanding our capabilities in the future contested, congested and degraded airspace.
We also need to follow the Australian example, of breaking down the barriers among the forces and transforming the joint force. It is up to use to ensure that the rest of the RAF, Army and Royal Navy understand what our new force package can bring to them; whether it is the expanded situational awareness we can provide to the solider on the ground, to the sea-based commander, or the ability to insert force where we previously could not go, it will transform their capabilities as well.
However, that is absolutely dependent on our thinking and how we decide we can use these airplanes.
The Plan Jericho approach suggests opening the aperture of operational thinking; we clearly need to do this as well and Ian Townsend is now carrying that baton in the UK F-35 programme, although I can continue to influence as I come back to the Typhoon.
Sqn Ldr Matt Peterson (right) and Wg Cdr Roddy Dennis practice flyby in April 2011 for the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton. Credit; RAF
Question: How important is the shift from Tornado to Typhoon in terms of Typhoon subsuming the missions of the former?
Wing Commander Matt Peterson: The key is to understand the shift from an air to air focused platform to a true swing-role capability.
We must expand our horizons and think about them as a system rather than individual parts.
The combination of Typhoon and 5th generation capabilities is undeniably an example of the sum being greater than the parts.
Fifth generation systems are unique, and Typhoon is a different type of aircraft, but working through how to leverage both is a key to the evolution of our approach.
Combined together, we will see significant force multiplication. We must expand our horizon, and think about them as a system as a whole, which might have one or two different platforms in operation and then using those capabilities of each for a greater effect.
We also need to shape a different mindset as we work the new combat approach.
The F-35 is the newer platform and revolutionary in many respects.
The Eurofighter is a high-end 4th gen capability undergoing significant modernization, but when they fly together they fly as a team, and it is important for pilots to understand this in order to get the combat choreography right.
Question: The Italian Air Force along with the RAF is working through the Typhoon and F-35 double transition.
What is the impact of that dynamic?
Group Captain Paul Godfrey: In effect, the emergence of the F-35 global fleet provides a significant means to expand our reach, with the emergence in some ways of what you might call and Euro-Med capability. We are working new relationships in the region and forging even closer working relationships to sharpen new ways to plan and execute coalition missions. The Italians are a very important partner in these efforts.
Wing Commander Matt Peterson: It is clearly important to exercise with a variety of potential coalition partners.
The invaluable lessons learned during exercises, like the forthcoming one in Langley, are a huge force multiplier and enable coalition capabilities to integrate and assimilate before they are employed on operations in the fluid contemporary strategic environment.
Group Captain Paul Godfrey: There will be significant European capabilities, which will emerge in this environment.
For example, the French Air Force is first rate and their Rafales are excellent combat platforms.
They need to learn to operate with a fifth generation-enabled force and become part of this overall effort as well, hence the excersise in the USA this year.
The Norwegians and Dutch will eventually have an all-fifth generation fighter force which will be blended into the overall European defense effort as well.
When you combine this with the USAF plans to station its first overseas F-35As at Lakenheath you can see that we will all need to work closely together to increase the combat capability of our forces.
All of this will lead to significant combat capability innovations fueled by revolutionary combined tactics, procedures.
Biographies:
Wing Commander Matt Peterson
Matt Peterson joined the RAF in 1999 after reading Geography at Durham University. During flying training, Peterson was selected to conduct Advanced Fast Jet Training as part of the NATO Flying Training in Canada (NFTC) programme. On successful completion of training, Peterson conducted his first operational tour on No. 54(F) Squadron, RAF Coltishall, as a member of the Jaguar Force. During this tour he deployed operationally, in the reconnaissance role to Incirlik, Turkey, in support of Operation RESOLUTE SUPPORT. On completion of the Jaguar Qualified Weapons Instructor (QWI) Course in 2005, Peterson was posted to No. 6 Squadron and subsequently became the final Jaguar QWI until the aircraft was retired from RAF service in 2007.
After a short holding tour on No. 17(Test and Evaluation Squadron), Peterson converted to the Typhoon and assumed the role of Air-to-Surface (A-S) QWI on No. 3(F) Squadron at RAF Coningsby. This period saw the Typhoon develop into a multi-role platform and Peterson became one of the initial cadre of Typhoon multi-role instructors that enabled the Typhoon Force to declare its initial A-S capability in 2008.
On promotion to Squadron Leader in 2009, Peterson was posted to HQ 1 Gp as SO2 Typhoon Operations. In this capacity, Peterson managed the test and assurance activity for the Typhoon’s Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) commitment; facilitated the handover of the Falkland Island Standing Commitment (FISC) from Tornado F3 to Typhoon; and supported the generation and management of additional Typhoon capabilities.
On completion of his staff tour, Peterson returned to Typhoon flying duties in 2011 as Executive Officer on the newly reformed No. 6 Squadron at RAF Leuchars. During his tour Peterson deployed operationally, in the A-S and reconnaissance role, to Gioia del Colle, Italy, in support of Operation ELLAMY. In addition, at the end of his tour, Peterson deployed to Mount Pleasant Airfield on the Falkland Islands to conduct an out of area tour as OC 1435 Flt.
On promotion to Wing Commander in 2013, Peterson was posted to the PJHQ as SO1 J3 Air in the Middle East Operations Team (MEOT). This posting saw Peterson involved in the management of a plethora of operations including LUMINOUS, KIPION, CHOBDAHAR, ATALANTA, SHADER and the redeployment from HERRICK. Peterson’s tour in the PJHQ was curtailed by selection for Advanced Command and Staff College 18 (ACSC 18) at JSCSC Shrivenham, which he completed in 2015.
Group Captain Godfrey
Group Captain Godfrey is to be Officer Commanding Royal Air Force Lossiemouth in November 2015 in succession to Group Captain M W J Chappell.
Group Captain Paul Godfrey joined the RAF in 1991 progressing through flying training on the Jet Provost and Hawk. Posted to the Harrier in 1994, he flew in various operations in the Balkans with IV(AC) Sqn, based at RAF Laarbruch in Germany between 1995 and 1998.
Returning to IV(AC) Sqn as a Qualified Weapons Instructor, he moved with them back to the UK where he began an instructional tour on 20(R) Sqn, the Harrier OCU. In 2000, he was selected for an exchange tour as the first non-USAF pilot to fly the F-16CJ, serving on the 55th Fighter Sqn at Shaw AFB, South Carolina. Here he contributed to the post-9/11 homeland defence task and twice deployed on operations to the Middle East.
On return from the USA Godders undertook a ground tour as a Typhoon Requirements Manager and, in 2005, was posted as a Flight Commander to 3(F) Sqn, the first Operational Typhoon Sqn. After completion of Staff College in 2009 he was posted to MOD as the Typhoon desk Officer and then served the Officer Commanding Operations at RAF Coningsby. He then moved to the F-35 program where he worked Group Capt Paul Godfrey, on preparing the entry into service of the Lightning II in the UK
Editor’s Note:When visiting 29 Squadron at RAF Coningsby, there was an opportunity not only to see Typhoon, but the “mascot” of the Squadron, namely, the 1950s and 1960s Lightning.
Seen in the hangar were several Typhoons, but what was unusual were their markings.
There was one Typhoon with markings for the Battle of Britain 75th celebration.
There was one with D-Day markings.
And a third had the markings honoring the 100th anniversary of 29th squadron.
The final photos show some the weapons flown currently by Typhoon including Storm Shadow, Brimstone, AMRAAM, and ASSRAM as seen in the photos.
These photos were shot at RAF Coningsby on September 25, 2015.
Credit Photos: Second Line of Defense
29 (R) Squadron based at Royal Air Force Coningsby, Lincolnshire, revealed a striking new paint scheme to mark the 100th anniversary of its formation.
The Typhoon aircraft, featuring Ruby Red and Champagne Gold colours is derived from the squadron badge. The badge shows an eagle in flight preying on a buzzard with the motto “Impiger et acer” (Energetic and keen). The tail plane surfaces depict different aircraft that have been flown by the squadron during its 100 years of service.
Officer Commanding 29(R) Squadron, Wing Commander James Heald DFC said, “I think the aircraft looks fantastic, a fitting tribute to all those who have served on 29 Sqn and a great celebration of our Centenary.”
100 years ago, 29 (R) Squadron was first raised as a unit of the Royal Flying Corps at Gosport, Hampshire and is one of the world’s oldest fighter squadrons. The second British squadron to receive the Eurofighter Typhoon, it is theOperational Conversion Unit (OCU) for the RAF’s world class multi role aircraft.
29 (R) Squadron began the Second World War with its Blenheims, which at the period operated as day fighters – especially on convoy protection patrols.
From June 1940 it became a night fighter squadron, receiving some of the first Beaufighters in November, though it was February 1941 before the squadron was fully equipped with the new fighter.
Various marks of the de Havilland Mosquito were flown by the squadron from May 1943 culminating in the Mosquito NF30. From the middle of 1944 most of the squadron’s missions took it over the continent.
As this year also commemorates the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Britain, Wg Cdr Heald said, “As a Battle of Britain Sqn ourselves, we are privileged to have on our line an aircraft commemorating the 75th anniversary of the Battle. The team responsible for the design and output of this magnificent new scheme should be exceptionally proud of themselves.”
The Typhoon aircraft, featuring Ruby Red and Champagne Gold colours is derived from the squadron badge.
By Ben Farmer, Defence Correspondent, video by Chris Stone and Charlotte Krol
The RAF’s Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) crews have been in the headlines repeatedly over the past year, intercepting Russian long-range ‘Bear’ bombers north of the UK.
Since the 9/11 attacks on America, they have also increasingly prepared themselves for the almost unthinkable prospect of shooting down a rogue or hijacked civilian aircraft to stop an airborne terrorist attack.
Wg Cdr Chris Layden, commander of XI (Fighter) Squadron whose pilots scramble from RAF Coningsby, said: “Everyone who flies a fighter on QRA understands that it’s a pretty serious business and in the worst case scenario it’s going to be something which would probably be a national trauma.
“On the worst case end of the scale, I suppose you are looking at a 9/11 scenario and all my pilots and I have to be prepared and trained to go and use lethal force against aircraft which are a threat to the people of this country.”
The first use of the Quick Reaction Alert (Interceptor) North based at RAF Lossiemouth was successfully completed recently with the launch of Typhoon jets to identify unknown aircraft flying in international airspace.
A spokesman for RAF Lossiemouth confirmed the Station’s first QRA launch:
“RAF Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) Typhoon fighter aircraft were launched from RAF Lossiemouth to identify unknown aircraft that were flying in international airspace. The aircraft, were identified as Russian military ‘Bears’ which did not enter UK sovereign airspace.
The primary role of the Royal Air Force is to defend the UK, 365, 24/7; the RAF will continue to remain alert and ready to intercept any unidentified military or civilian aircraft around UK airspace. Recent events have increased awareness of Russian military activity, however, the RAF have routinely intercepted, identified and escorted Russian air assets that transit international airspace within the UK’s area of interest. Russian military flights have never entered UK sovereign airspace without authorisation.”
The QRA at RAF Lossiemouth is manned by crews from 6 Squadron; the pilot of the first launch said:
“It was an honour to be part of what is a milestone in the history of RAF Lossiemouth. With the move of Quick Reaction Alert (Interceptor) North from Leuchars to Lossiemouth, it has been a huge ask of many personnel. The fact that we had a flawless scramble and intercept of two Russian Bears was a testament to the hard work and commitment of all personnel involved.
“A very proud moment, not just for the pilots who did the intercept but the engineering crews who did a fantastic job, as well as many other station personnel involved in this constant commitment.”
Royal Air Force Lossiemouth began a new era in its history on the 1st of September when it assumed the provision of the Quick Reaction Alert (Interceptor) North (QRA) task for the United Kingdom.
The strategically important position of RAF Lossiemouth on the northern Scottish coastline makes it an ideal location to maintain aircraft and crews on high alert, in order to scramble and intercept unidentified aircraft approaching UK airspace. This is the basis of QRA and is a duty that has been maintained by the UK on a 24/7 basis for decades.
RAF Lossiemouth’s Station Commander, Group Captain Mark Chappell, said of the first launch:
“This first successful launch for QRA(I)N has been what all of the hard work by RAF Leuchars and RAF Lossiemouth personnel over recent months has been for.
The relocation of two Typhoon squadrons was a significant challenge, one that was met by our whole team. The many months of preparation and infrastructure improvements have made us absolutely ready for this to this launch, and shows we are in the best position to provide the service to the United Kingdom that the Royal Air Force was primarily created for – that is, the protection of our airspace.”
RAF Typhoons Return from Baltic Air Policing Mission
UK Ministry of Defence
August 26, 2015
The RAF Typhoon detachment deployed to Amari air base in Estonia atNATO’s request on 1 May this year, operating alongside Norwegian aircraft to secure NATO’s airspace over the Baltic nations of Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania which do not have their own air defence fighters.
On 25 August, at the concluding event in a series of commemorative occasions at Amari 121 Expeditionary Air Wing (EAW) handed over to the German 31st Tactical Air Wing.
Addressing the EAW and invited guests, British Ambassador to Estonia Mr Chris Holtby said:
The presence in Estonia for the last four months of the four Royal Air Force Typhoons and all the personnel of 121 Expeditionary Air Wing has provided firm evidence of the commitment of the UK and our NATO Allies to the security and defence of Estonia.
The UK is grateful for every opportunity to work together with the highly professional armed forces of its close military ally Estonia, and I am very proud that the UK has already committed itself to take part in NATO’s Baltic Air Policing again in 2016.
A RAF Typhoon accompanying a Russian Coot electronic intelligence gathering aircraft over the Baltic. RAF Typhoon jets deployed as part of the NATO Baltic Air Policing mission for Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have found and identified two unknown aircraft on a mission over the Baltic Sea. The aircraft were scrambled from Ämari Air base in Estonia in this case, to intercept aircraft approaching Baltic airspace without sharing a flight plan. The first aircraft was identified as a Il-20M ‘Coot’ A surveillance aircraft, which they shadowed for a period. The Typhoons were then re-tasked to check out a second unidentified aircraft, which was identified as an An-26 ‘Curl’ transport plane flying north from Kaliningrad. Credit: UK Ministry of Defence.
Since arriving in Estonia in May, the Typhoon fighters have been scrambled 17 times and have intercepted more than 40 Russian aircraft ranging from transports to long-range fighters. During one launch in July, the Typhoons intercepted 10 separate Russian aircraft, including 8 fighters.
When on Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) the pilots and ground engineers have been on 24/7 stand by, ready to deploy at a moment’s notice.
Recognising the contribution made by the RAF, Estonian Prime Minister Taavi Roivas Tweeted, “Thank you, job well done!”
Typhoon pilot Flight Lieutenant Rory Denman said:
From hearing the alarm we launch as fast as we can. It’s been a challenging but ultimately rewarding operation. From a flying perspective, intercepting aircraft is what we do, just as we continue to do so in the UK.
Commenting on the effect the four months of operations has had on his country, Chief of Estonian Air Force, Colonel Jaak Tarien said:
Your presence here in Estonia provides a genuine sense of security and relief to the Estonian people. Thank you for your service to Estonia, the UK and the NATO mission.
Commanding Officer of 121 EAW, Wing Commander Stu Smiley said:
121 Expeditionary Air Wing has played a vital part in ensuring that the UK continues to play its part in the NATO mission of securing the Baltic airspace. Everything we do in the RAF is to protect, uphold and defend the UK, its allies and its interests and thanks to the commitment and professionalism of my team, without a doubt we have fulfilled that mission.
In the slideshow below, photos of RAF intercepts from RAF Lossiemouth in September 2014 are shown.
Credit Photos to RAF.
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Earlier articles regarding the RAF and their airpower transition:
2015-10-24 Australia is an important member of the F-35 global enterprise.
In an interview done during a visit to Australia in early 2014, Philippe Odouard, the CEO of Quickstep, underscored how he saw the program and the participation of his company in the program.
We see the program as the military equivalent of a civilian aerospace program such as the A320 or the Boeing 737. It is a program with a long production run and global reach and allows us to engage in a global production engagement.
With the F-35 program, we are supplying key composite elements to Northrop Grumman, which is the major producer of the fuselage, and whose new plant is a state of the art automated manufacturing facility.
A measure of the recognition we receive from Northrop is that the President of Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems came to Australia for the opening of our new facility in Bankstown, Australia.
Indeed, during the opening ceremonies we had a video link back to Los Angeles where the Northrop team participated virtually in the opening which symbolizes the approach of working closely together to deliver reliable parts.
In fact, we compete within the supply chain to provide high quality parts and have been consistently recognized by Northrop to be at the head of the class.
BAE Systems Australia is the latest of some 30 Australian companies who have won production work for the global F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program.
Air Marshall Brown speaking at the Fort Worth based event July 24, 2014. Credit Photo; Lockheed Martin
Under a long-term agreement with Northrop Grumman Corporation valued at US$15 million, BAE Systems Australia has begun exporting high-end circuit boards and sub-system assemblies for the Joint Strike Fighter.
“The Turnbull Government strongly supports maximising the opportunities for Australian industries to participate in defence acquisition and sustainment,” Minister Brough said.
“The Joint Strike Fighter is currently the largest defence program in the world and Defence has been working closely with Australian industry to promote their participation.”
Minister Brough said Australian industry is already surpassing the expectations of international Joint Strike Fighter manufacturers.
“Already, Australian companies have secured more than AUD$500 million of work, with Defence estimating that Australian industry will win at least US$1.5 billion worth of work in the production phase of the Joint Strike Fighter program,” Minister Brough said.
“I congratulate BAE Systems Australia on achieving this milestone and their commitment to gaining qualification with Northrop Grumman for the Joint Strike Fighter program.”
The Adelaide-based BAE Systems Australia will export parylene–coated circuit boards, which will be used in the Joint Strike Fighter’s Communication, Navigation and Identification (CNI) system, developed by Northrop Grumman. The parylene coating protects the boards from the harsh conditions in the aerospace environment.
The first two Australian F-35A Joint Strike Fighter aircraft are currently flying as part of the pool of aircraft at the International Pilot Training Centre at Luke Air Force Base, Phoenix, Arizona.
10/16/2015: F-35C Lightning II carrier variant joint strike fighters assigned to the Salty Dogs of Air Test and Evaluation Squadron (VX) 23 go through flight evolutions aboard the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) conducting follow-on sea trials.
One thing that separated this from the first flights aboard the USS Nimitz was that the three-wire, the one pilots like to hit the most and for which they garner the most praise, was out of commission through the voyage.
So we couldn’t report on how the F-35 pilots were besting their F-18 Super Hornet colleagues on catching the three-wire every time as happened aboard the Nimitz.
However, several pilots I spoke with said they had been targeting the same area and hit the target each time.
Also, Joe DellaVedova (PAO for the Joint Program Office) said in an email that the program stressed the airframe of the F-35A, the Air Force version, for the equivalent of two lifetimes.
The test, known as the F-35A Full Airframe Durability Test Article (AJ-1) finished the day before we flew to the Ike, completing 16,000 hours of maneuver and buffet loads cycling.
