2016-08-19 According to Air Commodore Richard Lennon, Commander of the RAAF’s Air Mobility Group, the C-130J played a prominent role in Pitch Black 2016. Our first attempt at using C-130 equipped with Link 16 on Exercise Pitch Black 16 has been very successful. For the first time the C-130 crew have…
2016-08-20 By Todd Miller The USS George Washington (CVN-73) is hosting the F-35C in its final Developmental Testing cycle (DT-III) Aug. 14-23. However, for a few of those days the two VX-23 “Salty Dogs” F-35Cs from NAS Patuxent River were joined by 5 F-35Cs from VFA-101 “Grim Reapers” out of…
2016-08-20 This video was shot by Todd Miller when he was onboard the USS George Washington on August 15, 2016. The video shows VX-23 “Salty Dogs” and VFA-101 “ Grim Reapers” pilots and crew working on carrier qualifications. The video highlights the entry of the F-35C into a hangar onboard the…
2016-08-20 Todd Miller spent August 15, 2016 aboard the USS George Washington observing the seven F-35Cs onboard. The USS George Washington (CVN-73) is hosting the F-35C in its final Developmental Testing cycle (DT-III) Aug. 14-23. However, for a few of those days the two VX-23 “Salty Dogs” F-35Cs from NAS…
2016-08-19 During the Pitch Black 2016 exercise, a KC-30A refueled US F-16s coming from Japan to the exercise in Australia. On July 19, a RAAF KC-30A flew non-stop with six F-16Cs from Kadena Air Base, Japan to RAAF Base Darwin in just over six hours. RAAF Group Captain (GPCAPT) Adam…
2016-08-20 By Richard Weitz In another of the bold moves that has marked Putin’s Syria campaign since it began last September, the Russian Air Force began using bases in Iran on August 16 to support its bombing campaign in Syria. For several days now, Tupolev-22M3 Backfire long-range supersonic bombers and the…
2016-08-14 By Robbin Laird Beginning in March 2014, the Williams Foundation began a series of seminars and workshops to examine both conceptually and practically ways to build a 21st century combat force, which can prevail in the extended battlespace. This can be looked at as a force operating in what…
2016-08-11 By Robbin Laird Exercise Pitch Black 2016 is a three-week multi-national large force employment exercise, which is being conducted from RAAF Base Darwin and RAAF Base Tindal from 29 July to 19 August 2016. Pitch Black 2016 is a high end combat exercise in which the RAAF air crews learn…
