12/22/2017: U.S. Marines with Battalion Landing Team 2nd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), use the Tactical Decision Kit (TDK) System at Camp Lejeune, N.C. The TDK allows Marines to use live Indirect Fire (IDF) assets and real-life Close Air Support (CAS) while maneuvering computer generated troops,…
12/16/2016: We have recently interviewed the CO of VMFA-121 in Yuma in early December 2016 and will shortly publish his interview. This story published last December highlights a milestone along the way for the squadron as it prepares for its deployment to Japan in 2017. An F-35B Lightning II from Marine Fighter…
05/06/2016: The highest priority skillset for the Afghan Air Force A-29 Super Tucano pilots is the effective execution of close air support (CAS). Pilots are trained to employ rockets, precision-guided bombs, general purpose bombs, and strafe. The A-29 can employ a variety of weapons to do this mission: .50 cal…
05/02/2016: It is not difficult to see how air intercepts in the Northern European region could escalate. Nato is working hard to shape an effective air intercept template. A number of fighter jets from NATO and NATO partner nations have been training together at an airbase in Estonia. Among the…
01/21/2015: The sun was shining and the mountains around Kabul were clearly visible, when the first A-29 Super Tucanos touched down at Hamid Karzai International Airport. The A-29 is a light-support aircraft capable of conducting close air support, aerial escort, armed overwatch and aerial interdiction. Four A-29 aircraft arrived to intense…
12/18/2015: An F-35B Lightning II from Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 121 conducts a vertical landing at a Forward Arming and Refueling Point (FARP) aboard Marine Corps Base, Camp Pendleton, Calif., Dec. 10, 2015. VMFA-121 marked another important milestone in the evolution of the aircraft conducting their first Close Air Support…
07/22/2014: U.S. Marines with Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron (VMGR) 352, Marine Aircraft Group (MAG) 11, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing (MAW) and VMGR-252, MAG 14, 2nd MAW conduct a live fire training exercise in a KC-130J Harvest Hawk aircraft near Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Calif. March 20, 2013. The…
CAS: A CORE CONTRIBUTOR TO SUCCESSFUL INTEGRATED OPERATIONS IN FALLUJAH (Reprinted courtesy of the Marine Corps Gazette. Copyright retained by the Marine Corps Gazette) By Maj Fred H. Allison, USMCR (Ret) Maj Allison is a former Marine F–4 radar intercept officer. He earned his doctorate in history from Texas Tech…
