Combat Aircraft Team; the US Air Force Air Power Yearbook Is the Ultimate Guide to the World’S Most Powerful Air Arm
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Advanced jet TRAINING ALENIA AERMACCHI M-346 • ISRAELI SKYHAWK RETIREMENT • PACER CLASSIC T-38 TALONS • GREEK BUCKEYES AND TEXAN IIS Volume 17 • Number 3 AMERICA’S BESTSELLING MILITARY AVIATION MAGAZINE combataircraft.net EAGLE FROM THE COCKPIT Pilot stories from the mighty F-15C ‘Desert Storm’ 25 years ON F-15C victories IN THE NEWS: USAF Saves the a-10 SIKORSKY CH-53K C-5 SUPER GALAXY KING STALLION AT DOVER AFB S-3 Vikings BOW OUT OF UK £4.50 SERVICE WITH VX-30 CHINESE FIGHTER BOMBER REVIEW MARCH 2016 SPECIAL united states air force air power YEARBOOK 2016 Produced by the Combat Aircraft team; the US Air Force Air Power Yearbook is the ultimate guide to the world’s most powerful air arm. Packed with features on latest aircraft capabilities, famous squadrons and the personnel that fly and maintain the various types, plus a detailed unit and aircraft air power review. This 100-page publication is a must-have for USAF aviation fans. FEATURING: F-22 on the front line A review of the Raptor’s combat debut over Syria and recent deployment to Europe. 40 Years of exercise’ Red Flag’ A review and tribute to the world’s most famous exercise. Bayou Militia A unit review of the F-15Cs of the 122nd Fighter Squadron Louisiana ANG F-35 training Behind the scenes at Eglin and Luke AFB as the F-35 training squadrons get up to full speed. B-1 today Exclusive interviews with B-1 senior officers as we detail recent combat operations and latest JUST upgrades for the B-1 Lancer. Plus a full review of all USAF types and £5.99! squadrons. And much more! A NEW SPECIAL PUBLICATION FROM KEY PUBLISHING AVAILABLE UNTIL 18TH FEBRUARY FROM AND ALL LEADING NEWSAGENTS JUST £5.99 FREE P&P* *Free 2nd class P&P on all UK & BFPO orders. Overseas charges apply. 002/16 Free P&P* when you order online at Call UK: 01780 480404 www.keypublishing.com/shop OR Overseas: +44 1780 480404 Monday to Friday 9am-5:30pm SUBSCRIBERS CALL FOR YOUR £1.00 DISCOUNT! March 2016 • Vol 17 • No 3 F-15C from the cockpit. USAF pilots recount personal 38 experiences of ying the Eagle 24 IN THE NEWS SKYHAWK SUNDOWN Yissachar Ruas looks back at the nal 06 Headline News days of the McDonnell Douglas A-4 US Air Force gives A-10 a reprieve, rst A-29 Skyhawk in Israeli service Super Tucanos delivered to Afghanistan 08 US News US Navy nally retires S-3 Viking, F-35 ADVANCED JET TRAINING production ramps up and all the latest unit and deployment news 66 CLASSIC TALON Michael Keaveney looks at Pacer 16 World News Classic III, the US Air Force’s latest News from Europe and around the globe Northrop T-38 Talon life extension including China’s ‘Growler’ clone, plus all 58 program the latest military losses GALAXY QUEST 70 WHERE EAGLES SOAR Neil Dunridge heads to Dover Chris Balmer and Mark Rourke 26 SPECIAL K AFB to talk C-5M Super Galaxy visit the Hellenic Air Force’s 120 Air Known as the King Stallion, Sikorsky Aircraft’s Training Wing at Kalamata, the home CH-53K represents the third generation of the of both the Texan II and Buckeye heavy-lift helicopter, as Tom Kaminski details trainers 32 PEGASUS AT THE TOP END 74 MASTER COMES Roy Choo joins the Aviation Combat Element OF AGE of the 2015 Marine Rotational Force — Darwin Francesco Militello Mirto and Luca during its deployment to Australia’s Northern La Cavera y with the 61° Stormo at Territory late last year Lecce-Galatina, now home to the T-346A Master as Italy’s Aeronautica 92 Militare inducts this new trainer into F-15C FROM THE COCKPIT its pilot training program ‘BLOODHOUND’ 38 EAGLE DRIVER VIKINGS BOW OUT 80 DUTCH MASTERS FIGHT’S ON! Although the S-3 Viking was retired from Stephan de Bruijn explains how Representing nothing less than a operational service in 2009, test squadron VX-30 the Royal Netherlands Air Force revolution in air combat when it rst ‘Bloodhounds’ continued ying the type at NBVC is gearing up for the arrival of the appeared in 1972, the F-15 Eagle Point Mugu until January. Scott Dworkin reports F-35A. This means nding a new remains the yardstick by which other ghter lead-in training platform — Western ghters are measured. Retired and the M-346 Master might just t US Air Force F-15C pilot Doug ‘Disco’ the bill Dildy takes us aloft for some fast-paced basic ghter maneuvers 84 THE DRAGON’S CLAWS 46 ON A ‘KNIFE’ EDGE Andreas Rupprecht details the latest US Air Force Eagle driver Maj Ben ‘Evil’ intelligence on the ‘mud-movers’ of the Cook provides a from-the-cockpit People’s Liberation Army, including the account of deployment to a wintry advanced J-16 Iceland as a young wingman — and a not-to-be-forgotten recovery to Ke avík 96 CUTTING EDGE Combat Aircraft’s monthly column in atrocious conditions reporting from the front line of aerospace 50 EAGLE CENTERSPREAD technology, by David Axe Jamie Hunter photographs a four-ship of F-15Cs from the 122nd Fighter Squadron, Louisiana Air National Guard, PLUS SUBSCRIBE AND based at New Orleans New ‘Eye on the East’ column details 52 MiGKILLERS OF Chinese J-20 developments, and a special report on the Australian Gulfsteam 550 SAV E ‘DESERT STORM’ special missions aircraft 25 years on from Operation ‘Desert Subscribe to Combat Storm’, Warren Thompson recalls how Aircraft Monthly and the F-15C was a major force for the ON THE COVER: make great savings on coalition. Capt Jay ‘OP’ Denney recounts In this issue, F-15C pilots tell the story cover price. the events of January 27, 1991, when he of ying and ghting in the mighty and his wingman ew one of the most Eagle. Jamie Hunter See pages memorable engagements of the war 36 and 37 for details. COMBAT EDGE | FIND US ON The Alenia Aermacchi M-346 is re-writing the rule book when it comes to advanced training. Luca La Cavera 04 increasing demand. In the US, the T-X requirement should address all of these TRAINING ON DEMAND areas. As with the Italian M-346 in Europe, and UR SERIES OF pilots up to radar work, helmet- the desire to spin up centralized training reports in this issue mounted sights and targeting pods at organizations to meet demand with a linked to advanced the Phase IV (lead-in ghter training) versatile and exible o ering, we may jet training throws stage rather than on a front-line type at also see the smart use of these assets up some interesting the respective operational conversion to provide a pooled resource of Red Air themes. Not the unit has to be a smart move, especially aircraft — available on demand and as Oleast of them is the requirement to if this is intrinsically linked to advanced required. minimize the impact on expensive synthetic training in both the simulator To keep track of the latest breaking front-line ghter aircraft by and in the air. The M-346, for example, news and analysis in the world of military ‘downloading’ some of the initial is able to link the simulator to the air power you can visit our social media conversion training, plus a chunk of the squadron’s live ying, adding Red Air sites and our website: ongoing continuation training, to a less threats, other ‘players’ and so on. www.combataircraft.net expensive but still capable platform. This must surely go hand-in-hand with Like the Royal Air Force has with o ering a so-called ‘companion trainer’ its Hawk T2s, the Italian Air Force is capability for front-line squadrons, much making huge strides in advancing the as the US Air Force has done with T-38 mix of live and synthetic training with Talons attached to F-22 Raptor wings. the Alenia Aermacchi M-346 Master As an increasing number of operators Jamie Hunter, and its associated integrated training introduce the F-35 Lightning II, we are Editor system. Opening new ab initio student very likely to see ‘companion trainers’ in E-mail: [email protected] www.combataircraft.net March 2016 MARCH 2016 | COMBAT EDGE CONTRIBUTOR PROFILE TOM KAMINSKI om Kaminski working in the general and is the North corporate aviation segments, Tom later America News went to work for Fairchild Republic as a Editor of eld service engineer on the A-10 program, TCombat Aircraft and has where his involvement in military aviation been a member of the and photography began. Tom later spent magazine’s publication nearly 15 years with Grumman Aerospace team since the rst issue and Northrop Grumman, where he worked was published 1997. on the F-14 aircraft and ight trainer Growing up in the ‘Cradle of Aviation’ on programs as a speci cations engineer and Long Island, New York, he has been around technical writer, before joining Honeywell airplanes for most of his 56 years. Despite International. Today he works as a technical his dad’s early protests, Tom stepped into writer in Honeywell’s Security and Fire the aerospace business in 1977. Initially division. 05 March 2016 www.combataircraft.net [NEWS] HEADLINES US Air Force A-10Cs are at the forefront of the current Operation ‘Inherent Resolve’. USAF/ TSgt Nathan Lipscomb A-10 SAFE FOR NOW USAF GIVES ‘WARTHOG’ A NEW LEASE OF LIFE • NEW PLATFORM MAY BE SOUGHT 06 SUPER TUCANOS ARRIVE IN AFGHANISTAN THE AFGHAN AIR Force has taken combat-ready A-29 pilots graduated Afghanistan will receive 20 A-29s and delivery of its first four Embraer A-29 from training at Moody Air Force the next batch is expected to arrive in light attack aircraft.