Combat Aircraft Monthly 2015-10.pdf

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F-35B lightning II
Volume
16
• Number
10
INDIAN ‘FLANKERS’
fight typhoons
NORTH AMERICA’S BEST SELLING MILITARY AVIATION MAGAZINE
F-35B
LIGHTNING II
SHORT TAKE-OFF
VERTICAL LANDING
VARIANT IN DETAIL
co
m
ba
ta
irc
ra
ft.
ne
t
FLORIDA EAGLES
Mixing it in Bulgaria
OCTOBER 2015
UK £4.40
‘BLACK KNIGHTS’ RULE
GREEK PHANTOMS
over 40 YEARS IN HELLENIC SERVICE
UK BRACES FOR DEFENSE REVIEW • IRAQI ‘VIPERS’ ENTER SERVICE • RUSSIAN PROCUREMENT in crisis
PART 2
October 2015
• Vol 16 • No 10
60
UK F-35B ON TEST AT EDWARDS AFB, INCLUDING
INTERVIEW WITH SQUADRON COMMANDER
IN THE NEWS
06 Headline News
Marine Corps marks initial operating
capability (IOC) milestone with F-35B and
Australia receives rst EA-18G Growler
Hill AFB set to receive rst F-35As, Aviano
‘Vipers’ strike from Turkey and Marines bid
farewell to the Sea Knight
News from Europe and around the globe
including Gripens on Icelandic patrol, plus
all the latest military losses
FREE
II
F-35B
LIGHTNING
SUPPLEMENT
INCLUDING
PULL-OUT
CENTERSPREAD
POSTER AND...
08 US News
20 World News
50
28
VIPERS OF BABYLON
88
INDUSTRY REPORT:
RAPIDLY GOING NOWHERE?
An ambitious defense procurement e ort
initiated by Russia in the early 2010s has
resulted in hundreds of new aircraft being taken
on strength by the country’s air arms. However,
Alexander Mladenov reveals that a number of
problems threaten to derail this modernization
process
Fourteen months after the maiden ight of the
rst Iraqi F-16IQ Fighting Falcon, a rst group
of four ‘Vipers’ nally reached Iraq in July, as
Babak Taghvaee details
32
EXERCISE REPORT:
INDRADHANUSH
Rich Cooper and Jamie Hunter investigate the
recent exercise that saw Indian Su-30 ‘Flankers’
ying missions with and against RAF Typhoons
The F-35 has been designed as the ultimate answer
to future multi-role ghter requirements.
CA
looks at
progress to date
CREATING A SUPER FIGHTER
52
34
HELLENIC PHANTOMS:
THE LEGEND CONTINUES
Over 40 years after its service entry with the
Hellenic Air Force, Ioannis Lekkas explains
how the F-4 Phantom II remains an essential
component of Greece’s Tactical Air Force
planning
Each year the Turkish Air Force is required to
qualify 100 new pilots. Following on from last
month’s review of KT-1T basic training, Mauro
Finati and Paolo Rollino look at the advanced
stage with the upgraded T-38M Talon
Thomas Newdick examines the recent initial
operating capability declaration plus plans for
the future within the
Marine Corps
STEP CHANGE FOR THE
MARINE CORPS
94
GLORY DAYS:
BLACK KNIGHTS RULE
In Part 2 of this look at VF-154, Tony Holmes
concludes his examination of the unit’s valuable
contribution to combat operations as it
swapped F-14As for new Super Hornets
102
EXERCISE REPORT:
FANG ON TOUR
42
TURKISH TALONS
68
74
UNIT REVIEW:
NOMAD NATION
The Harrier re-wrote the rulebook when it came
to military aviation. The F-35B took the Harrier
operational concept, and adapted it for a modern,
stealthy platform
POWERING THE F 35B
Frank Crébas and Stephan de Bruijn/
Bluelifeaviation joined the 159th Expeditionary
Fighter Squadron when it became the rst Air
National Guard unit to lead a Theater Security
Package in Europe
Although Bulgaria became a NATO member in
2004, its air force has not introduced any new
combat equipment in that time. This
is going to change in the near future, as
Dr Andreas Zeitler and Andrea Avian reveal
Combat Aircraft’s
monthly column reporting
from the front line of aerospace technology, by
David Axe
108
TIME FOR CHANGE
The Lockheed Hercules is not usually
associated with being a US Navy asset, but
behind the scenes Navy C-130T units are very
busy, as
Ted Carlson/Fotodynamics found out
The arrival of the 354th Expeditionary Fighter
Squadron ‘Bulldogs’ at Spangdahlem AB,
Germany, earlier this year marked the start
of the rst ever European Theater Security
Package in support of Operation ‘Atlantic
Resolve’. Rens van Rijn and Dennis Vink/
PHODOCU re ect on a successful deployment
Jon Lake evaluates recent stories in the media
regarding UK ghter strength and plans
under the forthcoming Strategic Defence and
Security Review (SDSR)
112
CUTTING EDGE
82
HOGS ON TOUR
PLUS
News Report on the Russian
‘Aviadarts’ exercise and Robert F.
Dorr’s Front Line column
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86
A MOVING TARGET?
A British F-35B of No 17(Reserve) Test
and Evaluation Squadron over the
ranges near Edwards AFB, California.
Jamie Hunter
ON THE COVER:
T
COMBAT EDGE |
FIND US ON
04
WO SIGNIFICANT
We have all seen ‘Flanker’ routines with
STORIES have dominated astonishing displays of nose authority
the ghter world in
thanks in part to thrust-vectoring engine
recent weeks, both
controls. By contrast, the Typhoon is a ‘rate
of which involved
ghter’ that avoids being drawn into a
dog ghting.
slow, turning ght. It favors the long-range
First was one that went viral on social
battle. The same goes for the stealthy F-35.
media regarding a January test mission
Chances are that nine times out of ten
that saw an F-35A apparently being
an F-35 will kill its prey while remaining
trounced by an F-16D, according to a
unseen. Talk to any fth-generation ghter
leaked report. Then came the story from
pilot and they see a good ‘fourth-gen’
July’s ‘Indradhanush’ exercise alleging that
dog ghter as having large aerodynamic
Indian Su-30 ‘Flankers’ notched up a 12-0
surfaces and a similarly large radar cross-
victory against Royal Air Force Euro ghter
section. Easy meat!
Typhoons during a within visual range
When it comes to the merge, are slow-
(WVR) mission.
speed agility and nose authority crucial?
Just how important is this? Do modern
Pilots with a good helmet-mounted
ghters such as the Typhoon and F-35
sight and an agile missile say ‘no’. They
rely too heavily upon beyond visual range
are looking towards better sensors and
(BVR) tactics? Is the close-in ‘knife ght in a
information. Agility is perhaps geared
phone box’ a thing of the past?
more towards spectrum management
Many people initially point to lessons
these days than about throwing your jet
learned in Vietnam, when American
around the sky.
ghters were undone by their reliance on
While on the surface the recent
long-range missiles. BVR technology and
engagements may have been publicly
tactics have evolved massively since those
embarrassing, maybe they were about
days, and so have WVR tactics. In fact, no
gathering data rather than winning the
one is getting complacent about getting
ght? After all, look back at the very
reasons ‘Red Flag’ and TOPGUN were
into ‘the merge’ with other ghters...
established — it wasn’t always about
Sometimes a visual identi cation may
winning during training, but
be required due to rules of engagement.
winning when it’s
There is also the reality that, despite the
e ectiveness of a ghter package in ‘killing’ for real.
the enemy BVR, there will be ‘leakers’ — a
few ghters that make it through the wall
Jamie Hunter,
Editor
of long-range missiles.
E-mail: jamie.hunter@keypublishing.com
CONTRIBUTOR
PROFILE FRANK CRÉBAS
F
or this issue
Frank Crébas
ew with the
Florida Air
National Guard during its
deployment in Bulgaria.
The unique photo
mission, consisting of
a MiG-21, MiG-29 and
F-15s, was an international a air
with the Bulgarian and American pilots
plus a Dutch photographer. Frank
commented: ‘I was impressed that despite
the language barriers, all the pilots spoke
the same slang when it came down to
ying. It resulted in a safe, e cient and
well-executed sortie — one that I will
remember for a long time!’
www.combataircraft.net
October 2015
OCTOBER 2015
| COMBAT EDGE
How
important
is the
dogfight?
05
Royal Air Force Euro ghter
Typhoons and Indian Su-30MKI
‘Flankers’ tussled during the
recent exercise at RAF Coningsby.
Crown Copyright/Cpl Paul Old eld
October 2015
www.combataircraft.net

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