Combat Aircraft Monthly 2016-11 (Vol.17 No.11).pdf

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17
• Number
11
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VFA-101 ‘GRIM REAPERS’
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US ARMY SPECIAL MISSION AIRCRAFT • US AIR FORCE TANKERS
November 2016
• Vol 17 • No 11
Lake provides
90
Jondesign that wasexpert analysis of the ‘clean-sheet’ Boeing
T-X
unveiled in September
IN THE NEWS
06 Headline News
Two ‘clean-sheet’ T-X aircraft revealed,
USAF names B-21 as the Raider,
and new arms packages for the
Middle East
Fuel line snag grounds F-35As, B-52H
returns to the air, plus all the latest
unit and deployment news
56
The Luftwa e’s rst Euro ghter Fighter
Weapons Instructor Course was recently
completed at Laage air base in northern
Germany. Stefan Petersen was there to witness
the action
TOPGUN OVER THE BALTIC
68
10 US News
Every two years Australia’s Northern Territory plays
host to the multi-national Exercise ‘Pitch Black’.
Mike Yeo reports
DARK KNIGHTS
18 World News
70
News from Europe and around the
globe including the rst Japanese
F-35A ight, plus all the latest military
losses
‘HUNS’ ON THE RUN
Although overshadowed by the F-105 Thunderchief and F-4
Phantom II that eventually succeeded it, the F-100 Super Sabre
proved to be a tough and versatile warrior over Vietnam.
Warren E. Thompson recounts how it excelled in countless
demanding close support and counter-insurgency missions
24 ‘GRIM REAPERS’
BACK ON DECK
Gert Kromhout joins VFA-101 back on the
carrier deck to qualify the rst cadre of
F-35C pilots
PART ONE:
US Army Aerial Intelligence Evolution
The US Army is consolidating several
airborne intelligence capabilities that have
been developed in support of combat
operations over the past 15 years and
is updating ‘legacy’ systems in support
of its Aerial Layer 2020 Strategy, as Tom
Kaminski details
30 EYES IN THE SKIES
42 DEFENDERS OF THE
PACIFIC
78
The 18th Wing at Kadena Air Base, Japan,
is home to two of the last three remaining
active-duty US Air Force F-15C units. Jamie
Hunter talks to the commanders of the
44th and 67th Fighter Squadrons, with
exclusive images from Jim Haseltine
Tom Kaminski explains how the US
Air Force has embarked on a program
to upgrade its eet of combat rescue
helicopters under the HH-60G operational
loss replacement (OLR) initiative
With the Brazilian Air Force awaiting the Gripen,
Santiago Rivas discovers how operational
aircraft are seeing upgrade programs reduced
in scope
BRAZILIAN COMBAT
AVIATION IN CRISIS?
84
Rich Cooper describes the race to nd Finland’s
new ghter, as manufacturers vied for attention
at the country’s Tour de Sky airshow in the bid
to replace its F/A-18C/D Hornet eet
FIGHTER FOR FINLAND
52 THAT OTHERS MAY LIVE
As the US Air Force puts its new Boeing
KC-46 Pegasus tanker onto a production
footing, Rob Coppinger takes a timely look
at the current USAF tanker force and future
plans
Combat Aircraft’s
monthly column
reporting from the front line of aerospace
technology, by David Axe
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11
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96 CUTTING EDGE
An exclusive image of the new Boeing
T-X training aircraft, built especially for
the USAF competition to replace the
T-38 Talon.
Boeing
ON THE COVER:
VFA-101 ‘GRIM REAPERS’
CARRIER DEBUT
ON THE
FRONT
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KADENA’S EAGLE
SQUADRONS
PLUS
US ARMY SPECIAL MISSION AIRCRAF
T • US AIR FORCE TANKERS
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et
COMBAT EDGE |
FIND US ON
A KC-135R tops up a thirsty F-22A
Raptor off the coast of Virginia in
September. No other air force has
a tanker fleet as big as that of the
USAF. This poses a huge problem
when it comes to replacing the
fleet of KC-135s and KC-10s, but
the process is now in train thanks
to the KC-46.
Jamie Hunter
04
CONTRIBUTOR
PROFILE THOMAS J. KAMINSKI
om Kaminski is the North American
news editor of
Combat Aircraft
and has been a member of the
magazine’s publication team since
the first issue was published in 1997. Growing
up in the ‘Cradle of Aviation’ on Long Island,
New York, he has been around airplanes for
most of his 54 years. Despite his dad’s early
protests, Tom stepped into the aerospace
business in 1977. Initially working in the
general and corporate aviation segments, Tom
T
went to work for Fairchild Republic
as a field service engineer on the A-10
program, where his involvement in military
aviation and photography began. He
later spent nearly 15 years with Grumman
Aerospace and Northrop Grumman, where he
worked on the F-14 and flight trainer programs
as a specifications engineer and technical
writer, before joining Honeywell International.
Today he is a technical writer in Honeywell’s
Security and Communications division.
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W
AGE CONCERN
HILE WE HEAR regularly
about the age of the US
Air Force ghter eet,
we often overlook the
fact that the KC-135
Stratotanker just turned
60. The tankers are undoubtedly the unsung
heroes of the Air Force.
According to current gures, Air Mobility
Command manages an inventory of 414
Stratotankers. These aircraft are old, but
structurally sound. The size of the USAF poses a
regular problem for its leadership: recapitalizing
such weighty eets places a huge strain on the
nances of the world’s largest air arm.
The Boeing KC-46A Pegasus is but a sticking
plaster on the tanker eet’s ills. The KC-X program
was only ever an initial phase to replace a portion
of the KC-135s, and just 179 of these new aircraft
are currently planned. Even when the last of
these new, 767-based tankers is delivered there
will still be a huge remaining ‘legacy’ eet.
The intended KC-10 avionics upgrade has
been shelved and this eet looks vulnerable
for retirement. So, the head of Air Mobility
Command, Gen Carlton Everhart, is dipping into
the acquisition mine eld as he talks of a new
technology study for a much more advanced
KC-Z.
Everhart wants to sidestep any talk of a
competition for the follow-on KC-Y project and
simply tack on additional KC-46s over and above
the 179 planned under the KC-X program. This
shoots down any hopes of the A330 Multi-Role
Tanker Transport re-entering the fray despite its
international popularity. ‘The KC-Y is the KC-46’,
Everhart said.
Speaking at a press brie ng in September, the
AMC chief set his sights on the more radical KC-Z in
the 2035 timeframe, with KC-Y simply running on
from KC-X. ‘I want to jump the leap in technology
to go straight to the KC-Z’, he said. He talked of
penetrating capabilities for the next generation of
tanker aircraft that could embrace a blended wing
con guration for low-observable traits — stealth
and range are on the ‘want’ list.
Gen Everhart’s strategy falls neatly into line with
the high-end ght the USAF is so focused upon —
the stealthy F-35 Lightning II, the forthcoming B-21
Raider, and now talk of a brand-new Penetrating
Counter Air (PCA) ghter to shadow the B-21. KC-Z
is clearly Gen Everhart’s plan for keeping these
advanced o ensive platforms in the ght because,
as we know, ‘nobody kicks ass without tanker gas.’
To keep track of the latest breaking news and
analysis in the world of military air power you can
visit our social media sites and our website:
www.combataircraft.net
You can also sign up for our free e-mail newsletter
by going to www.combataircraft.net to register.
05
Jamie Hunter,
Editor
E-mail: jamie.hunter@keypublishing.com

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