Page 18 - AirForces Monthly - Issue 381 (December 2019)

NEWS North America

F-35Bs train en masse with USS America

Above: Thirteen F-35Bs from VMFA-122 arranged on board amphibious assault ship USS ‘America’ during routine operations in the
eastern Pacific on October 8. US Navy/Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Chad Swysgood Barksdale
AT LEAST 13 F-35Bs took Fighter Attack Squadron Lt Col John Dirk, across a range of mission B-52s at
part in a routine period of 122 (VMFA-122) ‘Flying commanding officer, VMFA- sets.” Over a two-week
training on board the US Leathernecks’, part of the 122, explained: “We were period, the USMC Lightning Fairford
Navy’s amphibious assault 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, I able to sustain a high II detachment tested
ship USS America (LHA Marine Expeditionary Force. sortie rate with a high sortie rates, deck cycles USAF B-52Hs from
6) in the eastern Pacific in The deployment involved condition of readiness, and multi-ship control as Barksdale Air Force Base,
October. The Lightning IIs the largest number of while interoperating with part of a joint US Navy- Louisiana, arrived at RAF
were assigned to Marine F-35s ever put to sea. multiple ships and aircraft Marine Corps team. Fairford, Gloucestershire,
for a scheduled bomber
Six F-35s depart Edwards for Nellis task force deployment
on October 10. The
bombers comprised
60-0025, 60-0006,
AIR FORCE Materiel Nevada to continue initial Initial Operational Test and the F-35 Joint Operational 60-0024 and 60-0028 of
Command announced the operational testing. The Evaluation (IOT&E) of the Test Team. By consolidating the 20th and 96th Bomb
departure of six F-35s from move came after Edwards- Lightning II. The 31st TES, F-35 test fleets at Nellis, the Squadrons (BS), using
Edwards Air Force Base, based 31st Test and whose parent unit is the operational test programme the callsigns ‘BRIG 01
California in October, as the Evaluation Squadron (TES) 53rd Wing out of Eglin AFB will be able to launch larger to 04’. The deployment
jets relocate to Nellis AFB, completed their portion of in Florida, served as part of numbers of instrumented by the 2nd Bomb Wing
aircraft. The six F-35s have (BW) follows a previous
been assigned to the 422nd deployment of B-52s from
TES at Nellis. Meanwhile, Barksdale’s 307th BW to
the 31st TES will continue Fairford in September.
to work on operational test While in England, the
for legacy bomber as well as 2nd BW Stratofortresses
command and control and conducted “integration and
intelligence, surveillance interoperability training”
and reconnaissance with allies in the region,
(C2ISR) programmes. according to a Air Force
Left: F-35A 11-5021 ‘OT’ parked Global Strike Command
prior to its final flight out of press release. The
Edwards AFB on October 7. It bombers began to depart
is one of six jets that have been Fairford on November 8,
reassigned to the 422nd Test but at that point, 60-0024
and Evaluation Squadron at was still at the base.
Nellis. USAF/Giancarlo Casem
23rd Wing ‘heritage

jet’ at Moody AFB

SEEN DURING preparations Angels’ on a tail painted in
for the Thunder over South the Thunderbolt II’s early
Georgia open house at ‘European One’ camouflage.
Moody Air Force Base, The three squadrons of
Georgia, A-10C 80-0241 ‘FT’ the wing comprised the
carries the patches of the original 1st American
23rd Wing’s three historic Volunteer Group that flew
fighter squadrons: the 1st P-40s at the beginning
Pursuit Squadron ‘Adam & of World War Two in the
Eve’; 2nd Pursuit Squadron Pacific theatre and which
‘Panda Bears’; and 3rd subsequently evolved into
Pursuit Squadron ‘Hell’s today’s 23rd Fighter Group. Nate Leong

18 // December 2019 #381 www.Key.Aero

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