F-35A at Red Flag 19-1

[hythelday]

Any news on the F-35’s performance at RF19-1? This silence is deafening! Very unusual of new fifth gen participating in RF. When the Raptor had their first few RF performance, lots of news of its crazy overmatch emerged rapidly.

Obviously it's because it's getting it's a$$ kicked.

Yup, and every non-US participant has signed a top secret non disclosure agreement so they can't brag about dem sweet F-35 kills, just like some loon was telling in some endless F-22 vs Typhoon holywar

[SpudmanWP]

Red Flag 19-1 started on the 26th of January and will continue through the 15th of February. We likely won't get any details till after it's done.

[spazsinbad]

Red Flag strengthens F-35A maintainers
12 Feb 2019 388th Fighter Wing Public Affairs

"...“This is about as close as you’re going to get to a deployed environment. We’ve been able to sustain a very aggressive schedule and keep the mission-capable rate high,” said Master Sgt. Paul DeGrechie, 4th AMU production superintendent. “The F-35 was designed to be maintenance friendly, and that’s been the case here.”

Working around the clock, the Airmen have launched more than a dozen sorties a day, and so far, have maintained a higher than 90 percent mission capable rate. They have been able to fine-tune their operations and build off of lessons-learned to be more proactive with “pre-maintenance,” said Capt. Dayna Grant, 4th AMU officer in charge.

“We’ve been able to use this to gain a lot of experience for our young Airmen across the board,” Grant said. “This is preparing them for the kind of ops tempo and working environment we’d experience if we were called upon to deploy.”...

...“In this environment they don’t feel like they’re feeding the 'sortie monster.’ They are part of something bigger. They are learning and growing, gaining the trust of their supervisors and each other,” DeGreiche said. “There is a real sense of pride to see the unity that forms. They are all working together, stepping outside of their comfort zones to pitch in.”

Being at Red Flag allows the Airmen to focus entirely on the mission and they have more time to broaden their skills. Airman 1st Class Monique Fajardo, who joined the Air Force two years ago, has been able to learn and practice things that are not part of her normal job as an avionics technician.

“They’ve been showing me how to do things that crew chiefs do, prepping the jet, interacting with the pilots, marshaling a jet,” Fajardo said. “It’s been really fun.”"

Photo: "Airman 1st Class Monique Fajardo, 4th Aircraft Maintenance Unit avionics technician, launches an F-35A Lightning II at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev, Jan. 31, 2019, during Red Flag 19-1. This is the 388th Fighter Wing's second Red Flag with the F-35A, America's most advanced multi-role fighter, which brings game-changing stealth, lethality and interoperability to the modern battlefield. (U.S. Air Force photo by R. Nial Bradshaw)" https://media.defense.gov/2019/Feb/05/2 ... 6-0007.JPG (3.2Mb)

Source: https://www.af.mil/News/Article-Display ... intainers/

[SpudmanWP]

Hill Airmen, F-35 a lethal combo at Red Flag

NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, NV, UNITED STATES
02.15.2019
Story by Micah Garbarino
388th Fighter Wing
Subscribe 4


NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. – Today, Airmen from the 388th Fighter Wing’s 4th Fighter Squadron wrapped up flying operations with the F-35A Lightning II in an “exponentially more challenging” Red Flag.

The 4th FS integrated the F-35A into a large, capable “Blue Force” in diverse missions against an equally capable “Red Force.” Nearly 3,000 personnel from 39 separate units participated in the exercise, including the U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force, Royal Air Force and Royal Australian Air Force.

The Red Force was made up of hybrid threats, combinations of the “most advanced weapons systems out there,” meant to replicate “near-peer” enemies in a large scale conflict. The shift closely aligns with the National Defense Strategy.

“The first time I came to Red Flag in 2004, our tactics were the same as they had been since the early 1980s. Now, the threat and complexity are at a whole different level,” said Col. Joshua Wood, 388th Operations Group commander. “It’s no longer assumed that we will gain and maintain air superiority. That’s a big shift.”

Red Flag aggressors encompass the whole spectrum of an adversary force – advanced integrated air-defense systems, an adversary air force, cyber-warfare and information operations. Because of these diverse capabilities, many Red Flag missions are flown in “contested or denied” environments with active electronic attack, communications jamming, and GPS denial.

“Those situations highlight the fifth-generation capabilities of the F-35. We’re still able to operate and be successful. In a lot of cases we have a large role as an integrated quarterback,” said Lt. Col. Yosef Morris, 4th Fighter Squadron commander. “Our ability to continue to fuse and pass information to the entire package makes every aircraft more survivable.”

During the first week of Red Flag, the F-35 pilots flew in a larger force of Blue Air in a counter-air mission. More than 60 aggressor aircraft were flying against them, blinding many of the fourth-generation aircraft with “robust” electronic attack capabilities.

“I’ve never seen anything like it before.” Wood said. “This is not a mission you want a young pilot flying in. My wingman was a brand new F-35A pilot, seven or eight flights out of training. He gets on the radio and tells an experienced, 3,000-hour pilot in a very capable fourth-generation aircraft. ‘Hey bud, you need to turn around. You’re about to die. There’s a threat off your nose.’”

The young pilot then “killed” the enemy aircraft and had three more kills in the hour-long mission. {thanks to Block 3F's 4 internal AMRAAMs!}

“Even in this extremely challenging environment, the F-35 didn’t have many difficulties doing its job,” Wood said. ‘That’s a testament to the pilot’s training and the capabilities of the jet.”

One of the most valuable things about this exercise for the 4th Fighter Squadron is the experience it provided younger pilots flying combat missions as part of an integrated force. Thirteen pilots in the squadron have never flown the F-35 in Red Flag, and four of them just graduated pilot training.

“They say it’s the most realistic thing to combat,” said 1st Lt. Landon Moores, a new F-35A pilot. “It’s been pretty intense.”

Red Flag is not a “rolling campaign.” It is made up of different scenarios that increase in difficulty as the weeks go on. This allows the integrated force to learn how best to capitalize on the strengths and protect the weaknesses of each platform in very specific mission sets.

“With stealth, the F-35 can get closer to threats than many other aircraft can. Combined with the performance of the fused sensors on the F-35, we can significantly contribute to the majority of the missions,” Morris said.

The missions aren’t just 90-minute flights. They require 12-hours of intense planning the day prior, a two hour pre-brief, and then several hours of debriefing after the mission – dissecting the outcome and looking for ways to improve.

“It’s not like we just come back and high-five if we’re successful,” Morris said. “Could we have done better? Did we have all the resources we needed? Often the brief and debrief is the most valuable part of Red Flag, especially for younger pilots.”

The squadron brought 12 aircraft and more than 200 Airmen to the three-week exercise – pilots, maintainers, intelligence officers, weapons crews, and support personnel, including reservists from the 419th Fighter Wing. Maintainers didn’t lose a single sortie to a maintenance ground-abort and had spare aircraft available for every mission.

“As this aircraft matures, we continue to see it be a significant force-multiplier in a threat-dense environment,” Morris said. “Red Flag was a success for us and has made our younger pilots more lethal and more confident.”

http://www.dvidshub.net/news/310967/hil ... o-red-flag

[SpudmanWP]

419 FW personnel complete Red Flag 19-1

HILL AIR FORCE BASE, Utah -- Pilots, maintainers, and support personnel from the 419th Fighter Wing wrapped up intensive training operations at the Air Force’s premier combat exercise known as Red Flag 19-1 at Nellis AFB, Nevada, today.

It was the wing's second Red Flag with the F-35A, alongside its active duty counterparts in the 388th FW.

Nearly 3,000 personnel from 39 units across the globe also participated, to include other U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy, Royal Air Force, and Royal Australian Air Force squadrons.

The three-week exercise saw a friendly “Blue Force” take on enemy “Red Force” aggressors in a training environment that simulates realistic combat operations using air-to-air, air-to-ground, space and cyber warfare. This year, the F-35 once again, provided offensive and defensive counter air, suppression of enemy air defense and close air support against enemy forces.

The F-35A is America's most advanced multi-role fighter, and offers extraordinarily advanced stealth and interoperability. The 388th and 419th Fighter Wings have been flying and maintaining the aircraft together as part of a Total Force Integration since 2007.

https://www.419fw.afrc.af.mil/News/Article/1759644/419-fw-personnel-complete-red-flag-19-1/

[popcorn]

LOL.

[steve2267]

Does Red Flag simulate or otherwise account for missile Pk < 100% ?

With just the story as penned, one could easily assume the "young pilot" was four for four with his internal AIM-120s. There is no mention of carrying Aim-9X on that early OCA mission, nor is there any mention of the "young pilot" killing those four bandits with Slammers off of other airframes. So, 4 for 4 would be Pk = 100%. Either damn good shootin', which is very possible, or the youngster was able to get deep into a good wep NEZ.

Hopefully some reporter will get up the gumption to ask some good questions... but hold my breath I do not.

[popcorn]

Good question. I'll assume for now they use the same measuring stick with the F-22s.

[popcorn]

Easy to overlook in the cited article but also impressive

The squadron brought 12 aircraft and more than 200 Airmen to the three-week exercise – pilots, maintainers, intelligence officers, weapons crews, and support personnel, including reservists from the 419th Fighter Wing. Maintainers didn’t lose a single sortie to a maintenance ground-abort and had spare aircraft available for every mission.

[jetblast16]

since 2007

?

[quicksilver]

Does Red Flag simulate or otherwise account for missile Pk < 100% ?

Yes.

How would it serve the purpose of the exercise (training for real combat) to ‘game’ (i.e fake) the weapons Pk?

Really...think about it. Training for combat...life or death...not a tag line in a movie (‘no points for second best’) and they’re gonna fake the Pk’s? Really??

[marsavian]

Does Red Flag simulate or otherwise account for missile Pk < 100% ?

Yes.

By assuming it's only a kill in the NEZ ? If so how would it account for ECM or evasive maneuvering by the attacked aircraft like beaming ?

[wrightwing]

Does Red Flag simulate or otherwise account for missile Pk < 100% ?

Yes.

By assuming it's only a kill in the NEZ ? If so how would it account for ECM or evasive maneuvering by the attacked aircraft like beaming ?

Aircraft don't fly around with their jammers constantly radiating, nor are they maneuvering against a foe, they can't see. The reason F-35s (and F-22s) can achieve such lopsided kills, is that their opponents weren't aware of them. An AIM-120 within its NEZ, against a non-maneuvering target, and no jamming, is going to have a very high Pk. That's the key difference between 4th generation fighters and 5th generation.

[marsavian]

Once an AIM-120 goes Pitbull an attacked aircraft will be aware of it via its RWR. I suspect it's very hard to simulate the seeker head of a missile going active on a simulated launch although I suspect the terminal missile guidance of an F-35 would be excellent via its AESA and EOTS laser and even DAS for HOBS shots.

[quicksilver]

TACTS/ACMI pods were around for decades. That’s how all the participants were monitored in real-time. There was even a scene in top gun where they were debriefing in one of the TACTS facilities (‘...gutsiest move I ever saw Mav...’). The 21st century versions are far more sophisticated.