F-35B jets practice with F-22s 1st time in Alaska exercise

[spazsinbad]

F-35B jets practice with F-22s for first time in Alaska exercise [will those 'head in the snow' canucks notice?]
01 May 2017 Sam Friedman

"FAIRBANKS — The military’s new F-35B fighter jet will practice alongside a fellow fifth-generation fighter this week in the Northern Edge exercises over Alaska.

The U.S. Marine Corps versions of the F-35 are in Alaska this week for only the second time. The jets passed through the Anchorage area in January on their way to their duty station at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni in Japan. They’re back now for two weeks of war games that started Monday and run through May 12.

It will be the first time F-35Bs has been used in a real exercise with F-22 Raptors, said Capt. Anastasia Schmidt, with the Alaska Command public affairs office. Like the F-35, the F-22 is a fifth-generation fighter and the two share some of the same capabilities.

The F-35Bs will be based at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage during the exercise but may take part in exercises that send them into training ranges in the Interior during Northern Edge, Schmidt said....

...The exercises take place over the Joint Alaska Pacific Range Complex, a Wyoming-sized section of military training airspace over Alaska and the waters of the Gulf of Alaska. The Air Force and Navy are the main participants in the exercise, but Army paratroopers from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson will play a role next week when they parachute into the Donnelly Training Area near Delta Junction.

The new F-35Bs in Alaska this week are based on the same platform as the F-35As that are scheduled to be stationed at Eielson Air Force Base in 2020...."

Source: http://www.newsminer.com/news/local_news/f–b-jets-practice-with-f–s-for/article_9c945e36-2f09-11e7-9199-0b53a410c907.html

[steve2267]

It is unclear to me if the Bees are heading back to Alaska from Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni in Japan, or if other USMC Killer Bees are deploying from CONUS.

The article hints or suggests they are the ones from Iwakuni, but does not explicitly state that. IMO, it makes more sense to keep those Japanese Killer Bees closer to Dear Leader in case that balloon goes up.

[spazsinbad]

Perhaps they wanna be coy: https://www.dvidshub.net/video/522184/a ... 017-b-roll
&
https://www.dvidshub.net/image/3350042/ ... akes-skies

"JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska -- Two Marine Corps F-35B Lightning IIs from 121 Marine Fighter Attack Squadron, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, from Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, take off on the first day of Exercise Northern Edge 17...."

https://www.dvidshub.net/download/image/3350042 (JPG 0.74Mb)

[neptune]

http://aviationphotodigest.com/vmfa-121-to-japan/

"....VMFA-121 is scheduled to participate in Exercise Northern Edge 2017 in April/ May this year."

http://www.pacom.mil/Media/News/News-Ar ... the-skies/

"The F-35 Lightning II is making its first appearance in a Northern Edge exercise with two Marine Corps squadrons participating (F-35B and EA-6B)."..."Marine Corps Forces Pacific,"

http://www.webcenter11.com/content/news ... 43123.html

"The F35s are being flown as part of the big blue air mission package and we are flying our F16 aggressor aircraft as the opposing force," said Minau.
The training will be conducted mainly from Joint Base Elmendorf–Richardson and Eielson Air Force Base, on and above the Joint Pacific Alaska Range Complex (JPARC).

Nearly 200 aircraft are participating, to include the F-35B Lightning II, F-15E Strike Eagle, F-16C Fighting Falcon, FA-18D Hornet, EA-6B Prowler, KC-135 Stratotanker, and the KC-10 Extender aircraft.

....more later

[mrbuno]

Does anyone know how many F-35Bs are participating? So far, I've counted 5 from pictures/videos:
VK-01, VK-03, VK-05, VK-08, VK-09.

[zerion]

Marines show off F-35 during Northern Edge

The F-35 won’t land in Alaska for three years, but local military leaders are getting a preview of what to expect thanks to training exercise Northern Edge. It’s the first time the fifth generation fighter jet has flown in the Alaska exercise. A squadron of Marines are piloting the planes.

“The mountains up there are beautiful. It’s some of the best flying I’ve done,” said Major Adam Wellington, VMFA 121 Aviation Safety Officer. “These exercises are honestly my favorite flights in the airplane, large force exercises, because it really lets the plane stretch its legs and utilize its systems.”

The training is pushing the plane to its limits, while stressing the maintainers responsible for keeping it in the air.

“It’s still a fairly new aircraft, so, we’re still trying to figure out the best ways to do some of the maintenance and keep the mission systems running to the point where the pilots can use them effectively,” said Sergeant Andrew Berry, an avionics technician.

The Marines fly the F-35 “B” model, which has a lift fan allowing the plane to hover and do short take-offs and landings.

Two squadrons of F-35 “A” model aircraft are planned for Eielson Air Force Base. They don’t have a lift fan, but instead have more gas and expanded weapons capability, according to Wellington. Despite that slight difference, he said the training is helping lay the groundwork for the future Alaska squadrons.

“We can kind of talk back and forth about capabilities, limitations with each aircraft, and I have no doubt that the lessons learned in this exercise will be applied to future Northern Edges, as well as when the squadrons show up to Eielson,” said Wellington.

The Marines will be in Alaska through the end of May for some additional training. Northern Edge wraps up on Friday, May 12.

The F-35 squadrons are scheduled to land at Eielson in 2020 and 2021.

http://www.ktva.com/marines-show-off-f- ... -edge-806/

[spazsinbad]

“Believe the unbelievable”: Exercise NORTHERN EDGE 17 enhances interoperability with Live, Virtual, Constructive training
02 May 2017 Tech. Sgt. Steven Doty 354th Fighter Wing

"...LVC is the answer to a variety of challenges and is the key to benefiting more than just improved TTPs and decreased training costs; security.

U.S. Navy Capt. Jiancarlo Villa, assigned to NAWCTSD Naval Air Systems Command, Orlando, is the LVC for training fleet integrator working with the Navy Continuous Training Environment (NCTE) team located at Naval Station Norfolk, VA, and is responsible for identifying the necessary actions for LVC to be a viable approach to guard against the overwhelming increase of awareness to military operations, resources and capabilities by public audiences.

“Weapons have outgrown our aerial space and some range capabilities. We launch a missile during an at-sea exercise and people are watching,” said Villa. “We don’t want to expose our capabilities until absolutely necessary.”

Ideally, this level of operational consideration effectively prepares forces for similar operations in combat environments were protection of operational capabilities must be ensured and in order to preserve people, equipment and resources.

An even greater consideration is having the ability to construct environments that are more challenging and unique to participants and which improves and enhances the capabilities of our joint warfighters.

“Fifth-generation fighters like the F-35, specifically their capabilities and their systems, can’t be fully challenged in the airspace and range available,” said Villa. “In the virtual construct, we can create the environment that provides them the fidelity that is going to allow them to see what they’re going to see in the operational environment.”

In the end, LVC allows designers to create environments where the warfighter is completely immersed, suspended by their faculty and allowed to believe the unbelievable.

The bottom line?
The ability to fully challenge the warfighters’ ability to employ a specific weapons system – whether it be an aircraft, ship, or other ground support – better enables forces to jointly interact and engage safely toward a common objective.

“Part of a war plan involves assessing whether or not we can operate as a joint force in any environment. This system allows us to incorporate various components and break down requirements for that very needs,” urged Villa. “Potential for LVC is limited only by our imagination. We still want to create realistic scenarios, but if we can use this system to better prepare our warfighters for combat and save lives, that’s a great goal.”
-------------
NE17 is one in a series of U.S. Pacific Command exercises in 2017 that prepares joint forces to respond to crises in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region. The exercise is designed to sharpen participants’ tactical combat skills, to improve command, control and communication relationships, and to develop interoperable plans and programs across the joint force.

Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division (NAWCTSD) is the principal Navy facility for research, development, acquisition and logistics support of training systems. NAWCTSD is endowed with a strong engineering and applied psychological research professional staff that provide the Navy with state-of-the-art concepts, methods, and technologies to support Fleet needs via enhanced training. Active support and research efforts address the requirements of aviation, surface fleet, and submarine warfighting domains."

Graphic: https://static.dvidshub.net/media/thumb ... 0w_q95.jpg

Source: "Photo By Tech. Sgt. Steven Doty | Live, Virtual, and Constructive training capability is the appropriate and efficient integration and interoperability of real and synthetic people and systems in order to more effectively train forces (Courtesy graphic/Lockheed Martin)" https://www.dvidshub.net/news/232486/be ... e-training

[spazsinbad]

Alaska’s Northern Edge is a Wrap
15 May 2017 AFM

"​The US military completed Northern Edge 17, its premier annual joint exercise in Alaska, on Friday. The exercise began May 1 and brought 6,000 personnel and more than 200 aircraft to locations around the state to practice interoperability. A rich complement of aircraft participated in the event, including the F-22, F-15E, F-16C, F-35B, F/A-18D, EA-6B, KC-135, and KC-10.

Northern Edge is “a unique exercise because it’s a chance for the Department of Defense to test new capabilities of current platforms against new and emerging threats,” said Lt. Col. Christopher Moeller, 13th Fighter Squadron commander, according to a press release.

“Northern Edge gives us the opportunity to really practice the tactics, techniques and procedures that we would need in order to fight in such a vast Pacific Ocean theater,” said USMC Lt. Col. Stephen Driskill, US Strategic Command’s chief of staff at the Joint Electromagnetic Preparedness for Advanced Combat, in a previous release."

Source: http://www.airforcemag.com/DRArchive/Pa ... 017/Alaska’s-Northern-Edge-is-a-Wrap.aspx

"Photo by Sgt. 1st Class Joel Gibson Alaskan NORAD Region/Alaskan Command/11th Air Force  
JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska -- A Marine Corps F-35B Lightning II from Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 121, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, from Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, takes off on the first day of Exercise Northern Edge 17. Northern Edge is a biennial joint training exercise involving approximately 6,000 personnel, that dates to 1975."

Photo: https://www.dvidshub.net/download/image/3346259 (0.9Mb)

[spazsinbad]

F-35B Six-Plane Launch Puts Exclamation Point on Northern Edge 2017
25 May 2017 Jeff Babione

"F-35Bs from MCAS Iwakuni, Japan completed their two-week long deployment to Alaska on a high note. The F-35Bs flew a six-ship launch to participate in the last event of the exercise. During Northern Edge, the F-35B squadron, the Green Knights, flew more than 146 hours and 54 sorties against an array of simulated threats tougher than at any other combat exercise. The eight F-35Bs supporting the effort enhanced the squadron’s interoperability and gave them more deployment experience...."

Source: https://a855196877272cb14560-2a4fa819a6 ... _25_17.pdf (0.8Mb)

[doge]

This is...Not quoted yet? (I'll do quote try.)

Fighting Skills
The squadron got to hone its fighting skills earlier this month at Northern Edge, a 12-day training exercise at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska.

The exercise included the Air Force's 5th-generation F-22 Raptor, as well as numerous fourth-generation fighters, including the F/A-18 Super Hornet, the F-15 Eagle and the F-16 Fighting Falcon.

In the exercise, the largest VFMA-121 has participated in since moving forward to Iwakuni, the F-35s were able to drill on joint operations in the Western Pacific, focusing on aerial interdiction, strike warfare, air-to-air, and offensive counter-air missions.

Rusnok said the F-35's kill ratio from the exercise was not immediately available, though one of the missions he flew racked up eight kills and zero losses, he said, a fairly indicative statistic.

But he doesn't particularly like to talk about those stats.

"Everyone likes to focus on that air-to-air piece. It robs that statistic out of a bigger scenario," he said. "You never hear about the surface-to-air kills we got, the enemy systems degraded. There's a bigger picture."

The exercise, Rusnok said, also tested the F-35's ability to create a "God's-eye view" of the battlespace, with its ability to network and transmit information. Northern Edge showed, he said, that the capability remained strong, even in a dense radio frequency environment that hindered transmissions.

"Where other air systems have problems, we're able to cut through that so easily," he said. "Our ability to resist that kind of attack on the electromagnetic spectrum is huge."
http://www.military.com/daily-news/2017 ... yment.html

One missions 8:0? High jamming environment?

[steve2267]

Nice post, dog!

Welcome to Lightning heaven! (i.e. F-16.net forums)