Exercise Northern Lightning Overview [F-35As + others]

[spazsinbad]

Exercise Northern Lightning Overview
24 Aug 2016 Video by Staff Sgt. Tarelle Walker 33rd Fighter Wing/Public Affairs

"CAMP DOUGLAS, WI, UNITED STATES
VIDEO Description: Members of the 58th Fighter Squadron and F-35A's from Eglin AFB, Florida traveled to Volk Field, Air National Guard Base in Wisconsin to participate in exercise Northern Lightning, the DoD's largest F-35 deployment.

Source: https://www.dvidshub.net/video/480588/e ... g-overview

[Dragon029]

Lots more footage at the sister article / video:

https://www.dvidshub.net/video/480459/n ... ning-day-1

Also, a PDF poster / flyer for Northern Lightning 2016:

http://www.wial.com/documents/2016/07/n ... htning.pdf

[spazsinbad]

From the 'pdf poster' - thanks 'Dragon029'...

NORTHERN LIGHTNING EXERCISE
22 Aug – 2 Sept 2016 CRTC Volk Field, ANGB WI

VISION
Deliver a premier Air National Guard joint training environment replicating today’s battle space with current and future weapons platforms.

OBJECTIVE
Provide a tactical level, joint training exercise emphasizing user defined objectives resulting in tailored, scenario based, full spectrum, high end training.

FOCUS
Northern Lightning focuses on Opposed Air Interdiction against a highly integrated air defense system composed of relevant surface-to-air and air-to-air threats in a contested/degraded operational (CDO) environment. Emphasis is placed on joint integration of 4th and 5th generation assets from the Air National Guard, Air Force and Navy. Forces will be tasked to execute multiple missions including Offensive Counter Air (OCA), Suppression/Destruction of Enemy Air Defense (SEAD/DEAD), and Close Air Support (CAS) involving actual employment of laser and GPS guided munitions from B-1, F-16, F-18, and F-35 aircraft.

TRAINING ENVIRONMENT
Volk Field CRTC, in conjunction with the 128th Air Control Squadron (ACS), 128th Air Refueling Wing (ARW), 115th Fighter Wing, Fort McCoy, and Hardwood Range provides realistic and challenging training scenarios unparalleled in the Air National Guard. Volk Field’s CRTC encompasses an Electronic Warfare range comprised of integrated stationary and mobile threat emitters capable of replicating enemy air defense systems. Hardwood range offers a full spectrum of target sets that support live, laser, GPS-guided munitions, moving strafe, and Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) targets.

The training environment offers exceptional training for Joint Tactical Air Controllers (JTAC) and pilots in rural, urban, uncontested and high threat environments including integration of Joint Fires Observers (JFO) from Fort McCoy. An organic Air Control Squadron provides Command and Control for airspace users facilitating air combat training. The airspace and ranges surrounding Volk Field CRTC are fully instrumented, providing real-time scenario based training utilizing live-virtual construct (LVC), and enhanced debrief capabilities."

Source: http://www.wial.com/documents/2016/07/n ... htning.pdf (7.3Mb)

[Dragon029]

https://www.dvidshub.net/news/208489/vi ... y-aircraft

Vicious cycle: F-35A continues 5th-gen tradition of bullying legacy aircraft

VOLK FIELD AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, WI, UNITED STATES
08.30.2016

Story by Senior Airman Stormy Archer
33rd Fighter Wing/Public Affairs

Imagine yourself in the seat of a fighter jet, tearing through the air at the speed of sound, your own weight pressing against your chest as you fight to breathe against the increased force of gravity.
Sweat beads down your forehead as you scan you sensors and outside your canopy for any threats in the area. Next thing you know, you are tagged out by an enemy that is invisible to your sensors, and too far for your eyes to see.
You circle your jet around to regenerate, or “respawn”, into the battle space; only to make it back in time to be shot down by the same unseen adversary again… and again… and again.
A similar situation played out for Lt. Col. Brad Bashore, 58th Fighter Squadron commander, years ago when he flew against the F-22 Raptor as an F-15E Strike Eagle pilot.
Now as an F-35A pilot at this year’s exercise Northern Lightning, it’s his turn to deliver fire from the clouds.
“It’s not a fair fight, and that’s exactly what we want for our adversaries,” Bashore said. “To be on the offensive side this time and getting a chance to employ (those capabilities), I couldn’t ask for anything better. It’s like fighting somebody with their hands tied behind their back. It’s not a fair fight and that’s how we like it.”
Bashore and his wingmen at the 58th FS have been employing the capabilities of the F-35A, scoring as many as 27 kills in a single sortie, at Northern Lightning, a large force exercise where fifth and fourth generation aircraft engage in a contested, degraded environment.
“I remember the first time I flew against (fifth-generation aircraft),” Bashore said. “It’s a change in mind set because you can’t target anything on your radar because it’s not there, and by the time you do potentially find something it’s too late and they have already shot you.
“It’s frustrating, but at the same time understanding that it’s our asset is invigorating and gives you a lot of hope for the future as far as how successful this platform is going to be.”
While sharing many similarities with the F-22, the F-35A’s main advantage is its robust suite of sensors that give it the ability to process and share information with other players in the battle space. These capabilities make the F-35A more lethal and survivable than any legacy aircraft, and eliminate any safe space for the enemy to hide.
“We took off out of Madison (to join the fight),” said Lt. Col. Bart Van Roo, 176th FS commander. “We went to our simulated air field out in the far part of the air space. As the two ship from the Northern half of the air space we turned hot, drove for about 30 seconds and we were dead, just like that. We never even saw (the F-35A).”
Van Roo has been flying the F-16 since 2001 and as red air during Northern Lightning for 13 years. Red air is a formation of aircraft acting as the enemy for air-to-air tactics training.
“For us, as a capable fourth-generation fighter, we are used to being able to see and counter most adversaries that we have out there when we are playing red air,” Van Roo said. “Versus the F-35 it’s completely different. The most difficult thing is we just can’t see them like they can see us. It can feel like you are out there with a blindfold on trying to find someone in a huge space.
“We have been reliant on visual pickups of the aircraft only, which is extremely difficult to do, and at those ranges we are already dead before we could shoot back.”
Fortunately the red air pilots at this year’s Northern Lightning can take solace that the F-35A is on their side for future combat deployments, and will help ensure their ability to fly, fight and win against possible near peer adversaries.
“The significant increase in situational awareness that it gives us on the battle field, the information sharing between jets, radar capability and of course the capability that we will have with our opponents not being able to see us will be a game changer,” Van Roo said.

[sferrin]

LIES!!!! ALL OF IT. -Solomon

[XanderCrews]

LIES!!!! ALL OF IT. -Solomon

"They set this up to silence me, and I am not buying it." - Solomon

[bojack_horseman]

I'm sorry Dragon & Spazinbad..... you must be wrong!

Gilmore over at the DOT&E said that these planes can't do anything without a 4th Gen chaperoning it.

Unless, of course Gimore is talking out of his hoop!

[bayernfan]

27 kills in a single sortie.....

Assuming 4 planes per unit, each carrying 4 AIM-120 internally, that is only 16 missiles. Even with wingtip AIM-9x, still only 24 missiles.

Indicating a bunch of gun kills?

[SpudmanWP]

Most likely just a Blue reset but since NL is the "largest F-35 deployment to date", there may have been 8xF-35s.

[neptune]

...to narrow the focus abit....

I see many comments about the various accomplishments for the F-35A and am now focusing on the working relationships of the F-35A Lightning II, F/A-18 Super Hornet and EA-18 Growler.

Is this highlighted in any of the reports, were there any tactics employed between the (F-35) and the SBugs?

I realize one of the AF generals has commented that "he" did not want any SBugs around his F-35As; that said, were there joint comm/ data activities with the SBugs at NL?

...perhaps an indicator of future F-35C and SBug developments....

[spazsinbad]

...to narrow the focus abit....

I see many comments about the various accomplishments for the F-35A and am now focusing on the working relationships of the F-35A Lightning II, F/A-18 Super Hornet and EA-18 Growler.

Is this highlighted in any of the reports, were there any tactics employed between the (F-35) and the SBugs?

I realize one of the AF generals has commented that "he" did not want any SBugs around his F-35As; that said, were there joint comm/ data activities with the SBugs at NL?

...perhaps an indicator of future F-35C and SBug developments....

I think the USAF General (HOSTAGE?) said he did not want GROWLERS around USAF F-35As:

http://breakingdefense.com/2014/06/gen- ... ar-starts/

Gen. Mike Hostage On The F-35; No Growlers Needed When War Starts
06 Jun 2016 Colin Clark

"...Gen. Hostage was crystal clear in his assessment.

Stealth Is Not Invisibility
“But in the first moments of a conflict I’m not sending Growlers or F-16s or F-15Es anywhere close to that environment, so now I’m going to have to put my fifth gen in there and that’s where that radar cross-section and the exchange of the kill chain is so critical. You’re not going to get a Growler close up to help in the first hours and days of the conflict, so I’m going to be relying on that stealth to open the door,” Hostage says...."

Source: http://breakingdefense.com/2014/06/gen- ... -starts/3/

[popcorn]

“We took off out of Madison (to join the fight),” said Lt. Col. Bart Van Roo, 176th FS commander. “We went to our simulated air field out in the far part of the air space. As the two ship from the Northern half of the air space we turned hot, drove for about 30 seconds and we were dead, just like that. We never even saw (the F-35A).”

Absent SA, flyng faster only means you die faster.

[sferrin]

Remember how pissed you'd get at the guy camping with the .50 BMG in Counterstrike? This must feel like that.

[popcorn]

It's getting tougher to justify a Raptor re-start if the F-35 starts racking up massive "kill" tallies in LFEs.

[sferrin]

It's getting tougher to justify a Raptor re-start if the F-35 starts racking up massive "kill" tallies in LFEs.

Probably isn't F-22 kills it's getting.