Tämähän on ollut juuri ongelmana että USAssakaan ei ole ollut realistista open-air aluetta, jossa olisi rakennettuna todelliset neer-peer kyvyt F-35 ominaisuuksien todelliseen testiin.
Vai niin.
Uskallan kyllä väittää, että F-35:n kykyjä testataan nykyään säännöllisesti harjoituksissa maailman parasta ilmapuolustusta vastaan.
Blue Flag 2019 Air battles over Ovda
Although only established in 2013, the Israeli Air Force’s (IAF’s) biennial Blue Flag is recognised as one of the most important international events of its kind – for three crucial reasons: first, the IAF boasts impressive operational capabilities and exposes its units to realistic exercises as part of an aggressive training philosophy. Second, it’s staged in an area perfect for air operations – the Negev desert is not only almost uninhabited, but it’s possible to fly at all altitudes and speeds. It also includes well-equipped ranges. Finally, as the IAF’s most advanced air exercise, Blue Flag features the air arm’s best units – including 115 ‘Flying Dragon’ Squadron, specialised in the Red Air mission – plus visitors from some of the most advanced Western air forces. The 2019 manoeuvres, held as usual at Ovda Air Base, included contingents from Germany, Greece, Italy and the United States. The United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) deployed its 480th Fighter Squadron (FS), from Spangdahlem AB, Germany, operating the F-16CM Block 50 in the ‘Wild Weasel’ role. The German Luftwaffe sent a detachment from Taktisches Luftwaffengeschwader 71 (TaktLwG 71) ‘Richthofen,’ flying the Eurofighter. The Hellenic Air Force selected its 335 Mira from Araxos air base, operating Greece’s most advanced Fighting Falcon version – the F-16C/D Block 52M (the local designation for the Block 52+ Advanced). However, the most numerous foreign contingent was from the Italian Air Force, which deployed six F-35As from the 32° Stormo, six F-2000A Typhoons from a multi-wing team headed by the 4° Stormo, and one of 14° Stormo’s E-550As – the Italian designation for the G550 Conformal Airborne Early Warning (CAEW) aircraft. Tal Herman, chief of the Blue Flag management team, is a former IAF lieutenant colonel and today a reservist. He outlined the most significant aspect of the 2019 exercise: “This is the first time in which Israeli F-35s have taken part in an international exercise, and they are flying using the Link 16 data link system in conjunction with NATO aircraft.” The fifthgeneration aircraft also features the Multifunction Advanced Data Link (MADL) but it’s not known if the Israeli and Italian jets used this in the exercise to exchange additional data more securely. Another ‘first’ for this fourth iteration of Blue Flag was the deployment of Israeli F-35s at a base other than their home station of Nevatim. Interestingly, it had been necessary to cut away some of the concrete from around the entrances of Ovda’s shelters to accommodate the F-35.
Israeli Red Air
The role of 115 Squadron, and of the local ground control intercept (GCI) squadron, was fundamental: these units form the IAF’s Advanced Training Center (ATC), and provided the training activities and adjusted the level of difficulty according to the participants. They also selected the degree of aggressiveness for Red Air. Among the rules of engagement, it’s notable that a ‘kill’ by an F-35 using beyond-visual-range (BVR) radar-guided missiles was not considered valid. Red Air and Blue Air assets ‘killed’ during missions could regenerate, re-entering the combat under specific rules. On the other hand, Blue aircraft assigned to offensive tasks had to return to Ovda once ‘killed.’ The scenarios were planned together with the IAF’s 133 Squadron, flying the F-15 Baz, which was the lead unit. Around Ovda are various ranges and training areas, dedicated to live weapons delivery, supersonic flight at high altitude, or verylow-level flight.
These training areas have electronic warfare systems, surface-to-air missiles (SAMs), plus real and simulated targets. Some targets comprise inflatable ‘shapes’ that accurately simulate real-world systems.
The IAF’s 115 Squadron plays a critical role in the exercise, not only because its pilots are instructors specialised in the aggressor mission, but also because these aviators adopt an ‘active’ philosophy during operations. They don’t carry out their role passively, but develop their own plans to best counter the Blue forces, reacting to their activity, and increasing the threat level, including the use of (simulated) BVR missile armament. Herman explained:
“They simulated the most dangerous threats, including the Russian Su-57 fighter.” Red Air included F-16C Baraks, plus AH-64 and UH-60 helicopters (drawn from other squadrons), as well as other Israeli fighters that rotated between Blue and Red, including F-35s. Aircraft from Germany, Greece, Italy and the US flew exclusively as Blue Air.
The ‘enemy’ also included Patriot PAC-3 SAM batteries, locally known as Yahalom. In terms of the ‘enemy,’ Lt Col Panagiotis Katsikaris, commander of 335 Mira, stated: “The Red Force provided a significant challenge. The Reds started out easy during the first few flights, but we noticed their tactics changing as the days went by. They operated differently each day, and we had to act accordingly. We learned valuable lessons each day.” Other Israeli assets participating in the exercise included unmanned aerial vehicles and other helicopters of undisclosed types and units.
‘Building blocks’
Blue Flag develops according to a ‘building block’ approach. The exercise, which took around a year to be planned, started on October 27, with the first deployments to Ovda. After a first day of familiarisation flights, in which foreign pilots became used to local airspace and procedures, an initial phase of theatre entry began on November 4. In this period, participants trained in small formations. From the following day, activities were dedicated to defensive counter-air (DCA) missions, with Blue Forces defending a territory, reflecting daily IAF training, although NATO air forces generally face a lower threat level guarding their national airspaces. Lt Col ‘M’ (his full name was withheld), commander of 133 Squadron, confirmed: “Airspace defence isn’t common in NATO countries. We teach the international forces how to protect the country’s skies, just as we do in our day-to-day operational activity in Israel.” A second phase started on November 10, with another period of theatre entry, now concerning offensive operations. In this phase, known as small-force employment (SFE), the activity was focused on attacking ground targets and suppression/destruction of enemy air defence (SEAD/DEAD) operations. The final day, November 14, was dedicated to executing a large-force employment mission, for which the Blue Forces received only guidelines, and were then free to execute the mission in the way they chose. Each Blue Flag flying day included two main missions, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, but both DCA and SFE phases also included a night mission. The package commanders were chosen on a rotational basis from participating units. Personnel were kept busy. Those flying in the morning wave had to arrive on base at 0700hrs and, after all the planning, briefing and unit debriefing, they finished the working day with a mass debriefing at around 1700hrs. Those flying the afternoon mission were committed to activity well into the night. Added to that, foreign personnel were accommodated in Eilat, around an hour’s drive from the base. The focus of the exercise was on skills of the single pilot (or aircrew), cockpit management and small formations. With the exception of the last day, no large composite air operations (COMAOs) were flown. Even the command and control (C2) component, provided by Israeli and Italian CAEW aircraft, operated only as a local provider, to increase the demands on every single pilot/aircrew. Blue Flag participants could operate in large areas of airspace across the Negev desert, south of Be’er Sheva and the Dead Sea. Throughout the exercise, flying by IAF units in this area was limited – including for the flying school. Civil air traffic also faced many restrictions, above all for flights to and from the new Ramon International Airport – this was closed for around five hours each day, during the two missions. Each mission was divided into two or three waves of around a dozen aircraft each to reduce congestion in airspaces over the ranges. As in the past, the hosts sought to highlight the political importance of the exercise. Col ‘M,’ commander of Ovda Air Base, explained: “The four countries’ co-operation with Israel paves the way for many wonderful future opportunities. The air base has an opportunity to open its doors and show these countries the air force and its strength.” Importance was given also to social events, designed to strengthen the relationship between the various military contingents.
Italians in force
The Italian Air Force was the second most numerous participant, bringing 13 aircraft of three types to Ovda, plus around 200 military personnel. According to the commander of the Italian detachment (name withheld on security grounds): “The aim of this exercise was to train in a complex scenario, carrying out mainly COMAOs including low and very low-level flying activity. Several tactics and manoeuvres against SAM systems were tested, including the use of chaff and flare countermeasures. Blue Flag offers the opportunity to operate in a training environment that’s complex and highly qualified, considering the number and variety of the air assets, and the technological capabilities deployed by the participants. These exercises allow the aircrews to sharpen their tactics, procedures and techniques, in order to rapidly act in crisis operations, within multinational and international co-operation missions. Our omni-role assets [the F-35] allowed us to carry out a wide range of activities, even changing the assigned tasks during the mission, demonstrating versatility, advanced and superior capability, and the ‘task enabler’ role of this weapon system. We trained in a very complex and realistic electronic warfare scenario, and our information superiority and sharing were critical in achieving the objectives of the missions.” The objectives assigned to the various Italian types were different: the F-35 worked on integration with fourth-generation assets, with the additional possibility to integrate with other fifthgeneration aircraft. For the Typhoon it was an opportunity to work in co-operation with national and international C2 assets, in an operational environment full of electronic threats. Finally, the CAEW aircrews were tasked with improving their ability to control a large number of assets in support of operations against real threats provided by SAM systems.
Wild Weasels
The USAFE participants were also enthusiastic about the Blue Flag exercise. Capt Andrew Burns, a 480th FS F-16C pilot, explained: “Practising in Israel provides a great opportunity to fly at a low altitude and to fly against some live emitters, which is great training. It also allows us to see how different cultures think about solving problems, allowing us to come up with a better solution overall and build relationships with the other nations here that we can bring forward.” Capt Kaleb Jenkins, the 52nd Fighter Wing project officer for the exercise said: “Some of the tactical lessons learned were force structuring and how to best utilise the assets that we have available to us. Also, coming up with different game plans and how we are going to enable that in order to work through language barriers. We worked with people that we don’t normally work with when we do our normal exercises throughout USAFE. It was a bit different having to solve those problems. The Link 16 data link between our aircraft allows our jets to talk to each other, so we have spatial orientation of where other people’s jets are. Link 16 helps keep track of people a little easier and keep track of information on the battlespace – it allows us to cut the time in the language barrier and just see a digital display of different portions of the tactical airspace. It is about understanding each other’s capabilities and vulnerabilities and how we come up with the best game plan to maximise our lethality, take advantage of all of our strengths, while protecting people’s weaknesses.” Finally, Lt Gen Steven Basham, United States Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa deputy commander, stated: “As we come here and train as five nations in a Blue Flag exercise, we not only increase the readiness of our aviators and United States Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa, but we also increase the interoperability and integration with four other partner nations. There is no better opportunity to increase the readiness of our units inside USAFE-AFAFRICA, and also those units that are trained and ready to go to war for European Command.”
Adir debut
Blue Flag 2019 was important for the IAF as it was the first multinational exercise for its F-35I Adir. Lt Col ‘T,’ commander of 140 ‘Golden Eagle’ Squadron, told AFM: “This is our first time showing the Adir to international air forces. So far, our training and co-operation using the Adir was performed within the [IAF]. This is the first showing of the air force’s new capabilities.” Of course, when operating the F-35 together with other types of fighter, care had to be taken to maximise the learning value to reflect different roles and capabilities.
“This adjustment is complex,” explained Col ‘A’. “We made it so aircraft from different generations can train in parallel, with each of them having targets of their own.” As for the ability of the F-35s to work with other nations, Lt Col ‘T’ confirmed: “Our ability to sit together, brief, debrief and exchange information allowed us to take a step forward in our work, and see how each side does things differently while optimising use of the aircraft’s capabilities.” According to the Israelis, “the two F-35 teams learned a lot from each other”.
Above: The pilot of Adir 913 (AS-9, FMS 15-5157) signals prior to departure. The Israeli F-35s – assigned to 140 Squadron – were participating in a multinational exercise for the first time. Riccardo Niccoli Below: Although wearing the markings of 117 ‘First Jet’ Squadron, F-16C Barak 318 was piloted by an aggressor from Ovda’s resident 115 ‘Flying Dragon’ Squadron. Other Red Air threats included AH-64 and UH-60 helicopters, Israeli F-35s and Patriot SAM batteries. Riccardo Niccoli