Category: Defence Intelligence

Source: United States Air Force

ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, Guam (AFNS) —  

While the Air and Space Forces Association Warfare Symposium was taking place in Colorado, Pacific Air Forces Airmen were already implementing the vision – more large-scale exercises with allies and partners in the region. 
 
Cope North 24 is aggressively practicing multinational combat and mobility Air Force employments, focusing on interchangeability between U.S., Royal Australian Air Force, Japan Air Self-Defense Force, Royal Canadian Air Force, Republic of Korea Air Force and French Air and Space Force mobility assets. 
 
“This Cope North we focused on getting all our allies and partners locked in on a common goal to tackle this massive lift operation together,” said Capt. Marko Popovich, 18th Wing logistics officer and Cope North USAF logistics lead. “Our goal was to make mobility aircraft across the region interchangeable. Maximizing space utilization on the various aircraft, with U.S. cargo on French jets, Australian passengers on U.S. Marine KC-130s and Airmen on JASDF aircraft.” 

 
 
No easy feat, each country has their own procedures for passengers, cargo and flights that could slow down a multinational effort during a real operation. Cope North’s goal is to overcome that. 
 
“We just made it work. Each nation came to the table, able and willing, to make this happen and that’s exactly what we did,” Popovich said. “I think we became a more integrated, lethal force by working together.” 
 
This exercise showed what is possible when the allies and partners in this region come together for a common goal. 
 
“The accomplishments of Cope North are massive, dispersing over 1,000 servicemembers across six locations with their aircraft, equipment and survival supplies for two weeks and then bringing them all home to Andersen is huge,” Popovich said. 
 
Servicemembers practiced Agile Combat Employment by rapidly ‘flushing’ to Andersen Air Force Base, after a simulated attack, from remote and isolated airfields on Tinian, Saipan and Guam, where they were operating as a combined force projecting airpower across the Pacific. 
 
“Those relationships, alliances and partnerships can only be envied in Beijing, Moscow and Pyongyang and they could never replicate anything near that,” Gen. Kevin B. Schneider, PACAF commander, said at the AFA symposium. “Our ability to come together as teams, and work together as teams for a purpose, is an amazing strength and one that we continue to enjoy. That’s why my predecessors and I pay tremendous focus into maintaining the building and increasing the capability of our alliances and relationships at all levels.” 
 

 

Source: United States Air Force

RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany (AFNS) —  

Source: United States Air Force

RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany (AFNS) —  

Source: United States Air Force

Airmen from the 50th Attack Squadron and Air National Guardsmen from the 163rd Attack Wing conducted a historic first, Feb. 14, by successfully landing an MQ-9 Reaper at Shaw Air Force Base under satellite control. 

Satellite-controlled landings are becoming standard practice for the MQ-9 community and replace legacy processes requiring additional ground control stations, aircrews, and maintenance support. 

“It is so much more than just moving an airplane from one spot to another,” said Lt. Col. Zachary Clarke, 50th ATKS commander. “There’s coordination with the Federal Aviation Administration, there’s coordination with the departure unit, with the arrival unit, there’s coordination with finding the flight plan, and then back that up even further, you’ve got all the mission planning that has to be accomplished. You’ve got the weather planning, planning the flight plan, and then you also have to add in the satellite launch and recovery.”

Clarke said the landing at Shaw AFB, which was followed by a day where members of Shaw AFB were able to come and see the plane with their families, was the culmination of a month-long effort led by Capt. Ryan Beach, 50th ATKS assistant director of operations. 

Additionally, Clarke said that the project required a major to lead the effort, but that he and the rest of leadership suggested Beach for the task because of his leadership ability and technical know-how. Beach and his team, which included members of the 25th Operations Support Squadron, put in countless hours of effort.

Speaking on this and day-to-day operations at the 50th ATKS, Beach said, “It’s important for people to understand that every action this plane takes is human driven,” he said. “Every turn, every climb, every descent, every airspeed change, there’s a human on the other side with the controls the same way a pilot has controls. There’s a stick, there’s a throttle. Obviously, we get that information visually through TV screens. We take in a lot of data visually, but we as pilots and sensor operators are 100% in control of the plane at all times.” 

During the landing at Shaw AFB, 1st Lt. Julio DiMaggio, 50th ATKS MQ-9 pilot and operations supervisor, was ‘in the seat.’ 

“The day before, we just came in and went through academics with Capt. Beach,” DiMaggio said. “We went over all the mission products and our fuel plan and talked about the overall route from March to Shaw with different waypoints.” 

DiMaggio said he and Staff Sgt. Martin Rodriguez-Flores, 50th ATKS sensor operator, conducted a flight rehearsal with Beach observing them to ensure they were ready. The day of, the team stepped into the cockpit to relieve the previous crew while the MQ-9 was over Tennessee and landed safely roughly four hours later. 

“I think it’s awesome,” DiMaggio said about piloting takeoffs and landings. “It’s probably my favorite part. I think it’s just really exciting starting on the ground, taking off and landing.” 

Senior Airman Zachery Cherry, 50th ATKS sensor operator, was ‘in the seat’ during the return landing at March ARB. 

“It’s definitely pretty cool to be flying over the over the United States and a new airspace,” he said about his experience. “It went pretty smoothly, just like I expected it would go.” 

Cherry said an Air National Guard MQ-9 pilot with the 163rd Attack Wing came to Shaw AFB on temporary duty to guide the crews through landing in March Air Reserve Base for the return trip on Feb. 15th. 

“He came out and gave us some academics on the local airspace procedures, and then we went out to the simulator,” Cherry said about the preparations. “We loaded up just how the routing in the airspace looks, and then today, he was with us throughout the entire hour and a half that I was out there all the way through landing.” 

Cherry stepped into the cockpit as the MQ-9 flew over Albuquerque, New Mexico. 

“I was here when we first started training on satellite launch and recoveries and the first phase of it,” Cherry said. “Now, I’ve been teaching the entire squadron how to do it. We’ve been employing it overseas on our live missions, but now to have the confidence and to see this program and capability grow, at first coming in for a landing and it wasn’t desert, it was the state of California, was a weird feeling. Still, it was definitely a proud one to know we’ve made it this far and we can rely on our capabilities like that.” 

Cherry said he was glad to have the opportunity to showcase what he said is an awesome capability. 

“It displays that there are Airmen that are having a direct impact on the mission all across the world here at Shaw that’ll do that for six to eight hours a day, and then 30 minutes later they’re still back at home,” Cherry said. “I think that shows how important this aircraft is and how important developing our new capabilities and procedures are and to showcase one of the new ones that we’re still getting better at.”