Combat Aircraft Monthly 2015-02.pdf

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Vol 16, No 2 | www.combataircraft.net
MARINE
PROWLERS
last of
the
grumman
greats
GES
EXCLUSIVE IMA
IN
THE
NEWS:
A-10
S
HEAD TO IRAQ
F-35 FLIES WITH UK WEAPONS
Taiwan’s
AIR WING EIGHT FLASHBACK
WHEN TOMCATS STILL ROAMED…
EDWARDs TESTERS
412th wing unit review
special report
CHINA’S LATEST H-6 VARIANT
FEBRUARY 2015
UK £4.40
terrific Trackers
Glory Days
February 2015
• Vol 16 • No 2
A-10
06
The it willis back in combat action and looking
like
be saved from extinction!
28
MARINE PROWLERS
The US Navy may have said farewell to
the EA-6B Prowler, but the US Marine
Corps is set to y on with this charismatic
electronic warfare aircraft until 2019.
Jamie Hunter travels to MCAS Cherry Point
to see the mighty Prowlers in action, with
additional reporting by Dr Séan Wilson
82
US Navy Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron
84 (HSC-84) ‘Red Wolves’ made a unique
visit to Europe in 2014. Cristian Schrik ew
with the unit and presents a pro le of its
Executive O cer
‘RED WOLVES’
SPECIAL OPS
98
TAIWAN’S TERRIFIC
TRACKERS
40
UNIT REPORT:
EDWARDS TESTERS
88
Although the days of ‘Chuck’ Yeager ying
the Bell X-1 over southern California have
long been consigned to history, Edwards
AFB is still home to ‘The Right Stu ’. Frank
Visser reviews the current situation at the
largest test wing within the USAF
The US Army has been strengthening its
presence on the Korean peninsula in terms
of both numbers and equipment. Gordon
Arthur reports from Camp Humphreys,
home of the 2nd Combat Aviation Brigade
(2 CAB)
UNIT REPORT:
KOREAN KIOWAS
The Republic of China still operates the
venerable Grumman S-2 Tracker in the
maritime roles for which this aircraft was
originally designed. However, the end of
the type’s long and distinguished career
is approaching rapidly, as Gert Kromhout
and Stephan de Bruijn report from
Pingtung Air Force Base
104
TO SUPPRESS AND
DESTROY
72
COMBAT REPORT:
IRAN TAKES ON
ISLAMIC STATE
92
Babak Taghvaee evaluates how Iranian
F-4 Phantom IIs have been conducting
strikes against Islamic State targets in Iraq
in November
76
SPECIAL REPORT:
CHINESE ‘BADGERS’
AT DAJIAOCHANG
In June 1996 Warren E. Thompson
spent time on the USS
John F. Kennedy
with Carrier Air Wing 8. As the aircrew
conducted carrier quali cations, he spoke
to some of the more seasoned pilots about
their experiences at a time when the F-14
was taking on the ‘Bombcat’ role
GLORY DAYS: BOMBCATS
OF AIR WING 8
Jonathan Derden and Scott Wol present
a history of the US Air Force Wild Weasels
and chart the progress of the suppression
of enemy air defenses (SEAD) mission
during past con icts
Combat Aircraft’s
monthly column by
David Axe, reporting from the front line of
aerospace technology
112
CUTTING EDGE
47
Ivan Voukadinov presents an exclusive
photo-report from Nanjing-Dajiaochang,
currently home to an impressive force of
PLAAF H-6 bombers
Cristian Schrik travels to Hörsching, the
Austrian Air Force’s largest air base,
where the Düsentrainersta el
(Jet Trainer Squadron) and its
Saab 105s are responsible for both
pilot training and defending Austrian
airspace
Combat Aircraft
presents a detailed overview of
Boeing’s leading military aerospace programs
including the KC-46A Pegasus, F/A-18E/F Super
Hornet, EA-18G Growler, F-15 Eagle, CH-47F
Chinook, 737-based special mission versions,
AH-64 Apache, C-17 Globemaster III and V-22
Osprey. Includes unit reports, ‘from the cockpit’
accounts and program reviews
78
ALPINE EXPERTS
IN THE NEWS
06 Headline News
08 US News
A-10 reprieved as it enters Iraq
operations
MV-22 Osprey tests rockets and missiles,
F-35 engine inspections latest and all the
unit news from around the US military
Iranian Tomcat update, Japanese Air
Self-Defense Force celebrates 60 years
and a review of the new Chinese
technology at the Zhuhai air show
France orders Airbus A330 Multi-Role
Tanker-Transport and Ukraine
accelerates MiG-29 upgrades
PLUS
Special report on the Next-Generation
Jammer, plus Robert F. Dorr’s Front Line
column and all the latest military Losses
NORTH AMERICA’S BEST
FREE
SUPPLEMENT
BOEING MILITARY AIRCR
SELLING MILITARY AVIATION
MAGAZINE
AFT
•
PROGRAM REVIEWS
•
FACT FILE
• UNIT REPORTS
•
PILOT
PROFILE
• INDUSTRY REPORT
Vol 16, No 2 | www.com
bataircraf t.net
16 World News
MARINE
PROWLERS
last of
the
grumman
greats
EXCLUSIVE IMAGES
SAVE
Subscribe to
Combat
Aircraft Monthly
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CHINA’S LATEST H-6 VARIANT
special report
www.combataircraft.net
February 2015
US $6.99
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FEBRUARY 2015
Prowlers pack a punch! VMAQT-1
‘Banshees’ EA-6Bs get in close to the
camera as we report on Marine Corps
Prowler operations in this issue.
Jamie Hunter
ON THE COVER:
A-10
S
HEAD TO IRAQ
F-35 FLIES WITH UK WEAPONS
IN
THE
NEWS:
terrific Trackers
Taiwan’s
WHEN TOMCATS STILL ROAMED…
412th wing unit review
UK £4.40
AIR WING EIGHT FLASHBACK
Glory Days
EDWARDs TESTERS
COMBAT
EDGE
NEW
CLAWS
FOR
OSPREY
Every platform a sensor, a sharer
and a shooter — this is the
aspiration for US Marine Corps
aviation. The MV-22 has been
proving its worth as a shooter
recently, having conducted trials
with guided rockets and missiles.
Bell Boeing
4
February 2015
www.combataircraft.net
he news this month is
dominated by the apparent
saving of the A-10 and
also by the new attack
capabilities of the MV-22
Osprey. Both of these stories
relate to supporting troops on the ground.
The decision to commit ‘Warthogs’ to the
current Iraq operation came as the US Air
Force was effectively blocked from retiring
the type. Footage has now emerged of
Indiana ANG A-10s doing what A-10s do
best in the skies of Iraq once again.
It is interesting that the Marine Corps is
being vocal about a multi-layered approach
to supporting Marines on the ground. The
impressive Lt Gen Jon ‘Dog’ Davis, the
Marine Corps’ deputy commandant for
aviation, wants to arm as many platforms as
he can and allow them to sense and share.
This approach means that the Marine
Corps can chose the right tool for the job
when it comes to close air support (CAS)
— anything from an Osprey to a KC-130J
Harvest Hawk, a UH-1Y ‘Huey’ to a stealthy
F-35B.
The US Air Force wants to support
the battlefield from medium level and
preferably at night. Air Force Special
Operations Command also wants a gunship
Osprey. The USAF has a range of AC-130
gunships, Predators and Reapers, plus of
T
BACK IN THE FIGHT
course the A-10s. However, ‘pigeon-holed’
CAS assets are under threat. The US Air
Force leadership argues that an F-16CM can
do just as good a job of CAS as an A-10. It
can then turn its hand to other missions as
well.
Therefore, it will be very interesting to
see how the A-10 fares in its latest combat
operations. Will it prove to be invaluable
and therefore safe for years to come, or will
it prove to be the final swansong as the
missions prove that CAS has moved on?
Jamie Hunter
Editor
E-mail: jamie.hunter@keypublishing.com
CONTRIBUTOR
PROFILE CRISTIAN SCHRIK
ristian Schrik is a
freelance military
aviation photo-
journalist and a regular
contributor to
Combat
Aircraft.
He has flown over 60
hours conducting aerial
photography with a variety of
C
air forces. For this issue he
joined the Austrian Air Force
above the Alps in a Saab 105
trainer, as well as flying with US
Navy Special Operations
Reserve Unit HSC-84 during its
notable participation in exercise
‘Jackal Stone’.
www.combataircraft.net
February 2015
5

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