Air Force, Navy pilots train together over Okinawa

  • Published
  • By Walter T. Ham IV
  • 18th Wing Public Affairs
KADENA AIR BASE, Japan --  Air Force and Navy pilots are sharpening their aerial combat skills in simulated dogfights and strike missions in the skies over Okinawa from March 1 - 21. 

Using the base as a power projection platform, F-15 Eagle pilots from the 67th Fighter Squadron and F-22 pilots from the deployed 27th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron are training with Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet pilots from the Navy Strike Fighter Squadron 102 "Diamondbacks." 

Tracking the action from their E-3 Sentry aircraft, the 961st Air Airborne Control Squadron is directing the simulated air war - performing a mission akin to playing a supersonic chess game. 

One of eight squadrons assigned to Carrier Air Wing FIVE, VFA-102 is based at Naval Air Facility Atsugi, Japan, and deploys on the Yokosuka, Japan-based aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73). 

The Hornet pilots are engaging in a high-speed, high-stakes contest of hide-and-seek, flying with the U.S. Air Force's only stealth fighter - the F-22 Raptor. 

Lt. Col. Lansing Pilch, a Raptor pilot and commander of the deployed 27th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron, said his squadron was honored to introduce the Navy pilots to the Raptor. Colonel Pilch said with its state-of-the-art avionics suite, the 5th generation stealth fighter is a force multiplier that increases the capabilities of other fighter jets. 

"The Super Hornet is an impressive, versatile aircraft," Colonel Pilch added. "Its wide range of capabilities could complement those of the F-22 extremely well in combat. Our goal with the 5th generation F-22 is to use our enhanced situational awareness to make those around us better.

"By training together, we will become a more effective joint fighting force," he said. 

According to Col. Ronald Banks, 18th Operations Group commander, the training makes the Navy and Air Force aviators an even more formidable joint team, capable of dominating the skies anywhere and anytime.
 
"We are fortunate to have the opportunity to fly with our sister service, especially since any contingency we may find ourselves in will be a joint operation," said Colonel Banks, an F-15 pilot with than 2,000 flight hours. 

"Joint training allows us to refine our joint tactics, techniques, and procedures while simultaneously building confidence in our ability to fight together," the colonel said. "Joint operations are the standard for all future contingencies."

Capt. Paul Bobnock, 67th FS Weapons and Tactics chief, said the F-15 pilots and F/A-18 pilots took turns playing "blue" friendly and "red" opposing forces during mock air-to-air and air-to-ground training sorties.

A Longview, Texas, resident who has been flying the Eagle for six years, Capt. Bobnock said flying with the F/A-18 allows the F-15 pilots to employ different tactics in response to this different airframe.

"We typically train against similar aircraft from our own squadron on a day-to-day basis," he said. "When I train against dissimilar aircraft, it introduces the unexpected."

The F-15 Eagle has given the U.S. air supremacy for more than three decades, and the F/A-18 Super Hornet is the backbone of the U.S. Navy's strike fighter force, enabling squadrons like VFA-102 to project American power from the sea. 

The commander of Fleet Activities Okinawa, Navy Capt. Michael Vizcarra, said it is imperative for fighter pilots to "train like they will fight." 

A naval aviator who commanded F/A-18 squadrons in the United States and Japan, Capt. Vizcarra served as Navy Fighter Weapons School Instructor at the Navy's "Top Gun" school. He said Top Gun had two Air Force exchange pilots to help standardize fighter tactics between the services during joint operations and training 

"I cannot overstate its [joint training] importance as all the services bring a variety of warfighting options to the Combatant Commander," said Capt. Vizcarra, "and are typically utilized together to maximize their effects."

"The Pacific is the largest AOR [area of operations] on the planet," the Navy captain added, "and the ability of the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force to coordinate and execute together is an imperative and one that should be constantly exercised to ensure mission accomplishment."

VFA-102 Commanding Officer Cmdr. Monty Ashliman said his Hornet pilots welcomed the opportunity to train with the Air Force's 18th Wing. 

"It is always a great opportunity to conduct joint training in just that -- a training environment," said Cmdr. Ashliman. "This exposure and learning in the training environment will make the first days of real-world contingency operations, if required, much more successful since those lessons will not have to be learned at that time."

According to Cmdr. Ashliman, the training missions gave his Hornet pilots a greater appreciation of the capabilities each service brings to the fight.

"During this training detachment, we developed a much greater understanding regarding how our Air Force counterparts conduct business both in the air-to-ground and air-to-air arenas," he added, "and I think they learned a lot about how carrier aviation does business as well."

A Naval Academy graduate and former Top Gun instructor from Hudson, Colo., Cmdr. Ashliman said the return on investment from this joint training is a more ready forward deployed force.

"The coordination conducted in this training environment has established relationships in this forward deployed theater that will allow for future training opportunities," the Navy commander said, "which will allow the forward deployed forces to remain at the highest state of readiness possible."