Fighter Wing: A Guided Tour of an Air Force Combat Wing tcml-3

by Tom Clancy

  Monday, April 11, 1994

  While the last of the attached air units were arriving, the wing's aircrews were either planning their first strike for the following day or taking guided tour flights over the Nellis ranges for familiarization with the terrain they would be flying over for the next two weeks.

  The starting lineup of players for this Green Flag was impressive:

  • 2-229th Attack Helicopter Regiment—Twelve AH-64A Apache and six OH-58C Kiowa helicopters from the U.S. Army's 2-229th Attack Helicopter Regiment at Fort Rucker, Alabama.

  • 27th FW—Eight F-111F Aardvarks equipped with Pave Tack pods, and four EF-111A Ravens from the 27th FW at Cannon AFB, New Mexico.

  • 55th Wing—Two RC-135 Rivet Joint ELINT/SIGINT aircraft from the 55th Wing at Offut AFB near Omaha, Nebraska.

  • 57th Wing—Two Wild Weasel F-4G Phantoms from Nellis AFB's own 561st FS, as well as two F-16Cs from the 422nd TES.

  • 187th FG, 160th FS—To augment the aggressor aircraft from the Adversary Tactics Division, eight F-16C Fighting Falcons from the Alabama ANG were tasked to act as additional threat aircraft.

  • 193rd Special Operations Group (SOG), 193rd Special Operations Squadron (SOS)—The Pennsylvania ANG contributed an EC-130 with the Senior Scout "clip-on" EW system, from the 193rd SOG at Harrisburg IAP.

  • 355th Wing—Two EC-130H Compass Call jamming aircraft from the 355th Wing at Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona.

  • 388th FW—Ten F-16C Fighting Falcons equipped with LANTIRN pods from the 388th FW at Hill AFB, Utah.

  • 414th FS—Four F-16C Fighting Falcons from the Nellis AFB Adversary Tactics Division, to provide aggressor support.

  • 552nd ACW—Two E-3B Sentrys from the 552nd ACW at Tinker AFB, Oklahoma.

  By the time the last of the Green Flag participants had arrived, there were over two hundred aircraft on the ramp at Nellis AFB, quite an air force by itself.

  After their familiarization flights, the crews attended a series of safety briefings, designed to minimize the chance of what the crews call "a sudden violation of the air/ground interface" — in other words, a crash. Not so long ago, accidents were unpleasantly common at Nellis, with more than thirty deaths from over two dozen crashes in the worst year, 1981. Those were the days when the USAF crews were just learning to fly low-level, and the high accident rate was the price paid to gain mastery of operations "at five hundred feet at the speed of heat!" Today the range controllers are fanatical about safety, with minimum above-ground-level altitudes and separations between aircraft rigorously enforced. A wing commander back in the 1980s was cashiered for telling his aircrews to ignore these minimums.

  But the most fanatical care will not stop every bad thing from happening. Even before the exercise began, an Army AH-64A Apache attack helicopter went down in a snowstorm on a mountain while deploying from Fort Rucker, Alabama. The crew survived (thanks to the crash-absorbing structure of the Apache) and was picked up by an HH-60G Pave Hawk from the 66th RQS (their first "save" as it turned out). Still, it was not a good omen.

  The morning briefing was scheduled for 0630 (6:30 AM in civilian time), so everyone got to bed early.

  Tuesday, April 12, 1994—Day 1: Mission #1

  The mass briefing room in the Red Flag building was crowded to capacity for the first mission of Green Flag 94-3. The 366th would be playing the role of the good guys, the Blue force. The adversary F-16s (bad guys) would be the Red Force. The object of the game was for Blue to crush the more numerous Reds by smashing their ground targets and shooting down their planes, while avoiding Blue losses. Even though General McCloud was in command, the Red Flag staff actually runs the show. After the weather and safety briefings, the 366th staff came in to give the Blue Force mission briefing. Following this, at 0645, the pilots and controllers of the aircraft and emitters from the Adversary Tactics Department (the Red Force) left for their own briefing. In a few hours war would break out on the northern ranges of the Nellis complex.

  For the Red Force, the mission was simple: Stop the Blue Force. Today that would involve eight F-16Cs simulating the performance and tactics of the Russian MiG-29 Fulcrum. For the Blue Force, the first part of their plan was to strike at simulated enemy command facilities (bunkers) and strategic targets (SCUD launch sites). That would complete Phase I. In Phase II, Blue would gain air supremacy over Red by bombing airfields and SAM/AAA sites. Finally, in Phase III, Blue would bomb a variety of targets, mostly truck convoys and supply centers. The campaign was planned to last nine days, depending on the breaks of the referees and how well the bomb damage assessment (BDA) went.

  A squadron planning room for one of the 366th's fighter units at Green Flag 94-3. The CTAPS mission-planning terminal is located in the pile of cases at the left.

  John D. Gresham

  The strike command would fall to the 366th Wing, though General McCloud would not personally lead the strike. A relative newcomer to his F-16, he swallowed his pride and flew as number six in a formation of six 389th FS F-16Cs assigned to hit a simulated SCUD site on the southern side of the event arena. Simultaneously, a quartet of 391st FS Strike Eagles were assigned to hit a nearby command bunker. On the northern side, the F-111Fs of the 27th FW and F-16Cs from the 388th FW would hit similar targets. The F-4Gs, EF-111As, an RC-135, and an EC-130 would provide EW and SEAD support, with two 22nd ARS KC-135Rs and an E-3C Sentry staying back to the eastern side of the range to support the Blue Force. In addition, a flight of U.S. Army AH-64A Apache attack helicopters would hit several Red Force radar sites, much as a joint Army/Air Force helicopter team (Task Force Normandy) did on the first night of Desert Storm. The big surprise of the Blue operation would be a new tactic devised by the Eagle drivers of the 366th. The Wild Boars of the 390th FS would form a virtual wall of Eagles to sweep enemy fighters from the path of the two strike forces. Netted together with their JTIDS data links and armed with simulated AIM-120 Slammers, they felt they could clear the skies ahead of the Blue Force with a minimum of losses.

  Takeoff was at 0830, and the air below Sunrise Mountain rumbled as sixty aircraft clawed their way into the air. First off were the E-3 and the tankers, followed by the relatively slow EW birds. Then came the fighters. Each of the 389th FS F-16Cs was loaded with an AIM-9 Sidewinder training round, two 370 gallon/1,423 liter fuel tanks, two Mk 84 2,000 lb./909.1 kg. bombs, and an ALQ-131 jamming pod. Their decoy launchers were fully loaded with chaff and flare rounds; and like all the aircraft of the strike force, they would use their jam-resistant Have Quick II radios to (hopefully) defeat the communications jammers of the adversary forces on the ground. Last off were the adversary F-16s of the 414th and the Alabama ANG, since they did not have any tanker support and fuel might be a bit tight for them. Up north at Indian Springs, the crews of the AH-64s launched from their forward operating base (FOB). Blue Force aircraft periodically refueled from the tankers to keep topped off. All they were waiting for now was the clearance from the range supervisor, and then they would listen for the "push" call from the air-to-air commander to start the run to the targets.

  Up in front, the eight F-15Cs of the 390th FS began their push towards the gaggle of eight adversary F-16Cs defending the airspace in front of the Red Force target array. Making careful use of AWACS data and their APG- 70 radars, the F-15Cs sorted out the targets, using the JTIDS links to assign a specific target F-16 to each Eagle. Then, on command, eight simulated AMRAAM shots were fired at the Red Force F-16s. Before they could react, the range controllers called seven of them "dead." The seven headed back to the "regeneration box," and the eighth fled west. The regeneration box is part penalty box and part safe haven located in the northwest corner of the range. If a dead adversary aircraft spends a few minutes in the box, the range controllers will resurrect or "regen" him, and allow the aircraft back into the fight. Since the U.S. Air Force trains to fight outnumbered against an enemy that can rapidly replace his losses, this is not so unrealistic.

  Unfortunately for the Red Force, by t
he time they had all hit the regen box, the strikers were on their way in to their targets, and the adversary F-16s could only hit back in ones and twos. The Red Force faced a losing battle, since the Eagles of the 390th were still on the hunt, and the Strike Eagles and Fighting Falcons of the Blue Force were hitting the incoming aggressors with well-aimed Slammer shots. By the time the aggressor aircraft were headed back to the regeneration box for the fourth time, the strike forces were over their targets, hitting them precisely as planned.

  For "Marshal" McCloud, this was the closest to war he had ever been, having just missed both Operations Just Cause and Desert Storm. Now he was "tail end Charlie" on day one of Green Flag 94-3, and things were going good. He stuck close to his element leader in the number-five F-16, and their ingress to the target area was textbook perfect. Six pilots set their weapons delivery computers for a "pop-up" attack, then pulled up, rolled, inverted, pulled through, and rolled wings level into a dive onto the simulated SCUD launch site. Lining up the "death dot" on the target, McCloud punched the release button, and when the computer was happy with the delivery parameters, the two Mk 84s were kicked off of the weapons racks. As he pulled out, he saw the explosions of two direct hits on the target, supremely satisfied at his first "combat" performance in the Viper. His element leader in number five had some sort of switchology problem, though, and his bombs did not drop. The pilot of the number-five Viper headed back to hit the target again, while General McCloud waited for him to return, orbiting nearby. Then suddenly, McCloud looked down and saw a Red Force F-16 chasing one of the Army AH-64As that was trying desperately to exit the target area after hitting a simulated radar site with AGM-114 Hellfire missiles and rockets. Switching to BORE mode, he dove down on the aggressor aircraft, rapidly setting up a shot with a simulated AIM-120 AMRAAM. In a matter of seconds, he had the radar lock and fired a simulated Slammer at a range of 1 nn./ 1.8 km., a perfect "in-his-lips missile shot." The range controllers immediately scored the Red F-16 dead, and as soon as McCloud's number five returned, he egressed the target area (pilot talk for "leave" or "go away") a high speed, hugging the contours of the mountains for cover to evade enemy SAMs and fighters.

  By 1130 hours, all of the aircraft had recovered back to base, and the process of tallying up the results began. By 1330, range controllers and assessment teams had finished their jobs and were ready to present their findings at the mass debrief. The results were stunning. Every target had been hit, and only a few would require restrikes later in the campaign. The Red radars had either been successfully hit or suppressed, and the Blue EW aircraft were never in danger. Even better were the air-to-air results, thirty to four in favor of the Blue Force, a new Green Flag record. For General McCloud, it was a moment of personal triumph. Even though there were still eight days and seventeen more missions to go, the Gunfighters had won. Back in the 1970s and 1980s the aggressors and other Red Force players would regularly wreck the Blue Force plans; but Red would never get close during Green Flag 94-3. Even as we were watching the mass debrief, the second strike of the day was headed out, and the results were almost identical.

  The crew of Ruben-40, a KC-135R of the 366th Wing's 22nd Aerial Refueling Squadron, flies a tanker mission during Green Flag 94-3. Brigadier General Dave "Marshal" McCloud, the 366th commander, sits between the pilot and the copilot. Sitting at the navigation station to the night is Captain Ruben Villa.

  John D. Gresham

  Wednesday, April 13, 1994—Day 2: Mission 4

  The following morning saw the transition to Phase II of the campaign plan, with Blue hitting airfields and SAM sites around the target ranges. This morning, we hung around the squadron ready rooms in the Red Flag building to watch the strike planning process. Each of the squadron rooms had a CTAPS terminal, networked into Rick Tedesco's Air Operations Center just a few yards away in the tent city outside. As we watched the staff officers work, my researcher, John Gresham, pointed to a photograph lying on one of the tables, his eyes wide with shock. As he opened his mouth to speak, one of the pilots said, "Don't worry. That stuff is unclassified these days." (The mild caution "Official Use Only" was stamped on the photo.) The photo showed the Mt. Helen Airfield; it clearly had been taken from a satellite; and it was stunningly detailed (with a resolution of about 3 feet/1 meter). Such imagery is quite ordinary, the pilot went on to explain. Just a few years ago this stuff was "Top Secret," but now it was the source of routine planning data for Green Flag exercises. The particular photo came from a series previously taken in preparation for Green Flag 94-3, but fresh bomb damage assessment (BDA) shots were being regularly downlinked from the Space Warfare Center in Colorado Springs. It truly is a new world order!

  Staff Sergeant Shawn Hughes, the crew chief and boomer of Ruben-40, working hard at his position in the rear of aircraft. Lying on his stomach, he is "flying" the refueling boom of the KC-135 into the refueling receptacle of a receiving aircraft.

  John D. Gresham

  That afternoon, General McCloud invited us to accompany him on a mission onboard one of the 22nd ARS KC-135R tankers. Since an opportunity to fly on an actual Green Flag mission is extremely rare for civilians, we gladly accepted, then headed off to have lunch and get ready to go flying. Normally, Green Flag 94-3 would have taken place in the most pleasant time of the year in Las Vegas, but the spring weather had turned into an unseasonable heat wave, with afternoon temperatures over 90degF/32degC. The cooling water spray nozzles over the flightline sunshades were running, and the Gatorade bottles were out for the ground crews. General Griffith had ordered heat precautions for all base personnel, and containers of bottled water were everywhere. We were sweating heavily on the ground, but we had our leather jackets ready for flying that afternoon.

  A little after 1300, we drove out to the north end of the base flight line, where the large aircraft were parked. We were directed to the number-one 22nd ARS KC-135R (tail code 62-3572), and climbed aboard through the lower nose hatch into the hot interior. Inside we met our flight crew for today's mission: Captain Ken Rogers (the pilot), Second Lieutenant J. R. Twiford (copilot), Captain Ruben Villa (our navigator), and Staff Sergeant Shawn Hughes (the crew chief and boomer). Every mission is assigned a call sign, used for identification in radio communication. Our call sign today was Ruben-40. The tanker was loaded with over 80,000 lb./36,262 kg. of fuel, with a planned off-load of 42,000 lb./19,090 kg., and a maximum possible off-load of 62,000 lb./28,181 kg. Along with General McCloud was First Lieutenant Don Borchelt, one of the 366th Wing Public Affairs Officers. As soon as we were aboard, the hatches were sealed shut and the engines fired up. As we taxied out for takeoff, Sergeant Hughes explained that our job was to top off six F-15E Strike Eagles from the 391st FS, so that the Bold Tigers would be full when they hit the start line at the push. The plan for the Bold Tigers' mission involved a lot of high-speed flying down on the deck, which consumes fuel voraciously. We took off behind the E-3 AWACS, followed by another 22nd ARS tanker which would refuel other aircraft of the strike.

  An F-15E Strike Eagle of the 366th Wing's 391st Fighter Squadron (the "Bold Tigers") takes on fuel from a 22nd Aerial Refueling Squadron KC-135R tanker. Note the control fins of the refueling boom, which the boomer uses to guide it into the receiving aircraft's refueling receptacle.

  Craig E. Kaston

  As we flew out to our refueling track, Captain Villa was kind enough to let us take turns sitting at the navigator's console, watching the radar screen to take navigation fixes of the surrounding mountain peaks. When we reached our tanking altitude of approximately 25,000 feet/7,620 meters, we began to cruise in a wide racetrack-shaped oval, waiting for Lieutenant Colonel Clawson and the rest of his Bold Tigers to come up and tank. Back at the boomer's position, Sergeant Hughes unstowed the boom and made ready to tank the incoming Strike Eagles.

  Suddenly they were there, and Sergeant Hughes went to work, calmly and silently guiding the first of the big fighters into position to take its allotted 7,000 lb./3,181 kg. of fuel. Air
-to-air refueling is about the most unnatural activity most of us are ever likely to see. A very big airliner flying about 350 knots/640 kph., full of flammable jet fuel, in direct physical contact with another airplane? The idea is totally demented. I will never be comfortable with it. Nevertheless, Sergeant Hughes and the F-15E crews made it look easy. And one after another, the Strike Eagles cycled into position to take their fuel. Then "Claw" Clawson, down in the lead Strike Eagle, looked up in the middle of tanking, recognized us taking pictures through the window, and calmly asked how things looked! Such is the skill from a lifetime of flying combat jets — you can carry on a normal conversation five miles above the earth, flying just ten yards away from an aircraft full of jet fuel, while your plane is locked onto a flying pipe taking on more fuel.

  As each jet finished topping off, it would take station, flying in close formation on the tanker, until there were three F-15s on each side of Ruben-40. I was later told that this effectively merged all seven aircraft into one large radar contact, masking their true number from enemy surveillance. Then suddenly, the F-15s were headed down into the mountains, westward towards their targets. Once again, the Blue strike forces hit their targets with a minimum of losses, and the campaign plan moved on to its completion. Our mission done, we headed back to Nellis AFB, and the thought of dinner and some blackjack that night.