Air Force, Navy Pilots Train Together Over Okinawa
Navy NewsStand
Story Number: NNS090312-13
Release Date: 3/12/2009 3:57:00 PM
By Walter T. Ham IV, 18th Wing Public Affairs
OKINAWA, Japan (NNS) -- Air Force and Navy pilots are sharpening their aerial combat skills in simulated dogfights and strike missions in the skies over Okinawa March 1-21.
Using Kadena Air 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 Navy Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 102.
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 5, 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. With its state-of-the-art avionics suite, the fifth generation stealth fighter is a force multiplier that increases the capabilities of other fighter jets.
"The Super Hornet is an impressive, versatile aircraft," Pilch added. "Its wide range of capabilities could complement those of the F-22 extremely well in combat. Our goal with the fifth 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," Pilch 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 Banks, an F-15 pilot with more 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," Banks said. "Joint operations are the standard for all future contingencies."
The F-15 Eagle has given the United States 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, Vizcarra served as a 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 Vizcarra, "and are typically utilized together to maximize their effects."
"The Pacific is the largest [area of responsibility] on the planet," added Vizcarra, "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."
For more news from Pacific Fleet, visit www.navy.mil/local/cpf/.
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