Combat Aircraft Journal 2020 04.pdf

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E-11 DOWN — WE EXPLAIN ITS MISSION
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US NAVY CUTS SUPER HORNET PRODUCTION
Volume 21 No 4 APRIL 2020
£4.99
AIRCRAFT • PERSONNEL • SQUADRONS • MISSIONS • PROGRAMS
The 2020 edition
of the US Air Force air
power yearbook is
Key Publishing’s annual
insight into the world’s
largest and most
powerful air arm.
2020 features include:
• USAF F-35A combat debut
• New engines for the
B-52H Stratofortress
• Boeing’s T-7A Red Hawk
to transform pilot training
• Idaho’s A-10 ‘Warthogs’,
• Mountain Home nose art
PLUS
a full order or battle and rundown
of all USAF aircraft and units.
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IN THE NEWS
06 Headline News
More B-21 Raider details emerge, F-15EX
on contract, new carrier delivery Osprey for
ight-testing, and light attack on the cards
for AFSOC
Our new integrated news and analysis
section includes Growler and Super Hornet
advances, a detailed US budget report, plus
the latest Military Losses
84
GRIPEN MAKES BID FOR FINLAND
Combat Aircraft Journal
editor Jamie Hunter
reports from Tampere as Saab outlines its
o ering for Finland’s HX ghter competition,
and assesses the Swedish bid that many back
as a potential winner
Yissachar Ruas reports on the CH-53 Yas’ur,
which marked a half-century of service with
the Israeli Air Force last October
As the US Department of Defense looks to
prune the A-10C Thunderbolt II eet, Chen
Chuanren highlights the work of the 25th
Fighter Squadron ‘Assam Draggins’, the only
forward-deployed A-10 unit
INSIDE
April 2020 • Vol 21 • No 4
SUBSCRIBER EXCLUSIVE!
As part of your subscription, you can now enjoy even
more
Combat Aircraft Journal,
more often, with the launch
of Key.Aero — Your Aviation Destination.
Visit www.key.aero and use your customer ID and email
address to register today for your exclusive access.
88
ISRAELI’S WORKHORSE AT 50
08 News
92
‘WARTHOGS’ OF CROW MOUNTAIN
104
‘BLACK KNIGHTS’ BACK IN THE GAME
16
OPS DESK
Combat Aircraft Journal
reports from MCAS
Miramar as VMFA-314 becomes the rst F-35 unit
at the San Diego base
Lindsay Peacock looks back at the nal days of
the US Air Force’s F-105 Thunderchief, and one
very special farewell event at Hill AFB
David Axe’s column looking at the latest
technological developments in military aerospace
Combat Aircraft Journal’s
trip down memory lane;
this month it’s the unique two-seat YA-10B
Scott Wol ’s fascinating column details a mass
F-35 launch at Hill AFB
Combat Aircraft Journal’s
regular column,
looking at the stories behind the US Navy and
Marine Corps headlines, by Rick Burgess
Showcasing military aviation’s latest and
greatest images — this month it’s an Oregon
Air National Guard F-15C
Combat Aircraft Journal
gained exclusive access
to recent exercises at Khotilovo. Alexander
Mladenov evaluates the action with exclusive
photographs by Andrey Zinchuk
A US Air Force aircraft type that had quietly
gone about its trade for nearly 15 years came
into sharp focus after a crash in Afghanistan.
Tom Kaminski examines the role of the E-11A
BACN
The Qatar Emiri Air Force is undergoing one of
the most impressive expansion e orts of recent
times to cement its position as a leading air arm
in the Middle East. Stephan de Bruijn updates
the story of this unprecedented modernization
e ort
Rob van Disseldorp heads to Hawaii to witness
Exercise ‘Sentry Aloha’ as the resident Raptors
go up against visiting ghters for valuable
dissimilar training
Gordon Arthur joins the US Marine Corps’ 31st
Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), a force that
projects a big presence in Asia-Paci c
The US Navy Reserves y some of the oldest
Hornets in the US, yet they are able to provide
meaningful eet support and a valuable back-
up force if the need to boost the front line
arises, as Dick Wels and Hans Drost discover
106
‘THUD’ OUT
18
READY ROOM
96
‘FELON’ —
IMPOSTER OR THE REAL DEAL?
22
BIG SHOT: ‘HERITAGE’ EAGLE
The Sukhoi Su-57 ‘Felon’ was originally
conceived in an e ort to compete against
Lockheed Martin’s F-22 and F-35. Known as
the PAK-FA, its development has progressed
at a relatively slow pace. Alexander Mladenov
evaluates if it has matured into a force to be
reckoned with
110
CUTTING EDGE
112
FLASHBACK
24
WAR GAMES AT KHOTILOVO
30
THE AIRBORNE CONNECTOR
FREE
SUPPLEMENT
36
QATAR — AN AIR FORCE REBORN
42
HIGH-END IN HAWAII
F-4 PHANTOM
SURVIVORS
ON THE COVER
| PAGE 96
Your Aviation Destination
Up close with the Su-57 ‘Felon’.
In this issue we evaluate the
capabilities of Russia’s latest
fighter aircraft as it edges
towards service entry.
Vadim Savitskiy
72
PACIFIC PROJECTION
78
‘RIVER RATTLERS’
Visit www.key.aero
for latest military
news
COMBAT EDGE
//
FIND US ON
D
ESPITE BANNER GRABBING
HEADLINES suggesting
that the Boeing F/A-18E/F
Super Hornet is down
and out, the opposite
is very much the case.
It’s currently planned that Fiscal
Year 2021 will see the last Super
Hornet procurement for the US Navy
— ending three years earlier than
previously planned — but the ‘Rhino’
is still very much on the up, with Block
III standard jets now arriving for ight-
test, service-life modi cations being
completed for some older jets and still
potential for more aircraft to be added
in the Future Years Defense Plan. The
716-aircraft Program of Record will
be reduced — probably by 36 aircraft
— with funds being redirected into
the accelerated development of Next
Generation Air Dominance (NGAD).
The navy must show commitment to
the future — it has been criticized for
dragging its heels over a Super Hornet
SUPER HORNET IS HERE TO STAY
replacement — but at the same time
it needs to equip its F/A-18E/Fs to stay
credible out to 2040. The only option
was to trim orders.
Boeing will undoubtedly look to keep
the Super Hornet production line ‘hot’
to ensure potential export customers
can still be secured and will probably
look to string out the existing order
book. What’s more, chances are NGAD
will slip and the navy will be able to fall
back on an option that has proved to be
so versatile and a ordable in the past
to bridge ‘strike ghter gaps’ — buying
more Super Hornets.
Keep on top of all the latest breaking
military news and access all of our digital
content at www.Key.Aero
Jamie Hunter,
Editor
E-mail: jamie.hunter@keypublishing.com
ALEXANDER MLADENOV
CONTRIBUTOR OF THE MONTH
A
04
April 2020
// www.Key.Aero
lexander Mladenov
was born near So a
in Bulgaria in 1972
and has been working
as an aerospace journalist
and photographer since
1991. His articles and photos
have appeared in aerospace
and defense publications
around the world and
his rst contribution to
Combat Aircraft Journal
dates back to 2010. He
specializes in East European
and Russian military aviation
topics with a particular interest
in the latest xed-wing and
rotorcraft combat technology,
air-launched weapons, and
combat employment. He is also
a co-founder and managing
partner of an aerospace and
defense consulting company
based in So a.
The Super Hornet forms the backbone of the
US Navy strike fighter fleet, and although the
navy is looking to redirect some funds away
from production and into new programs, its
huge force of these fighters is being upgraded
to remain credible and capable into the future.
Jamie Hunter
www.Key.Aero //
April 2020
05

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