Photo By Tech. Sgt. Shanice Ship | An F-15E Strike Eagle assigned to the 492nd Fighter Squadron takes off at Royal Air...... read more read more
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The Liberty Wing provides worldwide responsive combat airpower and support to United States Air Forces in Europe-Air Forces Africa, NATO, and its allies. “Surge” operations, or short periods of increased flying, facilitate a number of training requirements for both F-15 aircrew and support personnel on the ground, and are necessary to ensure a ready and capable force.
On average, the 48th Fighter Wing flies up to 50-70 sorties daily. During a surge, fighter squadrons can fly upwards of 84 sorties to hone air-to-air tactics and advance combat maneuvers. The quick generation of large numbers of sorties also provides important training for aircraft maintenance personnel, as it is similar to what they experience in a deployed environment.
“By turning up the heat on our home station flying, we get a boost in the amount of training requirements we can accomplish,” said Maj. Thomas Morrill, 492nd Fighter Squadron pilot. “During a surge, everyone involved must push their knowledge, skills, and abilities to their limit. These operations give us the ability to keep our edge sharp.”
During surge operations, aircrew enter engagements with opposing aircraft from beyond visual range, and continuously calculate the closing distance to determine the proper tactic to employ once the opposing aircraft enters view. Aircrews may fly up to three times per day and participate in up to six engagements. These are carried out in training ranges over the North Sea as frequently as possible.
“As you start the defensive counter air mission, you go from beyond visual range fighting to within visual range fighting,” said Lt. Col. Clinton Guenther, 493rd Fighter Squadron director of operations. “The surge allows us to use the basic building blocks of our training, which is basic fighting maneuvers. It also gives less experienced pilots more capability in the aircraft, and it gives them the best possible training.”
The training allows aircrews to test their skill and knowledge against their fellow wingmen, increases the level of comradery within the fighter community, and ensures the highest degree of safety possible.
“Flying one jet against the other at close range gives us an excellent feel for the airplane’s controls, weapons, advantages and disadvantages,” Morrill said. “Even though we’re not firing actual weapons at each other, there’s usually a clear winner of each sparring match, which is very rewarding.”
Surge operations remain a vital component to aircrew development. Liberty Wing aircrews will continue to push their limits to preserve combat skills through effective training to ensure they are fully prepared for potential contingencies.
“The increased flying is a tax on all involved to include the aircrew, the maintainers, the base support system, and the local population experiencing the additional noise…but surging is a key element of our mission readiness” said Col. Jason Camilletti, 48th Operations Group commander. “We do everything we can to mitigate that tax, but we must remain flexible to ensure the Liberty Wing is prepared to defend our nation and allies whenever called upon.”
| Date Taken: | 07.26.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 07.26.2018 05:45 |
| Story ID: | 285753 |
| Location: | GB |
| Web Views: | 121 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, An inside look at surge operations, by SSgt Christopher Sparks, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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