Photo By Tech. Sgt. Megan Beatty | U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Joshua Cote, 493rd Fighter Generation Squadron dedicated...... read more read more
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RAF LAKENHEATH, England – Maintenance professionals assigned to the 439rd Fighter Generation Squadron traveled from their home base in England to support Norwegian and U.S. F-35 Lightning II’s during the U.S. Air Forces in Europe’s first-ever basic fighter maneuvers exercise at Ramstein Air Base, Germany June 6.
The exercise, titled Ramstein 1v1, bolstered relationships and esprit de corps among allies through the sharing of tactics, techniques and experiences specific to a pilot’s most foundational skill set, basic fighter maneuvers.
This first iteration of the exercise included 37 fighter aircraft from nine NATO countries such as F-35A Lightning IIs; F-16 Fighting Falcons; Eurofighter Typhoons; Dassault Rafale Cs; F/A-18 Hornets and a Douglas A-4 Skyhawk.
RAF Lakenheath sent forward two F-35s assigned to the 493 Fighter Squadron as well as four crew chiefs and four experts in avionics and weapons systems assigned to the 493rd FGS.
“This event provided a prime opportunity to hone our skills, and it was a fun experience to build cooperation and camaraderie amongst all the participants,” said Lt. Col. Michael Loringer, U.S. Air Forces in Europe - Air Forces Africa chief of weapons and tactics. “Successful military operations require exceptional teamwork, often critical to survival. It boils down to trust.”
Building trust on the ground, 493rd FGS maintainers showcased their dedication to strengthening interoperability between allies. U.S. maintainers worked alongside Royal Norwegian Air Force Airmen and performed maintenance services for the RNAF F-35A Lightning II aircraft.
“Those that were a part of the exercise feel that the trust between the 48th Fighter Wing and Norwegians started in 2023 during the Arctic Challenge in Poland,” said Staff Sgt. Joshua Cote, 493rd FGS dedicated crew chief. “If it wasn't for that exercise they wouldn’t have seen the work we do and now trust us enough to service their F-35’s during Ramstein 1v1.”
According to Loringer, trust is the cornerstone of effective maintenance and operations.
“The cross-servicing capabilities of U.S. maintainers further enhances the operational readiness of NATO air forces by striving to achieve the goal of enabling any aircraft to operate at any NATO airbase and be serviced by any Airman across the European Command area of responsibility,” said Loringer.
By providing an opportunity for U.S. maintainers to offer their aircraft servicing capabilities to the Norwegian F-35’s, RAF Lakenheath is able to strengthen it’s ability to meet key USAFE focus areas, Agile Combat Employment and information sharing.
the 493rd FGS maintainers also serviced F-35’s from RAF Lakenheath participating in the 1v1. Daily duties involved inspecting and preparing the aircraft for safe flight operations.
According to Cote, the 493rd’s objective in the exercise was to keep the jet in the air as much as possible along with being prepared to tackle any issues that could arise.
They also performed cold integrated combat turns which consists of debriefing the pilot upon post-mission, inspecting the aircraft, performing safety measures and refueling. All this before sending the pilot out for another flight.
Exercises like these provide participants the opportunity to strengthen multi-capable Airmen through Agile Compat Employment operations to significantly reduce maintenance turnaround in a contested and fast paced environment.
| Date Taken: | 07.03.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 07.07.2024 16:34 |
| Story ID: | 475491 |
| Location: | GB |
| Web Views: | 126 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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