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AIRCRAFT
BROKEN ‘BONES’
W. K
E Y.
AER
O
COMBAT
AMERICA’S BEST SELLING MILITARY AVIATION MAGAZINE
US NAVY FIGHTER THE DRAG0N’S LAIR LAKENHEATH STRIKE EAGLES
NEXT GENERATION EVOLVES
U-2 IS BACK AT FAIRFORD
NEW NOSE ART AND WORK-UPS
WW
JOURNAL
USAF MAKES NEW PLANS FOR THE B-1B LANCER
M-346 — THE
NEW MASTER
OF LIGHT ATTACK?
EXCLUSIVE PHOTOS
‘HERITAGE’ TEXANS
AT SHEPPARD
CORONAVIRUS
PANDEMIC IMPACTS
MILITARY AVIATION
Volume 21 No 5 MAY 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.
ORDER DIRECT
PLUS FREE P&P
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IN THE NEWS
6 HEADLINE NEWS
TacAir leads US Navy adversary upgrades,
USAF buys light attack
aircraft for more testing and Jolly
Green Giant II is christened
Our integrated news and
analysis section includes latest Super
Hornet upgrades at work, Boeing’s
FARA contender, plus all the latest
Military Losses
52
RANDOLPH HERITAGE
8 NEWS
The increasing application of special
heritage paint schemes across the US Air
Force is helping it to re-discover a feeling of
squadron culture — not least at Randolph
AFB as Michael Keaveney details the
resident training aircraft paying homage to
the past
INSIDE
May 2020 • Vol 21 • No 5
66
56
‘MADHATTERS’ AT THE
TOP OF THEIR GAME
16
OPS DESK
Jamie Hunter meets the 492nd Fighter
Squadron ‘Madhatters’ as the unit reaches
full readiness in its training cycle, and also
provides full details of the latest nose art for
the Lakenheath Strike Eagles
Scott Wol ’s fascinating column looks at the
impact of the coronavirus pandemic
Tom Kaminski details the US National Nuclear
Security Administration’s new eet of King Air
350ERs and explains what they are designed
to do
In the Israeli Air Force, the F-35 and a eet
of new-generation training aircraft contrast
sharply with the advancing years of much of
the rest of the inventory, as David Weinrich
reports
Tom Kaminski explains the current status and
planned evolution of the US Navy airborne
mine countermeasures role that is currently
carried out by the MH-53E Sea Dragon
Jamie Hunter evaluates US Air Force plans
to retire a portion of the B-1B Lancer eet to
better enable it to stay capable until the arrival
of the new B-21 Raider
Leonardo’s M-346 Master has proven itself
as an innovative and capable advanced
training aircraft. Riccardo Niccoli details how
it is evolving into a useful light ghter-attack
aircraft that is o ering customers the ability
to combine missions in an e cient multi-role
platform
The US Navy is developing plans for its Next-
Generation Air Dominance ghter, which
could include a range of systems, as Jamie
Hunter explains
Mauro Zanotti reports from the Euro-NATO
Joint Jet Pilot Training center at Sheppard
AFB, Texas, a unique melting pot for military
aviators as various air forces combine to share
knowledge and experience in the training of
young pilots
18
NUCLEAR RESPONSE KING AIRS
64
BIG SHOT:
‘THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS’
Showcasing military aviation’s latest and
greatest images — this month it’s Vermont
Air National Guard F-35As
TIGER TANKERS
Dr Richard Porcelli meets the 141st Air
Refueling Squadron, one of the most
famous tanker units on the planet
20
ISRAEL’S AGING WARBIRDS
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.
84
GREY WOLF
The MH-139A Grey Wolf is the US Air Force’s
newest helicopter. Based on the commercial
AW139 from Leonardo, the type is now
entering ight-testing in Florida as Tom
Kaminski reports
Ashley Wallace reports from the US Air
Force’s new U-2S operating location at RAF
Fairford, UK
Former U-2 pilot Lt Col (ret’d) Rick Bishop
details the complex process of preparing for
and recovering from demanding missions in
the ‘Dragon Lady’
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 a US Navy A-7B Corsair II
24
TACKLING MINES
86
THE DRAGON’S NEW LAIR
72
HYPER ‘HIND’
30
B-1 UNDER FIRE
The 1970s-vintage ‘Hind’ is one of the
most widely used rotary-wing gunships
of all time. In the rst of a two-part series,
Alexander Mladenov looks at this rugged
and fearsome attack helicopter that has
achieved success on a global scale
The US Department of Defense has a tendency
to ‘buy American’ where possible. However,
in recent years European manufacturers have
gained a number of high pro le orders. Jon
Lake evaluates the current trend and potential
long-term situation for vendors trying to break
into the US market
88
HIGH FLYERS
34
FROM MASTER TO LIGHT FIGHTER
78
DEFENSE PROCUREMENT
94
CUTTING EDGE
96
FLASHBACK
42
US NAVY LOOKS TO THE FUTURE
ON THE COVER
| PAGE 30
The US Air Force wants to
move fast in order to address
availability concerns in the B-1B
Lancer fleet. It means changes in
the way the aircraft is operated
so that a smaller force can
deliver maximum punch.
USAF/TSgt John Winn
Your Aviation Destination
46
TEXAS TEXANS
Visit www.key.aero
for latest military
news and features
COMBAT EDGE
//
FIND US ON
I
N MARCH, THREE US Air Force
B-2A Spirit stealth bombers arrived
at RAF Fairford, UK, for a Bomber
Task Force deployment. It was
business as usual, with a range
of missions being own with
NATO partners in the region. However,
elsewhere, the world’s air forces were
taking unprecedented measures,
canceling events and ensuring they
o ered support at a national level. At
Nellis AFB, Nevada, the latest ‘Red Flag’
exercise was abandoned and its US
military participants were sent home. The
bomber detachment was planned long
before the coronavirus pandemic struck
— but it served as a clear demonstration
of how the world’s air forces must be
able to continue operations even during
unprecedented events.
In an open letter to wing commanders,
USAF chief of sta Gen David Goldfein
said: ‘Every day brings new challenges
and opportunities and no situation
presents a one-size- ts-all approach.
You must tailor your response to t your
community situation.’ He underlined how,
for the USAF, success begins and ends
with the squadron commander cadre.
GLOBAL CRISIS
‘The organization is going to ride on your
calm, cool, collected and measured, while
intense, approach to the crisis.’ He closed
with: ‘Your wing will remember this time
and how you responded for the remainder
of your tour and beyond. COVID-19 is a
worthy adversary. We must take it head on
at every echelon of command.’
Keep on top of all the latest breaking
military news and access all of our digital
content at www.Key.Aero
We are able to report that, at time of
going to press, production and despatch
of our magazine is currently not a ected
by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. We
will continue to update you as best we can
should this change. Some postal services
may be delayed. You can keep in touch
with our latest updates and see what we
are doing to keep distribution as normal as
possible by visiting:
www.keypublishing.com/FAQs
Jamie Hunter,
Editor
E-mail: jamie.hunter@keypublishing.com
04
May 2020
// www.Key.Aero
F-15C Eagles from the
493rd Fighter Squadron
at RAF Lakenheath, UK,
escort a B-2A during
a mission over Europe
in March.
USAF/MSgt
Matthew Plew
RICK BISHOP
CONTRIBUTOR OF THE MONTH
R
ICK BISHOP FLEW for
over 50 years as a civilian,
army and air force
pilot amassing some
16,000 hours in the air. At age
16, his passion for aviation
started with ight lessons that
continued through college.
Joining the army in 1967, he
saw action as a helicopter pilot
in Vietnam before joining the
US Air Force in 1974 to y jets.
He interviewed for the ‘Special-
Duty’ U-2 program in 1977 and
was selected as a ‘Dragon Lady’
pilot. Over the following 13
years he rose to commander
of the 99th Strategic
Reconnaissance Squadron
before retiring in 1991. He then
ew for American Airlines until
federally mandated retirement.
He now resides in the rolling
hills of central Florida.
www.Key.Aero //
May 2020
05

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