Red Flag Weekly Training Site Report feedback


Message posted by Andre' M. Dall'au on March 14, 2009 at 18:03:36 PST:

Weekly Training Site Summary Report - March 16, 2009> > I just wanted to drop you a note about one of the pilots that received> excellent training from you and your team. Last year, 2008 was the> first time the Air Force sent pilots through training that did not> have prior fighter experience. They were recent graduates of> undergraduate pilot training and they attended the Basic Course or B> Course at Tyndall AFB. Two of the four B course graduates were> assigned to Elmendorf AFB, AK in November 2008. In January 2009 one> of the B Course pilots participated in his first Red Flag at Nellis> AFB, NV. Red Flag is designed to give new pilots experience as close> to combat as possible. The Air Force has aggressor squadrons that> emulate enemy tactics. The range has enemy SAMs and the range employs> an Integrated Air Defense System that emulates enemy command and> control. The objective is to give new pilots the pucker factor like> combat so they will be able to survive the first time they go to> combat. New pilots are not expected to do well at Red Flag, but they> are expected to learn and learn fast.> > Our B Course pilot excelled in his first Red Flag. He made five kills> which would qualify for ace status if it were real combat. One of the> kills was with the gun. The Raptor could be expected to dominate the> fight when stealth and supercruise would be the key factor, but for a> gun kill, pilot skill would be a determining factor. The aggressor> pilots are not easy shots. So I am very proud of the B Course pilot> for his accomplishments in his first Red Flag. I am very proud of the> aircraft and its combat capabilities. I am very proud of the> outstanding training that you and your team provided that created the> accomplishments of our first B Course student. Our training system> achieved this without a two seat Raptor.> > We had two visions when we designed the Raptor. One was to build an> aircraft that a new pilot would be able to perform like an Ace. We> wanted the avionics systems to provide the pilot with actionable> tactical information as opposed to conflicting data on different> systems, like radar, EW and Comm and then force the pilot to integrate> the data. We have succeeded in achieving the goals of our design.> Every Pilot an Ace. We had the vision of making the maintenance task> so that a high school graduate maintainer would be able to perform> maintenance like an experienced Master Mechanic. We designed a> diagnostic system and Integrated Maintenance Information System, TOD> and advanced Training Systems. We are well on our way to maturing the> maintenance vision and I have no doubt we will achieve our goals.> > I think our Training Team is doing an outstanding job. The metrics> you provide in the Training Weekly Report describe the quantity and> timeliness of training, and the accomplishments of one of our first B> Course pilots at Red Flag attest to the quality of our training. Well> done.> > Thanks> > V


Replies:



[ Discussion Forum Index ] [ FAQ ]