{"id":6757,"date":"2016-08-01T06:43:38","date_gmt":"2016-08-01T12:43:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/myfutureamerica.org\/?p=6757"},"modified":"2016-08-01T06:45:54","modified_gmt":"2016-08-01T12:45:54","slug":"is-the-lame-duck-not-so-lame-the-f-35-is-so-stealthy-it-produced-training-challenges-pilot-says-russians-would-know-should-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/myfutureamerica.org\/?p=6757","title":{"rendered":"Is the lame duck not so lame? The F-35 is so stealthy, it produced training challenges, pilot says. Russians would know, should know."},"content":{"rendered":"<section id=\"module-position-PO0ZgRrJyRU\" class=\"storytopbar-bucket story-headline-module story-story-headline-module\">\n<h1 class=\"asset-headline\"><\/h1>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"module-position-PO0ZgRrBLUY\" class=\"storytopbar-bucket story-byline-module story-story-byline-module\">\n<div class=\"asset-metabar\"><span class=\"asset-metabar-author asset-metabar-item\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.airforcetimes.com\/staff\/40477\/phillip-swarts\/\" rel=\"author\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"asset-metabar-avatar\" src=\"http:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/-mm-\/59d354b4fbca8164ac6da1101270b69a5e783604\/r=26&amp;c=26x26\/http\/cdn.tegna-tv.com\/-mm-\/f606228320e3c068cbdd7fd90642952957dccc83\/c=187-0-934-747&amp;r=1024x1024\/local\/-\/media\/2016\/03\/25\/GGM\/MilitaryTimes\/635944976504635353-swarts2.jpg\" width=\"26\" height=\"26\" \/> Phillip Swarts<\/a>, Air Force Times<\/span><span class=\"asset-metabar-time asset-metabar-item nobyline\">5:04 a.m. EDT July 31, 2016<\/span><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"module-position-PO0ZgRr69jg\" class=\"storytopbar-bucket piano-module story-piano-module\"><\/section>\n<section id=\"module-position-PO0ZgRqGC3I\" class=\"storytopbar-bucket google-survey-module story-google-survey-module\"><\/section>\n<div class=\"asset-double-wide double-wide p402_premium\">\n<div id=\"module-position-PO0ZgUh1zKU\" class=\"story-asset story-metadata-asset\">\n<div class=\"article-metadata-wrap\">\n<section id=\"module-position-PO0ZgUg_fbs\" class=\"storymetadata-bucket expandable-photo-module story-expandable-photo-module\">\n<aside class=\"single-photo expandable-collapsed\">\n<div class=\"image-wrap\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"expand-img-horiz\" src=\"http:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/-mm-\/f5165edfa19bcf273643df7b3770f5690bca06dd\/r=x404&amp;c=534x401\/http\/cdn.tegna-tv.com\/-mm-\/166fcacaa6a3f1f9bc405989cee73013e141a957\/c=367-0-6017-4248\/local\/-\/media\/2016\/07\/29\/GGM\/AirForceTimes\/636054150543775261-F-35-3.JPG\" alt=\"F-35_Hill_Stealth\" data-mycapture-src=\"http:\/\/cdn.tegna-tv.com\/media\/2016\/07\/29\/GGM\/AirForceTimes\/636054150543775261-F-35-3.JPG\" data-mycapture-sm-src=\"http:\/\/cdn.tegna-tv.com\/-mm-\/521cd80a4fb9f1f1edf37d025629b379daee5bba\/r=500x332\/local\/-\/media\/2016\/07\/29\/GGM\/AirForceTimes\/636054150543775261-F-35-3.JPG\" \/><\/div>\n<p class=\"image-credit-wrap\"><span class=\"js-caption-wrapper\"><span class=\"credit\">(Photo: SSgt. Staci Miller\/Air Force)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"module-position-PO0ZgUgawRY\" class=\"story-asset inline-share-tools-asset\">\n<div class=\"inline-share-tools asset-inline-share-tools asset-inline-share-tools-top\"><span class=\"inline-share-btn inline-share-btn-facebook\" data-share-method=\"facebook\" data-uotrack=\"InlineShareFacebookBtn\"><span class=\"inline-share-count inline-share-count-facebook\"> 2247<\/span><span class=\"inline-share-btn-label inline-share-btn-label-facebook\">CONNECT<\/span><\/span><a class=\"inline-share-btn inline-share-btn-twitter\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?url=http%3A\/\/militari.ly\/2aq3eHI&amp;text=The%20F-35%20is%20so%20stealthy%2C%20it%20produced%20training%20challenges%2C%20pilot%20says&amp;via=defense_news\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" data-share-method=\"twitter\" data-uotrack=\"InlineShareTwitterLink\" data-popup-width=\"550\" data-popup-height=\"450\" data-popup=\"\"><span class=\"inline-share-btn-label inline-share-btn-label-twitter\">TWEET<\/span><\/a><a class=\"inline-share-btn inline-share-btn-linkedin\" href=\"http:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/shareArticle?url=http%3A\/\/militari.ly\/2aq3eHI&amp;mini=true\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" data-share-method=\"linkedin\" data-popup-width=\"600\" data-popup-height=\"455\" data-uotrack=\"UtilityBarFlyoutLinkedInLink\" data-popup=\"\"><span class=\"inline-share-count inline-share-count-linkedin\"> 244<\/span><span class=\"inline-share-btn-label inline-share-btn-label-linkedin\">LINKEDIN<\/span><\/a><span class=\"inline-share-btn inline-share-btn-comments\" data-share-method=\"comments\" data-uotrack=\"InlineShareCommentsBtn\"><span class=\"inline-share-count inline-share-count-comments\"> 5<\/span><span class=\"inline-share-btn-label inline-share-btn-label-comments\">COMMENT<\/span><\/span><span class=\"inline-share-btn inline-share-btn-email\" data-share-method=\"email\" data-uotrack=\"InlineShareEmailBtn\"><span class=\"inline-share-btn-label inline-share-btn-label-email\">EMAIL<\/span><\/span><span class=\"inline-share-btn inline-share-btn-more\" data-share-method=\"facebook\" data-uotrack=\"InlineShareMoreBtn\"><span class=\"inline-share-btn-label inline-share-btn-label-more\">MORE<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The F-35 Lightning II is so stealthy, pilots are facing an unusual challenge. They&#8217;re having difficulty participating in some types of training exercises, a squadron commander told reporters Wednesday.<\/p>\n<p>During a recent exercise at Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho, F-35 squadrons wanted to practice evading surface-to-air threats. There was just one problem: No one on the ground could track the plane.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf they never saw us, they couldn\u2019t target us,\u201d said Lt. Col. George Watkins, the commander of the 34th Fighter Squadron at Hill Air Force Base, Utah.<\/p>\n<p>The F-35s resorted to flipping on their transponders, used for FAA identification, so that simulated anti-air weapons could track the planes, Watkins said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe basically told them where we were at and said, \u2018Hey, try to shoot at us,\u2019 \u201d he said, adding that without the transponders on, \u201cmost likely we would not have suffered a single loss from any SAM threats while we were training at Mountain Home.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"module-position-PO0ZgUh7Yzc\" class=\"story-asset oembed-asset\">\n<div class=\"story-oembed-wrap \">\n<div class=\"js-oembed story-oembed story-oembed-air-force-times story-oembed-type-link\" data-oembed-type=\"link\" data-oembed-provider=\"air-force-times\">\n<div class=\"oembed-asset oembed-asset-link oembed-asset-air-force-times\">\n<div class=\"oembed-link-thumbnail\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/-mm-\/9065941e142eb769bb76794c742e08d1e14ee558\/r=300\/http\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/-mm-\/afcf90e2497b400ba546be50b80560805b483697\/r=300\/http\/cdn.tegna-tv.com\/-mm-\/ce9fb72f591768fc08535db17cefff46d696a00c\/c=0-141-568-709\/local\/-\/media\/2016\/05\/11\/DefenseNews\/DefenseNews\/635985686820975751-Raven-F3516J00236-28.jpg\" \/><\/div>\n<p class=\"oembed-link-title\">AIR FORCE TIMES<\/p>\n<p class=\"oembed-link-desc\">Air Force Pilots, Maintainers on F-35 Pros and Cons<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cWhen we go to train, it\u2019s really an unfair fight for the guys who are simulating the adversaries,\u201d Watkins continued. \u201cWe\u2019ve been amazed by what we can do when we go up against fourth-gen adversaries in our training environment, in the air and on the ground.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Watkins said he can take four F-35s and \u201cbe everywhere and nowhere at the same time because we can cover so much ground with our sensors, so much ground and so much airspace. And the F-15s or F-16s, or whoever is simulating an adversary or red air threat, they have no idea where we\u2019re at and they can\u2019t see us and they can\u2019t target us.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s a pretty awesome feeling when you\u2019re going out to train for combat,\u201d Watkins concluded, &#8220;to know that your pilots are in an unfair fight.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The pilots and crews at Hill have been putting the new fifth-generation fighter through its paces, in preparation for top Air Force brass declaring the plane operationally ready \u2014 a move expected within days.<\/p>\n<p>The Air Force\u2019s variant of the F-35 will make its first appearance at the famous Red Flag training exercise at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, in January 2017, Watkins told Air Force Times. Marine Corps F-35Bs have already reached initial operating capability and participated in the exercise this year.<\/p>\n<div id=\"module-position-PO0ZgUhnTqc\" class=\"story-asset oembed-asset\">\n<div class=\"story-oembed-wrap \">\n<div class=\"js-oembed story-oembed story-oembed-air-force-times story-oembed-type-link\" data-oembed-type=\"link\" data-oembed-provider=\"air-force-times\">\n<div class=\"oembed-asset oembed-asset-link oembed-asset-air-force-times\">\n<div class=\"oembed-link-thumbnail\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/-mm-\/9065941e142eb769bb76794c742e08d1e14ee558\/r=300\/http\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/-mm-\/afcf90e2497b400ba546be50b80560805b483697\/r=300\/http\/cdn.tegna-tv.com\/-mm-\/bb0cf598a0cf616b9e21e2bd3366338264644e8b\/c=1260-0-4500-3240\/local\/-\/media\/2016\/07\/29\/GGM\/MarineCorpsTimes\/636053943329552364-F-35B.JPG\" \/><\/div>\n<p class=\"oembed-link-title\">AIR FORCE TIMES<\/p>\n<p class=\"oembed-link-desc\">Top Marine aviator: F-35B is ready for war<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Lt. Col. Steven Anderson, the 388th Maintenance Group deputy commander, said all the boxes have been checked for Hill F-35s to reach IOC, and that the base will be ready to send six-ship packages of the aircraft wherever they\u2019re needed in the world.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor most of us, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to bed down a new weapon set and make it employable and bring this capability for the defense of our nation,\u201d Anderson said. \u201cEveryone from the youngest airmen on up through our wing commanders is totally invested in this program. We are all excited and very motivated for what we\u2019ve accomplished over the last year and what we\u2019re going to accomplish in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Hill now\u00a0has 21 pilots ready to fly, with another three going through final certification training, Anderson said. Some 222 maintainers are also ready, with another 150 in training. The base has 15 F-35s now, with a 16th scheduled to be delivered in late August. Eventually, the base is looking to set up three full squadrons with a total of 72 aircraft by 2019.<\/p>\n<p>Anderson said the base isn\u2019t expecting any problems with getting enough maintainers or pilots to operate the planes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe don\u2019t see any shortfalls in our maintenance and pilots right now,\u201d he said. \u201cWe can project up to 18 months out to see where our pilots and maintainers are coming from, and we will have enough to stand up this unit. IOC, for us, it\u2019s just getting us out of the starting gate.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/story\/military\/2016\/07\/31\/f-35-so-stealthy-produced-training-challenges-pilot-says\/87760454\/\">Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Phillip Swarts, Air Force Times5:04 a.m. EDT July 31, 2016 (Photo: SSgt. Staci Miller\/Air Force) 2247CONNECTTWEET 244LINKEDIN 5COMMENTEMAILMORE The F-35 Lightning II is so stealthy, pilots are facing an unusual challenge. They&#8217;re having difficulty participating in some types of training exercises, a squadron commander told reporters Wednesday. During a recent exercise at Mountain Home Air [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6758,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[104,105],"tags":[349,1282],"class_list":["post-6757","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-videos","tag-f-35","tag-stealthy"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/myfutureamerica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/download-1.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2SfUR-1KZ","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/myfutureamerica.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6757","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/myfutureamerica.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/myfutureamerica.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myfutureamerica.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myfutureamerica.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6757"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/myfutureamerica.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6757\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6759,"href":"https:\/\/myfutureamerica.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6757\/revisions\/6759"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myfutureamerica.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6758"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/myfutureamerica.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6757"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myfutureamerica.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6757"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myfutureamerica.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6757"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}