LUKE AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz.— An F-35 Lightning II, F-16 Fighting Falcon, F-15E Strike Eagle, and an A-10 Thunderbolt II fly in a four-ship formation over Arizona after being refueled by an Arizona Air National Guard KC-135 Stratotanker from the 161st Air Refueling Wing, June 3, 2021. The 944th Fighter Wing is unique in the fact that they train pilots on four different airframes, with two of them being geographically separated from the unit. The F-15E is out of Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C., and the A-10 belongs to the 924th Fighter Group at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz. The 161st ARW is stationed at Goldwater Air National Guard Base at the Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, Ariz. (U.S. Air Force photo/ Tech Sgt. Nestor Cruz)
Hopefully, Air Force training ranges in Arizona will offer much better training to pilots soon. Environmental studies are in work near Davis-Monthan AFB to determine the impact of updating flight restrictions in the area.
The American mid-West offers some of the best training grounds in the world for the military. Our allies send their aviators and maintainers to the States to benefit from that training. Areas like Yuma Proving Grounds, Utah Test and Training Range, and the Nellis Range offer excellent visibility, (usually) good weather, and miles and miles of wide-open spaces. Add to that the region’s varied topography, and you wind up with an area that can offer simulations of most countries’ landscapes.
The ability to fly and fight in a simulated environment has been central to pilot and weapons system advancement and proficiency since the Wright military flyer first took to the skies. In much the same way baseball teams practice and practice and practice before they actually play, aviators need that as well. In baseball, teams often “scrimmage” against each other to build team cohesion, try out new ways to play, and hone their overall skills in a (relatively) non-competitive way. Both teams understand this is all about proficiency. Military aviators use test ranges to “scrimmage” amongst themselves, other services, and even allied nations.
In 2014, the Air Force issued the 2025 Air Test and Training Range Enhancement Plan to Congress, outlining testing range needs and requirements through 2025. In the report, emphasis is placed on the fact America has been fighting a counter-insurgent, low-tech war for the last decade. Training has focused on operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, to the detriment of more peer-adversary operations. As America is emerging from the “Forever War,” the need to ramp up our skills against more technologically advanced threats is becoming more evident.
LUKE AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. – Col. (ret) Jim Greenwald, previous 944th Fighter Wing commander, flies his F-35 Lightning II over the state of Arizona, June 3, 2021. The 944th FW is the Air Force Reserve Command’s most diverse fighter wing as it’s the only wing that trains on four different airframes: the F-35 Lightning II, F-16 Fighting Falcon, F-15E Strike Eagle, and the A-10 Thunderbolt II. (US Air Force photo/ Tech Sgt. Nestor Cruz)
China and Russia are the two big-hitters the US needs to be prepared for. Both nations spend billions outfitting and training their militaries, and neither send many smiles towards Washington. According to Statista, in 2020, the US military complex had a budget of $778B compared to $252B in China and $62B in Russia. As someone who has met with Russian Air Force members and toured a couple of their aircraft, that money isn’t going to creature comforts; it’s going towards lethality.
The Air Force is researching three different options to change flight restrictions in Arizona range areas. The fourth option on the table is to leave everything as-is and not meet training requirements. Proposed changes would allow the Air Force to fly faster, lower, and longer. Anyone who has lived near an Air Force base has probably grumbled about the noise at some point. Those near fighter bases grumble every day, and B-1B neighbors throw their hands up in disgust. Altitude and speed are some of the most limited restrictions due to the inherent danger posed to civilians on the ground. Well, that and the PR issues stemming from noise complaints.
A B-1B Lancer from Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota, performs an engine run during a Red Flag exercise at Nellis AFB, Nev., March 12, 2021. Red Flag is a contested combat training exercise involving the air forces of the United States and its allies. (US Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Hannah Malone)
Changes to flight restrictions in Arizona should enhance the ability to “check more boxes” in the training arena in a shorter amount of time. Other flight ranges may offer lower-level flying, supersonic flight areas, or simulated ground threats, but it can take hours to get there. Those hours count against the duty day and burn up a lot of gas, so training is sacrificed to required crew rest. In addition, longer flights just to get to training areas require coordination between airfields, radar sites, and even tanker support.
An A-10 Thunderbolt II assigned to the 422nd Test and Evaluation Squadron (TES) flies low over the Nevada Test and Training Range, Sept. 10, 2021. The A-10 has excellent maneuverability at low airspeeds and altitude while providing a highly accurate weapons delivery system. (US Air Force photo by William R. Lewis)
Having the chance to operate locally cuts out a lot of the clutter involved otherwise. Pilots can hop in, taxi out, and be over the range in minutes compared to hours. Increased flight hours allow crews to hone their night-flying skills and train for real-world scenarios rather than get-in-where-you-can training situations. Increased simulated ground-threat packages provide more in-depth realism for combat flight training. These changes combined can result in a more lethal, well-trained force.
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