Tactical flying training for hostile environments

It’s these skills that a C-130J-30 Hercules and crew have been perfecting in the desert-like plains in the mid and southwest United States, while attending the Advanced Tactics Aircrew course.

“The exercise was in preparation for any high-end operations that might occur,” C-130J Training Flight Commander Squadron Leader Tim Jones said.

The two-week exercise took place at the Advanced Tactics Training Centre in St Joseph’s, Missouri and over the vast Arizona landscape. The crew was embedded with United States Air Force units at the Air National Guard Training School.

“The first week the crew was exposed to new tactics around threat reactions and week two simulated a deployed environment phase at Arizona’s Fort Huachuca. The terrain was made up of desolate deserts and canyons, which simulated some of those hostile environments that we could go to,” SQNLDR Jones said.

It was the first time the No. 40 Squadron team had taken part in the exercise flying the C-130J aircraft and some adjustments around crew numbers needed to be made.

“The C-130J is designed for two pilots to operate, but in this higher-end tactical environment, which included a lot of communications like the secure radio, there was a lot of work required.”

This meant the introduction of a third crew member effectively running the communications and building the mission picture, he said.

The exercise culminated in a graduation flight that simulated a “fully realistic hostile environment mission”.

“There were multiple aspects to the flight including air combat, airdrops, landing on dirt runways and combat offloads. Our crew was also the lead in a three-ship tactical formation to finish off the mission, culminating in an assault at the airstrip at the end.

“It was a fantastic exercise to take part in,” SQNLDR Jones said.