Everybody has aptitudes and teaching is no different. Some things can be taught, but sometimes we have someone come through who, by nature or personality, is not a good teacher, and generally they will not make it through the class. But most do.

 

Does any of the training involve USAF or allied pilots – and what, if any, differences are there with training for Navy/Marine pilots?

Three of our Navy air wings have a Marine Hornet [F/A-18] squadron, so they come through here routinely and go through the advanced readiness program.

Air Force assets also train with us some, though it may not be as much as we used to due to the ops tempo of both services. But my guys support their weapons school classes and the Air Force does the same with ours on an as-available basis. The good news is our TTPs, because our assets are so similar in capability, are very tightly aligned right now.

As we develop our TTPs, whether you are flying an [F-35] A, B, or C model will be the same. So doing that in a joint effort with Nellis makes a lot of sense. We have talked about the opportunities to send [Navy] pilots down to the 422nd [Test and Evaluation Squadron], which does Air Force TTP development on the F-35A, which will translate to the C when we get the airplane.

We don’t see a lot of allied aircraft come here, although we do host some, usually at a lower level. For example, Germany has a Tornado training squadron that has used our ranges and we will fly adversary for them, but they are using their own syllabus, not ours.

We also have a Joint Terminal Attack Controller [JTAC] school here and have trained coalition partners to be JTACs. We used to do a lot more of that, but many of our allies have now stood up their own JTAC schools.

Unlike the Army, the Navy does not have any rotor pilots who are not officers, although we do train NCO [noncommissioned officer] helicopter aircrews.

 

How are you adapting your training program for F-35C and Marine Corps F-35B pilots – and what is the future of F/A-18 training at Fallon?

We’re going to have legacy aircraft into the 2030s, so training for those will not change significantly when the F-35 shows up. We’re in the early stages of preparing for the F-35, such as developing secure spaces, hangar facilities, and so forth that need to be built for the first air wing that shows up later on in this decade.

To fully develop those aircraft to their greatest potential will require that a lot be done virtually, enabling pilots to fly a full-up configuration of that aircraft here, but do it virtually so we don’t have safety issues and such often associated with stealth aircraft. We’re doing some initial work on that now.

All that really is just touching the iceberg – real estate, integration, virtual training, etc. There is a significant level of detail involved in how to train and use a fifth-generation aircraft, which is significantly different than training and integrating with fourth-generation aircraft.

As we develop our TTPs, whether you are flying an [F-35] A, B, or C model will be the same. So doing that in a joint effort with Nellis makes a lot of sense. We have talked about the opportunities to send [Navy] pilots down to the 422nd [Test and Evaluation Squadron], which does Air Force TTP development on the F-35A, which will translate to the C when we get the airplane.

UCAVs [unmanned combat air vehicles] on carriers are still being developed; when they come to the carrier deck, they will become an integral part of what we do here. But that is four or five years in the future and a lot of CONOPs need to be developed on how to integrate manned and unmanned in these squadrons.

The good news about all three models is because their capabilities are so closely aligned, it is much easier for us to operate as a joint force. And how we employ the airplanes will be almost identical.

 

Any change in allied training at NSAWC due to shared use of the F-35?

I think it’s a little early to think about that. It is logical, but the logistics of foreign partners coming over is what makes that difficult now. And with shrinking defense budgets everywhere, that may continue to be a major roadblock. So it’s not a matter of interest, but of time, distance, and cost.

 

How is the center’s aggressor force trained and utilized?

We have an adversary syllabus associated with the TOPGUN class, so we put a number of folks through that. Many are reservists, who fly many of our adversary aircraft, including one [squadron] stationed here at Fallon.

Each Navy adversary squadron has a training syllabus that mirrors the one we have here. The most important thing for an adversary squadron is to be disciplined and standardized, mirroring the bad guys’ tactics as closely as possible. It’s not a Wild West show out there – we have a very scripted Red air scenario for them to execute.