Four of the F-16 Block 30 aircraft slated to form the Air Force’s new aggressor training unit for Red Flag–Alaska exercises arrived on Jan. 20 at Eielson AFB, Alaska. They are part of the 21 Block 30 Vipers that Eielson is getting from the 8th Fighter Wing at Kunsan AB, South Korea as part of the swaps that USAF is making under its Common Configuration Implementation Program, an F-16 modernization effort. In exchange Eielson is sending its 22 F-16 Block 40 airplanes to Kunsan. The Block 30s will be part of Eielson’s 18th Aggressor Squadron that activated in August 2007. They feature the “Artic Flanker” white-gray-black paint scheme to differentiate them as aggressor aircraft for air-to-air training exercises. (USAF report by A1C Nora Anton)
As Air Force leaders consider concepts of operations for Collaborative Combat Aircraft, sustainment in the field—and easing that support by using standard parts and limiting variants—should be a key consideration, according to a new study from AFA's Mitchell Institute of Aerospace Studies.