With the increasing demand for close air support for troops on the ground, the airmen with the 727th Expeditionary Air Control Squadron at Balad AB, Iraq, work to make certain the right aircraft are over the target areas. USAF journalist SrA. Bryan Franks reports that the “Kingpin” squadron, comprising 170 airmen of varying career fields, is a radar control and identification unit responsible for identifying all aircraft flying in the 270,000 square miles of airspace over Iraq. Deployed in three locations, the air controllers create a real-time air picture that the Combined Air Operations Center uses to keep control of tactical air assets. Kingpin operators work directly with the CAOC to send in aircraft to assist troops in contact with an enemy force.
The new defense reconciliation bill includes $7.2 billion for Air Force and Navy aviation accounts, almost half of which will buy more F-15EXs. While electronic warfare, drones, connectivity and airlift all get attention, the F-35 was conspicuously absent from the package, with no explanation given.