Joint terminal attack controllers from the Oklahoma Air National Guard began training at Will Rogers ANG Base near Oklahoma City on the Air Force’s first virtual-reality simulator designed to support their combat mission. The $2 million ANG Advanced Terminal Attack Controller Training System, or AAJTS, is a projection dome that can link pilots flying simulators worldwide to JTACs in real time. “Airplanes only have a certain amount of fuel,” said Lt. Col. James Waltermire, commander of the Oklahoma Air Guard’s 146th Air Support Operations Squadron, in a May 9 release. “With this system, we can reset and get it right before going to a live range,” he added. The AAJTS simulator can also project infrared graphics for night-vision-goggle training, according to the release. The Air Force plans to open several AAJTS simulators, including two for the Active Duty JTAC schoolhouse at Nellis AFB, Nevada. The Oklahoma air guardsmen started their training on May 7.
Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III rebuffed criticism that the F-35 program has proved too costly and unreliable to serve as the viable backbone of America’s and allies' future fighter fleet on April 30. “I would not categorize the F-35 as a paperweight,” Austin said in response to questioning…