US Air Force airmen of the 549th Combat Training Squadron at Nellis AFB, Nev., worked with British crews of the RAF’s newest fighter, the Typhoon, to develop the British pilots’ close air support capability during the most recent Green Flag exercise at Nellis. The event marked the last hurdle for the Typhoon before the RAF declared them fully combat capable, slated for July 1. Seven Typhoons from XI Squadron at RAF Coningsby, Lincolnshire came to Nellis to test their ability to conduct CAS sorties. “We knew it [the Typhoon] was a world-beater in the air-to-air environment, but we weren’t sure about the air-to-surface capability,” said Group Capt. Stuart Atha, Coningsby station commander. In Atha’s view, “We have done it; we have achieved it.” (Nellis report by 2nd Lt. Jennifer Richard)
In the face of Chinese war plans to disrupt U.S. command-and-control networks in the event of a conflict, the Air Force needs to focus less on its “connect everything” efforts and prepare its combat aviators to fight without a constant connection to higher-ups, according to a new report from AFA’s…
