weapons

Approximately 100 containers with a variety of munitions rolled into Ramstein during October

The 86th Munitions Squadron (MUNS) at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, received its largest shipment of ordnance in recent history. As told by Senior Airman Joshua Magbanua, 86th Airlift Wing Public Affairs, in his article Armed and Ready: Ramstein receives largest ammo shipment in years, approximately 100 containers with a variety of munitions rolled into Ramstein during October.

Master Sgt. David Head, 86th MUNS Munitions Operations section chief, noted that a delivery of such magnitude has not taken place since the late 20th century.

“This is the largest shipment of its kind since Operation Allied Force, which took place in 1999,” he said, referring to a 78-day campaign where aircraft flew 900 sorties to counter ethnic cleansing in Eastern Europe. “The munitions that we received will be used for future theater operations and the evolving U.S. European Command presence.”

Master Sgt. Arthur Myrick, 86th MUNS munitions flight chief, added that the stockpile would be used to support NATO’s European Deterrence Initiative (EDI) and augment the Air Force’s War Reserve Materiel in Europe.

U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Jeric Hernandez, the 86th Munitions Squadron quality assurance inspector, inspects a fresh shipment of large ordnance at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, Oct. 19, 2018. Ramstein recently received one of its largest munitions shipments in recent history.

According to officials, EDI aims to increase responsiveness and readiness by pre-positioning ammunition, fuel, and equipment to enhance the U.S. Department of Defense’s ability to provide a rapid response against threats made by aggressive actors.

Myrick expounded on the importance of his squadron’s role in the Air Force’s global operations.

“We’re a major airlift hub for U.S. Air Forces in Europe-Air Forces Africa, so our main job is to get munitions where they need to be on time,” he said. “These are real-world munitions to fulfill real-world objectives. That’s the reason we are downloading these things: to make sure we have the capability to move the fight forward if need be.”

U.S. Airmen assigned to the 86th Munitions Squadron unpack a fresh shipment of munitions at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, on October 19, 2018. The 86th MUNS recently received what its leaders call the largest shipment of ordnance in many years.

Photo by Senior Airman Joshua Magbanua / U.S. Air Force

The AGM-86B had become operational in December 1982 with the 416th Bombardment Wing, Griffiss Air Force Base, New York

The Pentagon announced under Release No: CR-163-17 that both Lockheed Martin and Raytheon have been selected “for the Long Range Standoff weapon’s technology maturation and risk reduction acquisition phase.”

Both companies were given $900 million each, and the contract was for five years of work. The Long-Range Standoff weapon is meant to replace the AGM-86B air-launched cruise missile.

The U.S. Air Force (USAF) began full-scale development of the AGM-86B air-launched cruise missile (ALCM) in 1977. The ALCM was meant to greatly enhance the B-52’s capabilities and help the U.S. maintain a strategic deterrent.

Production of the initial 225 AGM-86B missiles began in the fiscal year 1980 and production of a total of 1,715 missiles was completed in October 1986. The ALCM had become operational four years earlier, in December 1982, with the 416th Bombardment Wing, Griffiss Air Force Base (AFB), N.Y., which deactivated when the base closed in 1995. The ALCM has also been based at Grand Forks AFB, N.D., Wurtsmith AFB, Mich., Fairchild AFB, Wash., Eaker AFB, Ark., and Carswell AFB, Texas. The ALCM is currently fielded at Minot AFB, N.D., and Barksdale AFB, La.

In June 1986 a limited number of AGM-86B missiles were converted to carry a high-explosive blast/fragmentation warhead and an internal GPS. They were redesignated as the AGM-86C CALCM. This modification also replaced the B model’s terrain contour-matching guidance system and integrated a GPS capability with the existing inertial navigation computer system.

As we have explained, the CALCM became operational in January 1991 at the onset of Operation Desert Storm (ODS). Seven B-52s, from Barksdale AFB, La., launched 35 missiles at designated launch points in the U. S. Central Command’s area of responsibility to attack high-priority targets in Iraq. This top-secret ultra-long-range B-52 Stratofortress mission was named “Operation Secret Squirrel” and marked the beginning of the air campaign for Kuwait’s liberation and is the longest known aircraft combat sorties up to that time (more than 14,000 miles and 35 hours of flight).

After ODS CALCM has been employed effectively in combat in Operation Desert Strike, Desert Fox, Operation Allied Force, Operation Enduring Freedom, and Operation Iraqi Freedom.

In 1996, 1997, and 2001, 200 additional CALCMs were produced from excess ALCMs. These missiles, designated Block I, incorporate improvements such as a larger and improved conventional payload (3,000-pound blast class), a multi-channel GPS receiver, and integration of the buffer box into the GPS receiver. The upgraded avionics package was retrofitted into all existing CALCM (Block 0), so all AGM-86C missiles are electronically identical.

The final 50 missiles that were converted from the AGM-86B are the AGM-86D.

Photo by Staff Sgt. Roidan Carlson / U.S. Air Force

Source: U.S. Air Force

The GBU-31 is used for precision targeting of fixed objects, ranging from stationary vehicles to large building complexes

The Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) participated in Combat Hammer on May 18th, 2017 at Hill Air Force Base (AFB), Utah.

Combat Hammer is an exercise that evaluates weapons systems in their entirety—from the loading to the delivery of the munitions.

“Exercise Combat Hammer provides the aircrew the opportunity to conduct component-level proficiency training in a realistic operational scenario,” said RSAF Lt. Koh Ryun Kiat, 428th Fighter Squadron (FS) pilot. “The vast airspace, technical expertise, and analytical data acquired throughout this exercise allow the RSAF to hone its skills and evaluate advanced weapons systems.”

“There are a lot of people involved in Combat Hammer,” said RSAF Capt. Chia Chi Yu, 428th FS weapons instructor. “From my maintenance crew prepping the bombs and loading them onto the jet, all the way to the pilot and the weapons system operators taking the weapons down to the range to actually deploy them.”

As told by Senior Airman Jeremy Mosier, 366th Fighter Wing, in the article 428th Fighter Squadron participates in Combat Hammer, taking part in the exercise was a feat in its own, but the real significance lies in what the RSAF was able to do while using Hill’s range complexes.

“The highlight for this competition is our GBU 31, a 2,000-pound class [joint direct attack munition],” Chia said. “This is the first time we are deploying this munition in the RSAF with the F-15SG.”

The GBU 31 is used for precision targeting of fixed objects, ranging from stationary vehicles to large building complexes.

“We are able to test our aircraft capability on employing the GBU 31 and it will help us to evaluate our weapons systems and also enhance our operational capability,” pointed out RSAF ME2-1 Teoh Teck Lee, 428th FS crew chief. “It will help us to evaluate our loading processes, and we are able to best match ourselves with one of the world’s best Air Forces.”

Combat Hammer allowed the RSAF to test the mettle of its airmen, achieve the goal of success, and rank itself among the elite.

“Participating in this large-scale exercise will allow the squadron to build confidence in this air-to-ground weapons employment, hone its operational competencies, and sharpen the edge of the sword,” Koh said.

The 428th FS is part of the 366th Fighter Wing (FW) at Mountain Home AFB, Idaho. Currently, it operates F-15SG aircraft, conducting formal training missions to qualify RSAF crews for the F-15SG.

The squadron’s mission is to provide advanced weapons and tactics continuation training for RSAF F-15 pilots, weapon systems officers, and maintenance personnel. RSAF aircrew and maintenance personnel are assigned to the 428th for two years, during which they receive advanced tactics training and deploy to locations throughout the U.S. to participate in composite operations and dissimilar air combat exercises.

Photo by Senior Airman Jeremy L. Mosier / U.S. Air Force