Posted on 05/07/2005 2:29:39 PM PDT by AZHua87
FORT HUACHUCA - There's Rocket Man and Smokey Sam.
One is a human, the other isn't.
Guess which is which.
On Friday, Rocket Man launched Smokey Sam.
Rocket Man, actually two Air Force noncommissioned officers, were firing small simulated surface-to-air missiles near C-130 aircraft as part of a threat site training program.
On a hill on Fort Huachuca's East Range, Master Sgt. Rick Karlslyst and Staff Sgt. Greg Dunlap set up a battery of six pretend SAMs. Cargo aircraft from Puerto Rico Air National Guard, Marine Reserve and Belgium Air Force units flew by during the aircrew's flight training on how to avoid being shot down.
The nearly 18-inch Smokey Sam is a Styrofoam device, looking much like a slightly fatter version of small rockets fired by hobbyists. It is not a toy, but it is designed to give aircrews an edge in avoiding danger to their cargo planes.
"We try to train aircrews on different techniques and tactics to avoid being hit," Karlslyst said.
Those who fly C-130 and other cargo aircraft are not used to taking evasive action. But in today's world, fighter aircraft and bombers are not the only targets, he said.
As munitions experts with the 139th Airlift Wing of the Missouri Air National Guard, Karlslyst and Dunlap come to this Southeastern Arizona Army post many times a year to support various training missions through the unit's Advanced Airlift Tactics Training Center.
The special center has existed on the fort for some time. The missions have increased, and aircrews and ground personnel from Air Force, Marine Corps and foreign units receive special combat survival training.
The three units participating in a variety of training this week have gone through low-level flights. The flight crews are taught how to mask the plane by using mountains as cover, how to use the shadow a plane casts in a defensive posture and how to avoid an attacking fighter aircraft.
In the past, cargo aircraft, except for some special types, had few defensive systems. Cargo haulers do not have weapons systems like C-130s outfitted as gunships.
The aircraft can now release flares and chaff to counter fire from an enemy, while taking evasive flight maneuvers. The evasive flight maneuvers are classified.
Karlslyst said he and Dunlap work in the training arena to set up a SAM site and launch the missiles. They also act as "triple A" - anti-aircraft artillery fire.
Friday was a windy day, so the "triple A" simulation was not done because of the possibility some hot debris would start a fire.
The rocket launches went on, with two fired at each C-130.
As a C-130 of 20 Squadron of the Belgium Air Force flew by the SAM site, two rockets blasted off.
The sound of the rocket lifting off drowned out the noise of the C-130's four engines. A bright flame was enveloped in smoke - hence the name Smokey Sam - as the missile headed skyward.
Karlslyst, who, like Dunlap, has deployed to some of the world's current hot spots, said that although there isn't much of a problem with anti-aircraft fire at this time, missiles have been used.
The installation of electronic countermeasures in cargo planes has given the crews defensive protection, he said.
Tech. Sgt. Rolando Jimenez of the 198th Airlift Squadron of the Puerto Rico Air National Guard watched the action on the hilltop.
As an electronic countermeasures technician, part of his job is to install flares and chaff in the unit's aircraft.
He has to get recertified every year, which is why he traveled with his unit to Arizona. Before any aircraft come to Fort Huachuca, the aircrews go through training at the 139th's home base at St. Joseph, Mo.
The Missouri training is designed around a European scenario. The Arizona training gives practice in a desert region.
Jimenez said the flares and chaff can be dispersed manually, by the navigator pushing a button or automatically by a special sensor that recognizes that the aircraft is being attacked.
The defensive systems are redundant. If the automatic one fails, there is a manual override, he said.
Karlslyst said that when a C-130 or any other cargo plane is in a danger zone, the loadmasters in the back keep looking for weapons being launched.
A number of cargo planes have been hit in places such as Iraq and Afghanistan, he added.
Perhaps the most stressful part of defensive training is a fighter jet against cargo plane - a fast, more maneuverable plane against a slower, larger aircraft. The C-130 is at a disadvantage when it comes to making quick moves, he said.
Flares released are designed to lead away heat-seeking missiles, while chaff traditionally has been used to jam electronic signals.
The Missouri Air National Guard 139th Airlift Wing performs a number of training missions, which have a Fort Huachuca nexus. The training also includes use of night-vision goggles to learn to fly in mountainous terrain combined with airdrop, air-land assault and ground operations.
As each of the units in training, a single aircraft from each organization flew by - the 20 Squadron from Belgium, the 198th Airlift Squadron from the Puerto Rico Air National Guard and a Marine plane from VMGR 234 out of Fort Worth, Texas - they received a two-missile salute of Smokey Sams from the Rocket Men.
SENIOR REPORTER Bill Hess can be reached at 515-4615 or by e-mail at bill.hess@svherald.com.
 |
| A Smokey Sam - surface-to-air missile simulator - is launched against a Belgium Air Force C-130 during a threat site training session on Fort Huachuca Friday. The aircraft is part of 20 Squadron and its aircrew was learning how to avoid an attack by taking evasive actions, that can include the release of flares of chaff. (Ed Honda-Herald/Review) |
Ping
Saw that this AM...cool stuff.
Did you happen to catch the C-17s doing this kind of training two years ago?
No but coming back from St David and the funneral I saw one over the east range.
Tonk you'll understand this and the level of honor shown:
When the casket came out of the Church to go down the sidewalk to the hearse there were 20 total sideboys adults and youth in Scout uniform rendering the Scout Salute until the hearse door closed. 20 Sideboys wow!
| There are angels protecting our troops... |
Here's a video... Movies/angelDecoy.mpeg
Thanks for the suggestion.
Posted it!
-SG
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.