B-1 bomber strike force validates combat lessons learned

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JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska --  Alaska Air National Guardsmen with the 168th Air Refueling Wing as well as a mix of Airmen from the 477th Fighter Goup, 3rd Wing, and 673rd Air Base Wing from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson participated in a nationwide joint exercise aimed at validating long-range capabilities of several Air Force bombers and fighters April 4.

Dubbed Operation Chimichanga, KC-135 Stratotankers from the 168th Air Refueling Wing, Eielson Air Force Base, F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter aggressor aircraft from Misawa Air Base, Japan, B-1 bombers from Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D., and the F-22 Raptor fighter and E-3 Sentry Airborne Warning and Control System aircraft assigned to the 3rd Wing participated in the operation.

"The objective of this operation was to validate the long-range strike capability of the B-1s as well as the F-22 and F-16s ability to escort them into an anti-access target area," said Air Force Lt. Col. Joseph Kunkel, 90th Fighter Squadron commander, who sent five 90th FS pilots, a 302d FS pilot, 20 maintainers, a flight surgeon and a bio-environmental engineer to Eielson Air Force Base for the exercise.

This was the first time the Raptors participated in this exercise, which integrated multiple platforms from different major commands. It was also the first time that Increment 3.1, a recent F-22 hardware and software upgrade, was used in a large force employment exercise.

"Increment 3.1 gives the Raptor the means to find and engage targets on the ground. During this operation, it was critical to follow-on forces completing their missions," Kunkel said. "Our integration of 3.1 went extremely well. We were able to glean invaluable lessons from this exercise that we had not seen before and we completed increment 3.1 upgrades for two of the pilots."

While this was the first time increment 3.1 and the Raptors participated in this exercise it was not the first time the Reserve F-22 pilots assigned to the 302nd FS, which falls under the 477th Fighter Group, integrated with the active duty. Since the unit was activated in 2007 pilots and maintainers have integrated in all aspects of the 3rd Wing's F-22 operations.

Personnel operated F-22s, KC-135s and F-16s out of Eielson Air Force Base, while E-3s and additional F-16s supported the exercise from JBER. The B-1s participating in the long-range strike exercise flew a 10-hour round trip mission from Ellsworth Air Force Base to strike their targets just east of Eielson. This exercise allowed the various aircraft to work together in a simulated strike environment to practice interoperability while simultaneously traveling long distances and receiving air refueling support.

"We had our KC-135 tankers up in the air refueling the aircraft involved in the exercise," said Air Force Maj. Scott Lanis, 168th Operations Group chief of scheduling. "Within seven hours of flight time, we offloaded 147,000 pounds of fuel."

With the completion of the exercise, B-1 aircrews were able to validate bomber tactics, techniques and procedures learned from Operation Odyssey Dawn over the skies of Libya in March 2011.

"The sortie went well," said Air Force Capt. Charles Armstrong, 37th Bomb Squadron weapon systems operator and mission commander for the exercise. "We were able to validate the AGM-158 (Joint Air to Surface Standoff Missile) tactics that we wanted to, and we were able to see the long distance communication links in action.

"It was a great opportunity to simulate Operation Odyssey Dawn in miniature," Armstrong continued. "We flew a long distance, while fighting into a target and then flew a long distance back."

The operation was conducted on the Joint Pacific Alaska Range Complex near Eielson Air Force Base. The 65,000-square mile air space provides a diverse training environment, allowing pilots to train realistically and jointly in situations similar to what they'll face in combat. The operation involved numerous commands and went smoothly, according to Lanis.

"This was a total force operation with commands from Alaska all the way down to the Lower 48," Lanis said. "We were prepared and worked seamlessly with everyone to make this an all-around successful exercise."

Air Force Col. Tyler Otten, 477th FG deputy commander, echoed Lanis' assessment of the value of the exercise.

"This realistic training is a result of high quality Airmen leveraging new capabilities on an excellent training range, " he said. "This is a great example of total force integration partners working together to accomplish our shared mission."

With reporting by Air Force Capt. Ashley Conner/477th Fighter Group PAO; Air Force 2nd Lt. Bernie Kale/168th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs; and Airman Hrair H. Palyan/28th Bomb Wing Public Affairs.