Marine fighter squadron 121 VMF 121 was activated on 24 June 1941, it's on
combat operations throughout the pacific theater during world war two-three
nights four f five. Mass takeoffs are a good way to attack an enemy or avoid
incoming fire into your airbase but there are many other issues that need
resolution.
Last year two us air force swings in youtube, launched 35 the F-35 stealth
fighters in a short span of time. The air force slaughtered the display as
evidence of America's overwhelming military might. at least one critic
dismissed it as a publicity stunt.
In fact, there's one region where mass takeoffs are an important military
procedure. The Korean peninsula, ironically that's the one region where the
trump administration is deliberately limiting the flying branch is
authorized to organize large-scale warplane launches.
The group takeoff which the air force calls an elephant walk involved FMS
from the 388th and 419th fighter wings at ill air force base. The
active-duty 388th and reserve 419th train air force F-35 pilots.
The 388th 34th fighter squadron whose F-35s have the latest block 3 far-ed
software also has a front-line role/ in late 2017 it became the first air
force F-35 unit to deploy overseas to Japan.
At the time of the elephant walk, the first for the F-35 the U2 wings
possessed around 40 F-35s. The wings are on track to receive a combined 72
F-35s by 2019.
The Hill stealth fighters took off one at a time in roughly 30-second
intervals. In just a few minutes the wings launched as many
F-35 sorties as they normally do in a full day of routine training.
The 34th fighter squadron's assistant director of operations said that
exercising with multiple squadrons of F-35 can demonstrate our ability
to defeat potential adversaries wherever they may arise.
Lieutenant general jerry harris the air force's deputy chief of staff for
plans programs and requirements. in March 2018 it said it would cost around
$5000 to fly one F-35 for an hour, that's roughly double the price of an
F-16 for an hour in the air.
In fact, elephant walks significantly contribute to the readiness of
American and allied squadrons in South Korea and nearby countries. In the
event of war with North Korea US and allied forces plan to quickly target
the roughly 1300 artillery pieces that Pyongyang has masked along the Korean
demilitarized zone.
The air force maintains three F-16 squadrons and in the authentic squadron
in South Korea and two f-15 squadrons in Japan. Additional squadrons almost
certainly including F-35 units would join them during a crisis.
The u.s military officials told air force magazine, an air campaign
targeting North Korea would require 2 000 sorties per day.
According to statistics compiled by David de Chila a former air force
general who is now an analyst for the Mitchell Institute for aerospace
studies in Virginia. By comparison, the ally dare war over Iraq in Kuwait in
January 1991 averaged 1,200 strike sorties per day.
The US-let campaign against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria averaged just 15
strikes per day.
The roughly 100 USAF sixteenths and that ends in south Korea in japan and
any F-35s that deployed in time for the first day of fighting. Most likely
would be the first to hit North Korean artillery and they'd have to launch
fast to save lives in Seoul.
There is a reason that the seventh air force in South Korea and Japan has
organized more elephant walks than most air force commands have done.
Colonel William D Betts then commander of the 51st fighter wing in South
Korea said in 2017. the threat here on the peninsula is very real and
countering that threat needs to be at the forefront of our minds.
But the Korean elephant walk is an endangered species the seventh air force
has conducted most of its mass takeoffs which require intensive planning and
maintenance efforts under the auspices of the annual vigilante ace exercise.
There's nothing preventing air force squadrons that aren't in South Korea,
including Hills F-35 units from practicing mass takeoffs. same
squadrons might deploy to the Korean peninsula during wartime, in which case
their elephant walks would amount to more than an expensive public relations
exercise.
The F-35 is already killing some of the most lethal weapons of war in
the sky.
The F-35 Lightning II destroyed an aerial drone off the coast of
California by launching a name NYX air to air missile over a military test
range. Demonstrating the first live air to air kill test for the emerging
stealth multi-role fighter.
The A9X is a short-range heat-seeking missile with an off-boresight
capability for accuracy and features thrust-vectoring controls. For
increased turn capability, the fF-35 can carry two aim-9X missiles on
its wings.
F-35 software weapons, integration for the F-35 is designed to evolve
in tandem with software advances for the aircraft, described as increments,
each increment involving massive amounts of lines of computer code improves
the platform's ability to integrate carry and fire a wider range of weapons.
