Wednesday Air News

 

First up – the Air Force has discovered the squad. Just kidding – but they did announce major changes to their Basic Military Training, and one of the big changes will shift focus to smaller units. Another is adding more PT:

“Physically, it’s going to be tougher,” said Col. Bill Ackman, commander of the 737th Training Group, which oversees Air Force Basic Military Training, or BMT. “That being said, we are also giving them the tools to recover the resiliency piece, both mentally and physically.”

Daily exercise time will increase from 60 minutes to 90 in the new BMT, as recruits prepare for a capstone event that simulates a deployed environment, Ackman told Task & Purpose at the Air & Space Forces Association’s annual conference in National Harbor, Maryland.

In addition to increasing the amount of time that recruits spend exercising, another change is that the training will focus on smaller teams, he said

“Traditionally, BMT has been set up around a flight of between 40, 50-some trainees,” Ackman said. “We’re now going to be focused on an element, so one quarter of that – so, between 10 and 15. And this is all to get after building competencies that are going to be more applicable to going into combat.”  Task & Purpose

Another change is adding time and more transition to PACER FORGE, in which they go to a simulated live combat environment with drone defense. Seems that now it’s a direct-from-parade-ground-to-battle transition, a bit jarring to the new kids. They will, however, continue to use ‘inert’ M-4s unless on a live fire range. Length of BMT is unchanged.

And across the Pacific, China’s making a “huge step forward” with live operations on their new catapult-equipped carrier.

The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) has demonstrated its ability to launch and recover aircraft from its first catapult-equipped aircraft carrier, the Fujian. Official imagery released by the PLAN today confirms that the new J-35 naval stealth fighters and KJ-600 airborne early warning and control aircraft are carrying out carrier trials, something that had not been seen until now.

Video of the single-seat J15T has also surfaced, as well as all three aircraft in flight with a J15-D EW aircraft.

The J-35 is the PLAN’s next-generation carrier fighter, a stealthy design that was intended to conduct catapult takeoff but assisted recovery (CATOBAR) operations from the outset. Developed from the land-based FC-31, there are also signs that the J-35, like the J-15T, might also eventually embark on the Liaoning and Shandong. Until now, however, it hadn’t been seen taking part in any kind of carrier operations, other than in the form of mock-ups.TWZ

The other ships mentioned are the PLAN’s existing ski-jump carriers. That KJ-600? Their equivalent of an E-2 Hawkeye.

Looks like they are planning to try and compete in the big leagues. It is worth noting they are using electromagneti9c catapults, so if they are launching a stealth fighter they are actually ahead of us – remember the Gerald Ford had many teething problems with theirs, and per the article have yet to launch an F-35 with it.

The attached article is long but well worth reading.

Category: "Your Tax Dollars At Work", Air Force, China