Between 28 May and 24 June, two large exercises, BALTOPS and Saber Strike, took place above the Baltic Region. BALTOPS is an annual maritime focused exercise in the Baltic Region and was held between 1-15 June, taking place for the 45th time. During these two weeks, Big Stick over USAF bombers in the UK–BALTOPS and Saber Strike 2017 about 4,000 personnel, more than 50 ships and submarines and about 55 aircraft from 14 countries (including NATO Enhanced Opportunities Partners like Finland and Sweden) took part in an intensive and complex training in the Baltics. The goal of this exercise was to enhance flexibility and interoperability among the participants.
On the other hand, Saber Strike is a long-standing US European Command cooperative training exercise, and this year took place in various regions in the Baltics and Poland from 28 May to 24 June, with about 11,000 US and NATO service members from 20 countries taking part. The goal of Saber Strike was to exercise with NATO’s enhanced forward presence battle groups as part of a multinational division, while conducting an integrated, deterrence oriented field training exercise designed to improve the interoperability and readiness of participating nations’ armed forces.
Bomber Participation
During these two exercises, all three types of USAF bombers (B-1B Lancer, B-2 Spirit and the B-52H Stratofortress) deployed to RAF Fairford in the United Kingdom. It was the first time that all three bombers were deployed simultaneously at RAF Fairford, involving a total of three B-1Bs from Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota and three Boeing B-52H Stratofortresses from Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana for duration of the exercises. Two B-2 Spirits from Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri flew in to RAF Fairford for the media day on 12 June.
About 800 US Air Force Global Strike Command personnel were deployed to RAF Fairford for the third year running to support the exercises. The deployment of strategic bombers to the US Air Forces in Europe-Air Forces Africa’s forward operating location for the USAF’s strategic bombers is intended to provide important integration and interaction with the United States’ NATO allies and partner nations.
Captain ‘Jackal’ from the 34th Bomb Squadron, Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota spoke about his experiences on the B-1B and the deployment to Fairford. He has flown for five years on the B-1B and has about 1,600 flight hours on the type. He got his wings in 2012 after successfully completing the Undergraduate Combat System Officer Training at Pensacola.
‘Jackal’ spoke about the difference in scenarios between the both exercises. “Both BALTOPS and Saber Strike are different from the war we were fighting in the past 15 years.” The scenarios during BALTOPS were based around assaults and landings with troops. The scenarios during Saber Strike had large troop movements, infantry and vehicles such as tanks in contested environment with potential danger from surface-to-air weapons.
The Lancer’s flight deck, with some upgrades
The Captain continued: “The main task during Saber Strike is Close Air Support (CAS), which B-1B pilots have executed earlier in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria. The main task during BALTOPS is just surveillance, using the radar to find boats and portray an adversary trying to penetrate defences and destroy the carriers.” The B-1Bs were playing ‘Red Air’ to give the ships a general overview of what to expect, but they also sometimes played ‘Blue Air,’ fulfilling both roles.
The captain emphasised the significance of the deployment of the amount of bombers: “It was very important to have so many different bombers at RAF Fairford for these two exercises because it was to show the allied partners nations and show NATO that, no matter what will happen, we will support them with strategic bombers of the United States military. It is also to show to any kind of aggressive state that we can move on a very short notice to a forward deploying location and execute a global strike wherever we want, at any time.”
During the exercises the B-1B crews worked in cooperation with JTACs (Joint Terminal Attack Controllers) on the ground. These forward controllers were from the USA, Poland, Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania. ‘Jackal’ talked about communication with JTACs on the ground: “For us it was really awesome to work with these ground troops, despite the language barrier between the controllers and us. Because we are very experienced at working together with coalition JTACs in the Middle East, it is no problem to work with these guys!” B-1B crews are very used to working with foreign ground personnel, but sometimes there were small language or knowledge gaps, because the JTACs did not know what the B-1B Lancer was capable of. For many of the controllers it was their first time working together with B-1Bs.
Reservists and the Lancer
Another unique thing about the participating B-1B bombers was that they were flown and maintained by USAF reservists. Reserves integrate with active duty personnel, and share aircraft to better utilise expensive assets.
Capt ‘Jackal’ spoke about the reservists flying the B-1B : “One of our guys retired and is now a police officer, but he is still a Reserve Weapon System Officer (WSO).” The US Air Force maintains this practice particularly with older aircraft within the Reserve Component and the Guard Component. Some people in the squadron fly full time and they maintain currencies on type, but then there are others who show up maybe once or twice a month and fly for a week.
Maintenance of the B-1B Lancer
Lt McKerman was responsible for maintenance of the B-1B Lancers during this deployment and he detailed the learning experience : “The parts for the new Block 16 are different then for the older models. It was a learning experience to decide which parts were not necessarily needed. It is also important to learn which parts did not come with the unit, but are necessary for a deployment like this.”
A B-1B on the apron at dusk
Depending on the part in question, it normally takes between a few days to a week to receive parts at RAF Fairford. Because the B-1B is a unique and older aircraft, a lot of parts are no longer manufactured, and refurbished parts from the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (AMARG) at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Arizona are used instead. Not many people are needed to keep a B-1B airworthy, only about 10 personnel, including a few crew chiefs and some specialists. “But when you have to stay for a longer period you have to bring more with you for the bigger issues and the manufacturing parts.”
If there are technical problems with the B-1B Lancers and they have to land at an alternate air base in Poland instead of RAF Fairford, for example, they can call the maintainers at RAF Fairford. “When we haven’t got the manpower or the capability to fly to that location, we will call our people at our home base Ellsworth AFB to repair the aircraft. These guys are on the right location within a couple of days.”
A B-52H with a Sniper targeting pod mounted between the engines
The B-1B Lancer
Nicknamed ‘The Bone’, the B-1B Lancer is a long-range, multi-mission conventional bomber, which has served with the United States Air Force since 1985. Originally designed for nuclear capabilities, the B-1 switched to an exclusively conventional combat role in the mid 1990s. The B-1B carries the largest payload in the USAF long-range bomber fleet. In 1999, during Operation Allied Force, six B-1Bs flew 2 per cent of the strike missions, yet dropped 20 per cent of the ordnance. During Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003, B-1Bs dropped 40 per cent of all weapons while flying only 5 per cent of the sorties. The B-1B has been nearly continuously deployed in combat operations over Afghanistan and Iraq since 2001.
Today’s Lancer can carry a mixed load of weapons in each of its three bays. Its range allows it to be deployed far from the conflict zone and fly un-refueled for long periods. Its swept wings allow it to fly fast, slow, low or high as the situation demands. With only four crew members, missions can rapidly be adjusted in flight to keep up with adversaries. The radar and targeting pod can be used for positive target identification and the aircraft can employ a variety of other weapons, including laser-guided Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMs), Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missiles with an extended range, and high explosive BLU- 129 bombs.
The B-1B’s swing wings, bomb bays and targeting pod are all clearly visible as it approaches RAF Fairford to land
Upgrades
In April 2012, Boeing received a US $55.3 million production contract from the US Air Force to upgrade the B-1 Lancer navigation system, replacing the original navigation hardware with a new ring laser gyro system. The new inertial navigation system uses a ring laser gyro with no moving parts to wear out, dramatically increasing reliability.
Later in 2012 Boeing received a followon contract for nine bomber Integrated Battle Station (IBS) modification kits, spares, training, support equipment and engineering support. IBS integrates three major aircraft modifications: an updated front and cockpit, a new diagnostic system and a new Link 16 data link, all of which enhance situational awareness and communication for the crew.
While the B-1B continues to receive updates to keep it relevant, ‘Jackal’ believes nothing particularly revolutionary is on the cards. “I don’t see big changes. I think that the B-1 is getting some engine part replacements. Not the whole engine, but pieces and parts of it that improve fuel efficiency.”
Conclusion
“Home is the Aviator...”
For the B-1B crews the biggest difference between the exercises in Europe and operations in the USA were that they had the chance to cooperate with coalition partners. As ‘Jackal’ explained : “We can’t do this at home. It costs tons of money. During Red Flag and Green Flag we have worked together with Emirati Mirages before. But we were able to integrate and train together with the coalition and with the navies of multiple different countries. Because we are situated in the middle of the United States, we don’t fly to the coast very often to train and integrate with the navy.”
“It is good to see this part of the world and it is good to see how we can pick up all our necessities and move to a location, fly out from there, work with coalition partners or other US units – like F-16s from Aviano – and execute missions successfully with JTACS from Lithuania and Latvia.”
Text and photos : Roelof-Jan Gort & Ralph Blok (DutchAviationPhoto.com)