Three planes, one mission: Producing high-altitude ISR pilots

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Chuck Broadway
  • 9th RW Public Affairs
BEALE AIR FORCE BASE, Calif., (ACCNS) --  A vehicle is spotted in a remote location in Southwest Asia and the occupants inside have hostile intentions. The call comes in and an RQ-4 Global Hawk is tasked to find the vehicle. From a small shelter, thousands of miles away, a pilot maneuvers the aircraft via satellite to find the enemy. 

From high above, the hostiles are quickly found using RQ-4 intelligence equipment which targets the vehicle's location. That information is passed on to a striker aircraft, tasked to take out the vehicle before it reaches its intended target. Meanwhile the Global Hawk tracks its movements until the striker swoops in and takes out the target. Once the threat is over, the Global Hawk assesses the damage, completing the kill chain. 

The men and women of the 1st Reconnaissance Squadron train, using multiple platforms, to fly high-altitude intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions to effectively complete the kill chain. 

The 1st RS consists of three uniquely different aircraft all tasked to fly similar missions. The U-2 Dragonlady, Global Hawk, and T-38 Talon all serve a specific purpose in training and fighting in the Global War on Terrorism. 

Originally tasked as a U-2 and T-38 training squadron, the 1st RS merged with the RQ-4 training squadron in August 2007 and doubled in size overnight. Currently, the 1st RS is the only training squadron in the Department of Defense flying both manned and unmanned aircraft with the same mission, said Lt. Col. Michael Glaccum, the 1st RS commander. 

The squadron's mission is to graduate mission-ready, high-altitude ISR pilots. With more than 60 students currently enrolled in 18 separate training programs, the 1st RS provides specific instruction for the different characteristics of each aircraft. 

The U-2 training program is scheduled to graduate 25 pilots for 2009. Applicants from different Major Commands as well as the Navy and Coast Guard submit packages to enter the program. Most applicants are experienced O-3's or O-4's with previous flying experience on at least two other aircraft. 

Captain Jay Ford, a 1st RS U-2 student pilot, has been in the program since August and has learned that flying at 70,000 feet is an experience quite different from his previous position in the cockpit of an E-8 J-STARS.
 
"The sky is dark up there no matter what time of day it is," Captain Ford said. "On a clear day over Lake Tahoe I can see most of Nevada out one window, look to the other side and see the Pacific Ocean." 

Before a pilot can experience the scenery of the Earth at high altitudes, they must first be qualified to fly the T-38, and then begin academic and chamber training. 

The academic portion of training is six-to-eight weeks long. High-altitude chamber training and survival, evasion, resistance, escape training must also be completed before a student can suit up and fly the aircraft. When that time comes, the instructors want nothing but the best from their students. 

"I teach students to fly the U-2 safely, then elegantly," said Maj. Cory Bartholomew, the 1st RS flight safety officer. "If I demonstrate a well-flown pattern, I expect students to replicate it in the same way." 

Overall, training lasts approximately seven months, depending on weather conditions. 

"This is the most challenging training I've been through," Captain Ford said. "The instructors are the most professional I've dealt with and they're good at explaining things different ways so we understand it." 

The U-2 and T-38 programs have been around for decades; however, the Global Hawk training program is still relatively new, but just as important in today's technology-based airpower. 

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles are the new and safer way to fly combat missions in the technologically-advanced GWOT. More students are being trained to fly the Global Hawk than the U-2 due to the turn toward unmanned aircraft. 

For fiscal year 2009, more than 50 pilots and 21 sensor operators will learn to properly operate the RQ-4. 

RQ-4 training consists of general systems and mission planning completed electronically on laptops. Pilots then fly 23 missions in simulators to learn basic procedures to employ the aircraft and move on to advanced simulations including system malfunctions. 

One particular simulator experience is a flight entitled the "dial a death." Captain Damen Forte, a 1st RS Global Hawk student pilot, said this simulation is a four-hour flight where pilots are faced with multiple breakdowns and malfunctions back-to-back. Pilots are evaluated by instructors who assess how students handle the situations and follow emergency procedures. 

The 20-week course also includes a two-week deployment to Southwest Asia to train for launch and recovery of the aircraft, as well as chase vehicle training called "Hawkeye."

Qualifying pilots who are assigned to the RQ-4 have previous experience on aircraft such as the KC-135 Stratotanker, C-5 Galaxy and the C-130 Hercules. 

Captain Forte who previously flew the KC-135 said a big difference between the two aircraft is the communication with the crew.
 
"In the KC-135 everyone is sitting next to you and you can communicate non-verbally with the crew. With the Global Hawk, we must be very clear with procedures and verbally communicate with the crew because they may be thousands of miles away," Captain Forte said. "You're able to do so much more with the capabilities of the unmanned aircraft." 

When it comes to actual flying procedures, Captain Forte said it's pretty much the same. 

"Once you're in the shelter flying the plane, you realize you aren't doing anything different from a pilot in the air," Captain Forte said. "Most aircraft are automated, we just use keystrokes as opposed to dialing the knobs." 

In order to find, fix, target, track, engage and assess the enemy, the Air Force must have the U-2 and RQ-4 to provide effective intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. 

"Without effective ISR we'd be like a heavyweight boxer wearing a blindfold," Major Bartholomew said. "It doesn't matter how hard you punch if you don't know where to strike."