2014-11-11 By Robbin Laird
Standing up the Luke AFB Pilot Training Center: A Key Enabler of the F-35 Global Operations
The F-35 is a global enterprise in the making. The impact of a global community of F-35 users on coalition operations will be very significant in shaping collaborative concepts of operations.
But global operations start with training, training in common.
Luke Air Force base will be the center of excellence for pilot training on the F-35A for the global users of this variant of the F-35.
And Luke already has Australians in addition to USAF personnel in place to start the process.
A 56th Fighter Wing story published on 5/5/14 highlighted the coming of the RAAF to Luke:
Luke will act as ground zero for international partners to build their expertise in F-35A operations. The RAAF is the first partner to start their spin-up operations and are expecting their first aircraft by the end of this year.
“We are really pleased to come in and be the first partner to stand up operations here,” said squadron leader Maj. Nathan Draper, the 61st AMU participant maintenance liaison officer and RAAF senior officer. “We are pretty lucky to get to come here first.”
The RAAF plans to eventually have 12 aircraft at Luke, with their goal to have a complete working picture of U.S. Air Force F-35 operations, then return to the home base they are setting up for the F-35.
“One of the biggest things I hope to achieve is the successful transition of our aircraft from the production line to the Luke training environment and the commencement of training operations alongside our Air Force colleagues,” Draper said. “If we can do that in a safe and efficient streamlined manner, leveraging the Air Force processes and systems, it will be a pretty good day.”
The RAAF expects their first pilot to arrive at Luke the beginning of next year. Draper is part of an acquisition project called Joint Strike Fighter Division, and he now considers himself a team member of the 61st Aircraft Maintenance Unit.
“We have a really good, close working relationship with our colleagues in the Air Force, and we are looking forward to the next few years of joint operations here,” he said.
Luke’s relationship with the RAAF goes back a long way. Air Marshal Mark Binskin, soon to be the top Australian Defence Force officer, was stationed at Luke in the late ’80s.
Follow-on squadrons are scheduled to bring in additional partner countries including Italy, Norway, Turkey and the Netherlands.
F-35 bases are different from legacy air bases due to the nature of the combat systems carried by the aircraft and the data fusion on the aircraft.
The good news is that because it is a global program, the plans for every F-35 facility is identified in the Facility Requirements Document and are the same across all participants.
The global partners can tailor the building experience of one partner and apply to their own local conditions.
In an interview published on 10/5/2012 with Phil Klendworth, head of site activation for the F-35 at Lockheed Martin, the new infrastructure being built to house the F-35 at Yuma MCAS was discussed.
Site activation is an important part of any new program, especially so for the F-35 with its new hangers being built appropriately for an 5th generation electronic warfare combat aircraft…..
SLD: Could you discuss the advantage of getting a common design when you come to construction and how that saves money and increase efficiency realistically? What’s the real advantage?
Klendworth: Savings and advantages are recognized in many different ways. Design packages take less time to build, the design inspection goes faster because the basic requirements are being electronically brought over and the construction cost can be lower when you have actual cost from like facilities to challenge with. For the squadron person he or she can walk into any JSF hangar and find common services (power, air, ALIS), shops and offices that are similar to their own facilities and operations.
It also allows for industry to compete on JSF projects across the United States much easier and capitalize on economy of scale.
Having a basic design makes it easy to estimate around the country and globe because there is standard labor and material cost factor that can be applied based on regional areas to give you a rough order of magnitude cost estimate for long range financial budget planning.
SLD: Have you already seen cost savings from the replication process?
Klendworth: It has already been realized at Yuma.
The cost estimate for the second hangar was less than the first. The span time to construct has been reduced significantly and we have been able to capture functionality improvements from the Lesson Learned database in the second hangar design.
SLD: My understanding is that a lot of the legacy equipment used in a hanger to support an aircraft has been eliminated by the F-35. Is that correct?
Klendworth: That has been the JSF approach. It’s more cost effective to put permanent installed systems that are support three or four stations compared to having three or four replicated sets of support equipment in a hangar.
To get an update on the process of standing up the F-35 facility at Luke AFB, and to discuss the global enterprise aspects entailed by common training with allies and partners, Art Cameron, the Lockheed Martin site Director for the F-35 at Luke AFB, discussed the process, progress and the way ahead.
The last time we talked with Cameron was at Fort Worth in 2010 where we discussed the process of setting up the sustainment enterprise for the F-35.
In that interview, Cameron discussed the differences he saw between the processes for setting up the F-35 enterprise and a legacy one.
I spent 33 years in the USAF doing fighter sustainment, from turning wrenches on F-106’s in Northern Michigan in the late 70’s to working the latest fifth generation fighter, the F-22.
While I’ve worked all Air Force fighters, most of my career was with the F-16. I worked F-16’s at the first operational base, Hill AFB, in 1980. I worked F-16 flight test at Edwards AFB.
I deployed with the F-16. And, I led the MRO&U effort on the F-16 at Ogden Air Logistics Center. The F-16 was (still is) a great airplane.
However, it was built like most previous weapons systems, with sustainment not being an integral part of the design.
Aircraft operational capabilities have become evolutionary and revolutionary over the decades but, reliability and maintainability has not kept pace with the increased operational capabilities. The F-35, in many respects, is the first aircraft that has sustainment as an integral part of the aircraft design.
The original fifth generation aircraft, the F-22, was light years ahead in terms of sustainment with some of the integrated sustainment systems, the data management systems and the health management systems that are onboard the airplane.
The next fifth generation iteration, the F-35, is evolutionary and revolutionary ahead of even the F-22.
What we have learned in aircraft development is that the key to operational capability is to ensure aircraft availability.
Therefore, the big difference in the F-35 is that it’s built as an “Air System” which comprises both the aircraft and the sustainment system. Sustainment has been built in from day one in this airplane.
We like to say “sustainment is as integral to the aircraft as the wing”.
Now that reality was catching up with plan, we discussed with Cameron the state of play at Luke AFB.
Question: What is the importance of the standup at Luke AFB?
Cameron: We are all focused on standing up a flying and pilot training capability at Luke AFB.
However, that is not the primary milestone.
The Luke leadership is focused on US Air Force Interim Operational Capability (IOC) Luke is very important because Luke is the base that will train the F-35A pilots, for Air Force IOC in August of 2016.
In order to declare IOC, Hill AFB will have to have pilots in the right quantity, and the right quality trained in the missions that they need to go war with.
And the function of Luke Air Force Base is to train those pilots, to send them up to Hill Air Force base, so the Air Force can declare IOC.
And I can tell you that it’s pretty exciting times here at Luke as we rapidly built the base up.
Question: What is the relationship between Luke and Eglin as this process unfolds?
Cameron: Eglin was the initial pilot base, and hosts a joint pilot base where initially all the partners were going to go and fly. The three services, and the international partners were going to there to train.
But Eglin couldn’t handle the volume of pilot training which the program is generating.
So Luke was determined to be the core F-35A training base.
All the partners, and all the foreign military sale customers will train at Luke Air Force Base, except for the United Kingdom because the United Kingdom is flying F-35Bs and training with the Marines.
Question: Who are the initial partners coming to Luke?
Cameron: The Australians are already here and their planes are projected to arrive in December of this year.
Norway should be here in December 2015 and then Italy a month later and then the other partners and foreign military sales countries will follow shortly after that.
The U.S. Air Force will have about two-thirds of the jets at Luke Air Force Base.
And about a third of the jets will be international partners, and foreign military sales airplanes
Question: With regard to training, how will the partners and the USAF work together?
Cameron: The partners which includes the US Air Force will train on the same ramp flying out of six different squadrons.
Each Air Force squadron will have 24 airplanes, which will mean that 144 F-35s will be operating here when the aircraft build up is completed.
Question: This will enable significant cross learning between the USAF and international pilots? (not maintainers)
Cameron: It will. The squadrons will be joint squadrons with multiple partners flying in each squadron.
And each country can fly the other country’s jets.
Pilots will be able to brief and step up to any airplane inside that squadron.
In other words, Italian, Australian or Norwegian pilots will fly USAF planes and vice versa.
Question: That’s a significant step forward in changing the mental furniture of what these folks are prepared to do. How important then is the pooling of training?
Cameron: So, this is the second role for Luke AFB.
Luke, because of the multiple countries present, will serve as the battle lab for interoperability.
It will be central to reworking coalition operations in the future.
The F-35 is a key element of shaping the future interoperability piece and we are doing proof of concept here at Luke AFB.
Question: What is entailed in standing up each squadron?
Cameron: The USAF and their industry counterparts will stand up the facilities and all logistics enablers.
The USAF and partner countries will contribute the airplanes that are required to stand up each squadron.
In general, as we stand them up, each squadron will have 24 airplanes with three different countries flying out of those squadrons.
You will need all the requisite F-35 US and International instructor pilots required to train the joint community.
Question: What is your role as Lockheed Martin site director?
Cameron: My industry team serves as the local Luke Product Support Integrator to execute the contract requirements established by the US Air Force and International customers in a contract with the Joint Program Office in Crystal City.
I report through Lockheed Martin leadership then directly to the JPO for execution, but I work day to day with the local Luke AFB leadership from the general officer level on down to satisfy local customer expectations.
LM leads a multiple industry team at Luke that provides a multitude of capabilities. We do all the on aircraft touch labor for the international jets, and remember, approx. 1/3 of the F-35As coming here are international jets.
We man the Academic Training Center with contract instructor pilots and simulator operators/technicians that do the academic and simulator training for all the pilots.
We run the Autonomic Logistics Information System System (ALIS), ALIS is the system that is the backbone of Air System operations and training. We also provide program, information and air vehicle security, and field service support and technical support for the jets.
Right now, there are about 90 people on station, but and at full rate, we’ll have about 600 to 700 Lockheed Martin and other industry people on station performing those functions.
Question: How many F-35s are here now?
Cameron: We have 9 LRIP 5 planes and we just received a 10th which is an LRIP 6 plane.
Question: What is the impact of having a common jet on building common infrastructure?
Cameron: Very significant indeed, as we discussed earlier with regard to the commonality of the facilities.
It all goes back to interoperability.
When we stand up bases, everybody’s using what’s called a facilities requirement document (FRD). In that FRD, it outlines the requirements for the countries to stand up an F-35 capability.
And it outlines each and every facility, and each and every capability in terms of manpower, communications, electro-power; everything required to set up F-35 infrastructure.
That’s a starting point for all the services in all the countries to stand up an F-35 capability at their location.
And that’s exactly what the team did here at Luke.
We used that facilities requirement document to identify what the requirements were as we stood up buildings across the organization.
Question: You were engaged in the first standup of F-16s and now of F-35s. What is the biggest difference other than you being older?
Cameron: The major differences is the sustainment system that’s already in place for the F-35 and, of course, the base line capability differences between the two jets.
The block 15 F-16s that were put at Hill Air Force Base were not nearly as mature as the block 40s and 50s and 60s F-16s that the services are flying right now for one thing. And, the sustainment system also wasn’t as mature.
The tech data, support equipment, spares, all the issues that we talk about on the F-35 as still needing to mature, are much more mature on the F-35 at this stage in the program than they ever were in the F-16 when they were laid in Hill Air Force Base initially for the first F-16 stand-up..
But one needs to understand that the F-35 is an air system, not just an airplane.
Sustainment is actually embedded in the airplane.
And this is the first platform where sustainment had a seat at the table at every step of the design and build of the F-35. Legacy fighters were not that way.
We built legacy fighters, launched them out to the fleet, and the sustainment eventually followed and caught up. However, sustainment was built right into the F-35 as it was rolling down the production line. And it shows as we’re pushing the airplane out into the fleet.
And I certainly don’t want to say that the sustainment system is 100 percent mature because it’s not. But the airplane also is not 100 percent mature, so the sustainment is maturing along with the capabilities of the airplane.
F-35 at Luke News Notes
F-35 Flies First Local Training Sortie at Luke
56th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
5/12/14
An F-35 Lightning II took to the skies over the West Valley on May 5 in what was the first local training sortie for the fifth-generation fighter jet. The jet, tail number LF 5031, is currently the only F-35 at the base. Additional jets are expected to arrive at Luke within the next few weeks.
“The ability to conduct local flight operations demonstrates the commitment by thousands of individuals who have worked to make this a reality,” said Lt. Col. Michael Ebner, 61st Fighter Squadron commander. “Our first sortie this week represents a significant milestone in the F-35 program at Luke.”
There are currently six F-35 pilots assigned to the 61st FS, which is the first F-35 squadron at Luke. There will eventually be approximately 30 by the time the squadron is up to full capacity.
The 61st FS coordinates with the 61st Aircraft Maintenance Unit, which maintains the aircraft, to fly the jet when it is available – which as of this week is approximately 1-2 times per day. That number could increase to 2-4 sorties a day by next month, when more jets are expected at Luke, Ebner said.
As F-35 operations ramp up, West Valley residents may notice a slight decrease in F-16 sorties, as jets from one of the F-16 squadrons, the 309th FS, are being transferred to Holloman AFB, N.M.
Construction, much of which is sub-contracted locally, continues on base to prepare for the arrival of additional F-35s.
The Academic Training Center, which will house classrooms and 12 F-35 simulators, is under construction and is expected to be completed in late September. Construction is also underway on the combined Operations/AMU building for the second F-35 squadron.
Other projects, including the third Operations/AMU building, a maintainer training facility and a four-bay F-35 hangar are also in planning stages.
http://www.luke.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123410520
Luke Flies 100th F-35 Sortie
56th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
9/4/14
Luke Air Force Base launched its 100th F-35A Lightning II sortie at approximately noon on Tuesday, August 26.
“Flying the 100th F-35A sortie at Luke is a tremendous accomplishment,” said Maj. William Andreotta, 61st Fighter Squadron chief of standardization and evaluations. “It is also a tribute to all the hard work and dedication put forth by the men and women of the 61st FS and 61st Aircraft Maintenance Unit.”
The 61st AMU has been dedicated to keeping the new fighter technology in flying condition.
“With every new weapon system comes a learning curve, and our maintenance team has done an exceptional job maximizing the balance between training opportunities and keeping pace with flying operations,” said Lt. Col. Benjamin Smith, 56th Maintenance Group deputy commander.
Luke recently welcomed its seventh F-35 jet on Aug. 20, bringing the F-35 program into full swing.
“Being a part of Luke’s transition from F-16s to F-35As has been an incredible and rewarding experience,” Andreotta said. “Every day we fly we are paving the way for a new era at Luke.”
http://www.luke.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123423503
Luke holds first commander’s call
56th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
9/4/14
Brig. Gen Scott Pleus, 56th Fighter Wing commander, held his first commander’s call Monday at the Luke Air Force Base theater.
The day was divided by Airmen, NCOs, senior NCOs, civilians and officers. It began at 7 a.m. with the Airman tier being the first to hear the commander speak about where he came from, why he joined and why he has chosen to stay in the Air Force.
He spoke of his grandfather, Carl Pleus, a successful lawyer during the 1920s, who owned two planes back when they were the newest invention. His grandfather passed away when he hit a mountain hidden by the clouds on a flight, leaving behind his wife and 2-year-old son Ned, Pleus’ father.
Carl’s other plane was sold at an auction, and the gentleman who purchased it from Pleus’ grandmother asked her who Ned was. After hearing Ned was Carl’s son, he removed the wooden airplane propeller and gave it to Pleus’ grandmother to give to Ned to remember his father by.
After graduating from pilot school, Pleus’ father gave him the propeller. It hangs in Pleus’ front room as a reminder of his heritage and why he joined the Air Force.
“This is why I joined,” Pleus said. “I’ve had a love of flying since I was a baby, but it’s not why I chose to stay. I stayed because of the core values of the U.S. Air Force, and I stayed because of you (Airmen). I stayed because of integrity, service and excellence.”
Chief Master Sgt. John Mazza, 56th FW command chief, spoke about the changes to the enlisted performance review process as well as developmental special duty assignments and the impact they can have on an Airman’s career.
“You are our future staffs, techs and master sergeants,” Mazza said. “This is the time to start setting goals. This is the time you start telling yourselves ‘You are going to make a difference in today’s U.S. Air Force,’ and these opportunities are how you are going to do it.”
Next, the general discussed sexual assault and how it destroys the core values that hold the Air Force together. For Pleus, it is unforgivable.
“I will use the Uniform Code of Military Justice against any man or woman who commits this crime,” he said. “It is an uncomfortable topic, but we need to be comfortable talking about it because it tears apart everything we stand for in the U.S. Air Force.
“This is an issue for both men and women,” he said. ” It is not a joke, it is not funny. It is horrible and it ruins lives.”
Pleus spoke about equal opportunity and that every Airman should be able to go to work free of rude behavior, inappropriate jokes or feeling less than valued in their work place.
“Each of you is here to fulfill the Luke Air Force Base mission, training the world’s greatest F-16 pilots and deploying mission ready Airmen,” Pleus said. ” There is not a single one of you I can do without.”
Pleus talked about the up-tick in drug use throughout the Air Force and that it doesn’t matter if it’s legal in a state a person is deployed to or on leave, it is illegal and has no place in the U.S. Air Force.
Pleus remarked about the F-35A Lightning II at Luke and the impact it will have over the next few years. More than 2,400 F-35 joint strike fighters will be produced for the Air Force, Marines and Navy. Of those jets, 144 will be stationed at Luke.
Pleus briefly spoke about the construction on base and that two buildings have been finished with the third scheduled to be complete by mid-September.
A surge of returning deployers from the 56th Security Forces Squadron has enabled the Kachina and North gates to reopen Sept. 2. Kachina will be open 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week and North gate will be open 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday.
“I need you all to do a favor for me,” Pleus said. “When you roll through one of our gates next week, thank the 56th Security Forces Squadron personnel who are working it. Say, ‘Hey, thank you for opening the gates for us.’ They stand post each and every day to keep all of us safe, and it is the least we can do to thank them for their dedication and service.”
The general and command chief ended the commander’s call with a question and answer segment.
The general made Airmen laugh and feel comfortable while he spoke. He also touched on his priorities as commander at Luke AFB. Those priorities include ensuring the F-35 program progresses successfully, continuing to train the world’s best Viper and Lightning II pilots while deploying mission-ready warfighters, and maintaining the positive relationships the base has with the off-base community.
“Thank you very much for attending today,” Pleus said. “On behalf of the chief and me, each of you is vitally critical to the mission here, and it is an honor to be your commander.”
http://www.aetc.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123423508
Program ALIS initiated
56th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
9/12/14
No, it isn’t the Program Alice from the “Resident Evil” movies. It is the Autonomic Logistics Information Systems, also known as ALIS, which enables F-35 Lightning II operators to plan ahead to maintain and sustain its systems over the life cycle of the fighter jet.
The program ALIS comes with the F-35 as a package deal. The program provides the ability to capture and analyze the F-35 fleet operational readiness, and provides support to the U.S. and its partner nations working with the F-35 program.
“It is great to see the program growing,” said Master Sgt. Heather Tufty, 56th Aircraft Maintenance Unit tactical aircraft maintenance section chief. “I arrived here from Edwards Air Force Base (California), where I saw the program grow there. I arrived at Luke when there were just two jets. To be able to see the program expand and ALIS improve with each new arrival, including our partner nations’ jets, is really impressive.”
ALIS is the conduit between the aircraft, pilots and maintainers to provide information about the aircraft’s maintenance, prognostics, technical data and training needed to keep the plane in good working condition. It also keeps humans on top of the training they need to maintain the fleet.
The information for the aircraft is contained within its personal computer. The information is stored in code format and is downloaded in a secured environment to provide up-to-date information on anything and everything with the jet.
The program also keeps track of maintenance actions, parts configuration and aircraft status.
The ALIS program’s main server does not function on a military server but is housed at Fort Worth, Texas, with each standard operating unit housed within each aircraft maintenance unit. The input of data from every F-35 is transmitted through Lockheed Martin to engineers in charge of the program to read codes from the aircraft.
“Working with ALIS is much better than going back and forth between paper forms and other software,” said Staff Sgt. William Harold Rotroff, 56th AMU F-35 dedicated crew chief. “The thinking speed is definitely one of the fastest programs I’ve used in the military. It brings more security and more coverage for maintainers as well.”
The ALIS program results in less operation and sustainment life-cycle costs and removes the guess work from repairs and maintenance to the aircraft. Upgrades are a constant with any software program and the goal of ALIS is to one day transmit data during flight to ground operations to provide accurate intel of the plane in flight and what is needed when the plane lands to continue the mission.
http://www.luke.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123424571
Australia Comes to Luke AFB in Preparation for F-35 Training
56th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
5/5/14
The buildup of F-35 operations at Luke Air Force Base has begun, and the Royal Australian air force will soon be Luke’s first international partner to train here on the F-35A Lightning II.
The 61st Fighter Squadron and 61st Aircraft Maintenance Unit will house the RAAF personnel. The goal is to build a cohesive, working understanding of the F-35A program with Luke’s international partners for increased success in joint operations.
“It’s one more step in the long road to making this aircraft combat capable,” said Capt. Dan Langan, the 61st AMU officer in-charge. “The idea is, in future conflicts nobody is going to be going at it alone. We’ll have our allies with us. The idea behind this aircraft was to make it easier to operate with our multinational partners, understand the same tactics, operate with the same logistics base, and figuring out how to do that starts right here. We are laying the foundation and it’s pretty exciting to be on the ground floor of that effort.”
Luke will act as ground zero for international partners to build their expertise in F-35A operations. The RAAF is the first partner to start their spin-up operations and are expecting their first aircraft by the end of this year.
“We are really pleased to come in and be the first partner to stand up operations here,” said squadron leader Maj. Nathan Draper, the 61st AMU participant maintenance liaison officer and RAAF senior officer. “We are pretty lucky to get to come here first.”
The RAAF plans to eventually have 14 aircraft at Luke, with their goal to have a complete working picture of U.S. Air Force F-35 operations, then return to the home base they are setting up for the F-35.
“One of the biggest things I hope to achieve is the successful transition of our aircraft from the production line to the Luke training environment and the commencement of training operations alongside our Air Force colleagues,” Draper said. “If we can do that in a safe and efficient streamlined manner, leveraging the Air Force processes and systems, it will be a pretty good day.”
The RAAF expects their first pilot to arrive at Luke the beginning of next year. Draper is part of an acquisition project called Joint Strike Fighter Division, and he now considers himself a team member of the 61st AMU.
“We have a really good, close working relationship with our colleagues in the Air Force, and we are looking forward to the next few years of joint operations here,” he said.
Luke’s relationship with the RAAF goes back a long way. Air Marshal Mark Binskin, soon to be the top Australian Defence Force officer, was stationed at Luke in the late ’80s.
Follow-on squadrons are scheduled to bring in additional partner countries including Italy, Norway, Turkey and the Netherlands.
And in a 2013 article Paul Giblin of the Arizona Republic described the physical transition at Luke AFB to become the key training facility for F-35s:
Air Force executives project a $265 million, seven-year construction program to accommodate the F-35 pilot-training program at the base in west Glendale.
The buildup will allow Luke to serve as the permanent training base for 144 of the single-engine stealth jets that military analysts say will be crucial to U.S. air-defense operations for the next 40 years.
The construction is scheduled to be completed in six major phases to coincide with the arrival of six squadrons of F-35s and the departure of six squadrons of older F-16 fighter jets that are moving elsewhere.
“It’s going to be sort of a Jenga puzzle game for a while,” said Lt. Col. Scott Fredrick, who is heading Luke’s F-35 transition team.
The first F-35 assigned to Luke is expected to arrive between January and March.
Luke’s first F-35 also is expected to be the 100th production F-35 manufactured by Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co. in Fort Worth, Texas, ticking off two important milestones for the F-35 program simultaneously, Fredrick said.
The rest of the planes in Luke’s first 24-plane squadron are expected to be delivered in groups of one to four throughout 2014, said Lockheed Martin spokesman Michael Rein. Each plane takes about two years to assemble and costs $65 million, he said.
The high-dollar construction program associated with the jets at Luke will boost the entire Phoenix valley’s economy, said Glendale Mayor Jerry Weiers.
“It’s certainly a benefit,” he said. “There will be people out there working and supplies bought from all over.”
Construction crews already are bustling to adapt the base to the newest generation of fighter planes.
Luke has 137 F-16s. The first two squadrons of F-16s are scheduled to move to Holloman Air Force Base near Alamogordo, N.M., in 2014 and 2015.
However, F-35 instructors, trainees and crews cannot simply move into existing facilities as the F-16s and their personnel move out, Fredrick said.
The F-35s feature more advanced technology and different equipment than the F-16s, which requires support facilities tailored specifically to accommodate them.
Some buildings and infrastructure systems are being retrofitted for the F-35s, but most of the work involves new construction.
The first phase features three major buildings – a classroom building called the Academic Training Center, a squadron headquarters called the Squadron Operations building and a workshop building called the Aircraft Maintenance Unit.
The classroom building eventually will be used by all six squadrons of pilots in training, but each of the six squadrons will get its own operations and maintenance buildings.
The Academic Training Center is budgeted for $54 million.
The building will house classrooms, an auditorium, administrative offices and perhaps most importantly, a dozen F-35 cockpit simulators.
The structure is scheduled to open with two simulators in August 2014; the remaining simulators will be added as more squadrons arrive later, Fredrick said.
The simulators are especially valuable for teaching beginning skills, such as how to start the aircraft and how to handle preflight communications with ground crews and tower personnel without burning through hours’ worth of jet fuel, Fredrick said.
Instructors can prepare trainees for a variety of flight situations by programming an array of weather conditions, in-flight mechanical malfunctions and attacks by enemy combatants.
“That’s exactly where you want young pilots to make their mistakes,” Fredrick said.
The $10 million Squadron Operations building will be the primary place where pilots prepare for flights.
The most sensitive equipment in the operations building will be housed in “the vault,” a densely constructed high-security section that’s designed to keep inquiring minds inquiring indefinitely, he said.
The $6 million Aircraft Maintenance Unit will accommodate ground crew members, who will use it to store tools, parts and electronic records.
“Those are the maintainers that actually check out a toolbox, walk out to the aircraft and get it ready to fly,” said Senior Master Sgt. Don Stroud, who serves as the maintenance group leader for the F-35 program.
The operations and maintenance buildings are positioned side by side to facilitate greater communication and camaraderie among the pilots and the ground crew members, Fredrick said.
Starting with the second squadron, the operations and maintenance facilities will be combined in new $18 million, two-story buildings. Those will come on line as the subsequent squadrons arrive.
The first F-35 squadron will consist of U.S. and Australian pilots. Italian, Turkish and Norwegian pilots are scheduled to join the mix in 2015.
And then in a story published October 14, 2014, Giblin highlighted the official opening of the training center:
Select fighter jet pilots will transition from a gleaming new building at Luke Air Force Base in Glendale to some of the grittiest locations on Earth, according Air Force Gen. Robin Rand, who visited the base to mark the completion of the $47 million Academic Training Center building late last week.
The building essentially is the Air Force’s F-35 flight school.
U.S. and foreign military pilots are expected train side by side at the building for decades to come…..
Q: Why do F-35 pilot trainees need such a sophisticated building?
A: They need training equipment equal to the planes they’ll fly. The F-35 is the most advanced fighter plane ever built. It is projected to replace a variety of older planes and to serve as the mainstay of the U.S. air defense system for decades.
It combines superior acceleration, agility and maneuverability with unprecedented and integrated sensor, targeting and communications systems, according to the Pentagon.
The key component of the training center is that it will house flight simulators that trainees will use before climbing into cockpits of actual F-35s. The simulators look, feel and react like fighter jets. Trainees will be able contend with simulated weather conditions, equipment failures and enemy attacks without ever leaving the ground.
“Those are critical for us to be prepared,” said Rand, a four-star general. “This is a single-seat airplane, a single-engine airplane. Their first ride in this airplane will be by themselves, so we’re going to be wringing out everyone here in this building before they go out and fly.”
Q: When is the first class of trainees expected to begin?
A: Cameron, the Lockheed Martin exec, assured Air Force officials that the simulators and related equipment will be installed, checked out and ready to go for a full class by May 4, 2015.
The first wave of F-35 trainees will be drawn from experienced pilots already certified on F-15s, F-16s and A-10s, said Lt. Col. Matthew “Rip” Hayden, who will oversee operations in the building.
Those pilots will need about three months to become certified on the F-35.
Starting around 2016, new pilots will train on the F-35. Their training period will take longer. In addition, the jet is still undergoing testing. Once its full portfolio of capabilities is determined, the training program will be expanded accordingly, Hayden said.
Q: Why is Luke getting F-35s?
A: Luke is projected to be the Air Force’s primary training base for F-35 pilots for 40 to 50 years. It also is slated to be the biggest F-35 base of any sort worldwide.
Luke is an ideal location because of good weather year-round and because of easy access to the vast Barry M. Goldwater Range, a gunnery range in southern Arizona where pilots can train using live weapons. Arizona also has weather and desert terrain similar to locations where F-35 pilots are likely to put their training into action.
Nine of the supersonic jets are stationed at the base now. Luke will have about 15 on site by the end of the year, according to the base’s spokesman, Capt. Ryan DeCamp.
The base is expected to have its full compliment of 144 planes within about a decade.
And from a 56th Fighter Wing video from August 2013, construction on the base for the F-35 system is viewed:
CREDIT PHOTOS in the Slideshow: 56th Fighter Wing
- The first two photos show an F-35 lands Aug. 26, 2014 at Luke Air Force Base. The fighter jet had completed its historic 100th sortie at Luke. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Marcy Copeland).
- In the third photo, Australia’s first two F-35s – AU-1, which was the focal point of the rollout event, and AU-2 have both completed final assembly and painting and are due to fly in coming weeks. They are due to be formally handed over to the RAAF in coming months before being delivered to Luke Air Force Base where from early 2015 they will operate as part of a training pool of aircraft there.
- In the fourth photo, Senior Airman Paul Swanson, 61st Aircraft Maintenance Unit crew chief, marshals in an F-35 Lightning II at Luke Air Force Base, Ariz., May 6, 2014. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Jason Colbert).
- In the fifth photo, Senior Airman Paul Swanson, 61st Aircraft Maintenance Unit crew chief, marshals in one of Luke Air Force Base’s F-35 Lightning II after one of its first sorties May 6, 2014. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Jason Colbert).