74th EFS pilots, NATO JTACs train

  • Published
  • By Andrea Jenkins
  • 23d Wing Public Affairs
TAPA RANGE, Estonia --  Responsible for coordinating close-air support, joint terminal attack controllers are the link between ground forces and the pilots. In the heat of battle, this link must be beyond reproach because lives are at stake and failure to eliminate enemy threats could be the difference between life and death.

To perfect these close-air support skills, A-10 Thunderbolt II attack aircraft pilots form the 74th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron are executing air-to-ground training daily with NATO JTACs at Tapa Range in Estonia.

"JTACs on the ground provide a more accurate picture of the battlefield and allow us to make faster, better-informed decisions about where and when to employ munitions," said U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Bryan France, 74th EFS commander. "Joint training and exercises like the ones at Tapa allow us to brief, execute and debrief with these NATO JTACs which increase our lessons learned while continuing to increase the effectiveness of our alliances."

The A-10 pilots, deployed from Moody Air Force Base, Ga. are part of a theater security package in support of Operation Atlantic Resolve and will spend the next few months conducting training to achieve tactical, operational and strategic objectives to further enhance interoperability with NATO allies.

"Close air support involves numerous skill sets combined to create the mission set," said U.S. Air Force Capt. Stewart Cornett, 74th EFS A-10 instructor pilot.  "Training daily with NATO allies on the range offers us the benefit of putting our training and skills together to sharpen steel with steel."

"(TAPA) allows us to directly link with NATO JTACs and train together on the same range," added Cornett.  "It also allows us to practice live and dry basic-surface attack, which is the craft of weapons delivery.

Cornett added, this training not only enhances joint interoperability and builds confidence between allies, but is beneficial for all involved.

"I think the JTACs benefit from training with NATO allies on the range because unlike most aircraft platforms, working with the A-10 is a unique and rare opportunity," said Cornett. "This TSP allows NATO JTACs an opportunity to take advantage of training specifically to close-air support with A-10s with both live fire and simulated-training ordnance."

Specifically designed for close air support, the A-10 can loiter near battle areas for extended periods of time and has the ability to employ a wide variety of conventional munitions, which NATO JTACs deem invaluable to this joint-CAS training.

"Coming to the range and training with the different nations help us learn new objectives and figure out how to utilize another CAS platform than what we are used to," said Danish army Capt. Kenn Kristensen, Forward Air Controller supervisor. "The A-10 is a slower mover with more weapons capabilities and more dynamic in the way that we use it. Overall, this is all good training for us."

The Estonain JTACs agree that training with A-10s give them an opportunity to regularly practice basic close-air support procedures that are rare in an air force without CAS-platform capable aircraft.

"We practice basic close-air support procedures daily with American A-10 pilots," said an Estonian air force JTAC. "Since the A-10s have arrived, we have had a chance to practice our basic procedures and exchange experiences with the pilots."

The benefits of training with the (74th EFS) are great because Estonia does not have its own strike-capable aircraft so training with the A-10 ... gives us the best training that we can get, added the Estonian JTAC. The capabilities of the A-10 bring a whole new dimension to our efforts to train like we fight."

Frequent CAS training help NATO allies operate together and allows them the ability to share common doctrine and procedures and helps them communicate to illuminate issues.

"We establish cross-cultural NATO standards for close-air support employment and practice those so we can build confidence in each other," said Cornett. "We are fully capable of working together and our capabilities don't degrade just because we have a coalition team. We have confidence in the fact that we can get on the radio with any NATO player and work close air support."

We mainly work on close-air support procedures and learning the differences between how they operate versus how we operate," added Cornett. "So a lot of it is small-type stuff like terminology. It's not a language barrier but more of a terminology barrier. Intent behind each word or (radio communication) can be different because words mean specific things in each language. And when they use a different or slang term they understand that we don't - that's what we are trying to weed out in our joint close-air support training."

Interaction between pilots and NATO JTACs is not limited to the battlefield and both parties are taking advantage of their close proximity and meeting before and after training missions to talk shop.

"Here, we typically get the opportunity to get face-to-face time with the pilots both before mission and after mission," said Kristensen. "Our training is more or less the same, but there are some differences and we just need to be aware of the differences. Meeting up with them over a cup of coffee or at dinner allows us to discuss the different aspects of controlling and can make all the difference."

Both parties agree the joint training will continue to improve as JTACs work closely with U.S. pilots to enhance the readiness of NATO combat air forces.

"The amount of cooperation we have seen here goes to show the overall commitment to NATO," said France. "We are not only all committed to each other as allies but to continuing to work on our interoperability."