From September 13th to October 6th, the US Air Force’s 49th, 432nd, and 53rd Flying Wings Rapid Response Forces conducted joint exercises related to "Agile Combat Use". The 556th Test and evaluation Squadron (TES) used MQ. The -9 UAV demonstrated its ability to perform missions under limited ground support conditions.
In the demonstration, the MQ-9 UAV took off from Creech Air Force base, Nevada, and the 556th Test and evaluation Squadron controlled the MQ-9 UAV through a satellite link and did not perform any pre-standard inspections. Landed at Marine Corps base Hawaii (MCBH) using Automatic Takeoff and Landing Capability (ATLC) mode. This automatic take-off and landing capability mode is only based on image capabilities and has been greatly improved. While in Hawaii, the MQ-9 drone carried out 5 sorties missions there, and also trained 6 groups of crew members who were not originally responsible for take-off/recovery in automatic take-off and landing missions. This proved to be training non-professional crew members to perform. Flight sorting missions are feasible in the future. Lieutenant Colonel Chmielewski, commander of the 556th Test and evaluation Squadron, said that during its stay in Hawaii, the "Agile Combat Application" (ACE) team used only 5 drone pilots with complex capabilities proficient in weapons, maintenance, and communications. Fast refueling mission. "Currently, the preparation time for drones to attack again is usually 3 hours, and our average time is 20 minutes." The commander said.
After that, the MQ-9 drone left Hawaii and flew to Guam’s Anderson Air Force base for the first time to support the ACE REAPER exercise. It was verified that the MQ-9 was not available under the conditions of reduced satellite communication bandwidth and satellite migration. The data transmission ability of man-machine. The exercise also proved that the MQ-9 UAV can perform take-off and landing tasks only with the most streamlined and flexible logistical conditions, and even without any take-off and recovery equipment.
In the exercise, the ruggedized aircraft maintenance test station was used as a substitute for the remote control station of the UAV, and it was verified that it could be used as a backup capability for controlling the automatic take-off and landing of the UAV via satellite. The ground operator of Anderson Air Force base established a line-of-sight link with MQ-9 and ordered it to use the automatic take-off and landing capability to land on the Anderson base Runway for the first time. As in Hawaii, no operations or preliminary runway inspections were carried out this time.
Chmielewski said that the logistical support for the operation only included 7 personnel and 1 half-pallet of equipment. Generators, light trolleys and fuel were already in place. "Within 7 hours after the equipment arrives in Guam, we will be able to restore the MQ-9 attack capability. This means that maintenance manpower has been reduced by nearly 90%, maintenance equipment has been reduced by 95%, and take-off and recovery equipment has been reduced by 100%. "
The exercise confirmed the feasibility of the "perch" concept for the MQ-9 UAV agile combat. The concept utilizes the reliability of historical maintenance information of the flight platform, and promotes the "center" and "spoke" maintenance methods of standard agile combat applications, enabling small-scale maintenance, quick refueling, and quick reloading and mounting. This ability will enable the logistics team to get rid of the bloated logistics chain, closer to the real combat situation and improve combat effectiveness.
On the basis of the above progress made by the U.S. Pacific Air Force, the 556th Test Squadron will continue the development and evaluation of the MQ-9 joint force to achieve cross-domain kill chain capabilities and prepare to integrate it into the "Valiant Shield" 2022 (Valiant Shield). Shield 2022), improve the combat tactics of the theater and increase the success rate.
