Babak Taghvaee reports on the visit of California Air National Guard F-15C Eagles to Ukraine
MILITARY EAGLE v FLANKER
Clear Sky 2018, a multi-national exercise centring on Ukraine and involving approximately 950 personnel from nine nations, Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Ukraine, the United Kingdom and the United States took place between October 8-19, 2018. As part of the exercise, six F-15C Eagles assigned to the California Air National Guard’s 144th Fighter Wing’s 194th Fighter Squadron (144th FW 194th FS) flew to Ukraine’s Starokostiantyniv Air Base. They were hosted by the Povitryani Syly Ukrayiny/Ukraine Air Force’s 831st Tactical Aviation Brigade (BrTA) that deployed to Starokostiantyniv from its home base of Myrgorod for the duration of the exercise with its Su-27 Flankers.
Ukrainian preparation
The 831st BrTA began preparing for Clear Sky 2018 in 2017 and made its first flights dedicated to the exercise, a series of IFR training flights involving seven Su-27s and three L-39s shortly after the New Year holiday on January 13. The training was designed to enhance piloting and navigation skills in all weather conditions during the day and at night. Another set of flights in similar conditions but this time involving air combat manoeuvring (ACM) took place on March 24, April 5, May 3, May 26 and finally on October 6. The main focus of these sorties was visual air-to-air interception and dogfighting.
The California Air National Guard and Ukrainian Air Force have had a relationship going back 25 years. Continuing the units’ cooperation, six F-15Cs made the journey to Ukraine from Fresno Air National Guard Base for Clear Sky 2018. The jets, 80-0010, 82-0028, 84-0004, 86-0144, 86-0166 and 86-0167 were accompanied by a C-130J-30 Super Hercules, 01-1461, of the 146th Airlift Wing’s 115th Airlift Squadron (146AW 115th AS), another California Air National Guard unit based at Channel Islands Air National Guard Station, Oxnard. The Guard did not take a two-seat Eagle to Ukraine, so United States Air Forces Europe provided one in the shape of 84-0046, an F-15D from the 48th Fighter Wing’s 493rd FS ‘Grim Reapers’ based at RAF Lakenheath, England. All F-15s arrived at Starokostiantyniv on October 6. The allocation of a two-seat jet enabled pilots from Ukraine to experience flights in an Eagle.
Tanker support for the trail from the CONUS to Ukraine was provided by two Illinois Air National Guard KC-135Rs, 60-0358 and 63-7981, assigned to the 126th Air Refueling Wing using callsigns ‘Coder 01’ and ‘Coder 02’. Both deployed to Miroslawiec Air Base, Poland for the duration of the exercise. At least two USAFE tankers from RAF Mildenhall’s 100th Air Refueling Wing, KC-135Rs 57- 2605 and 58-0100 joined them in Poland.
The four jets were engaged in refuelling not only the American Eagles but Polish F-16Cs and Romanian F-16AMs during the exercise.
Several US Air Force MQ-9 Reapers also took part flying from Miroslawiec.
Red air
Ironically, given the situation in the east of the country, the Ukrainian Air Force often played the role of Red Air during Clear Sky 2018. Five Tactical Aviation Brigades of Air Commands West, Centre and South and 350 of their personnel took part in the exercise with a total of 27 aircraft consisting of six Su-24 Fencers, three Su-25 Frogfoots, seven Su-27 Flankers, seven MiG-29 Fulcrums and two L-39 Albatros trainers.
In addition to these jets, a Mi-8MT Hip-C 87 Yellow (c/n 95197) of the 203rd Training Aviation Base (TrAB) from Boripsol near Kiev and 25 Blue, an An-26 Vita Air Ambulance of 456th Transport Aviation Brigade (BrTA) flew from Starokostiantyniv.
Bigger and better
Safe Skies 2011 was an air defence focused exercise held in Ukraine in preparation for the 2012 Olympics and 2012 EUROCup and 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Europe. On that occasion the California Air National Guard and the 144th Fighter Wing took part with its then equipment, F-16C Fighting Falcons. It was joined in Ukraine by two other F-16 units, Alabama Air National Guard’s 187th Fighter Wing and an F-16D from Iowa Air National Guard’s 132nd Fighter Wing.
Clear Sky 2018 is an entirely different ball game in terms of complexity, according to US Air Force commanders.
Major General Clay Garrison, California Air National Guard commander and Clear Sky 2018 exercise director said: “We have taken massive steps to reach interoperability during this exercise. Clear Sky is leaps and bounds more comprehensive and extensive than our last air-centric exercise in 2011.”
Clear Sky 2018, designed to bring Ukraine in line with NATO standards of interoperability, is the first-ever joint multi-national exercise hosted by Ukraine and sponsored by US Forces in Europe.
Garrison said: “Ukraine asked us to come here and bring this exercise to them. NATO is the gold standard across the world because we have rules to ensure a high level of safety and readiness. Ukraine knows the only way it can be interoperable with NATO is to train to that standard, which is exactly what we are working towards and accomplishing with this exercise.”
Although Ukraine’s warplanes are of Russian origin, they are mostly old aircraft.
Nowadays, most operational Russian Air Force Su-27s have been modernised or even replaced by modern Su-30SMs and Su-35S fighters equipped with AL-31FP and AL-41F-1S turbofan engines with thrust vectoring. However, in terms of light characteristics and manoeuvrability, the Ukrainian Air Force’s Su-27s are probably the best available aircraft for the US Air Force to fly dissimilar air combat training (DACT) sorties against in preparation for war with Russia. This is especially true when it comes to within visual range ACM training.
Ukrainian participants
Air Command Centre’s 831st BrTA provided seven Flankers for the exercise: Su-27S Bort number 21 Blue, three Su-27Ps, 56, 57 and 59 Blue, a single Su-27PM1 58 Blue and two Su-27UBM1s 70 and 71 Blue. All were forward deployed to Starokostiantyniv from their home base Myrgorod and equipped with Vympel R-73 infrared guided short-range air-to-air missile captive training rounds.
Air Command West’s 7th BrTA, which itself is based at Starokostiantyniv Air Base, participated with four Su-24M strike bombers (Bort numbers 20, 41, 44 and 77 White) as well as two Su-24MR tactical reconnaissance jets (59 and 60 Yellow), an L-39C (74 Blue) and an L-39M1 71 Blue.
Air Command South’s 299th BrTA took part with two Su-25M1Ks (20 and 31 Blue) and a single Su-25UBM1K, 67 Blue.
Of the seven MiG-29s participating in the exercise, four came from the 40th BrTA and have been upgraded to MiG-29MU1 standard (05, 06, 07 and 08 White). Accompanied by a MiG-29UB (90 White), they forward deployed from Vasilkov to Starokostiantyniv on October 6. Two more MiG-29s, 71 and 75 Blue were supplied by the 114th BrTA from Ivano-Frankivsk.
Air combat training
For Ukrainian MiG-29 and Su-27 pilots, the exercise was a great opportunity to practice air combat tactics not only against their own fighter jets but also against US Air Force F-15Cs, Romanian F-16AMs and Polish F-16Cs during various scenarios such as FastCAP (Combat air patrol to protect fighter strike aircraft) and FORCAP (Force Combat Air Patrol – escort for a strike package). One mission flown, for instance, involved MiG-29s escorting a strike force comprising two Su- 25M1Ks and protecting them from attack by two 831st BrTA Su-27s playing the role of Red Air interceptors.
Most of the air combat missions were focused on air interception within visual range, both during the day and at night. Several Ukrainian Su-27 pilots flew aboard F-15Ds during a visit to the Fresno Air National Guard Base, California, on October 26, 2017.
Several more got the chance to fly in an Eagle during the Americans’ visit to Ukraine using Lakenheath’s jet.
All F-15Cs participating in the exercise were loaded with CATM-9M training rounds together with a CATM-120D and Cubic Corporation’s P-5 ACMI pods. Ukrainian aircraft were loaded with one or two captive training Vympel R-73s.
Flanker crash
The 831st BrTA took both of its Su-27UBM1s to the exercise. Both jets were fitted with the SAVR-27U audio/video recording system, which can record every single action and manoeuvre of the pilots in a BUR-4-1-10-01 digital solid-state hard drive. Video images are gathered using a pair of cameras, one installed behind the pilot’s seat showing his or her actions in the cockpit and another just behind the head-up display. Ukraine ordered ten sets of the kit on October 27, 2017.
More than ten F-15C pilots took the opportunity to fly in the back seat of the Su-27UBM1s and experience DACT against their own jets from the Flanker pilot’s perspective.
But the lights stopped after Su-27UBM1 70 Blue crashed during a night-time dog fight killing both pilots on October 16. Lt Col Seth ‘Jethro’ Nehring was flying with Colonel Ivan Nikolaevich Petrenko, an experienced Su-27 pilot from the 831st BrTA and deputy commander of Air Command East.
Nehring, who was just 44-years-old, was serving as the operations officer in the Joint Operations Centre, meaning he was the liaison between the exercise director, Major General Garrison and all flying operations.
A report on the 144th FW’s Facebook page read: “He [Nehring] was handpicked for this position due to his operational experience and long history with our unit. Jethro has been a member of the 144th family for over 20 years.
He began his career here as an enlisted crew chief before being selected for a pilot slot and flew the F-16 for over 15 years and converted to the F-15 Eagle.”
The Su-27 involved had flown only 20 hours since undergoing a service life extension programme that would have enabled it to remain in service until 2030. The investigation into the crash is ongoing.
One of seven Su-27Bs ordered for the Soviet Navy’s 100th Shipborne Fighter Aviation Regiment in 1990, 70 Blue (c/n 96310424040), was delivered on January 30, 1991 as 05 Blue. Soon after Ukraine’s independence and the refusal of a majority of the 100th’s pilots, including its commander Major Apakidze to swear allegiance to the newly formed Ukraine, the Su-27s of the regiment were handed over to the 831st Fighter Aviation Regiment in Myrgorod in 1992. It was painted as 70 Red in 1993 and finally, in the late 1990s, 70 Blue.
It remained airworthy until 2009 when it was placed in storage at Myrgorod Air Base after it ran out of flying hours. Because of the war in Donbass, it was restored to light status in 2014 by technicians of the 831st BrTA’s maintenance squadron. This work kept it flyable until 2016 when it was sent to the MiGremont or ZARZ (Zaparozhie Aircraft Repair Plant) to be overhauled and have its service life extended as well as fully modernised to Su-27UBM1 standard. Modernisation work was completed in July 2018 and the aircraft was delivered to the 831st BrTA then.
Objectives achieved
Clear Sky 2018 focused on several disciplines including tactical airlift, aeromedical evacuation, pararescue, cyber defence, air sovereignty and air-to-ground joint fires integration. The California Air National Guard C-130J-30 01-1461 was used for tactical airlift, while for pararescue, both American and Ukrainian rescuemen used the Hip-C.
CMSgt Jose Salas, 144th Maintenance Group, California Air National Guard and a member of the exercise planning team said: “This exercise is a daunting task and has been one of the most challenging deployments we have ever participated in but keeping the combat capability moving is our sole responsibility. The primary goal was to provide combat air power and the men and women participating in this exercise have done just that. They have taken every challenge and executed flawlessly and in turn received invaluable training during this exercise. The airmen are proud of what they have accomplished.”
Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko flew to Starokostiantyniv aboard the Ukrainian government An-148-100 to meet American and Ukrainian personnel on October 11.
A pair of Ukrainian Su-27s performed a flypast. During his visit he expressed his appreciation for the support, coordination and cooperation of the United States and other participating countries. He said: “We have started to effectively cooperate together; we are learning a lot from NATO, and NATO is learning a lot from Ukrainian soldiers, and we very much appreciate the strong and viable approach demonstrated by our American and NATO partners”.
The future for Ukraine’s Flankers
After the loss of 70 Blue, of 56 Flankers on strength, only 35 of Ukraine’s Su-27s are airworthy. These comprise 20 Su-27Ss, nine Su-27Ps and six Su-27UBs of which two are fully modernised to Su-27UBM1 and Su-27PM1 standard. Of the 35 a Su-27UB, a Su-27SM1 and a Su-27P are partially modernised jets. Thirteen Flankers are in service with the 39th Tactical Aviation Squadron (ISqTA) at Ozerne Air Base and the remaining 22 are divided between two aviation squadrons of the 831st BrTA, which provide three jets for QRA at Odessa airport for Air Command South.
When this article was written, two more formerly grounded Su-27s, bort numbers 12 and 31 Blue, were undergoing overhaul and lifetime extensions at the MiGremont plant. They were scheduled to return to service with the 831st BrTA in early 2019. At least two more will be overhauled in 2019, bringing the number of airworthy Ukrainian Air Force Flankers in 2020 to 39 – the equivalent of three aviation squadrons. Of these, 11 will be fully modernised (two already are) into Su- 27SM1, Su-27PM1 or Su-27UBM1 standard.
Russian sanctions and Ukraine’s financial problems led to a decline in the number of operational Su-27s from 18 in 2008 to a low of 14 in 2014. The efforts of technicians of the 831st BrTA as well as MiGremont and other Ukrainian companies, which manufactured spare parts no longer being supplied by Russian companies, have brought about the renaissance of the nation’s Flanker fleet. Ukraine plans to maintain a fleet of around 40 Su-27s operational until 2035.
