JB McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, Travis AFB named next KC-46A locations

WASHINGTON (AFNS) -- Air Force officials selected Joint Base McGuire Dix Lakehurst, New Jersey, and Travis Air Force Base, California, as the preferred locations for the next two active-duty-led KC-46A Pegasus bases.

Twenty-four KC-46A aircraft will replace the legacy aircraft currently at each of those bases.

“Joint Base McGuire Dix Lakehurst and Travis AFB were chosen as the next two active-duty-led KC-46A bases because they meet all operational mission requirements at the best value for the Air Force and the American taxpayer and support our tanker recapitalization strategy," said Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James. "It is absolutely essential that we continue investing in the next generation of tanker aircraft so we have the aircraft necessary to maintain the nation's global reach for years to come."

Fairchild AFB, Washington, and Grand Forks AFB, North Dakota, will be considered as reasonable alternatives during the environmental impact analysis process which is required before a final basing decision is made.

At this time, the Air Force is planning to divest the legacy tankers after growing the tanker fleet to meet its 479 tanker requirement. The timeline is dependent on the KC-46A delivery schedule, but it is not anticipated to reach sufficient KC-46A fleet size and begin legacy divestment at the first location until 2019.

“The KC-46 will afford combatant commanders extended refueling capabilities, improved global reach, and enable timely joint-service response to humanitarian crises and contingency operations around the world,” said Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David L. Goldfein. “In fact in the fight against (the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant), the Air Force and joint and coalition partners depend on gas from our tankers. In 2016, the coalition flew over 13,600 tanker sorties, fueling aircraft nearly 80,000 times, delivering about 800-million pounds of fuel.”

Altus AFB, Oklahoma; McConnell AFB, Kansas; Pease Air National Guard Station, New Hampshire; and Seymour Johnson AFB, North Carolina; have already been selected as future KC-46 basing locations. The first KC-46As are expected to begin arriving at McConnell and Altus AFBs in fall of 2017.

The KC-46A will provide improved capability, including boom and drogue refueling on the same sortie, worldwide navigation and communication, airlift capability on the entire main deck floor, receiver air refueling, improved force protection and survivability and multi-point air refueling capability.

Travis AFB and JB McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst currently host the McDonnell Douglas KC-10 Extender.

60 AMW KC-10 A/A Frequencies

For my west coast readers, Travis AFB 60 AMW KC-10A tankers have two VHF interplane (Air/Air) frequencies assigned to them. Keep an ear out for activity on
138.875 (primary) and 139.925 (secondary) MHz.

Navy at Travis quietly keeps communications open with subs

Lt. Cmdr. Jason Anstead gestures toward a E-6 Mercury communications plane used by the Navy VQ-3 detachment unit based at Travis Air Force Base. The plane trails a five-mile-long antenna out of its rear, in order to communicate with submarines on missions in the Pacific. (Robinson Kuntz/Daily Republic)

By Ian Thompson, Daily Republic website

TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE — Whenever the Pentagon wants to call one of its nuclear subs in the Pacific, the call goes through the quiet Navy professionals whose E-6B Mercury communication aircraft fly out of their unobtrusive alert facility on Travis’ south side.

Like fishermen, the aircrew of Travis’ VQ-3 detachment spends long hours out over the Pacific, catching messages with a five-mile trailing antenna that will then be sent to the subs cruising safely and silently under water within 1,000 miles of the aircraft.
“We are one big relay platform,” said VQ-3 Detachment Officer in Charge Navy Lt. Cmdr. Jason Anstead.

The unit’s unofficial name, TACAMO, stands for Take Charge and Move Out. It was born in July 1963 when the director of naval communications for the chief of naval operations used those words to start work on coming up with a better way to communicate with the Navy’s nuclear submarines.

This system had to be capable of surviving any hostile military action, something ground-based communications sites were incapable of doing, according to Anstead.
The result was the creation of Strategic Communications Wing 1, which is headquartered at Tinker Air Force Base, Okla., and oversees three fleet air reconnaissance squadrons. One of those, VQ-3, has the detachment, which is stationed on the south side of Travis Air Force Base’s runway. It’s sister unit, VQ-4, has a detachment that is stationed on the East Coast at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md.
Initially, the wing was equipped with modified C-130 Hercules aircraft. They were replaced with the E-6 Mercury, which is a heavily modified Boeing 707 packed with high-tech communications gear.

Rest of the article can be read at http://www.dailyrepublic.com/news/military/navy-at-travis-quietly-keeps-communications-open-with-nations-submarines/               

Travis "Freedom Launch" hones skills, remembers 9/11

A 22-aircraft "freedom launch" took place at Travis AFB, Calif., Sept. 11, 2013. Seven C-17 Globemaster IIIs, 11 KC-10 Extenders and four C-5B Galaxies from the 60th Air Mobility Wing launched consecutively over 36 minutes to take part in Air Mobility Command missions. The first plane in the lineup, a C-17, launched at 8:46 a.m., the same time terrorists crashed American Airlines Flight 11 into the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City 12 years earlier. (U.S. Air Force photo/Ken Wright) 

by 2nd Lt. Jessica Clark,  60th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Travis conducted a mass launch of 22 mobility aircraft Sept. 11, 2013, to practice the combat capability of safely launching a large number of aircraft.

During the operation, dubbed the "Freedom Launch," seven C-17 Globemaster IIIs, 11 KC-10A Extenders, and four C-5 Galaxies departed in 36 minutes and 21 seconds on both operational and training missions. The launch also provided essential training for mobility capabilities for flight operations, operations support, aircraft maintenance, fuels and air traffic control.

Today's mass launch of three types of aircraft was the largest ever at Travis.

The Freedom Launch also served as a remembrance of 9/11, as the first C-17 Globemaster III took off at 8:46 a.m., the same time the first plane crashed into the World Trade Center's North Tower on Sept. 11, 2001.

 

Russia Begins Observational Flyovers of US

 

Russia began observational flights over the United States on Sunday under the international Open Skies Treaty, officials said.

The monitoring missions are being carried out by a Tupolev Tu-154M/LK-1 aircraft through Aug. 12, RIA Novosti reported.

"The missions will be carried out from the Travis Air Force Base [in California] and Wright-Patterson Air Force Base [in Ohio]," said Sergei Ryzhkov, head of Russia's National Nuclear Risk Reduction Center. "These will be Russia's 23rd and 24th monitoring flights in 2013 over the territories of the Open Skies Treaty member states."

Russian military inspectors, along with U.S. specialists, will monitor surveillance equipment aboard the aircraft.

The Open Skies Treaty allows participants to conduct unarmed aerial observation flights over the territories of its 34 member states to promote openness of military forces and activities.

The treaty went into effect Jan. 1, 2002.

 

http://www.military.com/daily-news/2013/07/29/russia-begins-observational-flyovers-of-us.html?comp=700001075741&rank=2