Boeing’s F-15EX made its first flight on Feb. 11, 2021.
WASHINGTON: The Air Force’s newest fighter, Boeing’s F-15EX, will participate in the bi-annual Northern Edge exercise in the far North — which will have a heavy focus on Joint All Domain Command and Control (JADC2), says Lt. Gen. David Krumm, head of the service’s Alaska Command.
“We have about 4,000 participants this year: 50 units, over 200 aircraft from all of the joint services,” Krumm said. “All over Alaska, we’re going to be fighting from sub-surface up to space, and practicing our abilities in a very difficult electromagnetic spectrum. We’re going to look at new technologies; we’re going to look at new tactics and procedures on how do we incorporate those going forward.”
Krumm said the exercise will involve “every aspect of JADC2” — ranging from space-based Internet capabilities provided by SpaceX’s Starlink constellation and remote satellite terminals to “different technologies in the electromagnetic spectrum” such as jamming and radars.
During the May 3-14 exercise, the F-15EX will test the Eagle Passive Active Warning Survivability System (EPAWSS) EW suite, Krumm added. EPAWSS will enable pilots of the F15EX to monitor, jam and deceive enemy air defenses.
Pacific Air Command (PACAF) is heading up planning for Northern Edge 21, which is sponsored every odd year by Indo-Pacific Command (INDO-PACOM).
The exercise comes as tensions between the US and Russia in the Arctic region are on the rise. This includes the frequency of Russian incursions into US airspace off the Alaskan coast.
“I would say that we have certainly since seen an increase in Russian activity. We intercepted over 60 aircraft last year,” Krumm told the Air Force Association today.
Northern Edge 21 “provides high-end, realistic war fighter training, develops and improves joint interoperability, and enhances the combat readiness of participating forces by building on lessons learned during Valiant Shield 20 Sept. 14-25, 2020, at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam,” a PACAF fact sheet explains. (Valiant Shield 20, involving more than 11,000 airmen, soldiers and sailors, was the first major joint exercise to test nascent all-domain operations.)
Further, he said, the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office (RCO) is also bringing kit to the table. RCO since November has been in charge of managing acquisition of technologies that have ‘graduated’ from the Advanced Battle Management System (ABMS) research program.
“So, we have a whole array of different technologies that we’re trying out,” he said. “I don’t want to be too specific, because a lot of the stuff that we want to do so, we still need to work on it.”
But, Krumm went on, PACAF head Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach is, “uber-focused on: ‘How do I connect all these sensors and shooters together,’ and we’re traveling down the path that JADC2 offers. We’re going to hopefully advance that as well.”
The exercise will also be the first to integrate operations with a carrier strike group, the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit and an amphibious ready group, colleague Rachel Cohen reported.
