Marine F-35 and Air Force F-22 pilots operated for the first time last month as a joint fighting force in a digital training simulation that is soon expected to become standard for Marine, Navy and Air Force fighters, according to a release from the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division.
As part of the exercise, F-35 aviators assigned to Marine Fighter Attack Squadrons 122, 225 and 311 partnered with four F-22 Raptor crews at the division’s Joint Simulation Environment, or JSE, in Patuxent River, Maryland.
The March 24-27 exercise saw aviators practice fifth generation fighting in 17 simulated combat missions comprising advanced warfighting scenarios, according to division commander Rear Adm. John Dougherty IV. Lessons learned after each mission were assessed via post-training evaluations of cockpit video and audio recordings reviewed by the pilots.
“This milestone is a game-changer that ushers in a new era of interoperability for aviation’s combat community and served as a pivotal exercise getting NAWCAD ready to make this joint training standard for Navy and Air Force fighters,” Dougherty said.
Integrated into the Navy’s TOPGUN program, the JSE is one of the most technologically sophisticated training environments the Defense Department has to offer. It includes “domed simulators with actual defense hardware, software, and adversary aircraft” that allow pilots to sharpen skills in a realistic threat environment, according to the release.
The Defense Department is seeking to expand JSE capabilities and training, meanwhile, across additional warfighter programs, according to NAWCAD.
Current expectations are that the JSE will soon welcome the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye, an all-weather, carrier-capable tactical airborne early warning (AEW) aircraft designed to detect incoming airborne threats, such as missiles and enemy aircraft, and conduct ground and maritime surveillance.
Next year, the JSE plans to add the F/A-18 Super Hornet strike fighter and the EA-18G Growler, the release said.
“At the end of the day, it’s going to be the people that win our nation’s wars,” VMFA-225 pilot Maj. Patrick Kaufer said in the release. “Having those person-to-person connections between the Air Force, the Navy and the Marine Corps [in the JSE] is the most important part and biggest objective that we’re able to achieve.”
Zita Ballinger Fletcher previously served as editor of Military History Quarterly and Vietnam magazines and as the historian of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. She holds an M.A. with distinction in military history.
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