Photo By Cpl. Samantha Foster | Marines with Marine Fighter Attack Squadrons 115,122 and 312 a well as Marine...... read more read more
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BEAUFORT, S.C. - Marines with Marine Fighter Attack Squadrons 115, 122 and 312 as well as Marine All-Weather Fighter Attack Squadrons 533 and 224 are participating in the Marine Division Tactics Course aboard Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, Jan. 12 to Feb. 6.
The MDTC provides groundside and airborne instruction in doctrine, tactics and weapons considerations to F/A-18 Hornet aircrew and Marine air intercept controllers.
The training is conducted by Marines from Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron 1 and Marine Fighter Training Squadron 401, who are based at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Ariz.
The course gives an accurate representation of what pilots experience in an air-to-air combat situation, and gives them the tools to train Marines in their squadrons on the latest tactics, said Lieutenant Col. Bill Sheridan, the commanding officer of VMFT-401.
It delivers required air-to-air training prior to attending the Weapons and Tactics Instructor course.
“We are professional adversaries,” said Sheridan. “We go out there and give them an accuratere presentation [of the enemy] so they can train to highest of standards.”
Pilots spend the first week of the course learning about practical applications of weapon systems, radar, surveillance, the detailed capabilities of F/A-18s, and simulated opposing aircraft.
For the remaining three weeks, pilots fly sorties in which they practice basic fighter and engagement maneuvers with differing numbers of allies and adversaries, including simulated missions where pilots face an unknown number of adversaries.
Various aircraft are used throughout the course including F-5N Tiger II and the F-16C Fighting Falcon, which are able to challenge the F/A-18 Hornets and pilots of the Air Station.
During MDTC and in combat situations, pilots must be aware of their own aircraft and enemy aircraft.
“The course is set up that way so we don’t have to perform the course internally by using hornets or carriers as adversary support,” said Sheridan. As a result, the cost per flight per hour is significantly lower, he said.
The course is conducted twice a year, once aboard Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort and once aboard Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Calif.
This course prepares and equips pilots to employ their aircraft more skillfully and at a higher level in combat, while improving squadron interoperability between squadrons that rely on each other at home and abroad.
And, as General Gray, our 29th Commandant said, “Like war itself, our approach to warfighting must evolve. If we cease to refine, expand, and improve our profession, we risk being outdated, stagnant, and defeated.”
| Date Taken: | 01.30.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 01.30.2015 15:18 |
| Story ID: | 153174 |
| Location: | BEAUFORT, SC, US |
| Web Views: | 296 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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