Flares keep birds in the sky

Photo By Senior Airman William Johnson | Airman 1st Class Clay Sherrill, 436th Maintenance Squadron munitions storage crew member, loads a flare stick into a magazine box March 28, 2016, at Dover Air Force Base, Del. Once the magazine boxes are fully loaded, they are transported to the flight line to be uploaded onto the aircraft. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman William Johnson)  

DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, DE, UNITED STATES

04.05.2016

Story by Airman 1st Class William Johnson 

436th Airlift Wing

DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. – They are hot, they are bright and they are a visual spectacle, however these are not your run of the mill fireworks being shot off in celebration. Flares used by pilots are life-saving emergency countermeasures that keep Team Dover aircraft in the skies delivering airlift cargo to the warfighter.

Flares play a pivotal role keeping Dover’s C-5M Super Galaxies and C-17A Globemaster IIIs from being shot down while conducting combat operations downrange. Flares protect the aircraft by forcing infrared threats, such as heat seeking surface-to-air or air-to-air missiles, to lock onto their heat signatures rather than the aircraft’s engine.

Each aircraft is loaded with various types of flares depending on mission, location and requirements. Flares are either punched out automatically by the aircraft’s electronic countermeasure systems or they can be manually jettisoned by aircraft pilots. But flares go through various stages before meeting their blistering end.

Staff Sgt. John Judy, 436th Maintenance Squadron munitions inspector, oversees flare operations within the ammo section at Dover AFB. Judy, along with other ammo Airmen, build flare sets specific to each aircraft and mission.

“Part of our mission is to keep the C-5 and C-17 aircraft replenished with good flares,” said Judy. “That way when they fly into combat, they have something to defend themselves with.”
After the flare sets are assembled, strict protocols are taken to deliver the flares to the flight line where they are uploaded onto the aircraft by trained Airmen from the 436th and 736th Aircraft Maintenance Squadrons. It takes at least three qualified personnel to conduct flare uploading or downloading operations, two personnel handling the flares and one safety observer.

Staff Sgt. Matthew Calvo, 736th AMXS communication, counter-measure and navigation system craftsman, ensures that flares are properly and safely loaded onto C-17 aircraft. Calvo also ensures that the aircraft’s countermeasure dispensing system is functioning properly so flares are guaranteed to dispense from the aircraft when needed.

“The purpose of the countermeasure dispensing system is to defeat infrared threats,” said Calvo. “The threats are defeated by manually punching out flares or if the system is interfaced with an active electronic countermeasure system, such as the missile warning system or infrared countermeasure system, that system would then punch out flares automatically according to the threat.”

Both C-17 and C-5 onboard computers are uploaded with specific mission data that tell the computer what kind of threats the aircraft is likely to face based on the location of the mission. If the aircraft comes under fire, the computer registers the threat and based off of factors such as the threat’s temperature and speed, the aircraft will automatically dispense the appropriate flares that have the best chance of defeating that specific threat.

Most flares that are dispensed from aircraft at Dover AFB are from controlled training missions. Aircrews from the 9th and 3d Airlift Squadrons routinely fly over the Bollen Live-Fire Range Complex on Fort Indiantown Gap, Pennsylvania, where simulated surface-to-air missiles, or smokey SAMs, are fired at the aircraft to test the aircraft’s countermeasure systems.

On March 24, 2016, 1st Lt. Taylor Warren, 3d AS pilot, flew her first training mission over Bollen Range. Warren and other aircrew members made eight passes through the range, encountering smokey SAM threats with each pass.

“They were shooting different things at us from different sides of the aircraft,” said Warren. “We had some front aspect shots, we had some shots from the three-to-nine line and even some rear aspect shots. So we got to see the different ways the jet’s defensive systems reacted to those threats.”

As the smokey SAMs were shot at the Dover C-17, the countermeasure system responded by punching out the most likely flare to defeat the threat, allowing the pilots to focus on threat and escape maneuvers. Warren said the training has increased her confidence in her abilities to recognize and respond to threats in an efficient, timely manner.

“The most important thing I’ve learned as a new co-pilot is what the flares actually sound like when they go off,” said Warren. “Now I will know if I heard them and I don’t need to hit the button or I didn’t hear them and we are getting a missile launch warning that I need to punch the button myself.”

However, some Team Dover pilots have had flares punch out from their aircraft while in the combat theater.

Last year during the Rota Multimodal Operation, 1st Lt Tristin Everett, 9th AS pilot, was the acting co-pilot of a C-5M Super Galaxy taking off from Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, when suddenly flares began dispensing from the aircraft.

“It was like any normal day,” said Everett, “We got to the airplane after spending a couple nights in Afghanistan and got the cargo all loaded up. It was just getting dusk so visibility was poor. The takeoff seemed pretty normal. After about 1,000 or 1,500 feet or so, we started making our turn and then we heard this loud thud. It was just like a kick in the pants and the flares started dispensing.”

Although there was never a clear confirmation that the aircraft actually came under fire, Everett said he was thankful the flares did their job at neutralizing any potential threat.

“It was one of those moments you can’t forget and it makes the hair stand up on the back of your neck,” said Everett. “I am definitely thankful for the maintenance and everything that goes into keeping the aircraft and defense systems working like it should.”

For the maintainers back at Dover AFB, stories like Everett’s provide context to why their job of uploading flares is crucial in saving lives downrange.

“Everything we do out here on the flight line we take pride in,” said Calvo. “It definitely feels good when you work with flares because you know the aircraft, aircrew and everything onboard is safe. We are helping these aircraft be safer when they are down range performing the mission and that’s something we take a lot of pride in.”

• Date Taken: 04.05.2016
• Date Posted: 04.05.2016 13:53
• Story ID: 194424
• Location: DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, DE, US