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Show 8 H.I'op T,mes MISSION April 19, 1991 AD V ! Hot pursuit An Eagle acts as a chase plane io F-1- 5 an cruise missile over the Utah Test and air-launch- Training Range. The chase plane observes the missile to make sure it performs as it is supposed to. U S. Air wo crlr Range training important, prepares troops well for war or femoDDcoiir image overlayed with data from the pilot's instruradar ments, such as air speed, altitude, information and other critical data. Evaluators can then verify whether the pilot was able to destroy the enemy target. Then, target accuracy is scored. Each after the mission, so bomb damage target is is known exactly. UTTR tactical targets use salvage military vehicles to create railways, bunkers, runways and other targets like those sought in Iraq. "Although acquiring the target in Iraq was harder, the idea of a small truck or tank all by itself out in the desert was identical to our training. Visually, we were familiar with what a small target looked like in the desert from a medium altitude," said Lt. Col. Tim Nail of the 388th Tactical Fighter Wing. The tactically advantageous battle damage assessment used extensively in Desert Storm also requires trained personnel. A National Guard unit in Boise, Idaho, flies s over UTTR targets prior to a training mission, then again after the mission, shooting video footage so that damage inflicted during the mission can be verified. The commander of the Air Force component of the U.S. Central Command in Saudi Arabia, Lt. Gen. Charles A. Horner, specifically selected the UTTR to train his aircrews and battle staff in a simulated Middle East environment, said Colonel Dielman. This training took place twice yearly from 1985 to 1989, in joint training exercises involving the Air Force, Army Special Forces, Navy Seals and the Marines. The exercises scheduled for 1990 were canceled, since troops were already embroiled in a real on-scree- n re-bu- ilt by Donna Davis Hilltop Times staff writer A desert war was not totally unfamiliar to American pilots whose training included missions in Utah's West Desert. The Utah Test and Training Range is a key in training pilots for desert combat and in testing several weapons successful against the Iraqi threat. During the early stages of Desert Storm, Tomahawk-clas- s cruise missiles launched from ships in the Gulf destroyed targets in downtown Baghdad and throughout Iraq. In the early 1980s those missile systems were tested at the UTTR. "The same type missiles were launched from ships off the west coast to land on our test range where we measured the accuracy of the hit. Now, we're testing the and advanced cruise missiles," said Lt. air-launch- Col. John Gorman, deputy commander of the 6545th Test Group. 'On television, many people saw direct hits on buildings in Iraq during Desert Storm. We test TV, infrared, and weapons identical to those that caused so much damage in Iraq," said Col. Terry L. Dielman, 6545th commander. The stealth fighter that dropped a bomb down the shaft on the top of a building trained in day and night situations at UTTR. laser-guide- d Looking through a straw The units that bombed the valve of the oil pipeline dumping into the gulf trained here last year," said Boe Hadley, a 6501st range control officer. "They had a lot of problems then delivering that bomb is like sitting in the airplane looking down at the desert through a straw so they kept up the training. They were scheduled to come back this year, but they were busy with a real war one where they hit a pipeline valve at night." Pilot training at UTTR is effective and unique because adversarial air missions can be flown in a test environment where almost all aspects of the mission can be evaluated. "We also have a lot of air space, so pilots have maximum opportunity for planning their own mission," said Mr. Hadley. A video camera in the nose of the takes an F-l- ll F-1- 6 provide' safety, more accuracy anti-aircra- ft F-4- desert confrontation. "The joint exercise simulates a air war," said Bob Bowker, range control officer at the 6501st Range Squadron. "They get a chance to practice everything. They do command and control functions and have to get past an adversary to bomb tactical targets all the elements of a large force air battle. "You don't want combat to require big adjustments," he said. "The terrain, the targets, the threats expected in desert warfare are all simulated expertly at the UTTR." "The pilots even plan and perform their return. You're still dead if you get shot down on the way home even if you successfully hit the target," Mr. Hadley said. Colonel Nail said threat reaction training, where a signal is received that the plane is being watched by a potential enemy, was identical to situations faced in Desert Storm. Desert Storm will inevitably result in the updat full-scal- e air-to-a- ir Training Range. The Trout Creek tower is up and its revolving radar will be operational after June 3. Most training runs at UTTR are at extremely low altitudes, often only 100 feet above the ground. Old radar systems were only able to look up and track planes flying above the by Donna Davis Hilltop Times staff writer mountains. At lower levels, echo from the mountain itself would white out the screen, so aircraft could not be monitored. Pilot safety and training accuracy are now improved through new radar towers installed at the Utah Test and The new surveillance systems look for a shift in the frequency of the radar signal pulsing back from low-lev- el ft Forct Photo pOuOtf ing of training procedures. The for example, attack plane, slated to be was primarily a removed from Air Force inventory. "The proved to be very effective at higher altitudes as an armored weapon killer, without leaving the pilots sitting ducks," said Mr. Hadley. "I expect to see trainin that specific role ing missions involving the remain in Air Force inventory." and to see the Duane Dickman, 6501st Eagle Range supervisor, said the training exercises utilize tactical targets and three other primary target types. low-flyin- A-1- 0, g A-1- 0 A-1- 0 A-1- 0 day-to-da- y Target types The bomb circle is a marked target 300 feet in diameter with a salvage car or van in the center. Many different maneuvers over the bomb circles measure and improve skills such as speed and diving. Pilots use the bomb circles to identify planes that may have accuracy problems and for first-leve- l training, said Colonel Nail. Strafe targets have parachutes suspended on telephone poles down a runway 350 feet long and 100 feet wide. Used for 20mm gunshot practice, hits are detected by microphones in front of the parachute that record gunfire passing within an arc around the microphone 17 feet wide and 23 feet high. The final target type, called skip targets, places a vehicle at the end of a rectangle 50 feet wide and 200 feet long. Anything within the box counts as a hit, but the goal is to hit the vehicle. The runs are made at only 75 feet above the ground. The 1,800 square miles of UTTR airspace is only a flight across the lake from Hill AFB. The road trip is much longer. Located about 70 miles west of Salt Lake City, the staff of the Eagle Range have attitudes typical of UTTR desert workers. They live in Tooele or Grantsville, more than an hour's commute one way. "I love my work and I love to watch the weather. The desert will change right in front of your eyes," said Penny Rydalch, an ammunition scoring specialist in one of the two towers at the 6501st Eagle Range. "We have fun at our jobs, but we're serious about our work, its purpose and its final outcome," said Judy Weaver, who plots and scores the bombing runs. "You don't have a second chance to repeat a bomb drop. The pilots have to get it right the first time. We're here to help them learn how. Without question, there's stress in this job, but the results 10-minu- te er are worth the effort." On June 12, Eagle Range will host an open house for the public. ' targets. The movement of a plane mounted atop the first high wind-loaacross the valley results in a frequentowers in Air Force inventory. which shift allows the radar to cy One agency estimated it would track the aircraft and not the take three months and $50,000 in mountain. "It comes down to a safety issue temporary duty money to build the for the training pilots," said Gary first tower," said Mr. Heckman. Heckman, the engineer overseeing "The range support contractor did it the installation of the system. "The in only three weeks for half that old radar couldn't track other planes much." in the valley. The pilots had to watch Another tower is scheduled for conout for other planes while trying to struction in June at Bovine Mounconcentrate on improving bombing tain at the UTTR North Range. A skills." .similar type radar will be placed on The radar, with its pedestal, an existing tower at Cedar Mountain weighs 13,300 pounds. It will be at Dugway Proving Ground in July. d |