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Orange Flag evaluates teamwork, interoperability across services

  • Published
  • 412th Operations Group

It takes a team to get things done. Last month, team Edwards, along with Navy and Marine teammates, came together for a coordinated, multi-service flight test event known as Orange Flag.

 

Twenty-eight aircraft gathered in the skies above the Mojave Desert during the three-hour test event named after the symbolic color of flight test—orange.

 

The test aircraft, outfitted with data-gathering gear, launched from Edwards Air Force Base, Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, Naval Air Station Point Mugu, and Nellis AFB, Nevada.

 

 According to Lt. Col. Richard Turner, F-35 pilot and 412 Operations Group deputy commander, Orange Flag tests the interoperability of the services’ fighters, bombers, and Command-and-Control aircraft. Cooperation between Developmental Test and Operational Test, or combined DT-OT, have proven successful in the past for both the Air Force and Navy but were primarily focused on testing a single aircraft type such as the F-18 or F-22.

 

Orange Flag represents a collaborative effort not only between DT and OT, but across the Air Force, Navy, and Marines.

 

“The ‘developmental’ objectives were developed by the 412th Test Wing here, the 96th Test Wing at Eglin AFB, Florida, and the Navy’s VX-31 Test Squadron at NAWS China Lake. The ‘operational’ objectives came from the 53rd Test Wing at Nellis, and the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) Operational Test Team at Edwards,” said Turner.

 

Personnel tested eight different types of aircraft: F-35As and F-35Bs (Air Force and Marine variants), F-18E Super Hornets, F-18G Growlers, E-2C Hawkeyes, F-22 Raptors, F-15C Eagles, F-15E Strike Eagles and F-16 Fighting Falcons. Additionally, a ground station participated in support of B-1 developmental testing.

 

Merging all of these objectives took the efforts of test pilots, engineers, and airspace operators. Turner led the innovative approach to testing the highly complex system(s).

 

 “This was an important advance in how we vet our weapon systems in DT and OT,” Turner said. “Orange Flag required a huge team effort and I look forward to seeing it impact the warfighter in the future.”

 

Test engineer Kristofer Peterson noted that the value of the unique data set generated during the test brings to light issues that may have previously been unknown, which could potentially bring about innovation after the data is evaluated and leveraged.

 

 “The dataset will allow us to quickly identify issues across multiple platforms and even uncover issues we previously didn’t know about,” he said. “However, to do this we require new analysis methods and we plan on leveraging the lessons learned from a data analytics innovation project funded by the test wing this past year.”

 

Interoperability engineer Matt Smerk also commented on the unique value of the Orange Flag Events. "We must be able to integrate and interoperate our joint forces across a wide range of mission areas. OFEs enable the test community to capture data to assess the military utility of integrating and interoperating multiple platforms in an environment not done via traditional DT."

 

A key component for any exercise or test maneuver the Air Force does is the air space. Lieutenant Col. Chris Buckley, 412th Operations Support Squadron Commander, oversees the restricted airspace which hosted the event.

 

“The airspace was designed to test 1950’s technology,” said Buckley. “We’ve made spectacular headway turning it into a place we can test modern systems, but only one at a time. The sheer volume of aircraft working together was a real concern. This event really tested the environment we need to do large-scale interoperability testing. This was the day our restricted airspace grew up and entered the 21st century.”

 

Orange Flag, its design and implementation, is the product of an overall “core strategy” developed by the 412th’s Operations Group that seeks to optimize the use of test resources in support of Global Power, Reach, and Vigilance, according to Chris Klug, 412th OG technical advisor.

 

“Our core strategy is resource optimization, and Orange Flag represents one of the best uses of our resources that I have seen in my time as a tester, said Klug.

 

The planning included 10 organizations distributed across five different locations. This year’s Orange Flag served as an example of successful distributed test operations, with control rooms at Edwards and China Lake ensuring effective test setup and execution of operations originating from Edwards, China Lake, Nellis, Eglin and Pt. Mugu.

 

Future Orange Flag events are scheduled to occur each quarter starting in February 2018.

Slide show

Orange Flag evaluates teamwork, interoperability across services

  • Published
  • 412th Operations Group

It takes a team to get things done. Last month, team Edwards, along with Navy and Marine teammates, came together for a coordinated, multi-service flight test event known as Orange Flag.

 

Twenty-eight aircraft gathered in the skies above the Mojave Desert during the three-hour test event named after the symbolic color of flight test—orange.

 

The test aircraft, outfitted with data-gathering gear, launched from Edwards Air Force Base, Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, Naval Air Station Point Mugu, and Nellis AFB, Nevada.

 

 According to Lt. Col. Richard Turner, F-35 pilot and 412 Operations Group deputy commander, Orange Flag tests the interoperability of the services’ fighters, bombers, and Command-and-Control aircraft. Cooperation between Developmental Test and Operational Test, or combined DT-OT, have proven successful in the past for both the Air Force and Navy but were primarily focused on testing a single aircraft type such as the F-18 or F-22.

 

Orange Flag represents a collaborative effort not only between DT and OT, but across the Air Force, Navy, and Marines.

 

“The ‘developmental’ objectives were developed by the 412th Test Wing here, the 96th Test Wing at Eglin AFB, Florida, and the Navy’s VX-31 Test Squadron at NAWS China Lake. The ‘operational’ objectives came from the 53rd Test Wing at Nellis, and the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) Operational Test Team at Edwards,” said Turner.

 

Personnel tested eight different types of aircraft: F-35As and F-35Bs (Air Force and Marine variants), F-18E Super Hornets, F-18G Growlers, E-2C Hawkeyes, F-22 Raptors, F-15C Eagles, F-15E Strike Eagles and F-16 Fighting Falcons. Additionally, a ground station participated in support of B-1 developmental testing.

 

Merging all of these objectives took the efforts of test pilots, engineers, and airspace operators. Turner led the innovative approach to testing the highly complex system(s).

 

 “This was an important advance in how we vet our weapon systems in DT and OT,” Turner said. “Orange Flag required a huge team effort and I look forward to seeing it impact the warfighter in the future.”

 

Test engineer Kristofer Peterson noted that the value of the unique data set generated during the test brings to light issues that may have previously been unknown, which could potentially bring about innovation after the data is evaluated and leveraged.

 

 “The dataset will allow us to quickly identify issues across multiple platforms and even uncover issues we previously didn’t know about,” he said. “However, to do this we require new analysis methods and we plan on leveraging the lessons learned from a data analytics innovation project funded by the test wing this past year.”

 

Interoperability engineer Matt Smerk also commented on the unique value of the Orange Flag Events. "We must be able to integrate and interoperate our joint forces across a wide range of mission areas. OFEs enable the test community to capture data to assess the military utility of integrating and interoperating multiple platforms in an environment not done via traditional DT."

 

A key component for any exercise or test maneuver the Air Force does is the air space. Lieutenant Col. Chris Buckley, 412th Operations Support Squadron Commander, oversees the restricted airspace which hosted the event.

 

“The airspace was designed to test 1950’s technology,” said Buckley. “We’ve made spectacular headway turning it into a place we can test modern systems, but only one at a time. The sheer volume of aircraft working together was a real concern. This event really tested the environment we need to do large-scale interoperability testing. This was the day our restricted airspace grew up and entered the 21st century.”

 

Orange Flag, its design and implementation, is the product of an overall “core strategy” developed by the 412th’s Operations Group that seeks to optimize the use of test resources in support of Global Power, Reach, and Vigilance, according to Chris Klug, 412th OG technical advisor.

 

“Our core strategy is resource optimization, and Orange Flag represents one of the best uses of our resources that I have seen in my time as a tester, said Klug.

 

The planning included 10 organizations distributed across five different locations. This year’s Orange Flag served as an example of successful distributed test operations, with control rooms at Edwards and China Lake ensuring effective test setup and execution of operations originating from Edwards, China Lake, Nellis, Eglin and Pt. Mugu.

 

Future Orange Flag events are scheduled to occur each quarter starting in February 2018.

Edwards provides care, opportunities for children aged six weeks through high school graduation

Edwards provides care, opportunities for childrenaged six weeks through high school graduation

The Child and Youth Program at Edwards AFB provides care and opportunities for kids ages six weeks old through high school graduation. A brief summary of those services follows:

  •                    The Child Development Center cares for children ages 6 weeks to 5 years, with a DOD-wide curriculum. The curriculum is focused on learning through play activities supporting social, emotional, physical and intellectual development. Installations across DOD follow the curriculum on the same timeline to allow seamless permanent change-of-station transitions for youth enrolled in care.
  •                    The School Age Center provides before and after-school care and summer camp for children ages 5 to 12. During school breaks, full-day camps are offered. SAC promotes cognitive, social, emotional, cultural, language and physical development through programs that encourage self-confidence, curiosity, self-discipline and resiliency.
  •                    The open recreation program at the Main Youth Center provides a safe space for ages 9 to 12 to attend after school. Programs include Power Hour, STEM, Torch Club, social recreation, youth camps, special events and more.
  •                    The youth sports program provides intro and league opportunities for ages 3 to 12, and promotes inclusiveness, self-discipline, commitment, resiliency and social skills. There are four sports offered annually for ages five to 12: baseball/softball, soccer, flag football and basketball. Smart start programs are available to ages 3 to 5. There are many other sports and camps offered throughout the year.
  •                    The Teen Center is available for ages 13 to 18 during the school year. Programs offered include Military Youth of the Year, Keystone Club, social recreation, STEM activities, college trips, leadership camps and more.
  •                    Youth programs (SAC, open rec and teen) are affiliated with the Boys and Girls Clubs of America and 4-H.
  •                    Family Child Care homes – there are currently three FCC homes on the installation. They can provide care for ages two weeks to 12 years. FCC providers are trained by Child and Youth Program training and curriculum specialists and have the flexibility to determine their hours of operation and the ages of youth within their care. The program’s new dedicated manager, Jennifer Stegmann, may be reached at 661-275-7529.

Although CDC enrollment capacity is 317, not all slots are currently filled because of a shortage of childcare workers. School Age Center enrollment capacity is 156. After-school care enrollment is 130. Before-school care enrollment is 75. Summer Camp 2022 was at its capacity and enrollment for Summer Camp 2023 opens April 3.