SBS뉴스

■ 일본에 美 원정공격군(遠征攻擊群)[ESG, Expeditionary Strike Group]





일본 사세보(佐世保) 기지(基地)에 배치(配置)되어 있는 美 강습양륙부대(强襲揚陸部隊)를 원정공격군(遠征攻擊群)[ESG, Expeditionary Strike Group]으로 신설(新設)한다는 방침(方針)에 따라, 이 원정공격군의 핵심(核心)이 되는 강습양륙함(强襲揚陸艦, Amphibious Assault Ship) 「에세ㄱ스(USS Essex)」[LHD 2]가 최근(最近)까지 업그레이드(upgrade)를 마치고, 8월22일 테스트(test)를 위해 사세보를 떠났다.





테스트 후에는, 원정공격군이 본격적(本格的)으로 기동(起動)하게 될 것으로 보인다.





일본에 배치되는 원정공격군은, 요코스카(橫須賀)의 이지스함(Aegis Ship)과 괌섬(Guam Island))의 공격형원자력잠수함(攻擊型原子力潛水艦) 등 전투함(戰鬪艦) 4척(隻)으로 대지공격(對地攻擊)을 하면서, 오키나와(沖繩)에 주둔(駐屯)하고 있는 美 해병대(海兵隊)를 상륙(上陸)시키는 임무(任務)를 맡게 된다.





이것은 북조선(北朝鮮)에 대한 강한 압력수단(壓力手段)인 동시(同時)에, 한반도(韓半島) 유사(有事)에 대비(對備)한 것이라고 볼 수 있다.








▶ [STARS AND STRIPES]





After upgrades, Essex again fit for sea





By Greg Tyler, Stars and Stripes





Pacific edition, Monday, September 1, 2003





SASEBO NAVAL BASE, Japan - Following a summer of upgrades


and maintenance, the USS Essex is under way in the Sea of


Japan with a new skipper.





The amphibious-assault ship left Sasebo's India Basin pier


on Aug. 22 with Capt. Jan M. van Tol in command. He replaced


Capt. Ronald R. Evans during a change-of-command ceremony


that day.





Van Tol came to the Essex from the Office of the Secretary


of Defense in Washington, having served as the senior


military assistant to the net assessment director.





Before taking the helm in April 2002, Evans served as the


ship's executive officer. His next assignment is assistant


deputy director for information operations with the Joint


Staff in Washington.





"The ship is under way … testing systems - combat


information, engineering - that were repaired during SRA


[Selected Restricted Availability]," said Lt. j.g. Jereal


Dorsey, a Commander, Amphibious Task Force 76 spokesman.





After testing, the Essex and its crew will assume a role as


an Expeditionary Strike Group flagship, leading several


amphibious ships, an Aegis-capable cruiser and destroyer, a


frigate and a nuclear-powered attack submarine.





Repairs and refurbishing of the 845-foot multipurpose


amphibious-assault vessel cost $15.2 million.





Along with a crew exceeding 1,000 sailors, more than 200


high-tech equipment contractors from the United States and


Japanese workers from Sasebo's Ship Repair Facility


completed about 2,400 upgrades and maintenance tasks.





The biggest challenge was organizing and scheduling the


jobs, said Cmdr. Bill Edge, who coordinated the effort.





The work included laying new non-skid surfacing on the 820-


foot flight deck, hangar deck and aircraft elevators, he


said. Flight deck lighting, electrical power and aircraft


landing systems also were replaced.





A 232-rack berthing area was also overhauled and crew


lounges were refurbished and outfitted with high-speed


Internet connections, computer desks, bookshelves and


entertainment centers.





Workers overhauled a major boiler and installed a multi-


circuit digital patch panel for communications, according to


a report issued by CTF-76.





"There's more personal space in the berthing," said Airman


Elizabeth Karnofsky of V-3 department, part of the aviation


division. "The lounge is nice, too, because it's a closed-in


area. So if people want to stay up and watch TV, they can


just close the door and the noise won't bother anybody."





Representatives from the Naval Air Systems Command field


office at Yokosuka Naval Base inspected the Essex in August.





In an Aug. 12 CTF-76 report, the Essex was determined fit


for the seas.





"If we don't get certified, we're not able to fly," Chief


Petty Officer Vick Smith, an aviation boatswain's mate, said


in the report.





The Essex also completed Aviation Readiness Qualification,


which requires the crew to conduct several drills, including


flight deck, fuel pump room and hangar bay firefighting.





Ensign Paul Dussault, the aircraft handling officer, said


sailors drilled every day for several weeks before the


inspections.





"It's like a play," he said. "You put everyone in place and


you practice, practice, practice."





The Essex crew successfully qualified for ARQ at a level


that puts them well ahead of their certification schedule,


the report said.





The Essex's schedule as a forward-deployed ship was a hurdle


in planning maintenance and upgrades.





"Our SRAs come fast and furious. We operate right up until


the week before the SRA starts," said Lt. Cmdr. Bill


Carroll, ship superintendent. "The ship is back out


operating and training the week that it's over. The time


crunch comes into play a lot more here than it does in the


states."





http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=17281














■ 주한(駐韓) 美 공군(空軍), 6개월 동안 야간전투비행훈련(夜間戰鬪飛行訓練)





군산(群山)에 주둔(駐屯)하고 있는 美 제7공군(7th Air Force) 제8전투비행단(8th Fighter Wing) 소속(所屬) 제35전투비행대대(35th Fighter Squadron)·제80전투비행대대(80th Fighter Squadron)의 F-16 파일럿(pilot)들을 대상(對象)으로, 2003년 10월부터 2004년 3월까지 6개월 동안, 야시장비(夜視裝備)[NVG, Night Vision Goggle]를 사용(使用)한 야간전투비행훈련(夜間戰鬪飛行訓練)을 실시(實施)한다.





6개월 동안 파일럿들은, 야간(夜間)에 폭격(爆擊)[폭탄투하(爆彈投下)]과 적기요격(敵機邀擊) 등 기본적(基本的)인 공중전(空中戰) 임무(任務)를 훈련하게 된다.





그리고, 동(同) 전투비행대대(戰鬪飛行大隊)의 F-16C에 대해서는 스마트폭탄(Smart Bomb)을 투하(投下)할 수 있도록 업그레이드(upgrade)가 최근(最近)에 모두 이루어졌고, 7월2일 직도섬[전북 군산시 육도면 말도리 앞바다]에서 제80전투비행대대의 F-16C Block 30으로부터 JDAM(Joint Direct Attack Munition) 2발(發)을 투하하는 훈련을 실시(實施)했다.








▶ [STARS AND STRIPES]





6 months of night-flying training set in S. Korea





By Franklin Fisher, Stars and Stripes





Pacific edition, Sunday, August 31, 2003





TAEGU, South Korea - The commander of Kunsan Air Base's 8th


Operations Group is putting two squadrons of F-16 pilots on


a six-month, night-flying schedule for practice in the


rigors of night combat flying - including use of night


vision goggles.





Air Force Col. Kurt Neubauer, an F-16 pilot with more than


20 years of experience, knows how difficult it is to fly


while encumbered with the NVGs.





"I'm shifting our focus from, I would say, a veneer of night


flying, to more of an in-depth and robust night-flying


training program," Neubauer said.





The 8th Fighter Wing's 35th Fighter Squadron and 80th


Fighter Squadron will take part in the training from October


to March.





"In order to get enough seasoning, where my pilots are more


comfortable and better prepared to actually fly at night,


it's one of those things - you've got to do it to actually


get better at it," Neubauer said.





The goggles look like binoculars fitted in front of the


eyes, much like glasses, that protrude several inches from


the pilot's face.





Though a major tactical advantage - the pilots can see


targets and other objects in the dark - the goggles restrict


the field of vision.





"It's a lot busier at night … because" the field of


vision "is so limited," Neubauer said. "Imagine holding two


toilet paper tubes up to your eyes."





Neubauer said part of the challenge of flying with the


goggles is the need to do two things almost at once: looking


outside the plane for positional awareness and keeping an


eye on the radar and aircraft instruments inside the plane.





"Obviously … daytime is a lot easier. At night, it's a much


more methodical and deliberate cross-check. I just need to


get more experience on my youngsters doing that," he said.





The pilots will practice an array of standard combat-air


missions, balancing their ground-attack mission - dropping


bombs - with such air-to-air tasks as intercepting hostile


aircraft.





"We'll still fly day sorties over this time frame," Neubauer


said, but the bulk of the flying will be at night.





And it'll involve the entire wing, he said, including ground


crews and support personnel.





The ground crews will focus mainly on night-safety practices.





"Safety on the flight line is a big difference at night,"


said Tech. Sgt. Wil Hoffman, a flight-line maintenance


supervisor with the 80th Aircraft Maintenance Unit, 8th


Aircraft Maintenance Squadron.





"We have reflector belts, but you're wearing a dark uniform


on a dark macadam road, so visibility is not great. So


everybody needs to make sure they slow down and take their


time doing what they're doing."





http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=16592&archive=true














■ 주한 美 공군 스마트폭탄 투하 훈련





군산(群山)에 주둔(駐屯)하고 있는 美 제7공군(7th Air Force) 제8전투비행단(8th Fighter Wing) 소속(所屬) 제35전투비행대대(35th Fighter Squadron)·제80전투비행대대(80th Fighter Squadron)의 F-16C에 스마트폭탄(Smart Bomb)을 투하(投下)할 수 있는 장치에 대한 업그레이드(upgrade)를 최근까지 마치고, 4월7일 사담 후세인(Saddam Hussein)의 벙커(bunker)를 타격(打擊)할 때 사용했던 것과 같은 JDAM(Joint Direct Attack Munition) 2발을 제80전투비행대대의 F-16C Block 30으로부터 투하하는 훈련을, 7월2일 직도섬[전북 군산시 육도면 말도리 앞바다]에서 실시(實施)했다고 美 군사신문과 美 태평양 공군 뉴스가 보도했다.





제8전투비행단은 JDAM을 투하할 수 있는 장치에 대한 업그레이드를, 제35전투비행대대 F-16C Block 40은 2002년에, 제80전투비행대대 F-16C Block 30은 최근에 마쳤다고 한다.








▶ [STARS AND STRIPES]





AF fighter wing doubles 'smart' bomb ability





By Franklin Fisher, Stars and Stripes





Pacific edition, Friday, July 18, 2003





TAEGU, South Korea - A U.S. Air Force fighter wing in South


Korea has doubled its ability to drop high-tech "smart"


bombs.





The bombs pinpoint targets without being aimed by the pilot


and are the same type used in the April 7 air strike against


what was thought to have been Saddam Hussein's bunker in


Baghdad.





A recent high-tech equipment upgrade means all F-16 fighters


in Kunsan Air Base's 8th Fighter Wing can now attack targets


with the JDAM, or joint direct attack munition, said 1st Lt.


Herb McConnell, a wing spokesman.





Until recently, only one of the wing's squadrons had been


fitted with the gear needed to employ JDAMs.





Upgrades were completed recently to the F-16Cs of the wing's


80th Fighter Squadron, which flies the aircraft's Block 30


variant. The wing's other combat unit, the 35th Fighter


Squadron, got the upgrade about a year ago. It flies the


Block 40 variant.





Pilots simply feed the target's map coordinates into the


JDAM's inboard computer, release the bomb, and fly off, a


process known as "fire and forget," said Lt. Col. Eric


Schnitzer, the 80th's commanding officer.





The bomb's high-tech gear finds those coordinates with the


help of global positioning satellites, and homes in on the


target, he said.





"The big benefit is, you can't hide now," said


Schnitzer. "We can strike it all-weather, we can strike it


day-night, we can strike it if you try to put up a


smokescreen, we can strike it if you try and hide it in a


place that's not easy for us to pick out."





Both squadrons already had the ability to use other types of


high-tech munitions, like laser-guided bombs.





Schnitzer made a July 2 practice flight dropping two JDAMs


on a bombing range on South Korea's Chik-Do Island. The


inert training bombs don't explode. Both went straight to


their targets, Schnitzer said.





"What really sets it apart is, it has its own navigation


system in the bomb," said Schnitzer. "Basically what that


bomb is doing is going toward the set of coordinates we told


it to, which means I don't have to actually look at the


target for the bomb to hit near-precision."





Schnitzer's squadron would have eventually been fitted with


the gear needed to drop JDAMs.





But they got it early thanks to the Iraqi war, said


Schnitzer.





Loading a JDAM is little different from loading other bombs,


said Staff Sgt. Dane Bressler of the 80th Aircraft


Maintenance Unit. The JDAM takes maybe 45 to 50 minutes,


some 15 minutes longer than other types because its smart-


bomb technology requires a special cable hookup.





Schnitzer became the first active-duty U.S. Air Force pilot


to drop a JDAM from a Block 30 on July 2.





That's something Bressler's crew didn't know when they


loaded Schnitzer's aircraft the night before.





"We had no idea…until the next day," said Senior Airman Ian


Owens, part of Bressler's crew. "The only instruction we


were given by our boss was, 'Hey, there's two JDAMs that


have to be loaded.' We just did it as we would normally do


it when we train."





http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=16573








▶ [PACIFIC AIR FORCES NEWS SERVICE]





Wolf Pack F-16 drops the bomb





By Capt. Krista Carlos





8th Fighter Wing Public Affairs





July 8, 2003





A new precision weapon capability was introduced to the 80th


Fighter Squadron today when an F-16C dropped two joint


direct attack munitions over Chik-Do Island, Republic of


Korea.





Lieutenant Col. Eric Schnitzer, 80th FS commander, made


history by becoming the first active-duty pilot to drop


JDAMs from a block 30 F-16C.





"JDAMs are standard bombs with a guidance kit attached,"


said Colonel Schnitzer. "They have inertial navigation


systems and GPS receivers that tell the bomb its exact


position and that of the target."





"They also give us all-weather, near precision capability to


kill fixed targets day or night," said Col. Kurt Neubauer,


8th Operations Group Commander. "Inertially-guided munitions


like JDAM provide greater flexibility and lethality to the


air component commander."





Although JDAM is a new capability to the 80th FS, it is not


a completely new system for the Wolf Pack.





"Here at Kunsan, we have two different types of F-16s," said


Colonel Schnitzer. "The Pantons [35th Fighter Squadron] have


the block 40s, and last year they got the capability. We


just got the capability for active-duty block 30s"





"The flight went very well today," said Colonel


Schnitzer. "All systems worked great, and we hit the spot on


the target."





The introduction of JDAM to the 80th FS will double the


squadron's precision capability as well as increase the 8th


Fighter Wing's by 25 percent, said Colonel Schnitzer.





"Now we don't have to plan for different weather back ups,"


he said. "Both squadrons will have the same capability to


take the fight north."





http://www2.hickam.af.mil/pacaf/news/2003/200307/2003204.htm














(끝)