USAF and JASDF complete Black Hawk air refuelling exercise

Members of the US Air Froce (USAF) 353rd Special Operations Group from Kadena Air Base, Japan, built on relationships with the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) Hamamatsu Air Rescue Squadron based at Komaki Air Base and Komatsu Air Rescue Squadron, during Exercise Teak Jet, which took place 9-21 June at Yokota Air Base, Japan, the USAF reports.

“The primary focus of Exercise Teak Jet was working with our combined partners from JASDF’s Rescue Squadrons,” said USAF Capt. Altay Savrun, mission commander for the exercise. “We performed helicopter air-to-air refuelling (HAAR) to JASDF UH-60J Black Hawk helicopters from our USAF MC-130J Commando II and MC-130H Combat Talon II.”

Throughout the 10-day event, the Air Commandos flew over the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan to meet JASDF UH-60Js and execute HAAR training missions, said the USAF.

“The procedure of HAAR is standardised worldwide,” said JASDF Maj. Hirotaka Nakamura, Komatsu Air Rescue Squadron UH-60J pilot. “Training with the 353rd SOG gave us an opportunity to train and to become familiarised with various types of refuelling aircraft. The training allows us to understand each other’s method of operations, establish our standard procedures and improve our capabilities at the same time.”

A key objective of this particular exercise was night HAAR using night vision goggles (NVG). “This is the first time we’ve ever done a night-time helicopter air refuelling with JASDF Rescue Squadrons over mainland Japan,” said Savrun. “It’s a big first step for us because disasters obviously go on day or night and we need to be ready to respond to whatever happens, 24/7.”

JASDF UH-60J crew members also had challenging opportunities during night HAAR trainings with NVG. “The 353rd SOG members are highly trained with night operations capabilities and utilise them in the real-world.” said Nakamura. “For [the JASDF], having to communicate in English during the flight is an extra burden that we never have to worry about in our day-to-day routine. What’s more, a HAAR training with NVG is more challenging for us. It gave us a great opportunity to improve our comprehensive HAAR capabilities.”

Savrun added: “A helicopter is extremely range limited, so if there is any kind of disaster that occurs a great distance off-shore, they are not able to get there unless they either land on a ship to get gas or we provide air-to-air refuelling. The bottom line is that refuelling helicopters in the air allows them to fly longer and carry more, thus delivering more lifesaving supplies and providing medical evacuations (MEDVAC) as required.”

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