Dyess B-1B Lancers take charge in Razor Talon

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Kedesha Pennant
  • 7th Bomb Wing Public Affairs
DYESS AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  Team Dyess Airmen and B-1B Lancers took the lead role in Razor Talon, a joint-integration exercise off the coast of North Carolina, Nov. 14.

Units from Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C., Langley Air Force Base, Va., and Shaw Air Force Base, S.C., teamed up with Dyess to employ targeting techniques that would be used in a real battle for air superiority.

The exercise simulated an environment where global positioning system (GPS) technology had been confiscated, causing the pilots to fly unsighted. Adding an additional challenge, participants had to plan for the mission while being geographically separated.

"Our mission objective was to strike targets in a GPS-denied environment, which is derived from contested degraded operations (CDO), on the first day of a mock war," Chitwood said. "A CDO environment may entail scenarios such as no freedom of movement, GPS jamming or broken equipment on the aircraft."

Several briefs that included participants from each base were conducted via virtual teleconference to plan the exercise. On the day of the exercise, B-1B Lancers, F-16 Fighting Falcons, F-22 Raptors, F-15E Strike Eagles and other aircraft were flown out to the Atlantic Coast to carry out the mission. 

"The purpose of Razor Talon was to integrate everyone's training into one combined force," said Maj. Adam Chitwood, 28th Bomb Squadron chief of weapons and tactics. "We don't go into war as a lone aircraft type. Razor Talon provided Dyess an opportunity to train and learn with other units and we'll be able to apply this experience to future exercises and deployments."

During Razor Talon, Dyess Airmen were tasked to gain and maintain air superiority, degrade enemy command and control facilities, inhibit coastal and air defense operations for continuous follow-on operations, and limit enemy ground force's capability to launch counteroffensive operations.

"Each aircraft had a specific role in the scenario," Chitwood said. "The B-1s and F-15Es served as strikers, the F-16s provided suppression of enemy air defenses support, while the F-22s provided escort support."

A computer-generated map served as a visual for all units during a video teleconference, showing how the sortie should look.

"If we can build a common picture on how the air war should appear, then our ability to integrate is going to be a lot easier," Chitwood said.

The geographic separation during planning and debrief realistically simulates how strike packages plan in a deployed environment.  Another benefit of the geographic separation is that it decreases the significant temporary duty assignment costs typically associated with other large force exercise integration opportunities.

According to Maj. Dusten Weathers, 4th Operations Support Squadron Razor Talon mission coordinator, Razor Talon is cost efficient because aircraft and crews depart their base for the exercise and return the same day.

"This is the way of the future," added Capt. Jeffrey Spinney, 28th BS assistant chief of training. "It's more realistic to plan a mission from our respective locations and come together as one force, rather than being huddled around in the same room."

After Razor Talon was complete, units returned to their respective bases to debrief the mission.

"All of the phases from mission planning, to briefing, then executing the plan, were eye-opening," Spinney said. "It proved to be challenging, but it's important to generate those lessons learned and be able to teach and train others."

The emphasis on developing clear expectations on the location of each aircraft and disseminating data back and forth in a timely manner, Chitwood said, is part of what made this exercise successful.