Gert Kromhout describes one of America’s most important military units in Europe – the 352nd Special Operations Wing
MILITARY 352nd SPECIAL OPERATIONS WING
The 352nd Special Operations Wing (SOW) at RAF Mildenhall, Suffolk, England, is one of two United States Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) units permanently based outside the United States. In March 2015, the wing was upgraded from group status and replaced its ageing Lockheed MC-130H Combat Talon IIs and MC-130Ps Combat Shadows with Bell-Boeing CV-22B Ospreys and MC-130J Commando IIs.
You don’t see the unit in the news that often, and when it gets publicity it rarely brags about its exploits. The wing’s aircraft seldom wear unit emblems as seen on aircraft of the regular United States Air Force and the men and women of AFSOC wouldn’t want it any other way. They are quiet professionals, doing their jobs and getting satisfaction by efficiently executing their often secretive and dangerous missions in hostile territories. In the event of an armed conflict or rising tensions in areas where the United States has interests, you can count on it that AFSOC elements are first to arrive in theatre – or are already there. The wing prides itself on its readiness state, it is the tip of the spear, a US 911 response force if needed. Such units are often called upon to deploy for humanitarian missions in disaster areas and the 352nd is no exception, having been involved in many operations in wartorn areas. However, if one asks its members for recent experiences, they fall silent or are very hesitant to speak. As a rule, the only information about the unit’s exploits available in the public domain are the citations for awards earned during actions that took place many months or even years previously (see ARSON 56, p68). Special tactics operators such as para-rescue jumpers and combat controllers are the most decorated men and women in the United States Air Force.
Wing status
Special Operations Squadrons (SOS) perform a wide collection of special missions and ever since 9/11 have been in high demand. After that horrifying event, AFSOC significantly expanded its capabilities and acquired new equipment. Ageing types such as the MC- 130H Combat Talon II and MC-130P Combat Shadow will have disappeared from the inventory within a couple of years and the same goes for its AC-130H and AC-130U gunships. Newer types have come on stream, such as the Bell-Boeing CV-22B Osprey, Dornier C-146A Wolfhound, Pilatus U-28A and variants of the C-130J. The 352nd said goodbye to its MC-130Hs and MC-130Ps in favour of new Ospreys and Commando IIs, which have been assigned to the 7th SOS and 67th SOS respectively. Other elements of the 352nd are the 321st Special Tactics Squadron (STS), the 352nd Special Operations Support Squadron and the 352nd Special Operations Maintenance Group. Both the 7th and 67th SOS carry out long-range troop transport and resupply missions into hazardous areas at night and in bad weather. The MC-130J is capable of air-to-air refuelling (AAR) CV-22Bs, as well as helicopters, when needed, and both squadrons count humanitarian relief, medical evacuations and non-combatant evacuations among their mission sets.
The 321st STS provides very specialised boots on the ground. According to the squadron’s official mission statement: “[The squadron] provides a fast reaction, rapidly deployable force capable of establishing and providing positive control of the air-toground interface during special operations or conventional missions. Unit combat controllers and pararescuemen conduct the reconnaissance, surveillance, assessment and establishment of assault zone sites and provide air traffic control and longrange secure command and control communications. Additionally, the unit provides combat trauma medical care, personnel recovery and terminal attack control of munitions delivered by fixed and rotary-wing aircraft. The squadron also has special operations weathermen assigned to provide weather support for other military forces.” The unit has crews and aircraft on standby to deploy within 24 hours of notice being given.
The change from group to wing status was a product of the increase in aircraft numbers following the introduction of the Osprey and Commando II. With a unit establishment of ten Ospreys and ten MC-130Js, personnel levels have reached the maximum permitted of 1,200 men and women.
Commando II
The first MC-130J for the 67th SOS, serial number 10-5714 arrived at RAF Mildenhall on June 7, 2013. The Commando II is a modified variant of the C-130J. Its cockpit has an advanced two-pilot flight station with fully integrated digital avionics with 13-colour multifunctional liquid-crystal displays. It also features head-up displays, fully integrated navigation systems with dual inertial navigation system and global positioning system, integrated defensive systems, low-power colour radar and a digital moving map display. The four Rolls-Royce AE2100D3 turboprop engines with six-bladed, all-composite propellers each produce 4,591 shaft horsepower. The aircraft has a digital autopilot, modern fuel, environmental and ice-protection systems and an enhanced cargo-handling system. MC-130Js can be airrefuelled via a standard Universal Air Refueling Receptacle Slipway Installation, and can also transfer fuel using two air refuelling pods suitable for Osprey tiltrotors or helicopters.
Add to this an electro-optical/infrared system, dual SATCOM for voice/data, a loadmaster/ scanner restraint system and a large aircraft infrared countermeasures system selfprotection suite and you get an impression of how well equipped the aircraft is.
Behind the pilots on the starboard side sit the highly trained combat systems operator (CSO pronounced cizzo) and, when needed, an auxiliary crew member for long or difficult missions. As well as navigation, the CSO takes care of the refuelling kit and monitors the engine and aircraft systems, as well as operating all the radio and self-defence gear. Two loadmasters complement the standard five-man crew. Their responsibilities extend beyond the cargo: they are experts on the aircraft’s systems, do maintenance on the flight line and are responsible for pre-flight checks.
During low-level flying, they are seated in comfortable seats behind a large observation window and act as lookout for any threats from the ground or air. From this position or from the ramp (if lowered) they monitor the helicopter air-to-air refuelling/tiltrotor air-to-air refuelling (HAAR/TAAR) process and communicate with the refuelling crew by hand signals during emissions free control AAR operations where radios are not used.
Osprey
The first two CV-22B Ospreys (serial numbers 11-0057 and 11-0058) arrived at Mildenhall two weeks after the first MC-130J, on June 24, 2013. Although they are a common sight around eastern England, they remain weird-looking machines, with their giant, slow-moving rotors that can be tilted to the vertical for take-off and landing. The Osprey partially fills US Special Operations Command, Europe’s vertical airlift capability gap that emerged after the 2007 deactivation of the 21st SOS, also part of the 352nd, and the retirement of its Sikorsky MH-53J/MH-53M Pave Low, heavy-lift helicopters.
The Osprey is self-deployable and offers significant increased speed and range over conventional rotary-wing aircraft, enabling AFSOC to perform long-range special operations missions. The CV-22 is equipped with integrated threat countermeasures, terrain-following radar, forward-looking infrared sensors and other advanced avionics systems that allow it to operate at low altitude in adverse weather conditions and medium to high-threat environments. It can quickly be fitted with a machine gun on the ramp for self-defence.
AFSOC’s CV-22s have a four-man crew: two pilots, and two so-called special mission aviators (SMA). These SMAs are non-commissioned officers with vital roles in the aircraft. One of them sits behind and between the pilots in the cramped cockpit and acts as a flight engineer, playing an important role in controlling the aircraft’s systems, as well as mission planning and management. The other is the loadmaster whose duties include manning the 0.50-calibre gun on the ramp. Each receives the same long, intensive and varied training, so the one could carry out the duties of the other, should one be incapacitated.
Most challenging
The most challenging mission for both aircraft types is low-level flying with night vision goggles at night and in bad weather conditions over irregular terrain. If the task requires it, the wing carries out HAAR/TAAR operations at altitudes lower than 500ft at 115kts (210km/h). In the MC-130J, interaction between the pilot, co-pilot and CSO during such low-level activities has to be very good. Unlike the MC-130H it replaced, the aircraft does not have a terrain following and terrain avoidance (TF/TA) radar to warn the crew of obstacles in its path. Instead, the crew uses a moving map as its main terrain avoidance tool. This comprises a database of terrain features coupled to the aircraft’s navigation system that continuously checks the location of the aircraft and compares it to data in the database. This method requires a continuous dialogue between the CSO and pilots. Unlike their Commando II colleagues, CV-22B crews do have the benefit of a TF/ TA radar. This multimode APQ-186 radar is an improved version of the APQ-174B, fitted to the United States Marine Corps’ MV-22B, which in itself is a derivative of the APN-237A TF radar that is part of the AAQ-13 navigation pod on the F-15E Strike Eagle’s Low-Altitude Navigation and Targeting Infrared for Night system. The APQ-186 features modes for ground mapping, air-to-ground range finding, weather detection, beacon interrogation and multiple cross-scan modes.
Silent Knight
Although the capabilities of current MC-130J and CV-22B radar and TF/TA systems are impressive, they are not in the same league as the APQ-170 radar of the legendary MC- 130H Combat Talon II. However, on its way is a new radar that will give both platforms capabilities way beyond those of the legacy platform, allowing AFSOC to retire this ageing workhorse. Before 2020, Lockheed Martin will install Raytheon’s APQ-187 Silent Knight TF/TA radar aboard every MC-130J in AFSOC’s fleet; its CV-22Bs will receive it as part of the Block 30 upgrade over the same timeframe. Silent Knight is designed to enable special forces aircraft to infiltrate dangerous areas undetected at night and in virtually any weather conditions at very low-level with an acceptable risk level. It also provides the crew with navigation support, ground mapping and weather information. The radar can pick out key details like electrical towers and hightension power lines, while providing pilots with enough warning to avoid them. What’s more, it gives dive and climb cues to the pilots to help them avoid obstacles. The sophisticated weather radar images are presented on colour tactical data displays. Aircraft using Silent Knight can hide in clouds, fog, dust, rain storms and total darkness, and the radar operates at low-power levels to reduce its chances of being detected by enemy passive RF receivers – and it is easy to install. The 352nd SOW will not divulge when it will get its new kit, but the United States Army is fitting Silent Knight to MH-47G Chinooks and MH-60M Black Hawks assigned to the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment.
Extensive training
The many different and often difficult missions the squadrons need to perform demand an extensive and continuous training regime. They frequently deploy for exercises abroad, particularly Eastern Europe and regularly provide detachments for operations in combat areas. In 2016, airmen from the 352nd SOW participated in over 300 exercises, community relations events, partnership development programmes and operational missions. They also supported deployments and contingency taskings in support of US national security objectives. According to 352nd SOW spokesman Capt Chris Sullivan, the wing flew over 6,000 flight hours in FY2017. A typical training flight out of RAF Mildenhall may comprise many different tasks. For instance, a MC-130J mission of six or more hours might incorporate practising evasive manoeuvres over the North Sea, cargo dropping at RAF Sculthorpe, tiltrotor AAR with other MC-130Js and CV-22s, low-level flying in Wales or Scotland and finish up with some simulated assault landings back at Mildenhall, either alone or with another Commando II. It is not uncommon to see an MC-130J land some minutes after take-off only to taxi back to the beginning of the runway and take off again. That seemingly awkward event would probably be to drop off a pilot at the 67th SOS operations building who needed to do a landing to stay proficient. Instead of dedicating a mission to this small but necessary piece of training for that particular pilot, the task is squeezed into a regular training flight for another crew. Being on time and on target is core to the unit’s missions and a source of great professional pride; crews train tirelessly for when things don’t go quite according to plan. Many factors may adversely influence a carefully planned mission: weather, hostiles, technical challenges or changed combat conditions to name a few; all are capable of putting a spanner in the works and crews train intensively for these and other eventualities. Briefings always focus on the many what-ifs that may occur and protocols for dealing with them are discussed at length. Crews are well prepared for emerging inflight surprises.
‘Adapt or perish’ is the motto special operators live by. Despite the high operations tempo, crews love their jobs; the missions are much more challenging than those flown by other non-AFSOC transport or helicopter units. AFSOC personnel have a strong cando mentality and are encouraged, within sensible limits, to use their own initiative to get the job done.
Relocation uncertainty
In 2015, the US Department of Defense announced the closure of RAF Mildenhall and the relocation of its based units to Germany as part of a process called European Infrastructure Consolidation. Such a move would result in the 352nd being located closer to US special operations units primarily based around Stuttgart. However, General Curtis Scaparrotti, Commander of US European Command (EUCOM) told the US Senate Armed Service Committee (SASC) in March 2017 that it faces the most dynamic European security environment in history and that the closure of Mildenhall has been put on hold. In late August, a EUCOM public affairs officer told AIR International there have been no new developments since Scaparrotti’s announcement and he could give no updates about the relocation plans of the 352nd SOW. His colleague at RAF Mildenhall told AIR International that it would be at least 2022–2023 before the move of the 352nd SOW to Spangdahlem Air Base could take place, if it ever happens. The delay has several causes. First, the infrastructure at Spangdahlem needs to be constructed or adapted. Moreover, building approval from German authorities is needed and in the spring of 2017 the United States and Germany were still in negotiations. Another issue is training facilities. In that respect, the UK offers a wealth of opportunities such as multiple low-flying areas with 250ft altitude minimums available day and night – vital for special operations training. Germany has a much higher low-level minimum altitude restriction, while night low-level is prohibited. It seems highly unlikely that Germany will change these restrictions or issue a waiver. The squadrons could transit the North Sea to the UK or fly to Eastern Europe, but both options would add at least two hours of flight time if they were flown from Spangdahlem.
New capabilities
The 352nd is currently at its unit establishment level with regard to aircraft and personnel, but it is not set in stone. Although it is just speculation, it may well be that other aircraft types or capabilities may be added. In his statement to the SASC, General Scaparrotti also said there is an urgent need for more intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance platforms improving timely threat information and strategic warning. RAF Mildenhall accommodates RC-135 electronic intelligence-gathering aircraft, but it would not come as a surprise if the 352nd were to gain a squadron of Beech MC-12 Libertytype aircraft. Another aircraft regularly seen in Europe (particularly at Stuttgart) is the C-146A. This platform provides logistics support for special operation forces. It is much cheaper across its lifetime than a C-130, and in its civilian-like colours it attracts a lot less attention than the Osprey and Hercules. Both the Marine Corps and AFSOC have expressed the need for such a system. Better self-defence weapons are on the Osprey community’s wish list. The type has only one ramp-mounted machine gun firing towards the rear hemisphere; it cannot fire to the front or sides. Bell-Boeing has already experimented with a belly-mounted gun turret and forward-firing missiles and rockets. The United States Marine Corps gets around this deficiency by coupling the Osprey with AH-1 attack helicopters during assault missions when possible. This is not an option for AFSOC. Because the Osprey outstrips the AH-1 in terms of speed, the Marines have expressed an urgent need for an armed escort drone for long-range insertions in hostile environments. It would not come as a surprise if AFSOC developed a similar requirement, especially since an aborted evacuation of US citizens from Sudan in December 2013 resulted in three CV-22s being badly damaged when they were ambushed by defenders. Until then, the type’s speed and careful mission planning were considered to be sufficient to cope with its lack of armament.
ARSON 56
Few AFSOC missions are ever exposed to public scrutiny and when they are it is usually because of crew members being recognised for bravery. The 352nd SOW has earned its fair share of awards in the past and will undoubtedly garner more in the future. The following hair-raising story about a 67th SOS mission call sign ‘ARSON 56’ in an undisclosed area of operations, comes from the nomination citation for the Lt Gen William H Tunner award for the most outstanding airlift crew in the United States Air Force in 2016:
“The mission in question was an on-call, emergency resupply airdrop for US and coalition special operations forces (SOF). Isolated and cut off from conventional means and under hostile fire with an impending overrun from enemy forces moments away, the only remaining means of survival for the SOF team was an immediate resupply from ARSON 56, an MC-130J of the 67th SOS. Despite overwhelming odds and with increased risk due to daylight conditions combined with minimal alert time, the crew responded to a troops-in-contact situation by delivering life-sustaining ammunition and supplies with expert precision while their aircraft was struck by a barrage of enemy fire. The crew’s decisive actions and initiative throughout the constant engagement of enemy ground fire led to the successful resupply of friendly forces, halting further loss of life and preserving a $72 million aircraft and six crew.
“In January 2016, the crew of ARSON 56 was alerted, immediately completed their initial mission planning, loaded 1,600lb [726kg] of airdrop cargo, and departed through mountainous terrain to the objective area. Upon arrival, the joint terminal attack controller (JTAC) notified the crew that he was unable to clear them to conduct the airdrop due to nearby enemy forces engaging the friendly team’s position. The crew was directed to orbit nearby and while doing so, the Combat Systems Officer immediately began reanalysing the objective area, evaluating the surrounding terrain, and determining the most optimal altitude and run-in to maximise airdrop accuracy while minimising aircraft exposure to enemy threats. During this time, enemy activity forced the JTAC to change the airdrop point of impact numerous times, introducing further variables and potential complications not previously addressed by the crew. Eventually, the crew was cleared to conduct the airdrop, only to be turned away again due to hostile fire. Conditions rapidly deteriorated in the objective area and now necessitated an armed escort. The crew then commenced their run-in for the airdrop and at approximately 6 miles [9km] from the release point, the aircraft was joined by two sets of Air Weapons Team escorts to mitigate further risk from enemy engagement. Flying in a dynamic threat environment during daylight hours, engaged by hostile ground forces, and at altitudes less than 800ft above ground level, the crew of ARSON 56 successfully delivered the resupply airdrop bundles within 65ft of their desired point of impact, ensuring the ammunition and supplies were 100% recoverable by the SOF team.
“Immediately after the bundles exited the aircraft, both loadmasters informed the crew they were taking heavy enemy fire from multiple directions and quickly began directing threat manoeuvres to the pilot. At the same time, the JTAC informed the crew he observed intense ground fire directed at the aircraft. Due to its configuration for the airdrop, the aircraft was in a low energy state with limited manoeuvrability. Knowing this, the pilot manoeuvred the aircraft out of the weapon engagement zone while the co-pilot reconfigured the aircraft to reduce drag, quickly restoring the aircraft to full manoeuvrability. Once the aircraft was fully reconfigured, the pilot conducted a rapid climb to manoeuvre away from the threat. The crew then landed at a nearby forward operating base to conduct a physical inspection of the aircraft and provide on-call casualty evacuation for the SOF team under fire. Upon landing, the loadmasters conducted a battle damage assessment of the aircraft and found a medium calibre entry hole in the tail section of the aircraft along with multiple entry and exit holes through the rudder. Even though they had knowledge of the direct enemy threat in the area, and increased risk due to operating at low altitudes and during daylight hours, the crew of ARSON 56 displayed unparalleled courage, ingenuity and decisiveness to complete their lifesaving resupply mission to support the SOF team under attack. The flawless execution of this combat resupply airdrop by the crew of ARSON 56 not only proved instrumental to the final rescue of the besieged SOF team, but [also] helped to achieve national-level objectives in Afghanistan.”
Such a UAV-Osprey pairing may already be in use, not with the Marines or AFSOC but with the US Army. Heavily modified black or very dark grey, Ospreys flying in formation with a twin-tail boom, tiltrotor-propelled, UAV, most probably belonging to the United States Army’s 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, have been spotted in the Syria-Iraq area of operations. It would be quite a sight seeing such a formation land at Mildenhall one day. AI
