This article appeared in the January 1999 issue of Code One Magazine.
"The skills our students will learn here may ultimately keep them alive during a conflict," says Maj. Dag Olav Kleppestø, the commanding officer of the 332 Squadron, "and allow them to complete their missions. We take our jobs very seriously. When the students leave here, we want to ensure that they are the best fighter pilots in Norway."
The coursework is designed to teach new pilots how to fly and how to fight in the MLU aircraft. The training syllabus covers the delivery of air-to-ground weapons, which makes the 322 the only squadron in RNoAF that trains tactics for both air defense and air-to-ground operations. Students are taught tactics in the delivery of Mk-82s, CRV-7 antishipping rockets, and the Norwegian-built Penguin missile. The air defense phase covers the basics behind the tactics and employment of air-to-air weapons, such as the AIM-9 Sidewinder and AIM-120 AMRAAM. Students finishing the course graduate at wingman level and attain a limited combat readiness state.
Eleven instructor pilots are currently assigned to the squadron. This number should increase later in 1999. In addition to these instructors, the squadron can also call upon other pilots on base to teach as necessary, such as Lt. Col. Heiestad, the operations group commander. The depth of experience within the 332 Squadron is extensive. Instructors average around 900 hours of flight time. At 1,900 hours, Kleppestø ranks the highest in the squadron in pilot hours. Pilots average about 140 flight hours per year or about ten to fifteen hours a month. Integrating the new aircraft has increased that number slightly.
The squadron roll call lists a few one-of-a-kind members: a graduate of the Fighter Weapons Instructor Training (Europe's equivalent of USAF's Weapons School at Nellis); a graduate of NATO's Tactical Leadership Program; the first female fighter pilot in the RNoAF, Capt. Mette Grøtteland; and an American exchange pilot, Capt. Bill Jacobus. The 332 has hosted an American pilot for a number of years. Jacobus' previous assignment at Eielson AFB, Alaska, prepared him well for the weather at Rygge.
The highly capable instructor staff dovetails the advanced capabilities the MLU F-16 brings to the RNoAF. The modular mission computer replaces three other computers and provides faster processing and more growth capacity. A new version of the APG-66 radar, the APG-66(V)2, improves detection and tracking range and allows more targets to be tracked. Other MLU-related equipment includes an improved data modem, a miniaturized global positioning system, a digital terrain system, an advanced identification friend or foe interrogator, wide-angle head-up display, color multifunction cockpit displays, up-front controls, and Block 50-style sidestick and throttle controllers. In addition, cockpit lighting is more compatible with night-vision systems. MLU F-16s also have provisions for microwave landing systems and helmet-mounted displays.
One of the most appreciated additions for pilots at the 332 Squadron is the continued emphasis on the hands-on-throttle-and-stick controls. The new controllers allow for about twice as many switch positions as the older controllers they replaced. These controls allow pilots to keep their eyes focused either outside the cockpit or on one of the two new color multifunction displays. Once pilots become familiar with the various new combinations of switches, they can perform tasks much faster and more efficiently. "I would have to say that these extensive upgrades put the MLU jet equal to, if not slightly better than, the Block 40 F-16," says American exchange pilot Jacobus, who flew Block 40s at Eielson.
The F-16s from the 332 usually fly against F-16s from the 338 Squadron based farther north at Ørland. The squadrons meet halfway, fight, and then return home. The 332 also uses F-5s from the 336 Tiger Squadron at Rygge for aerial combat. These fully upgraded F-5s, equipped with a head-up display, laser navigation system, along with other improvements, make excellent air-to-air adversaries. Rygge's F-5s are much sought after as adversaries by other squadrons around Norway and abroad.
The 332 deploys about three times every year. Two of these deployments are usually within Norway. Deployments outside of Norway are mostly to other NATO countries. "We deployed to Torrejon, Spain, in 1997 and flew against Spain's F-18s, which provided some excellent dissimilar aircraft training," says Kleppestø. "During the last year, however, we have not deployed as often because we have been concentrating on the new aircraft."
The deployment moratorium ended last November when the 332 took several of its MLU F-16s to Iceland to fly against F-15Cs from Mountain Home AFB, Idaho. "This deployment to Iceland was part of the MLU conversion program," Kleppestø offers. "The experience gave our new instructors a chance to put into practice some of the tactics they have been developing since they started flying the MLU jets."
The summer weather around Rygge can be nice with a stable weather pattern and an average temperature of sixty degrees Fahrenheit. The winters, on the other hand, can become extremely cold and harsh. Visibility is often reduced substantially from snowstorms that also ice the runways. With fjords on one side of the base and a lake on the other, fog regularly impinges on flying operations during the winter as well. As severe as winter weather gets, it rarely interrupts F-16 operations in Norway. Weather that would shut down fighter units in other countries does not phase Norwegian F-16 operations.
In the cold months, pilots wear full immersion suits. Called "poopy suits," these cumbersome watertight suits are one of several accessories for dealing with the harsh climates in northern stretches of Scandinavia. Norwegian F-16s have their own way of dealing with harsh weather. Dragchutes aid landings on snowy or icy runways. After landing and after aircraft slows, a control tower operator advises the pilot where to release the chute along the side of the runway. A ground crew then recovers the chute and prepares it for use again. Norwegian F-16s were the first to incorporate dragchutes.
The base itself is well equipped for the harsher months with much of the base operations occurring in facilities built below ground level. The aircraft shelters, covered with ground for protection and for natural insulation, are designed to accommodate aircraft repairs and maintenance. Even the procedure for returning an aircraft to its shelter after flight avoids the use of tow bars and tractors. After taxiing in front of a shelter, a ground crew member attaches a cable to the rear of the fighter. The aircraft is then pulled backwards into the shelter as a crewchief directs the pilot. Once inside the shelter, maintenance personnel perform final checks and then shut down the jet.
Such innovation is the hallmark of F-16 operations in Norway. As the 332 prepares for its first set of MLU students, the unit is looking forward to instilling this sense of efficiency and purpose into its future generation of fighter pilots. "Instructors derive a great sense of satisfaction watching a new pilot enter the unit and then progress to graduation," Kleppestø says. "The MLU F-16s and the pilots who will be flying them in the coming years will serve our air force well."
Neville Dawson is an aviation writer and photographer based in Australia.