The wing is practicing the procedure for use at large bases and at dispersed sites under the Air Force’s Agile Combat Employment approach. Keeping the engine running means the pilot can move the jet quickly if something goes wrong, said Lt. Col. Cahn Wadhams, deputy commander of the 388th Maintenance Group.
Fuel specialists from the 75th Air Base Wing position and ground the fuel truck before 388th personnel connect the hose and begin refueling. Weapons crews load munitions at the same time, while crew chiefs use hand signals to communicate with the pilot during aircraft checks.
Crews start by rehearsing with the engine off, and weapons teams train separately to load munitions around a running jet. “They are manually lifting and loading weapons that are hundreds of pounds,” said Senior Master Sgt. Stephanie Rivera, the wing’s weapons standardization superintendent.
The F-35A’s onboard monitoring systems can flag many maintenance issues before landing, helping crews decide whether the jet can return to flight quickly, Wadhams said. The wing plans to train more weapons crews and crew chiefs over the next several months and keep them practicing the procedure.
“With such a high reliability rate, the aircraft is going to come down, and we’re going to be able to load, gas it up and have it in the air probably within minutes,” Wadhams said. “That’s what we’re training to.”
