The American state of Florida, due to its geographical location and climate, is a very convenient place for the deployment of military bases, test centers and proving grounds. First of all, this applies to airfields and training grounds for the aviation of the Navy and the Marine Corps. Of the 10 naval airfields operating in the United States, four are located in Florida.
It was in Florida in January 1914 in the western part of the state, near the town of Warrington, that the first Naval Station Air Pensacola was founded. Here, the US Navy conducted experiments with tethered balloons, airships and seaplanes. In parallel with experiments on the use of aircraft in the interests of the fleet, naval aviators were trained at Pentsakol. If in the first half of 1914 the aircraft fleet of the air base consisted of seven aircraft, then after 4 years the number of aircraft reached 54 units.
It is quite natural that the first naval aviation station became a place for training technical and flight personnel. Until November 1918, more than 1000 pilots and observer pilots of the naval aviation were trained in "Pentsakol". After the end of the First World War, the number of cadets decreased many times, but the flight technical school continued to work. This came in very handy when, in 1941, it was required to dramatically increase the number of naval aviators. The naval aviation base in Florida became the main "forge of personnel" for the US Navy during the Second World War. Many types of naval aircraft were tested here, and combat tactics were perfected. In peacetime, the flight technical school in Pensacola did not cease its activities; it trained pilots of both carrier-based aircraft and helicopters, and those based on coastal airfields. Today it is the largest aviation training center for the US Navy, the Marine Corps, the Coast Guard, and the naval aviation of NATO countries.
In the mid-50s, due to the increase in the take-off and mileage of jet aircraft, three new asphalt-concrete strips with a length of 2175-2439 m were built at the air base. This airfield, known as Forrest Sherman Field, is named after Forrest Sherman, an American admiral. distinguished himself during the Second World War and held a number of leading positions in the post-war period.
At the moment, the 4th, 10th and 86th training squadrons of naval aviation are located at the air base. In the past, these squadrons were armed with training aircraft: T-1A Sea Star, TF-9J Cougar, T-2 Buckeye, T-34C Turbo Mentor, TA-4J Skyhawk II, T-39D SabreLiner, T-47A Citation, TS-2A Tracker, EC-121K Warning Star.
At present, the training of cadets is carried out on the T-45C Goshawk and T-6 Tex II trainers. The T-45C Goshawk is a British jet combat training aircraft BAE Hawk, modified to meet the requirements of the US Navy and adapted for deck-based deployment.
In addition to the naval squadrons, the Pentsakol hosts the aircraft of the 479th training group from the 12th flight training wing. Cadets of the 479th group take off on the T-6 Tex II and T-1A Jayhawk turboprops.
The aircraft of initial flight training T-6 Tex II was created by Beechcraft on the basis of the Swiss Pilatus PC-9. Currently, this vehicle is also actively offered to foreign customers as a light attack aircraft. T-1A Jayhawk is a Hawker 400A turbojet business jet adapted for training cadets.
On board the T-1A Jayhawk, there are workplaces for two instructors and two cadets. This machine is intended for training pilots and navigators of tanker aircraft, anti-submarine, reconnaissance and special vehicles. Compared to the commercial Hawker 400A, the T-1A Jayhawk has improved bird-collision stability and an additional fuel tank.
In addition to the Americans, the flight school has in the past trained pilots, navigators and technical personnel from the allied countries of the United States. Pilots from Germany, Italy and Singapore are currently undergoing training here.
Pentsakola Airbase is the home of the Blue Angels Navy aerobatic team. The Blue Angels are currently flying specially modified F / A-18C / D Hornet fighters.
According to American data, the group now has seven "Hornets" in flight condition. During the tour, the fighters are accompanied by a technical support aircraft C-130T Hercules.
During demonstration performances, this aircraft sometimes makes a short take-off using solid-propellant boosters. The military transport "Hercules", which has its own name "Fat Albert" - "Fat Albert", has become a kind of visiting card of the Blue Angels.
In the eastern part of the airbase there is the National Museum of Naval Aviation; in front of its entrance, a prototype of a heavy deck interceptor YF-1A Tomcat is installed on a pedestal.
It is the largest exhibition center of its kind in the world. The museum has a huge collection of aircraft, reflecting the history of the development of naval aviation from the moment the first seaplanes appeared to the present day. About 150 aircraft and helicopters are assembled indoors and displayed outdoors.
Visiting the museum is free, but since it is located on the territory of a military base, all tourists over 16 years old must submit a preliminary application. More information about the opening hours of the museum, its exposition and the plan of events taking place in it can be found here: National Museum of Naval Aviation.
After visiting the site of the museum, it becomes clear what the education of patriotism is not just in words, and how to preserve material evidence of the history of your country. Two-thirds of the cost of maintaining the National Museum of Naval Aviation is funded by the state, the rest is covered by sponsors and proceeds from the sale of souvenirs.
Naval Air Station Jacksonville is located in the northeastern part of the state, 15 kilometers south of downtown Jacksonville. Initially, a naval mobilization training camp was located in this place during the First World War. On October 15, 1940, a military airfield was founded in Jacksonville, which was a place of increased professional training for flight personnel of naval aviation.
Until August 1945, more than 10,000 pilots, navigators and radio gunners passed through the training center. In this part of Florida, the crews of "flying boats", deck and aircraft based on the coast were trained. In the 50s, the airfield was expanded, and its outlines took on the current form. The airbase has two asphalt runways with a length of 2,439 and 1,823 meters.
In 1957, the 679th early warning and air traffic control radar squadron was deployed at the airbase, which operated the AN / FPS-3 and AN / FPS-8 all-round radars, as well as AN / MPS-14 radio altimeters. In 1962, after the start of construction of the automated guidance system for SAGE interceptors on the east coast of Florida, an additional AN / FPS-66 radar and two AN / FPS-6 altimeters were deployed. In the 70s, a stationary radar station was built in the vicinity of the airbase, which was upgraded to the level of ARSR-4 in the 90s.
Currently, the obsolete radars on the Florida coast have been replaced by fixed ARSR-4 radars with a plastic radio-transparent dome. The automatic stations are linked to air traffic control and NORAD command centers by high-speed data links.
The southwest direction is controlled by several radar balloons of the LASS system, designed to record illegal border crossings by boats and aircraft at low altitudes. The Lockheed Martin 420K balloons are equipped with AN / TPS-63 radar with a detection range of up to 300 km and optoelectronic water surface tracking systems.
The 142nd Fighter-Bomber Squadron of the Marine Corps was based in Jacksonville for a long period of time, pilots of which flew various modifications of A-4 Skyhawk attack aircraft until the end of the 80s.
In 1987, the 142nd Squadron began the transition to the AV-8B Harrier II vertical aircraft. However, the Harriers' service in this unit was short-lived; at the end of 1990, the first F / A-18 Hornets arrived at the airbase.
As they mastered the Hornets, they began to be attracted for tasks unusual for them. As you know, Florida's long coastline with hard-to-reach mangroves is one of the main places where cocaine is smuggled into the United States. Therefore, the US Customs Service and the Coast Guard have initiated a permanent Double Eagle program with the Navy to curb drug smuggling.
Within the framework of this program, E-2 Hawkeye deck-based AWACS aircraft were used to detect smuggler light aircraft flying over the surface of the water. In turn, they aimed at the detected targets of the "Hornets" of 142nd Squadron. After several intruder aircraft, whose pilots refused to follow the signals of the interceptors, were shot down, and a dozen and a half Cessnas with a cargo of drugs were detained, the number of violations of the American air border in this area decreased significantly. In the late 1990s, the Hornets were relocated to nearby Cesil Field, but they are still frequent visitors to Jacksonville. At least one F / A-18 on duty unit is at the airbase in readiness for takeoff.
During the Cold War, Jacksonville Air Force Base was the main anti-submarine center in the southeastern United States. In the waters of the Gulf of Mexico, new anti-submarine weapons and detection equipment were tested. Shore-based aircraft and helicopters were involved in the testing process.
In the first half of the 90s, several patrol, anti-submarine and rescue squadrons were deployed here, flying on P-3C Orion, S-3 Viking, C-130T Hercules and SH-60F / HH-60H helicopters.
Jacksonville Air Force Base is the home of the EP-3E ARIES II and EP-3J. These are fairly rare vehicles converted from Orion patrol vehicles. EP-3E, modified from R-3C, is designed for electronic reconnaissance. In some cases, these vehicles performed quite risky missions. So, in April 2001, the EP-3E, belonging to the US Navy, collided with the J-8II interceptor in Chinese territorial waters, after which, under the threat of the use of weapons, an American reconnaissance aircraft was landed on the island of Hainan.
In order to return the crew of the reconnaissance aircraft and avoid further escalation of the conflict, the United States was forced to apologize and pay large monetary compensation to the widow of the deceased Chinese pilot. The secret on-board equipment of the EP-3E was thoroughly studied by Chinese specialists, and the plane itself returned to the United States in a disassembled form a few months later aboard the Russian An-124.
Two EP-3Js, converted from P-3Bs, are used in US Navy exercises to simulate enemy electronic warfare aircraft. They replaced the previously used ones: NC-121K, EC-24A, ERA-3B, EA-4F, EA-6A.
The reduction of anti-submarine forces occurred in 2008 after the decommissioning of S-3 aircraft. The territory of the airbase became a place of intermediate storage of decommissioned aircraft before it was sent to the Davis Montan "bone graveyard". Along with the anti-submarine Vikings, the Jacksonville kept EA-6 Prowler electronic warfare aircraft and F / A-18 Hornet carrier-based fighters of early modifications.
The airbase is currently home to the 30th Patrol Squadron, the largest in the US Navy. This aviation unit is the leading one in the development of new technology. It was here that in 2012 the first P-8A Poseidon anti-submarine patrol aircraft of the new generation arrived for military trials and testing of weapons.
Currently, the Poseidons entering the 30th Squadron have supplanted most of the deserved turboprop Orions. As the P-3S is decommissioned, vehicles with a large residual resource after repair and partial re-equipment are transferred to the Allies.
Simultaneously with the development of new technology on the basis of the 30th squadron, foreign crews of anti-submarine aircraft are being trained. Specialists from Great Britain, Australia, Norway and India are trained at Jacksonville. It was also decided that the airbase should become a place of permanent deployment and training of specialists for heavy MQ-4C Triton UAVs. For this purpose, the 19th unmanned patrol squadron was formed at Jacksonville. It is expected that the commissioning of the marine modification of the Global Hawk drone will significantly expand the patrol zones and reduce the cost of maintaining patrol and anti-submarine aircraft.
In addition to routine patrolling of the ocean, testing new anti-submarine systems and training flight crews, Jacksonville Air Force Base is the site of large-scale aviation exercises for air defense forces and naval fighter pilots.
During the exercises, specially prepared Hornet carrier-based fighters, which are atypical for the US Navy, are used to simulate aggressor aircraft.
Also, aircraft of the private aviation company Airborne Tactical Advantage Company (ATAS) are used to conduct training air battles and designate enemy attack aircraft and carriers of electronic warfare equipment. The ATAC fleet includes: Hunter MK.58, F-21A Kfir, L-39 Albatros and Saab 35 Draken.
The main purpose of using foreign-made aircraft in exercises is to practice close air combat with an atypical air enemy. ATAC pilots are highly skilled ex-military pilots who are thoroughly familiar with the characteristics and capabilities of US combatant fighters. Despite the fact that the "Kfirs" and "Drakens" cannot be considered modern machines, they manage to win more than half of the training air battles. You can read more about American private military aviation companies providing combat training services here: American Private Military Aircraft Companies.
