1 - The Black Vault

ROAD TO COMBAT TALON II
Phase II consisted of three subexercises (Moscus,
Muflone, and Mbote) that resembled the traditional
Flintlock FTX. Moscus was a 13-day exercise
conducted out of Rhein Main AB, with employment
missions flown into Norway. Muflone
in Italy and Mbote in Central Africa were both
three weeks in duration and consisted of deployments
of 7th SOS aircraft and personnel. 90 Phase
III of Flintlock 89 was a no-notice, contingencyresponse
exercise conducted from 1 to 7 September.
The 7th SOS, operating under the OPCON of
SOCEUR, conducted infiltrations that supported
a follow-on mass airdrop of paratroopers. The
scenario included the transload of personnel from
an MH-53H Pave Low helicopter to a 7th SOS
Combat Talon during the exfiltration portion of
the exercise. The entire no-notice exercise was
flown without any late takeoffs or delays. All
training objectives were met, as the European
SOF unit again validated its ability to perform
the demanding joint mission. 91
In preparation for Flintlock Phase III, the 7th
SOS deployed one Combat Talon and an augmented
crew to the United States to participate
in JRT 89-3 from 16 July to 3 August 1989.
Working with other joint forces, the squadron
flew low-level terrain-following, NVG airland,
IFR, and combat onload/off-load training events.
The quality and amount of training received during
the two-week exercise far exceeded that
which could be found in Central Europe. By participating
in the quarterly joint exercise program,
the 7th SOS was able to maintain the skills required
to support contingency operations. Later
in the year, from 6 through 18 December, the
squadron also participated in JRT 90-1. 92 As the
aircraft was redeploying to Rhein Main AB on 18
December, events in Panama escalated, and on
the following day, Operation Just Cause kicked
off. As had been the case six years earlier during
Operation Urgent Fury, the 7th SOS crew just
missed participating in the contingency. 93
Daily operations settled down a bit at the 8th
SOS after Jaguar Bite. The grueling ORI had
taken its toll on the entire wing. With four aircraft
committed to the exercise, the 8th SOS flew
325 hours during late January and early February
1989. 94 The long missions and harsh weather
completely drained both aircrew and support personnel.
After a short rest at home station, the
daily grind resumed without another pause for
the remainder of the year. The SOF-I Phase I test
on aircraft 64-0567 was completed during the first
half of the year, with the system upgrades being
certified for the entire Combat Talon I fleet. The
major improvement that Phase I SOF-I gave to
the Combat Talon was a much improved naviga -
tion capability. The CMA-880 Doppler computer
and the old LN-15J inertial navigation system
were replaced by two inertial navigation systems
that were tied together by two mission computers
using a 23-stage Kalman filter. The resulting accuracy
and system reliability vastly improved the
Combat Talon’s ability to execute its long-range,
low-level mission in remote areas of the world. 95
The 8th SOS Combat Talons were the first scheduled
for the SOF-I modification, with all squadron
aircraft to be modified by early 1990.
For the third consecutive year, the squadron
deployed to Jordan for a JCS-coordinated exercise.
On 1 June Combat Talon 64-0572 departed
Hurlburt Field for a nonstop flight to the Middle
East. In-flight refuelings were successfully completed
near Newfoundland, off the coast of Spain,
east of Italy, and just south of Greek-controlled
airspace. Entering low level near Al Aqabah, Jordan,
the crew flew a one-hour route to an airdrop
on Gahtos DZ near Azrak, Jordan. The crew then
landed at Azrak and joined the exercise in progress.
In all, the long-range infiltration mission
took 24.6 hours to complete and was the longest
Combat Talon flight since the early 1980s. During
the course of the exercise, two multiship
highway landings were conducted, with transload
of personnel being accomplished between
the Combat Talon and Jordanian rotary-wing
air craft. A desert landing also was made in the
valley of Wadi Rum, where exercise ground
Photo courtesy of John R. Lewis
Aircraft 64-0551 intercepts a six-man lift line during
Project 46 system testing.
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