In this article:
VMFT-402 stand up process at MCAS Beaufort
On May 30, 2024, three F-5N Tiger IIs arrived to Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Beaufort, South Carolina, as part of Marine Fighter Training Squadron (VMFT) 402’s stand up process to serve as an adversary squadron.
“It’s a huge day in the lifecycle of our squadron,” said Lt. Col. Andrew Christ, commanding officer, VMFT-402, Marine Aircraft Group 41 (MAG-41), 4th Marine Aircraft Wing (4th MAW), in the article VMFT-402 begins standup at Fighter Town East by Lance Cpl. Kyle Baskin, Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, “we just delivered the first F-5N Tiger IIs, and it marks a significant milestone in our stand up towards activation.”
USMC second adversary squadron
VMFT-402 will serve as the Marine Corps’ second adversary squadron; VMFT-401 located at MCAS Yuma is already in operation. Both VMFT-401 and VMFT-402 will be assigned to MAG-41, 4th MAW, Marine Forces Reserve.
“This is a unique collaboration between the air station and the parent unit of VMFT-401, which will remain MAG-41 in Dallas Fort Worth, Texas and 4th MAW,” said Bortnem, “so this is a very unique partnership that we have with our ability to host aircraft and units that are both part of 2nd MAW and 4th MAW.”
“We are expanding to establish a second adversary squadron that is VMFT-402, here in Beaufort, South Carolina,” said Maj. Erin Mathis, operations officer, VMFT-402, Marine Aircraft Group 41, 4th Marine Aircraft Wing.
An adversary squadron acts as opposing forces during training with other squadrons. Pilots with adversary squadrons study the tactics and maneuvers of foreign adversaries to employ them in training to create realistic scenarios.
“We, as experts in adversary tactics and experts in the way the adversary fights, provide the fleet units with a unique look at basically what the adversary does,” said Mathis.
“The ability for us to have on-station adversary support is absolutely critical to the development of both our fleet F-35 pilots in the future and our current training F-35 pilots,” said Bortnem.
VMFT-402
Having a local adversary squadron allows for more training opportunities, an easier planning process and allows for VMFT-402 to provide in person debriefs.
“We have a rapidly growing F-35 fleet particularly on the East Coast now and Marine Corps aviation has an insatiable need for as much adversary support and training as they can receive to prepare them for the next fight that’s coming,” said Christ.
Due to available space to house and support the squadron, and the proximity to Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 501 and the closest training ranges, MCAS Beaufort was chosen to be the home of VMFT-402, said Bortnem.
“This has been Fighter Town East since 1950. VMFT-401, the previous squadron, had been here many, many times before. So, the ability for VMFT-402 to be housed here just makes perfect sense,” he said.
The unit will officially reactivate as Marine Medium Helicopter Training Squadron (HMMT) 402 in September 2024, and will then be redesignated as VMFT-402.
Originally, HMMT-402 was stood up in 1967 and trained helicopter pilots for the Vietnam War, before it was decommissioned in 1972, said MSgt. Jason Tracoma, senior enlisted advisor, VMFT-402.
The F-5N
VMFT-402 flies the F-5N Tiger II, a single seat, twin-engine, tactical fighter and attack aircraft that provides simulated air-to-air combat training. The F-5F is a dual-seat version, twin-engine tactical fighter commonly used for training and adversary combat tactics. The F-5 aircraft serve in an aggressor-training role with simulation capabilities of current threat aircraft in fighter-combat mode.
Noteworthy as already reported, 22 F-5E/Fs were acquired from Switzerland in 2020 and are currently being transported in the US where they will be used to supplement and, in some cases, replace the 44 aircraft currently in service.
The first former Swiss Air Force F-5 aircraft was picked up by the US Marine Corps (USMC) from Emmen Air Force Station aboard a Lockheed C-130J transport aircraft on Mar. 18, 2024 and arrived at the Tactical Air Support facility at Cecil Field in Jacksonville, Florida, on Mar. 21, 2024.
Once in the US these aircraft will receive a block upgrade that as we have already reported was tested back in 2021.
ARTEMIS program
Actually, the US Navy’s Specialized and Proven Aircraft program office (PMA-226) will convert the 22 aircraft under the Avionics Reconfiguration and Tactical Enhancement/Modernization for Inventory Standardization (ARTEMIS) program. ARTEMIS program will upgrade cockpit, avionics and supporting aircraft architecture. Additionally, they will improve safety, capability and reliability, while resolving increasing obsolescence issues.
The F-5 aircraft receiving the block upgrade prototype modifications will be designated F-5N+/F+. The potential risk of loss of a pilot and/or aircraft will be reduced by adding necessary instrumentation that provides air-to-ground warning, severe weather protection, and fuel level warnings. This upgrade will also add tactical capabilities designed to improve “friendly” force air-to-air training.
Initial deliveries of the 22 aircraft are planned by mid-2025 with program completion in 2028 adding 11 F-5 Adversary aircraft to the each to the existing inventory of Navy and Marine Corps.
The sale, that encompasses 16 single-seat F-5E and 6 twin-seat F-5F variants represents the latest chapter in the retirement of Swiss Air Force Tigers (originally procured in the 1970s and 1980s). A significant portion of this fleet, 44 F-5s, were previously sold to the US Navy in 2008.
These earlier jets, originally employed by the Swiss Air Force for air defense duties, are now used by the US Navy as adversary aircraft. In fact, three reserve command squadrons of former Swiss Air Force Northrop F-5N Tiger IIs, plus three F-5F ‘Frankentiger’ two-seaters, which mated existing F-5F front fuselages with former Swiss rear fuselages, are currently operated by the US Navy and US Marine Corps.
Photo credit: Lance Cpl. Kyle Baskin / U.S. Marine Corps
