The exercise enhanced the integration and improved Tactics Techniques and Procedures between the Philippine Air Force and the U.S. Air Force, practicing high-intensity and hub-and-spoke operations as part of the DFE concept.
U.S. Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt IIs from the 25th Fighter Squadron (FS) completed a Dynamic Force Employment (DFE) exercise with the Philippine Air Force during a five-day visit at Clark Air Base from Dec. 9 to 13, 2024. Held under the U.S. PACAF (Pacific Air Forces) lead, pilots, maintenance crew and air controllers undertook integrated training with Philippine Air Force to enhance “shared skills and enhance the two forces’ interoperability,” a statement from the INDOPACOM (Indo-Pacific Command) said.
The two services focused on “bilateral training and subject matter expert exchanges to promote interoperability, strengthening our alliance and enhancing security and stability within the Indo-Pacific region,” said the statement. This also marked a rare occasion where A-10 Thunderbolt IIs (also commonly known as Warthogs) operated in southeast Asia.
While the U.S. Air Force did not specify the number of A-10s that participated in the exercise, the Philippines Air Force said on its social media channels that eight units were involved, together with two PAF A-29B Super Tucanos. Among the units involved were also the Philippines’ 15th Strike Wing and 710th Special Operations Wing.
“The main goal of this DFE was to show we are super close with our allies and partners so that we can train and be effective together,” said Maj. Gregory St. Clair, Pacific Air Forces chief of future operations. “DFE’s are not a new concept and we will continue to do them in the future and we’re only going to get stronger by continuing to do them.”
Two of the A-10s, supported by a C-130J Super Hercules aircraft, also landed at Vietnam’s Gia Lam Air Base in Hanoi on Dec. 15 for the Vietnam International Defense Expo, to be held from Dec. 19 to Dec. 22. The jets were among the ones deployed to the Philippines, as can be seen by comparing the serials in the photos of the exercise.
Images released by the INDOPACOM showed two A-10s taxiing on the apron before their flight back to Osan on Dec. 14, the day before the arrival in Vietnam. It is safe to assume that the two aircraft made a stop there while the other six returned to Osan in South Korea.
The exercise
The A-10s of the 25th FS, part of the broader 51st Operations Group and 51st Fighter Wing (51 FW) based at South Korea’s Osan Air Base, arrived in the Philippines on Dec. 5-6, 2024. Photos suggest two C-130Hs from the Missouri Air National Guard and Nevada ANG landed at Clark AFB on Dec. 4 and Dec. 5 with equipment and maintenance personnel.
Photos captured on Dec. 9, 2024, show that the aircraft were also at Antonio Bautista airport as a part of the Dynamic Force Employment (DFE) maneuvers. The airport is located on the Philippines’ Palawan island in the south of the country.
Naming the exercise Iron Swat 2024, the PAF said on Facebook that the exercise “enhanced the integration and improved TTPs (Tactics Techniques and Procedures) between the two air forces.” The PAF mentioned that among the highlights of Iron Swat 2024 was the integration of A-29B Super Tucanos with the A-10 Warthogs in joint 4-ship flying operations.
During these flights, the PAF said the “ability of both Air Forces to operate together in high-intensity environments” was tested in the Intensive Military Training Areas. Tthe Crow Valley Gunnery Range at Col Ernesto Ravina Air Base was used for surface attack exercises to “sharpen precision and effectiveness during close air support.”
Exercise objectives
The exercise follows reports of nearly 100 Chinese vessels near the Philippine-held Thitu Island in late November 2024, according to Straight Arrow News. Beijing and Manila have overlapping and disputed maritime boundary claims in the SCS (South China Sea).
Chinese fishing vessels are an extended arm of the Chinese military, officially referred to by Beijing as the PAFMM (People’s Armed Forces Maritime Militia). They are employed for militarily asserting China’s maritime claims by appearing in swarms in disputed sea regions with Japan and the Philippines.
A video of the maritime littoral strike component from the Balikatan 24 series of exercises between the U.S. and Philippines released in May showed an AC-130J Ghostrider gunship, assigned to the 24th Special Operations Wing, engaging a mock target vessel near Lubang, Philippines, on Apr. 30, 2024.
This gives us an idea of the military tactical scenario the A-10s would be employed in. The aircraft is also inherently ACE-friendly with its rugged design, being able to operate from non-traditional airfields with little supporting infrastructure, offering high loiter time and persistent CAS (Close Air Support).
Philippine Air Force A-29 Super Tucanos, Missouri ANG C-130 H2 Hercules, and 25th Fighter Squadron A-10 Thunderbolt IIs fly in formation over the Philippine Sea for bilateral training. #readiness #interoperability pic.twitter.com/C6JEdXgEfz
— PACAF (@PACAF) December 14, 2024
The bilateral training utilized the minimum amount of personnel and equipment to conduct flight operations from different spoke locations within the Philippines, said the U.S. Air Force” The ‘hub and spoke’ training missions demonstrated the two services’ ability “to rapidly project air power and sustain such flight operations across dispersed locations,” added the press release.
The U.S. Air Force’s ‘hub-and-spoke’ concept envisages units operating out of a main base, acting as a ‘hub’ (in this case Clark air base), while fanning out across the smaller airfields acting as ‘spokes’. Spokes could be within the theater’s operational area and inside the adversary’s weapons engagement zone and A2/AD (Anti-Access/Area Denial) umbrella.
ACE and DFE in the Pacific theater
The INDOPACOM described DFE as “an operational strategy across the Joint Force to remain strategically predictable, but operationally unpredictable, in an ever-evolving, challenging, and contested environment.” This validates a previous assessment by The Aviationist that differentiated between ACE (Agile Combat Employment) and DFE.
The previous assessment was in context of a DFE event which saw four USAF F-22 Raptors landing at Indonesia’s I Gusti Ngurah Rai Air Force Base on Aug. 6, 2024. The visit also marked the first time U.S. fifth generation aircraft landed in Indonesia.
As The Aviationist explained in the earlier report, Dynamic Force Employment is usually adopted by the U.S. military as a whole, while the U.S. Air Force often refers to Agile Combat Employment (ACE) for its operations. With regard to the latest exercise in the Philippines, a caption further explained DFE being meant to “presenting layers of operational unpredictability to a competitor’s decision-making.” “The DFE exercise’s realistic combat training is essential to the success of air and space operations,” added the Air Force.
ACE involves operating from airfields distributed around a theater and not converging on a single large base. This prevents all friendly assets being destroyed in long-range standoff missile strikes – weapons fielded by Russia and China to simply avoid force-on-force contacts.
This geography-influenced Concept of Operations (CONOPS) also manifests into simple equipment like aircraft ladders, as The Aviationist had reported about the collapsible ACE ladder for the F-16’s cockpit . The A-10 however has an attached telescopic ladder on its left-hand side under the cockpit, as seen in one of the pictures of an A-10 at Clark AFB. This upholds its natural harmony with ACE and DFE-centric operations.
Official statements
The exercise reinforced the two nation’s defense partnership and commitment to maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific. “The successful completion of this DFE marks another milestone in U.S.-Philippine military enhanced cooperation,” said the statement.
According to Capt. Ben Burmester, the 25th FS project officer, the “Philippine Air Force has been incredible,” with its willingness to “work and engage” in support of the alliance’s goals in the Indo-Pacific. “DFEs are important because it allows us to project airpower at the time and place of our choosing with as small footprint as possible at the location we conduct these DFE’s at,” St. Clair added.
