| F/A 18 Interview with Jarmo Lindberg
by Bubba "Masterfung" Wolford |
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Bubba: At which airbases in the United States did the FAF get their training? Jarmo: We flew most of our flights from NAS Lemoore in the California Central Valley. The flights took place over the Sierra Nevada Mountains or the Pacific. Strike and Fighter Weapons Detachments took place in NAS Fallon, NV in the Nevada high desert.
 Bubba: Obviously many of your pilots got dissimilar training versus United States "aggressor" squadrons. Which squadrons did you train against and what were they flying? What were the results of those training exercises? Jarmo: During the Fighter Weapons Detachment we flew two weeks against the VFA-127 Desert Bogeys. The squadron is now decommissioned. They were real pros in the aggressor duties flying F-5s and F/A-18s. Bubba: After finishing training in the United States what were some "trained" impressions of the F/A-18? Jarmo: It is a very versatile fighter and the term 'Strike fighter' suits it well. With the new F-404-GE-402 EPE (Enhanced Performance Engine) engines it is a real rocket ship. Bubba: After Finland began receiving the first of its Hornets (7 two-seater F/A-18D's and 57 single-seater F/A-18C's) the "Attack" portion of the Hornets designation was dropped and were renamed F-18. Given the Hornets significant strike capability, could you discuss what reasons prompted this change? Jarmo: I have already mentioned earlier our emphasis in the air defence. Finland is about the same size as California and with 64 Hornets you can do a lot in the air-to-air business but when you start to stretch your forces to bombing and all sorts of other things you may run out of aircraft and flight hours. And as they say "the Jack of all trades is a Jack of no trade." Bubba: The FAF still flies MiG-21's in addition to it's new fleet of F-18's. Could you discuss the different capabilities of the F-18 versus the MiG-21? What are the disadvantages and advantages of both? Jarmo: The Finnish Air Force ceases the MiG-21BIS flight operations on the 7th of March this year and that's pretty soon. The MiG-21 represents a totally different fighter generation in performance, range and electronics so it isn't very fruitful to compare the different generations. There is one point though to the MiG's advantage - the MiG-21BIS goes easily beyond Mach 2.0 in a climb and for that we have a Mach 2 club in the Air Force. I have personally been up in 70.000 ft (21 km) altitude in a full pressure suit.
Bubba: At your website I read that your F-18's can supercruise. Can you give us some information on the capabilities of the EPE engines in the F-18 and on the APG-73 radar system? How do these compare to the F18E model now in testing by the US Navy? Jarmo: The F-404-GE-402 EPE engines are very powerful and when you add the fact that our training areas are only 15 NM from the base, we fly the jets mostly 'slick' i.e. without stores and it's cold here in the North so performance and acceleration is just great. If we make an afterburner takeoff during wintertime we really have to watch that we don't overspeed the gear during initial climb since the jet accelerates so fast. The Finnish Air Force is not participating in the F/A-18E/F program and the aircraft is fitted with different engines so I don't have the information to compare the performances. The E/F uses the same APG-73 radar so that performance should be about the same. |
Bubba: Finland was also able to convince the United States to allow purchase of the AIM-120 (AMRAAM) missile. Could you discuss the performance of AMRAAM and explain why it's capabilities are so vitally important to the FAF? Jarmo: The AIM-120 AMRAAM is an active radar guided missile. This means that the missile has it's own radar which is activated during the missile flight. This frees the F-18 for other targets and is a force multiplier. For air defenders this is very important. Bubba: Finland has begun training in some NATO exercises. Could you discuss the participation of the FAF in future exercises with NATO? Is this going to become something that is regularly done or irregular? Jarmo: The Finnish government has stated that our security policy is 'non-allied (not neutral) with credible independent defense'. Finland is participating in the NATO Partnership for Peace (PfP) program and exercises. It looks like Finland will participate regularly in the PfP exercises. Bubba: Often times when countries seek to purchase aircraft from the United States they make special request from the manufacturer to include special equipment as part of the deal. For example, Israel requested their HMS be standard equipment on all their F-15I's produced. Did the FAF make any special requests for their F-18's? If so, how are the FAF F-18's different from those of the USN?  Jarmo: Finnish F-18 Hornets have the same identification (ID) light on the left side of the nose as the Canadians have. We modified the torso harness system into a single point harness that is attached to the SJU-17 NACES ejection seat. We are also developing a Finnish-made fighter data-link to the Hornet. Bubba: The Boeing F/A-18E/F has taken to the skies for carrier trials and after a short delay to fix it's wings, is back on track to replace the F-14 Tomcat and older F/A-18's on board US carriers. Are there any plans for the FAF to purchase some on these new Super Hornets? Jarmo: No, there are no plans for that at the moment. We have our hands full in converting our Saab 35 Draken and MiG-21BIS force into F-18C/Ds. Bubba: Greece has been a real hot spot for recent advanced airplane trials. Since they are planning a multi-billion dollar purchase of advanced aircraft, many companies are pursuing this enormous order including the Russians and their new Su-30. Other contenders include the F-16C Block 60, Mirage 2000-5 and the F-15E. Back in 1989 the F-16C and Mirage 2000-5 were contenders in the FAF competition, the Su-30 did not exist as a production aircraft, but the F-15E did. Many aviation people consider the Strike Eagle as the "Master of Air and Ground" and is considered the "favorite" to win the Greece order. Why did the FAF not consider the F-15E as a viable candidate?
 A screen shot from F/A 18 Hornet Korea... Jarmo: The initial plan was to buy light single engined fighters because of our emphasis in air defense. The F-15E really doesn't fit into this category even though it is a great aircraft of the same 'Two-engined, twin-tailed McDonnell (now Boeing)' quality. Bubba: I can't thank you enough for answering these detailed questions. It is a pleasure to hear how other countries besides the United States feel about their Hornets. Obviously it is a fantastic aircraft and I hope the F-18 continues to serve the Finish Air Force in excellent fashion. Good luck with all your piloting Jarmo!! Jarmo: Thank you very much Bubba. It was a pleasure to answer your professional questions. Finally I would like to invite all the visitors of the Combat Simulations site to our two sites: Fighter Squadron 21 and the Fighter Tactics Academy.
Best regards, For more information on the F18 go to: F/A 18 Hornet
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