Skip to main content (Press Enter).
 News
    
        Photos

    Week in Photos

    Air Force TV

    Commentaries

    Features

    Art

    About Us
    
        Air Force Senior Leaders
    
        SECAF

    CSAF

    CMSAF

    Biographies

    Fact Sheets

    SECAF Reading List

    CSAF Leadership Library
    
        CSAF Leadership Library 2022

    CSAF Leadership Library 2021

    CSAF Reading List Pre-2020 Archive
    
        2018 CSAF Reading List

    2017 CSAF Reading List

    2016 CSAF Reading List

    CSAF Leadership Library 2023

    CMSAF Leadership Library

    50 Years of the CMSAF

    Adjunct Professors

    Air Force Strategic Documents

    Arctic Strategy

    Empowered Airmen

    State Licensure Portability

    Careers

    AF Federal Advisory Committees

    AF 75th Anniversary

    Policy Updates

    AF Content Management

    Contact Us

    AF Sites
    
        Site RegistrationU.S. Air Force LogoAir Force

        Policy UpdatesNewsroomReoptimizationBIOGRAPHIESAF Senior Leaders      A Royal Canadian Air Force CC-130J tactical airlift aircraft sits in the Benefield Anechoic Facility on Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., undergoing electronic warfare testing. Canada purchased 17 CC-130Js with the last one delivered in 2012. The RCAF CC-130J fleet is currently going through a block 7 upgrade to the aircraft avionics (U.S. Air Force photo/Kenji Thuloweit)Edwards testing facility hosts first Canadian air force plane
                        
                        
                        A Royal Canadian Air Force CC-130J tactical airlift aircraft sits in the Benefield Anechoic Facility on Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., undergoing electronic warfare testing. Canada purchased 17 CC-130Js with the last one delivered in 2012. The RCAF CC-130J fleet is currently going through a block 7 upgrade to the aircraft avionics (U.S. Air Force photo/Kenji Thuloweit)
                
                Photo Details /
                        Download Hi-Res

Edwards testing facility hosts first Canadian air force planePublished June 10, 2016
                    
                    By Kenji Thuloweit
                    
                    
                    412th Test Wing Public Affairs
            **EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (AFNS) --**For the first time ever, a Royal Canadian Air Force plane has entered the Benefield Anechoic Facility, a state-of-the-art center for electronic warfare testing.A team of engineers, operators and defense scientists from Canada are wrapping up electronic warfare testing of a CC-130J Hercules transport plane.Canada is updating its fleet of legacy CC-130H aircraft with the J model, which are the same as the U.S. Air Force C-130Js and used for tactical airlift of troops and supplies.The team has conducted multiple tests in the past few weeks focusing on the ALR-56M radar warning receiver and its integration with the rest of the Defensive Electronic Warfare Suite and aircraft mission computer."The BAF is the closest thing to actually flying the aircraft in (a radio frequency) threat environment,” said Emil Poliakov, a Canada Department of National Defense radar warfare engineer. “The chamber allows us to execute multiple test objectives in a controlled-repeatable manner and collect data to evaluate the radar warning receiver's technical performance and effectiveness.”The BAF, operated by the 772nd Test Squadron, is the largest anechoic chamber in the world and can fit pretty much any airplane inside. It provides a "free space" so electronic warfare tests can be conducted without radio frequency interference from the outside world. The chamber is filled with polyurethane and polyethylene pyramids designed to stop reflections of electromagnetic waves. The size of the pyramids, which are painted dark blue or black, varies depending on the particular frequency and test procedure being conducted. Aircraft systems can be tested and verified that they work properly prior to actual flight test.The isolation from outside interferences enables testers to determine the electromagnetic compatibility of the CC-130J's systems."Our DEWS systems are often programmed and tested in isolation. We do not have a capability like the BAF, which would allow us to test the systems in an integrated fashion,” Poliakov said. “This program allows us to exercise the complete integrated suite before the aircraft goes through an expensive flight trial.”The test team designed all the emitters the BAF is going to generate around a fictional threat area."We've set up our objectives to simulate a contested (radio frequency) environment and we're going to see various early warning, air to air, long-range surface to air, and anti-air artillery threat systems come up to exercise the full capabilities of the radar warning receiver and provide relevant experience to the operator in the cockpit,” Poliakov said.The electronic warfare data collected during this testing will be shared with partner nations as part of an agreement signed last year between the U.S., Canada, U.K. and Australia. The agreement is called the Multinational Test and Evaluation Program."This agreement provides an unprecedented access to the partnering nations' EW trials and data," Poliakov said. "The CC-130J trial at the BAF is the first time the agreement has been used since it was officially signed in 2015. We invited representatives from the U.K. and Australia to witness this trial and will share all of the results with our allies."Poliakov added the agreement eliminates a lot of repetitive testing and road blocks and allows the partner nations to discuss directly with their allies in the test community about system capabilities and deficiencies. The countries share data and test planning."This agreement allows the allies to work together and contribute to the common goal of increasing crew and aircraft survivability in a potential threat environment,” Poliakov said.During a meeting last year, Poliakov said Mario Dorado of the 772nd TS invited the Canadians to Edwards Air Force Base to conduct EW testing on the CC-130J, thus initiating the first action of the joint program.The CC-130J brought to Edwards AFB is from 8 Wing located at Canadian Forces Base Trenton, Ontario. Canada purchased 17 CC-130Js with the last one delivered in 2012.On the outside the CC-130J looks almost identical to the legacy CC-130H Hercules, but internally the J model is essentially a completely new aircraft that can fly faster, higher and farther, while carrying heavier loads with better fuel economy.While this is the first time an RCAF plane has come to test in the BAF, Poliakov hopes it won't be the last."We have had a fantastic experience at the BAF. We were able to complete all planned test objectives and collect data, which we don't normally have access to,” Poliakov said. “This facility provides the missing link between systems testing in the lab and flight trials at a range.  I hope we'll be able to integrate the BAF into our regular DEWS test cycles for all fleets in the RCAF."The CC-130J team is expected to complete testing this week.electronic warfare 



Edwards AFB 



Royal Canadian air force 



testing Featured News
        Senior Leader Priorities
                DAF leaders talk budget, reoptimizing the force
                    
                    DAF leaders speak at National Character and Leadership Symposium
                    
                    DAF members recognized during BEYA STEM awards
                    
                    DAF senior enlisted advisors discuss Airmen, Guardians in the fight
                    
                    SecAF Kendall AFA Warfare Symposium Q&A: Reoptimizing for Great Power CompetitionInnovation
                AFWERX director discusses role of tech startups, quick innovation in Great Power Competition
                    
                    DAF delivers lethality at the speed of data during Project Convergence Capstone 4
                    
                    DAF welcomes industry partners to HQ development program
                    
                    DAF announces Spark Tank 2024 finalists
                    
                    Chief Digital, Artificial Intelligence Office to host hackathon in HawaiiMAJCOM News
                Safety enterprise announces new mission, vision, goals in 2024 strategic plan
                    
                    Air Combat Command welcomes new commander
                    
                    USAFE-AFAFRICA commander discusses Integrated Air, Missile Defense during Munich Security Conference
                    
                    Flosi to AFMC family: Embrace change, make every day count
                    
                    AMC rises to increasing global tension
 Quick Links
AccessibilityContact UsEqual OpportunityFOIA | Privacy | Section 508Information QualityInspector GeneralJAG Court-Martial DocketLink DisclaimerNo FEAR ActOpen GovernmentOSI Tip LinePlain LanguageQuestionsResilienceRSSSite MapVeterans Crisis LineCareers
Join the Air ForceAir Force BenefitsAir Force CareersAir Force ReserveAir National GuardCivilian ServiceConnect
            Get Social with Us
            
            Official United States Air Force Website
    Hosted by Defense Media Activity - WEB.mil