'Black Dagger is our activity that gives JTACs the exposure they need to drop live ordinance in close proximity to friendlies.' In the first joint podcast between The Cove Podcast and Hangar 46, we host CAPT Craig Hogendyk (OC JTAC Troop) and Pete (a Fighter Combat Instructor at 1 Squadron, RAAF) to discuss all things Close Air Support (CAS).

We discuss how to become a Weapon Systems Officer (WSO) or a Joint Terminal Attack Controller (JTAC), explain the training pipeline and how each role is employed at the hyper tactical level. Black Dagger is the culminating exercise for the small panel of JTAC students that get a chance at being given a Dagger Call Sign. We discuss how difficult it is to hit land targets with precision accuracy while remaining concealed on the ground from the enemy. CAPT Hogendyk has controlled aircraft such the Tiger Armed Attack Reconnaissance Helicopters from Army’s 1st Aviation Regiment, A-10 Thunderbolt II Attack Aircraft and B-52 Stratofortress Strategic Bombers from the US Military and has controlled Pete’s F/A-18 Super Hornet.

Pete recently finished his Air Warfare Instructor Course (AWIC) and qualified as a Fighter Combat Instructor (FCI), Australia’s equivalent of Top Gun. Although this episode is centred on CAS, Pete talks us through all of the other roles that a Super Hornet can fulfil and all of the weaponeering behind choosing the right ordinance to strike a variety of deliberate and opportunistic targets.

Join the host of Hangar 46, Miss Cass Bowers, and the host of The Cove Podcast, CAPT Todd Lempa, to discuss real integration at the hyper tactical level.

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