Air Force pilot graduates from Navy's electronic attack weapons school

Jan. 13 (UPI) -- The first U.S. Air Force Airman to graduate from the Navy Airborne Attack weapons school will be a valuable asset on the topic, his commanding officer said Wednesday.

Lt. Col. David Robinson of the Air Force 390th Electronic Combat Squadron, based at Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho, said the success of weapons officer Capt. Aaron Tindall will make him an expert on the electronic component of the EA-18G "Growler" fighter plane, which Tindall flies.

Tindall graduated from the weapons school at Nellis Air Force Base, Calif., the Air Force announced on Wednesday in a press release.

It noted that since the 1990s, the Air Force has retreated from use of Airborne Electronic Attack, the warfare component involved detecting, jamming and listening to enemy communications systems.

"With Tindall's success, he will be able to integrate his critical knowledge and training Air Force-wide," the statement said.

He was one of 12 people, all possessing EA-18G experience, but the only Air Force member, in the class. Tindall noted that he hopes cross-service training will be undertaken by other military personnel.

"The Air Force and Navy are dependent on each other in a modern fight," Tindall said. "Through the 390th ECS, the Air Force gains great insight into how parts of naval aviation execute on a day-to-day basis. Our goal is to take that knowledge and expertise back to the Air Force to jointly execute with more lethality today, and plan more efficiently for tomorrow."

He was the perfect candidate, Robinson said.

"Tindall is the absolute embodiment of what the Air Force and Navy are looking for" Davidson said. "I couldn't be happier that Brutus was selected for this course, and proved that he was the right person to represent the Air Force."