The (v)USAF 335th 'Chiefs' Strike Eagles

[Panny]

 

The 335th ‘Chiefs’ is DCAF’s largest and premier air to air squadron, operating the F-15E Strike Eagle. Thanks to the incredible power of the F-15E’s -229 engines, APG-70 and load carrying capacity, the Chiefs has the perseverance to stay on station longer, fly higher, and fly faster than any other type in DCAF’s roster.

If you are interested in rigorous training, getting a comprehensive air to air understanding, being part of complex operations, immersive experiences, and getting the best out of what DCS has to offer, this is the squadron for you. By the end of the training season, you will be able to operate as a wingman in a flight, execute fourship tacform and BVR in any weather, at any time of day; all without datalink. You will be trained in both DCA and OCA fundamentals in order to tailor the squadron’s air to air tasking according to the mission at hand; including an appreciation of ACM execution. Air to air refuelling, day or night, will be the norm.

The squadron boasts a fully trained roster of 12 pilots and is looking to expand its squadron further in anticipation of Operations Season 3, which will take place from next April to the end of June. We anticipate to take on a small handful of new cadets for our training season. The 335th is a very tight knit community that is passionate about what it does and its role in DCAF. We strive to constantly develop ourselves, not only from the baseline of training season, but to progress further with flight leading, instructor qualifications, and mission planning for the overarching DCAF organisation. If you are interested in being part of a highly motivated, well organised and ambitious squadron and do your part, the 335th is a prime choice. If you work hard in training, be assured that you will find your time in DCAF greatly rewarding.

 

 

Applicants will join for an introductory talk as to what we do, and what is expected from one another. Subject to your introductory talk, you will be invited for some checkrides to assess your initial skill level to decide whether we want to take you on for our training season. After the introductory talk, we will give you all the necessary resources to succeed and invite you to undertake checkrides to ensure you have a good core skillbase. This will include a flying ability assessment with an assessor from startup to shutdown, basic manoeuvres, aircraft handling and air to air refuelling. In addition you will be asked to play a custom mission and submit a tacview and trackfile of your basic combat performance(we aren’t looking for procedures but more to ensure that you are comfortable with using the airframe in basic combat).

 

 

Upon final review among 335th recruitment officers, if you are accepted we will provide you access to our comprehensive training syllabus, and you will begin formal training from the beginning of January 2025. Training sessions will be hosted 3 times a week at Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday at 1830Z. Thursday is the essential time and you are expected to attend this training session*, but ideally you should attempt to join twice a week in the above slots.

 

 

335th training season consists of:

• Visual circuits – touch and goes around the airfield with controller,
• Departures & Arrivals – flying in and out of the aerodrome traffic zone,
• Day and Night Formation flying & TACFORM
• Day and Night Air to Air Refuelling
• Unguided Air to Surface
• Precision Guided Air to Surface
• Basic Fighter Manoeuvres
• Air Combat Manoeuvring
• All Weather Intercept theory
• Beyond Visual Range timelines
• Defensive Counter Air BVR modifications
• Offensive Counter Air BVR modifications

 

 

Having completed training season you will be given your own jet with custom nose art on it, and become a fully-fledged member of the DCAF 335th.

If you would like to get in contact to find out more about the 335th specifically and what we do before applying, please get in contact with any of our recruitment officers on Discord:

https://discord.gg/dcaf

Buergels,

Panny,

Rhino182,

seb4tron

If you would like to apply, please follow the links below:

https://forum.dcs.world/clubs/page/92-apply-socials/

We look forward to meeting you soon,

 

335th Exec Team

 

Wampum!

Edited November 24, 2024 by Panny

[Brody]

I spent the July-October training season as the XO for DCAF's 335th and co-designed the curriculum and training schedule with the leadership team. I have to say I am incredibly proud of the squadron this year, having pushed up the standards they were already exceeding previously. I have spent the last 3 years in DCS looking for the most performative and immersive experiences that virtual milsim groups in the DCS World community can offer, having specifically gone out of my way to develop relationships with other large groups in the search for an elite experience.

I can confidently say that DCAF's 335th FS holds the most detailed, comprehensive, and immersive set of curriculum and standards that I have seen from any DCS group in the world.

My opinion is that DCAF's greatest strength is in its comprehensive online training library and dedicated instructor cadre. We have made it our business to take the best available information from aircrew manuals and infuse it with context and input taken from an extensively developed subject matter expert (SME) network, rendering material that is both dense in content as well as engaging with bespoke visual supplementation and an involved examination process to reinforce learning development. Our IP crew is not only experienced and well-trained in instruction and teaching techniques, but is also a personable, humble, and approachable crew as well.

The virtual 335th Chiefs admin team has specialized in beyond visual range air-to-air combat tactics, having come from an F-14A-135-GR and virtual aggressor background prior to Strike Eagle release. We house ED/HB beta testers, SATAL/SATAC competitors, real world pilots/controllers, former international military service members, and some of the most dedicated military aviation enthusiasts the community has to offer, culminating into a melting pot of knowledge and dedication to the best immersive experience DCS World by Eagle Dynamics has to offer.

I am immensely proud of being involved in this project and humbled to observe DCAF in its evolution to up the ante as a premiere experience in the international military simulation community.

To provide some visual foundation to the opinions stated above, here are a few examples of the DCAF learning and operations experience taken from bits and pieces of curriculum and past gameplay: (Next Post).

[Brody]

An overview of some of the combat curriculum provided to new members:

A custom launch-and-decide BVR timeline from BATC course:

Dynamic Launch Zone content taken from BVR-T Intro course:

 

Training Season Week 3 Day Formations Clip 1:

 

Training Season Week 3 Day Formations Clip 2:

 

Training Season Week 4 Night Formations Clip:

 

 

[Brody]

Finally, a few Youtube Clips from past DCAF training and operations experiences..

2022 DCAF 80's Syria Campaign Mission 5 LotATC Scope, Part 3:

2023 Casual Semi-Active Dissimilar Timeline Drills:

2023 DCAF Persian Rugs Mission Comms and Battle Overview:

 

[Sfowi]

The DCAF training course was potentially the most in-depth approach to DCS I’ve ever seen, making me feel truly proficient in the F-15E in every imaginable mission and scenario. They also gave me my own jet with custom nose art and a cool nickname which definitely didn’t reference my inability to manage time. 10/10 would recommend