99 ANAers!!
On the ‘real’ front, our men and
women of Naval Aviation are deployed conducting combat
operations and showing the Flag. Today – 1 July 09 -
our carriers are sailing:
 USS
Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) - 5th Fleet
USS
Carl Vinson (CVN 70) - Atlantic Ocean
USS
Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) - Atlantic Ocean
USS
Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) - 5th Fleet
AND, let’s not forget the many
other aviation-capable ships and our maritime patrol,
training, special mission, logistics and all the rest
that make Naval Aviation the Premier Force of our
Navy.
In addition to activity on the
‘real’ front, budget issues are being worked, folks are
working hard on the 100th Anniversary of
Naval Aviation, folks are fixing aircraft and aviation
systems and developing new ones, all to keep the
pointed end as sharp as possible.
Some of the news of those efforts
follows.
Please pass this to All Hands!
Pass the word, educate the public, let them and our
legislators know the great importance of Naval Aviation
and the paramount need for them to support it in every
possible way.
VR,
Dutch Rauch
Secretary/Treasurer
1446 Waggaman Circle
Mclean, VA 22101
Navy
Developing New Arresting Gear For All Aircraft Carriers
(DEFENSE DAILY 23 JUN 09) ... Geoff Fein
While
General Atomics and the Navy continue to work to prove
the ability to catapult aircraft from a carrier using
electricity instead of steam, the company is also
working to improve how aircraft land at sea, a service
official said.
And
unlike GA's electromagnetic aircraft launch system (EMALS)
effort, the Advanced Arresting Gear (AAG) is being
designed to replace the Mark 7 system currently used on
carriers, as well as to become part of the Gerald R.
Ford's recovery system, Capt. Randy Mahr, program
manager for aircraft launch and recovery equipment,
told Defense Daily in a recent interview.
Using
the Mark 7, the motion of the aircraft is taken out on
the flight deck and translated into pistons moving in
hydraulic fluid to slow the aircraft down, Mahr said.
"For
the first time in roughly 50 years, we will be changing
what we do," he added. "AAG takes that same motion on
the flight deck and we translate it and stop it in four
different ways."
While
above deck, there will be little if any noticeable
change. But below deck, the Mark 7 and its system of
several hydraulic power cylinders and cabling will be
replaced by different systems integrated to create a
new arresting gear, Mahr said.
The
first way of stopping an aircraft is using a water
brake, Mahr said.
"We
translate the motion into...[something] like a
centrifugal pump...and we manage the pressure against
the pump with how much water [goes] out at any time.
So, the faster it turns, the harder it is and we slow
[the aircraft] down that way," Mahr said.
The
water break component is used on shore-based arresting
gear systems, he added. "All we did was adapt what we
did for expeditionary airfields and shore-based systems
and size it to fit on the ship."
The
next piece is a mechanical friction brake that wraps
around a shaft. Pressure is applied to the break around
the shaft and the aircraft is slowed down, Mahr said.
"The
third one, we convert it into electrical energy. We
have a motor and, as the shaft turns, it spins up the
motor and we draw it off with a resistive load, which
slows the motor down. The resistive load is then dumped
into a bunch of cooling water," he said.
"So
instead of depending on one set of hydraulic pistons,
we take it out in three different ways and this gives
us redundancy. So on each wire, each of these
components...are replicated, one on the left side one
on the right side," Mahr added. "I can lose any one of
them and still operate normally. I can have the
mechanical brake fail and operate normally. I can have
one of the electric motors go down and operate
normally."
The
next thing the Navy did was look at how to remove the
amount of cable below deck. Back in the 1970s and into
the early 1980s, Naval Air Engineering Station,
Lakehurst, N.J., experimented with a conical drum and
it was very effective, but it turned out not to be
needed at the time, Mahr said.
"So we
took the conical drum technology and brought it back
for this. That allows us to handle a lot more cable in
a small area rather than having to run it back and
forth across the ship," he added.
That
system, called the Mark 14 arresting gear, was never
fielded, Mahr said.
The
good thing going forward, Mahr added, is that all of
the systems that comprise AAG are relatively proven
technologies.
"What
we are doing is taking the water brake, the conical
drum, the mechanical friction break and taking an
electric motor and just putting them together. The
challenge on EMALS, there was some technology
development," he said. "The challenge on AAG was taking
known technology and integrating it together. This is
proven technology, but the integration is what we have
been spending our time on."
Mahr
said he has one-half of a system currently being tested
at General Atomics in Rancho Bernardo, Calif.
"We are
running it up a little over 12 hours a day...now
through the beginning of July," he said. "This is
helping us get early reliability data on it."
AAG
wasn't selected to be either forward fit or retrofit,
Mahr noted.
"The
way the schedule works out it does happen to go into
the Ford first, and then after that CVN-72, the USS
Lincoln," he said. "I'll have Ford forward fit and then
about a year later it will go into Lincoln. It's just
the way the carrier schedules work out."
Installation of the new arresting gear system occurs
during a carrier's Refueling and Complex Overhaul (RCOH).
"We are spread out roughly through that
two-and-a-half year period. But the actual time it
takes us is roughly 15 months," Mahr said. "That
includes taking out all of the Mark 7 systems and
then putting in all the new ones."
Lawmakers Attach Amendments Addressing Strike Fighter,
EW Gaps
(INSIDE
THE NAVY 22 JUN 09) ... Dan Taylor
Two
lawmakers have successfully attached amendments to the
House Armed Services Committee’s mark-up of the fiscal
year 2010 defense authorization bill that press the
Navy to do something about projected shortfalls in the
sea service’s strike fighter and electronic warfare
aircraft fleets.
The
House Armed Services Committee accepted an amendment
submitted by Rep. Todd Akin (R-MO) that authorizes the
Navy to pursue a multi-year procurement of the
F/A-18E/F Super Hornet. Numerous lawmakers have urged
the Navy to buy Super Hornets to address a projected
strike fighter shortfall of up to 243 aircraft next
decade.
The
committee also approved an amendment sponsored by Rep.
Rick Larsen (D-WA) that requires the Pentagon to submit
an annual report on the electronic warfare (EW)
strategy of the Defense Department. Larsen told Inside
the Navy earlier this month that the Navy may need to
buy up to 20 more EA-18G Growlers to fill an
expeditionary EW gap, also expected to peak next
decade.
The
full committee marked up its version of the FY-10
defense authorization bill June 16 and 17. Akin’s
amendment “authorizes the Department of Defense to
enter into a multi-year procurement of F-18 Super
Hornets
and authorizes $108 million for advanced procurement to
reduce the overall cost per aircraft,” according to a
statement released by his office shortly after the
committee approved the bill. “A typical multi-year is
for five years and represents roughly 150 aircraft.”
Akin
and other lawmakers have grown impatient over the
Navy’s refusal to commit to a Super Hornet buy.
Service
officials have argued they are still mulling options as
the Pentagon conducts the Quadrennial Defense Review.
But Akin has argued that the way forward is clear and
the only conceivable option is to buy more Super
Hornets as the Navy faces a strike fighter shortfall
peaking in 2018 between when legacy F/A-18A-D Hornets
retire and the follow-on Joint Strike Fighter enters
service.
“Somewhere along the line, we’ve got to make a plan as
to what we’re going to do,” Akin told Navy officials at
a May 19 House Armed Services seapower and
expeditionary forces subcommittee hearing. “And it
seems like, no matter how you look at the numbers,
you’re coming up short on fighter planes.”
Larsen’s amendment would require the Pentagon to submit
a report, beginning in FY-11, that would outline its EW
strategy and “tell Congress what EW capabilities are
being used to achieve that strategy and how the
military provides leadership on EW issues,” according
to a June 17 statement issued by Larsen’s office.
Larsen
told ITN June 4 that the Navy faces an EW expedtionary
gap in the coming years as EA-6B Prowlers retire. The
Navy plans to buy 88 EA-18G Growlers to replace the
Prowler fleet, but all would be stationed on carriers
and would not be available in an expeditionary role.
The Air Force was supposed to take over as the
expeditionary EW force, but the air service “got out of
the EW business” in the late 1990s and have not
addressed the issue, Larsen said.
As a
result, Larsen thinks the Navy should consider taking
that expeditionary role back and buy 20 more Growlers
for that purpose. Larsen and other lawmakers including
Rep. Joe Pitts (R-PA) have urged the Defense Department
to at least make a decision on the matter. Larsen’s
amendment would require the Pentagon to better inform
Congress on its EW strategy.
“The Navy, Army, Air Force and Marines all engage
in electronic warfare of some form,” Larsen said in
the June 17 statement. “The Department of Defense
needs a comprehensive and unified strategy to
control the electromagnetic spectrum, and Congress
needs to know what this strategy is.”
V-22’s
Iraq Performance Should Prompt Program Review, GAO Says
(BLOOMBERG 23 JUN 09) ... Tony Capaccio
The
V-22 Osprey’s performance during its 19 months in Iraq
was substandard and the Pentagon should review whether
the aircraft’s cost and reliability merit continuing
the program, according to congressional auditors.
The tilt-rotor plane’s components wear out too soon,
making it too costly to maintain and grounded too much
of the time, the U.S. Government Accountability Office
said.
The Defense Department has spent $28 billion on the
aircraft developed and built by Textron Inc. and Boeing
Co. and has bought 206 planes to date. It plans to
spend $25 billion more on upgrades and the purchase of
the remaining 252 planes in the 458-aircraft program
for the Marine Corps and Air Force Special Operations
Command.
Given the “significant funding needs” to complete the
program, “now is a good time to consider the return on
this investment as well as other, less costly
alternatives that can fill the current requirement,”
the watchdog agency said.
The report, scheduled for release at a congressional
hearing today, is the first independent assessment of
the V-22’s performance in Iraq. The aircraft has been
in development for 20 years and Marine Corps officials
say it is likely to be deployed in Afghanistan this
year.
The Osprey has rotors that tilt, allowing it to take
off and land like a helicopter. The military sees it as
useful for long-range Marine Corps and commando
missions such as those the Marines anticipate in
Afghanistan.
Pentagon Response
David Ahern, a Pentagon acquisition official, defended
the aircraft’s effectiveness in Iraq but said the GAO
“properly identifies reliability and availability
concerns.”
“Correcting the reliability and availability
problems is a priority and actions are being taken,”
Ahern stated in comments included in the report.
“Neither the Defense Department nor the Marine Corps is
satisfied,” he wrote in comments coordinated with the
Marine Corps.
Ahern said the Pentagon sees no need for a reassessment
of the program of the scope recommended by GAO, but “as
more is learned about the V-22’s performance, future
adjustments to planned quantities may be appropriate.”
Pentagon performance reviews of the Osprey in 2000 and
2001 criticized the aircraft for a host of
deficiencies, including problems with its design,
safety and reliability. Subsequent reviews concluded
that the problems had been largely corrected.
No
Heavy Combat
The V-22 didn’t face heavy combat conditions in Iraq.
The first squadron of 12 arrived in October 2007, after
the once- heavy fighting in Anbar province between U.S.
forces and al- Qaeda insurgents had died down because
local Sunni tribesmen had turned against the
insurgents.
While the V-22 flew its assigned missions successfully,
maintenance problems left the planes available for
flight at rates “significantly below minimum required
levels,” the GAO said.
During three periods studied during the V-22’s
deployment from October 2007 through April 2009, the
planes were available for combat operations on average
68 percent, 57 percent and 61 percent of the time,
“while the minimum requirement” is 82 percent, said the
GAO.
And these low rates “were not unique to the Iraq
deployment” but were on par with other V-22 squadrons
in the U.S., GAO said.
In
addition, the 12 planes arrived with nearly three times
the spare parts required, yet some parts wore out more
quickly than expected, creating shortages that forced
maintenance crews to cannibalize components from these
planes or get them from Ospreys based in the U.S.
In
addition to keeping the plane grounded, these constant
repairs put the plane’s flying cost at $11,000 per
hour, double the original estimate.
Design
‘Challenges’
The V-22’s continuing design “challenges have raised
questions over whether the aircraft is best suited to
accomplish” the full range of missions of the older
aircraft it’s replacing, the agency said.
Ahern defended the V-22’s performance in Iraq.
“The aircraft was pressed into combat operations in
Iraq at the first opportunity,” he wrote. “The V-22 is
arguably the most survivable, versatile and capable
medium-lift airframe in the Iraq theater” and “evidence
in the report leads to a conclusion that the V-22 was
operationally effective in Iraq,” Ahern wrote.
Providence, Rhode Island-based Textron’s Bell
Helicopter unit co-produces the Osprey with Boeing’s
Ridley Township, Pennsylvania, facility. Chicago-based
Boeing makes the fuselage.
Fort
Worth, Texas-based Bell mates the wings and the tail to
the fuselage and conducts flight tests.
Bell Helicopter spokesman Tom Dolney said that, while
the companies haven’t seen the GAO report, “We have a
plan in place and an ongoing program to improve the
availability of the entire V-22 fleet.”
“We’ve been working with our customers and the Osprey
industry team to identify components, support
activities and designs that will improve aircraft
availability. Several improvements are already in
place,” Dolney said in an e-mail statement.
+===========+++++++++++++++++================++++++++++++++++++===
Lawmaker: Time To Put Osprey Out Of Its Misery
(NAVY
TIMES 23 JUN 09) ... Amy McCullough
The
chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform
Committee recommended Tuesday that the production of
all MV-22 Ospreys be halted, saying that after more
than two decades the hybrid aircraft still can’t
complete the missions for which it was designed.
“It’s
time to put the Osprey out of its misery, and time to
put the taxpayers out of their miseries,” Rep. Edolphus
Towns, D-N.Y., said following testimony on Capitol Hill
from leading Marine aviation officials, representatives
of the Government Accountability Office and defense
analysts. Towns said he plans to present his
recommendation to the House Appropriations Committee.
His
comments come after the release Tuesday of a scathing
report from the GAO questioning the Osprey’s ability to
operate in high-threat environments — namely
Afghanistan — and on Navy ships. Moreover, the
program’s research, development, test and evaluation
costs soared more than 200 percent — from $4.2 billion
to $12.7 billion — between 1986 and 2007, according to
the report, which notes also that the cost to procure
the aircraft has jumped from $34.4 billion to $42.6
billion, even though the total buy has dropped from
nearly 1,000 aircraft to less than 500.
And
while its three consecutive deployments to Iraq prove
the Osprey can complete its mission, “challenges may
limit its ability to accomplish the full repertoire of
missions of the legacy helicopters it is replacing,”
the report says.
Marine
officials staunchly defended the aircraft, saying it
has the ability to save lives by flying high above the
threats that insurgents and traditional combat weapons
present.
The GAO
report makes several observations, including:
• The
Corps has been forced to “cannibalize” its MV-22s and
the Osprey production line because parts wear out much
quicker than anticipated.
• The
aircraft lacks an integrated weapon system capable of
suppressing threats while approaching a landing zone.
• The
Osprey’s size prohibits it from fully using all the
deck spots aboard Navy ships, and its “large inventory”
of spare parts takes up too much room on the hangar
deck space.
Retired
Lt. Col. Dakota Wood, senior fellow for the Center for
Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, has suggested the
Corps reconsider its plan to replace all of its CH-46E
Sea Knight and CH-53D Sea Stallions and consider a
mixed fleet instead.
“A mixed medium-lift fleet composed of MV-22s and a
new helicopter would provide more options and
increased flexibility for the service at less cost
than a fleet composed only of MV-22s,” Wood said.
Murtha
Says White House Erred On Helicopter
(ASSOCIATED PRESS 24 JUN 09) ... Kimberly Hefling
WASHINGTON — The chairman of a powerful House
subcommittee that oversees the military said Wednesday
he hopes at least some of the $3.2 billion spent for a
new fleet of presidential helicopters can be salvaged.
The
military stopped production of the heavily over-budget
VH-71 helicopter program, estimated to now cost $13
billion, at the White House's request. The Navy is
reviewing options to restart the process.
Rep.
John Murtha, D-Pa., told defense writers that he and
other lawmakers are trying to persuade the
administration to use at least some of what's already
been spent. Murtha said he thinks the White House was
responding to bad publicity about the project, but that
it made a decision that doesn't make sense financially.
Murtha,
who heads the Appropriations defense subcommittee,
said: "$3.2 billion spent on the VH-71 and we get
nothing out of it? That's unacceptable."
The new
fleet was ordered by President George W. Bush after the
9/11 terrorist attacks because of security concerns. As
new requirements were added, the project became six
years behind schedule and the price tag of the heavily
equipped helicopters doubled to $13 billion.
Nine of
the presidential helicopters out of a planned fleet of
28 have been delivered so far to the Navy. To salvage
what's already been used, some options discussed by
lawmakers include using some of the technology in a new
fleet or further developing the aircraft already made.
In May,
the military halted production of the helicopters at
the Lockheed Martin helicopter plant in Owego, N.Y.
===========================================================
Murtha: Lawmakers 'Didn't Have
a Clue' About Escalating Costs of Presidential
Helicopter Effort
(INSIDE
DEFENSE 24 JUN 09) ... Zachary M. Peterson
Lawmakers "didn't have a clue" that the VH-71
Presidential Helicopter effort had escalated
dramatically in cost before Defense Secretary Robert
Gates halted the program earlier this year, Rep. Jack
Murtha (D-PA), chairman of the House Appropriations
defense subcommittee, said this morning.
“It's
almost impossible to believe that it could've gone that
far without someone catching it, until somebody in the
press said it was costing that much,” Murtha said at
breakfast with defense reporters in Washington.
“Members didn't have a clue how much it cost. We do the
best we can do in monitoring this stuff, but we didn't
add it up and then divide it [to determine] how much it
cost per helicopter.”
The
VH-71 program, contracted to Lockheed Martin, was set
to replace the VH-3D and VH-60N fleet of 19 aircraft
built in the 1970s and late 1980s. In January, the Navy
acknowledged the effort doubled in price from $6.5
billion to about $13 billion. The Navy officially
canceled the program on June 2.
Nonetheless, Murtha stated this morning that he hopes
some of the investment in the VH-71 effort can be
recovered.
“It's
one program where even the Defense Department says, 'We
may be able to salvage some technology from it,'” he
noted. “I'm hoping we can do more than that.”
A
successor presidential helicopter replacement program
following the cancellation of the VH-71 effort could
produce 23 new aircraft by 2026 and cost between $10
billion and $17 billion depending on requirements,
according to a recent report provided to Congress.
The
June 3 report -- titled “VH-71 Presidential Helicopter
Program: Background and Issues for Congress” and
written by Ronald O’Rourke, a naval analyst for the
Congressional Research Service -- states that a new
program could maintain a competition through
preliminary design review to procure 27 aircraft, four
of which would be test aircraft that would not enter
service.
Under
this approach, the Navy estimates the program could
achieve initial operational capability around fiscal
year 2024 and full operational capability around FY-26,
according to the report.
“The production aircraft would presumably be
intended to meet all of the operational
requirements established for the new program, which
might equate to something less than, equal to, or
greater than the operational requirements in the
VH-71,” the analyst writes.
Cmte.
Oks Dredging Money For Mayport
Dredging Would Make Easy Access For Carrier
(NEWS 4
JAX (JACKSONVILLE) 24 JUN 09)
WASHINGTON -- Rep. Ander Crenshaw said House
Appropriations Committee approval of $46.3 million in
dredging funds and $29.6 million for Charlie Wharf
upgrades at Naval Station Mayport underscores growing
commitment to key national security initiatives at the
base.
“This
vote is great news for Naval Station Mayport and
provides growing testament to the importance of these
projects to our national security,” said Crenshaw, a
member of the House Military Construction, Veterans
Affairs and Related Agencies Subcommittee. “My
subcommittee understood the necessity of these
initiatives and passed them last week with my strong
support. Today, the full committee followed suit, and I
expect Congress will ultimately do the same.”
“Passage of this funding is a matter of placing our
national security first and foremost. The United States
Navy has clearly indicated it wants an alternate East
Coast location for a nuclear carrier any time, day or
night,” Crenshaw continued. “The dredging project,
while also a necessary step to home-porting a nuclear
carrier at Mayport, would allow the Navy to bring in a
carrier whenever it’s needed. Charlie Pier upgrades
also support the national security mission.”
The
House Appropriations Committee passed the projects as a
part of its approval of the Fiscal Year 2010 Military
Construction (MILCON), Veterans Affairs and Related
Agencies Appropriations Bill. The subcommittee passed
the measure on June 16. The legislation now moves to
the floor of the Congress for consideration.
The
Appropriations Bill also contains funding for:
Naval
Station Mayport training and fitness complex for
servicemen and women and their families - $26.3
million.
United
States Marine Corps Blount Island Command - $3.7
million for Port Operations Center.
Jacksonville Defense Logistics Agency Fuel Farm - $11.5
million to replace fuel tanks.
Naval Station Jacksonville 9-8A Modification - $5.9
million.
Final
Prowler Deployment For VAQ-138
(THE
NORTHWEST NAVIGATOR (PUGET SOUND NAVY NEWS) 25 JUN 09)
... MC1 Steve Owsley and MC3 Kevin Murphy
When
the “Yellow Jackets” of Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ)
138 were commissioned 33 years ago, the EA-6B Prowler
had already been in service for eight years.
Now the
squadron is preparing to say goodbye to an old friend
as they begin the transition to the new E/A-18G
Growler, an electronic warfare variant of the F/A-18F
Super Hornet.
From
Vietnam to Iraq, the EA-6B Prowler’s mission has been
to protect fleet surface units and aircraft by jamming
hostile radar and communications, and destroying
surface-to-air missile (SAM) sites.
“Anytime you had a high threat environment with
surface-to-air missiles, you took one of those guys
with you,” said Commander Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 9
Capt. Christopher Murray, a naval aviator of 25 years.
“It was always nice having the Prowler around.”
The
Prowler wasn’t ever as sleek as the fighters it
protected from SAM sites. Over the years its bulbous
nose, wide body and relatively slow air speed earned
the 41-year old airframe nicknames like, the bus,
station wagon and fat boy.
Some
VAQ-138 crew members said they will miss the Prowler
partly because it challenged them.
“It
will be bittersweet to see her leave,” said VAQ-138
Chief Aviation Structural Mechanic Safety Equipment
(AW) Richard Peterson, who has worked with Prowlers for
21 years. “Getting parts is always difficult. Then you
have to be a contortionist just to get parts in and out
of it. It is a real challenge maintaining her. It’s
like raising a kid and sending them off to college.”
Peterson described the Prowler as a “work horse”, but
said it requires 60 to 70 hours of maintenance a day to
keep it flying.
“I know
the age of the aircraft requires many hours of
maintenance,” said VAQ-138 Pilot Lt. Cmdr. Matthew
Wright, who has approximately 1,700 flight hours in
Prowlers. “Given their circumstances, the crew does an
excellent job keeping the Prowlers in shape.”
The
Prowler challenged more than just its maintainers.
“The
Prowler is a beast,” said Wright. “It’s a unique
aircraft and difficult to fly, specifically behind the
ship. No matter how many hours you have in it, it is
always challenging to fly.”
The
Prowler’s wide body accommodates a four seat cockpit
for one pilot and three electronic countermeasures
officers (ECMOs), unlike the tandem cockpit of the
Growler.
“I
think what I’ll will miss most is the difficulty of
flying it,” said Wright. “I’ll miss the four-man crew
and flying over Whidbey Island at low altitudes of 500
feet.”
After
41 years the plane has been worth maintaining, said
VAQ-138 Commanding Officer, Cmdr. Kyle Higgins.
“The
airframe of the aircraft is unique, but the true
testament of the aircraft has been its ability to
complete its mission of airborne electronic attack,”
said Higgins. “That’s why the solid piece of iron has
lasted so long.”
Higgins
said that the best part about the Prowler is its
mission.
“We
can’t see the Prowler’s attacks at times, but we know
the science behind our aircraft,” said Higgins. “We
know our mission was successful when we get back home
without getting tracked down.”
The
Prowler can jam enemy radar or destroy it with
High-Speed Anti-Radiation Missiles (HARM).
In 1999
during the Kosovo conflict, Peterson was stationed with
VAQ-141 aboard USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71). He said
in an eight-week period four Prowlers launched 80
missiles with a 90 percent kill rate.
“The
HARM took out surface-to-air-missile [SAM] sites” said
Peterson. “Fortunately, there aren’t many SAM sites
left in the world thanks to the Prowler.”
According to Higgins when the Growler replaces the
Prowler, the electronic warfare mission will not
change. The Growler will only increase the capability
of electronic warfare pilots.
“I am
amped up,” said Higgins. “The mission is not going
anywhere. The Growler will have better maneuverability
to defend itself against other aircraft. It will be
like switching from an Atari system to an Xbox.”
Murray
agrees the technology in the Growler will be more Xbox
than Atari. “You get essentially the same capabilities
with the potential for a lot more growth, because of
smaller computers and more advanced technology.”
The
Growler’s increased capabilities represent the future
of electronic warfare, but the Prowler’s history makes
it special to some of its pilots.
“Like
anything that is going to be retired, you feel a sense
of pride and attachment to it,” said Wright. “A lot of
people flew the plane, and I am going to be one of the
last guys to fly it after many years of use. It’s a
pretty cool feeling.”
“As
much as we complain and moan, we will miss it,” said
Wright. “We will miss the challenge. We will miss
flying something different, but we are also looking
forward to the transition.”
VAQ-138 will continue to fly the Prowler to sustain
their pilots’ qualifications, conduct training
missions and take part in a joint training exercise
before beginning the transition to Growlers in
March. The transition is expected to take
approximately six months and be completed in the
fall of 2010.
V-22 To
Get Performance Upgrades
(AVIATION WEEK 25 JUN 09) ... Bettina H. Chavanne
Amid
renewed controversy over the performance and handling
characteristics of the V-22 Osprey, U.S. Naval Air
Systems Command (NAVAIR) is working to upgrade the
tiltrotor's capabilities.
Software to be released to the fleet this summer will
increase the maximum level flight airspeed of the V-22
from 250 knots to 270 knots, according to Maj. Scott
Trail, V-22 department head at NAVAIR's Air Test and
Evaluation Office at Patuxent River, Md. "That will
further increase the speed, capability and defensive
maneuvering," he said.
With an
Afghanistan deployment looming, test efforts are also
under way to expand the aircraft's 10,000-foot density
altitude limit. "We'll try to get to 12,000 or 14,000
feet," Trail said. Expanding the envelope in helicopter
mode will help the V-22 navigate the handling and
limited lift challenges faced by all aircraft at high
altitude, Trail added. Additional software tests
conducted June 23 show promise to increase the
aircraft's sea-level lift performance by hundreds of
pounds, Trail said.
After three deployments in Iraq, the V-22 Osprey is
facing heat from lawmakers again for reliability,
maintainability and operational limitations, with
the chairman of a House committee calling for a
halt to production
UCAS
Gives Navy Opportunity To Pursue Scalable Systems
Approach
(DEFENSE DAILY 26 JUN 09) ... Geoff Fein
The
Navy's effort to develop a carrier capable combat drone
is providing the service an opportunity to explore the
art of the possible, literally building the Unmanned
Combat Air System (UCAS) with an eye toward open
architecture (OA).
"One of
the unique opportunities that we have is that we have a
clean sheet aircraft, so we look at things like OA,"
Glenn Colby, aviation ship integration integrated
product team lead, told Defense Daily in a recent
interview.
"One of
the hardest things to do is take a current system and
give it OA interfaces when it wasn't designed that way
in the first place," he added.
But if
developers can start the effort from scratch, they can
take a step back and look at how things could be done,
Colby said.
In
particular, the Navy has been looking at scalable
systems for UCAS as a way to cut costs, rapidly
introduce new capabilities and pace new threats, he
said.
There
has been a lot of examining why Department of Defense (DoD)
weapon systems have grown in cost. Some of the
discussion has centered on whether systems are just too
complex, have too many features, or if there are too
many requirements, Colby said.
"What
we are looking at is the fact that we think the missing
element is scalability, and we call it 'design for
scalability,'" Colby said. "It's really something that
has come out of the commercial world and we are trying
to look at what the commercial world does and how they
architect complex systems and how that might apply to
what we are doing."
One
example Colby noted is that when someone purchases a
commercial off the shelf system (COTS), and it comes
time to replace that component, the part is obsolete.
"The
difference there is if you design for
scalability...then you pull the old one out, put the
new one in, and it doesn't really matter if it's the
same exact model or not because the design for
scalability ensures that you can plug the new one in
and you get better capability at less cost," he
explained.
"If you
don't design for scalability and you are asking this
vendor to give you the exact same model, it's very
costly, because in the commercial world nobody builds
[that part] anymore. It's very important to understand
what scalability is because inherent scalability allows
you to design in flexibility. In fact, scalability is
one of the things that allows you to rapidly update
your system," Colby said.
The
ability to rapidly update systems is more important
than ever as the services face new threats and develop
new missions, he added.
Building systems that are inherently scalable will
result in being able to add capability, without
redesigning the system, at a fraction of the cost than
can be done today, Colby said.
One
area where scalability will prove its worth is in
communications, Colby noted.
While
he points out that the underlying technology in
communications is very important, today it's not just
about communications, but it's also the software and
the hardware.
"In the
parlance of industry you would call these monolithic
systems--meaning that if you change a piece of the
system, you affect the whole system. And every time you
make a change you have to go all the way through from
one end to another. So you are writing the same codes
for the same functions over and over and over again,"
he said.
"In a
scalable system, you would deploy a service and that
service would communicate to all the different
platforms you have out there and all the platforms
would follow a common operating environment standard so
that they all could interoperate with whatever you
wrote," Colby added.
Imagine
having a new warfighting application with the ability
to process radar data in a new way, he said.
"Instead of waiting for all the OFP [operational flight
program] cycles to update and all the different
platforms writing new software, you would just write a
software service and deploy it out over the network to
P-3s, and E-2s and F-18s, and UCAS," Colby said. "It's
a much more powerful concept and you can see how it
would not only save you money but you could do it much
more rapidly assuming you had that scalable
infrastructure in place."
One of
the bigger challenges and one the UCAS team has made a
lot of progress on is the idea of using these scalable
architectures in real time applications, he said.
"One of
the first challenges for DoD that we have made a lot of
progress on is showing we can use these scalable
architectures for these real time...even safety
critical type applications where we are actually using
the network to support landing aircraft, command and
control, air traffic control..." Colby said. "We've had
a lot of progress on that. We started doing testing in
that area in 2005, so we've actually incorporated that
architecture into what we are doing."
Another
area that's challenging is security, Colby added. "The
kinds of security DoD requires makes some of the
scalability technology challenging because it restricts
how you exchange information on your system.
"Again,
there has been a lot of different folks working in that
area, but it's one of the things that's perhaps unique
for DoD because of our security constraints," he said.
While
UCAS is in the development stage, Colby noted that if
the day comes that the Navy asks for the system to be
capable of carrying a variety of payloads, having a
scalable system will make it feasible.
"Everything I am talking about in terms of having
scalability built into the system, having scalable ways
of moving that information across the Navy and DoD
networks...that stuff all becomes very, very
important," he said.
More Than Half Of Orions On
The Shelf
Wing-Crack Fears Mean Fewer P-3s, Limited Pilot
Training
(NAVY
TIMES 6 JUL 09) ... Andrew Tilghman
Fewer
than half of the Navy's aging P-3 Orions are available
for operations and training, an ongoing issue that last
year created a "totally unacceptable" level of pilots
who were not current on monthly flight-hour
requirements, said the one-star admiral overseeing the
P-3 fleet.
Sixty-two of the Navy's 154 maritime patrol planes are
ready for missions, which today include anti-submarine
warfare, surveillance, anti-piracy efforts and
providing intelligence to troops on the ground in Iraq
and Afghanistan.
Most
of the other aircraft are either in the depot or
awaiting overhauls that involve rebuilding the planes'
wing structures, said Rear Adm. William Moran,
commander of the Patrol and Reconnaissance
Group.
The
P-3s are about 30 years old on average. Today's number
of flyable aircraft is what Navy officials expected
following the December 2007 grounding of 39 P-3s amid
concerns that the aircraft's wings could break off in
midflight.
"We
knew it would take quite a bit of time until we were
able to dig our way out of that hole, if you will,"
Moran said. "We are exactly where we had planned to be
in terms of the number of mission airplanes available
to both operate and train with."
The
number of operational aircraft has inched up slightly
from its low point last fall, when fewer than 60 P-3s
were available for training and operations, Moran said
The
limited fleet size has been a challenge. Shortly after
Moran assumed command of the fleet last year, he found
that about 40 percent of the Navy's Orion pilots were
not current on monthly flight-hour requirements.
"That
was, in my view, totally unacceptable," Moran said.
Today, the number is closer to 15 percent and
approaching his target of about 10 percent, he said.
Monthly requirements include 10 flight hours and three
landings.
"We
basically changed the priorities, and I went out ... to
our commanders and said, `Your No. 1 priority is pilot
proficiency.' I consider that a safety issue," he said.
Concerns about pilot proficiency were highlighted last
year when the Navy lost two P-3s in major mishaps.
Investigators in both cases blamed pilots who were not
current on their monthly requirements.
Getting pilots proficient forced Moran to give local
commanders more flexibility and "to take some of the
readiness requirements off their plates."
"I
really leave it to the [commanding officers] to
determine what they no longer choose to do in order to
maintain their pilot proficiency".
The
fleet's most urgent mission these days is supporting
troops on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan by
providing intelligence, surveillance and
reconnaissance, Moran said.
He
has also encouraged his commanders to step up their
focus on the P-3's traditional mission of hunting
submarines.
"We
can't get enough ASW," Moran said.
Two
additional P-3s were grounded in March after
engineering tests revealed problems with their wings.
And five previously grounded aircraft have returned to
the fleet after costly, yearlong stays in the depot.
About
20 percent of the P-3s — or 29 aircraft — are "bounce
birds," older models that are still flyable but have
little operational use.
The
Navy is replacing the P-3s with the next-generation
P-8A Poseidon. The service plans to buy 117 P-8As and
hopes to have a fleet replacement squadron up and
running in 2012 and a P-8A squadron ready for
deployment in 2013.
"That is really important to us. The sooner we
get this capability out to the fleet, the better,"
Moran said.
New
Commander Takes Over At Navy Center In Fallon
(ASSOCIATED PRESS 28 JUN 09)
FALLON,
Nev. - Rear Adm. Mark Fox has assumed command of the Naval
Strike and Air Warfare Center at Naval Air Station Fallon.
Rear Adm.
Mark Emerson relinquished command during a ceremony Friday
at the base.
Fox, a
veteran of Operation Desert Storm in 1991, led the opening
"shock and awe" strike during the war in Iraq in March
2003.
He will
become the eighth commander of the elite training program
since it moved to Fallon.
Initially named the Naval Strike Warfare Center and
headquartered at NAS Fallon since 1984, it became the
Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center in 1996 upon
consolidation with the Navy Fighter Weapons School
known as "Top Gun" and the Carrier Airborne Early
Warning Weapons School, or "Top Dome."
Bridging
The Fighter Gap
U.S. Navy
Has Easy Solution: Buy More Super Hornets
(DEFENSE
NEWS 29 JUN 09) ... Robert Diamond
There is an
old-fashioned showdown taking place in the halls of the
Pentagon and Capitol Hill right now. Officials are
concerned about the emergence of a so-called "fighter gap"
in the U.S. Navy. The gap refers to a projected shortfall
in the number of strike-fighter aircraft the Navy requires
to meet the needs of its 10 active-duty carrier air wings.
According
to the latest figures released by the Navy and the
Congressional Research Service, the Navy and Marine Corps
will suffer a shortfall of 50 aircraft in 2010. That number
could reach as high as 243 when the gap peaks in 2018.
Of course,
the fighter gap deeply concerns Navy brass, but it should
also worry the Army and Marines, who depend on precision
combat air support on a daily basis.
The
proximate cause of the fighter gap comes from the rate at
which the Navy will retire the backbone of its current
strike-fighter fleet - the F/A-18 Hornet-Super Hornet -
while simultaneously introducing the new F-35 Joint Strike
Fighter (JSF) as its replacement.
Admirals,
analysts and members of Congress have good reason to argue
over the exact size of the upcoming fighter gap; after all,
numbers matter. However, we must not allow reasonable
disagreements to descend into petty quibbling. Everyone
agrees that the problem is unacceptable and that we need an
urgent answer to the problem.
Fortunately, the answer to that question is not
complicated: Buy more F/A-18E/F Super Hornets.
Cost,
Delivery Concerns
The reason
for this answer is simple. The biggest unknown in this
entire equation is "if" and "when" there will be a
successful introduction of the F-35. The development and
procurement strategy behind this new aircraft has been
flawed from the beginning, and it is highly likely that
both the cost and delivery schedule will continue to change
for the worse.
The
Government Accountability Office (GAO), the federal
government's independent budgetary watchdog, has had tough
words for the new JSF. In its last annual review of the
F-35 program, the GAO highlighted the fact that "three
defense organizations independent of the JSF program office
have all concluded that the program office's cost estimate
is significantly understated and the current schedule
unlikely to be achieved."
This led
the GAO to determine that "the current JSF cost and
schedule reported to Congress are not reliable for decision
making."
F-35
Uncertainty
In other
words, defense officials and Congress have no clear idea of
when the F-35 will be fully operational. What they do have
is a proven aircraft in the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet. The
Super Hornet is already in production, has a
well-established cost and is battle tested. The F-35 is
none of these. It may one day prove to be a better
aircraft, but for now, it is little more than a good idea
with an uncertain future.
Given this
reality, the only sensible plan to address the Navy's
fighter gap is for Congress to authorize and fund a new,
extended procurement plan for the Super Hornet.
In the
narrow confines of the defense procurement debate, this
makes perfect sense. But there are also bigger issues at
stake.
In the
daily Washington battles about who gets what military
contract and why, the fact that we are a nation at war is
sometimes too easily forgotten. With troops in combat
today, our servicemen and women deserve better than a
debate about unproven technologies of the future.
What they
really need as members of the military - and what we need
to do as U.S. citizens if we are to support the military we
have sent into battle - is reliable, precision combat air
support.
The Navy
and the Department of Defense have committed to the F-35 as
the strike-fighter of the future. But that is exactly the
problem; the future is not here yet. It is irresponsible
and wrong to invest in the vague and pricey promises of
tomorrow at the expense of the needs of the military today.
(Robert Diamond is a former U.S. Navy officer and is
senior vice president at Realty Capital International
LLC, a global real estate investment banking and
advisory firm.)
Subject: Media invited to UAS Demo
2009
Date: 29-Jun-09
The U.S. Navy's Program Executive Office, Unmanned Aviation
and Strike Weapons (PEO[U&W]), and the Association for
Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI), will host
the 5th Biennial Unmanned Systems Demonstration on Monday,
10 August 2009, at the Patuxent River Naval Air Station,
Webster Field Annex in St. Inigoes, Md.
This event will feature live
demonstrations of Unmanned Air Vehicles (UAVs) and Unmanned
Ground Vehicles (UGVs) in an operational environment.
Webster Field offers an exceptional opportunity to display
and demonstrate full-scale UAV and UGV systems capabilities
and hardware. Additional information on the event, and on
registration can be found at: http://symposium.auvsi.org/.
Opening ceremonies will be conducted
by Rear Admiral Bill Shannon, PEO(U&W), and Michael Toscano,
AUVSI Executive Director, at 9 a.m., followed by a full day
of live demonstrations. More than 20 ground and air systems
demonstrations are scheduled along with static displays
promoting unmanned systems technology and capabilities.
Scheduled participants include: AAI SHADOW 200,
AeroVironment PUMA AE, Navy / MUDO AEROSTAR, Northrop
Grumman FIRE SCOUT B, IAI HERON, Insitu SCAN EAGLE and
INTEGRATOR, AAI Aerosonde Mk 4.4 &4.7, AAI / Aeronautics
Orbiter, AFI HORNET Micro UAS, NASA J-FliC, L-3 BAI MOBIAS,
Defense Technologies RANLO 1, GDRS T-2 and STRYKER CAT,
iRobot 510, iRobot WARRIOR, iRobot SUGV 300 and Kairos
Autonomi PRONTO4. Participation is subject to change.
Representatives of the media who would
like to attend should contact Chuck Wagner, chuck.wagner1@navy.mil,
with questions or to register.
Bremerton
Will Have 2 Carriers 2011-2012
(HOUSE.GOV
28 JUN 09)
WASHINGTON,
D.C. – The Navy informed U.S. Rep. Norm Dicks this week
that the homeport of the USS Nimitz (CVN68) will shift from
San Diego to Bremerton in Dec. 2010 while the carrier
undergoes a 16-month maintenance period at Puget Sound
Naval Shipyard.
Following
the repairs on the Nimitz, Rep. Dicks said the Navy will
base the carrier in Everett, where it will replace the USS
Abraham Lincoln (CVN72) when it heads to Norfolk for
refueling in 2013.
The Kitsap
area will benefit from the presence of two carriers during
the period in which the Nimitz is in drydock at Bremerton.
Payrolls for the officers and enlisted personnel aboard the
USS John Stennis (CVN74), currently homeported at
Bremerton, total more than $200 million each annually.
The move also underscores the importance of completing
the rebuilding of the shipyard's Pier Bravo, the
carrier maintenance pier, in time for the Nimitz
arrival, Rep. Dicks stated. The congressman pushed for
$91 million in the military construction appropriations
bill last year to begin the project, and he noted that
just this week the House approved next year's bill
containing the remaining $69 million needed to complete
the pier construction by late 2010.
#
4 May
2009
“Boots
on the Ground / Boots on the Deck events are productive
leadership engagement opportunities linking NAE leadership
to Sailors and Marines, and just as importantly, resolving
Fleet issues in near real time.”
- VADM Tom
Kilcline, Commander, Naval Air Forces
Boots on
the Ground (BOG) / Boots on the Deck (BOD) Purpose
Understand working-level issues that impact readiness and
cost
Identify potential actions to resolve working-level issues
Promote execution of the NAE’s continuous process
improvement program, AIRSpeed, including follow up
of investments
made to date in training and tools
Allow Sailors and Marines a face-to-face opportunity to
convey their concerns to senior leadership
Identify,
recognize and reward AIRSpeed successes
BOG/BOD
Feedback
Typical BOG/BOD Accomplishments:
Changed testing policy for Joint Direct Attack Munitions
tail kits after a BOD visit aboard USS THEODORE ROOSEVELT
(CVN 71) in 2008. Sailors now conduct some tests in the
magazine storage facility instead of transporting the kits
two
decks to the mess decks for testing. This change in policy
is being considered for
L-Class ships after a similar constraint was identifi ed
during a BOD aboard USS BATAAN (LHD 5) in Dec 2008.
Identifi ed and shared best practices across Fleet
Readiness Centers (FRC). Artisans at FRC Southeast
demonstrated a
new repair process for the H-60 composite sliding overhead
fairing. The new process allows for the use of procured
laminate
panels for repairs instead of a wet layup of multiple
layers of fi berglass and resin.
Replicated an F/A-18 community satellite supply process
into HMM/HMH squadrons after Marines at MCAS Miramar
demonstrated that this satellite supply process reduced
maintenance delays and benefi tted readiness at their
squadron.
BOG/BOD Work Now Underway:
Incorporating innovative continuous process improvement
(CPI) methodology on L-Class ships
Standardizing Electronic Optical Sensing Unit repair
procedures throughout all FRCs and afl oat AIMDs
Analyzing C-130 prop housing repair reliability improvement
Analyzing root factors and impact on RFT gap of supply
chain delays for H-60 detachments deployed in 5th Fleet AOR
Sending FRC
artisans to afl oat AIMDs and squadrons to conduct
depot-level repairs on-site to improve readiness
Latest NAE
Outstanding Performance Award Winners
March 2009: CAPT Kevin O’Flaherty, USN, CVN 77 - Carrier
Readiness Team, Manpower Initiative Team Lead
April 2009: LtCol Don Evans, USMC, ASL-34 HQMC - Current
Readiness CFT Support
May 2009:
CDR Timothy Barkdoll, USN, BUPERS - Total Force CFT Support
Key
Messages
NAE
Leadership is committed to enterprise behavior and the work
of the individual within the Enterprise
NAE members are both consumers and providers.
Balancing this dual role helps us defi ne the right level
of
readiness for our aircraft communities BOG/BOD events are
NAE events that contribute to
achieving USN units ready for tasking and USMC core
competent units
Facts and Figures
BOG site visits began in 1999 by then RADM Massenburg.
NAS Lemoore hosted the fi rst offi cial
BOG in 2001. As of Spring 2009, fi ve aircraft
carriers (CVN 68 twice) and two L-class ships have hosted a
BOD
Since 2003, 41 sites have hosted a BOG/BOD During the last
10 BOG/BODs, 90 action items have
been generated, and all have been resolved or are in work.
Top Navy
Officer Opposes F-35 Alternative Engine
(CONGRESSIONAL QUARTERLY 30 JUN 09) ... John Donnelly
The Navy's
top officer said Tuesday he opposes the continued
development of an alternative engine for the new F-35 Joint
Strike Fighter jet, a program at the center of a veto clash
between the White House and Congress.
At issue is
whether to buy only Pratt & Whitney engines for the F-35, a
jet to be flown by all U.S. military services and several
allies, or to continue developing and ultimately purchase
an additional back-up engine made by General Electric
Company and Rolls Royce.
Congress
launched the second-engine program in 1997 and has
appropriated $2.5 billion for it since. For the last three
years, however, the Pentagon has tried to kill the
initiative. Yet Congress has resisted each time by
appropriating money for the backup program.
Despite the
official opposition of both the Bush and Obama
administrations to the second engine, some military leaders
have worried about relying completely on a single engine
manufacturer. But in a brief interview Tuesday, the chief
of naval operations, Adm. Gary Roughead, weighed in on the
debate, arguing that keeping parts for two engines on the
decks of aircraft carriers was not advisable.
"Space is
at a premium," he said. "Therefore you can put me solidly
in the one-engine camp."
Roughead's
opposition to the second engine could fortify the
administration's case. But if President Obama is to end the
program, he will first have to convince key lawmakers to
change their minds.
The defense
authorization bill (HR 2647) that the House passed June 25
would endorse spending $603 million to develop and procure
the second engine. The Senate Armed Services Committee
approved its own draft of the bill the same day, which
would include $439 million for the second engine. The House
bill would require the Pentagon to request funding for the
second engine in the future. In addition, the legislation
would limit the military's ability to spend any more than
75 percent of the overall F-35 development funds unless it
spends all the money appropriated in fiscal 2010 for the
second engine.
White House
Threat
In a June
24 Statement of Administration Policy <http://www.cq.com/displayfile.do?docid=3152689>
, the White House said it "strongly objects" to the
authorization of the funding and the requirement that money
be requested in the future because doing so would "delay
the fielding of the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) capability
and capacity, adversely impacting the department's overall
strike fighter inventory." The White House also opposed the
proposed limit on how much the Pentagon could obligate for
the overall program.
However,
the administration conditioned the veto threat on the
determination that the provisions would have a significant,
adverse impact on the overall F-35 program.
"If the
final bill presented to the president would seriously
disrupt the F-35 program, the president's senior advisors
would recommend a veto," the Office of Management and
Budget statement said.
It remains
to be seen whether the administration would issue the same
threat if either of the more important defense
appropriations bills, which have yet to be written, contain
similar provisions.
In
announcing his fiscal 2010 budget request in May, Obama
cited his plan to end the second engine program as a way to
"save money by eliminating unnecessary defense programs
that do nothing to keep us safe."
But the
case for ending the backup engine plan is far from
clear-cut. A series of studies have concluded that savings
generated through competition could recover the costs of
developing the second engine, according to the
Congressional Research Service. In addition, there are
non-fiduciary benefits to keeping a second engine
manufacturer going, the studies by the Government
Accountability Office, the Institute for Defense Analyses,
and the Pentagon's Cost Analysis Improvement Group found.
These benefits could include reducing the risk of a
catastrophic failure in the single engine, which would be
responsible for powering 95 percent of U.S. fighters by
2035.
The White House said in its statement that those risks
are "exaggerated." The Pratt & Whitney engine is
performing well, it said, and spending money on a
second model would impede the plane's progress.
Sea King
helicopter celebrates 50th anniversary of first flight
Story Number: NAE090424-01
Release Date: 2009-04-24T10:06:52
By Walter "Rob" Koon
Sea King helicopter celebrates 50th anniversary of first
flight
NAVAL AIR SYSTEMS COMMAND, Patuxent River, Md., -- The H-3
Sea King helicopter community celebrated the 50th
anniversary of the aircraft’s historic first flight March
11.
The Sea King is a twin-engine, all-weather, amphibious
helicopter used for numerous roles that include
anti-submarine warfare,
anti-ship warfare, search and rescue, transport,
communications, airborne early warning and executive
transport.
“The Sea King was the Jack of all trades and master of
all,” said Capt. James “Walleye” Wallace, Support and
Commercial Derivative Aircraft (PMA-207) program manager.
“It’s saved thousands of lives, protected fleets of ships,
recovered astronauts and has flown the President of the
United States from 1961 to today.”
The Sea King was built in four countries, the United
States, England, Italy and Japan and is operated by more
than 20 countries around the world.
More than 1,500 military and commercial versions have been
built worldwide.
Currently, there are three Sea Kings still in the Navy
inventory, all based here for search and rescue missions.
“Once the Sea King is finally retired from U.S. Navy
service, it will still continue to serve for years to
come,” said Wallace. “We’ve received many queries from
countries wanting to buy our retired Sea Kings for their
own fleets.”
PMA-207 continues to support many active H-3 Sea King
Foreign Military Sales customers around the world.
|
