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BULLHORN #88
25 October 2011
ANAers, Friends of ANA and Naval
Aviation –
!! The Association is looking for a
relief for the current secretary/treasurer, who has
requested “retirement” after having served for more than
five years. The billet offers a great opportunity to serve
the Association, its Mission and its membership, all for the
advancement of our great Naval Aviation Community.
The job is part-time and pro bono,
working from home but with many administrative and travel
expenses covered by the Association.
If you might be interested in serving
the Association and promoting Naval Aviation, please contact
the secretary, Dutch, at
flynavy@cox.net.
This BULLHORN is packed with news …
.... starting with a snapshot of our
Navy, the ‘how many people’ and ‘how many ships and
airplanes’. AND, most of all, a listing of where those
ships are operating. Do notice that there are five
aircraft carriers and three amphibious ships AT SEA, our
Navy on the pointed end of the spear to bring and maintain
peace in the world so we may have peace and safety here at
home.
….following that, there are two great
articles about the WHY of the Navy. With the numbers in the
Status, add those great thoughts and tell your friends, your
neighbors, your communities and legislators the Good News
that is the Navy and. Especially, Naval Aviation!
The remained of this BULLHORN is a
compilation of changes of leadership and news articles about
Naval Aviation – please read them to better understand what
is happening in our great Naval Aviation Community.
INDEX
Status of the Navy
WHY A NAVY?
Navy Leadership Changes
Maritime Patrol In the News
Unmanned K-MAX Helicopter Deploying
Navy Airlift VR Deactivations
Hornet Squadrons to Lemoore, CA
F35 In The News
STATUS OF THE NAVY
October 21, 2011
Navy Personnel
Active Duty:
325,123
Officers: 52,852
Enlisted: 267,746
Midshipmen: 4,525
Ready Reserve: 103,015 [As of 11 Sep 2011
]
Selected Reserves: 64,792
Individual Ready Reserve: 38,223
Reserves currently mobilized: 4,657 [As of
18 Oct 2011]
Personnel on deployment:
43,361
Navy Department Civilian Employees:
203,952
Ships and Submarines
Deployable Battle Force Ships:
284
Ships Underway (away from homeport):
138 ships (49% of total)
On deployment: 110 ships (39% of total)
Attack submarines underway (away from homeport):
29 subs (54%)
On deployment: 18
subs (33%)
Ships Underway
Aircraft Carriers:
USS Dwight D. Eisenhower
(CVN 69) - Atlantic Ocean
USS George Washington (CVN
73) - 7th Fleet
USS John C. Stennis (CVN
74) - 5th Fleet
USS Ronald Reagan (CVN
76) - Pacific Ocean
USS George H.W. Bush (CVN
77) - 5th Fleet
Amphibious Assault Ships:
USS Wasp (LHD 1) -
Atlantic Ocean
USS Essex (LHD 2) -
Philippine Sea
USS Bataan (LHD 5) - 5th
Fleet
Amphibious Command Ships:
USS Mount Whitney (LCC
20) - port visit Rijeka, Croatia
Aircraft (operational):
3700+
RETURN TO INDEX
WHY A NAVY?
EXPLAINING THE NEED FOR A NAVY
Navy Crucial To National Defense
(SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS 18 OCT 11)
... Juan Garcia III
While over the last decade much of the
nation's attention has been focused on military forces on
the ground in the Middle East, America's Navy has continued
to be a global force critical to the security of our nation
and our interests — no matter where they are.
The Navy is the branch of the U.S.
military that fights on the water in ships, under the water
in submarines, and over the water in planes that take off
and land on Navy aircraft carriers.
This ability to act from the water is
vital. It gives the Navy the power to protect America's
interests — anywhere, anytime.
Think of the 70-80-90 rule:
Water covers about 70 percent of the
Earth's surface.
About 80 percent of the world's
population lives near the ocean.
About 90 percent of all international
trade travels by sea.
What happens on the water is critical
to American security, the preservation of American jobs, and
peace worldwide. Most fundamental, it's important to our
national defense. After all, the United States is bounded by
oceans on both sides.
We need to be able to protect our
interests on, under, and over the water.
The Navy's job is getting bigger
because we need to be ready to confront the unpredictable
and diverse challenges our country faces today.
The importance of the Navy is nothing
new to Texans. Like all Americans, Texans have a vested
interest in a strong, agile and global U.S. Navy.
On any given day, the Navy and Marine
Corps team might need to attack a terrorist camp, keep watch
over a potential conflict abroad, capture a pirate vessel,
and deliver emergency relief, all in different parts of the
world. World events don't always afford time to arrange
support infrastructure on land, or to get another country's
permission to come ashore.
The Navy is ideally suited for this
kind of operational tempo, because it's fast and flexible.
It can go anywhere on the ocean on short notice, and can do
all of its work from the water.
Navy ships and submarines can shoot at
targets and knock out enemy missiles far inland.
Navy planes fly about half of the
aerial combat missions in Afghanistan. They don't need
airstrips on the ground. They take off from aircraft
carriers.
Navy SEAL teams can carry out special
operations worldwide. In a humanitarian crisis, the Navy can
deliver supplies and provide hospital-quality medical care.
To handle this wide variety of
missions, the Navy requires courageous men and women who are
highly trained and motivated. Fortunately for our nation,
that's exactly who we have. With the opening of Medical
Education & Training Campus, along with Master at Arms
training at Lackland AFB, the Navy's two largest enlisted
rates receive their training in San Antonio. And dozens of
sailors and Marines have recovered from war-wounds at BAMC
and the Center for the Intrepid. This is a Navy town.
Finally, the Navy is leading efforts to
reduce energy consumption and achieve energy independence,
which may prove critical in winning, or preventing, our next
war.
As San Antonio hosts Navy Week from
Oct. 24 to 28, and sailors come to the city to share their
stories, remember the importance of a fast, flexible force —
provided by sea power and the U.S. Navy. In this way, the
Navy protects America more than ever.
Juan Garcia III is a former member of
the Texas House and is serving as assistant secretary of the
Navy for Manpower and Reserve Affairs.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
A strike group CO makes the case for
existence
By
Philip Ewing
Monday, October 17th, 2011 2:51
pm
Posted in
Naval
Last week you heard Army leaders make the pitch for why
the U.S. will
always need to be a robust land power, and today it’s
the Navy’s turn. Just as with the green service, the
blue-side picture is bleak.
The Navy isn’t just looking at the normal yearly
shortfall between its rosy-rainbow shipbuilding plans and
what it’ll actually be able to afford — now, people are
talking about cutting existing ships from the current fleet.
Part of that involves the possibility that surface
combatants
could begin to go away next year, and there are even
reports the Navy could
mothball one of its carriers in mid life to try to save
money.
In the midst of all this, Rear Admiral Craig Faller,
commanding officer of the USS John C. Stennis carrier strike
group, wrote a blog post Monday that said you can’t put a
price tag on what the United States gets out of its big
nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, their air wings and
escorts.
(Technically, you can: The price is tens of billions of
dollars in capital costs and then billions more to operate
and sustain the ships and aircraft, but nobody likes a
spoilsport.)
Navy Secretary Ray Mabus has said that because the Navy
is always the “away team,” operating forward and out of
sight of most Americans, people lose sight of all it does.
Faller wrote his post as away to try to address this PR
challenge, he said:
It struck me as we rapidly transitioned, in a matter of
hours, from supporting Operation New Dawn in Iraq to
Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan that the value of
a Carrier Strike Group to America’s security is incredibly
important … priceless really. So how do we describe that
value?
Faller hits all the classic talking points: Carriers are
powerful, flexible and mobile, he writes; although he does
not call a carrier “four and a half acres of sovereign U.S.
real estate” he does reaffirm that a strike group “requires
no permission slip” to go wherever commanders need it. If
that doesn’t do it for you, he has another, less martial
bullet point that’s worth excerpting in its entirety:
Sustainable —
A CSG can be self-sustaining for weeks with onboard
repair capability, ordnance, food, supplies and fuel.
Powered by proven “clean-green” nuclear reactors, an
aircraft carrier can go 25 years without refueling.
Aircraft carriers are built to last 50 years with armor
plating, protective systems, sensors, and advanced weapon
systems to meet future threats.
See, all you crunchy granola, tree-hugging peace and love
types? A 95,000-ton nuclear-powered warship, its wing of
combat aircraft and its cruisers and destroyers are all good
for our Earth Mother! They’re “sustainable;” the Stennis’
twin nuclear reactors are somehow “green;” and with its 50
year life, it’s just like your Kleen Kanteen metal water
bottle — meant to last, not just be tossed out like a
plastic container or a Spruance-class destroyer.
Still not sold, eh? Well how about sleep? Everybody likes
to sleep, right? Faller winds up his post defending the
existence of carrier strike groups by quoting no less an
authority than Kazakhstan’s chief of naval operations, who,
per Faller, “Passionately stated: ‘Not just America, but the
entire world sleeps soundly at night because the United
States Navy stands watch around the world 24–7.’”
Continues Faller:
Sleep well America … We are ready and we are operating
safely and effectively forward.
RETURN TO INDEX
NAVY Leadership Changes
Naples Bids Farewell to 6th Fleet
Commander, Welcomes New Commander
By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd
Class Stephen Oleksiak, Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Europe
-Africa/Commander, U.S. 6th Fleet Public Affairs
NAPLES, Italy (NNS) -- Commander, U.S.
6th Fleet held a change of command ceremony at Naval Support
Activity Naples Capodichino in Naples, Italy, Oct. 3, in
front of guests, friends and shipmates. Vice Adm. Frank C.
Pandolfe relieved Vice Adm. Harry B. Harris Jr. Pandolfe
also assumed duties as commander, Striking and Support
Forces NATO (STRIKFORNATO), and deputy commander, U.S. Naval
Forces Europe-Africa.
Harris assumed command of 6th Fleet and
STRIKFORNATO Nov. 18, 2009, and has since been involved with
several multinational exercises and operations within the
region. Most notably, Adm. Samuel Locklear III, commander,
U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa; commander, Allied Joint
Forces Command Naples commented on Harris' service as the
Joint Force Maritime component commander during Operation
Odyssey Dawn, the international military operation in Libya
to enforce United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973.
"When the call came to establish a
Joint Task Force, you were ready. You established your lines
of communication, issued your guidance, and executed your
missions with precision," said Locklear. "Your rapid
transition to a wartime posture aboard USS Mount Whitney
allowed us to quickly and decisively establish maritime and
air superiority. This is exactly how it's supposed to
happen. I am proud of what you accomplished. Because of your
leadership, we prevailed in combat. It has been an honor to
serve with you."
Harris reminisced on his tour in Naples and expressed his
gratitude for the men and women of 6th Fleet and
STRIKFORNATO.
"When I got here, I quickly learned how complex this mission
was," said Harris. "Now that my tour is coming to a close,
my appreciation for the men and women of 6th Fleet and
STRIKFORNATO has grown into a profound sense of admiration,
and I'm grateful to have the opportunity today to place
credit where credit is due."
For his leadership as commander, U.S. 6th Fleet, Locklear
presented the Distinguished Service Medal to Harris.
After the award presentation and the reading of their
orders, Harris relinquished command of 6th Fleet to Pandolfe,
who greeted guests and his new staff.
"I am extremely impressed with what I have seen thus far,"
said Pandolfe. "Your initiative and drive led to success
after success. Be assured, however, that many more
challenges are just over the horizon and your skills will be
tested again. I look forward to sailing with you on that
journey."
Harris will serve as the assistant to the chairman of the
Joint Chiefs of Staff at the Pentagon.
Pandolfe previously served as director, Surface Warfare
division, on the Navy staff in Washington, where he led
efforts to introduce the littoral combat ship to the Fleet,
build the Zumwalt-class destroyer, and restart the DDG-51
Arleigh Burke-class destroyer line.
Vice Admiral Harry B. Harris, Jr.
 Commander,
U.S. 6th Fleet; Commander, Striking and Support Forces NATO;
Joint Force Maritime Component Commander, Europe; Deputy
Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Europe; Deputy Commander, U.S.
Naval Forces Africa
Vice Admiral Harris was born in Yokosuka, Japan, and
reared in Tennessee and Florida. Following graduation from
the U.S. Naval Academy in 1978 and designation as a naval
flight officer, he was assigned to Patrol Squadron (VP) 44,
homeported at Brunswick, Maine. His subsequent operational
tours include tactical action officer aboard USS Saratoga
(CV 60), homeported at Mayport, Fla., when Saratoga
participated in strike operations against Libya and the
capture of the SS Achille Lauro hijackers; operations
officer in VP-4 during Operations Desert Shield/Desert
Storm; and three tours with Patrol and Reconnaissance
Wing 1/Task Force (TF) 57/TF 72, homeported at Kami Seya,
Japan. In 2002, he reported to U.S. Naval Forces Central
Command/U.S. 5th Fleet, serving as assistant chief of staff
for Operations, Plans, and Politico-Mil Affairs (N3/N5) when
5th Fleet planned and executed the naval component’s portion
of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
He commanded VP-46 at Whidbey Island, Wash., from June
1995 to April 1996 and Patrol and Reconnaissance Wing 1/TF
57/TF 72 at Kami Seya, Japan, from July 2001 to September
2002. At the inception of Operation Enduring Freedom,
Task Force 57 was heavily involved in combat reconnaissance
flights over Afghanistan. From March 2006 to May 2007, he
commanded Joint Task Force-Guantanamo.
Selected for the Navy’s Harvard/Tufts Program, he attended
the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard
University, graduating in 1992 with a Master's degree in
Public Administration. Selected as an Arthur S. Moreau
Scholar, he studied international relations at Oxford and
Georgetown Universities, earning a Master of Arts in
National Security Studies from the latter in 1994. While at
Georgetown, he was a fellow in the School of Foreign
Service. He is also an MIT Seminar XXI fellow.
Harris’ staff assignments include aide and flag lieutenant
to commander, U.S. Naval Forces Japan, in Yokosuka, Japan;
duty on the staff of the chief of naval operations (CNO) as
a strategist in the Strategic Concepts Branch; and special
assistant to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Following his selection to flag rank, from August 2004 to
February 2006, he was assigned to the staff of the CNO as
director of the Operations, Plans and Security Division (OPNAV
N31/34), responsible for Navy current operations and
anti-terrorism/force protection policy. From June 2007 to
April 2008, he served as director of Operations (J3) for
U.S. Southern Command in Miami. He returned to the Pentagon
to serve as the deputy CNO for Communication Networks (OPNAV
N6) with concurrent duty as the deputy Department of the
Navy chief information officer (Navy) until November 2009.
In November 2009, he took command of U.S. 6th Fleet and
Striking and Support Forces NATO in Naples, Italy. He
concurrently serves as the Joint Force Maritime Component
commander, Europe; deputy commander, U.S. Naval Forces
Europe; and deputy commander, U.S. Naval Forces Africa.
Harris has logged 4,400 flight hours, including over 400
combat hours, in U.S. and foreign maritime patrol and
reconnaissance aircraft. His personal decorations include
the Distinguished Service Medal, Defense Superior Service
Medal (3 awards), Legion of Merit (3 awards), Bronze Star (2
awards), Meritorious Service Medal (4 awards), Air Medal,
Joint Service Commendation Medal, Navy Commendation Medal (5
awards), Navy Achievement Medal, and various campaign and
unit decorations. He is a recipient of the Navy League’s
Stephen Decatur Award for Operational Competence.
 Vice
Admiral Frank Craig Pandolfe
Commander, U.S. 6th Fleet
Commander, Task Force SIX
Commander, Striking and Support Forces NATO
Deputy Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Europe
Deputy Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Africa
Joint Force Maritime Component Commander Europe
Vice Adm. Pandolfe grew up in New England. He
graduated with distinction from the U.S. Naval Academy in
1980 and was awarded a doctorate in International Relations
from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts
University in 1987.
At-sea, he served in USS David R. Ray (DD 971), USS
John Hancock (DD 981), USS Hue City (CG 66),
and USS Forrestal (CV 59). He commanded USS
Mitscher (DDG 57) from 1999 to 2001, earning three
Battle Efficiency Awards for operational excellence and
three Golden Anchor awards for superior retention. He
subsequently commanded Destroyer Squadron 18 from 2003 to
2004, operating as sea combat commander for Enterprise
Carrier Strike Group in support of Operation Iraqi
Freedom. From 2008 to 2009, he led Theodore Roosevelt
Carrier Strike Group on a combat deployment in support
of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.
Ashore, his duties included assignment to the Navy Staff as
executive assistant to the Chief of Naval Operations, the
Joint Staff as deputy director for Strategy and Policy, and
the White House Staff as military aide and advisor to the
vice president of the United States.
Most recently, he served as director, Surface Warfare
Division, OPNAV N86 from July 2009 to September 2011. In
that role, he helped define the future U.S. Navy Surface
Combatant force. As N86, he led efforts to introduce the
littoral combat ship to the Fleet, build the Zumwalt Class
destroyer, and restart the DDG 51 Arleigh Burke Class
destroyer line.
Pandolfe’s personal decorations include the Defense Superior
Service Medal (two awards), Legion of Merit (five awards),
Meritorious Service Medal (four awards), and numerous
individual, campaign, and unit awards.
*******************************************
Carter Assumes Command Of Enterprise
Carrier Strike Group
(NAVY NEWS SERVICE 08 OCT 11) ...
USS Enterprise Public Affairs
NORFOLK -- Rear Adm. Walter E. Carter
Jr. relieved Rear Adm. Terry B. Kraft as Commander, USS
Enterprise (CVN 65) Carrier Strike Group during a shipboard
ceremony, Oct. 6.
Since September 2010, Kraft commanded
the 5,500 Sailors and Marines serving in the strike group
which returned in July from a six-month deployment
supporting operations in the Mediterranean and the Arabian
Sea.
"I could not be more proud of the
professionals in this strike group. From a challenging set
of work-ups to combat operations in two different theaters,
these warriors did it all," said Kraft. "I also want to
thank the families who have supported our team so well."
While deployed, the strike group served
in the U.S. 5th and 6th Fleet areas of responsibility
conducting missions from counter-piracy and
counter-terrorism in Operations Odyssey Dawn, Enduring
Freedom and New Dawn.
Enterprise strike group flew more than
1,450 sorties in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in
Afghanistan and Operation New Dawn in Iraq. The strike group
also disrupted nine piracy attempts resulting in the capture
of 75 suspected pirates and the detention of 18.
Carter, a native of Pascoag, R.I., is a
1981 Naval Academy graduate, as well as an alumni of U.S.
Navy Fighter Weapons School (TOPGUN) in the last all-Phantom
class in 1985.
The former commander of the aircraft
carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70), Carter is excited about
assuming command of Enterprise Strike Group prior to its
final scheduled deployment early next year.
RETURN TO INDEX
MARITIME PATROL IN THE NEWS
Boeing P-8I Aircraft Completes 1st
Flight
SEATTLE, Sept. 28, 2011 –
Boeing’s [NYSE: BA] first P-8I aircraft for the Indian navy
completed its initial flight today, taking off from Renton
Field at 12:02 p.m. and landing two hours and 31 minutes
later at Boeing Field in Seattle.
During the flight, Boeing test pilots
performed airborne systems checks including engine
accelerations and decelerations and autopilot flight modes,
and took the P-8I to a maximum altitude of 41,000 feet prior
to landing. In the coming weeks Boeing will begin mission
systems installation and checkout work on the aircraft at a
company facility near Boeing Field.
“The P-8I program is progressing well
and we are looking forward to this potent platform joining
the Indian navy as part of its fleet,” said Rear Adm. DM
Sudan, assistant chief of Naval Staff (Air), Indian Navy.
“The P-8I will provide India
with the necessary speed and reliability to satisfy the
Indian Navy’s maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine
warfare requirements,” said Dinesh Keskar, Boeing India
president.
Based on the Boeing Next-Generation 737
commercial airplane, the P-8I is the Indian navy variant of
the P-8A Poseidon that Boeing is developing for the U.S.
Navy. In order to efficiently design and build P-8 aircraft,
the Boeing-led team is using a first-in-industry, in-line
production process that draws on the company’s
Next-Generation 737 production system.
“Flying the first P-8 for an
international customer is a key milestone for our entire
team,” said Leland Wight, Boeing P-8I program manager. “We
have transitioned to P-8I production, and remain on track to
deliver the first aircraft to the Indian navy in 2013.”
The P-8I is the first of eight
long-range maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine
warfare aircraft Boeing is building for India as part of a
contract awarded in January 2009. An option for four
additional P-8I aircraft was included in the original
contract.
The aircraft features open system
architecture, advanced sensor and display technologies, and
a worldwide base of suppliers, parts and support equipment.
The P-8I is built by a Boeing-led
industry team that includes CFM International, Northrop
Grumman, Raytheon, Spirit AeroSystems, BAE Systems and GE
Aviation.
Boeing, the world’s leading aerospace
company and the largest manufacturer of commercial jetliners
and military aircraft combined, has significantly expanded
its footprint in India in both civil aviation and
defense. India has selected the P-8I to fulfill its
long-range maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine
requirements and the C-17 Globemaster III for its strategic
and tactical airlift needs.
Boeing is partnering with India’s
leading technology and manufacturing companies to build a
supply chain out of India. The company has opened a Research
and Technology center in Bengaluru to collaborate with
India’s technical talent for research in aero structures,
materials and network systems. Boeing also has an Analysis &
Experimentation Center (AEC) in Bangaluru, which in
partnership with Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) provides
modeling, analysis capability and defense experimentation in
support of the Indian Armed Forces. Boeing India’s corporate
office is in New Delhi. For more information on Boeing
India, visit
www.boeing.co.in.
A unit of The Boeing Company,
Boeing Defense, Space & Security is one of the world's
largest defense, space and security businesses specializing
in innovative and capabilities-driven customer solutions,
and the world's largest and most versatile manufacturer of
military aircraft. Headquartered in St. Louis, Boeing
Defense, Space & Security is a $32 billion business with
64,000 employees worldwide. Follow us on Twitter:
@BoeingDefense.
****************************************************
P-3 Orions Returning To Misawa
(STARS AND STRIPES 06 OCT 11)
SASEBO NAVAL BASE, Japan — For the
first time since 2007, a P-3 Orion maritime patrol squadron
will be deployed to Misawa Air Base, Navy officials
announced this week.
The squadron from Naval Air Station
Whidbey Island, Wash., will arrive in Misawa in late
November, according to Misawa’s Navy spokesman Senior Chief
Petty Officer Daniel Sanford.
The P-3 has been used for patrols and
tracking submarines since the Cold War.
The move to bring a squadron back
coincides with the drawdown of troops in Iraq and
Afghanistan, Sanford said, and was in an effort to bring
surveillance coverage in the region back to 2007 levels.
“Misawa is an important strategic
location,” Sanford said. “The P-3’s have been rotationally
deployed here in the past, and I think they’re trying to get
back to that.”
There is no timetable for how long the
aircraft will be in Misawa.
The P-3 has a maximum range of 2,380
nautical miles, according to a Navy website. Its 10-member
crew conducts surveillance by studying on-board instrument
panels, scopes and detection devices.
There are about 435 P-3s in use
worldwide by 21 governments and agencies in 17 nations.
RETURN TO INDEX
PHILIPPINE SEA (Oct. 2, 2011) CH-46E
Sea Knight helicopters assigned to Marine Medium Helicopter
Squadron (HMM) 265 take off from the forward deployed
amphibious assault ship USS Essex (LHD 2). Essex is part of
the Essex Amphibious Ready Group and is operating in the
western Pacific Region. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass
Communication Specialist 1st Class Terry Matlock/Released)
RETURN TO INDEX
K-MAX unmanned cargo helicopter
Unmanned K-MAX Helicopter Set For
Afghan Deployment
By Mike McCarthy
The K-MAX unmanned cargo helicopter
will be deployed to Afghanistan next month following an
evaluation that concluded the system performed well during
testing last summer, Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) said
yesterday.
Two K-MAX systems are scheduled for a
six-month deployment under the Navy and Marine Corps' plan
designed to strengthen Marine ground and air logistics
operations. Lockheed Martin is the lead on the K-MAX in
partnership with Kaman Aerospace.
K-MAX completed five days of Quick
Reactions Assessment (QRA) drills in August at the Yuma
Proving Ground, Ariz, setting up the decision by Rear Adm.
Bill Shannon, the program executive officer for Unmanned
Aviation and Strike Weapons, to send the system into
theater.
"I am very excited to deploy a system
that will keep our Marines and sailors out of harm's way and
ultimately save lives," Shannon said in a statement.
The unmanned, autonomous flying
helicopter is intended to reduce the risks, such as ambushes
or improvised explosive devices (IEDs), that come with
moving supplies in ground convoys.
Navy officials awarded dueling
development contracts to Lockheed Martin and Boeing [BA] in
December to create an unmanned airlift capability, in
response to an urgent requirements request by Marines in
Afghanistan. Boeing is competing with its A160T Hummingbird,
a system it inherited after acquiring Frontier Systems in
2004.
A QRA timeframe for the Hummingbird was
still pending, Jamie Cosgrove, a spokeswoman for Naval Air
Systems Command, said.
The QRA showed that K-MAX exceeded the
Navy and Marines' requirement to carry 6,000 pounds of cargo
daily over a five-day period in temperature, flight and
terrain conditions resembling those in Afghanistan, NAVAIR
said. K-MAX carried 33,400 pounds of cargo during the
evaluation.
"K-MAX has the capability to deliver a
tremendous amount of cargo over the course of the
deployment," Marine Maj. Kyle O'Connor, whose detachment ran
the Yuma test, said.
"We successfully completed all missions
and reacted to challenging scenarios," said O'Connor, who
will lead K-MAX operations in Afghanistan.
Kaman designed the K-MAX platform,
while Lockheed Martin was responsible for the helicopter's
mission management and control systems.
RETURN TO INDEX
USS John C. Stennis from the plane
guard
RETURN TO INDEX
VR NAVY AIRLIFT DEACTIVATIONS
The following VR squadrons will be
deactivated on 30 Sep 2012:
VR-46 C-9B NAS-JRB Ft. Worth
VR-48 C-20G JB Andrews-NAF
Washington
VR-52 C-9B JB
McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst
RETURN TO INDEX
2 Super Hornet Squadrons Moving To
Lemoore
(THE FRESNO BEE 21 OCT 11) ... Lewis
Griswold
Two jet fighter squadrons will move
from the East Coast to Lemoore Naval Air Station in spring
2014, the Navy announced today.
An environmental assessment found the
change will cause no significant environmental impact to the
area around the base, providing the final green light for
the move, the Navy said.
The two squadrons will include about
500 uniformed military personnel, and will fly FA-18E/F
Super Hornet jets.
Five other squadrons at Lemoore also
will get newer Super Hornets and shed older FA-18C Hornets,
the Navy said. But because a training squadron plans to shed
30 older Hornet and not replace them, the base population
will increase only by about 180 uniformed personnel, base
spokeswoman Melinda Larson said.
The two new squadrons will give an
economic boost to the local economy from an additional $9.1
million per year in salaries, the Navy said.
Paradoxically, the number of takeoff
and landings at the Lemoore base will be cut by about 24%
because of fewer jets in the training squadron. But the
total number of fighter jets at Lemoore will be about the
same, dipping from 238 to 234.
The Navy is moving the two squadrons to
increase efficiency in the Pacific region, Larson said.
RETURN TO INDEX
F35 IN THE NEWS
The Star-Telegram (Tuesday,
October 4, 2011) F-35B
goes to sea
An F-35B makes a vertical landing aboard the USS Wasp
The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program
took a step forward and made a little aviation history with
the first vertical landing by an F-35B, the short-takeoff,
vertical-landing model destined for the Marine Corps.
Test aircraft BF-2, piloted by Lt. Col.
Fred Schenk, landed safely on the USS Wasp (LHD-1) flight
deck at 3:12 pm. “It was exactly like we predicted,” said
Schenk.
The vertical landing is part of the
initial ship trials for the F-35B, which began Monday and
are expected to last two-weeks. A second aircraft is due to
fly to the ship, located off mid-Atlantic Coast, later this
week.
The tests will collect data on the
aircraft’s ability to perform short take-offs and vertical
landings on a ship at sea, as well as determine how the
aircraft integrates with the ship’s landing systems, deck
and hangar operations.
Short video clip is at
http://blogs.star-telegram.com/sky_talk/2011/10/f-35b-goes-to-sea.html
F-35B Sea Trials Showcase Promising
Results
(AOL DEFENSE 18 OCT 11) ... Carlo
Munoz
ABOARD THE USS WASP - The sleek,
angular plane pulls up to the flight line. The jet's single
engine rumbles slowly while waiting for the high-sign to
takeoff.
Once the member of the deck crew threw
his thumbs up, the jet's center fan -- which gives the F-35
the ability to take off from smaller carriers and land
vertically on those same ships -- whirred to life. The sound
from the fan, once fully spooled up, combined with the roar
from the F135 engine was deafening even from the upper decks
where I stood.
Suddenly -- with almost no warning --
the jet jumps up from the flight line, hurtles down the
short runway and roars hard toward the blue sky in a burst
of heat, noise and smoke. In a few short minutes, it was
gone.
After taking a lazy loop over the ocean
after takeoff, the jet banked hard toward the ship and made
what seemed to be an incredibly low pass over the control
tower. After making that pass, the F-35B circled back again,
but this time to begin the vertical landing maneuver.
As the fighter came back toward the
ship, the center fan spun back to life again, bringing the
jet to a virtual stop in mid-flight. The F-35B hovered over
the landing zone, air bellowing from the engine and center
fan and throwing up massive sea spray around the deck and
surrounding area near the landing zone below.
The vertical landing evoked sense of
controlled chaos. The fighter hovered and then seemed to
just settle down on the deck, its landing gear making a dull
thump sound once it touched down. The gentle motion didn't
seem to match the violent whine of the engine and the heat
from the fan that you could feel in your chest.
Like the takeoff minutes before, the
landing was over in minutes. The center fan shut down almost
immediately, the engine throttled back down to a dull buzz
and the deck crew scrambled all around the jet -- getting it
ready to do it all over again.
I watched the F-35B test jet do that
twice today, and as we moved below decks to talk to program
officials, I could hear the fighter making more passes over
the ship.
These flight test were the culmination
of an important few weeks for the F-35B, beginning with the
first ever sea-based, vertical landing of the jet earlier
this month.
Since that landing, program officials
have addressed a handful of small issues with the two F-35B
test jets, Col. Roger Cordell, director of the F-35
Integrated Test Facility, said.
Program engineers corrected a fuel leak
in one of the jets, BF-2, early on during the flight trials,
Cordell said, in addition to a few other minor anomalies.
They were quickly corrected and did not affect the testing
schedule set by the program office, he added.
When asked for his assessment of the
fighter's progress during the sea trials, Cordell was clear:
"We are running where we intended to crawl."
Using the AV-8B Harrier as an example,
Cordell said that Marine pilots had to "fight" the Harrier's
control systems to fly it safely and correctly. The
intuitive controls of the F-35B, he said, eliminates that
problem and lets pilots concentrate "on fighting the enemy."
Program officials here added the
fighter's progress during the trials came as no surprise,
claiming the jet's overall performance was never in doubt.
Less than a year ago, then Defense
Secretary Robert Gates put the F-35B under a two-year
probation, pointing to cost growth and schedule delays. The
fighter's performance during these sea tests may pacify some
of the program's critics. But doubt over the F-35B persist
at some of the highest levels inside the Pentagon.
New Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of
Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey gave a less-than-ringing
endorsement of the program during his testimony before the
House Armed Services Committee last week.
Given the tremendous budget pressures
the department was now under, Depmsey questioned whether DoD
could afford to buy all three versions of the F-35. Along
with the Marine Corps' F-35B, other versions for the Air
Force and the Navy are also being built.
But one strike group commander told me
that no matter how much money the Pentagon can save by
killing the F-35B, the Marine Corps cannot afford to lose
the fighter from the arsenal.
By getting the JSF on the decks of the
Marines fleet of amphibious ships, those forces can take
"the next step to respond" to any kind of combat scenario
"across the full spectrum of operations," Rear Adm. Kevin
Scott, commander of Expeditionary Strike Group Two, said.
With the jet, Scott said he could push
his forces farther and respond faster than he could with the
current fleet of attack jets and helicopters at his
disposal.
Scott wouldn't speculate on what would
happen if the F-35B did not make it into the arsenal. The
one-star simply said he and his troops would do the job they
were assigned with whatever assets they've got. But he said
the F-35B would make his job, and that of his fellow combat
commanders, a lot easier.
********************************************
U.S. Marine Corps Demonstrates F-35B at
Sea
(DEFENSE NEWS 18 OCT 11) ... Dave
Majumdar
In an audacious display of confidence,
the U.S. Marine Corps and the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF)
program office demonstrated short take-off and vertical
landing (STOVL) tests of the F-35B Lightning II to reporters
onboard the amphibious assault ship Wasp on Oct. 18.
Flown by Marine Lt. Col. Fred Shenk,
F-35B test aircraft BF-04 flew a series of short take-offs
and vertical landings onboard the 40,000-ton warship sailing
off the Virginia coast in front of a small gaggle of press
that had been flown in earlier in the day.
Naval F-35 test director Marine Col.
Roger Cordell said that testing onboard the Wasp, which will
end this Thursday, has gone exceedingly well. Already the
test pilots have flown about 60 of the 67 required sorties,
with more scheduled for later today. "We feel like we're
running when we intended to crawl," he said.
The team started off the flights by
using the flight envelop cleared for the AV-8B Harrier as a
starting point before expanding into new territory, Cordell
said. From that initial envelop, the testers expanded it up
to 30 knots of headwind and down to 10 knots of headwind.
They also flew the jet with a 15-degree crosswind.
The aircraft has flown very well during
the sea trials, said Marine Lt. Col. Matt Kelly, lead F-35
test pilot at Naval Air Station (NAS) Patuxent River, Md.
While he couldn't compare the jet directly to the Harrier
since he was an F/A-18 Hornet pilot, Kelly pointed out that
the sea trials are his first experience operating from an
amphibious assault ship, which is a testimony to the F-35B's
excellent handling characteristics.
"I have found this airplane to be just
a really nice airplane to fly in the shipboard environment,"
he said. "Prior to two weeks ago I had never landed or
taken-off from this type of ship… It's a pleasure to fly."
Kelly added that the F-35B is easier to
handle on the flight deck than he had imagined it would be.
The challenge is not landing the aircraft but rather
"putting the nose tire in a 1-foot-by-1-foot square box," he
said.
In up and away flight, the F-35 handles
magnificently, similar to a clean F/A-18 Hornet with more
power, Kelly said. Additionally, during daylight hours, the
aircraft's previously troublesome helmet-mounted display is
now performing very well unless displaying video imagery, he
said.
For getting off the ship, Cordell said
that there are three short take-off modes that the team
tested: manual, semi-automatic and fully automatic.
Originally, the test team had only planned to do manual
take-offs, but soon expanded the scope to include the other
modes. Kelly said he had flow about a half-dozen automatic
mode take-offs himself.
Cordell said that one piece of good
news is that the "outflow" from the jet's exhaust while
hovering is less intense than expected. "It's
counterintuitive, but the jet has a less harsh environment
hovering at 40 feet than it does at 100 feet," he said.
Engineering models had predicted the outcome, but skeptics -
Cordell included - had doubted those conclusions.
The hazard zone around the jet
therefore has shrunk to about the same size as that of a
Harrier, he said.
Similarly, the "outwash" on take-off is
far less harsh than anticipated, Cordell said.
A second set of sea trials will be done
early next year, Cordell said. Those trials will put the
F-35B's mission systems and weaponry to the test. The team
will also test night operations at sea, he said.
Later, the F-35B will return to the sea
for a third time to conduct operational testing in around
the August of 2013, Cordell added.
This initial set of sea trials for the
F-35B is as much about the ship as it is about the aircraft.
Ansis Kalnajs, the test director for
Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA), said that the ship had
been extensively instrumented for the test series. The
instruments measure everything from sound, to heat, the
velocity of the exhaust hitting the flight deck.
In order to facilitate the trials on
the Wasp, some antennas have been removed, others covered,
and some equipment needed to be moved to accommodate the
F-35B's larger wing span compared to the AV-8B Harrier II,
Kalnajs said. The ship's "tram line," which guides pilots
during take-off and landings, had to be shifted by 34
inches, he said.
The flight deck and a lot of the
ancillary deck equipment had to be extensively instrumented
to measure the impact on the ship, Kalnajs said. From all
indications, the test results are matching predictions, he
said.
NAVSEA also used the F-35B trails
onboard the Wasp to evaluate some non-skid material on one
of the deck spots on the giant vessel, Kalnajs said. The new
material was tested on a 90 square foot spot, said Navy
Capt. Brenda Holdener, commander of the Wasp.
The rest of the flight deck is covered
in standard material, however parts of it look different
because it is newer, she said. Observers had questioned why
portions of the Wasp's flight deck had a different hue than
other parts of the deck surface.
Non-skid materials have and continue to
be a vexing problem for the Navy, breaking down after only
six or seven months, Kalnajs said. He said the Navy hopes
the newer material being evaluated will last for years at a
time.
The Wasp also conducted trials on how
the aircraft fit into the ship's aircraft elevator and
massive hangar bay, Holdener said. Hangar deck crews found
that the F-35B is much easier to handle below deck, she
said.
"It's actually easier to maneuver in
the hangar deck," Holdener said.
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