Month: December 2024

Source: United States Navy

“During this at-sea period, we successfully completed numerous landings and takeoffs in collaboration with the Afloat Training Group to meet their certification requirements for flight deck operations,” said Maj. Eric Scheibe. “We achieved a lot on the Marine side, and the Navy also accomplished their goals for the C-1 certification.”

To achieve carrier qualification, each pilot must complete a specified number of landings—eight during the day and eight at night—for a total of 72 landings for the nine participating pilots. This rigorous training ensures that aviators are fully prepared for operational missions.

“Being able to operate alongside the Navy and understand their requirements helps us meet our own qualifications on the Marine side,” said Scheibe. “This way, when we transition to work-ups, we’re already ahead in pilot qualifications. The performance of this flight deck crew has been exceptional, surpassing my experiences with other crews at this same stage.”
Marine from Marine Attack Squadron (VMA) 223 worked closely with their Navy counterparts on the flight deck, gaining invaluable insights into ship operations. This collaboration is foundational for the many Marines expected to join Iwo Jima next year.

“This short underway provides our Marines with valuable experience on the ship without the high intensity of operational activities that we will face when we set sail across the Atlantic,” said Gunnery Sgt. Stephen Hughson, assigned to VMA-223. “It allows them to move slowly and methodically, helping them understand how the ship operates and how to effectively integrate with the ship’s personnel.”
As Iwo Jima prepares for its future missions, both the blue and green teams remain aware of the complexities of joint warfare integration.
“One of the biggest challenges we may face is the lack of experience on both the Marine aviation side and the flight deck crew,” said Hughson. “It’s essential to ensure effective communication between both teams so that we can work together seamlessly. Regardless of whether you’re a Marine or Sailor, we all share the same mission and roles. Blue or green, it doesn’t matter because we are out here together, one team, one fight, we have one mission.”

Taking advantage of this underway experience before entering the integration phase will help minimize potential challenges.

“It is vital that this integration process goes smoothly so that each individual knows what their role is and how that role plays into mission success,” said Hughson. “To address the knowledge gap, we need to engage in substantial training so that our personnel are fully prepared for their responsibilities once on board.”

Prior to the Marines joining Team Iwo Jima, airmen trained at Bogue Field near Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina. They observed and trained with VMA 223’s AV-8B Harriers while landing on a simulated LHD flight deck.

Marine Corps Auxiliary Landing Field Bogue provides expeditionary airfield support and contingency runway training capabilities for fixed-wing, rotary, and tiltrotor aircraft and ground support units.
“Cherry point and Bogue field was a great experience for the Iwo Jima team,” said Chief Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Handling) Jason Morris, assigned to Iwo Jima. “We were able to gain invaluable training in preparation for our fixed wing certification giving us the ability to interact with our Marine counter parts allowing us to operate more efficiently this underway and in the future together.”
During their training, airmen participated in classroom sessions where they engaged with pilots who would later land on Iwo Jima’s flight deck.

“After the classroom training, we received hands-on training and our blue shirts were able to observe the Marines procedures in chalking and chaining the Harriers so that when we got underway, we were able to conduct the procedures ourselves ultimately leading to us certifying for flight operations,” said Morris.

Over the two-day evolution, the Air Department executed 32 fixed-wing evolutions, alongside 59 helicopter evolutions and 22 tilt-rotor evolutions throughout the overall underway.

“My shirts on the flight deck have been working hard and they’ve been waiting a long time to get to perform and do their job. It has been a long time coming and to get material readiness of the flight deck up to where it needs to be in order to do this evolution,” said Cmdr. Todd Trago, USS Iwo Jima’s air boss. “They’ve been studying, they’ve been practicing, and they’ve been drilling day in and day out in preparation for it. They were just itching to get out on the flight deck. And I think it speaks volumes to them because the ship saw the weather conditions. It was freezing cold—in the 30s with sustained winds over 30 plus knots over the flight deck… it was impressive to see them operate and do it safely.”

Together, the blue and green teams achieved a crucial milestone in aviation warfare operations.

“Overall, it was a great experience with effective integration during this phase of our deployment work-ups,” said Scheibe. “The C-1 certification for the flight deck crew and the air shop was crucial, as it allows us to advance further in our training.”

Source: United States Navy

The signing, which took place at Naval Air Facility Atsugi in Kanagawa prefecture, Japan, represented a pledge between the two commanders to increase bilateral operations and training between the JMSDF Air Reconnaissance Squadron (VQ) 81 and CTF 70 electronic attack assets, which include Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 5’s Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 141, as well as expeditionary electronic attack squadron detachments rotationally deploying to Japan from Whidbey Island, Washington.

“Today, ‘FUJIN’ MOU was revised for the purpose of further strengthening Integrated Fire capabilities between CFAF and CTF70,” said Kaneshima. “Besides that, with Rear Adm. Newkirk, we came to an agreement to promote ‘FUJIN’ program. We will keep developing the mutual understanding and tactical skills between the commands and units through the trainings and exercises.”

Task Force 70’s electronic attack squadrons fly EA-18G Growler aircraft, while VQ-81 flies UP-3D electronic attack aircraft, among other assets.

The EA-18G Growler integrates the latest electronic attack technology, including the ALQ-218 sensor for airborne situational awareness, as well as ALQ-99 pods capable of jamming adversarial radar and communications systems, and next-generation jamming technology as it is refined and implemented across the force.

“Today, we’re formalizing our commitment to generate real warfighting advantage by increasing and enhancing our combined technology and expertise in the field of electronic warfare,” said Newkirk. “Our work together moving forward will allow us to expand our shared air and maritime domain awareness, as well as refine and perfect our combined electronic attack capability.”

VAQ-141 is forward-deployed to Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni as part of Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 5, while the expeditionary VAQ-134 operates out of Misawa Air Base in the northern part of the country and Kadena Air Base in Okinawa in the southern part of the country.

Task Force 70 controls the preponderance of forward-deployed air and surface maneuver and striking forces in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations, overseeing Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 15, Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 51 and VAQ 134, as well as the ships and aircraft operating under Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 5, including the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73), the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Robert Smalls (CG 62), the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Shoup (DDG 86) and CVW-5.

U.S. 7th Fleet is the U.S. Navy’s largest forward-deployed numbered fleet, and routinely interacts and operates with allies and partners in preserving a free and open Indo-Pacific region.

Source: United States Navy

FRCE has supported the Harrier and its engine since 1973, beginning with its assignment of the AV-8A Harrier and F402 engine workload. The legacy Rolls Royce Pegasus F402 turbofan engine features a vectored thrust system that enables the AV-8B Harrier’s short take-off and vertical landing capability. Since 1991, FRCE has serviced 1,046 F402 engines, returning an average of 32 engines to the fleet every year.

FRCE Commanding Officer Capt. Randy Berti said the command’s F402 team’s efforts have not gone unnoticed within the Harrier community.

“I am very proud of FRC East’s long history of supporting the Harrier and its engine,” said Berti. “To consistently produce high-quality engines that have, in turn, helped extend the Harrier’s lifespan is a remarkable achievement, one that every member of the team should take pride in. Their expertise, commitment and teamwork have not only ensured the Harrier’s continued success, but also played an important role in our support of the warfighter.”

The milestone was celebrated with an informal ceremony Sept. 19 in the command’s AV-8 hangar. During the ceremony, Berti and leaders from the AV-8B Weapon Systems Program Office (PMA-257) recognized members of the depot’s Harrier and F402 teams, both past and present, for their efforts in supporting the legendary aircraft and its engine throughout the years.

Production Support Director Chris Day, who has worked with the F402 for nearly 30 years, emphasized that the team’s accomplishments reflect the strong work ethic and high standards that have always been the foundation of the depot’s service to the fleet.

“I can’t begin to express how proud I am of this team and their many accomplishments,” Day said. “While we’ve encountered our fair share of challenges, our success is a direct result of this team’s hard work and dedication to supporting the warfighter.

“Like many others here, I have quite the history with this engine,” he continued. “I started working on F402 engines back in March of 1993 when I joined the Marine Corps. After about seven years, I got out and began my career at FRC East as a mechanic in the F402 shop.”
One of the team’s recent successes was a marked reduction in turnaround times achieved over the past five years, said Steven Lupton, who served as the supervisor for the F402 Engine Disassembly, Assembly and Test Shop supervisor until his recent transition to the supervisor of the Fuel Controls Shop.

“Back in 2019, our average turnaround time for this engine was 484 days,” said Lupton. “This year’s average is 366 days, so we are seeing over a 100 day decrease in turnaround time. Now, part of this is because the major inspection activities, like the thousand-hour inspections, weren’t needed as the aircraft won’t need to fly for another thousand hours with the platform sundowning.

“But that’s not the only reason our turnaround times have gone down,” said Lupton. “Our team has been working on these engines for quite some time now. They are well-versed in this engine’s maintenance needs, especially because a lot of them worked on the F402 during their time in the service. They know exactly what they’re doing so it doesn’t take as long as it would for someone who, say, just started out.”

Maintaining those reduced turnaround times became increasingly challenging as the platform aged, due to supply constraints and other logistical demands, Day noted. With some parts no longer readily available from the original equipment manufacturer, the engineering teams at FRCE and Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) were often called upon to help develop repair procedures that allowed the depot to continue providing warfighters with the highest-quality products.

“As the engine got older, we had to develop more repairs,” explained Day. “The engineers with the AV-8 Fleet Support Team have, time and time again, helped develop repairs and refine processes so we can ensure the product we put back into the engine was capable and suitable for continued service.”

Chris Gosnell, Fleet Support Team AV-8 Propulsion Sub-Team lead, said the cross-disciplinary F402 team at FRCE has been developing solutions to the fleet’s needs for decades. One of the team’s most memorable milestones came in 2001, he said, when the Marine Corps’ Harrier community experienced multiple groundings within a 15-month period, leaving 110 aircraft without engines. As a result, the F402 team was tasked with coming up with a functional resolution.

The team not only solved the issue, but also had enough output to produce spare engines while and assisted the fleet customer with a cost savings of more than $32 million that year. These actions earned the team the 2002 NAVAIR Commander’s Award for Supporting the Warfighter for their impact on warfighter readiness, effectiveness and satisfaction.

“A lot of people rely on FRC East to be productive and responsive to the fleet’s needs,” said Gosnell. “For us to have been able to help identify the root cause and implement the fixes is a testament to all who have worked on the program and is an accomplishment that I hold near and dear to my heart.”

The delivery of the final F402 engine to the fleet marked the end of the F402 team at FRCE, one that has supported the workload for 51 years; however, the depot will continue to support specific F402 components, Day said.

“We will still perform maintenance on a few F402 engine components, like the gearbox and fuel metering unit, because those items can by changed out at the squadron level,” said Day. “We want to make sure we can keep up the Naval Supply Systems Command demands and keep inventory healthy until 2027. And, of course, we want to make sure we can continue to support our fleet and international allies, like the Spanish and Italian navies.”

Day said the majority of the team’s members will transition to support the command’s other service platforms, including the fifth-generation F-35 Lightning II.

“Their skills translate to other areas within the depot,” said Day. “Some will go to other shops within the engine branch while others will transfer over to F-35 components. There are similarities between what we do with the F402 engine and the F-35 lift fan. As a matter of fact, like the F402, the lift fan itself is Rolls-Royce product. With those similarities, crossing some of those people over into F-35 components just made perfect sense.”

While the transition will change day-to-day activities for some of the depot’s employees, Gosnell said it’s for the best as its replacement will increase the fleet’s ability to defend the nation.

“It’s been a long time since I first walked through these doors back in January of 1989. I have been on the F402 team since the beginning of my career here, so watching the AV-8 program sundown and transition to F-35 is bittersweet for me,” Gosnell said.

“Every frontline fighter has as service life,” he continued. “There comes a point in time where the fleet needs to bring a specific capability to the fight that their current aircraft simply can’t support. Even though the AV-8 is an extremely capable aircraft, its successor programs, like the F-35, are not only newer and faster, but most importantly, more capable in today’s environment.”

FRCE is North Carolina’s largest maintenance, repair, overhaul and technical services provider, with more than 4,000 civilian, military and contract workers. Its annual revenue exceeds $1 billion. The depot provides service to the fleet while functioning as an integral part of the greater U.S. Navy; Naval Air Systems Command; and Commander, Fleet Readiness Centers.

Source: United States Navy

Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Adm. Lisa Franchetti toured Boeing’s Orca Extra Large Unmanned Undersea Vehicle (XLUUV) manufacturing facility, met with Boeing contractors and Sailors assigned to Unmanned Undersea Vehicles Squadron (UUVRON) 3, and gave remarks about the importance of having robotic multi-mission submersibles in the fleet, Dec 6.

The Orca XLUUV is one of several unmanned maritime systems programs that the Navy is developing and acquiring to expand to the hybrid Fleet.

“Getting Orca into the hands of our warfighters will help us get after my project 33 targets because she is another player – with some really unique capabilities – on the field in America’s Warfighting Navy,” said Franchetti. “Orca, and other platforms like her, are an important step forward as we drive towards our future hybrid fleet, which is going be composed of manned and unmanned platforms. It’s a hybrid fleet that we know we will need to maintain our warfighting advantage.”

Orca and other autonomous systems represent a leap forward in naval warfare, providing unmatched operational advantages by extending reach, reducing risks to personnel, and enhancing strategic capabilities.

“I have no doubt that Orca will contribute to our future lethality, to our warfighting effectiveness, and further bolster our ability to deter any potential adversaries,” said Franchetti. “What we learn from this capability will inform the development of future robotic and autonomous systems, and ultimately provide a lot of agility, flexibility and new options to our nation’s decision makers, so that if deterrence fails, we’re ready to fight and win decisively.”

As reflected in CNO’s Navigation Plan for America’s Warfighting Navy “operationalizing robotic and autonomous systems: move proven systems into the hands of the warfighters”, is one of seven project 33 targets that will help the Navy permanently raise the baseline level of readiness for the possibility of war with the People’s Republic of China by 2027.

Construction of XLE-1 is complete, and the vehicle is at Marina Shipyard for contractor pierside and at-sea testing. Delivery of XLE-1 to the Navy is expected in early 2025, with follow-on Navy Developmental and Operational Testing (DT/OT) through the third quarter of fiscal year 2025. After completion of Developmental and Operational Testing, UUVRON 3 will complete crew certification, and XLE-1 will be ready for deployment.  

Source: United States Navy

The new Surface Advanced Warfighting School (SAWS), located aboard Naval Base San Diego, will host courses in Anti-Submarine/Surface Warfare (ASW/SUW), Integrated Air and Missile Defense (IAMD), Amphibious Warfare (AMW) and Mine Warfare (MIW). For the first time, these WTI courses of instruction will be conducted in a single, centralized location, directly contributing to the Navy’s Competitive Edge 2.0 initiative and enhancing the lethality and tactical proficiency of the Surface Force across all domains.

“Today’s an important day for SMWDC and for the entire Navy—the official opening of the Surface Advanced Warfighting School. It could not come at a better time,” said Vice Adm. McLane, commander, Naval Surface Forces Pacific Fleet. “Now more than ever, we need intelligent organizations that will enhance our competitive edge and encourage prolific warfighting adaption throughout the force.”

The decision to co-locate the four WTI courses was driven by the reorganization of SMWDC in 2022, aimed at streamlining operations and fostering collaboration. The initiative began in 2020, when Rear Adm. Scott Robertson, former commander, spearheaded efforts to bring the vision to life. SMWDC worked closely with Commander, Naval Surface Forces Pacific (CNSP); Commander, Navy Region Southwest (CNRSW); Commander, Naval Base San Diego; and Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC) to refurbish and transform an administrative building into a cutting-edge training center.

“This state-of-the-art training facility represents years of teamwork and dedication,” said Commander, Naval Surface and Mine Warfighting Development Center, Rear Adm. Wilson Marks. “By co-locating our four WTI courses, we’re not just improving how we train our surface Navy’s elite warfighters, but also creating a center of excellence for experimentation and tactical development. This world-class facility and the training it supports are foundational for achieving tactical warfighting improvements and increasing the lethality of the Surface Fleet.”

The SAWS facility underscores SMWDC’s commitment to deliver tactical excellence by design. The centralized location will also integrate the Multi-Warfare Planning and Training System (MWPTS) in 2026, providing realistic combat systems training for platforms like Ship Self Defense System (SSDS), Aegis, and Surface Fires. This innovation will support the development and validation of tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs), a capability previously limited to live onboard testing.

“Your organization is crucial to our competitive edge and SAWS furthers this strategic vision, centralizing four Warfare Tactics Instructor (WTI) courses and transforming our Sailors with the tools, training, and knowledge they need to win,” McLane emphasized.

Located near the west coast controlled training facility, the new SAWS schoolhouse enhances collaboration, integration, and accessibility. It also ensures parity with training facilities available to aviation and submarine communities, demonstrating the Navy’s commitment to providing surface warfighters with the resources they need to excel.
“Our WTIs are leading the way in improving warfighting capabilities across the fleet,” said Marks. “This schoolhouse ensures they have the tools and environment to continue excelling in their mission and delivering combat-ready warfighters.”

With its opening, the SAWS facility not only honors the Navy’s investment in operational excellence, but also sets the standard for the next generation of Surface Warriors. The first convening of all four WTI courses in the new schoolhouse is scheduled for January 2025, marking the beginning of a new era in surface warfare training.