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tenant (Junior Grade) G. C. Doyle, U. S. Navy, and Lieutenant Commander J. D. Furness, U. S. Navy
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Navy, .ll,s sh°rt time with the U. S Veillance
lavy n . . —vuiiv w 1111 uit yj. o.
..Cer°),ld'n® antisurface sur-
SuPPort m„!r8etinl (ASST), electronic
the ^estern Mediterranean,
frigate v HaZard Perry (FFG-7)-class lheAler,e%a, hot contact off the tail. As sPinnin minute) SH-60B Seahawk is
Cornbat MP’ °Perati°nal specialists in sis fi. (fe working time motion analy- ts’ard th Munches, bustling to-
ship p, atum being linked up from the s°n°buoe ea^awh Puts in a pattern of c°urseV'S ant^ within minutes has on tbg an<i an unbreakable hold
fr°rti the A?x/aCe contact- Word comes high-in[ ^ coordinator that this is a
ttainta'm^ tar^et an(f contact should be of safety Qt costs within the realm
"Hi
>ls va,u^lMPS Mk-III team has proven cUe (SA^)\UreS ®SM), search and res- ■Ncrtpepj ’ vertical replenishment (MedEVar\ n11^ medical evacuation Scluadronc Past Coast and West Coast ^ detaot^f. depl°ying one- and two- fri8ates. h ments (dets) to FFG-7-class SuPerior ,ovvever, a two-helo det is a CaUse a;rL 'Phoard weapon system be- Ptakipg orne availability is increased, A two" ,alrcady great system better. at‘°nal su 6 ° det Prov'des superior oper- (o lov86 caPahilities. For example, a single-helo det can fly for a maximum of 32 hours—the primary limitation being crew fatigue, as dictated by common sense and Navy policy. Realistically, 24 hours on/16 hours off would be the maximum pace for all sustained operations.
On a two-helo det, however, surge operations (flying one aircraft at a time) can be conducted around the clock for five to seven days. The main limitation is fatigue, which affects the aircrew, combat team, fire party, and det maintenance personnel. Two aircraft can be cycled, allowing continuous use through turnarounds, daily inspections, phase inspections, and minor maintenance. This surge operation concept has proven to be invaluable on numerous ASW and ASST exercises, and especially during the Libyan operations.
Having a second helo available for launch provides for on-station relief during ASW prosecution, eliminating noncontact time normally associated with hot pump and/or crew swap. This is particularly important when operating with a ship that does not have a towed-array system and thus can help maintain contact during off-cycle time.
Safety is a major consideration for a two-helo det. If a second deck is not available on land or a ship in company, two helos should not be in the air unless operational necessity justifies the risk. A flight deck easily can become fouled by an aircraft problem (e.g., faulty bladefold) or a shipboard problem (e.g., recovery, assist, and traverse [RAST] system failure). One safety option is to have the ship and any nearby units maintain a 15-minute helicopter in-flight refueling (HIFR) alert until the flight deck can be made available.
It is often advantageous to fly both aircraft at the same time. During any ASW prosecution, the possibility always exists that a second datum may arise, requiring concurrent prosecution. A more common use is when one aircraft is tasked with ASW prosecution while the other is conducting ASST out ahead of the ship’s or battle group’s position and intended movement. The ASW helo should have the data link available and be controlled by the air tactical control operator. Because only one SH-60B can be in the transmit-receive mode of the data link, the ASST aircraft should be controlled by a separate antisubmarine air controller on ultra-high-frequency while monitoring the data link in the receive mode only. Data link time sharing is also available for navigational and tactical updates.
Another advantage of operating two helos from the same deck is having a ready SAR bird. Even when the ship is operating independently of the battle group, it has a second, fully capable, airborne SAR helo on board. If one aircraft ditches 100 nautical miles from home- plate, the second can be launched and over the survivors 2.5 hours earlier than the host ship traveling at her fastest. Whenever one aircraft is operating at extended ranges, the other aircraft should be on an Alert-30 (minute) status.
Maintenance is much easier for a two- helo det. The SH-60B is a maintenance dream to begin with, requiring only 13 maintenance man-hours per flight-hour. A problem with any new system is getting the supply network to have the necessary parts in-theater. The ship’s special aircraft service system inventory for a
Two LAMPS Mk-lII helos, attached to Oliver Hazard Perry (FFG-7)-class frigates like the Crommelin (FFG-37), offer increased ASW coverage, a ready SAR helo, and enhanced maintenance, safety, and manning.
143
Rating | Table 1 Current | Two-Helo Personnel Reduction Plan Proposed Rating Current | Proposed | ||
BM | 6 | 6 | IC | 3 | 3 |
DK | 1 | 1 | MA | 1 | 0 |
DS | 2 | 2 | MR | 1 | 1 |
EM | 6 | 6 | MS | 10 | 10 |
EN | 12 | 12 | OS | 19 | 17 |
ET | 8 | 7 | PC | 1 | 1 |
EW | 4 | 4 | PN | 2 | 2 |
FC | 10 | 10 | QM | 4 | 3 |
FN | 6 | 6 | RM | 10 | 10 |
GMG | 3 | 3 | SH | 5 | 4 |
GMM | 3 | 3 | SK | 5 | 5 |
GSE | 5 | 5 | SM | 6 | 4 |
GSM | 8 | 8 | SN | 31 | 25 |
HN | 0 | 0 | STG | 8 | 8 |
HM | 1 | 1 | TM | 1 | 1 |
HT | 7 | 7 | YN | 2 | 2 |
save more than seven tons weight.
Rotating people through P[°j?SS‘°"^ schools, temporary additional signments, and early bird leave pe ^ will help alleviate overcrowding as as benefit crew training. . t|,e
Several proposals for altering^ ship’s structure have been Changes for increased berthing ^ include: converting two-man sta to three-man staterooms; adding £ room space by using passageway ^ outside the existing officers coun u’nges converting one of the three creW .j, aC. to an additional berthing area .s for commodations for 12 racks. Prop® re(je. reducing topside weight incJU,jer and
signing the accommodation a ^ providing a RIB replacement ^ motor whale boat. These a on -je
of topsl .-helo
two-helo det is larger and broader, requiring fewer part orders. With two helos on board, parts can be swapped from one aircraft to another to isolate the defective component. (Component swapping must be done carefully, so as not to damage or destroy functional components. Improper troubleshooting and indiscriminate use of components could sideline both helos.)
As a last resort, parts may be cannibalized from a non-mission-capable (NMC) aircraft to keep the other aircraft mission-capable. One det in the Mediterranean cannibalized an NMC helo three times during their deployment, each a complete success and causing no additional maintenance requirements in the NMC aircraft.
“Self-logistics” is a concept unique to ships with more than one aircraft. The ability to fly to supply ships or to land- based supply centers reduces the time required for parts transfer. A one-helo det in a NMC status must depend on the system; a two helo det can make its own luck with foresight and good management. The SH-60B can VertRep as much as '4,000 pounds externally, and it has enough storage space internally to handle supplies as large as a stokes litter. The Seahawk has previously VertRepped parts as large and cumbersome as main rotor blades and main rotor heads.
The two-helo det maintenance program delivers proven results. Dets can keep at least one aircraft full-mission-capable FMC on the average of 98%, an impressive statistic considering some dets are flying more than 900 hours per deployment.
Personnel manning is a major consideration in the one-versus-two-plane det
debate. A one-helo det consists of one crew chief, eight maintenance technicians, and two ASW sensor operators. A two-helo det has one crew chief, 11 maintenance technicians, and three ASW sensor operators. The extra maintainers allow the department to run two 12-hour shifts of five men, each shift having a leading petty officer. Although four more men may not seem adequate to handle the workload of a second aircraft, the 12 hours on/12 hours off dutycycle makes the best use of the technicians. The pace is intense but morale is high. The ability to keep at least one aircraft flying is professionally satisfying.
A two-helo det deploys with six pilots rather than the one-helo det’s four. The aviators’ collateral duties, particularly the mountain of paperwork, is split up among the six officers. Although the amount of flight hours increases throughout the cruise, there is still more time for professional training within the det and less time for doing paperwork.
Two of the strongest arguments against the two-helo det are overcrowding and the ship’s weight limitations—-valid complaints that have received a great deal of attention. The two-helo det burdens berthing and messing accommodations, and fills the hangars with aircraft and supply parts. Still, the operational advantage of two helos far exceeds the discomfort of crowded living conditions.
The personnel reduction plan shown in Table 1 has been proposed to help alleviate overcrowding and weight/moment concerns. Combined with cross-rating within the quartermaster/signalman rating, this plan allows for safe and efficient operation at sea.
— tie*
Another problem with the two ^ /fir- is a greater demand on consuma con.
craft fuel, sonobuoys, and COIIOSernS that trol materials are examples ot 1 Qne
may require increased storage SP with solution is to increase the fieque .^gd, which these supplies are reP sI0r-
maintaining only a small surp us
helos
age for contingencies.
Also taxed by operating can _ the helicopter fire team. Fatigue24-fiour
two
be
come a factor during extern
fire
team
flight operations. A second ^ents needs to be drawn from all <jfP 0pCtr
Extended, around-the-clock mg v£ty
144
the
meet
department must be prepared challenge. _. jjj coitf*^
The two-helo LAMPS
to
, where'
has been proven time and again jntain counts: in the fleet. We mus I Allf ^
two-helo detachments to
lions
IWU-1MU U^tUV-lllllWlUJ------------------------------ • £f(
tional policy and meet the i challenges to U. S. naval oper foreign waters.
• . fl ^ *
Lieutenant Doyle received his c0,11^:ty in NROTC graduate of Penn State ^nlV° ^ and >s ^ He earned his naval aviator wings in ^ 3
signed to Helicopter Antisubmarine ^ sefved *n
(HSL) 42 in May port, Florida. He has se‘ BrJ0 single-helo detachment on the ^ ie ^
(FFG-49) and a two-helo det in the two The information in this article is base ^ of data accumulated by deployed dets
based0"
r fof
otfC>
helo det ^ ^
Commander Furness is the operations ^ on
HSL-42, and has served in a one
det <
Moosbrugger (DD-980) and a two-hcl ^
Doyle. He has a B. A. degree in music r dt.gn Illinois University and a masters 0 ^ -a Hc"^ from the University of Southern Ca i . ^ w,n . commissioned through AOCS and recci jjsl-37 aI in 1977. He made two deployments wi was a flight instructor with HSL-3 •
Proceedings