U. S. Navy: JVX

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P^r°g°ram^WS U sT ^W'i^{h the Hafrier}

^leading the w f' ^Ma_L^{nne Cor}P^{s 1S a}S^ain advanreH . ^{st ln} introduction of

Ending (V/STni\°^{r Sh}°^{rl takeoff and} Service a? ^{10L) aircraft as} the Joint

^Develonm ^{dVanCCd Vertical Lift Aircraft c}'osertof^{ent Pr}°^gram (JVX) moves U. s. ^r“^ltlon-_JVX seeks ^t0 satisfy the

^advancedV/^SQ^e^f^{eS requirements} for an The jvy ^MU ' ^a>rcraft. the Bell u^" ^{be a scaled}-up version of

^technolo_evH?^{COpter Textron XV}‘^15A first fie_u, emonstration aircraft, which

and Arm °^{n 3                   1977} ’ ^under NASA

^a'rcraft ^SponsorshiP- Two XV-15A tilt-rotor mT^{6 budt to} demonstrate ^rotarv-u,in ^Chnolo8y that would permit a ^Vertical J ^a'^rcraft to hover and perform ^me, to t,!,^h0rt'^{andings and}’ once air- ^characteric. ^{aVe tbe s}Peed and handling TheY_V k ?^{f 3 flxe}d-w,ng aircraft ^demonstrat- ^{S have achleved} their flight by Nj a e a ^{10n goa}'^s *ⁿ extensive testing being fir,,. ^{and tbe} services, with one ^to the Pan^{0 a (7_5A} Galaxy transport

Porformedw i!^{r Show in 1982}’ ^where it attention ■ ⁶ , ^and received international

^aircraft made³^ ^XV'^{15 evaluation} , one ^fr°m fk„ , ,^e landings on and takeoffs

1°) i_n Ano ’^C?^{pter carrier Tri}P°^li (LPH- tvas not im^St,⁹⁸²' ^Although the XV-15 ^e tests ^ ^ed *^or shipboard operation, minor diffp^r°.^{Ved succ}essful with only The M ^{f U tles} encountered. deplovino^I!⁶ *~^{orps W}H1 have the lead in ^vertical _;K ^C. ^^or the amphibious/ ^JV_X S ^aS.^Sault role. Marine use of the ^V/ST_0L^{Planned t0 exceed} ‘he Harrier eight TAV^Pa°^^rain—'⁹² AV-8As and 300 av on ^/Xs Procured; plans to buy fine Com,^{S 3nd 28 TAV}-8Bs. The Ma- P'ace i_t ^Pl!! iooking at the JVX to re- ⁵³A/D _S ^LH;^{46 Sea} Knights and CH- ^earl_y 199q|| ^^ta^*^ons beginning in the

els _anci ^riting, the proposed force lev-

► Marine r ^f°^{r the JVX}

Pjjj*l -auT'⁵⁵² ^ ^amP^hibious/

^{7 39} ^°r combat search and res- "S⁵ / November 1983

cue (SAR), replacing Naval Reserve HH-3A helicopters

► Air Force—200 for special operations, supplementing HH-53 and HH-60 heli­copters, and C-130 transports

The Army has apparently withdrawn from the JVX program because of major financial problems facing the service as several high-cost systems are being pro­cured at this time, including large num­bers of the UH-60 Black Hawk and AH-64 Apache helicopters, and develop­ment of an advanced lightweight helicop­ter, LHX. The Army had planned to buy 284 JVX aircraft for corps-level aero- medical evacuation, and as special elec­tronic mission aircraft (SEMA), in the latter role replacing two helicopter and three fixed-wing aircraft types (EH-Is, EH-60s, RV-ls, RC-12s, and OV-lOs). The Army is still talking about a later buy of the JVX for utility and cargo use, but not the high-priority SEMA role.

There are some indications that the Army’s withdrawal could affect the Air Force’s participation in JVX. Dr. Thomas E. Cooper, Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Research, Develop­ment, and Logistics, has said that the Air Force is not willing to assume a greater portion of JVX development costs if the Army withdraws completely. The Navy and Marine Corps had been given the lead in the JVX program on 27 December 1982 and were committed to paying for 50% of development costs, the Army 34%, and the Air Force 16%. Cooper said the Air Force was already forced to “bite the bullet” when it had to increase its share of development costs from 12% to 16% when program leadership shifted from the Army to the Navy and Marine Corps.¹

Current Navy plans restrict the JVX to the combat SAR role, a job now assigned only to the reserves. This is a small por­tion of the potential for naval use of a V/STOL aircraft with the planned JVX’s characteristics. The Navy’s “Sea-Based Air Master Study,” conducted in the mid-1970s, recommended the develop­ment of three V/STOL aircraft designs, the first being a Type A subsonic aircraft that could carry out the Marines’ medium assault role and the Navy’s antisubmarine warfare (ASW), airborne early warning (AEW), carrier on-board delivery (COD), and SAR roles. (The Type B was to be a supersonic fighter/attack V/STOL aircraft, and the Type C an eventual re­placement for the LAMPS III antisubma­rine helicopter.)

Commenting on these recommenda­tions in 1977, Admiral James L. Hollo­way III, then-Chief of Naval Operations, wrote:

“Sea-based, manned, tactical aircraft

Table 1 Marine Corps JVX Program (FY 1983 Dollars)

are an essential component of the

35,000 pounds and twin,

The XV-15 has been extensively tested. In addition to flight deck oper­ations, the XV-15 conducted simulated aerial refueling, simulated weapons delivery, evasive maneuvers, slope landings, and contour flights at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Arizona, in August and September.

U. S. Navy’s force structure. V/STOL aircraft will increase aviation mission performance by our air-capable ships and will enormously increase the flex­ibility of aircraft carrier design.”²

Then, calling for the eventual construc­tion of all-V/STOL carriers, Admiral

Holloway concluded:

“In effecting the transition to V/STOL, the Navy’s present sea-based, tactical air capability can­not be degraded, as it currently repre­sents the margin of superiority be­tween the U. S. and Soviet navies. Therefore, the transition plan calls for the replacement of current CTOL [conventional takeoff and landing] models, at the normal expiration of their service life, with V/STOL fol­low-on aircraft. These V/STOL air­craft will use the current inventory of carriers, augmented by one additional large deck or equivalent, until an all- V/STOL naval air force makes the pure V/STOL carrier a feasible reality.”³

Admiral Holloway retired a year later, and this innovative view of naval V/STOL dissipated under his successor and, especially, Secretary of Defense Harold Brown, who strongly opposed V/STOL programs, including the Marine Corps’ AV-8B Harrier.

But, in general, the naval air commu­nity has opposed high-performance V/STOL aviation in the fleet as a threat to undercut support for building more con­ventional aircraft carriers, as well as the subsonic V/STOL that could compete for the LAMPS III helicopter (now the SH- 60B) mission.

The Marines’ need to develop a re­placement for the aging CH-46 and CH- 53A/D helicopters led to initiation of the medium helicopter requirement (HXM)—sometimes referred to as V/HXM, to indicate a possible V/STOL candidate. The JVX will fulfill this re­quirement with a scaled-up XV-15 hav-

rotors with a diameter of 38 fe^e' aircraft will be able to carry 24 co loaded troops or 10,000 pounds o ^ ,,f on external sling, with a top - about 300 miles per hour, and a 7  ,)

tical mile combat radius at a cruise r ,₅ of about 250 miles per hour. Thejo unrefueled endurance will be ten ho ^ the ferry configuration (i.e.,      ^ o<

continental United States to Ha* ,§ across the Atlantic). This ferry r^ⁿ"’_at,le vital if the aircraft is to be self-dep¹⁰' ^ to potential crisis spots, where ¹ j₀y- marry up with units of the Rapid D^e" ment Force or other ground tr°⁰P^s' ^ Being fully capable of V/STOL °P tion and hovering makes the JVX vious candidate for future Navy ^mlS ^,_e|l from conventional aircraft earners as as from other naval ships. The siz^e’ "^j)l load, and performance of the make it highly suitable for:                                                              _tar-

►  ASW and over-the-horizon missi ,

geting from large surface comba ^ eventually succeeding the SH-60B,                       ₍₀

the high-speed and endurance ^recl^uir_tj₀ii5 exploit long-range towed array ^dete^_L._aIl)'

►  ASW from aircraft carriers, even succeeding the S-3A, SH-3H,

Proceedings / Noveiid*'¹^

Planned SH-finc • ■

recoverv with Permitting launch and

deck c^ ofT M^{lCrfering with fli}§^ht- ► AEW fr        ^!Shter and attack aircraft

^SUcceed,ng 7hrF^a9^fr ^ameu’^eVentUaHy

‘ended bv _rPf ,• ^2C’ ^{Wlth ran}8^e ex- b°ard _Surf^ ^{fue ln}8 ^or “dwelling” on

from the carrier^^{mbatantS at & distance}

Providing ^dut'^es from aircraft carriers, fueling L J?^1Ck'^{response in}-flight re- eonventioifai Ifl ^{3S Wel1 as} P^erforming An I!                ^ker missions

ratability ^ ^ana'ysis of the com- aircraft L?* ^{1 t}'^rotor AEW and ASW such an air,. r^amers demonstrated that ^{0r su}Perior 7 ^{1 Would be} ‘he equivalent V/STOL _w °i.,^{an E}'^{[1] [2] [3]} Hawkeye. The s°me nerfn°^{U d have} “^limi‘^ati°ns in [‘he] S 3 _h°?^{naaCe areas} compared to ^bili‘y Drnvm ^enhanced operational flexi- ^van4ge_s ^^d_T^e,^[4] ;^ignificant unique ad- ^smalle_r th.u ^JVX’^{S deck s}P°t will be

^F°rexamni ^h°^Se _L^of.^{the E}'^{2s or} S-3s. ^s‘^a‘ion at ^{Wltk a}i^rcraft relieving on .S ‘en til, l"!^UtlCal miles from a car- ‘‘mated to ^r° ?^{r a}‘^rcraf‘ sorties were es- ^s°rties or     ^{as wel1 as} >^[5] E-2

^role> the tilt ^{V3 SOrtles}- ^{In the C0D} material _anri ^r°^t0r aircraft could deliver Erectly tn n ^personnel from the beach

carriers. AnHⁿ'k^Vlati°^{n shi}P^{s as wel1 as}

^Craft tyneq „ ^y replacing several air­-            ^{ldl 3} basic airframe -engine combination, the tilt-rotor would simplify carrier logistic requirements.

Marine development and operational testing will begin with the initial produc­tion aircraft in fiscal year 1987 with an initial operational capability in 1991. The aircraft will be produced by a teaming of Bell, located in Fort Worth, Texas, and Boeing Vertol, in Ridley Park, Pennsyl­vania. The two firms teamed in June 1982 to exploit Bell’s design with Boeing Vertol’s extensive experience in manu­facturing large helicopters. (Boeing Ver­tol produces the Marine/Navy H-46 and the Army H-47 helicopters.) In 1983, the firms received a $68.8 million con­tract from the Naval Air Systems Com­mand for a series of wind tunnel tests, critical structure testing, mock-up con­struction, studies, and cost analysis over a 23-month period.

Despite the historical Navy reluctance to support V/STOL development,⁵ Secre­tary of the Navy John Lehman and the current Navy leadership are fully backing the JVX program for the Marine Corps. In May, Vice Admiral E. R. Seymour, then-Commander of the Naval Air Sys­tems Command, discussed the potential of JVX:

“JVX will provide a quantum in­crease in tactical flexibility against threat forces, vastly complicating the enemy commander’s estimates of our intentions. JVX will allow us to im­prove the existing inadequate linkage between strategically air or sea lifted logistics, enabling use of airheads, ports and sea space deeper to our rear areas and less vulnerable to aircraft, rocket and missile interdiction at­tacks. Tilt rotors can also revitalize our rotary wing industry, providing increased markets for a uniquely American aerospace technology. There is a high degree of foreign in­terest already from our Allies in our program.”^[6]