The past year proved to be momentous as Operation Enduring Freedom continued to rely on a wide range of naval aviation assets, and the Naval Air Systems Command team continued to make advances in research, development, and testing. Enduring Freedom marked the unprecedented combat employment of U.S. and allied aircraft carriers.
The three U.S. Navy carriers were under Rear Admiral Tom Zelibor as Commander, Task Force 50, on board the John C. Stennis (CVN-74). Immediately after the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001, the Enterprise (CVN-65) showed the flexibility and stamina of her crew when she turned away from her homeward transit after a full deployment and headed toward Afghanistan. The Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71), John C. Stennis, Kitty Hawk (CV-63), Italian carrier Giuseppe Garibaldi, French carrier Charles de Gaulle, and HMS Illustrious arrived on station in rapid order, along with amphibious ships and their AV-8B Harriers. Not since the Korean War had naval air power been so important in a theater where nearby bases for fixed-wing operations were in short supply.
Sea-based aircraft provided "24/7" close air support to coalition forces throughout the theater. In a November 2002 article in Air Force magazine, Dr. Rebecca Grant—previously a carrier critic—recognized the contribution of naval aviation. It was refreshing to read her report that "Naval aircraft flew about 75% of the strike sorties. With all-precision air wings, the strike fighters averaged two aim points per aircraft per sortie, a monumental shift from the mass force packages of Operation Desert Storm. A full 93% of the Navy strike sorties delivered precision- guided ordnance." This was possible only because the naval requirements and acquisition community made concerted efforts to take lessons learned from Desert Storm and redesign aircraft, weapon, and avionics systems to deliver more responsive precision-engagement combat power. Almost 80% of the aircraft launched in Enduring Freedom combat sorties were unaware of exact target locations. But with their warfighting tools, they adapted quickly and used a full quiver of weapons that ranged from the Joint Direct Attack Munition to 20mm cannons.
Fierce fighting during Operation Anaconda marked the peak of support to special forces in contact. Scores of naval tactical aircraft and Marine CH-53E Sea Stallion and AH-1W Super Cobra helicopters were brought to bear when other assets were knocked out of action and additional support was needed. Lessons learned from this operation were drawn on to influence ongoing and future aircraft recapitalization and modernization programs.
While the fruits of requirements and acquisition labors were being used in Operations Enduring Freedom and Southern Watch, the skies above Naval Air Station (NAS) Patuxent River, Maryland, were filled with a multitude of aircraft undergoing flight tests and promising new capabilities to war fighters. Concurrently—but not as easy to see as aircraft over head—were the many weapons and systems development activities that bore fruit in 2002.
Major Programs
MV-22 Osprey. After a series of reviews and close examinations, the MV-22 returned to flight on 29 May 2002. Six Ospreys are equipped with recommended configuration changes and are cleared for flight tests. The restructured program includes tests designed to prove their airworthiness during rapid descents and in shipboard environments—areas of considerable concern. According to Ward Carroll, a former naval aviator and the program's public affairs officer, NAS Patuxent River is "bullish on the V-22's capabilities and optimistic about the aircraft's future." A key event in that future will be when Mr. Edward "Pete" Aldridge, Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisitions, Technology, and Logistics, determines the aircraft's fiscal year (FY) 2004 funding later this spring. His decision will be based primarily on rapid-descent and shipboard test results.
The high-rate-of-descent testing is structured in two stages: phase I will validate the "placarded" envelope (800 feet-per-minute rate of descent at 40 knots forward air speed) for fleet operations beginning at the end of 2003; phase II will be an unprecedented wringing out of the rotorcraft that most likely will result in modification of the fleet envelope. To date, the integrated test team has reached 2,000 feet-per-minute rates of descent at 40 knots of forward air speed, without degradation of pilot control.
Initial shipboard suitability tests were conducted in January 2003 on board the Iwo Jima (LHD-7). Test pilots were pleased with the Osprey's handling characteristics in the landing pattern and on deck. The test team collected downwash data on CH-53 and UH-1 helicopters and measured the effects on an Osprey that turned on deck behind a hovering helicopter. Improved flight control software reduced the roll-on-deck phenomenon to an almost negligible 2.4[degrees], half the predicted value. The team also conducted parachute tests at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, using streamers and dummies to measure the airflow around the MV-22's aft ramp.
The MV-22 integrated product team (IPT) applied lessons learned from assault-aircraft operations in Afghanistan to the Osprey's requirements documents—especially the withering fire experienced by Army CH-47 Chinook helicopters. Led by Major "Splash" Harris of the Marine Corps Combat Development Command and representatives from U.S. Special Operations Command and Headquarters Marine Corps, the IPT is considering issues such as types of defensive guns and mounting locations. An ongoing concept of employment update will focus on these and other issues.
Joint Strike Fighter. After basking in the limelight while tension built throughout 2001 over the winner of the highly contested competition between Boeing and Lockheed, the JSF program settled down in 2002 to getting the system planned development and demonstration phase under way. A series of reviews were held with the prime propulsion and airframe contractors, General Electric, Rolls-Royce, Pratt & Whitney, and Lockheed Martin. After the announcement of the winning company, additional international partners joined the U.S. and U.K. development team: Australia, Denmark, The Netherlands, Norway, Italy, Canada, and Turkey.
Numerous aircraft type configurations and force mixes were reviewed to conform to the Department of Defense (DoD) directive to ensure Navy-Marine Corps tactical aviation integration before submission of the 2004 program objective memorandum last summer. A study led by Whitney, Bradley & Brown, Incorporated, resulted in an integrated approach in which more Marine squadrons will deploy on board carriers and Navy squadrons will deploy ashore in traditional Marine roles. Options are under study for the Navy to have the JSF short takeoff and landing (STOVL) variant for operations ashore with Marine units, and for Marines to have the carrier variant. A related development in Navy-Marine air integration was selection of a Marine colonel to serve as carrier air wing commander; he will enter the training pipeline in 2003.
F/A-18E/F Super Hornet. The 100th Super Hornet was delivered in 2002, a busy year for the newest strike fighter in operational service. The first deployment occurred when the Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA)-115 "Eagles" went aboard the Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) in July. The Super Hornet made its combat debut in November during Operation Southern Watch strikes against surface-to-air missile sites and a command-and-control facility southeast of Baghdad. VFA-115 deployed with three ASQ-228 advanced targeting forward-looking infrared (ATFLIR) systems, along with a complement of NITEhawk targeting pods because the ATFLIR has not finished operational evaluation. Mature ATFLIRs are planned for later F-18E/F deployments as they become available.
Three F-14 Tomcat squadrons—Fighter Squadrons (VFs)-14, -41, and -102—began transitioning to the F/A-18E/F in 2002 after they returned from deployments. VFA-14 and VFA-41 will be the first deploying units to be equipped with the Joint Helmet-Mounted Cueing System (JHMCS), which has great utility in both air-to-ground and air-to-air applications. These squadrons were certified safe for flight on 1 April and 1 May 2002, respectively, and they deployed with Carrier Air Wing (CVW)-11 in December to NAS Fallon, Nevada, to drop ordnance day and night in preparation for their deployment in 2003. The former Tomcat aircrews could not be happier. The deputy commander of Carrier Air Group-11 and former skipper of VF-103, Captain "Mean Jim" Green, noted in December, "I'm flying jets with no gripes in the books, and I have yet to write one myself." I joined Andy Nelson, joint close air support lead instructor, on the range with the air controllers who put the F/A-18E/Fs on their targets. After a series of spectacular hits against difficult targets, Nelson remarked, "These guys are even better than they say they are at the bar." Needless to say, the Super Hornet aircrews were exuberant.
Major strides were made in development and integration of the Shared Reconnaissance Pod (SHARP), Advanced Mission Computers and Displays (AMC&D), Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar, and Multifunction Information Display System. The first of five engineering and manufacturing development pods was delivered in June with plans to make the first SHARP deployment on board the Nimitz (CVN-68) in 2003 with the F/A-18R The first Super Hornet took to the air in August with AMC&D and other display upgrades, and was delivered to VFA-122 in the fall. A fully integrated APG-79 AESA radar was demonstrated at Raytheon's El Segundo facility in 2002 and later honored by the award of an Aviation Week and Space Technology laureate. On 12 December, the Hornet program marked its 5,000,000th hour flown.
EA-6B Prowler and EA-18G Growler. Results of the airborne electronic attack analysis of alternatives were evaluated in 2002, and the EA-18G was selected to replace the EA-6B. The EA-18G will be managed by PMA-265 and an IPT was established in early 2003 under the leadership of Lisa Nyalko. The Growler will be equipped with the ALQ-99 pods carried by the EA-6B, thereby leveraging the technology being introduced to the EA-6B while retaining the inherent attack capability of the F/A-18E/F. It will give the EA-18G an expanded capability to suppress enemy air defenses and the flexibility to conduct strike missions if electronic attack missions are not required. The EA-6B Improved Capability (ICAP)-III deliveries by Northrop Grumman have been consistently ahead of schedule. The second ICAP-III developmental test aircraft was delivered to NAS Patuxent River in April 2002; both aircraft underwent operational assessments in the fall.
E-2C Hawkeye. One of top priority programs for both the office of the Chief of Naval Operations' Air Warfare (N78) and Surface Warfare (N76) divisions is the E-2C and its modernization road map. This aircraft plays a critical role in Cooperative Engagement Capability (CEC), a foundation of Sea Shield that is sponsored by N76. In January 2002, Northrop Grumman received a $49M contract to begin a 12-month pre-systems development and demonstration for the radar modernization program (RMP) that ultimately will cost more than $1 billion to update the mission computer and integrate an advanced ultra-high frequency electronically steered array (UESA). A specially configured C-130 test bed was configured in 2002 for flight-test development of UESA radar technology. The E-2C RMP was renamed the Advanced Hawkeye program in late 2002 after Captain Bob LaBelle took over as program manager. The last E-2C Group II was delivered in 2002. Production of the E-2C Hawkeye 2000—first delivered to war fighters in late October 2001—continued ahead of schedule throughout 2002.
Other Aviation Developments
AV-8B Harrier II. The Marine Corps validated the STOVL concept during Enduring Freedom, when its Harriers disembarked from amphibious decks and operated ashore in Kandahar, where they stood alert and flew scores of sorties. Considering that carrier aircraft had to make a 700-mile round trip, the nearby Harriers offered more than a comfort factor. The AV-8B equipped with Lightening II FLIR targeting pods made its first operational deployment and combat debut, accompanied by similarly equipped Italian and Spanish AV-8Bs flying from their respective carriers.
P-3C Antisurface Improvement Program (AIP). The AIP variant proved its worth in Afghanistan as Patrol Squadron (VP)-9—and later VP-46—were over Afghanistan debuting real-time video surveillance feeds to special operations and base defense forces. In addition, they provided strike support with AGM-84E stand-off land-attack missiles (SLAMs) and Maverick air-to-surface missiles. Although overland use of the P-3C in a semipermissive environment and in support of ground forces was not envisioned originally, it was capitalized on immediately.
MH-60 Helicopter. The MH-60S Knighthawk completed operational evaluation in early 2002 and was approved for full-rate production. The first squadron to receive it was Helicopter Combat Support Squadron (HC)-5, the fleet readiness squadron at NAS North Island, California. Soon thereafter, the MH-60S achieved operational status with two fleet operational squadrons: HC-5 at Andersen Air Force Base in Guam and HC-6 at NAS Norfolk, Virginia. The Knighthawk replaces the venerable but aging CH-46D Sea Knight in the vertical replenishment role. Its nearly identical cousin, the MH-60R, flew its first full-mission system configuration on 4 April 2002 at the Lockheed Martin Systems Integration facility in Owego, New York. Two SH-60R prototypes and five MH-60R test aircraft are under evaluation at Owego and NAS Patuxent River. In accordance with the original acquisition strategy, these aircraft are remanufactured SH-60Bs. It was determined subsequently, however, that newly built MH-60R aircraft would be more cost effective. The MH-60R will replace both the SH-60B and the SH-60F, and it shares a common digital cockpit with the MH-60S.
UH-1 and AH-1 Helicopter Upgrades. The UH-1Y utility helicopter—remanufactured from the current UH-1N—arrived at NAS Patuxent River after completing more than 50 flights at the Bell Flight Research Center in Arlington, Texas, since its first flight in December 2001. The "Yankee" shares a common rotor, transmission, engine, and fully integrated avionics system with its companion, the AH-1Z attack helicopter, which has been flying since 2001. The second and third "Zulus" arrived at NAS Patuxent River last summer to join the flight-test program there. By December, the AH-1Z had completed its flight envelope expansion testing and chalked up more than 400 hours before beginning stores jettison testing. All three attack helicopters are being configured for integration of the Thales Top Owl helmet-mounted display, which replaces an earlier display that experienced developmental problems.
Multimission Maritime Aircraft (MMA). The multimission competition resulted in contract awards in September 2002 of $7 million each to Boeing and Lockheed Martin to separately conduct five-month efforts for Phase I of the component advanced development (CAD) portion of the Navy's new MMA program to replace both the P-3 and EP-3 aircraft. The CAD Phase II outlays of $20.5 million each were awarded in February 2003 for a 14-month effort ending in April 2004. At that time, one company will be chosen to conduct a four-year system development and demonstration phase. Boeing proposes a militarized 737-300 airliner and Lockheed proposes a revamped P-3 Orion.
KC-130J. In its indispensable role of ferrying personnel and supplies between bases in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the KC-130R Hercules proved to be an indispensable workhorse in Enduring Freedom. At the same time, the need for night-vision compatible cockpits and devices was highlighted last year by the loss of a Hercules in a night approach to a Pakistani airfield. This capability is incorporated in production-line C-130J models and has been initiated for retrofit in the current active fleet at the Naval Aircraft Depot Cherry Point, North Carolina. (Reserve C-130s already have the retrofit.) The Marine Corps is making a multiyear procurement of 22 KC-130Js. The Air Force-led C-130J software development effort cleared the Block 5.3 software for deployment outside the continental United States. Congressional direction ties the multiyear procurement to successful operational assessment of the aircraft and software. Block 5.4, which adds fully integrated self-defense capabilities, is under development and scheduled for operational evaluation in 2004.
Adversary Aircraft. The first two F-16A aircraft to be used in adversary roles were delivered to NAS Fallon, Nevada, in July 2002; they were followed by two more each month through January 2003. The Navy previously had operated specially configured F-16N aircraft as adversaries at the Navy Fighter Weapon School and VF-45 until airframe cracking grounded them permanently. The need for a fourth-generation adversary aircraft in terms of maneuverability and weapon systems has been an outstanding requirement ever since. The F-16As were purchased originally by Pakistan, but never delivered because of a subsequent arms embargo. Although many potential users at home and abroad have eyed them with envy, U.S. State Department edicts kept them parked in long-term storage at Davis-Monthan AFB for more than a decade until a deal was struck to release them for Navy and Air Force service.
T-45. The T-45 Goshawk fleet reached 400,000 flight hours in 2002, and the T-45C—an upgraded version of the Goshawk with a digital cockpit—reached 100,000 flight hours in March 2003. T-45s have made approximately 29,000 arrested landings on aircraft carriers since entering service in 1992 and more than 1,800 new aviators have earned their wings in them. To date, the Boeing Company has delivered 155 T-45 Goshawks to the Navy. The Navy's long-term plan calls for procurement of 234 Goshawks to support Navy and Marine Corps training beyond 2030.
Joint Primary Aircraft Training System. The Raytheon T-6A Texan II trainer achieved operational status with the Air Force at Moody AFB, Georgia, in 2002. The first Texan II aircraft was delivered to Training Air Wing 6 at NAS Pensacola, Florida, later in the year.
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs)
Predator. Some of the most exciting and innovative efforts in naval aviation revolve around UAV technology. The Predator captured international attention in its introduction to combat as a surveillance platform in Kosovo and its subsequent use last year as a primary surveillance and weapon platform in Afghanistan and Yemen. Predators are operated by the Air Force and the Central Intelligence Agency. Although the Navy procured several of them, it was directed to turn them over to U.S. Joint Forces Command. The Predator's primary contribution has been to show the way for a host of future UAVs.
Global Hawk. During its deployment to Afghanistan, this UAV demonstrated the utility of high-altitude persistence to the battlefield commander. By June 2002, the Global Hawk had surpassed 1,000 combat hours. Meanwhile, the Navy announced the Northrop Grumman RQ-8A Fire Scout Tactical UAV (see following paragraph) would not be procured after completion of operational evaluation because of rapidly changing requirements—instead, two Global Hawks will be procured for the maritime demonstration. While not tied directly to the ongoing broad-area maritime surveillance program, Global Hawks will be useful in determining the maritime applications of a high-altitude and high-endurance intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance UAV.
Fire Scout. The Fire Scout has been a useful development because of its modular platform payload and control system, both of which can be applied to many other UAVs. The third and final Fire Scout was delivered to Naval Air Warfare Center (NAWC) China Lake, California, and made its first flight in May 2002. The first production example was delivered in January 2003. Although the Navy has decided not to introduce Fire Scouts to the fleet, they will be used in operational evaluation of the Raytheon Tactical Control System, which is to be used for controlling future UAVs. Northrop Grumman representatives believe the Fire Scout has potential in other applications, such as the Coast Guard's Deepwater Program, the Navy's Littoral Combat Ship, and the Royal Navy's UAV requirement.
Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle-Navy (UCAV-N). Major naval activity centers on the Northrop Grumman Pegasus X-47A UCAV-N and its integration into the carrier environment by use of the Joint Precision Approach Landing System (JPALS). Throughout 2002, the Navy program manager worked with the Northrop Grumman team to integrate JPALS into the team's control architecture. The JPALS demonstrated its carrier performance in 2001 with manned aircraft and was selected recently as the primary precision approach and landing system for CVN-21. Northrop Grumman was on hand to witness the proof of concept on board the Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) and began immediately to plan for using JPALS to recover the UCAV-N aboard a carrier. The year-long collaborative effort culminated with a successful 12-minute first flight on 23 February 2003 at NAWC China Lake, when the Pegasus demonstrated the ability to place the tail hook precisely in the window for a carrier arrested landing. The aircraft flew a 2.5[degrees] glide slope, 110-knot approach to landing and touched down 10 feet beyond the intended touchdown point. This was the first UAV flight and landing using the JPALS Ship Relative Global Positioning System as a primary navigation system, and it was the first experimental plane flight to be conducted at China Lake.
Weapons
AIM-9X. The first fleet AIM-9X rolled out officially on 1 May 2002, when initial training missiles were turned over to Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force representatives at the Tucson, Arizona, production facility. Navy F/A-18C squadrons at NAS Lemoore, California, Marine squadrons in Okinawa, and Air Force F-15 squadrons at Elmendorf AFB, Alaska, were designated to be the first to receive the high off-boresight missile. Later in 2002, an international audience gathered at NAWC China Lake to mark the 50th anniversary of the Sidewinder. One honoree at the event was a former Republic of China Air Force F-86 pilot who downed a mainland Chinese MiG-17 with the first Sidewinder fired in combat. Rear Admiral D. J. Venlet, a former AIM-9 program manager and cosponsor of the event, is a combat-experienced Sidewinder customer as well—in 1981, his flight gave Libyan Fitters the business end of AIM-9Ls after the Libyans fired on two VF-41 Tomcats. The F/A-18E/F is in development testing with the JHMCS and AIM-9X at Air Test and Evaluation Squadron-9. The AIM-9X is undergoing operational evaluation and is scheduled for its full-rate production decision later in 2003. Last year, South Korea and Switzerland announced decisions to procure AIM-9X for their F-15Ks and F/A-18Cs, respectively.
Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM). This is the hands-down winner of the most effective and successful rapid-acquisition weapon to be introduced in the recent era of defense reform. The JDAM has become the weapon of choice for aircrews and special operations force controllers. The GPS guidance kits for both 1,000- and 2,000-pound general-purpose bombs have been in continuous production since the initiation of Enduring Freedom. A 500-pound variant is under development, and the Air Force is pursuing a separate program to yield an even smaller GPS-guided weapon called the small diameter bomb.
Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW). The JSOW-C (unitary warhead) remains in development. It demonstrated a BAE-developed Broach warhead at NAWC China Lake in 2002.
Affordable Moving Surface Target Engagement (AMSTE). In a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency-sponsored test in 2002, the JDAM and JSOW demonstrated the ability to hit moving targets by using Link-16 updates from the Joint Surveillance/Target Attack Radar System and a Northrop Grumman developmental radar intended for use on the Global Hawk. Initiated in January, the AMSTE work enabled an F-14D to drop two Mk-84 JDAMs on separate targets in a simulated moving convoy. Further, an F/A-18D dropped a JSOW on a moving M-60 tank and scored a direct hit.
Dave Parsons is the director of Innovative Warfare Programs with Titan Corporation at Lexington Park, Maryland. He served 20 years in the Marine Corps and Navy and formerly was the editor of Approach.