Last year, naval aviation contributed a wide range of capabilities to Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) that surpassed precedents set in Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF). Employment of sea-based aviation for "24/7" close air support to coalition forces was reintroduced in Iraq. Seven carrier battle groups (CVBGs)—now called carrier strike groups—and two seven-ship amphibious ready groups deployed to the region packed with naval aviation assets. When negotiations to position land-based aviation in Turkey fell through, two CVBGs operated from the eastern Mediterranean to support Army special forces in northern Iraq.
According to Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps General William Nyland, more than 70% of the Corps' aviation and all its AV-8B Harrier squadrons deployed to OIF. The Marines operated aviation assets from amphibious vessels, airfields, hastily constructed forward operating bases, and forward arming and refueling points (FARPs) as the ground forces moved toward their objectives. The FARPs were highly effective in providing refueling and weapon reloads for Marine and U.S. Army aircraft. According to an Army Apache helicopter battalion commander at the same location with Marine AH-1W Cobras, "It's incredible how quickly the Marines can turn a [destroyed Iraqi] airfield back into a functional airfield." Both services operated out of Jalabah, sharing fuel, hydraulic fluid, and food.
Although preliminary planning estimated the need for seven FARPs, the Marines ultimately established 19 in 28 days. According to Major General James Amos, Commanding General of the 3d Marine Aircraft Wing (3d MAW), "We took the Harriers-the large bulk of our Harriers-and put them on two LHDs, ended up with two Harrier carriers, and operated them 24 hours a day." Marine aviation assets were shuffled so that the Bataan (LHD-5) and Bonhomme Richard (LHD-6) operated with full decks of 24 Harriers each, with 12 on other decks and 16 more ashore. According to Marine Aircraft Group 13's commander, Colonel Mark Savarese, "The blue-green, One team, one fight' approach has really won the day."
Many Harriers used the Litening II advanced airborne targeting and navigation pod with great success. In early 2003, Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems Sector modified a Litening extended-range forward-looking infrared pod to permit a data link between AV-8Bs and ground stations for Pioneer unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). This arrangement worked well throughout OIF.
While the action in Iraq grabbed headlines, the Naval Air Systems Command (NavAir) team ran at high tempo to support deployed forces and develop the next generation of aircraft, weapon systems, and upgrades. Naval Air Station (NAS) Patuxent River, Maryland, was alive with activity as numerous aircraft conducted research, development, and test and evaluation (RDT&E) flights. Concurrently, the test ranges at NAS China Lake and NAS Point Mugu, California, were over-booked with RDT&E and operational test flights.
Major Programs
* MV-22 Osprey. Initial shipboard suit-ability 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 MV-22 integrated test team collected downwash data on the H-53 and H-1 to measure effects of a hovering helicopter on an Osprey turning its rotors on deck. With improved flight control software installed, the roll-on-deck phenomenon was almost negligible. The team also conducted paradrop testing at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, using streamers and dummies to measure the air flow around the MV-22's aft ramp.
* F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF). Lockheed Martin worked around the clock to transform the F-35 subscale demonstrator configuration to a production aircraft. In December 2003, Department of Defense (DoD) Comptroller Dov Zakheim redirected JSF funding from the recurring procurement into the nonrecurring R&D line to account for weight issues and 20% cost growth in the system development and demonstration phase. The first low-rate initial production award for the conventional takeoff-and-landing Air Force variant and the short takeoff-and-landing version slipped from fiscal year 2006 to fiscal year 2007.
* FIA-18E/F Super Hornet. Both the E and F models were employed in OIF from the Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) and the Nimitz (CVN-68). The Abraham Lincoln deployed with the first operational F/A-18E squadron, Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 115; when OIF kicked off, her request for four additional F/A-18E/Fs was satisfied by the Nimitz, which was en route to the theater. Two E models were configured for tanking, and two F models with their forward air control-trained crews augmented the strike fighters on the Abraham Lincoln.
The Super Hornet program continues to add capabilities. Major strides were made in development and integration of the new Shared Reconnaissance Pod (SHARP), Advanced Mission Computers and Display, Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar, and Multifunction Information Display System (MIDS). The first of five engineering and manufacturing development pods was delivered in june, permitting the first SHARP to be deployed with F/A-18Fs on the Nimitz.
The 2003 F/A-18E/F deployments brought rave reviews for the aircraft and the new systems deployed with them. The advanced targeting forward-looking infrared (ATFLIR) system, MIDS, SHARP, and the Joint Helmet-Mounted Cueing System (JHMCS) were used in combat with great success. Although the E/F model has yet to deploy with the AIM-9X air-to-air missile, the JHMCS proved to be of significant value in air-to-ground targeting and weapon employment, and in improving situational awareness. Effectiveness will take another leap forward with the advanced crew station being incorporated in the Lot 26 Super Hornets scheduled for delivery in the fall of 2004.
The first flight of the eagerly awaited APG-79 AESA radar was flown by a Super Hornet at NAS China Lake in july 2003. Thereafter, the Navy decided to incorporate the APG-79 on the F/A-18E/F production line, beginning with Lot 27.
At the end of active combat, the Kitty Hawk (CV-63) returned to Japan and bade farewell to Fighter Squadron (VF) 154 and its F-14A Tomcats, which returned to the United States for transition. VF-102 achieved its operational status in September and then departed for Japan with its new F/A-18Fs to fill the vacancy left by VF-154.
* F-14 Tomcat. Operation Iraqi Freedom could well have marked high tide for the venerable Tomcats, which steadily and effectively are being replaced by F/A-18Fs. The war marked the first time all three F-14D squadrons deployed simultaneously for combat. A last-minute software upgrade was rushed to theater six months ahead of schedule to enable the 30 F-14Ds to carry the Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMs) they used with deadly effect. Tomcats flying from the eastern Mediterranean were on station over northern Iraq supporting special operations forces (SOFs) with their unique ability to pass imagery from their Low Altitude Targeting and Infrared for Night pods to SOF imagery equipment. A Tomcat contingent from NavAir's PMA-241 and Fighter Wing Atlantic joined the troops on the ground to facilitate coordination.
* EA-6B Prowler and EA-18G Growler. After the analysis of alternatives was completed and the EA-18G was selected to replace the EA-6B, the Growler team went into high gear at NAS Patuxent River to prepare for the Milestone B decision in late 2003. Under the management of NavAir's PMA-265, a dedicated integrated product team for the EA-18G was established in early 2003 under the leadership of Lisa Nyalko. She also serves as the principal deputy to Captain Don Gaddis, who assumed the F/A-18 program in 2003. Approval to enter the system development and demonstration phase was granted in December 2003.
The EA-18G will be equipped with the ALQ-99 pods carried by the EA-6B, leveraging off the improved capability (ICAP) technology being introduced to the EA-6B while retaining the inherent attack capability of the F/A-18E/F. The result is an expanded capability to conduct lethal suppression of air defenses, with the flexibility to conduct strike missions if circumstances do not warrant electronic attack. The F/A-18E/F multi-year contract will include a mix of 42 F/A-lSE/Fs and EA-ISGs per year. The EA-6B 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 2003; both aircraft participated in an operational assessment in the fall.
* E-2C Hawkeye. One of the top priority programs for the Chief of Naval Operations'Air Warfare (N78) and Surface Warfare (N76) divisions continues to be the E-2C Hawkeye. It is the cornerstone of the Navy's cooperative engagement capability. Northrop Grumman is developing the next generation version of the E-2C (Advanced Hawkeye) under a full-scale development contract awarded in August 2003. Last year, the NP2000 eight-Waded propeller received the go-ahead for production and installation on the E-2 and C-2 Greyhound; the first installations are scheduled for early 2004.
Other Aviation Developments
* P-3C Orion. The update III antisurface improvement program (AlP) variant of the Orion proved its worthiness in Afghanistan. It gave real-time video surveillance to SOF teams and base defense forces, and provided strike support with AGM-84E Stand-off Land-Attack and Maverick air-to-surface missiles. NavAir continues to modify P-3C update III aircraft by installing electronic flight display systems and enhanced emitter identification systems. Use of the P-3C over land in a semipermissive environment as an intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) asset for SOFs was not originally envisioned, but it was capitalized on immediately by the Navy's SEALs. Fittingly perhaps, the first Navy aircraft to land at Baghdad was an Orion from Patrol Squadron 46.
* MH-60S Knighthawk. This capable helicopter completed its operational evaluation in early 2002 and was approved for full-rate production. The MH-60S has completed operational deployments and the MH-60R variant scheduled to replace the SH-60B is well into flight testing at NAS Patuxent River. (See "U.S. Navy," p. 88.)
* H-1 Huey and AH-I Cobra. The H-I upgrade received approval for the first low-rate initial production in October 2003, resulting in remanufacture of six Bell Helicopter Textron UH-IN utility and three AH-IW Super Cobra attack helicopters to improved UH-IY and AH-IZ configurations with common systems. The "Yankee" shares a common rotor, transmission engine, and integrated avionics system with the AH-IZ. The first fully configured UH-IY flew at NAS Patuxent River in October. It demonstrated the Thales Top Owl helmet-mounted display and the ability to perform special warfare missions by deploying parachutists.
* Multimission Maritime Aircraft (MMA). Component advanced development phase II awards of $20.5 million each were awarded in February 2003 for a 14-month effort to end in 2004. At that time, a single company will be chosen to conduct a four-year system development and demonstration phase for the MMA. Boeing proposes a militarized 737-300 airframe; Lockheed proposes a revamped P-3 Orion.
* C-13OJ Hercules. Twenty-two Marine Corps KC-130Rs deployed to OIF in support of I Marine Expeditionary Force. They performed crucial aerial refueling missions and transported essential personnel, equipment, and supplies throughout the area of operations. Congress has approved multiyear procurement of 22 J models to replace them.
* Adversary Aircraft. The last unit employing the TA-4J in the adversary role, Fleet Composite Squadron (VC) 8, based at NAS Roosevelt Roads, Puerto Rico, was disestablished in late 2003, leaving the F-5E as the most numerous adversary asset in Navy and Marine Corps service: 36 aircraft stationed at NAS Fallon, Nevada, with Composite Fighter Squadron (VFC) 13, and at Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Yuma, Arizona, with Marine Fighter Training Squadron (VMFT) 401. Excess Swiss Air Force F-SEs (with an average of 2,500 hours) are being procured and modified to a Navy configuration as replacements for current F-5Es that have reached the end of their useful service lives. Deliveries of F-16As that began in late 2002 and continued at a rate of two more per month were completed in 2003; all 14 are stationed at NAS Fallon for use by the Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center. They were purchased originally by the Pakistani government, but remained in desert storage until their recent release to the Navy.
* Training Aircraft. The first Raytheon T-6A Texan II developed under the Air Force-led Joint Primary Aviation Training System was delivered to Training Air Wing Six at NAS Pensacola, Florida, in fiscal year 2003. The Navy deferred further procurement of the Texan until fiscal year 2007. The T-45TS Goshawk program is nearing completion of its 234-aircraft procurement. The aging T-39 is scheduled to be replaced by the T-48TS for use in the Undergraduate Military Flight Officer Training System.
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
* Predator. This UAV has captured international attention since its combat debut as a surveillance platform in Kosovo. Subsequently, it was used as a surveillance and weapons platform in Afghanistan and Yemen during 2002, and again in OIF. Although the Predator is operated by the Air Force and Central Intelligence Agency, the Navy procured several of them, but then was directed turn them over to U.S. Joint Forces Command. In the overall R&D realm, the Predator has paved the way for a host of other, higher performance UAVs.
* FiVe Scout. Some of the most exciting and transformational efforts in naval aviation revolve around UAV technology. Although the Fire Scout and its television camera control system had wobbly starts in terms of support, this aircraft has emerged as a key asset in the UAV portfolio and is slated to be part of the Littoral Combat Ship effort. The first production RQ-8A Fire Scout was delivered in January 2003; it was deployed for demonstration purposes on the Denver (LPD-9) in August and later on a high-speed vessel. The Fire Scout has been useful in development of the modular platform payload system and the control system that have applications to many other UAVs.
* Global Hawk. This UAV amply demonstrated the battlefield utility of higher altitude persistence in Afghanistan. Global Hawks are Air Force craft, but the Navy is procuring two to conduct maritime tests. While not tied directly to the ongoing broad-area maritime surveillance program, Global Hawks will be useful in determining maritime applications for high-altitude, high-endurance ISR platforms.
* Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle-Navy (UCAV-N). Until recently, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) collaborated with separate Navy and Air Force UCAV efforts. DoD announced in December 2003, however, that one DARPA-managed program will combine service activities under the Joint Unmanned Combat System program.
Weapons
* Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM). The long-awaited AIM-120C-7 variant of AMRAAM developed under the P3I Phase 3 program racked up several successful shots in late 2003 and is scheduled for operational evaluation in 2004.
* AIM-9X Sidewinder. This advanced version reached initial operational capability with Air Force F-15 Eagle squadrons based at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska. The aircraft were equipped with MIDS and the JHMCS, and the occasion was marked with a ceremony in November 2003. By that time, an Air Force detachment in Key West, Florida, had flown against German MiG-29s (equipped with the Soviet-developed HMS and AA-11 systems) and achieved extremely one-sided results. The Sidewinder-JHMCS combination has reestablished U.S. superiority in the within-visual-range arena. Naval aviation is not far behind the Air Force-in 2003, Navy F/A-18C squadrons at NAS Lemoore, California, and Marine squadrons in Okinawa received the wingtip modifications needed to carry the digital AIM-9X. The first F/A-18C JHMCS modifications will be available in 2004. The F/A-18E/F currently is in development testing with the JHMCS and AIM-9X at Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 9. Both systems are in limited-rate initial production status, which produced enough assets for operational testing and fleet introduction. The advanced Sidewinder concluded its operational evaluation in 2003.
* Joint Direct Attack Munition. As evidenced by the high usage and increased demand for JDAM kits, this weapon is the hands-down choice of war fighters as the most effective and successful rapid-acquisition weapon to be introduced in the recent era of defense reform. It is praised by air crews and forward air controllers. The global positioning system guidance kits for 1,000- and 2,000-pound general-purpose bombs have been in continuous production and were used extensively in Afghanistan and Iraq. Boeing announced in September that it had produced more than 3,000 JDAM kits in one month-a level never expected, predicted, or even thought feasible.
A GBU-38 500-pound version was tested by the B-2 bomber in 2003 and eventually will be integrated in F/A-18C/D and E/F aircraft. It is to be mounted on the BRU-55 smart rack that can carry eight of the smaller GBU-38s. Boeing also is developing a Hornet autonomous real-time targeting variant that, in addition to digital scene matching, allows connectivity between a terminal seeker and sensor imagery from the Hornet AESA or ATFLIR. (This is a Navy project within an Air Force-led program.) In 2003, Boeing won the contract to develop the 250-pound small-diameter bomb (SDB), an Air Force program focused initially on the F- 15E followed by the F/A-22 and featuring a penetration and blast-fragmentation capability and a diamond-shaped wing for range extension. The program calls for first delivery of the SBD in late 2005.
* Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW). The JSOW-C penetrator variant was approved for low-rate initial production; plans for a 3,000-unit production program began early this year. This weapon incorporates advanced multistage warhead technology using the BAE BROACH system, which consists of a shaped-charged penetrator in front of a conventional blast-fragmentation bomb. Issues with the JSOW-A variant that inhibited its carriage on the F-16 at low altitude and high speed reportedly were corrected in early 2003-only to be followed later in the year by the Air Force's request to withdraw from JSOW in favor of another standoff weapon. Department of Defense approval of that request meant increased development and production costs for the Navy. To deter the services from backing out of joint programs, policy mandates a penalty for withdrawals after program initiation. Thus, in this case, the Air Force was directed to pay $100 million to the Navy across the future-year defense plan to off-set its extra costs. (The Air Force indicated that funding would be pulled from the AMRAAM and AIM-9X programs, which is likely to cause a second round of cost increases.)
* Affordable Moving Surface Target Engagement (AMSTE). Under a DARPA-sponsored test in 2002, JDAM and JSOW dropped by Navy aircraft first demonstrated the ability to hit moving targets by use of Link-16 updates from the Joint Surveillance/Target Attack Radar System (JSTARS) and a Northrop Grumman developmental radar intended for use on the Global Hawk UAV. The test effort involved an F-14D drop of two Mk-84 JDAMs against separate targets in a simulated convoy on the move, and an F/A-18D drop of a JSOW on a moving M-60 tank on the NAS China Lake, California, target complex. Direct hits were scored in all instances. In 2003, testing shifted to EgHn AFB, Florida, with JSTARS and F-16 platforms. Future testing is expected to return to China Lake in 2004.
* AGM-88E Advanced Antiradiation Guided Missile (AARGM)IQuickBolt. Captain Mark Converse, NavAir's PMA-242, announced that Alliant Tech systems will begin the system development and demonstration phase for the AGM-88E. The AARGM employs a multisensor guidance system that permits it to continue to prosecute its target should radar emissions cease during time of flight. The AARGM system development phase includes seven special test units and nine engineering and development models for developmental tests. In addition, 15 production-standard AGM-SSEs will be tested in advance of the low-rate initial production decision. The procurement quantity could be more than 1,500 AARGMs. In july 2003, Alliant also tested the Quick Bolt version of the AARGM, which adds a transmitter for weapon-impact assessments.
Dave Parsons leads the Naval Air Systems Command Human Systems Innovation Cell in the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division at Patuxenl River, Maryland. he served 20 years in the Marine Corps and Navy and formerly was the editor of Approach.