U.S. Naval Aircraft and Weapon Developments

Aircraft

The most closely watched and anticipated program competition in 2004 was the Multi-Mission Maritime Aircraft (MMA), just designated the P-8A, which is slated to replace the aging P-3C Orion. The competition between Boeing and Lockheed Martin was too close to call and many were stunned (including the winning team) when it was announced that the Boeing 737-based offering was the winner. The 233 P-3C aircraft now in service will be replaced by "110-ish" (the Navy is using this term . . . actually . . . no kidding) MMA aircraft. A new airlinelike maintenance approach is designed to lower required manpower by taking ad-., vantage of Boeing 737 operations worldwide. International P-3 and other maritime patrol aircraft operators probably will opt for the Boeing solution.

The MMA program is not intended to replace the EP-3E Aries. Instead, the Navy has decided to join with the Army in the Aerial Common Sensor (ACS) program that will replace the EP-3 and the Army RC-12 Guardrail aircraft. Lockheed Martin teamed with Embraer to win an $872 million contract in August to deliver five ERJ 145 platforms that will enter testing in 2006. Meanwhile, the current fleet of nine EP-3Es is being updated (see tables for more information) and in September 2004, the EP-3E Aries II Sensor System Improvement Program (SSIP) upgrade passed Commander, Operational Test and Evaluation Force review.

The EA-18G Growler, intended to replace the EA-6B Prowler, also got a lot of attention in 2004. The Navy and prime contractor Boeing joined forces to put the Growler quickly into production by leveraging the hot F/A-18E/F production line and modifying the existing contractual relationship to produce both aircraft simultaneously. Northrop Grumman milled the first metal destined for an EA-18G on 23 June. The first center/aft fuselage for the first of two System Development and Demonstration aircraft started down the North Grumman production line on 1 July and the Boeing St. Louis team began assembling the remaining airframe components on the line on 22 October. (see Table 2 for EA-18G and F/A-18E/F production split).

The F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, already a star at home, impressed international crowds when it flew at Farnborough in July 2004. The Super Hornet flown by Ricardo Traven in colorful VFA-2 markings wowed the crowd with a dirty roll on takeoff while carrying a full weapons complement. It was the only aircraft to do so-and it stole the show. The decision to fly with a full weapons load actually occurred at the 2003 Paris Air Show when then-Rear Admiral Michael McCabe, Director of Air Warfare, watched the Super Hornet fly and commented that it would be even more impressive with a full weapons load. On the spot, he said, "Pig it up [for Farnborough]!"

The F-14 Tomcat transition reached the halfway point in 2004 when VF-211 parked its Tomcats and picked up new F/A18F Super Hornets; the last F-14 squadron is scheduled to transition in the fall of 2006. They surely miss the Tomcat-a great aircraft-but aircrews are pleased with their new equipment. The Navy awarded a second contract for low-rate initial production 2 for 12 more AN/APG79 Active Electronically Scanned Array radars for the Super Hornet. Captain Don Gaddis, F/A-18 program manager, described it as a quantum leap in capability.

Many Tomcat-associated activities and systems are being retired along with the aircraft. The Tomcat's shift away from fleet air defense and its emergence as a precision strike aircraft led to a 2004 decision to retire the AIM-54 Phoenix, and the world's premier long-range air-to-air missile is gone after a run of 30 years. The Tomcat Type Wing stood down on October; Captain Will Kervahn, the last Tomcat "Commodore," helped case the flag. The remaining Tomcats now fall under administrative control of Strike-Fighter Wing Atlantic. The last class of three Tomcat pilots was scheduled to complete their training this spring with the VF-101 Grim Reapers, which will close its doors shortly after graduating the last class.

EA-6B Improved Capability (ICAP) III has been in low-rate initial production since mid-2003 to produce enough aircraft for VX-9 to perform the planned five-month operational evaluation. The technical evaluation, which was completed in February 2004, was conducted at Patuxent River and China Lake. One of the highlights was demonstrating ICAP III advanced selective-reactive jamming and geo-location capabilities with a direct hit by a high-speed antiradiation missile fired against an actual threat radar. Rear Admiral James B. Godwin, then the program executive officer for tactical aircraft programs, subsequently gave the go-ahead to proceed to the operational test phase in April with two production-representative aircraft at China Lake; the evaluation was completed in September and significant issues identified addressed in a correction of deficiencies effort.

The fleet is scheduled to receive its first ICAP III aircraft in 2005. ICAP-III suffered from an artificial handicap going into the test program: insufficient funding forced developers to use engineering and manufacturing development equipment that did not the reliability of production-ready equipment. Initial plans called for 42 Navy EA-6Bs to be upgraded to the ICAP III configuration. These will eventually be transferred to the Marine Corps, which has a requirement for 30 aircraft, as the EA-ISGs start reaching the fleet.

In April 2004, Sea Control Squadron hangar mates VS-29 and VS-38 at NAS North Island became the first of 11 S-3B Viking units to be disbanded. The remaining Vikings will head into the sunset as early as 2009 to be replaced by the F/A-18E/F as the carrier-based tanking platform. VX-I and VX-20 finished Patuxent River testing for the S-3B in September 2004 and the last aircraft was transferred to the fleet.

The Advanced Hawkeye (AHE), scheduled to enter production in 2007 and achieve initial operating capability in 2011,. has been designated the E-2D Hawkeye. It will feature a higher-power ADS-18 electronically scanned array yielding a longer detection range and smaller target discrimination allowing theater air missile defense to be added to the traditional Hawkeye airborne early warning role. Other advances in the E-2D design include a tactical cockpit with three 17-inch liquid crystal primary flight displays; navigation systems upgrades; an improved communications suite; an advanced combat information center and mission data processing; and the digitally controlled NP2000 eight-bladed propeller system.

Flight-testing of the eight-bladed NP2000 for the existing Hawkeye community began in 2000 and concluded in 2004 after Carrier Suitability trials on board the USS John F Kennedy (CV-67). Installations at squadron level began in the spring of 2004 causing a distinct cultural change in naval aviation: the eightbladed Hamilton Standard propellers have their own distinct sound and . . . the "Hummer" no longer "hums!" Field modifications will continue until 2006; eventually, the fleet's C-2A Greyhounds will get the new props.

A long overdue upgrade arrived in 2004 when VAW-77 and VAW-120 E-2C Hawkeyes were equipped with GNS-530 commercial aviation displays as a proof of concept. It proved so successful that fleet installations are anticipated to begin in 2005. The off-the -shelf GNS-530 display satisfies Communication, Navigation and Surveillance/Air Traffic Management guidelines and provides a better precision approach. Upgrades aren't just in store for the cockpit. The displays in the operator section were upgraded in 2004 when VAW-121 received the first active-matrix liquid-crystal displays upgrades under the E-2C Group II Enhanced Main Display Unit-Flat-Panel Replacement Program.

The F-35A Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) variant began life in May 2004 when Northrop Grumman, a principal partner with Lockheed Martin, began assembly of first center fuselage in May at its Palmdale, California, factory. Lockheed Martin followed suit in July when the first structural bulkhead was loaded into an assembly tool in Fort Worth, Texas. BAE Systems, the other principal partner, began assembling the aft fuselage and tails late in 2004 in Samlesbury, England. These will be shipped to Fort Worth, where they will be mated with the wings and forward fuselage for final assembly in 2005; first flight of the F-35 is scheduled for 2006. Meanwhile, The program was under a lot of pressure in 2004 to tackle weight issues, particularly in the F-35B Short TakeOff Vertical Landing (STOVL) variant resulting in creation of a SWAT (STOVL Weight Attack Team) to get the aircraft's weight down. These concerns at a July 2004 Defense Acquisition Board review prompted the scheduling of a second session in October to review progress; by September the program had trimmed more than 2,700 pounds from the F-35B version, and added an additional 600 pounds of thrust through design efficiencies. In October, Lockheed Martin said it would deliver a design that met or exceeded all performance requirements.

In August 2004, U.S. Marine Corps combat experience with Litening forwardlooking infrared pods installed on the AV8B Plus led the Marines to borrow pods from the Harrier community for integration on the F/A-18D as a preferred option over the NITEHawk FLIR. The testing culminated with the release of a laserguided weapon that scored a direct hit on a target. The Marine Corps plans to buy 60 LITENING Advanced Targeting (AT) pods to support its fleet of 72 F/A-18Ds. The new pods incorporate a third-generation FLIR, television camera, laser rangefinder/tracker/designator, infrared pointer and VHS recorder as well as ability to down-link video imagery.

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

The year continued the veritable explosion of interest in unmanned solutions in virtually unlimited sizes and shapes.

The first of two Navy RQ-4A Global Hawk Maritime Demonstration vehicles, designated N-1, took to the air on 6 October 2004 and flew a four-hour sortie followed by a landing at Edwards AFB, where it will stay until delivery to the Navy at Patuxent River in 2005. Global Hawk is the largest unmanned aerial vehicle operated by the United States. It can operate above 60,000 feet-in the realm of the U-2 manned aircraft-and has an endurance of 30 hours.

The Joint-Unmanned Combat Air System (J-UCAS) development program awarded Northrop Grumman a five-year contract with a potential value of $1.04 billion for three full-scale X-47B Pegasus air vehicles with mission control systems. The three air vehicles will be used for demonstration and operational assessment with first flights planned for 2007 followed by catapult and arrested landings at Patuxent River. The X-47B is a larger, more refined version of the X-47A that has demonstrated its ability to recover in a simulated carrier environment. The B version, with synthetic aperture radar, has a projected combat radius of 1,500 nautical miles with a 4,500-pound payload. Both the X-47B and USAF X-45B will use the same common operating system.

Northrop Grumman with its Global Hawk and a Lockheed Martin/General Atomics team with its Mariner, a derivative of the successful Predator B, are vying for the Broad Area Surveillance System (BAMS), a high-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle that will complement the Multi-Mission Maritime Aircraft.

The RQ-8 Fire Scout is now developing a B version with a more powerful motor, four-bladed rotor, and provisions for weapons carriage that will be used on board the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS). The U.S. Army also is planning to operate the RQ-8B variant.

Rotary Wing

The UH-1Y/AH-1Z operational evaluation was scheduled to begin early in 2005; aircraft recently completed their second assessment by operational Marine pilots. AH-1Z attack helicopter weapons testing was conducted at the Army's Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona. Pilots fired nearly 800 Mk-66 70-mm. rockets, five AGM-114 Hellfire antiarmor missiles, three AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles, and approximately 3,000 rounds of 20-mm. ammunition. Testing revealed a drive train over-torque issue during multiple rocket launches resulting in hot rocket exhaust ingestion and resultant power fluctuations and over-torque of the drive-train. An upgrade featuring a "turned exhaust" modification was rapidly developed. The UH-IY Huey utility helicopter began weapons testing in May at Fort A.P. Hill, Virginia, with 400 2.75inch rockets, 12,800 rounds of machine gun ammunition, 136 flares, 104 chaff canisters and 104 decoys allocated for the tests. In preparation for the operational evaluation, the second UH-IY completed its last block modifications to productionrepresentative configuration with installation of the new H-1 "turned" infrared exhaust suppressors and other structural and system upgrades. The first AH-1Z production kit as part of the low-rate initial production was completed by Naval Aviation Depot Cherry Point, North Carolina, and shipped to the Bell Textron plant in Texas in October. Cherry Point will take fleet AH-IW and UH-IN aircraft and strip them down to produce reuse-and-modification kits for conversion to -Z and -Y models.

In March, a Navy MH-60S Knighthawk was loaded aboard a C-17 jet transport at Altus Air Force Base, Oklahoma, for the first load validation. Once the procedures are published, any C-17 loadmaster worldwide will be authorized to transport the Knighthawk. By September, the MH-60S Knighthawk vertical-replenishment variant completely replaced the venerable but aging H-46D Seaknight. Admiral "Fox" Fallen, then Commander, Fleet Forces Command, took a welcome respite from the helm of the largest fleet to take a flight in the last H-46D Seaknight on 23 September 2004. The following day, both the Atlantic and Pacific fleets bade farewell to the tandem helicopter with a fitting static display tribute to the Seaknight at NAS North Island in San Diego. The HC-8 "Dragon Whales" were the last outfit to transition to the MH-60S Knighthawk. New-production Knighthawks had accumulated 50,000 flight hours by May 2004.

Flight-testing of the second MH-60S AMCM variant designed to replace the MH-53E airborne mine countermeasures helicopters, began 12 April 12 at Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation. The new variant incorporates a redesigned and Carriage, Stream, Tow, and Recovery System and features an Airborne Laser Mine Detection System. The third MH-60S variant features the Armed Helicopter Weapon System (AHWS) and replaces the HH6OH Seahawk. The weapons system features a formidable array of weapons and sensors including up to eight Hellfire missues, two window-mounted 7.62 mm and two door-mounted .50 cal. machine guns in addition to the AN/AAS-44C forward looking infrared system and APR39(A)V2 Radar Warning System, AAR47V2 Missile Warning System, ALQ144V6 Infrared Counter Measure System, and the ALE-47 Countermeasures Dispensing Set.

After Boeing won the Multi-Mission Maritime Aircraft competition, the next big thing in 2004 was the VXX Presidential Helicopter replacement. Sikorsky delivered a specially modified VH92 Super Hawk demonstrator to the Navy in February 2004 for a ten-day evaluation that included 12 flights and a total of 22 flight hours. The Super Hawk featured a reconfigured interior yielding a larger passenger cabin and a rear stairway. Competing Team USlOl flew its Bell-Agusta 101 VXX proposal for the first time on 6 October 2004 featuring more powerful, FAA-certified General Electric CT7-8E engines and large-screen cockpit instrument display. The decision was postponed from December 2004 until late January 2005 when Team US101 was announced as the winner. Both teams are also in hot competition for the for the even more lucrative U.S. Air Force Combat Search and Rescue replacement for the 100 aging Pave Hawk helicopters; both are proposing variants of the same airframes they flew in the presidential helicopter competition.

Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron (HMH)-461 at MCAS New River was the first fleet squadron to have a new Ballistic Protection System (BPS) installed its CH-53E Super Stallions. Designed for protection from 7.62mm rounds and blast fragments, the system consists of 37 steel-and-Kevlar armor plates in the cockpit and cabin and adds about 1,500 pounds to the aircraft. To date, six depot-modified aircraft deployed to Operation Enduring Freedom and 22 of 24 aircraft in Operation Iraqi Freedom have been equipped with the armor. HMH-461 also recently deployed off the Horn of Africa with CH53Es sporting a new Ramp-Mounted Weapons System that uses the GAU-21 .50-cal machine gun to protect the aircraft's rear hemisphere.

Marine Heavy Lift Replacement requirements to succeed CH-53E are driven by a threshold of 27,000-pounds external lift at a range of 110 nautical miles; CH-53E current external lift capacity is approximately 12,000 pounds over the same distance. The CH-53X analysis of alternatives determined that a new (rather than modified) helicopter was the most cost effective solution because of he availability of the high-efficiency, sweptanhedrul-lip rotor system driven by three new 6,000 shaft horsepower-class en-, gines. The CH-53X will feature an advanced glass cockpit with fly-by-wire controls. Current plan is for a Milestone B decision in early 2005 for 154 newbuild CH-53 helicopters with first flight in FY-2011 and an initial operational capability by 2015.

V-22 hardware modifications to correct a flight-control irregularity were installed in Osprey numbers 8 and 10 ahead of schedule allowing regression flight-testing in March. On 22 March 2004 the V22 team resumed aerial refueling tests using Osprey No. 22 with a fixed refueling probe. The qualification flights lead to installation of a new retractable refueling probe on Osprey No. 21

The V-22 team conducted Shipboard Suitability Phase IVc tests onboard the USS Wasp (LHD-I) for ten days beginning 12 November 2004. This was the fourth and final underway period since the V-22 returned to flight in May 2002 and an important step toward the MV-22 operational evaluation, scheduled for early 2005 as the final event before approval for full-rate production.

The KC-130J Hercules successfully completed Phase 2 of its operational evaluation after two VX-I Hercules flew more than 220 flight hours in 110 sorties from Germany to Iceland to Canada to California putting the aircraft through its paces in all environmental extremes. The Marines gained a march in transitioning to the KC-130J when a December decision shifted production priority from the Air Force to the Marines. After three years of testing, the KC-130J is now being operated by the "Raiders" of Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron (VMGR)352 at MCAS Miramar, California.

The Naval Air Systems Command in March awarded a $79 million contract for the five-year development and demonstration of Block I modifications to the E6B Mercury with an option for two low rate initial production aircraft. Block I will address deficiencies, mission readiness degraders, and obsolescence issues identified during E-6B follow-on operational test and evaluation. Initial operational capability is scheduled for 2010.

Trainers

The upgraded T-6B Texan made a splash in July 2004 when international aerobatic champion Patty Wagstaff took the controls and put it through its paces at the Farnborough International Air Show upstaging many higher-performance jet aircraft. The Texan is part of the total system solution known as the Joint Primary Aircraft Training System (JPATS), provided by Raytheon, which includes not only the T-6 aircraft, but also an entire training package. The Navy has accepted 44 T-6A Texan II aircraft to date with plans to buy 328 aircraft replacing the T-34C Mentor.

Weapons

In a much-anticipated decision, Lockheed Martin won the $5 billion Joint Common Missile (JCM) planned to replace TOW, Hellfire, and Maverick missiles. Unexpectedly, the administration canceled the program; congressional action on the proposed FY-06 budget, however, will be the final word

The AIM-9X Sidewinder got approval for full-rate production in May. Captain Scott Stewart, U.S. Navy, Air-to-Air Missile Systems Program Manager said that "... [The AIM-9X] certainly has redefined the way we fight in aerial combat with its inherent transformational warfighting capabilities." Denmark became the fourth international client to select AIM-9X joining Switzerland, South Korea and Poland.

Small Diameter Bomb (SDB) testing; reached a high tempo in 2004 with successive tests off the F-15E Strike Eagle, the initial platform for its operational debut. Initial Navy participation is delineated in adjoining tables.

The Air Force led AGM-158A Joint Air-Surface Strike Missile (JASSM) program entered low-rate initial production. The Navy, however, has decided to end its participation, while the Air Force is opting out of the AGM-154 Joint StandOff Weapon (JSOW) program.

Navy Strike-Fighter Squadron (VFA)34 dropped the first 500-pound Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) GBU-38 variants in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. In November 2004, Boeing delivered the 100,000th guidance tail kit to the U.S. military. In development is LaserJDAM, which adds laser guidance.

The first production Joint StandOff Weapon-C (JSOW-C) unitary warhead weapons began delivery in September 2004. It is the first U.S. weapon to incorporate the BAE two-stage Broach lethal package with blast, fragmentation, and penetration capability. It employs an uncooled, long-wave infrared seeker with automatic target acquisition. Captain David Dunaway, who oversees the Navy program office, said that it will deploy early in 2005.