An F-35C Lightning II assigned to the Grim Reapers of VFA-101 launches from the flight deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72). U.S. Marine Corps photo.
Naval aviation benefits greatly from several significant changes during the past year, namely the increased funding and strategic direction required to rebuild readiness following nearly a decade of belt tightening. In mid-2017, Congress provided supplemental funding to the military to begin rebuilding readiness by increasing flight hours, buying additional airframes, increasing depot-level maintenance throughput, and filling critical munitions shortfalls. This trend continued when the 2018 federal budget was passed in March. The largest increase in recent history, the 2018 defense budget gets at one of the perennial sore spots—aircraft availability—by providing additional funding for manpower and depot throughput. This will result in more aircraft in the air and more sailors available on the flight line.
While the increase in funding will provide additional airframes, sailors, and munitions needed to regain readiness, the release of the 2018 National Defense Strategy in January is the most compelling change during the past year. The strategy outlines an increasingly complex security environment defined by: nations that increasingly seek to challenge U.S. primacy, a 17-year global war against terrorism, and a period of rapid technological change. Beyond highlighting the increasing competition between world powers, the strategy charts a course to restore the U.S. military’s competitive edge by increasing lethality, strengthening alliances, and reforming the business practices of the Department of Defense.
The first operational E-2D Advanced Hawkeye squadron in the Navy is Airborne Early Warning Squadron 125, part of Carrier Air Wing Five, based in Japan.
As a result, naval aviation now is receiving the resources required to maintain its “best-in-class” capabilities. While the United States will continue to operate against terrorists in the Middle East, the priority will shift to preparing for conflict against the most challenging adversaries. This includes the equipment and training needed to operate in an increasingly contested environment where naval forces will have to fight their way in. The 2018 National Defense Strategy makes clear that the U.S. military can no longer expect to enjoy uncontested primacy wherever it operates.
With so many positive strategic changes during the past year, it can be easy to lose sight of the fact that platforms and hardware are required to ensure the men and women of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps are able to take the fight to the enemy. The following is an update on naval aviation platforms and weapons during the previous 12 months.
Aircraft Carriers
The USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78): A follow on to the Nimitz (CVN-68)-class carriers, the Gerald R. Ford represents the first new carrier class to take to the seas in more than four decades. The year 2017 marked a milestone year as the ship was commissioned by President Donald Trump on 22 July in Norfolk, Virginia, under the leadership of her first commanding officer, Captain Richard McCormack.
Improvements from the Nimitz class include a larger flight deck, a repositioned and smaller island, a new A1B reactor generating three times the power of the Nimitz-class’s A4W plant, an electromagnetic aircraft launch system (EMALS), and redesigned advanced arresting gear. Technological improvements in the Ford-class are expected to result in a $4 billion reduction in operating costs over the course of each aircraft carrier’s lifetime compared to the Nimitz class.
In 2014, problems were identified with the advanced arresting gear, resulting from premature failure of the water twister used to absorb and dissipate the energy from an aircraft catching the arresting wire across the flight deck. The water twister was redesigned, and in March 2016 the first aircraft arrestment with the new design was completed successfully at the Naval Air Warfare Center, Lakehurst, New Jersey. Changes to the water twister will be incorporated into future ships, and the first successful arrestment on board the Ford occurred with an F/A-18F Super Hornet on 28 July 2017.
Despite its first-of-a-kind status, the electromagnetic launch system has fared better, with its first successful tests occurring in May 2015. Since then, EMALS has launched the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, F/A-18E Super Hornet, EA-18G Growler, and E-2D Advanced Hawkeye from the test site in Lakehurst, albeit without the fully loaded configuration of external stores that would be expected for use in combat. Along with the successful arrestment in July, the same F/A-18F aircraft was launched successfully by EMALS, which provided smoother acceleration than its steam-powered counterpart.
The Gerald R. Ford also incorporates two more first-in-class capabilities: the dual-band radar, originally built for the Zumwalt (DDG-1000)–class guided-missile destroyers; and the electrically driven advanced weapons elevators. Both technologies will require additional testing throughout 2018.
The USS John F. Kennedy (CVN-79): Fabrication on the Kennedy began in 2011, the keel was laid in August 2015, and the first phase of a two-phase delivery currently is scheduled for June 2022. The second phase of delivery, during which key combat systems will be installed to limit obsolescence, will be conducted through 2025. Based on the high cost of the Dual Band Radar system resulting from the truncation of the Zumwalt-class program, the Kennedy will be the first aircraft carrier to use the Enterprise Air Surveillance Radar (EASR), saving the carrier program $180 million in the process. Currently in development, the EASR will replace the SPS-48 and SPS-49 radars in use on the Nimitz-class carriers. Overall, the Kennedy is expected to cost approximately $1.5 billion less than the Ford.
The USS Enterprise (CVN-80): Continued funding was provided to begin construction of the Enterprise in 2018 at Huntington Ingalls Industries–Newport News Shipbuilding with a projected commissioning date of 2027.
The Navy purchased three MQ-4C Triton long-range unmanned aerial vehicles in 2018, with another three to be purchased in 2019. One is shown here in 2016 flying over the USS Zumwalt (DDG-1000).
Strike/Interdiction Aircraft
F-35 Lightning II: The F-35 provides all-weather, precision, and stealthy air and strike capabilities for the Navy and Marine Corps, including direct attacks against the most lethal air defenses and within a contested environment.
The F-35 program continued to mature rapidly throughout the year. Demonstrating the anticipated longevity required of the fifth-generation fighter, the Joint Program Office announced in early 2016 that production of the F-35 would continue through 2038 and planned operations would be extended an additional six years, from 2064 to 2070. The recently passed 2018 Omnibus appropriations purchased 90 F-35s in 2018, with an additional 77 called for in the 2019 budget request.
Underpinning the capability of the F-35’s advanced systems—everything from the AN/AAQ-37 distributed aperture system (DAS) and AN/APG-81 active electronically scanned array radar to sensor fusion and battlespace management capabilities—is its onboard software. Spanning more than 8 million lines of code—four times as many as the F-22 Raptor—the current Block 3i software provides nearly 90 percent of the software required to enable full warfighting capability. Block 3F software will enable full warfighting capabilities and is expected to debut this year. Of note, initial-production F-35s will require a technology refresh, including processing upgrades, to use the forthcoming Block 4 software.
The Marine Corps moved flight training for its F-35Bs from Eglin Air Force Base to Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, South Carolina, in 2016, and the first operational deployment occurred in January 2017, when VMFA-121 deployed to MCAS Iwakuni, Japan. (Of note, Japan is planning to acquire 42 F-35As.) The planned budget for 2019 would add 20 F-35Bs for the U.S. Marine Corps, with a planned total buy of 353 F-35B and 67 F-35C variants to replace the aging AV-8B Harrier and F/A-18D Hornet.
F-35C carrier-based variant: Refinements continue in the F-35C, including modifications to improve the ride quality of the aircraft during catapult launches and changes to the helmet to provide better low-light capability and reduced jitter necessary for operations in the nighttime carrier environment.
Delays to the Block 3F software buildout and testing schedule are likely to slide achievement of the initial operational capability into 2019. The second Fleet Replacement Squadron to host the Joint Strike Fighter, Strike Fighter Squadron-125 (VFA-125) at Naval Air Station Lemoore, California, was reestablished and received its first aircraft in 2017. The current plan is to buy nine F-35Cs in 2019. Overall, the Navy plans to buy 260 “C” variants.
F/A-18E/F Super Hornet: First deployed in 1999, the Super Hornet continues to receive software updates to improve its overall capabilities. H12E, the latest software upgrade, provides more extensive air-to-air and air-to-surface improvements and a brand-new capability called “Magic Carpet.” This is the most significant change to carrier aviation in decades, providing the F/A-18E/F and EA-18G with updated heads-up display symbology and new flight control laws, similar to the F-35C, designed to simplify greatly aircraft carrier approaches and landings. The 2018 budget bought 24 additional Super Hornets, with 24 more planned in the 2019 budget.
The long-awaited AIM-158C long-range antiship missile (LRASM) was launched successfully for the first time from a Super Hornet in 2016 and again from Air Force B-1B bombers in 2018. The planned initial operational capability (IOC) for LRASM on Super Hornets is 2019. It is a precision-guided, antiship standoff missile designed to meet the needs for a long-range weapon in an antiaccess/area denial environment. Expected to have precise target discrimination, LRASM will be able independently to target a specific ship within a task group without off-board intelligence, surveillance, or reconnaissance (ISR) information.
The AIM-120D advanced medium-range air-to-air missile (AMRAAM), fielded in 2015, continues to receive software updates, providing significant improvements in range, probability of kill, and protection against jamming. A two-way data link, GPS-aided inertial navigation unit, larger no-escape envelope, and improved high off-boresight mode are upgrades that the AIM-120D enjoys over its predecessor, the AIM-120C.
Electronic Attack
EA-18G Growler: An airborne electronic attack platform designed to suppress an enemy’s electromagnetic spectrum while operating in a high threat environment, the Growler received the H10E update in 2016, with the joint tactical terminal receiver (JTT-R) as well as enhanced combat identification, and expanded jamming assignment capabilities. The JTT-R, in development since 2009, incorporates an ultra-high-frequency receiver designed to provide near-real-time, over-the-horizon situational awareness information—such as targeting and blue force tracker locations—through satellite communications.
The next generation jammer, developed by Raytheon, continues to develop as it matures toward a planned 2021 IOC. This jammer uses an active electronically scanned array radar and an advanced deception techniques generator to combine electronic warfare, communications, radar, cyber, and signals intelligence capabilities into an externally carried podded system. The preliminary design review, a critical step forward, was completed in November 2015.
The United States and Australian Departments of Defense are cooperating to improve the AN/ALQ-227 communications countermeasures set to help locate/ geo-locate and jam enemy communications. Like the next generation jammer, AN/ALQ-227 improvements are planned to reach IOC in 2021.
Early Warning
E-2D Advanced Hawkeye: A replacement for the venerable E-2C, the E-2D incorporates numerous improvements into a proven carrier-based platform. The Advanced Hawkeye features a new avionics suite including an AN/APY-9 active electronically scanned radar with mechanical rotation, new radio systems, mission computer, integrated satellite communications, flight management systems, improved engines, and a glass cockpit. The AN/APY-9 significantly enhances the E-2’s early warning capabilities with its ability to see smaller targets at greater ranges in more environments than the E-2C radar it is replacing.
The Advanced Hawkeye is a key enabler for Naval Integrated Fire Control–Counter Air (NIFC–CA), serving as a central node to relay targeting data between airborne platforms and surface ships, significantly expanding radar line-of-sight and weapons-employment capabilities. This concept was demonstrated when an E-2D provided over-the-horizon targeting information to a shore-launched SM-6 Standard Missile that intercepted a cruise missile over land. Improving the Advanced Hawkeye’s NIFC-CA capabilities will fall to the Tactical Targeting Networking Technology (TTNT), a new data link designed to increase bandwidth and range.
The E-2D completed its first aerial refueling flight in the summer of 2017—a capability that will greatly increase the range and endurance of the aircraft. The first operational E-2D squadron, the “Tigertails” of VAW-125, joined Carrier Air Wing 5 this winter as part of the forward-deployed naval force at MCAS Iwakuni in 2017. The “Bluetails” of VAW-121 were the second squadron to transition to the E-2D. The Navy plans to purchase 75 E-2Ds by 2027.
Rotary Wing Aircraft
MH-60R/S: The Navy’s primary rotary wing platform is the multimission MH-60 Seahawk, which routinely deploys as a component of carrier air wings and independently with individual ships of the surface combatant force. Two variants of the Seahawk are used widely throughout the fleet: the MH-60R, primarily used for antisubmarine and antisurface warfare, and the MH-60S, which provides logistics, search-and-rescue, and naval special warfare capabilities. Although based on different airframes, both helicopters share 85 percent of the same components to reduce costs.
The MH-60R was developed as a follow-on to two venerable helicopters, combining the forward-looking infrared and electronic support measure capabilities of the SH-60B with the dipping sonar from the SH-60F into a single platform. Of note, the MH-60R is the carrier air wing’s only antisubmarine warfare platform. Originally introduced in 2006, the MH-60R is still in production with 280 airframes planned for purchase through fiscal year 2018.
The MH-60S variant is versatile and able to carry eight AGM-114 Hellfire missiles, a 20-mm chain gun, and a digital rocket launcher that can employ the recently introduced Advanced Precision Kill Weapons System (APKWS). This system converts an unguided 2.75-inch rocket into a laser-guided munition, significantly improving the probability of mission effectiveness. The MH-60S can perform multiple roles, and it is planned to be the foundation of the Littoral Combat Ship’s mine countermeasures package. Introduced in 2002, 275 MH-60S were produced for the U.S. Navy. Production ceased in 2016.
Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance
P-8A Poseidon: Designed as a replacement for the P-3C Orion, the first production P-8A Poseidon antisubmarine aircraft was delivered to the Navy by Boeing in March 2012. The P-8A is primarily an antisubmarine platform but also has ISR sensors installed. With a versatile internal weapons bay and external hard point capability, the P-8A can carry bombs, torpedoes, depth charges, and air-to-surface missiles. The Navy received its 50th P-8A in 2017.
In 2017, the Navy began evaluating incorporation of the high-altitude antisubmarine weapon capability (HAAWC) kit onto the Mk-54 torpedo. The HAAWC kit adds a standoff GPS-enabled capability to the Mk-54 torpedo, allowing the P-8A to release the torpedo from higher altitudes and longer ranges. Low-rate initial production began in 2017, and IOC is planned for 2019.
The P-8A expanded its sphere of influence in late 2016 and into 2017, deploying to the Mediterranean where it helped track a Russian Oscar II–class submarine at the end of 2016. Routine deployments continue to the Asia-Pacific, typically with one P-3C and one P-8A squadron working in tandem, and P-8As continue to fly near China’s manmade islands in the South China Sea. The Navy is planning to buy 117 of these aircraft.
Tiltrotor Aircraft
CMV-22B: Chosen to replace the C-2 Greyhound for carrier onboard delivery missions, 44 Bell-Boeing tilt-rotor CMV-22Bs will be procured by the Navy this year, for delivery in 2020. Leveraging the U.S. Marine Corps’ MV-22, the CMV-22 will include an extended-range fuel system (increasing the current range of the MV-22 from 860 to 1,150 nautical miles), a high-frequency radio for long-range communications, and a public address system.
One probable task for the CMV-22B is to shuttle the F-35 engine’s power module, the largest and weightiest part of the F135 engine, to and from the aircraft carrier or amphibious ship. This role was demonstrated in May 2015 when an F135 power module was delivered to the USS Wasp (LHD-1) during sea trials.
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
MQ-8C Fire Scout: The Northrop Grumman MQ-8C combines the proven ISR architecture of the MQ-8B with the extended range, payload, and cargo hauling capacity of the Bell 407 helicopter, delivering twice the endurance and three times the payload capacity of the MQ-8B. A fully autonomous, four-bladed helicopter, the MQ-8C provides expanded situational awareness capabilities to compatible surface combatants through the Navy’s Mission Control System. Ship-based testing of the MQ-8C is scheduled to continue this year.
MQ-25A Stingray: The newly designated MQ-25A will leverage heavily the proof-of-concept flights performed by the X-47B, which successfully demonstrated the ability to autonomously launch and recover from an aircraft carrier, as well as divert to a shore-based airfield. The MQ-25A program is intended to provide an unmanned refueling capability for the carrier air wing, increasing the striking range of manned aircraft while reducing flight time and fatigue for the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet variants. Three companies—Boeing, General Atomics, and Lockheed Martin—are competing for the contract.
MQ-4C Triton: The MQ-4C will provide the Navy with a persistent maritime ISR capability. Mission systems include inverse SAR, electro-optical/infrared full-motion video, maritime moving- target detection, electronic support measures, automatic identification system, a basic communications relay capability, and Link-16. The Northrop Grumman MQ-4C recently received a software update that provides traffic alert and collision avoidance as well as improvements to the AN/ZPY-3 multifunction active sensor, a 360-degree active electronically-scanned array radar designed for maritime surveillance.
The Triton performed its first flight in May 2013 from Palmdale, California. Since that time, it has continued flight and operational testing, including orbits in the Fifth Fleet area of operations. The MQ-4C completed an operational assessment in February 2018, clearing the way for low-rate initial production and an early operation capability deployment in 2018. Three MQ-4Cs were purchased this year, with another three planned in 2019. The Navy plans to purchase a total of 68 Tritons.
Commander Snodgrass is an active duty naval officer. He most recently commanded Strike Fighter Squadron 195, forward deployed to Japan as part of Carrier Air Wing Five.