CH-53E Tactics Training (2)

Posted on | by Caroline Teames
04/21/2017

04/21/2017: U.S. Marines conduct an external lift during CH-53 Tactics in support of Weapons and Tactics Instructor (WTI) course 2-17 at Yuma, Ariz., 7 April, 2017.

WTI is a seven-week training event hosted by MAWTS-1 cadre, which emphasizes operational integration of the six functions of Marine Corps aviation in support of a Marine Air Ground Task Force and provides standardized advanced tactical training and certification of unit instructor qualifications to support Marine Aviation Training and Readiness and assists in developing and employing aviation weapons and tactics.

YUMA, AZ, UNITED STATES:04.07.2017

Video by Lance Cpl. Benjamin Drake

MAWTS-1 Combat Camera

CH-53E Tactics Training

Posted on | by Caroline Teames
04/19/2017

04/19/2017: U.S. Marines conduct an external lift during CH-53 Tactics in support of Weapons and Tactics Instructor (WTI) course 2-17 at Yuma, Ariz., 7 April, 2017.

WTI is a seven-week training event hosted by MAWTS-1 cadre, which emphasizes operational integration of the six functions of Marine Corps aviation in support of a Marine Air Ground Task Force and provides standardized advanced tactical training and certification of unit instructor qualifications to support Marine Aviation Training and Readiness and assists in developing and employing aviation weapons and tactics.

YUMA, AZ, UNITED STATES:04.07.2017

Video by Lance Cpl. Benjamin Drake

MAWTS-1 Combat Camera

CV-22 Trains Aboard LHD

Posted on | by Caroline Teames
04/17/2017

04/17/2017: A CV-22 Osprey from the 8th Special Operations Squadron, stationed at Hurlburt Field Fla. lands for the first time at the Landing Helicopter Deck (HLD) at Duke Field, Fla.

The LHD will serve as part of the aircraft carrier qualification for U.S. Air Force CV-22s, decreasing the amount of time and 8th Aircraft Maintenance Unit personnel spend off station to fulfill the requirement.

Additionally, the LHD has the potential to save the Air Force $2.2 million annually.

Video by Tech. Sgt. Eric Craft: Hurlburt Field:04.03.2017

Australian Army’s North-West Mobile Force

Posted on | by Caroline Teames
04/15/2017

04/15/2017: The Australian Army’s North-West Mobile Force (NORFORCE) is a Regional Force Surveillance Unit that conducts surveillance, reconnaissance and community engagement across remote areas in the Northern Territory and Western Australia.

NORFORCE operates over 1.8 million km2 of country stretching from Broome to Groote Eylandt and Darwin to Alice Springs.

NORFORCE patrols operate with the latest military technology, including global positioning systems (GPS), night fighting equipment (NFE) and communication equipment and technologies.

Credit: Ministry of Defense:4/5/17

CVN 78 Begins Builder’s Sea Trials

Posted on | by Caroline Teames
04/14/2017

04/14/2017: According to an article written by Hugh Lessig and published in the Daily Press on April 9, 2017, CVN 78 is going to sea.

“CVN 78 construction is 99 percent complete and ready to begin initial sea trials,” said Capt. Thurraya Kent, referring to the ship by its alternate designation. “The Navy continues to monitor weather and sea conditions in the local area and will begin sea trials when conditions permit.”

The new technology packed aboard the ship has prompted delays and cost overruns.

But program costs have stabilized in recent years.

The next Ford-class carrier, the John F. Kennedy, is expected to cost $11.4 billion.

The Kennedy will be built with 18 percent fewer production hours than Ford, a savings on the order of 9 million man hours, Navy officials have said.

The aircraft carrier program has also received the endorsement of the commander-in-chief. President Donald Trump visited the Ford in February and said he wants to expand the U.S. carrier fleet from 11 to 12.

The initial round of at-sea tests are known as builder’s trials, where the ship’s basic systems are put through rigorous checks. Then Ford will go through a brief period of downtime, the length of which depends on what is found during builder’s trials, Moore said.

The next step is acceptance trials, with Navy inspectors on board. Following that is delivery.

“If things go as expected, we’ll get the ship delivered in the next month or so,” Moore said Monday. “We’ll get it commissioned this summer. That’s my hope.”

Commissioning is more of a ceremonial issue and depends on schedule availabilities. For example, the Navy would have to coordinate with ship’s sponsor Susan Ford Bales and other high-level officials before setting a date.

Nuclear-powered aircraft carriers are built exclusively by Newport News
Shipbuilding, a division of Huntington Ingalls Industries.

http://www.dailypress.com/business/newport-news-shipyard/dp-nws-carrier-ford-sea-trials-20170408-story.html

USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78)

Video by Petty Officer 2nd Class Ryan Litzenberger:04/08/2017

For our interview with then Rear Admiral Moran and now the Vice CNO regarding the Ford, see the following:

http://sldinfo.wpstage.net/the-uss-ford-in-the-u-s-navys-future-enabling-the-distributed-force/

And for our article comparing the Ford to the other two new aviation ships coming into service, LHA-6 and the Queen Elizabeth, see the following:

http://sldinfo.wpstage.net/a-tale-of-three-carriers/

Exercise Diamond Shield

Posted on | by Caroline Teames

04/14/2017: The 2017 Diamond Shield Exercise at RAAF Base Williamtown highlights the benefits of the Air Force’s Air Warfare Centre training of Air Warfare Instructors.

Diamond Shield is one of the practical components of the Air Warfare Instructors’ course, whose graduates are experts in Australian Defence Force capabilities and integration across the services, and have technical mastery of their own roles, platforms and systems.

For the first time different Defence units in the warfare space integrate their roles in a process of continuous improvement to match the fifth generation platforms coming into service.

Credit Australian Ministry of Defence

March 21, 2017