Exercise Overland – Nautical Petros 22

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09/05/2022

Petroleum Operators from 17th Sustainment Brigade conducted Exercise Overland – Nautical Petros 22 (EX ONP 22) at Cowley Beach Training Area in Queensland, from 1st to 19th August 2022. EX ONP 22 aimed to qualify Petroleum Operators in the collective operation and supervision of a suite of petroleum capabilities.

This included establishing bulk fuel storage areas, Inland Pipeline Distribution System, Advanced Fuel Quality Control and more.

At the core of the Exercise was the demonstration of the ADF’s capability of moving fuel from a ship to land without support from fixed infrastructure, which falls into its light ship-to-shore transfer capability.

Australian Department of Defence.

August 24, 2022.

The CH-53K and the Software Upgrade Process

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09/03/2022

By Robbin Laird

A key difference between legacy 20th century military platforms and 21st century platforms revolve around software upgradeability.

With the legacy platforms, integration on the platform has been done by additive change, with then having to modify the platform in various ways to incorporate the additive change.

With software defined platforms, upgrades come through modifying the software, often to provide for capabilities which users of the platform suggest from actual operational experience.

Shaping ways to gain transient software advantage and rapid insertion of technological advances is key to a 21st century software-enabled combat force.

The CH-53K in common with aircraft developed with a digital foundation are aircraft in continuous development even as they are part of the operating force.

This means that with software developments of systems on the aircraft, the capability of that aircraft evolves over time.

And this process is very different from legacy aircraft, such as the earlier CH-53.

Software development teams are a key part of the ongoing evolution of the aircraft, and these teams combine user and government inputs along with the prime contractor for the aircraft in doing collaborative code rewriting and development.

Recently, NAVAIR released an article on the CH-53K which highlights this process and its key advantages for driving innovation. The article was published on August 2, 2022, and was entitled,  “Collaboration enhances successful CH-53K Flight Control System.”

That article follows:

A full authority digital fly-by-wire Flight Control System (FCS) is one of many impressive capabilities setting the CH-53K King Stallion heavy lift helicopter apart from any other heavy lift aircraft. “Full authority” means the FCS provides all of the aircraft motion – not just supplementing the pilot for stability. 

A digital fly-by-wire FCS is an electronic flight control system teamed with a digital computer that replaces mechanical control systems in an aircraft. It makes the aircraft easier to handle in degraded visual environments at gross weights up to 88,000 lbs. The CH-53K is currently cleared to 27,000 lbs. external lift but will eventually be cleared to 36,000 lbs.  

“The CH-53E/D were much harder to fly,” said retired Lt. Col. Lucas Frank, formerly of Marine Operational Test and Evaluation Squadron 1 (VMX-1). “And the ease of flying this, the flight control system is probably the biggest game changer for the 53 community. We’re not used to anything like this.”

The high performance of the FCS is a direct result of the ongoing collaboration and cooperation between subject matter experts within the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) Heavy Lift Helicopters Program Office (PMA-261), the Integrated Test Team (ITT), and the Flight Controls System design engineers from Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin Company.  

For pilots, the FCS provides more predictable and stable control responses to improve safety and mission effectiveness. 

For maintainers, the FCS reduces complexity by eliminating conventional helicopter hardware like mixers, push-rods and tail rotor cables, while improving diagnostic capability and maintenance time. 

For members of the CH-53K ITT, the most impressive FCS benefit is how it can be used to achieve future capabilities and quickly correct identified deficiencies. 

The flight test program for the CH-53K uses four Engineering Development Model (EDM) CH-53K aircraft. In these four-test aircraft, the fly-by-wire FCS permits the use of adjustable parameters called Flight Test Variables (FTVs), giving the test team opportunities to improve the aircraft control characteristics. 

“FTVs are an extremely powerful tool,” said Craig Merriman, CH-53K assistant program manager for test. “It allows us to test design fixes on aircraft in between major software releases.” 

According to Merriman, this means the team can continually improve the FCS software. If an issue is identified in flight test, the FTVs can be adjusted within a preapproved range, providing the pilots an opportunity to evaluate the correction in the aircraft in the intended environment. These FTVs are then incorporated into the next major FCS software release. 

“With each major FCS software drop, the aircraft baseline performance markedly increases due to the incorporation of these verified FTVs,” said Merriman. 

The CH-53K FCS is a work in progress and a team effort. When issues were identified through flight test, which required a quick resolution, the whole team collaborated from sites in Florida, Maryland and Connecticut. 

One example of the team’s success was the correction of air data faults during aerial refueling. During initial aerial refueling testing on the CH-53K in 2018, the FCS showed faults due to the turbulent air data created by the tanker aircraft. The FCS air data computers were reading large pressure fluctuations causing the FCS to think the air data computers had failed. 

With the deficiency identified by the flight test team, the design engineers began developing FTVs and performing analysis. The FTVs were evaluated in the Flight Controls System Integration Lab (FCSIL), a Sikorsky-owned lab in Stratford, CT, used by the ITT. The FCSIL is a CH-53K aircraft representative laboratory and simulator with triplex redundancy – a flight representative control system. The facility is used to simulate aircraft behavior and evaluate the aircraft performance relative to new FTVs. The facility is also used to verify the safe load and unload of FTVs to the software. 

Following the FCSIL testing, the NAVAIR Airworthiness group reviewed the analysis and granted approval to fly the FTVs. With this approval, the test team loaded the FTV on the aircraft.  The fix was tested with no degradation, permitting the fleet aerial refueling operations which are in use today. 

“It’s a very intuitive flight control system,” said Frank, “and it blends very well with the pilot and the computers. It allows you to override the computer. And then the second that you stop overriding it, the computer takes back over without any further pilot input. That’s probably the biggest game changer for our community.” 

The use of FTVs has been key in resolving FCS deficiencies discovered during flight test and will be used to enhance the already successful fly-by-wire system as the CH-53K takes on additional capabilities in the future.

Ok.

The whole point of the crucial advantage which a platform designed from the ground up in terms of software upgradeability is highlighted.

According to Merriman, this means the team can continually improve the FCS software. If an issue is identified in flight test, the FTVs can be adjusted within a preapproved range, providing the pilots an opportunity to evaluate the correction in the aircraft in the intended environment.

Full stop,

Featured Photo: A CH-53K King Stallion aircraft plugs a refueling drogue behind a KC-130J aerial refueling tanker during a test event over the Chesapeake Bay in 2021. Credit: NAVAIR.

Exercise Koolendong 2022

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08/31/2022

U.S. Marines with India Co., 3d Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, Ground Combat Element, Marine Rotational Force-Darwin (MRF-D) 22, and Australian Army soldiers with 16th Battalion, Royal Western Australia Regiment, conduct an air assault during exercise Koolendong 22 in Yampi Sound, WA, Australia, July 20 through 22, 2022.

Exercise Koolendong 22 is a combined and joint force exercise focused on expeditionary advanced base operations conducted by U.S. Marines, U.S. Soldiers, U.S. Airmen, and Australian Defence Force personnel.

YAMPI SOUND, WA, AUSTRALIA
07.22.2022
Video by Cpl. Emeline Molla
Marine Rotational Force – Darwin

Working Manned-Unmanned Teaming in Logistics Support: Technology Operational Experimentation Exercise 2022

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08/30/2022

The use of robots, unmanned systems, and automation of various kinds is of growing significance to providing logistical support to combat forces.

During the 2021 Williams Foundation seminar on next generation autonomous systems, Col. David Beaumont, a noted ADF logistician and strategist, underscored the growing importance of such systems for the ADF.

In an interview with him after the seminar, this is how he highlighted this evolution of capability for the ADF:

“The new automation and autonomous systems technologies offer great promise and provide valuable tools which will be adopted more widely over time.

“You don’t want to get seduced by technology to the point that you’re taken down some rabbit warrens that create risks in themselves.

“I see automated tools as providing for serious strategy change in a relatively short period of time, rather than overemphasizing what autonomous platforms can quickly provide.”

This month,  II MEF in North Carolina conducted Technology Operational Experimentation Exercise (TOEE) 2022 which tested out some ways to do what Beaumont highlighted.

In an article by 1st Lt. Eric Bohnenkamp published on August 29, 2022, the author highlighted the exercise and its results.

U.S. Marines and Sailors, supported by technologists with the Office of Naval Research (ONR) and Marine Corps Warfighting Lab (MCWL), concluded Technology Operational Experimentation Exercise (TOEE) 2022 earlier this month. The event leveraged experimental technologies in realistic, operational conditions, while applying Force Design 2030 and emerging naval concepts, such as Stand-In Forces (SIF).

During TOEE 22, II MEF Marines and Sailors utilized a portfolio of over a dozen experimental logistics, signature management, and command and control technologies to accomplish unit mission essential tasks, while also using their experiences to inform the technologists on how to improve the equipment. These experiences and training also provided a peek into the future of Expeditionary Advance Base Operations (EABO), where II MEF Marines and Sailors would employ new technological capabilities in a fight with a peer adversary.

“The purpose of this exercise is to give technologies to the warfighter, see how they use them and get their feedback, and think about what are the right investments we need to make in future technologies,” said Troy Hendricks, Director of Experimentation and Analysis, Office of Naval Research Global. “We work hand in hand with the Marines in the scenarios to really learn in a relevant, realistic environment how well these technologies perform and it gives us a path forward to improving them.”

ONR has been developing and investing in these technologies to enable Marines and Sailors, in this case, medical personnel, logisticians, and infantry, to address common problem sets and challenges facing the 21st Century warfighter.

“That’s the good thing about this exercise, we’re able to take these things and let the technologists and ONR know that there are some good concepts, but you need to go back to the drawing board on some things for the individual warfighter,” said U.S. Marine Capt. Brennan DePriest, Company Commander, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment.

According to DePriest, the fundamental importance of this exercise to II MEF and the future of the force is that junior Marines, who will face the potential challenges of the future fight, have direct feedback to the technologists on the equipment. It enables the Marines to not just think about those technology solutions, but the capabilities and tactics required to fight as a stand-in force.

“This exercise forced my Marines, especially my small-unit leaders, to not just think about offensive and defensive operations. It also forces them to think about their own sustainment, their own logistical footprint. What it’s going to take for them to sustain their Marines for extended operations going out for 24 hours to a week,” said DePriest.

Of the portfolio that ONR and MCWL fielded, the technology included autonomous vehicles such as the Expeditionary Modular Autonomous Vehicle (EMAV), the Multi-purpose Expeditionary Platform (MPEP), and unmanned quadcopters. All are capable of reducing the battlefield signature of combat logistics battalions in their resupply to Marines and Sailors distributed across the battlespace.

According to 1st Lt. Jamaz Richardson, Distribution Platoon Commander, Combat Logistics Battalion 8 (CLB 8), his platoon was able to integrate the EMAV into existing convoys or utilize the autonomous vehicle as a standalone resupply that could replenish infantry with food, water, and ammunition as a quieter, potentially more survivable method.

Richardson went on to explain that the MPEP, an autonomous forklift, could deliver, break, and reconfigure pallets based upon replenishment requests from the frontline, requiring an individual Marine of any military occupational specialty to facilitate the process.

“It’s a good look at how we can integrate tech such as the EMAV and MPEP, how we can use it to better facilitate logistics in line with concepts for Force Design 2030,” said Richardson. “This tests the lighter footprint of MPEP in place of the TRAM and EMAV, in place of less vehicles on the road. It gives our Marines a chance to focus on other things and to better facilitate resupply.”

Staff Sgt. Nickolas Kallasorg, Platoon Sergeant, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marines, noted that from the infantry perspective, technologies such as the EMAV and MPEP were a glimpse into how a platoon could receive resupply in the future. “We received water and chow resupply from the EMAV, which was remotely controlled by CLB-8 way down the road,” said Kallasorg. “It was efficient and didn’t cause a very large signature as with multiple trucks going down the road.”

Marines from CLB-8 also paired the EMAV and the MPEP with experimental quadcopters, autonomous drones that provided lightweight resupply to units in the field. This addressed a fundamental problem with expeditionary logistics, providing reliable resupply to Marines distributed over large distances and in austere terrain.

Lt. Col. Saúl Manzanet, Commanding Officer, CLB-8, elaborated on how his Marines used the opportunity of TOEE 22 to understand this problem set better.

“How do you move small payloads into combat without jeopardizing the mission or that cargo? Well, we used a fleet of quadcopters that have a distributed payload,” said Manzanet. “We would recognize the requirement, forecast what the payload would be, and the Marines at the NCO-level would use an autonomous vehicle to go to the warehouse pick up the pallet, break the pallet and have the swarm deliver it across the river without a single, traditional motor vehicle.”

Additionally, some of the technological solutions included alternate power methods that reduced not only the signature of the Marines and Sailors, but also enabled them to be less dependent on fuel and traditional electrical power sources. 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marines utilized these alternate power methods not only to reduce resupply, but to better control the signature of their positions and command post.

“We used the H-SUP, a hydrogen fuel supplied power system for recharging our batteries versus normal small generators, which require us to refuel,” said DePriest. “We were actually able to run the generator at a very quiet level, without much of a heat signature, and put it into buildings. So, once we got into an urban environment, we were able to use them to mask our signature.”

The Demonstration and Assessments Team from Naval Surface Warfare, Indian Head Division (DAT NSWD) was in the field for two weeks assisting the Marines and Sailors in employing the logistics and signature management technologies while also noting the performance and deficiencies of the equipment.

“I can’t overstate state the importance of getting the technology out of the lab and into the field,” said Dillard Patton, Deputy Director for Experimentation and Analysis, Office of Naval Research Global. “Our technologists want to get out into the field and make in-field updates to their system, and they want to do that early so they are able to garner insight prior to the point of full technology development.”

Patton elaborated on how TOEE 22 was a suitable exercise for II MEF Marines and Sailors to apply expeditionary advanced base operating concepts, while also assisting the technologists from ONR in testing the equipment in operational, field conditions. “It’s a double-sided coin in a positive way,” said Patton, “because the technologists get early, operational warfighter feedback and the warfighter gets necessary exposure to that technology to build trust and get a glimpse of what’s coming down the road as we prepare for the future naval fight.”

TOEE 22, although focused on testing and performance of equipment, was fundamentally concentrated on the II MEF warfighter in learning and applying stand-in force concepts. According to Lt. Col. Manzanet, the technology experimented with during TOEE 22 supplies a surrogate for what will be required for the warfighter to be successful on the future battlefield.

“The benefits for us as Marines is to envision a future where we can use technologies to accomplish the mission,” said Manzanet. “The technology serves as a mental jumping point of what is possible in the future, so the feedback that the Marines are giving the technologists and scientists are actually feeding the future design for combat logistics battalions.”

U.S. Marines with Combat Logistics Battalion 8, Combat Logistics Regiment 2, 2nd Marine Logistics Group, test new technologies during their participation in Technology Operational Experimentation Exercise (TOEE) 2022 on Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, Aug. 2, 2022.

TOEE is a joint exercise being conducted to support the Distributed Maritime Operations (DMO) concept for an Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations (EABO) mission from the littorals to inland objectives using manned/unmanned teaming (MUM-T) of technologies as a system to support sustainment and expeditionary logistics.

08.02.2022
Video by Cpl. Jackson Kirkiewicz
2nd Marine Logistics Group

For our interviews with II MEF within the context of analyzing the USMC approach to transformation, see the following:

 

U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Col. Efren Manzanet, the commanding officer of Combat Logistics Battalion 8, Combat Logistics Regiment 2, 2d Marine Logistics Group, briefs U.S. Marine Corps Col. Brian Mullery, assigned to II Marine Expeditionary Force, on different technological concepts showcased during Technology Operational Experimentation Exercise (TOEE) 22 on Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, August 4, 2022. TOEE 22 is an exercise, in partnership with the Office of Naval Research, where Marines and Sailors leverage key technologies in realistic, operational conditions to enhance warfighting, Force Design 2030 initiatives and emerging naval concepts, such as Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Eric Ramirez)
U.S. Marines and U.S. Navy Sailors assigned to II Marine Expeditionary Force are briefed on the Autonomous Casualty Evacuation System during Technology Operational Experimental Exercise (TOEE) 22 on Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, August 4, 2022. The ACE System is an experimental technology that enables Marines and Sailors to autonomously transport a casualty to a higher echelon of care. TOEE 22 is an exercise, in partnership with the Office of Naval Research, where Marines and Sailors leverage key technologies in realistic, operational conditions to enhance warfighting, Force Design 2030 initiatives and emerging naval concepts, such as Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Eric Ramirez)
U.S. Marines and U.S. Navy Sailors assigned to II Marine Expeditionary Force inspect the Autonomous Casualty Evacuation system during Technology Operational Experimental Exercise (TOEE) 22 on Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, August 4, 2022. The ACE System is an experimental technology that enables Marines and Sailors to autonomously transport a casualty to a higher echelon of care. TOEE 22 is an exercise, in partnership with the Office of Naval Research, where Marines and Sailors leverage key technologies in realistic, operational conditions to enhance warfighting, Force Design 2030 initiatives and emerging naval concepts, such as Expeditionary Advanced Based Operations. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Eric Ramirez)
U.S. Marines assigned to Combat Logistics Battalion 8, 2d Marine Logistics Group, assist in setting up an Autonomous Casualty Evacuation system during Technology Operational Experimental Exercise (TOEE) 22 on Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, August 4, 2022. The ACE System is an experimental technology that enables Marines and Sailors to autonomously transport a casualty to a higher echelon of care. TOEE 22 is an exercise, in partnership with the Office of Naval Research, where Marines and Sailors leverage key technologies in realistic, operational conditions to enhance warfighting, Force Design 2030 initiatives and emerging naval concepts, such as Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Eric Ramirez)
U.S. Marines assigned to Combat Logistics Battalion 8, 2d Marine Logistics Group, assist in setting up an Autonomous Casualty Evacuation system during Technology Operational Experimental Exercise (TOEE) 22 on Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, August 4, 2022. The ACE System is an experimental technology that enables Marines and Sailors to autonomously transport a casualty to a higher echelon of care. TOEE 22 is an exercise, in partnership with the Office of Naval Research, where Marines and Sailors leverage key technologies in realistic, operational conditions to enhance warfighting, Force Design 2030 initiatives and emerging naval concepts, such as Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Eric Ramirez)
U.S. Marines assigned to Combat Logistics Battalion 8, 2d Marine Logistics Group, pose for a group photo during Technology Operational Experimentation Exercise (TOEE) 22 on Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, August 4, 2022. TOEE 22 is an exercise, in partnership with the Office of Naval Research, where Marines and Sailors leverage key technologies in realistic, operational conditions to enhance warfighting, Force Design 2030 initiatives and emerging naval concepts, such as Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Eric Ramirez)
U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Col. Efren Manzanet, commanding officer of Combat Logistics Battalion 8, Combat Logistics Regiment 2, 2d Marine Logistics Group, gives an opening brief during Technology Operational Exerperimental Exercise (TOEE) 22 on Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, August 4, 2022. TOEE 22 is an exercise, in partnership with the Office of Naval Research, where Marines and Sailors leverage key technologies in realistic, operational conditions to enhance warfighting, Force Design 2030 initiatives and emerging naval concepts, such as Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Eric Ramirez)
U.S. Marines and U.S. Navy Sailors assigned to II Marine Expeditionary Force are briefed on new technology concepts during Technology Operational Experimental Exercise (TOEE) 22 on Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, August 4, 2022. TOEE 22 is an exercise, in partnership with the Office of Naval Research, where Marines and Sailors leverage key technologies in realistic, operational conditions to enhance warfighting, Force Design 2030 initiatives and emerging naval concepts, such as Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Eric Ramirez)

HMH 461 Trains with CH-53K

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U.S. Marines with Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron (HMH) 461 and 2nd Landing Support Battalion, 2nd Marine Logistics Group, practice heavy lifting with CH-53K King Stallions at Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho, Aug. 15-17, 2022.

This was the first time the Marine Corps deployed the King Stallion in an exercise. HMH-461 is a subordinate unit of 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, the aviation combat element of II Marine Expeditionary Force.

MOUNTAIN HOME AIR FORCE BASE, ID,
08.17.2022
Video by Cpl. Adam Henke
2nd Marine Aircraft Wing