A U.S. Marine Corps F-35B Lightning II assigned to Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 164 (Reinforced), 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, demonstrates a reverse landing on the flight deck of the amphibious assault ship USS Makin Island (LHD 8).
The Makin Island Amphibious Ready Group and the 15th MEU are conducting operations in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of responsibility.
INDIAN OCEAN
01.12.2021
Video by Cpl. Patrick Crosley
15th Marine Expeditionary Unit
By Robbin Laird
Recently, the Department of the Navy released, on March 16, 2021, its unmanned systems campaign framework. As Admiral Gilday, Chief of Navy Operations, commented in his forward to the document:
As the Navy adapts to an increasingly complex security environment, it is imperative that we understand what our future force will need to operate both in day-to-day competition as well as a high-end fight.
Unmanned Systems (UxS) have and will continue to play a key part in future Distributed Maritime Operations (DMO), and there is a clear need to field affordable, lethal, scalable, and connected capabilities. That is why the Navy is expanding and developing a range of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), unmanned undersea vehicles (UUV), and unmanned surface vessels (USV) that will play key roles as we shift our focus toward smaller platforms that operate in a more dispersed manner.
A hybrid fleet will be necessary for the Navy to meet emerging security concerns. We need platforms to deliver lethal and non-lethal effects simultaneously in all domains across multiple axes. UxS will provide added capacity in our Future Fleet — in the air, on the surface, and under the water.
The campaign plan will serve as the comprehensive strategy for realizing a future where unmanned systems serve as an integral part of the Navy’s warfighting team. It will be a living, iterative document that articulates our vision for a more ready, lethal, and capable fleet through acceleration of critical enablers in technology, processes, and partnerships.
We are mindful of past shortcomings, so therefore our approach is deliberate, but with a sense of urgency. We will address every aspect of Doctrine, Organization, Training, materiel, Leadership and Education, Personnel, Facilities, and Policy (DOTmLPF-P), identify and close capability gaps, and work to create and maintain our future naval force, together.
The CNO highlighted a number of key aspects shaping the way ahead. The first is the high-end fight which is built around shaping an integrated distributed force. His focus on a hybrid fleet in my mind rests on shaping how distributed fleet elements can effectively use maritime autonomous systems, not just simply introducing them. He made it very clear that the UxS’s must add capacity and capability for the Fleet, or put another way, if they don’t, then the Navy will not use them.
He underscored that the goal is to make unmanned systems “serve as an integral part of the Navy’s warfighting team.” If they are not, then they will not be used.
It is not about technological prowess alone; it is about how these systems can enhance the lethality, survivability and capabilities of a distributed integrated air-maritime force.
And one must also remember that the US Navy is going through a strategic shift from the standard carrier task force organizational concepts to sorting through how to fight as an integrated distributed fleet. As maritime remotes enter the fleet, they will be doing so in the context of this broader strategic shift.
There are two graphics in the document which highlights clearly what is required to have an effective way ahead with regards to the incorporation of maritime autonomous systems into the fleet.
The first can be seen above as the featured graphic; the second can be seen below.
I had a chance recently to discuss this report, and these graphics with a leading engineer involved in maritime autonomous systems, Jack Rowley, now of MARTAC. Rowley has developed a concept of operations for a scalable hybrid fleet operating together to deliver the kind of capability which the report highlights. This provided me a chance to not only discuss the way ahead as sketched in the report, but to also consider a concrete case study of how it can be effectively executed.
Jack Rowley: “The report focuses on where the Navy needs to go from a standpoint of a manned-unmanned criteria. Because unmanned can never, by itself, be totally “unmanned”, to date the capabilities of “unmanned” have been primarily used to augment and improve the “manned” capability.
“The challenge within the framework is to demonstrate that USVs are key enablers when working together with the fleet. They need to be robust and reliable. They need to be modular and interoperable so they can work together something like a wolfpack, but with the ability to quickly change the mission sensors and payloads. The approach until now has been very platform-centric with proprietary software, thereby blocking the kind of interoperability which makes autonomous systems a useful integratable asset into the fleet or the combat group of which the USV is to be a part of.
“A capability-centric approach requires very good interoperability. That’s where the Navy’s Common Command System, CCS, comes in, which by the way is also very much in tune with the Maritime Autonomous Platform Exploitation , MAPLE, system being developed by the Royal Navy. The final result desired by both the U.S. and the U.K. is to have these two systems work together to deliver effective coalition joint capabilities.
“Experimentation leading to adoption in the fleet is the key way to get the process underway for operational capabilities within the fleet. The U.S. Navy has set up both a UUVRON-1, for unmanned undersea vehicles in Keyport, WA and SURFDEVRON-1 in San Diego, CA for unmanned surface vehicles. Both of these will be great assets for developing and testing that “Manned-Unmanned” hybrid fleet concept.
We then discussed the “nested-dolls approach” which Rowley introduced earlier this year at the Virtual Technology Systems and Ships Symposium hosted by the American Society of Naval Engineers (ASNE) from January 26-28, 2021.
Obviously, what Rowley has in mind, draws upon the “Russian Dolls” concept whereby a smaller doll is inside a larger doll. In this manner smaller USVs, UUVs and UAVs, could be embedded on, and work with, larger USVs as integrated, composite, and modular UxV-UxV units.. As desired by their supervisory controllers, up against a real-world threat scenario, the controllers could offload the smaller USVs, UUVs or UAVs, with diverse payloads, in an integrated execution of multiple UxV scenarios on a single mission.
The way he described it that the larger LUSV which is being designed to be a size and speed which can keep up with destroyers and task groups. For example, one might operate three of these LUSVs with an expeditionary strike group. They are approaching an island that is 500 miles away and determine that they need a discrete ISR scan into the area where the task force will operate. There is concern as well that mines might be in the upcoming operational area as well.
A force package of smaller USVs could be placed onto the larger LUSVs assigned to the task force. Several of these smaller USVs, which could range in size as long as 50 feet, could be configured to go into the objective area to perform the ISR and a second group of USVs could be configured to engage in a scan searching for mine-like objects..
As Rowley put it: “The technology exists today to do this. One could use 24-to-50-foot USVs being carried by the LUSV. And these assets are capable of significant speed to the objective ISR and mine-sweeping areas. For example, our 38 (T38) and 50 (T50) foot catamaran USVs are capable of speeds in excess of 80 knots fully loaded.
“This USV fleet of remotely piloted and autonomous craft would be controller by supervisor controllers in one of the command ships within the expeditionary strike group. LUSVs could be dispatched from the strike group to proceed toward the ISR area at 25kts. At a predesignated point, the ISR and MCMT38s could be launched from their respective larger LUSVs and proceed at 80 knots towards individual ISR starting waypoints near the beach at which time the T38 ISR craft would start their ISR scan and the T38 MCM craft would begin their mind detection scans at their waypoint locations. The LUSVs would loiter at their location and act as a communications gateway until the T38s return.
“The USV craft would perform their ISR missions and mine-detection missions with their respective payload configurations. They would transit and operate independently to reduce and limit radar detection. By operating as an independent wolfpack and not as clustered group, their ability to conduct their mission with relatively low visibility is enhanced.
“As the ISR camera displays are returned in real time, the payload controllers can determine what they are seeing. Based on an analysis of the ISR situation, they can make determinations with regard to any inland or bay areas that may require a closer look. At this time, they can then launch anywhere from one to three 12 foot (T12) USVs off of the T38 USV to take that closer look. The information is then relayed from the T12 camera, back to the T-38, to the LUSV and then back to the ship for real time analysis by ISR analysts.
“The T12 returns to the T-38 for recovery. Similarly, a second supervisory controller monitoring one of the other T38 ISR USVs could launch two gyrocopters to further investigate an inland anomaly that he is observing. The Gyrocopters return to the T-38 and are recovered onboard. During the same timeframe of the ISR scans, the two T-38s with payloads configured for mine detection both enter the bay and independently conduct their bottom scan, sending all bathymetry data back to an analyst onboard the control ship at the strike group. Effectively, all T38s are operating independably of one another, under the watch of a minimal number of supervisory and payload controllers.
“In the MCM mine-detection scenario, the two MCM payload enabled T-38s being operated by their supervisory controllers can share the situation with an EOD analyst seated next to him.“
“Based on the scans of the area, the ISR and MCM T-38s provide a close-up picture and convey that to the command ship in real time. One of the key considerations is that they can operate from any of the ships on the task force as long as the ship has qualified supervisory controllers.“
”Upon completion of their respective ISR and MCM mission, the T38s will return at high speed to intercept the LUSVs at their loiter point. Each of the T38s will be autonomously recovered onto their respective LUSV and then proceed back to the strike group formation. The commander was able to get the information he needed within 24 hours, as he had requested. And to again underscore, that all of this technology exists today.”
The Navy Unmanned Campaign Plan can be read below:
20210315 Unmanned Campaign_Final_LowResJack Rowley’s paper on his nested dolls concept of operations for USVs can be read below:
By Robbin Laird and Ed Timperlake
There has been public discussion of the state and fate of NATO over the past few years. One European leader energized the discussion by referring to NATO as “brain dead.” But underlying the political exchanges of the past few years, there has been real progress in shaping a new approach to North Atlantic defense.
But because the new approaches do not fit the Cold War images of what North Atlantic defense look like, in many ways the changes are not fully grasped, and the new approaches fully appreciated.
Certainly, a key driver of change has been the dynamic growth in Nordic defense cooperation and the commitment of NATO members as well as EU members Sweden and Finland in strengthening their capabilities to work together.
In the book authored by Laird with Delaporte, a significant part of the analysis on the reworking of European direct defense focuses on the impact of this Nordic dynamic on reworking how collaboration of the “coalition of the willing” or the “relevant nations” working together with key NATO partners is reshaping European defense.
As we put it in that book: “Europe and its defense are not one narrative but several. The Russians face an increasingly unified Nordic Northern Flank with enhanced UK focus on the region, backed by reach into North America.
“The central part of Europe is a mosaic of former Warsaw Pact states with varying degrees of concern about the Russian challenge, backed by a German French alliance with the nuclear-armed France in this key area.
“And the southern zone of Europe in which Greece, Turkey, Spain, and Italy have about as much solidarity today as they have had historically, which means that aggregation management is crucial to deal with any alliance-wide challenges.”
And the Nordic Northern flank and the redesign of direct defense is highlighted in that book as follows: “A key part of shaping a new approach to direct defense in Europe is winning the fourth battle of the Atlantic. (which rests on dealing with) a key aspect of the Russian challenge, which is crucial for the Nordics, namely, the need to hold the Russian Kola bastion at risk.
“For the United States and Canada, it is about reinforcing Europe and holding the Russians at bay, notably with Putin threatening a nuclear strike via his projected new hypersonic missile to be launched via a submarine. But for the Nordics, it is about homeland defense, and not letting the Russians have a free ride to use the Kola Peninsula and its extended perimeter defense without a significant capability by the West to attrite and destroy the Russian bastion.
“When you come out from the land into the air and sea corridors, is where the West for sure needs to be able to operate its own anti-access and area denial capability. Two can play at this game.”
What one sees in Norfolk is reshaping how the startup command called Second Fleet has been launched interactively under Vice Admiral Lewis’s leadership with the NATO startup command called JFC Norfolk to shape new ways of combing national efforts into a more integrated and effective defense effort.
And that effort is reinforced by another trend line which we have examined over the past decade, namely, the standup of the F-35 global enterprise, whereby U.S. allies are often leading the way in the acquisition, development, and use of their aircraft in advance of what the United States itself is providing for regional defense efforts.
All of this can be seen in the dynamics of change unleashed by the integrated efforts being generated by the two commands working together. Recently, the Vice Admiral returned from a visit to SHAPE and to Europe and upon his return we had a chance to talk with his political advisor, a senior Icelandic diplomat.
And it is hard to miss the point of why having a senior Icelandic diplomat as the political advisor to the U.S. Admiral is significant. Given that the United States shifted its attention to the Middle East and withdrew from its engagement in Iceland in the George W. Bush Administration, and policy which continued under the Obama Administration, which shuttered 2nd Fleet in 2011.
But with the Crimean crisis wakeup call, the U.S. Navy reached out to Iceland and there was return to maritime patrol activities, but this time with a new MPA asset, namely the P-8.
But for the Icelandic government, their strategic importance was never in doubt, notably with the growing impact of High North defense issues, but for the United States has been for a considerable period of time a “reluctant” Arctic power.
But for Iceland, it was clear that the strategic focus of the famous Greenland-Iceland-UK gap was no longer simply an East-West transit point but a North-South one as well. And it was clear that when Admiral Richardson sought to establish the new second fleet, that it was going to need to build to the new strategic reality and not simply replicate the past Cold War-generated command.
We had a chance during our visit to Norfolk to talk with the Vice Admiral’s political advisor located in JFC Norfolk. Snorri Matthiasson, is a senior Icelandic diplomat, who had just returned from the European visit of Vice Admiral Lewis. We conducted the interview by phone because of COVID-19 restrictions, but his insights were very significant about the “startup” command.
Matthiasson noted that he first met Vice Admiral Lewis on a visit with the Icelandic Chief of Defense to Norfolk, shortly after C2F had been stood up. This was going to be Lewis’s first NATO command, and he sought out a political advisor to assist in his efforts. He was the first foreigner to join the NATO command, just prior to the arrival of Rear Admiral Betton.
He underscored how the standup very much felt like a startup which allowed them to think through how best to work the efforts for U.S.- European collaboration. He underscored that a number of key Nordic states were engaged in defense and security activities in the region, and as they worked coordination efforts, there was a clear need to better coordinate with U.S. and other allied efforts, such as the United Kingdom, France, and German forces operating in the region as well.
As Matthiasson put it: “Vice Admiral Lewis looks at the area from the East Coast of North America to Finnmark as a continuous battlespace, but there was an opportunity to do a much better job coordinating national efforts in the area to shape enhanced coalition capabilities.
For example, the Danes have been working for decades in Greenland and working maritime situational awareness.
How to better leverage what they are doing, and how best to bring the capabilities of new maritime domain awareness systems into their operations?”
As working crisis situations entails whole of government responses., doing a better job of bringing together military operational concepts of operations with tactical or strategic diplomatic options is an important challenge to be met in North Atlantic defense. And that is clearly one thrust of the startup commands rethinking process for the evolving approaches to North Atlantic defense.
It is clear that the commands are not engaged in recreating the Cold War infrastructure but are engaged in shaping a very different approach. And the F-35 enterprise is part of that new approach as an information and C2 asset.
With regard to Iceland, first the Italians and currently the Norwegians are operating F-35s from Iceland as part of the NATO air policing missions. The Brits will operate F-35s from their base in Mahram or at sea off of their new Queen Elizabeth carriers. And this is prior to the U.S. Navy operating their F-35s in the region, but, of course, the U.S. Navy has an ability to work with those allied fifth generation aircraft. And this is true whether they come from Danish, or Norwegian, or British or potentially Finnish air bases in the future.
The impact on interoperability of U.S. with European forces is clearly enhanced by operating a common combat aircraft.
This is how Matthiasson put it: “The Norwegians we met in Iceland emphasized that the F35 is an incredible capability, but it also allows them to jointly train with U.S. forces which creates a new opportunity for joint and coalition warfighting approach as well.”
As we wrapped up our discussion, NATO innovation was a key focus of attention. Obviously, the direct NATO missions and operations are tasked by SHAPE and SACEUR, after a NAC decision. But under that broader remit, JFC Norfolk provides a flexible umbrella organization to allow for cross-learning and cross-sharing of national efforts which can be combined to provide for enhanced coalition capabilities.
As Matthiasson put it: “The nations have been very keen on working with us from the very beginning with the vision that we had of being an umbrella or nexus for the North Atlantic, because there is so much national activity that is ongoing with some very advanced equipment. How best to shape collaboration and coordination in such a situation.?
“Much of the activity in the region is under national rather than NATO mandates. But for the Russians, any NATO members national activity is interpreted as being a NATO activity, so why not do a better job coordinating national efforts to get the right kind of coalition effect?”
It seems that this kind of approach suggests that NATO is not brain dead after all.
The featured graphic provides a view of the High North seen from the Norwegian perspective.
U.S. Army Infantrymen assigned to the East African Response Force (EARF) perform a sniper exercise with French servicemen Feb. 02, 2021 at an indisclosed location in Djibouti, Africa.
The EARF is a rapid deployment force with the ability to protect U.S. citizens and diplomatic facilities, provide non-combatant evacuation operations, humanitarian assistance, and disaster relief operations, on the African continent.
CAMP LEMONNIER, DJIBOUTI
02.02.2021
Video by Senior Airman Hannah Strobel
1st Combat Camera Squadron
By Robbin Laird
The CMV-22B is an essential part of the evolving air wing on the large deck carriers. The process of shaping this new capability is part of the overall transformation of the large deck carrier and its role in the evolving capabilities of the U.S. Navy and its transformation of fighting as a fleet.
New platforms should never be understood as in and of themselves but as part of the evolution of a force, and when significant change is underway, the transformation of the force. This is certainly the case with the CMV-22B.
The Navy has a huge advantage in bringing the lift-focused Osprey to its flight decks. For it builds on the significant operational experience of the USMC in operating this aircraft globally. This means that the Navy is drawing upon the ecosystem associated with the Osprey and taking that platform and its ecosystem onto its evolving large deck carrier fleet.
In a story published by the USS Carl Vinson on February 26, 2021, the operation of the first CMV-22B squadron in delivering an F-35C power module onboard the ship was highlighted.
The “Titans” of Fleet Logistics Multi-Mission Squadron (VRM) 30 and members of Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 2 successfully delivered an F-35C power module aboard USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) in the U. S. Navy’s first, at-sea replenishment for this component.
This success follows a November 2020 milestone, during which VRM-30, CVW-2 and Vinson conducted the Navy’s first landings, take-offs, and refueling of a Navy CMV-22B Osprey from an aircraft carrier.
The at-sea power module replenishment evolution consisted of loading, transporting and unloading the F135 power module from a shore-based location to the carrier by way of a CMV-22B. The power module is an engine component used by all three F-35 Lightning II variants.
The CMV-22B is the U.S. Navy version of the V-22 Osprey, a multi-engine, dual-piloted, self-deployable, medium lift, vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) tilt-rotor aircraft. The CMV-22B can transport cargo and passengers as far as 1,150 nautical miles; provides enhanced survivability and beyond-line-of-sight communications; and has the required cargo capacity and fast cargo loading/unloading. Coupled with its ability to transport the F-35 power module inside its cargo bay, CMV-22B is the ideal choice to provide required carrier on-board delivery capabilities for F-35C operations at sea. The delivery marks a milestone in the integration of CMV-22B to the Carrier Air Wing, validates the F135 modular maintenance concept at sea, and most importantly supports future carrier air wing deployments with next-generation platforms.
“The CMV-22B is a great addition to the carrier air wing,” said Capt. Matt Thrasher, commander, CVW-2. “The Osprey is a robust logistical platform that not only supports the F-35C but also gives the entire air wing increased range and transport capacity. Its addition to our team ensures that CVW-2 remains ready to perform as-advertised while on deployment.”
CVW-2 is currently embarked aboard Vinson under the command of Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 1.
CVW-2 is leading the charge in introducing and integrating the next generation of aircraft and capabilities in the Fleet as the U.S. Navy’s first Carrier Air Wing to deploy with the F-35C Lightning II, E-2D Hawkeye and the CMV-22B Osprey. The Navy’s next iteration of the Carrier Air Wing will be more lethal and survivable through the integration of organic fourth-generation kinematics and fifth-generation information and survivability, increased command and control and airborne electronic attack capacity, all sustained with a reliable logistical support platform.
“With the addition of the newest fifth-generation aircraft, the Navy has delivered the world’s most capable, lethal and ready air wing to our strike group,” said Rear Adm. Timothy J. Kott, commander, CSG-1. “Delivering the right balance of presence and power, including airpower supremacy, strike groups continue to be one of our nation’s primary on-call assets in times of need. By maintaining a lethal, ready strike group, manned by the world’s most skilled Sailors and outfitted with the best equipment, fifth generation aircraft will help America maintain our advantage at sea and protect our nation for years to come.”
Capable of embarking both the F-35C and the CMV-22B, Vinson is the first aircraft carrier equipped to support fifth-generation aircraft. With its recent modifications, no other weapons system has the responsiveness, endurance, multi-dimensional might, inherent battlespace awareness or command and control capabilities of the Vinson and CVW-2.
Upgrades included enhanced jet blast deflectors able to take the increased heat generated by the F-35C and the Autonomic Logistics Information System (ALIS), the new computer network that supports the unique maintenance and tactical operations functions of the advanced aircraft.
“Our crews and staffs have done a fantastic job during integrated operations with the new aircraft and associated upgrades,” said Capt. P. Scott Miller, Vinson’s commanding officer. “We are truly a team. The successful replenishment of the power module is another testament to that team and our Sailors, who are the most dedicated, best trained and well educated in the world. The continued professionalism and warfighter spirit they demonstrate each and every day is the number one key to our success time and time again.”
Vinson is currently completing a series of “work ups” and certifications in preparation for future operational tasking.
But the image of the CMV-22B delivering the engine module for the F-35C onboard the Vinson does not reflect the effort to get to this point in preparing the air wing of the future or my preferred term the integratable air wing for the arrival of both the F-35 and the Osprey onboard the next phase of the large deck carrier’s transformation.
The coming of the F-35 to the carrier is part of the enhanced reach of the carrier; the coming of the Navy’s version of the Osprey is part of reshaping the logistics capabilities which the DMO logistics support for the fleet entails. Cross-decking will be a key part of both re-imaging how the large deck carrier and the amphibious fleet can provide for the evolution of sea-basing.[1]
The Navy’s logistics air arm which the CMV-22B is transforming will certainly be able to work across decks in the fleet. This is clearly not something which the legacy aircraft for the logistics mission, the C-2A, could not do.
For example, in the Black Widow exercise last Fall held by Second Fleet, the USS Wasp was part of the USW force. It operated Romeos off of its deck. If did so in a combat situation, those helicopters could be joined with the Link-16 and full motion capable Viper attack helicopter to provide for ship defense. Those aircraft – the Romeos and Vipers – when getting low on the appropriate weapons could be resupplied by an MSC ship, but if not available or not able to provide the appropriate weapons in a timely fashion – could have a CMV-22B land onboard to provide such a capability from a North Atlantic base, from a large deck carrier, or from some other capable ship. The point is rather simple – the CMV-22B could land and load from all of those decks or locations; the C-2A cannot.[2]
Recently, I had a chance to discuss the training and preparation for the effort seen in the above photo with Captain Dewon “Chainsaw” Chaney, the Commander of COMVRMWING (or Fleet Logistics Multi-Mission Wing). We last met at North Island Air Station in San Diego early last summer. Since that time the original squadron VRM-30 has been joined by the second squadron, VRM-50. The squadrons now have six CMV-22Bs.
The command has stood up a training facility for the load ins and load outs onto the CMV-22Bs. According to Captain Chaney: “We were loaned some cargo containers from HMX-1 to do load outs from both a C-130 and a C-40 to train for maximum operational flexibility for the detachments. We did not want to work simply with the cargo containers for the C-130 but with the C-40 as well to ensure that we have greater flexibility. Instead of ISU-90s which work with C-130s, we have the ISU-50s which work with the C-40s and C-130s. We have three dets worth of ISU-50s at the base so we can work with both aircraft.”
Captain Chaney had shown me the MV-22 fuselage at the base during my June 2020 visit which they used as a cargo trainer. They have since moved that fuselage from the VRM-30 hangar to a temporary tent facility where they do the training. This allows the operators to train without having to do so on an operational aircraft which reduces the risk which training poses to such an aircraft. The tent facility is being replaced by a permanent building to house the cargo load trainer. This project is already funded.
According to Captain Chaney: “With the power module mockup, we have a dummy slide for that mockup, as well as cargo containers which we can use to train the aircrewmen to load the aircraft without the threat of damaging an actual CMV. This allows the squadrons to work through the crawl/walk/run aspects of training for the load out process both in terms of putting the power module and cargo onto the aircraft and taking it off that aircraft.”
Because there are not many non-RFI power modules available to use for training, the team built a module that is the same shape and weight of an actual power module. An RFI part means that it is ready for issue. It is working; you can take it out of a box and use. A non-RFI means that it is not ready for issue, or it is not ready to be used. Eventually, they were able to obtain a non-RFI power module as well.
This meant that with their mock-up or with the non-RFI power module, they could shape a training cycle to learn how best to load in and load out the F-35 power module onto the aircraft in support of the mission. In my words, the team was shaping the kind of muscle memory crucial to be able to do that when they would fly to the USS Carl Vinson.
Members of the Vinson logistics team have worked with the team at North Island San Diego to prepare for the February 2021 engagement of VRM-30 onboard the ship as well. As the deployment of the F-35 detachment onboard the USS Carl Vinson is scheduled for this year, obviously, the CMV-22B team needs to be ready to support the new aircraft onboard the first large deck carrier which will deploy it. Next up is the USS Abraham Lincoln. There is a demand side of CMV-22B squadron preparation driven by the arrival of modified large deck carriers operating the F-35C.
The flight simulator will be coming soon to North Island as well. This will obviously provide a significant boost to shaping Navy core competencies to operate the new aircraft in support of Navy logistical operations as well.
This means that the large deck carrier will be operating two new aircraft which are working together to deliver a new combat capability for the fleet. Much like the F-35s onboard large deck carriers are expanding the reach of the carrier air wings operating within the fleet, the CMV-22Bs can do so by the potential of providing logistical support for DMO operations as well.
[1] For example, see several of the interviews which I conducted last year and are highlighted in my book Training for the High-End Fight (2021).
[2] For a discussion of the role of the USS WASP in the 2020 Black Widow exercise, see the following: Robbin Laird and Ed Timperlake, “21st Century USW: A Kill Web Team Sport,” Second Line of Defense (March 28, 2021).
Also, please read the following U.S. Navy story:
USS Carl Vinson Conducts First CMV-22B Osprey Medevac Exercise
Sailors assigned to Nimitz-class nuclear aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) and Carrier Air Wing (CVW) Two conducted the Navy’s first medical evacuation (medevac) exercise utilizing the CMV-22B Osprey, Feb. 22.
During the evolution, a simulated patient was transported by the ship’s medical team to a CMV-22B Osprey from the “Titans” of Fleet Logistics Multi-Mission Squadron (VRM) 30.
Lt. Andrew Nop, Vinson’s nurse, supervised the medevac exercise and said the event further highlighted the CMV-22B’s capabilities in support of mission readiness. He said the aircraft affords providers additional options to care for patients.
“It was very exciting,” said Nop. “Being the first carrier to perform an Osprey [CMV-22B] medevac exercise came with many lessons learned and a new way forward in carrier medicine. We can only get better from here.”
Ospreys have been flown by the U.S. Marine Corps and Air Force since 2007. Medevac operations and exercises have been flown over land with Ospreys before, but this marks the first medevac exercise of a Navy CMV-22B on an aircraft carrier.
Medevacs ensure fast and efficient movement of patients while also enabling medical personnel to simultaneously care for patients en route. Seconds can make all the difference in a patient’s condition while transporting them from sea to shore for additional medical assistance.
Lt. Damico R. Hill, CVW-2 aerospace physician’s assistant, participated in the exercise and said the Osprey can transport more patients at one time, an advantage over helicopters if the ship should ever encounter multiple patients who need simultaneous evacuation.
“This is a huge game-changer and will allow for better transport of patients if there is a mass casualty,” said Hill. “I’d say it was a huge success.”
Hospitalman Camryn Scott, assigned to Vinson’s medical department, said the exercise provided medical personnel the opportunity to learn about the Osprey’s capabilities.
“I was extremely lucky to be included in this exercise,” said Scott. “Hopefully we never need to do this for real, but if we do, I know our team will be ready.”
The CMV-22B Osprey is a tiltrotor aircraft with vertical takeoff and landing capabilities designed to combine the adaptability of a helicopter with the range and speed of fixed-wing aircraft. This allows it to reach farther distances than the average helicopter while also taking off and landing in more restrictive zones than the previous method of carrier onboard delivery with the C-2 Greyhound.
03.29.2021
Story by Petty Officer 3rd Class Aaron Smith
Sgt. 1st Class Derek Baker, combat medic, 432 Civil Affairs Battalion and Spc. Logan Rutledge, combat medic, 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division reflect on a combat lifesaver course given to Romanian Armed Forces here Feb 4.
Exchanging lifesaving knowledge and skills enhances interoperability between the two allies and increases readiness within combat environments.
BUCHAREST, ROMANIA
02.04.2021
Video by Spc. Jabari Clyburn
319th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment
By Robbin Laird and Ed Timperlake
When 2nd Fleet was stood up in 2018, it was not the case of it being re-established. It was an older name but was being stood up in a new historical and military context. It was being stood up in the context of the rise of 21st century authoritarian challengers, an Alliance being reworked in the wake of the Crimean events in 2014, and in the context of shift from the land wars to reshaping the force to deal with those challengers.
It was also being shaped as new military capabilities were being generated both on the blue and red sides of the equation. It is a command which can leverage the practical capabilities which fifth generation aircraft operating in the UK and the Nordics can deliver as well.
It is an incubator of change with VADM Lewis as the dual hatted commander of 2nd Fleet and Allied Joint Forces Command Norfolk. But there is a third key element of the effort as well, and the three taken together are operating as an incubator for change in reworking a distributed integrated maritime command shaping 360-degree combat capabilities from the sea.
According to the Centre’s website:
The Combined Joint Operations from the Sea Centre of Excellence (CJOS COE) was established in May 2006. Representing 13 nations, CJOS is the only Centre of Excellence in the United States, and one of 27 NATO accredited Centres worldwide, representing a collective wealth of international experience, expertise, and best practices.
Independent of the NATO Command structure, CJOS COE draws on the knowledge and capabilities of sponsoring nations, United States Fleet Forces, United States SECOND Fleet, and neighboring U.S. commands to promote “best practices” within the Alliance. CJOS COE also plays a key role in aiding NATO’s transformational goals, specifically those focused on maritime-based joint operations. We enjoy close cooperation with Allied Command Transformation (ACT), Allied Maritime Command (MARCOM), other NATO commands, maritime COEs, and national commands.
Comprised of 30 permanent staff and 20 U.S. Navy reservists, CJOS COE is highly flexible and responsive to its customers’ needs. The Centre cooperates, whenever possible, with industry and academia to ensure a comprehensive approach to the development of concept and doctrine.
But the story is even more interesting than this description provides. For the Centre continued to exist while 2nd Fleet did not. And in that period of time between its stand down in 2011 and its standup again in 2018. The Centre worked hard to shape the reworking of how maritime operations NATO wide contribute to Atlantic defense and, in the wake of the events of 2014, focused on the coming reset of North Atlantic maritime operations. When Admiral Lewis came, he understood how important what the Centre was doing was to the core operations of 2nd Fleet itself, not just in terms of managing a NATO effort, but the kind of distributed integrated force which needs to be shaped to deal with the new strategic environment.
The importance of shaping the kind of C2 that could fully leverage new capabilities like fifth generation aircraft where the allies are key players. Combining the new Queen Elizabeth carriers, the P-8 enterprise operating with the ever-improving F-35 enterprise while preparing for the coming of the new Ford class carriers, all are in synergistic support of the U.S. Navy’s shift to fighting as a fleet and is a huge strategic move for U.S. and Allies to fight and win at sea.
This is a significant shift, and one which requires leveraging all assets because it is clear that the Sea Centre of Excellence indeed provides a significant strategic contribution filtered through leadership with extensive well-earned tactical sea service.
Ed Timperlake had a chance to interview the Deputy Director of the Centre, Commodore Tom Guy from the Royal Navy on March 5, 2021. Guy comes from the Surface Warfare Community and has significant experience with the Royal Navy and in operating in coalition operations as well.
During the interview, he underscored that 2nd Fleet was focused on its role as a coalition and joint command and control force; Vice Admiral Lewis has focused from the outset on distributed command and control and shaping the command as a warfighting instrument. This was simply not going to happen unless the U.S. Navy becomes much more part of the European NATO navies, and to work more effectively as an integrated force.
As Commodore Guy put it throughout the discussion, they were supporting the 2nd Fleet’s mission of being able to more effectively fight tonight. To do so means, finding ways for the U.S. and the allies to integrate the current capabilities more effectively. And this requires in many cases, relatively low technology solutions, but requires ensuring that NATO C2 systems are compatible with U.S. ships and for U.S. Navy training exercises to encompass C2 with European NATO navies.
As Commodore Guy put it: “In Second Fleet terms, we very focused on the practical C2 aspects, notably making sure that US Carrier Strike Groups and Expeditionary Strike Groups are familiar with NATO tactics. We are focused, for example, on working with CSG-4 to ensure that NATO familiarity is built into their training approach. And we work on the reverse as well with European NATO navies ensuringfamiliarity with U.S. Navy procedures.”
He added: “We are far from being alliance navies being completely integrated, and we are focused on the low hanging fruit. Some of this is about technology; some of it is about different operational cultures. Vice Admiral Lewis has been focused on having NATO C2 installed on U.S. Navy ships and upon shaping exercises and training whereby the operational cultural differences are attenuated. We must ensure that Second Fleet has what it needs to be the most effective multinational maritime component command it can be, on Day Zero.”
To make a very important point on a Fight Tonight Command Fleet attitude,- the Center of Excellence effort is near to mid-term. In other words, it is very much “the art of the possible,” leveraging the practical near-term can greatly inform discussions for insightful longer-range planning for future maritime operations.
Commodore Guy underscored that getting that paradigm right allows for future iterations of combat technology to be worked in a more integrated manner going forward. Here the Centre plays a key supporting role to Allied Command Transformation, which is also located in the Norfolk area.
Because the foreign military community in Norfolk is very up close and in a practical sense a place where folks know one another and thus allows for a significant cross fertilization between the Centre’s role in support of 2nd Fleet with ACT’s longer term thinking as well As Commodore Guy put it: “We need the second fleet staff to innately to have the understanding about what it takes to integrate with a UK or French or Italian carrier strike group.
Clearly, this is a work in progress. This one where culture and technology need to be worked interactively to shape a more effective inter-allied force. The recent experience of the Marines operating with the Brits of the Queen Elizabeth in the Atlantic certainly is photo op of a keyway ahead in shaping such a force. As one British naval officer involved in the effort put it to us: “The Marines and Brits using the same aircraft thinking as a wolfpack is a significant step forward towards advanced integration.”
This story by C2F published on October 1, 2020 highlighted the transfer of directorship of Combined Joint Operations from the Sea Centre of Excellence (CJOS COE) to C2F.
Combined Joint Operations from the Sea Centre of Excellence (CJOS COE), a NATO-accredited, multi-national military think tank, transferred directorship from the deputy commander of U.S. Fleet Forces (USFF) Command to commander, U.S. 2ndFleet (C2F), Oct. 1.
The transition from Vice Adm. Dave Kriete, deputy commander, USFF, to Vice Adm. Andrew Lewis, who is commander, C2F, and dual-hatted as commander, Joint Forces Command Norfolk, will strengthen the relationship between CJOS COE and C2F, and build upon previously established networks at USFF.
Established in May 2006, CJOS COE represents 13 nations and is the only COE in the U.S. As one of 26 NATO-accredited centers worldwide, they represent a collective wealth of international experience, expertise, and best practices, critical to operations in the North Atlantic.
“By linking C2F, JFC Norfolk, and now CJOS COE, national and NATO commands will further align, catalyzing the development of modern warfighting capabilities in the North Atlantic, and increasing readiness across the joint force,” said Lewis. “We must be postured to respond to existing multi-domain threats tonight, yet make urgent efforts to adapt now to the new challenges of the security environment of tomorrow.”
The realignment comes shortly after Joint Force Command Norfolk’s initial operational capability ceremony on Sep. 17.
“The important partnership between the Combined Joint Operations from the Sea Centre of Excellence (CJOS COE) and the United States Fleet Forces Command has been superb,” said Kriete. “This key relationship will continue between CJOS COE and C2F and help ensure maritime security in the Atlantic.”
U.S. 2nd Fleet, reestablished in 2018 in response to the changing global security environment, develops and employs maritime forces ready to fight across multiple domains in the Atlantic and Arctic in order to ensure access, deter aggression and defend U.S., allied, and partner interests.
“This more direct relationship between CJOS and C2F will enhance allied interoperability and further expand on CJOS COE’s connections with U.S. commands assigned to train, operate, and deploy with NATO maritime forces, said Commodore Tom Guy, Royal Navy, deputy director of CJOS COE. “It is a logical and really welcome step as we collectively work to maintain our warfighting edge in the North Atlantic.”
In his introduction to the 2021 CJOS COE publication on Cutting the Bow Wave, Vice Admiral Lewis highlighted how he saw the importance of the Centre to his command’s efforts:
2020 has seen sweeping challenges to international relations across the globe. Even to the layman, it is obvious that we are not operating in the same security environment as we were at the start of the 21st century; we now face the reality of multiple near peer competitors operating across multiple spectrums of instruments of power.
The North Atlantic is a more contested and complex space, and more than ever we need to ensure alignment and cohesion within and across NATO’s maritime domains. As NATO continues to evolve to maintain its strategic advantage, there has been an evolution here too, and a subtle shift in emphasis, with the Directorship of CJOS COE being aligned with the Command of US SECOND Fleet and Joint Force Command Norfolk.
While CJOS will continue providing the support to the Alliance as it always has, under the direction of its Sponsor Nations, this shift helps to better align missions and their interconnectedness. I am really excited about the positive effect this will have on improving allied maritime interoperability across the North Atlantic, while linking the really valuable forward-looking conceptual work that CJOS does with operational and tactical maritime commanders.
CJOS brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise, from providing practical advice and education to support Allies working together effectively in the maritime domain now, to thinking about how we harness unmanned systems and artificial intelligence in the future maritime battle-space.
With our ambitious program of work for 2021, we will continue to drive Alliance maritime warfare development, and specifically support SECOND Fleet and JFC Norfolk in their deterrence and defense missions. This alignment effort must move the yardsticks not only on interoperability but bring more effort on integration, interchangeability and resilience at a level that provides “reflexive responsiveness” to any challenge presented by our adversaries. I am committed to developing these themes through a networked approach.
In his introduction to the same document, Commodore Guy highlighted the importance of working the low hanging fruit with record to integratability across the NATO navies:
As our Director has outlined, security challenges abound, and CJOS COE is firmly focused on supporting NATO in maintaining the edge in the maritime domain.
But whilst our focus is on the maritime domain, ‘multi-domain’ and ‘cross-domain’ thinking is coming increasingly to the force, and the commanders of the future will be ‘domain agnostic’ as they grapple with ever increasing amounts of information, sorted and delivered by rapidly advancing technology.
They will wield weapons with levels of range and precision that stretch the boundaries of areas of interest, both geographically and conceptually. Notwithstanding the increasing porosity of domain boundaries, as Allied Command Transformation (ACT) defines its warfare development priorities for the coming decades, and Allied Command Operations (ACO) refines its deterrence strategy, CJOS COE’s work in support of both of those is focused on those factors affecting operations over, on, under and from the sea.
As SACEUR, General Tod Wolters, notes in his foreword to John Andreas Olsen’s excellent ‘Future NATO’ Whitehall Paper, NATO needs to be challenged, conceptually and intellectually: “We must replace old ideas with new thinking.” You will see in this edition some of our new thinking on the implications of developments in hypersonics, big data and cyber interoperability.
However, our focus is not solely technical; geopolitics, strategy and command and control are also key factors in how warfare develops, and the reader will find thoughts on strategic developments in and beyond NATO’s traditional area of responsibility, from the Black Sea to the Baltic to the High North and the Far East.
From a practical perspective, we have an equally vital discussion on future sea-basing and sustaining maritime operations, and the necessary interoperability basics to keep the Alliance effective at sea and from the sea.
For an e-book version of the document, see below:
We also discussed NATO’s Digital Ocean initiative, which will allow expanded capabilities for NATO navies to operate a distributed integrated fleet.
As Keit Pentus-Rosimannus and Michael D. Brasseu wrote in an Atlantic Council article published on August 19, 2020:
NATO is well-positioned to lead this new era of innovation. With its thirty Allies and over one trillion dollars in annual defense expenditures dedicated to the collective defense of their nearly one billion citizens, NATO is the largest and most powerful military alliance on the planet. The Alliance is uniquely situated at this nexus of security and environment.
Perhaps the best illustration of this nexus is NATO’s maritime domain. The seas remain essential for global trade, with 90 percent of the world’s trade conducted by sea. And additional trade routes are opening in the Artic due to climate change and exposing NATO’s northern flank to Russian and Chinese fleets. Furthermore, the global digital economy runs on cables on the ocean’s floor. It is the sea that connects us all, powers the global economy, and is primed for innovation.
NATO could lead this innovation, by bringing together key stakeholders across government, academia, and industry to create a ‘digital ocean’ and exploit enormous swaths of data with artificial intelligence-enhanced tools to predict weather patterns, get early warning of appearing changes and risks, ensure the free flow of trade, and keep a close eye on migration patterns and a potential adversary’s ships and submarines. And it could be done in a sustainable carbon-neutral manner by leveraging the “Blue Tech” revolution currently underway.
Innovators across Europe and North America continue to design and build a diverse array of maritime surface and subsurface drones. Many of these maritime drones are propelled by wind, wave, and solar energy and carry sensors that can collect data critical to unlocking the yet untapped potential of the ocean.
If NATO Allies could stich these drones together in a secure digital network, it could essentially create an ‘Internet of Things’ for the ocean, a ‘digital ocean’ spanning from seafloor to satellite that stretches across millions of square miles. It is clear no single nation could undertake such an effort on their own, nor would they achieve the synergistic network effects an alliance like NATO offers, when such an effort is undertaken in a coherent manner.
There are significant fiscal benefits as well, as maritime drones greatly enhance the capabilities of ships, submarines, and other platforms at a fraction of the cost. These savings would be magnified by the fact that the digital ocean would be powered by free and sustainable energy sources like wind, wave, and solar.
The digital ocean will drive the ocean economy which is now $2.5 trillion a year. It has the potential to bring in new solutions and to use the tech change megatrend for the benefit of all—to create a more sustainable planet as well as robust economic driver through applications such as offshore wind, sustainable aquaculture, and carbon sequestration through growing food crops like seaweed.
Commodore Guy provided a very helpful perspective with regard to the way ahead for maritime autonomous systems for NATO Navies:
“Recently, we have focused more on maritime unmanned systems and their operational integration into NATO navies. These remote sensors can provide for a contribution, but they too need to fit into the shift to mission command. We focus on mission command because the kind of connectivity used in the land wars have allowed for very hierarchical C2; contested operations in the North Atlantic requires a different approach, a mission command approach empowering a distributed force. Maritime autonomous systems can be part of that; they are not a substitute for that.”
For a look at the Maritime Unmanned Systems Innovation and Coordination Cell within NATO, see the following:
Tom Guy is fortunate to have enjoyed a broad range of rewarding operational, staff and command roles ashore and afloat from the UK to the Far East. Early appointments included a wide variety of ships, from patrol craft to mine-hunters, frigates, destroyers and aircraft carriers, ranging from fishery protection to counter-piracy and UN embargo operations as well as training and operating with a broad range of NATO allies. Having trained as a navigator and diving officer early on, Tom specialised as an anti-submarine warfare officer and then a Group Warfare Officer. He then went on to command HMS Shoreham, a new minehunter out of build, and then HMS Northumberland, fresh out of refit as one of the most advanced anti-submarine warfare frigates in the world. His time as Chief of Staff to the UK’s Commander Amphibious Task Group included the formation of the Response Force Task Group and its deployment on Op ELLAMY (Libya) in 2011 and he later had the great privilege of serving as the Captain Surface Ships (Devonport Flotilla).
Shore appointments have included the Strategy area in the MOD, a secondment to the Cabinet Office, Director of the Royal Naval Division of the Joint Services Command and Staff College, and the role of DACOS Force Generation in Navy Command Headquarters. He has held several Operational Staff appointments, including service in the Headquarters of the Multi National Force Iraq (Baghdad) in 2005. Other operational tours have included the Balkans and the Gulf, both ashore and afloat. In 2016-17 he was the Deputy UK Maritime Component Commander in Bahrain, working alongside the US Fifth Fleet Headquarters. He assumed the role of Deputy Director of the Combined Joint Operations from the Sea Centre of Excellence in Norfolk, VA, in September 2017.
A graduate of the UK’s Advanced Command and Staff Course and the US Capstone Course, with a Master’s Degree from Kings College, Tom is a Younger Brother of Trinity House and a keen yachtsman (qualified as an Offshore Yachtmaster), as well as being a classic car and bike enthusiast. He is married to Katie who is a sailing instructor and they have two grown up children, both of whom are also keen sailors.
4K Aerial footage taken via UAS of the Oswego Harbor in Oswego N.Y. Imagery also includes aerials of Lake Ontario.
OSWEGO, NY,
10.22.2020
Video by Patrick Bloodgood
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Headquarters