By Robbin Laird

With the return to the sea on which the USMC has been working with the US Navy over the past few years, the role of “amphibiosity” has been in evolution as well.

The Bold Alligator Exercises started in 2011 and re-focused on the importance of the return to the sea,.

The Second Line of Defense team attended Bold Alligator exercises and we have written several articles about those exercises.

In effect, the evolution was crafted around the coming of the Osprey and under the influence of the coming of the F-35.

Put in blunt terms, it was about the Marines moving from a significant focus on the land wars to a “return to the sea.” It is one in which the force would change from a primary role of providing a greyhound bus to insert force to an engagement force able to operate from sea.

It has involved shaping and understanding what an air-mobile force could do when able to operate at greater reach into littoral regions with a rapid insertion  force.

And one empowered by the Ospreys coupled with fifth generation capability.

Under the twin influence of these two assets, the new LHA Class the USS America was introduced and with it, significantly different capabilities for the amphibious force itself.

As the US Navy reworks how it is operating as a distributed maritime force, which is being reshaped around the capability to operate a kill web force, the question of how best to leverage and evolve the amphibious force is a key part of that transition itself.

This is a work in progress, and one in which a determination of various paths to the future are in evolution and will be subject to debate as well.

Part of that evolution are changes in other elements of the amphibious task force which can over time play roles different from how various “legacy” platforms can be reworked to provide for new or expanded capabilities for the US Navy overall.

A case in point is how the Viper attack aircraft can evolve its roles AT SEA with the addition of key elements being generated by the digital interoperability effort, as well as adding a new weapons capability to the Viper, namely, the replacement for the Hellfire missile by the JAGM.

What this means is that the Viper can be a key part of the defense of the fleet while embarked on a variety of ships operating either independently, or as part of an amphibious task force.

Because the Viper can land on and operate from of a wide range of ships, thus enabling operational and logistical flexibility, and with integration of Link 16 and full motion wave forms as part of digital interoperability improvements, the Viper can become a key member of the kill web force at sea.

In discussions with Major Thomas Duff and Mr. Michael Manifor, HQMC Aviation, APW-53, Attack and Utility Helicopter Coordinators, I learned of the evolving mission sets which Viper was capable of performing with the digital interoperability upgrades.

“With the upgrades coming soon via the digital interoperability initiative, the Viper through its Link 16 upgrade along with its Full-Motion video access upgrade, can have access to a much wider situational awareness capability which obviously enhances both its organic targeting capability and its ability to work with a larger swath of integrated combat space.

“This means that the Viper can broaden its ability to support other air platforms for an air-to-air mission set, or the ground combat commander, or in the maritime space….

“Because it is fully marinized, it can land and refuel with virtually any ship operating in the fleet, which means it can contribute to sea control, which in my view, is a mission which the amphibious task force will engage in with the expanded reach of adversarial navies.”

Recently, I had a chance to discuss with Major “IKE” White the AH-1Z Division Head at MAWTS-1, the evolution of Viper enabled by upgrades for fleet operations as well as its well-established role in supporting the ground maneuver force.

In that conversation, there were a number of takeaways which highlighted potential ways ahead.

The first takeaway is that the Marine Corps’ utility and attack helicopters  have been part of integrated operations and escort tasks throughout the land wars and can bring that experience to bear in the return to the sea. 

The Viper and the Venom have provided airborne escorts for numerous Amphibious Ready Groups over the last decade, partnering with destroyers, MH-60 Sierra and MH-60 Romeo to protect amphibious warships as they transited contested waterways.

The second takeaway is the coming of the JAGM, which will provide a significant strike capability for the maritime force in providing for both sea control and sea denial.

This missile provides increased lethality through a dedicated maritime mode, enhanced moving target capability, and selectable fuzing; providing capability against both fast attack craft and small surface combatants.  Millimeter wave (MMW) guidance increases survivability by providing a true fire-and-forget capability, removing the requirement for a terminal laser.

Coupled with the AIM-9 sidewinder, the Viper will be able to engage most threats to naval vessels.  The Viper’s flexibility will provide even the most lightly defended vessels with a complete air and surface defense capability.

The third takeaway is that by working integration of the MH-60 Romeo helicopter with Viper, the fleet would gain a significant defense at sea capability.

Integration of the two helicopters within the amphibious task force would allow them to provide an integrated capability to screen and defend the flanks of the afloat force.

The MH-60 crews are optimized to integrate into the Navy’s command and control architecture, and with onboard sensors can help detect potential targets and direct Vipers to engage threats.

The integration of Link-16 will make this effort even more seemless.

My interviews with NAWDC have underscored how the Navy is working through the question of how the integratable air wing will change when the MQ-25 joins the fleet, and working ways for the Romeo to work with MQ-25 and Advanced Hawkeye will inform Romeo as part of its fleet defense function.

“The Romeo community is already looking at how having sensors onboard the MQ-25 can expand the reach and range of what the Romeo’s onboard sensors can accomplish for the maritime distributed force.

“It is also the case that as sensor demands currently made on the Romeo can be shifted elsewhere.

“The Romeo can refocus its task priorities and enhance its contributions to broader mission sets such as ASW and to focus on contributing capabilities that other platforms within the strike group are not prioritized to perform.”

Clearly, integrating Romeos which fly onboard the amphibious class ships with the Viper would provide a significant enhancement of the flank defense capabilities for the amphibious task force.

And working a Romeo/Viper package would affect as well the evolution of the Romeos that would fly off of the L class ships as well.

And all of this, frees up other surface elements to support other missions at sea, rather than having to focus on defending the amphibs as greyhound buses.

The fourth takeaway is that clearly this new role would have to be accepted and trained for, but I would argue, that in general, the US Navy needs to rethink how amphibious ships can operate in sea control and sea denial functions in any case.

I would argue as well that the enhanced efforts at digital interoperability within the USMC aviation force needs to be accompanied by upgrades of the elements of the amphibious task force with regard to C2/ISR capabilities as well.

We are seeing MISR or Maritime ISR officers placed within the Carrier Strike Groups but they could be proliferated more broadly within the fleet.

And in an interview which I did in 2015, with the Commander of Expeditionary Strike Group Two Rear Adm. Cindy Thebaud, and Capt. Michael M. McMillan then  the Commander of Amphibious Squadron Eight ho had just returned from command of the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group off of the waters of Yemen, the importance of C2 upgrades was highlighted.

In short, the evolution of the Viper with digital interoperability and with a new weapons package can clearly contribute to the evolution of the amphibious task force as it embraces sea control and sea denial missions and these missions will be crucial to supporting insertion forces moving to ashore expeditionary bases as well.

We have visited Williamtown Airbase in Australia several times in the past and look forward to future visits.

In this posting, we highlight recent flight operations from Williamtown Airbase as seen in the slideshow below.

The base is transitioning from a Hornet to an F-35 base which certainly can be seen in these photos.

The following story published on April 11, 2018 highlighted the transition underway.

During a visit to Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Base Williamtown in March 2018, Murielle Delaporte and I had the chance to talk with the new commander of the Air Combat Group, Air Commodore Kitcher.

RAAF Williamtown is undergoing significant infrastructure modernization as it prepares for the F-35A and as the RAAF’s Air Combat Group (ACG) spearheads the transition in the air combat force.

They are undergoing a quite rapid transition from a legacy aircraft to a fifth generation force in terms of completely retiring their Hornets in favor of acquiring their F-35As.

ACG is moving from flying a legacy Hornet force along with Super Hornets and the E-7 (Wedgetail) to one in which Growlers, E-7s, Super Hornets and the F-35As are integrated to shape the new generation air combat capability.

This is a unique combat capability and represents a shift to the RAAF working with the USAF alongside their continuing long standing and excellent working relationship with the USN.

From this, the RAAF will shape something a bit different than the US forces will fly themselves.

“We’ve had a long and very fruitful relationship between the Royal Australian Air Force and the US Navy.

“We have flown the P-3 and now the P-8.

“We have operated the Classic Hornet since, since 1986, and more recently, the Super Hornet, and the Growler.

“It’s been a long and enduring relationship, which has proved beneficial to both, and certainly we couldn’t have got where we are with Super Hornet and Growler without the outstanding support the US Navy provided us.

“With the F-35A we’re expanding our relationship with the US Air Force.

“And clearly standing up our squadron at Luke AFB and working with the USAF has been beneficial and a key driver to this evolving relationship.”

Building a 21^stCentury Air Combat Infrastructure

During a visit to Williamtown, two years ago, I visited the base with an eye to looking at infrastructure changes.

Those changes were just charging with one of the first F-35A buildings just being built.

Now two years later, infrastructure is being built up significantly and we toured the base to see many of these changes.

Air Commodore Kitcher talked about the changes which are designed to augment the ability of the base to operate with the new aircraft but also to enhance the ability to command the evolving force.

ACG Head Quarters is located in a building that was a former battery shop. Now a modern building to support the command, as well as other Headquarters and commands from RAAF Williamtown is being built.

The base is being wired to handle the advanced data systems being established with a clear eye to efficiency, effectiveness and security.

“We are seeing two basic types of change.

“The first involves the base refreshing itself. This involves base redevelopment with the base infrastructure being renewed and replaced, including runway and taxiway extensions.

“The second involves building the infrastructure and support facilities for the F-35A squadrons which will train and operate from the base.”

The OBISC or On Board Information System Center for the F-35A is built with personnel working in the Centre.

The Number 2 Operational Conversion Unit (2OCU) building is largely complete and will support the training squadron but will also house Number 3 Squadron (3SQN) when they return from the US at the end of 2018.

“3SQN will come back to Australia at the end of the year and work on the Australian Validation and Verification Activities for F-35A.

“By the end of 2020, they will move into their own facilities and the training unit (No 2 Operational Conversion Unit (2OCU)) ) will move into the buildings vacated by 3SQN.

“2OCU will look after all aircrew and maintenance training for the RAAF F-35 capability.”

By the end of 2020, there will be over 30 F-35s at the base “which is initially sufficient aircraft for 3SQN and 2OCU, and that’s our Initial Operating Capability number of aircraft.”

The basic change from Hornet to F-35A at the base is driven by the data rich nature of the aircraft and the security changes associated with handling and processing the data.

From this point of view, working with Super Hornets has been part of the overall transition as well as it introduced the RAAF to the challenge of handling data differently from our legacy aircraft.

“We need to be able to port various security grades of data into and around the facilities on the base.

“AF learnt many lessons when introducing the Super Hornet and we will build on managing those sensitivities for the introduction of the F-35A.”

The Importance of Luke AFB in the F-35 Global Enterprise

The F-35 community has been stood up at Luke AFB with various nations training together at the facility for the initial cadre of pilots and maintainers generated by the Luke AFB training facilities.

“We have been impressed by the approach and attitude of the USAF trainers as we are working closely with them in training 3SQN aircrew and maintainers.

“And we have been extremely impressed by the attitude from USAF leadership which allowed RAAF personnel to fully integrate the with the US folks in the 61^stFighter Squadron at Luke.

“It would have been very easy to have two teams just working out of the same squadron, but that’s exactly what the USAF did not do..

“The USAF and RAAF have worked in an integrated manner, which the RAAF is extremely thankful for.

“For example, RAAF personnel have fulfilled key squadron executive positions such as flight commander.”

Transition Dynamics for the RAAF

Air Commodore Kitcher highlighted the strategic goal of ACG with regard to the transition as follows: our challenge is to actually transition to the new capabilities in minimum time whilst ensuring we keep the overall force healthy.” 

 They have an aggressive schedule with regard to F-35A transition.

They are transitioning from four Hornet to four F-35A squadrons in just four years.

“That is a more rapid change, and a more aggressive schedule than any other F-35 user is on track to do.”

And in that transition, a key objective is establishing a “healthy training system in Australia.”

And this training system will be supporting F-35As at Tindal Airbase in the Northern Territory as well.

That base is undergoing a significant infrastructure rebuild as it will receive F-35As early next decade as well.

Incorporating the F-35A, the Super Hornets, the Wedgetails and the Growlers into an integrated air combat force is the broader transition facing the RAAF. 

The challenge, which is a good one to have from the standpoint of Air Commodore Kitcher, is to learn how to fight effectively with a fifth generation enabled force.

“Learning to fly the F-35A is not the hard part.

“Working the mission command piece is a key driver of change for sure.

“And although we are working closely with the USN and the USAF, we will do things differently as we integrate our unique force package and adapt it to Australian conditions.”

Another part of the transition is working the sustainment piece. 

“We need to ensure that we have the required number of experienced and capable technicians to generate the number of sorties we need to generate, and the sortie rate is supported by the engineering and logistics systems.”

And we discussed another key aspect of combat transition, namely learning or shaping the C2 piece of the force evolution.

What can be overlooked with regard to the F-35 is that it is many ways part of the transition to distributed C2 rather than being viewed as a classic ISR capability, whose function is to distribute data widely in the battlespace.

Given the challenge of operating in a contested environment, within which adversary’s will seek to disrupt the ISR flows which the US and the allies have been able to generate within previous land centric wars, a key challenge will be to take decisions in a contested environment.

As Air Commodore Kitcher said: “With the fifth generation aircraft, there are key missions they need to perform themselves and just do it, potentially without proliferating information support to the broader force.

“Everyone’s going, “But I need the information that can come off the aircraft.

“We need to be able to say no you don’t, in this particular case, you don’t need that information right now, you may get it later.”

“It is about sorting out and collectively agreeing, from the tactical squadron to the higher HQ’s, what we should choose to do versus what we can do,” Air Commodore Kitcher said.

And that is a good way to end.

Clearly, Air Commodore Kitcher and his team are focusing on what needs to be done to deploy, develop and shape a fifth generation enabled force and prioritizing and executing those needs to get the job done.