During the deployment to the U.S. Southern Command’s area of responsibility, Detroit, with embarked helicopter and USCG law enforcement detachment, will support Joint Interagency Task Force South’s mission, which includes counter-illicit drug trafficking in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific.
By Robbin Laird
A decade ago I went to a series of Bold Alligator exercises.
These exercises were generated to reshape a return to the sea for the US Navy and USMC team after a long period of focus on the land wars. A whole generation of Marines had seldom operated from a sea base.
Those exercises put in motion the learning curve of how to operate from the sea, but it was happening under the influence of an evolving strategic environment, which included the push by China into maritime operations and the Russians rebuilding their air force and navy. In addition, several littoral nations were building out their maritime security and presence forces.
The sea was becoming more crowded, and the level of lethality operating at sea was rising,
This evolving environment, plus learning the skills to operate a 21st century Navy-Marine Corps team started with the Bold Alligator Exercises but has accelerated as both the Marines and the Navy have focused in the past five years on enhancing their capabilities for distributed integrated operations.
In the course of this evolution, the ARG-MEU is morphing into the amphibious task force and along with that process, the capabilities onboard the amphibious fleet have been enhanced, with the maturing of the Osprey, the coming of the F-35B and C to the fleet with their ability to work with USAF and allied deployed F-35s in shaping a wider SA and C2 web, and leveraging the capabilities of the evolution of a core capability used by the Marines heavily in the land wars, the H-1 capability.
Not as newsworthy or flashy as Ospreys or F-35s, the H-1 “family” of attack and lift helicopters has emerged from legacy systems to provide a very flexible package of multi-mission capability in support of the MAGTF. The AH-1Z Viper and the UH-1Y Venom are the replacements for the legacy H-1 platforms.
But they provide significant improvements over the legacy platforms. And part of that improvement is redesign which provides 85% commonality between the two platforms, which obviously then leads to significantly reduced support requirements and support costs.
Recently, I had the chance to talk with Major Thomas Duff and Mr. Michael Manifor, HQMC Aviation, APW-53, Attack and Utility Helicopter Coordinators, about the capability and its operational use in the land wars, and its significant role in operating from seabases going forward as well.
According to the APW-53 leaders, “The H-1s provide the vital link for fires and assault support integration between ground/surface forces and aviation forces. They are a trusted asset to the ground/maritime force commander.” The H-1 package consists of an Offensive Air Support (OAS) platform, the Viper. This aircraft provides lethal fire support to the ground/surface commander for the embarked Marines but also plays a key role with regard to maritime operations which are discussed later in the article. The Venom is a very flexible utility platform, which provides flexibility for the maritime and joint forces. It provides maneuver, logistics and fire support for the MAGTF.
The two aircraft share significant key elements of commonality which enhances supportability of the H-1, whether on land at FOBs, or at sea. 85% of maintenance significant components are identical. According to the APW-53 leaders, “H-1s operate faster than most sea-based connectors, require significantly less fuel, and possess a smaller footprint than any other manned aviation platform.
“They are highly mobile, rapidly deployable, and certified for air capable ships to include LHD, LPD, LSD, LCS, cargo (T-AK/AKE/AKR), and CRUDES (Cruiser-Destroyer).”
They identified a number of key capabilities which the two platforms share.
They underscored that “both Viper and Venom have a redundant structure: twin T700 engines, Dual hydraulics and Dual Tandem Actuators; the two helicopters have ballistic tolerance and fuel system protection; they both have an ergonomic cockpit with redundant screens and Hands-On-Collective-And-Stick (HOCAS), thereby reducing cockpit workload and time for target hand-off; both have Increased Situational Awareness and reduced workload through the Optimized Top Owl (OTO) Helmet and Helmet Mounted Sight Display (HMSD) and that this last system provides seamless target handoffs between pilots and sensors.”
Given the different roles of the two aircraft, there are capabilities which are unique to each as well. The Viper has an effective Target Sight System which provides increased standoff for enemy engagement and survivability as well as carries both air-to-air and air-to-ground weapons. The Venom flies with a Brite Star Targeting System which provides increased standoff for enemy engagement and survivability as well as air-to-ground weapons.
With regard to the Viper, the helicopter has been built from the ground up as a maritime attack helicopter. But because it is fully integrated into MAGTF operations, and operates throughout those operations, it plays a multi-mission role with the deployed Marines. In fact, given the operational envelope within which the helicopter has operated and contributes, this broadens my understanding of what a multi-mission capable attack helicopter can do for the combat force.
As it was put to me, the Viper is involved in the entire span of assault operations. Prior to an assault, they prep the battlespace, including doing armed reconnaissance. They support fixed wing aircraft in a deep air support role, and when the Ospreys and CH-53s advance to the objective area, they provide an air escort role. With Marines in the objective area, they provide direct ground support for ground movement working directly with the Ground Combat Element.
The aircraft has onboard systems which allow it to play this variety of roles, including a fully integrated cockpit and fire control system. Both aircraft have modern EW and sensor systems which allow it to operate in the complex battlespace and to provide for enhanced ground combat support.The experience in the land wars has in a way obscured that the two helos have been designed from the ground up to be central players in the return to the sea and the evolution of distributed integrated operations. Physically, the aircraft are fully marinized. The systems onboard are also marinized which means that the aircraft are fully integratable with the ships on which they operate, and can move across the shipboard chess board in the distributed engagement space as well.
Because their electronic systems are marinized, they can fit into the flow of ship operations, rather than having to be treated as special cases landing onboard a ship to be transported to an area of interest. They are integratable assets within a ship ops tempo.
With their various physical design assets for at sea operations, they fit right into a major issue for shipboard operation, which is maximum use of deck space which is what deck spotting is all about. The main rotor blades of the two aircraft can be folded which allows for maximum use of deck space and again management of the aircraft within a ships’ operational tempo and work flow.
In fact, the two aircraft have been designed from the ground up to operate at sea. The APW-53 leaders highlighted that the aircraft are built through a wet lay-up manufacturing process which provides inherent protection from airframe corrosion, flies with corrosion resistant composite rotor blades and hubs, operates with aluminum gearbox cases and the helos have waterproof seals throughout.
We discussed as well how the Viper contributes to at sea operations as well as being able to support embarked Marines. With its reconnaissance capabilities, the aircraft can support security and sea control missions, something which today’s members of an amphibious task force can clearly do in addition to projecting power ashore.
As the APW-53 team noted: “With its air-to-air and air-to-ground munitions, the Viper can provide valuable offensive and defensive capability for the Amphibious Task Force against both enemy ships and aircraft. The Venom can be used the primary means of moving personnel and smaller equipment from ship-to-shore or ship-to-ship for Expeditionary Advanced Based Operations (EABO) and provide close fires in support of ground forces and connectors.”
The APW-53 team added that “capacity exists for future modifications that maximize lethality and survivability and facilitate teamed engagement options versus near-peer weapons systems (anti-ship, long range precision strike, and air-to-air). Future H-1 system upgrades are a stepping stone to ensure proven modern systems are integrated onto the Future Vertical Lift platform.”
With regard to targeting, this means that the Viper will be able to provide targeting data for another platform or provide a targeting solution identified by another source as well.
Put in other terms, what has been learned in the land wars is that the H-1 family can provide a wide range of support to the deployed Marine. What we also are seeing is that the wide range of support capability coming home to the seabase, a subject we will consider in the next article.
The amphibious assault ship USS Bataan (LHD 5) sails in the Red Sea March 19, 2020.
Bataan, with embarked 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, is deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations in support of naval operations to ensure maritime stability and security in the Central Region, connecting the Mediterranean and Pacific through the Wester Indian Ocean and three strategic choke points.
RED SEA
03.19.2020
Photo by Cpl. Nathan Reyes
26th Marine Expeditionary Unit
NATO Allies have joined efforts with private companies and academic institutions in the fight against the global pandemic of the Coronavirus. These efforts include making 3D printing available to produce ventilator masks, which represent a crucial component of the medical equipment required to treat patients hit by the Coronavirus.
In Italy, a team of the NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) located in Taranto has established a cooperation with an Italian start-up called ISINNOVA that will result in the production of 25 3D-printed connectors – on a weekly basis – converting snorkelling masks into emergency ventilator masks. These will be donated to the Italian Civil Protection Department for further distribution in the most needed hospitals.
The Czech Republic has also distributed samples of newly developed hi-tech respirators printable on 3D printers to Italy, together with 10,000 pieces of protective suits. This has been made possible by the cooperation amongst different entities, including the Polytechnic Institutes of Milan and Prague.
This article was published by NATO on April 2, 2020.
Featured Photo: Hospital patient testing the snorkelling mask. Credits: FabFactory
During Exercise Citadel Shield-Solid Curtain 2020, the CUSV was demonstrated during a force protection scenario at Naval Station Norfolk, Feb. 12.
The Navy-industry Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA team—comprised of Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division (NWCDD) and Textron Systems—is responsible for developing multi-mission payloads for the Common Unmanned Surface Vehicle (CUSV).
NORFOLK, VA, UNITED STATES
02.14.2020
Video by Petty Officer 2nd Class Grant Grady, Travis J Kuykendall, Petty Officer 3rd Class Skyler Okerman and Petty Officer 3rd Class Rebekah Rinckey
Navy Region Mid-Atlantic
By Robbin Laird
The Second Line of Defense/Defense.info team works with a number of global partners.
We welcome our latest partner The Institute for Integrated Economic Research-Australia which is chaired Air Vice Marshal (Retired) John Blackburn and was founded precisely to deal with the underlying issues which have been exposed during the recent Coronavirus crisis.
In an April 2, 2020 article by Ben Peckham published in the Australian, the work of our new partner, The Institute for Integrated Economic Research-Australia was highlighted.
Before the crisis, Scott Morrison was being urged behind the scenes to recast the national security debate to include a clear-eyed assessment of the nation’s most pressing vulnerabilities.
Australia’s overwhelming reliance on imported medicines and fuel, its decimated merchant shipping fleet and hollowed-out manufacturing industry were among the identified priorities…..
Retired air vice-marshal John Blackburn has been one of the leading advocates for a more holistic view of national security based on “smart sovereignty” and trusted supply chains.
“We’ve got to accept that the price of not doing it is much higher than the lower cost of buying the cheapest thing,” he tells The Australian.
“When a crisis happens, the government and the community can get on and manage the crisis, and we’re not running around fighting for toilet rolls.”
The Institute for Integrated Economic Research, which Blackburn chairs, recently published a paper that identifies Australia’s 90 per cent reliance on imported medicines as a national security risk. It warns that the China-dominated supply chain for drugs and active pharmaceutical ingredients leave Australia’s medical supplies vulnerable to disruption.
And the Therapeutic Goods Administration’s medicines shortages list reveals that 58 drugs used by Australians are subject to critical supply issues, with more than a dozen added to the list in the past fortnight alone.
The retired RAAF officer also has been a key agitator on Australia’s fuel insecurity, railing against the lack of strategic reserves of crude oil and finished petroleum. According to Department of Energy figures, Australia has only 29 days’ worth of liquid fuel stocks at refineries and wholesale terminals — well under the International Energy Agency’s 90-day fuel security benchmark.
According to the Institute’s website:
The Institute for Integrated Economic Research (IIER) – Australia was founded in 2018. It conducts and supports research in order to contribute to an improved understanding of how Australians can plan for, and navigate, the significant transitions in Energy, Environment and Economic Systems over forthcoming decades whilst maintaining the stability and security of our society.
These three areas are closely interlinked, but largely managed as separate competing issues, as a result of near-term political goals. We need a National Security Strategy that integrates these and other related systems, such as information and infrastructure, under a National Resilience Framework.
To address this challenge, the Institute will engage with a range of Australian think tanks, Universities, Federal and State Government department representatives, media and relevant community groups. The Institute is an independent, non-partisan, not-for-profit organisation. It will not lobby for, nor represent, any specific industry sector or business.
The IIER-Australia Board members are : Air Vice-Marshal (Retd) John Blackburn AO, Anne Borzycki, Neil Greet, Dr Hannes Kunz and Dr Gary Waters.
The Institute’s Fellows are Dr Simon Quilty, Dr Paul Barnes, Dr David Hyland-Wood, Dr Graeme Taylor, Cheryl Durrant, Bernadette Hyland-Wood, Ian McDonald AM, Dr Michael Thomas, Dr Anthony Bergin and Professor Ted Goranson.
The IIER-Australia is affiliated, but not financially / organisationally linked with the Europe based Institute for Integrated Economic Research. That Institute is a non-profit organization that is focused on identifying empirically validated macroeconomic system descriptions and models, and ensuring their dissemination.
The IIER-Australia benefits from the extensive research conducted by the IIER in Europe. IIER Europe publications and links are at the bottom of this page.
I am honored to join in their efforts as a Research Fellow as of this month.
Certainly, one key impact of the Coronavirus crisis has highlighted in the crucial role of connectivity to allow 21st century societies to function even under duress.
Stay at home orders would not even be feasible without those “at home” being able to connect over their phone lines and internet connections, which are frequently the same thing.
But high demand and uneven ability to deliver the connections required have highlighted the importance of enhancing those connections going forward.
And with an upsurge in demand, cybercriminals are thriving as well.
The classic case of the challenge has been highlighted by Zoom. Here a niche product has gone mainstream due to the demand side generated by the crisis.
Yet that heavy demand has exposed the dark side of communications in the digital age.
According to a Wall Street Journal article published on April 4, 2020:
But the platform’s surging popularity has attracted trolls and hackers, as well as scrutiny from privacy advocates. The practice of “Zoombombing”—where people gain unauthorized access to a meeting and share hate-speech or pornographic images—entered the popular vernacular almost overnight. Security experts found publicly highlighted problems with Zoom’s technology could leave user data vulnerable to outsiders’ exploitation.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation issued a warning Monday about videoconference hijacking, spurred in part by Zoombombing incidents. In the U.S., 27 attorney general’s offices have raised questions about privacy issues, Zoom said, adding it is cooperating with authorities.
And, of course, the skill sets using distance services can change forever how medicine and education or the balance between working out of the office are enhanced,
All of this underscores the importance of the coming of 5G and getting it right from a security point of view, and ensuring that it serves the interests of the liberal democracies and is not simply a trojan horse for the 21st century authoritarian powers.,
Last month, the Trump Administration published its overview to 5G strategy in which they highlighted its importance.
Post pandemic, this is a key policy area which is about redoing the economy as well as defense and security.
National-Strategy-5G-Final
NUSHIP Sydney, the third and final Hobart Class Destroyer (DDG) built for the Navy, on her way to her home port of Sydney for the first time.
The 147-metre long warship is arriving exactly 36 years after (to the day) since the last ship to carry the name, the guided-missile frigate HMAS Sydney IV. NUSHIP Sydney sailed from Osborne Naval Shipyard in South Australia on Monday, on her first formal voyage prior to commissioning in May.
Sydney is the most historic ship name in the history of the Navy, having won 14 battle honours.
Australian Department of Defence
March 31, 2020