These photos highlight both the legacy heavy life helicopter — the CH-53E — and the new King Stallion, the CH-53K — supporting training during WTI-1-24.
WTI is an advanced, graduate-level course for selected pilots and enlisted aircrew providing standardized advanced tactical training and assists in developing and employing aviation weapons and tactics.
U.S. Marine Corps photos by Lance Cpl. Elizabeth Gallagher
By Pierre Tran
Paris – The French, German and Spanish air force teams have trimmed down a shortlist of architectures for a European Future Air Combat System to four from five, French air force major general Jean-Luc Moritz said Nov. 9.
The air force officers were working in close cooperation on selecting the core concept for FCAS, seeking to narrow down the list to two by next June, leading to a “final selection” of the architecture by March 2025, he told the association of aeronautic and space journalists (AJPAE), a press club.
The air force team set a speed record in slimming down the architecture options, he said, with a selection process starting in April and the officers cutting the list by June 21.
The industrial partners submitted in September 2020 five options for the overall architecture, with the partner air forces to decide what would serve as the basis for the FCAS program.
The officers started physical meetings in March, after the FCAS industrial partners signed a key contract for phase 1B studies in December, allowing the air combat project to go ahead.
Belgian officers attended two or three meetings, acting as observers rather than full partners, as Belgium asked to join the FCAS project.
Once the overall architecture is selected, the companies working on FCAS can further develop core elements of the air system, namely New Generation Fighter, Remote Carrier drones, and a combat cloud that make up the Next Generation Weapon System (NGWS).
A combat cloud seeks to deliver a large, secure network of high bandwidth allowing command and control for allied manned and unmanned aircraft, warships, and land weapons through connectivity.
The aim was to develop and fly a technology demonstrator for a new fighter and drones in 2029 under FCAS phase 2, which gets under way in 2026.
Officers working on the selection process were applying the architectures to 11 tactical scenarios, or “mission vignettes,” to see how they met the tactical requirements, Moritz said.
Those scenarios included first entry into a contested environment, close air support, operations at sea, and air police missions, he said, with “classic” selection criteria such as effectiveness, cost, and rate of loss.
The request was for the industrial partners to submit distinctive options for the architecture, leading the air force team to decide just what kind of system they wanted.
The study of the architectures on simulators raised discussion such as the right number of missiles and size of the arms bay, he said, but what was clear was the new fighter would weigh less than the 20-22 tons estimated in the joint concept study.
Interconnection with combat clouds of allies was seen as a critical element.
It was important the architecture should be open enough to allow exchange of data with allies, so the various aircraft platforms could share information, as in operations over Syria, he said. But there were security and sovereignty issues, and the question was where to place the cursor on the cooperation line.
On the openness of future architecture, he talked of his trip to Washington D.C. a couple of weeks ago, and he pointed up the ability to exchange files with U.S. officers despite the use of Lenovo and Apple laptops, which use different operating systems. The internet protocol allowed that sharing of files, which illustrated the need for interoperability for allies.
Such open architecture would be welcome on allied fighters and their combat clouds, he said, otherwise each air force will be flying in closed combat clouds rather than working in a collaborative network.
That cooperative combat cloud was “extremely complicated,” with plenty of work to be done, and Nato was the right forum to discuss that collaborative approach, he said.
“But I am rather optimistic,” he said.
By 2030, there will be some 500-600 F-35 fighters flying in Europe, with the Eurofighter Typhoon, Gripen, and Rafale making up around 1,000 between them, he said.
On the French project to build an unmanned combat aerial vehicle to fly with a planned Rafale F5 version, he said that combat drone was planned for 2030, while the FCAS project for a loyal wingman remote carrier and the new fighter will be based on different technology and will be flying 2040 and out to 2050.
That planned combat drone flying in 2030 will be based on the Neuron demonstrator, which was led by France and built by Dassault in cooperation with European partners in Greece, Italy, Sweden, and Switzerland.
The FCAS project was still in the “discovery” phase, a period of reflection, with all the partner companies exploring the concept of combat cloud, Moritz said.
Moritz said he saw no sign Germany wanted to pull out of FCAS and join the Global Combat Air Programme.
There were good relations with the German officers in the combined project team in Arcueil and the staff working in Saint-Cloud, in the suburbs of the capital, he said.
“The signs I see do not signal Germany pulling out of FCAS just now,” he said, answering a question on a recent article in The Times of London, which said Berlin wanted to join the GCAP project.
Britain, Italy and Japan are partners on the GCAP, seeking to build a new fighter based on the Tempest project, with entry into service planned for 2035. Saudi Arabia is keen to join that project, but Japan is reported to be reluctant to have Riyad joining the team.
A formal agreement on Belgium gaining observer status was expected to be signed by the end of the year, Moritz said, and Brussels could join in 2026 when phase 2 got under way. He welcomed the eventual entry of Belgium to FCAS, saying the Belgian air force was good news on the operational front.
“I like Belgians in an operation,” he said. “They are present, responsive, extremely dynamic.”
Politically, Belgium’s joining made FCAS more European, Belgian industry would add value, and more funds would flow into the project, he said.
There was a need to maintain air superiority, he said, and the key elements of deciding on FCAS architecture included stealth, manoeuvrability, weapons, and the effect of mass attack.
The latter referred to fielding a large number of drones to overwhelm enemy air defense, to strike, and to collect information, while keeping production cost under control.
The original list of architectures consisted of 10 options, which was slimmed down to five by December 2020. The lockdowns due to the Covid pandemic and a bid by Airbus Defence and Space to win joint program leadership with prime contractor Dassault Aviation effectively held up the project for two years, pushing back the flight demonstration to 2019.
The three partner nations have pledged €3.2 billion for phase 1B, which runs for 3-1/2 years, with an option for a further €5 billion for phase 2.
Airbus D&S for Germany, Dassault for France, and Indra for Spain are the main industrial partners on FCAS, with the Eumet joint venture working on the new fighter engine.
By Robbin Laird
In November 2023, I sat down with George Galdorisi to discuss the way ahead for maritime autonomous systems. He started by looking at where we are currently with autonomous systems more generally.
He noted that we have seen significant progress with air and ground unmanned systems over the past decade, and increased experimentation and exploration by both the USMC and the US Navy with regard to both USVs and UUVs over the past few years.
He underscored that “the U.S. Navy has indicated that its fleet of the future will have 350 crewed and 150 uncrewed platforms. That is the good news. The bad news is that the Navy has not presented a concept of operations of how such a fleet would operate which is necessary to persuade the Congress to come up with the money for such a fleet transformation.”
He then explained why the Navy is clearly interested in autonomous systems. The first criteria is simply cost. “The vast bulk of the cost of a platform operated by the Navy is manpower, the numbers of sailors and officers who need to man the ship, and their cost on active duty and retirement. Uncrewed systems — compared to remotely piloted systems – have no crew costs onboard and limited manned costs in operating them, compared to a manned asset.”
The second criteria is the mission set which uncrewed systems have demonstrated they can perform. Among these mission sets are performing missions which take the sailor out of the tactical edge of most danger, such as working counter-mine solutions.
Another mission is the ability of USVs to deliver logistics to Marines ashore or to reinforce afloat logistical support. The challenge of enabling a sustained distribute force is daunting and maritime autonomous systems can help in this regard. A third mission is ISR in which the maritime autonomous system can operate within the threat zone to complement other air, space and sea ISR systems.
Galdorisi underscored the speed and maneuverability already demonstrated by some USVs which give them a unique advantage in working to complicate adversary defensive operations.
“There’s one manufacturer. MARTAC, which advertises their USVs as being able to operate beyond human capability. Their USVs can make 6 G turns which would make a human pass out. But they can be programmed to dodge enemy fire by zigzagging and doing things that make them hard to hit.
“Doing a mission close to the enemy’s assets, you wouldn’t want to send a manned asset when you can send a wolfpack of autonomous assets. The Navy’s already committed over a billion dollars to large USVs and these are craft that are going to be 200 or 300 feet long, and about the size of a corvette. You can load them up with medium and small USVs. You can deliver them near the area of operations.
“The medium sized USVs swim out to do intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance. You can also send in UUVs and USVs to work together to work on counter-mine missions. This capability has already been demonstrated such as in Integrated Battle Problem 22.”
I then raised the point that building out autonomous systems capabilities is a key response to the problem of the shrinking age cohort to staff the USMC and US Navy as well. Operating autonomous systems is not important only for the evolving concept of operations but to empower the ability of a smaller Naval manpower force to prevail in future conflicts.
The final question we addressed was why getting on with it is so important. Maritime autonomous systems are not like crewed systems. They are software driven and AI enabled. Improvements will only be made as users feedback their operational experience to the code writers to then change the systems that define the platforms and their capabilities.
Galdorisi concluded: It’s a lot cheaper, easier and faster with the autonomous systems compared to crewed systems because you’re not having to rebuild the boat with three engines instead of two or a whole different sea frame. You’re just updating the software. That is not easy and it is challenging. But it’s an order of magnitude less expensive time consuming then building a new ship.”
The featured photo shows a high speed run of a MARTAC Devil Ray. Credit: MARTAC.
U.S. Marines assigned to Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron One seen operating with the MV-22B Osprey, during Weapons and Tactics Instructors (WTI) course 1-24, on Marine Corps Air Station, Yuma Arizona on Oct. 11, 2023.
WTI is an advanced, graduate-level course for selected pilots and enlisted aircrew providing standardized advanced tactical training and assists in developing and employing aviation weapons and tactics (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Elizabeth Gallagher)
By Ed Timperlake
The horrific aftermath of the tragic end of the Afghan war is rippling through that country.
But you can help deal with the tragedy left behind by the way the Afghan withdrawal was done.
These truly courageous Afghans are in clear and present danger.
The fanatical Taliban who have overrun that country have made these allies targets for reprisals including death.
A Naval Academy classmate, Tom Schram ’69, has reached out with a call to help.
We are publishing his heartfelt words to encourage our readers and their friends and family to contribute to save lives and make it right for many who trusted us to get the evacuation right. Alas that was not to be—so in Tom’s own words;
From my USNA Class of 1969 Classmate Tom Schram:
“Did you ever feel like you “had” to do something?
“It happened to me on August 31, 2021, when I was recruited to help get Afghan veterans and their families to the U.S.
“I joined the Afghan Refugee Resettlement Group (ARRG). This is an all veteran, all volunteer organization dedicated to supporting those we left behind.
“Our total to date is 771 persons successfully resettled to the U.S.
“We are now working with 18 U.S. trained combat helo pilots and 17 family members who are in Pakistan awaiting resettlement.
“Two weeks ago, Pakistan implemented a new law that any Afghan without a current visa be deported back to Afghanistan within 48 hours. This created a massive drain on our bank account, leaving us with only $2,000, and that money had been borrowed.
“We decided to move forward with a GoFundMe campaign and ask everyone we know to publish this information as broadly as possible via email, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, What’sApp, and any other social media platform available, especially those targeted at veterans.
“The U.S. Department of State is now processing the visas of these courageous men and their families through the humanitarian pipeline. Background checks are underway, and we are tracking the process for every individual carefully and accurately. But ARRG expects that it will be another eight months before everyone is in the U.S. and starting to become contributing members of our society.
“It costs $5200/month to support these people in Pakistan and it will cost about $42,000 to acquire all the needed documentation. Together with travel cost, initial living expenses in the U.S., and immigration fees, the Group estimates a need of about $184,000 until they are safely resettled, employed, and have permanent residency.
“Below you can see photos of those you will be assisting in resettling to the U.S.
“ALL collected funds will be used to pay costs associated with getting these pilots to the U.S.
This effort has been underway now via ARRG since March of this year. Collected funds are delivered directly to ARRG and used for payment of rent, utilities, food, medical care, incidentals, processing fees, travel, immigration fees for resettlement to permanent residency, and initial support when they reach the U.S., as well as helping them find employment.
“We have secured commitment of immigration support at 50% the going rate from a national law firm and are actively working with helicopter associations with links to operators who need pilots since the U.S. is short about 2,000 helo pilots right now.
“We left these folks behind, and they deserve our support!
Please visit the GoFundMe page at this link:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/us-trained-afghan-pilots-stranded-in-pakistan
Recently, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command’s Task Force 59 demonstrated a new mission capability which a UAS can deliver for the fleet.
As J.P. Lawrence wrote in a 3 November 2023 article published in Stars and Stripes:
“The 5th Fleet has used drone boats extensively in the Middle East for surveillance over the past two years, but the use of lethal weaponry in the exercise moves the Navy “beyond just maritime domain awareness,” Cooper said.
“During Digital Talon, unmanned surveillance drones and crewed ships worked together to find and destroy orange target boats. Then, a MARTAC T38 Devil Ray unmanned speedboat launched missiles at the targets, scoring direct hits each time, the statement said.
“A sailor at an operations center in Bahrain was in charge of firing the missiles, and Special Operations Forces Central Command also took part in the exercise, the statement said.”
In a 2 November 2023 article by Joseph Trevithik published in The WarZone, the author added additional details:
“For this particular test, the T38 was equipped with a small, portable six-round launcher loaded with Switchblade 300s, which the U.S. military officially calls the Lethal Miniature Aerial Missile System (LMAMS).
“Whether or not any special modifications were made to the drone boat to enable it to employ these munitions is unclear. Pictures and video from the test do show that the USV was equipped with what appears to be a SpaceX Starlink satellite communications antenna, as well as a small commercial navigation radar and electro-optical/infrared camera turrets.
“Personnel assigned to Task Force 59 at a facility ashore both controlled the T38 during the test and executed the Switchblade attacks.
“The Switchblade is a small loitering munition, a type of weapon also often referred to as a kamikaze drone, and has a four-pound high-explosive warhead. It has a maximum range of up to 10 kilometers (just over six miles) away and can stay aloft for around 15 minutes.”
Although this is a test with a particular weapon system, the MARTAC family of USVs can be configured with a range of weapons.
This graphic from the company highlights some of the possibilities:
As one analyst has noted:
“It is plausible that the U.S. could have anticipated the decision to test lethal munitions as a strategy to signal to Iran and the Tehran-backed region-wide network of armed militias Washington’s steadfastness to counter malign activities of the Resistance Axis,” Leonardo Jacopo Maria Mazzucco, an independent researcher on the security affairs of the Gulf region and an analyst at Gulf State Analytics said.
The featured photo: A live-fire target being lowered into the water from the Avenger-class USS Dextrous during Exercise Digital Talon in the Arabian Gulf in October. US Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jonathan Nye
Also, see the following:
U.S. Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT) is advancing lethality and the combat capabilities of unmanned surface vehicles during Exercise Digital Talon in the international waters surrounding the Arabian Peninsula, Oct. 23.
During the exercise, NAVCENT’s Task Force 59, the Navy’s first Unmanned and Artificial Intelligence Task Force, demonstrated the ability of unmanned platforms to pair with traditionally crewed ships in “manned-unmanned teaming” to identify and target simulated hostile forces at sea.
ARABIAN GULF
10.24.2023
Video by Petty Officer 2nd Class Jacob Vernier
U.S. Naval Forces Central Command / U.S. 5th Fleet
U.S. Marine Corps UH-1Y Venom helicopters, assigned to Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron One, work a forward arming and refueling point exercise, part of Weapons and Tactics Instructor (WTI) course 1-24 at Landing Zone Bull Attack, near Chocolate Mountains, California, Oct. 13, 2023.
WTI is an advanced, graduate-level course for selected pilots and enlisted aircrew providing standardized advanced tactical training and assists in developing and employing aviation weapons and tactics.
U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Alejandro Fernandez
