Robbin Laird, Author at Second Line of Defense

Australian Navy Prepares Their Second New Ampbhious Ship for Operations

Posted on June 14, 2016 | by Robbin Laird

06/14/2016

2016-06-08 HMAS Adelaide participated in Exercise Sea Explorer 2016 (EX SE16) from 25 May – 05 June off the coast of North Queensland as part of the certification process to determine its readiness to conduct amphibious operations.

The second Landing Helicopter Dock (LHD) to be commissioned into the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), HMAS Adelaide deployed for the first time with a combined force to continue its integration into the Amphibious Ready Element (ARE).

Partnered with the Townsville-based 2nd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (2RAR) and Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) elements, EX SE16 saw HMAS Adelaide provide the staging platform to enable the conduct of amphibious landings via helicopters and LHD Landing Craft as part of the training exercise to test operational capability.

EX SE16 also afforded the RAN Test and Evaluation Authority an opportunity to evaluate HMAS Adelaide against the required operational capability as well as the conduct of vehicle trials with the LHD Landing Craft.

The Sea Series of Exercises, culminating with Exercise Sea Raider later in 2016, will test and evaluate HMAS Adelaide’s and HMAS Canberra’s preparedness as the core capability within Australia’s Amphibious Force.

Earlier this year, ABC News reported on the HMAS Adelaide and its arrival in Townsville in North Queensland which will function as the vessel’s second home.

The commander of HMAS Adelaide, Captain Paul Mandziy, called the ship the “Swiss army knife” of the fleet, because it was crewed by all three defence forces.

The 27,000-tonne ship can house more than 1,000 troops, and can generate enough power to run a city the size of Darwin.

“We like to describe ourselves as a small city on the water,” Capt Mandziy said.

“We have our own harbour, we run an airfield, we’ve got a hospital on board, we’ve got accommodation facilities for over 1,000 troops.

“We have great capability for landing helicopters — we’ve got six landing spots — we’ve also got four landing crafts so we can operate both in the air and the maritime environment.”

HMAS Adelaide casts a striking figure on the Townsville horizon. Credit: ABC North Queensland: Pat Hession

Townsville will be a second home for HMAS Adelaide, with at least 10 visits scheduled for 2016.

The ship will be returning in May for an amphibious exercise with Townsville’s 2RAR.

“Once we complete that exercise, that will allow us to be fully capable to conduct operations from the ship and become a valuable asset in the fleet so we’re looking forward to that,” Capt Mandziy said.

“We conduct a whole range of activities right from the low-level end with regards to humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, right up through the spectrum to high-end warfare with running troops ashore via boat and helicopter.”

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-02-25/hmas-adelaide-docks-in-townsville/7200982

The next Williams Foundation Seminar looking at new approaches to air and sea integration to be held on August 10, 2016 in Canberra will address this and other challenges to shaping the way ahead for the Australian Defence Force.

http://www.williamsfoundation.org.au/event-2230289

The Royal Australian Navy has had the ability to network and share situational awareness amongst the fleet for many years and the P-3s has been the only RAAF platform capable of being part of that network.

The RAAF’s journey of networking its capability journey started more recently with the Hornet Upgrade Program and has accelerated with the introduction of capabilities like Wedgetail and Vigilaire. All of the the RAAF’s fleet is now capable of linking into and contributing to an Air Layer of the Joint Battle management system.

The HMAS Adelaide in Sydney Harbor at Sunrise on March 26, 2016. Credit Second Line of Defense

With the advent of 5th Generation capabilities like the JSF and the new combat systems on the AWD as well as the design and development of the new combat systems for the Australia’s future frigates, Offshore Patrol vessels and Submarines, the ADF has a unique opportunity to influence and design in an unprecedented level of integration into the RAN’s and RAAF’s new platforms.

That unprecedented level of integration should drive new thinking on the integration of air and sea power effects. The seminar is about examining the challenges and possibilities of the combat power in that future integrated force.

Air Force and Navy need to not only remediate existing deficiencies but take advantage of the transformative nature of fifth generation technology. The seminar aims to explore the art of the possible in future Air-Sea operations.

The seminar will be unclassified, mostly by invitation and at no cost to Defence and Williams Foundation members (who have taken membership before 30 May 2016).

Defence members can send an expression of interest to ev****@********************rg.au

Williams Seminar August 2016

One of the new platforms which is coming into the picture and will be part of shaping new Air Force, Navy and Army integration possibilities is the P-8.

Not only are the Aussies working on the ground floor with the USN at Jax Navy on the P-8 but have just had the maiden flight of their first P-8.

06/05/2016: Australia’s first P-8A Poseidon aircraft has completed its maiden flight.

The aircraft flew a short distance from Renton Airfield to Boeing Field in Washington State USA, to where the P-8A’s sophisticated mission systems will be installed as part of project AIR 7000.

The $5.4 billion P-8A program will provide Australia’s future manned maritime patrol and response aircraft capability, replacing in part the AP-3C Orion aircraft.

The P-8A Poseidon is 39.5 metres long, has a maximum takeoff weight of 85,820kg and a wingspan of 37.6m. Powered by two jet engines, it has a top speed is 907km/h with a maximum range of 7,500km.

With a saving of US$260m compared to the initial budget, the P-8A Poseidon aircraft were acquired through a cooperative program with the United States Navy and contracted to Boeing Defence Space and Security.

A Royal Australian Air Force crew will fly the aircraft to Australia in late 2016 following post-production checks and acceptance.

Maintaining the P-8: VP-16 Mechanics Discuss the Challenge and the Way Ahead

Posted on June 13, 2016 | by Robbin Laird

06/13/2016

2016-06-13 By Robbin Laird and Ed Timperlake

The P-8 is a new plane unlike the P-3.

That brings clear advantages compared to the P-3 at the end of its service life.

In one of our discussions at Jax Navy, one of P-3 operators made the point that they were spending more time getting the P-3 out the door than focusing on the mission.

With a new aircraft, you start with a new slate.

But a rule of thumb is it takes 10 years until one really knows what the realistic and best maintenance rhythm is for an air combat platform.

The P-8 is a military version of the 737 but there is no simple transfer of commercial domain knowledge to operating the P-8. The P-8 is a combat asset and is operated very differently from a commercial airliner, and with its low flight envelope over the water up to higher altitudes faces a significant corrosion challenge as well as stress on its engines, of the sort no commercial airliner would have to deal with.

Maintainers from VP-5 and VP-30 and VP-30 Commanding Officer Capt. Curt Phillips check out the mileage signs at Naval Support Facility Diego Carcia. Their P-8A Poseidon logged a total of 22,000 miles.

It is also a combat asset which means that the military needs to ensure it has parts and is not simply relying on a commercial just in time delivery system.

But there is a clear opportunity as allies buy the jet – India, Australia and the United Kingdom are already doing so – that a global approach to sustainment might well emerge which would enhance the operational temp of each service using the aircraft.

We had a chance to discuss some of these issues with three mechanics from VP-16, with VP-16 having the longest operational experience with the aircraft.

We discussed the experience to date and the way ahead with Master Chief Ragin who has been a VP mechanic for most of his 23 years in the US Navy and with three years with the P-8, with Senior Chief Tucker, an aviation electronics technician with 17 ½ years of experience and he came to VP-16 in November 2013 and supported the first deployment and, finally, and Lt. Junior Grad or LTG Speed with 20 years of experience and she came to the P-8 at the time of its first deployment as well.

We asked about any advantages on deployment to the aircraft being a 737.

“If you can access a trusted buyer it is possible to get commercial pars, but our own supply system only utilizes their process to get secure parts. If we could access the commercial sector when deployed it would save us time waiting for parts and enhance aircraft availability.”

Currently, this is difficult and “when we deploy around the world we currently take our own support equipment, our own tires and our own parts.”

Clearly, working with trusted vendors can shorten the supply chain problem when deployed.

“We had an issue on deployment where a lightening strike damage one of our aircraft.

A team from Boeing came out to survey the damage. We needed to replace a part and did not have that part in our inventory in Navy Supply.

The Navy went out into the commercial sector and bought part and it came in quickly when ordered and it had Made in Australia stamped on it.”

These experienced professionals touched on a significant issue. It has been said some of the best Generals in the American way of war are General Motors, General Electric and General Delivery among others.

The Navy Supply Corps is one of the most unheralded military specialties making it possible for the global combat operations of the US Navy/Marine team.

A specific point made about the evolving P-8 supply chain was amplified by a retired Navy Supply Officer James “Jim” Druso who supported both subs and aviation units and when he retired became the Security Officer for the Iraq Ministry of Transportation. He has seen both the Navy way and commercial supply operations into a nation at war.

Commander Druso touches on several points in the evolving partnership between Maintenance and Supply.

He understands the dynamic trade off between COTS (commercial off the shelf” and Mil_Spec (those necessary parts that must be designed to military specifications.) He has also had the experience of being part of a supply chain into a combat situation and all the insurance issues with commercial carriers.

Needless to say Navy supply is evolving parts in partnership with a global fleet of P-8s:

“As the P-8 is a militarized Boeing 737-800, a significant number if its parts are stocked worldwide in support of the commercial fleet of 737s.

This will allow the inventory managers to focus on building demand history and inventory for the Navy-unique items.

It will be all the more challenging as it will be done in a down budget environment.”

Clearly, the P-3 is different from the P-8. With regard to engines, the maintainers noted that with a P-3 engine to do a repair you have to strip it down to get it repaired. You have to pull it apart, do all kinds of checks, before you can get it back into service.

With the P-8 you drop the whole engine, and put it back it back up in no time and you are back in engine.”

The P-3 is an analog aircraft; the P-8 is a digital one and much of the maintenance differences flow from that.

“The plane does a number of self diagnostics and we use that information to aid is in the maintenance cycle.”

Clearly, with the deployment cycle a work in progress, correctly determining the stockpiling and flow of parts is a work in progress.

“During our deployment to Japan, we had most of our supplies shipped from the States and had to wait for parts to shipped to us because we did not have them in stock. All parts ordering is done manually.”

The maintainers argued that from the first to the second deployment there were major improvements in terms of delivering supplies to repair the deployed aircraft.

And the mix of specialties to maintain the aircraft is a work in progress.

For example, the expectation was that the engines would need less repair than they are actually experiencing them. The maintenance department was sized with the expectation that engines would need less repair than they do; the Navy is having to adjust to the operational experience of the aircraft, and the engines are a case in point.

They pointed as well the need to deal with corrosion control from the outset, as the way the aircraft is operated will lead to corrosion in a way which would never be seen by a commercial variant.

They pointed out that with the learning curve, the Navy was learning which parts were the higher failure items and trying to stockpile those in Kadena to support the operations of the aircraft from Japan.

But for now there are few global stockpiles given the program is in its early stages.

One part of the maintenance process is doing the software upgrades. According to the mechanics, Boeing does these upgrades in the hangar. “The technicians come on site and do the software upgrades. Boeing tests everything. They just give us certificate of completions when they’re done.”

Editor’s Note: In a 2011 visit to San Diego, senior Navy personnel discussed both the coming of the P-8 and the supply challenges for a new aircraft such as the P-8.

As Captain Kelly then the Force Material Officer at Commander Naval Air Forces put the challenge:

We’re changing out 100-percent of our platforms. At the same time, we’re at one of our highest operational tempos. For instance, we’re getting P8s for P3s, we’re getting Growlers for Prowlers, and we’re getting Super Hornets for Legacy jets. We’re getting E2Ds for E2Cs and we’ll get F-35s thrown into the mix.

So, everything’s changing out, so from our perspective, we have to work with NAVAIR to make sure that the maintenance plans and the constructs for logistics and sustainment are well grounded for everything that’s coming, while we’re managing everything that is already here and deployed.

And then, we have to manage to do the swap outs of airplanes and the retraining of personnel in a fashion so that we don’t impact the operational schedule.

SLD: And the problem is that when one swap outs, historically, whether it be a commercial fleet or military fleet, it is more expensive in the transition. You’ve got to manage the old as you bring in the new.

Captain Kelly: And that’s why we’re pressurized to do it kind of as quickly as we can, because we don’t want to eat cost in two spots at once.

https://sldinfo.com/the-challenge-of-maintaining-a-global-fleet/

https://sldinfo.com/transitioning-from-the-p3-to-the-p8/

Now the mechanics at Jax Navy are living the challenge and working the solutions.

Two stories have appeared in the Jax Air News which have highlighted the role of maintainers.

The first was published November 18, 2015 and was written by the VP-5 PAO and focused on the performance of the maintainers in the “Mad Foxes” squadron.

The “Mad Foxes” of Patrol Squadron (VP) 5 received high marks on their Maintenance Program Assessment (MPA) conducted Nov. 2-6 at Cecil Airport.

The hard work of the maintenance department was evident throughout the entire MPA inspection – a graded maintenance department analysis performed by inspectors from Commander, Patrol and Reconnaissance Wing 11.

The purpose of the program is to highlight discrepancies in standard maintenance operating procedures, prior to their Aviation Maintenance Inspection (AMI).

The VP-5 Maintenance Department completed seven drills and 64 practical applications during the assessment – all while juggling a heavy flight schedule with multiple flights per day. Despite these additional hurdles, the department finished with an overall satisfaction rating of 100 percent on all drills and practicals.

VP-5 Commanding Officer Cmdr. Al D’Jock was absolutely thrilled with his maintainers’ performance.

“There was never a doubt in my mind that our maintenance team would knock this inspection out of the park. I couldn’t be more impressed with the hard work that maintainers put into the preparation and execution of this challenging inspection. This is a direct reflection of the professionalism of this department and I can’t wait to see how well they perform during our upcoming AMI,” said D’Jock.

The Mad Foxes Maintenance Team will begin their AMI Jan.18.

VP-5 is currently halfway through their inter-deployment readiness cycle at NAS Jacksonville and Cecil Airport, and will soon start the Operational Readiness Evaluation (ORE) portion of their home cycle.

The Mad Foxes will continue training to ready themselves for their upcoming historic worldwide deployment next year.

http://jaxairnews.jacksonville.com/2015-11-18/%E2%80%98mad-foxes%E2%80%99-maintainers-score-high-recent-inspection#.V0dlS1d5w7k

And the photo below shows maintainers during the worldwide deployment of the Poseidon which was the digital age version of the Great White Fleet.

In a second story, more recent, maintainers are seen working on the certification for “safe flight” of the final P-8 squadron at Jax Navy.

In a story written by the VP-26 PAO and published on May 18, 2016, the certification for “safe flight” was discussed.

The “Tridents” of Patrol Squadron (VP) 26 received their P-8A Safe for Flight (SFF) certification from Commander, Patrol and Reconnaissance Group (CPRG) May 4, after a series of inspections that took place the week of April 25.

“This is huge,” declared Lt. Cmdr. Michelle Higingbotham, the maintenance material control officer of VP-26. “Our fleet readiness cycle has commenced and now that we have been qualified safe for flight we can prepare for deployment.”

Higingbotham stated that the SFF qualification marks the end of the transition of VP-26 from a P-3C Orion squadron to a P-8A Poseidon squadron. Although the Tridents accepted their first P-8A two months ago, they have been operating under the supervision of fleet replacement squadron VP-30. This safe for flight inspection marks the date when VP-26 is certified to operate independently.

The inspection certified the Tridents’ ability to operate safely as a P-8A squadron, and according to VP-26 Commanding Officer Cmdr. Mark Burns, the squadron scored higher on their SFF inspection than any of the squadrons that previously have made the transition to the P-8A.

The Tridents’ transition to the P-8A began in October of 2015 and marks the end of an era for active duty operational P-3C squadrons on the east coast. With the exception of two reserve squadrons and VP-30, the long reigning P-3C has officially been replaced by the P-8A at NAS Jacksonville. With the east coast transition complete, the last P-3C squadrons in Hawaii and Whidbey Island, Wash. are poised to begin their transitions later this year.

Earlier this year on March 16, Lt. Jared Stolle of VP-26 piloted the completion of the squadron’s first acceptance check of a P-8A Poseidon, bureau number 168848, from VP-30. The acceptance involved two consecutive days of inspections beginning with an on-deck test of the engines called maintenance turns, followed by an in-flight check called a functional check flight or FCF. The FCF is a comprehensive six-hour evaluation of airworthiness. Each flight system is tested to ensure proper function. The squadron’s first FCF was successful and the squadron was now ready to begin training for its first P-8A deployment slated for early 2017.

This summer, VP-26 will be participating in BALTOPS 2016, a multinational exercise hosted by Commander U.S. Naval Forces Europe. They will also be participating in exercises in Keflavik, Iceland and Lossiemouth, Scotland.

http://jaxairnews.jacksonville.com/military-jax-air-news/2016-05-18/story/vp-26-certified-%E2%80%98safe-flight%E2%80%99#.V1clEJMrLUJ

An Update on the Aussie Tanker: Milestone Passed in Middle East Operations

Posted on June 13, 2016 | by Robbin Laird

2016-06-05 The RAAF KC-30A Multi Role Tanker Transport provides air-to-air refueling support to international coalition aircraft in the skies over Iraq as part of Task Group 630.

On 27 April 2016, the deployed KC-30A surpassed the milestone of delivering 50 million pounds (27 million kilograms) of fuel to receiver aircraft in theatre since it first conducted missions for Operation OKRA in September 2014.

KC-30A Refueling Milestone in Operation OKRA from SldInfo.com on Vimeo.

And the operational performance and tempo of the KC-30A was described in an interview we did earlier this year with the KC-30A test team then at Edwards AFB (made up of folks with operational experience, including the Middle East).

With a new program, generally, you crawl, walk and then run.

With this program, we needed the capability relatively quickly so we sort of crawled and then ran.

The deployment to the Middle East has rapidly accelerated our maturing of the aircraft.

We went to the Middle East in the Fall of 2014.

We operate one tanker at a time in Operation Okra and a deployment is four months.

Some airmen have already completed three or four rotations in the mission.

Even though we have only one tanker there, we are delivering more than 10% of all the fuel in the operation.

We have offloaded around 40-45 million pounds of fuel in the Middle East during the operation to coalition forces.

We are operating at 96-98 percent mission success rate, and the maintenance has been outstanding.

It is a commercial plane with military systems onboard and is built for rapid fuel intake, for commercial airlines expect to turn around planes rapidly.

They don’t make money with the plane on the ground.

We can do this as well, but are limited only by the austere conditions at military bases which slows the refueling process.

And the efficiency of the engines is outstanding which means that we burn less fuel than a KC-10 or KC-135 when flying and doing the tanking operations.

During visits to Australia and to the KC-30A team then doing certification tests at Edwards AFB, an update was provided on the tanker by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF)

In an interview conducted in March earlier this year, the Chief of Staff of the RAAF highlighted the role of the tanker as follows:

“For example, we are having a long conversation inside Air Force around how would you use a KC-30 better than we currently do?

Well you would integrate it.

Air Marshal Davies during media roundtable held at the airpower conference on March 15, 2016. Credit Photo: Second Line of Defense

So what does that mean for tanker?

It means that we spend a long time in the airspace providing fuel to aircraft. What’s it doing in between the refuels?

It’s flying racetracks or patterns or getting to the next place that gas is needed airborne. What’s it doing while it’s doing that? Why can’t it collect some form of ISR data to be turned to knowledge?

The legacy perspective would be to say: “No it’s an in mid-air refueler and a transport aircraft.”

The new perspective is to think about how the KC-30 can become a communications node for platforms and systems other than fighters. Perhaps you’re able to relay information to soldiers on the ground, or with regard to the new amphibious task force, perhaps you might, from a couple hundred miles off the coast, be able to relay information during the time the tanker is on station.

That makes a lot of sense to me, and a lot of it can happen without the crew having to do one extra bit of work other than provide the node.”

https://sldinfo.com/mastering-the-reshaping-of-the-joint-force-capability-puzzle-a-discussion-with-air-marshal-davies-of-the-royal-australian-air-force/

The Air Commander Australia, Air Vice-Marshal Gavin Turnbull, focused on the operational experience of the tanker in the Middle East in his interview.

Question: When we visited your KC-30A test team at Edwards, one of the key points driven home by the team was how important the built-in situational awareness in the aircraft to reshaping their approach to tanking in the area of interest.

How does this illustrate your evolving approach?

Answer: What we have given the tanker crew is what the fighter pilot experienced in the first decade of the 21st century.

Air Commander Australia, Air Vice-Marshal Gavin Turnbull, speaking at the Williams Foundation seminar on new approaches to air-land integration March 17, 2016.

We added Link 16 into the cockpit and suddenly they had situational awareness of the battlespace around them and could now work within the battlespace, rather than simply going to a tanker track and acting as a gas station in the sky waiting for the planes to come in to get gassed up.

This has meant changing the skill set for the tanker crew as well.

We need to have smart people with smart situational awareness combat skills rather than truck drivers. They now position themselves where they’re next needed.

They’re maintaining their awareness and they’re moving into the battle space, and the jets are coming off their targets and are surprised about how close the tanker is.

In fact, we’re starting to get the reverse complaint where pilots who are coming off targets don’t have time to think and reconfigure their airplane before they’re on the wing of the tanker getting some more fuel.

https://sldinfo.com/building-from-airpower-integration-in-the-middle-east-to-shape-a-more-integrated-and-capable-australian-defence-force-the-perspective-of-air-commander-australia/

And the Air Commodore in charge of Air Mobility for the RAAF provided both an example of the performance of the tanker and its crew in the Middle East as well as an insight into the way ahead for the evolution of the tanker as well.

There was a dramatic case of where the KC-30A moved to an aircraft in trouble over the skies of Iraq.

According to Air Commodore Richard Lennon:

A United States Navy F/A-18F Super Hornet, assigned to VFA-103 'Jolly Rogers', refuels from a Royal Australian Air Force KC-30A Multi Role Tanker Transport in the skies over the Middle East region. Credit: Australian Ministry of Defence — A United States Navy F/A-18F Super Hornet, assigned to VFA-103 ‘Jolly Rogers’, refuels from a Royal Australian Air Force KC-30A Multi Role Tanker Transport in the skies over the Middle East region. Credit: Australian Ministry of Defence

A USMC Hornet lost an engine, and was in danger of going down in an area where it might not be good for the pilot to land or bail out.

The KC-30A came to the Hornet and supported it as the aircraft had to fly down in a cascading pattern to get back to base.

“Link 16 can tell you where the assets are and the fuel status of the air combat force.

But it cannot tell you about intentions. You get that from listening to the chat.

In this case, the pilot was listening to the chat and discovered a problem.

He then flew to the problem.

A United States Marine Corps, Marine Tactical Electronic Warfare, 4 Squadron "Seahawks" EA-6B Prowler, refuels from a Royal Australian Air Force KC-30A Mobile Tanker Transport duirng operations in the Middle East region. Credit: Australian Ministry of Defence — A United States Marine Corps, Marine Tactical Electronic Warfare, 4 Squadron “Seahawks” EA-6B Prowler, refuels from a Royal Australian Air Force KC-30A Mobile Tanker Transport duirng operations in the Middle East region. Credit: Australian Ministry of Defence

The Marine Corps Hornet had lost an engine and could not stay level at the refueling speed, so they set up a descent pattern to work the problem.

They could not do that until they were outside of the core combat area.

They set up what is called a toboggan where you just slow the descent so the Hornet could keep up his speed to get refueled.

And of course as he transferred fuel, he got heavier which in turn made it more difficult to keep your speed up, but the tanker adjusted to the need for the Hornet.”

https://sldinfo.com/working-air-land-integration-from-the-perspective-of-air-mobility-group-air-commodore-lennon-discusses-the-way-ahead/

He then provided a perspective on the evolution of the tanker as the RAAF worked joint force integration and the platform itself evolved.

With regard to tanker, the RAAF is thinking about the future modifications of the KC-30A and clearly doing so from the Plan Jericho perspective.

This means not simply from an air-to-air perspective but from a joint perspective.

“We’re getting lots of ideas obviously from all quarters.

And it’s not just army in terms of Air-Land Integration.

It’s from air force itself and, and it’s from different quarters of the organization.

Air Commodore Lennon at the Williams Foundation. Credit Photo: Second Line of Defense

In that process we’ll start to prioritize what we need.

The number one priority might actually take three years and a lot of money to implement but we will look for low-hanging fruit as well which can be implemented and funded in a much shorter period of time as well.”

Air Commodore Lennon highlighted an important development, which Airbus was working on for the tanker.

“They are working hard on building an autonomous boom where the boom will actually work out where the receptacle is and fly itself into contact.

This will ease the workload for the tanker crew, and provide significant capabilities to fuel new assets coming to the tanker, such as UAVs.

It would be an important step forward.

If you have a good reliable autonomous system, then the boom operator is not tiring as quickly and so you can stay on station longer and enhance your persistence in the battle space.”

The video and the text at the start of the article was published by the Australian Ministry of Defence on May 23, 2016.

For an update on the Airbus Tanker from the Australian perspective which was published on 9/20/15, see the following:

https://sldinfo.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Update-on-Airbus-Tanker.pdf

For the perspective of the KC-30 test team when they were at Edwards AFB earlier this year, see the following:

https://sldinfo.com/an-update-on-the-kc-30a-from-edwards-afb-clearing-the-way-for-expanded-operations/

For the version of this article which appeared on National Interest, see the following:

http://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/interview-flight-testing-australias-airbus-kc-30-tanker-16009

CH-53s: The New Generation

Posted on June 12, 2016 | by Robbin Laird

06/12/2016

2016-06-06 A look at the new CH-53K is provided in a set of interviews with the USMC.

The article is based on interviews with:

Colonel Paul Fortunato, Branch Head, Weapons Requirements (APW-1)
Colonel Hank Vanderborght, Program Manager, PMA-261/H-53 Heavy Lift Helicopters
Major Thomas Trimble, Heavy Lift Requirements (APW-51), Department of Aviation, US Marine Corps.

As Germany is looking for a successor to his CH-53 G the two US helicopter builders Boeing with its Chinooks (CH-47F) and Sikorsky with its CH-53s (CH-53K) are competing for the bid.

The verdict is planned to occur at the end of the year with a contract set in 2018 and first deliveries starting in 2022, while both could be picked for different missions and timetables according to some sources.

(See: Lars Hoffman, Germany Picks CH-53K, CH-47F as Options of New Helo, Defense News, January 26th, 2016 ; CH53K « King Stallion » et CH-47F « Chinook » pour l’Allemagne? Avia news, http://psk.blog.24heures.ch, May 17th, 2016 ;Defense Industry Daily (DID), CH-53K: The US Marines’HLR Helicopter Program, May 18th, 2016 ;Defenseworld.net, Germany Requests Princing For 41 CH-53K Choppers, May 18th, 2016 ; Franck Colucci, Testing Kings, Vertiflite, January/February 2016, page 19.)

The Luftwaffe wants to replace its old heavy-lift helicopters to perform MEDEVAC, personal recovery mission and support Special Forces.

The K, due to enter into service in 2018-2019, would almost double the gross take-off weight from 19 tons to 40 tons and benefit from a grouped order with the UMSC.

The triple hook system for the CH-53K allows for the delivery of three payloads each to a different landing area if requires. Credit Photo: USN-USMC

The U.S. Marines have indeed decided to acquire 200 of them: in their case, the King Stallion would triple the payload of the existing « Echo » super stallions, which are in great need for replacement given a usage rate triple the norm over the past years.

The attrition is high and there are no flyable spares available. The flight hour for the 15-year old CH-53E costs 20,000 dollars and the maintenance man hours: flight hours ratio has reached 44:1.

This is also the reason why maintenance and sustainability have been at the heart of the Integrated Test Team currently working on the Next Generation Chopper.

This ITT is divided between the Sikorsky Development Flight Center in Florida and the Naval Air Weapons Center Aircraft Division Patuxent River in Maryland and includes USMC maintainers

According to the three Marines interviewed in this article, who are centrally involved in the program, the CH-53K is a XXI^st century air system, which will add significant capability to the evolution of the US Navy amphibious fleet for two reasons: its capacity for more efficient heavy lift and its ability to deliver loads to multiple points in the battlespace, faster, and with significantly enhanced integration with the other combat assets.

The hope is that, given this larger capacity and its potentially improved supportability, greater sortie rates will be generated significantly reducing the transit time to move supplies from the ship to the shore.

Just how the capabilities of the new aircraft would intersect with the evolving operational approaches is discussed in the interview below.

How important has it been building in maintainability to the CH-53K design approach?

It has been central from the beginning.

We formed a maintainer working group at the outset as part of the design team, which has met every quarter to provide their recommendations from a maintainer’s perspective with regard to ways to improve the design from a maintainability and sustainability perspective.

Currently, we have ten maintainers at West Palm working on the aircraft.

These are the seed corn for the new maintenance approach working with the new aircraft.

Their recent fleet experience has prepared them to act as a critical link between engineers and end users in the development the helicopter and the knowledge they gain during their time on the program.

We are counting on these Marines to reenlist and be our Staff Non-Commissioned Officers assuming leadership roles as future Quality Assurance Representatives and Division Chiefs of the first King Stallion squadrons.

Even though the aircraft is quite different, we wanted that field experience built into the design process from a maintainer’s perspective.

The team working the new maintenance approach are the future stakeholders and their ideas are incorporated into the design, as for example:

On the CH-53E, when you have to work on, or replace, the fuel cell, you have to do so through big trap doors on the top of the aircraft. And then one has to wait a couple of days to have the gas free environment on which to work on the cell. A maintainer suggested that we build a port on the bottom of the K where one can access the fuel pumps directly and easily, and then if you have to change the fuel pump inside the tank, you could go underneath the aircraft, unscrew it, pop in a new one, connect it and off you go. You don’t have to wait until a gas free engineering environment is ready. There are several examples of this kind of input to the design of the new aircraft, which will enhance maintainability, which, in turn, enhances readiness and sortie generation.
The design of the avionics systems is built around an avionics box for easy access to the cannon plug and wires, which the maintainers need to work on. Instead of having to have a flashlight, a mirror and another Marine holding something to get behind the systems, the systems are facing the maintainer directly for their attention.

The NAVAIR process is somewhat like a V where one side is design and the other is testing and fielding.

We are now largely past the design piece and we are now focused on test and aircraft performance under those test conditions. The ten maintainers that are down at West Palm are actually maintaining the aircraft.

They are validating maintenance procedures, while identifying best practices, while noting and correcting any discovered deficiencies .

The airplane is much more digital; and so are the maintainers; there is an evolving fit between the 21^st century aircraft and the 21^st century maintainer.

They are shaping the integrated manuals we need to support the aircraft in the field.

They are going to make sure that the manuals are written correctly.

That is why it so crucial to have the maintainers down at West Palm and integrated into the process from the outset.

Composites are now a norm for new air systems, as opposed to when the E was conceived: how does the evolution of the material technologies affect the K?

By leveraging modern engineering practices and materials, we have enhanced performance. The structural strength of the aircraft provides for extra performance, and is clearly a key reason why the K can lift three times more than the E externally in the same ambient conditions.

It is obvious, but important to underscore that a heavy lift mission is just that and that it does lead to stresses and strains on the aircraft as well as on the airframe.

The plane has been designed to take the stress of a three time enhanced lift capability and we are testing the aircraft rigorously and robustly to ensure that the performance is being met.

Even though the King is 5,000 pounds more on max weight than the Echo, it is able to fold down to a smaller footprint shipboard and can land on exactly the same ships as its predecessor.

Such capability stems from the conjunction of three technologies:

the new engines (the GT-408) providing the lifting power;
the split torque gearbox generating the power to the blades from the engine;
the new all composite rotor blades with anhedral tips.[ref] The Sikorsky S92 has Growth Rotor Blades with anhedral blade tips providing enhanced lift and reduced blade-vortex interaction. The reduced rotor diameter achieved using the modern anhederal blade design increases the helicopter’s maximum airspeed, because the rotor blades can turn more quickly whilst reducing retreating blade stall. (http://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-the-sikorsky-s92-has-growth-rotor-blades-with-anhedral-blade-tips-83536560.html)[/ref]

The avionics and the fly by wire system are a major shift as well from the E to the K. How will the new technology have an operational impact from your perspective?

We land in hostile environments and in degraded visual environments as well.

The new systems will have a number of impacts, one of the most significant is stable hover.

Because of the ability of the aircraft to hover assisted by technologies onboard, we can land the aircraft much more safely and in difficult visual environments.

Automation will assist it in managing the flight and let us focus much more on the mission.

There are two different flight control modes on the aircraft, PFCS and AFCS. During different missions, one can select different flight control systems that are optimized for those missions. The different fly by wire systems actually assist you in optimizing those systems for different mission sets.

The cockpit is a glass cockpit with five Multi-Functional Displays. They dramatically increase air crew situational awareness.

The fly-by-wire flight control system makes the aircraft a lot easier to fly and allows the crew to focus on what the MFDs can provide to shape mission effectiveness.

Safety and security are significantly enhanced.

We have had a lot of mishaps with the E because of low visibility and brownouts.

Loading a standard 463L Pallet directly onto the CH-53K, something which can not be done with the CH-53E which requires the standard Air Force pallet to be repacked prior to loading onto the CH-53E.

If, if I could compare the 53K, the 53K comes in to pick up an external load, there is a flight director in the aircraft, almost like an airliner.

And when you fly at the initial point, which is the last checkpoint on your route before the landing zone to pick up the external, the 53K pilot can push a button and the aircraft will fly itself to the load and basically come into a steady hover at a preselected altitude right over the load.

For example, if the pilot wanted that aircraft to go to 20 feet over the load, he would put those parameters in the system and hit the button and the plane will do that.

With regard to what we call “divided attention,” where you need to multi-task, the systems help you manage that as well.

For example, say you were inbound to a landing zone and you are about to come pick up an external load.

And all of a sudden you get a call on the radio that says: “hey, change your mission.

You now need to pick up the external and go to a different location and drop it off”.

Because the aircraft is so augmented and is able to do pretty much the pilots’ job, the crew can start re-planning that mission while one pilot can monitor the aircraft and the other pilot can actually re-plan the mission to go to the new landing zone.

Whereas in the Echo, it took the entire attention of the entire crew just to stay safe to pick up that external load in a difficult environment.

The power of the fly-by-wire system combined with the displays inside the aircraft makes in that sense the K much safer than other helicopters.

What are the assets of this next generation aircraft from a logistical point of view?

The K has two key features, which make it a next generation aircraft:

The first is the widening of the cabin to allow it to load Air Force 463L pallets. Currently, when the Air Force arrives with a C-17 or C-5, we have to crack open the 463L pallets and re-palletize them into 48 x 48 wooden pallets and then put them into the Echoes. With the K we will be able to take them directly off of the C-5 or C-17 and roll the pallets right onto the Kilo and go to whatever FOB we need to deliver the cargo to. Logistical throughout will be much greater.
The second is the triple hook system, which no other helicopter has. Whereas the E can only do a single and dual point, the Kilo can do a single, dual and triple point. The beauty of this capability is that we can be on an L-Class ship and pick up three independent loads. And then in one sortie, we can drop off those loads at three independent locations, which, from a logistical point of view, gives us much greater flexibility than we have ever had before.

The Echo was built in a former era when you brought supplies as part of a support wave; the K is being built in the age of force insertion across a distributed battlefield.

You can support three different company landing teams across the battlefield that could be supported by one ship, with three loads taken form the ship and then going to zone one, zone two and zone three without ever having to go back to the ship to reload.

This saves not only transit time, but exposure to threats, while flying the aircraft among multiple loadings rather than loading a triple package and taking off for the area of interest. You save sortie numbers simply by being able to use the triple hook system.

How has the Sikorsky approach to a Heath and Usage Monitoring System (HUMS) on its commercial helicopters affected the K program?

It is a crucial part of the program.

For example, Sikorsky has more than ten years of experience with the HUMS on the S-92, a helo that is flown three times as much as we would fly the K.

It is used for fleet management, and provides significant information with regard to the operational performance of the aircraft, parts and reliability and overall real-time data with regard to the operation of the aircraft.

We are leveraging this approach for the K and clearly when the E was built there was no HUMS system or capability.

An example from the S-92 world provides some insight into where we think the K fleet can go as well using the HUMS system.

CH-53K being prepared for tests. Credit: Defense Tech

They’re measuring every aircraft across the fleet and they understand the signatures for every parameter they’re measuring looks like. So they understand what normal looks like and if something starts deviating from normal they can understand where the safety margins are.

One example that sticks in my mind was an S-92 that was flying for an oil company in the Singapore area doing globe plots. And they had a tail rotor gearbox in this aircraft that was showing some signs of wear and tear.

And they knew that the operator was going to need to have in about 20 flight hours dedicated base maintenance.

So before the operator even knew that there was something going awry with the aircraft, they called the operator and said : “ in this scheduled maintenance period, you need to change your tail rotor gearbox. By the way we shipped you a brand new one yesterday”…

We certainly look forward to such a capability within the K fleet.

In short, the predicate for the K is 21^st century aircraft materials, systems and approaches.

The E was built in the age of the Studebaker; the K is built in the age of the electronically-enabled car.

In and of itself, that makes it a very different animal.

Editor’s Note: Recently, the French defense publication OPERATIONNELS SLDS published an article on the new generation CH-53K which was based on earlier articles published on Second Line of Defense.

This article is republished with their permission below and the PDF version of the article can be found below:

https://sldinfo.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/CH53K-as-published.pdf

The latest issue is being distributed at the Eurosatory international exhibition from 13-17 June in Paris and the OPS booth can be found in Hall 6 Stand 8A 350 at the show.

Eurosatory is a leading defence and security international exhibition which focuses on land and airland solutions.

The slideshow above shows the Commandant of the USMC visiting the Sikorsky CH-53K facility earlier this year.

Crafting P-8 Tactics for the Extended Battlespace: An Interview with Lt. Tucker

Posted on June 11, 2016 | by Robbin Laird

06/11/2016

2016-06-11 By Robbin Laird and Ed Timperlake

During our visit to Jacksonville Naval Air Station, we had a chance to talk with Lt. Alan Tucker, the VP-16 Squadron Maritime Tactics Instructor (SMTI).

He has surface fleet experience and came to the P-8 four years ago and started as a weapons school instructor in VP-30. VP-30 is the squadron where initial training for P-8 crews occurs.

Lt. Tucker explained that the shift from the P-3 to P-8 was not just about a new aircraft, but training to operate very differently and to engage with the fleet and the joint force very differently as well.

He started by explaining that the P-3 in its later years required significant maintenance and crews had to focus significant time to bet ready to fly and then to operate the aircraft, which reduced the training and time to do the mission.

“Most of our training and our focus in the squadron was safety.

Tactics and execution was done with whatever bandwidth you had left, because you were always fighting problems and always training for degraded mission status because every airplane was degraded in some form or the other.”

With the P-8, the new aircraft highlights the opportunity to refocus on tactics and training and doing so as the US Navy and the joint and coalition force is focused on shaping effective tactics to prevail in the emerging “Kill Webs” in a global extended battlespace.

“What we were able to do is refocus our emphasis.

Instead of training on safety and NATOPS being the center focus of attention, we’re now able to focus on the tactics.”

The shift in tactics facilitated by the technology aboard the plane and the connectivity of the aircraft allows the P-8 to operate as an inorganic asset for the Carrier Strike Group that can be seamlessly integrated organically into its operations as needed.

“We’re an inorganic asset to the CSG that can quickly meld right into what they’re doing. We can provide significantly enhanced situational awareness for the fleet as they operate.”

And even though the current generation of weapons is more limited than desirable, the P-8 is capable of integrating new weapons of much greater reach and range to support the fleet as well.

And with the off-boarding capability of the aircraft to provide sensor data to deployed shooters, the P-8 can significantly contribute to the strike capability of a deployed force.

Already, the P-8 is working with the USAF and is working ways to expand sharing of data and shaping an extended range common operating picture.

P-8 during a visit to Canada. Credit: US Navy

This clearly was not what the P-3 was designed to do; for it was operating “alone and unafraid” and doing its ASW mission within a particular sector.

With the P-8, the tactical envelope expands and it trains to operate as an organic asset, a connected asset, or a force multiplier for a distributed force, especially in synergistic partnership with the soon to be introduced Triton.

“We can cross-queue our airplane with another platform to triangulate, and/or send that information back to the intel shop, where you have folks sitting on the ground at zero knots.

They’ll get us an answer back for our immediate use on station.”

And the P-8 and its crew is working from the ground up with regard to a 21^st century approach to prevail in the electronic or tron warfare maneuver space as well.

“We’re a key player in the kill web.

What do you need from us today?

What’s the task?

What do you want executed?

We can provide a wide variety of capabilities.”

The crew of the P-8 is shaping a new work culture with their combat crews to support the evolving tactics in support of flexible missions.

Rather than operating in separate cells on the aircraft, the crew seamlessly interacts from their screens and communications suites with each other with reach back to onshore or afloat assets.

“With the rail setup (the combat crew is lined up at a linear rails with interchangeable screens) we can access each other’s systems. We can load-share more effectively.

We are doing 21^st century team building.

You have so much data coming onto the airplane that you have to now manage everything that’s coming in.

It requires all your operators to work together, filter out key pieces that you need to do your primary duty, and then with whatever bandwidth you have left, you can assist another operator to work the information.”

A key work shift is learning to manage the transition as well of information from one P-8 to another as the planes take off and land.

Because one is sortieing information not just airplanes, a key task is to manage the data transfer and mission management function as well.

As Lt. Tucker described it, each deployment was providing enhanced experience for shaping more effective tactics.

The first deployment simply required familiarization but with the second the squadron was pushing the boundaries of the aircraft and shaping new tactics.

“It is about continued combat learning and learning how to use the aircraft in a different way.

On the hardstand in front of the US Navy P-8A Poseidon maritime surveillance aircraft and a No. 2 Squadron (2 SQN) E-7 Wedgetail is Commander Surveillance and Reconnaissance Group (SRG) Air Commodore Chris Westwood (fourth from right), Officer Commanding No. 92 Wing Group Captain Craig Heap (fifth from left), Commanding Officer 2 SQN Wing Commander Paul Carpenter and 2 SQN aircrew. *** Local Caption *** A Press Conference was held, on 21 Feb 2014 at Defence Establishment Fairbairn, to announce the Government's approval for the acquisition of eight P-8A Poseidon maritime surveillance aircraft. The announcement was made by the Prime Minister, The Hon. Tony Abbott MP, with the support of the Minister for Defence, Senator The Hon. David Johnson, the Chief of Air Force, Air Marshal Geoff Brown, AO and the United States Ambassador, John Berry. These state-of-the-art aircraft will dramatically boost Australias ability to monitor its maritime approaches and patrol over 2.5 million square kilometres of our marine jurisdiction. These aircraft will work closely with other existing and future ADF assets, and the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service aviation fleet, to secure our ocean resources and protect our borders. Prior to making the announcement the Prime Minister and Minister for Defence inspected a visiting US Navy P-8A aircraft currently in Australia for joint exercises with the Royal Australian Air Force and Royal Australian Navy. — On the hardstand in front of the US Navy P-8A Poseidon maritime surveillance aircraft and a No. 2 Squadron (2 SQN) E-7 Wedgetail is then Commander Surveillance and Reconnaissance Group (SRG) Air Commodore Chris Westwood (fourth from right), and the Officer Commanding No. 92 Wing Group Captain Craig Heap (fifth from left, who has since replaced Westwood as SRG commander), Commanding Officer 2 SQN Wing Commander Paul Carpenter and 2 SQN aircrew. Credit: Australian Ministry of Defence, February 2014

It is about opening up the envelope and shaping the combat capability of the aircraft, and shaping more effective tactics going forward.”

You learn as you deploy; you rewrite software code to build on those experiences.

It is about combat learning and shaping new ways to operate and prevail in combat with the maritime, joint and combined force.

And with projected weapons upgrades, the P-8 will become not only a state-of-the-art sub killer but a very sensor empowered standoff air/land strike platform.

With allies flying the P-8 as well there is the opportunity to expand situational awareness within the battlespace as well.

“We already integrate with Growler and the E2.

And with allies such as the RAF, the Australians and the Indians, we can shape a broader situational awareness picture as well.”

Lt. Tucker flew on the around the world flight of the squadron as well, the P-8 equivalent of the Great White Fleet, but done in the digital age.

Their P-8A Poseidon logged a total of 22,000 miles.

And while in Australia flew the Wedgetail simulator to learn how the Aussies were refueling their military 737, the Wedgetail.

According to an article by Lt. Christian Suszan, MPRWS EP-3E Weapons and Tactics Instructor published on August 12, 2015:

On July 6, aircraft 762 launched from Cecil Airport in Jacksonville, to travel around the world, making stops in Germany, Bahrain, and Australia, in order to increase P-8A Poseidon mission effectiveness for future global employment.

On board the Poseidon were 11 VP-30 and VP-5 maintenance personnel and 10 aircrew from VP-30, Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance Weapons School (MPRWS), and VP-5.

Also on board were VP-30 Commanding Officer Capt. Curt Phillips, Officer in Charge of the P-8A Fleet Integration Team Cmdr. Andy Miller, and MPRWS Executive Officer Cmdr. Michael Puffer.

The primary intent of the mission was to prepare VP-5 “Mad Foxes” and 5th Fleet staff for the first P-8A deployment to the Middle East area of responsibility.

Another intent was to meet with the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) ahead of fleet implementation of the P-8A’s air-to-air refueling (AAR) capability.

The RAAF currently possesses and employs the in-flight refueling capability on its Boeing 737-700 based E-7A Wedgetail Command and Control aircraft.

P-8 crew flying the Wedgetail simulator in Australia for refueling operations.

While enroute to Bahrain and Australia, the crew made an overnight stop at German Naval Airbase Nordholz, to attend German Maritime Patrol Symposium events and provide a static display for symposium attendees.

Among those attending the symposium was NATO’s Commander, Maritime Air and Deputy Chief of Staff, Maritime Air for NATO Allied Maritime Command (MARCOM), Rear Adm. Thomas Ernst, German Navy, as well as maritime patrol aircrew from Canada, Norway, Spain and Germany.

While in Bahrain, the P-8A crew provided a static display for the U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom of Bahrain, the Honorable William Roebuck, as well as executed a local demonstration flight with top Bahraini military officials on board.

The P-8A crew briefed Commander Task Force 57 on current and future capabilities, as well as limitations, and held meetings to discuss the roadmap ahead of VP-5’s deployment.

The crew conducted a local demonstration mission flight with 5th Fleet personnel to showcase P-8A capabilities and identify any potential issues well ahead of VP-5’s deployment.

“Our role as the Fleet Replacement Squadron is to help prepare VP-5 for its deployment to the region,” said Phillips.

“This trip tests the P-8A platform within the environment of the 5th Fleet area of operations and provides us the opportunity to get hands-on experience so we can get VP-5 tactically prepared for a slightly different mission set compared to the mission in the Western Pacific.”

The crew from the round the world flight.

The crew then visited RAAF Base Williamtown, headquarters to Australia’s Air Combat Group, located approximately nine miles north of the coastal city Newcastle, New South Wales.

The P-8A aircrew held a static display for local aircrew and support personnel stationed at the base. During the visit, RAAF personnel provided briefings on E-7A operational employment and AAR best practices to better equip VP-30 as they implement their AAR training program in the near future.

The P-8A FRS and MPRWS crews were afforded the opportunity to fly an E-7A Wedgetail AAR simulator event to experience first-hand an AAR evolution.

Intermediate stops for fueling and crew rest during the around-the-world mission included Perth, Naval Support Facility Diego Garcia, Pago Pago, and Hickam AFB, Hawaii. Aircraft 762 and its crew arrived back at Cecil Airport on July 18.

“From Europe to the Pacific, this flight is about maintaining our critical, long-standing maritime patrol partnerships, while sustaining the momentum of P-8A Poseidon training and operational transition of the Fleet,” Phillips stated.

“VP-30 and the weapons school are charged to prepare P-8A Fleet squadrons ahead of future deployments and capabilities – 5th Fleet’s hot weather environment and forthcoming air-to-air refueling operations are just the next chapter in P-8A transition. We will be prepared.”

http://m.jacksonville.com/2015-08-12/story/vp-30-and-mprws-conduct-worldwide-p-8a-mission#showInfo=http://m.wap.jacksonville.com/2015-08-12/story/vp-30-and-mprws-conduct-worldwide-p-8a-mission?fmt=www

Vignettes of Standing Up and Operating the P-8 at Jacksonville Air Station

Posted on June 10, 2016 | by Robbin Laird

06/10/2016

2016-06-07 We visited Jax Navy at the end of May 2016, and will produce a Special Report summarizing the findings from the visit.

In this article, we would like to highlight some articles, which provide insights into various aspects of the standing up and operation of the P-8/Triton capability.

These articles first appeared in the Jax Air News and are linked throughout this article.

They give a flavor of the shaping of a global operational outreach for the aircraft from the outset of its operations.

Certification of Final P-8 Squadron at Jax Navy

In the following article, the focus is upon the last P-3C squadron operating at Jax Navy which has been certified as a P-8 squadron as of May 2016.

Here the VP-26 PAO, the VP-squadron “safe for flight” certification is discussed.

http://jaxairnews.jacksonville.com/military-jax-air-news/2016-05-18/story/vp-26-certified-‘safe-flight’#.V0diEFd5w7k

The UK Defence Minister visits Jax Navy

That same month (May 2016), the UK Minister of Defence visited Jax Navy to see the progress the RAF is making with regard to their P-8 preparations.

According to an article published on May 18, 2016 by Jax Air News, the visit was discussed.

The Right Honourable Michael Fallon, MP, the British Secretary of Defense, visited NAS Jacksonville May 9 where he met with Royal Air Force (RAF) “Project Seedcorn” personnel who have been embedded within the VP-30 maritime patrol training program since 2012. He also announced the RAF’s intent to sign its initial order for nine Boeing P-8A aircraft this summer. They expect to accept their first P-8A in mid-2019.

87652 random 1.0 5.0

RAF Squadron Leader Mark Faulds said the purpose of the visit was for Fallon to experience the Boeing P-8A Poseidon first hand, inside and out, in order to gain a better understanding of the multi-mission aircraft’s capabilities. VP-16 provided the P-8A static display.

The secretary was also briefed at the P-8A Integrated Training Center by VP-30 Commanding Officer Capt. Dave Whitehead, and Commander, Patroland Reconnaissance Wing 11 Capt. Anthony Corapi.

Faulds explained that Project Seedcorn consists of 11 RAF personnel (two pilots, four TACCOs and five EWOs) who have trained on U.S. Navy P-8A aircraft embedded with Fleet Replacement Squadron VP-30 personnel since 2012.

The program enables British servicemen to maintain skills that would otherwise have been lost due to the cancellation of the outdated British Nimrod program in 2010.

Project Seedcorn also counts nine personnel embedded with squadron VX-1 at NAS Patuxent River, Md. By 2013, all Seedcorn personnel were certified P-8A instructors.

The defense secretary said, “This new fleet of nine maritime patrol aircraft will help to protect our nuclear submarines and surface ships. We can make this investment because we are increasing defense spending every year of this decade. That enables us to meet the NATO two percent commitment and keep Britain safe.”

http://jaxairnews.jacksonville.com/military-jax-air-news/2016-05-18/story/uk-defense-secretary-checks-out-poseidon#.V1Vwpld5w7k

During our visit, the key role of multinational and fleet exercises in rolling out of the P-8 and shaping its integration with the maritime, joint and coalition forces was highlighted.

There are a number of stories in the Jax Air News which highlight these exercises.

Truman Strike Group Exercise

In a piece written by the VP-5 PAO, an exercise with the Truman Strike Group was highlighted.

As September drew to a close; so did the Harry S. Truman Composite Training Unit Exercise (COMPTUEX). During the exercise, the “Mad Foxes” of VP-5 and “Fighting Tigers” of VP-8 provided real time support for anti-submarine warfare (ASW), anti-surface warfare (ASuW), and maritime Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) to the Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 8.

Patrol Squadron (VP) 5 Commanding Officer Cmdr. Alan D’Jock, stated, “I could not be more proud of the VP-5, VP-8, and Mobile Tactical Operations Center (MTOC-3) “Mad Tiger” team. We look forward to deploying with the Fighting Tigers and continuing our relationship throughout the remainder of our home cycle and next year’s deployment.”

The VP-5 and VP-8 Mad Tiger team was well prepared for the uncertainties of such a dynamic environment. A contributing factor to the success of the exercise was due to the VP liaison officers (LNOs) aboard Harry S. Truman.

These individuals were led by Cmdr. Alan Miller, executive officer of VP-10 and provided enhanced communication between CSG8 and the maritime patrol reconnaissance aircraft. Each crew was able to adapt to and overcome potential problems that may arise such as formidable weather or simulated hostile contacts.

“The experience that VP-5 and VP-8 garnered from COMPTUEX is invaluable. What our aircrews saw on station is very difficult to duplicate in a simulated training environment,” remarked D’Jock.

VP-5 and VP-8 provided 532.8 flight hours from 73 events to the exercise. The squadron’s participation was a valuable asset to both the surface forces, as well as to the aircrews in the aircraft.

AWO3 Dymer, an electronics warfare officer with VP-5, said, “Being a part of the exercise was physically and mentally demanding but also taught some of the most senior crews lessons and tips for real world scenarios. It opened the eyes of many new sailors by showing the massive coordination required to accomplish many jobs.”

With this exercise complete, Oct. 2, VP-5 and VP-8 continued their training for a successful deployment next year. The Mad Foxes of VP-5 and Fighting Tigers of VP-8 will continue training, and participating in exercises abroad as well as at home.

http://jaxairnews.jacksonville.com/2015-10-14/vp-5-vp-8-complete-truman-strike-group-exercise#.V1VxdVd5w7l

Working with the Japanese

The “Fighting Tigers” worked the Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force earlier this year and introduced the P-8 to them.

According to the VP-8 PAO, in an article published on April 20, 2016:

The “Fighting Tigers” of Patrol Squadron (VP) 8 hosted 29 aircrew from the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) Patrol Squadron (VP) 1 “Jupiter” at Kadena Air Base Okinawa, Japan on April 6.

The Fighting Tigers provided a static display of a P-8A Poseidon aircraft, briefed the JMSDF aircrew on the squadron’s history and primary missions – and discussed the typical operations and capabilities concerning the P-8A aircraft.

The visit concluded with a tour of Tactical Operations Center Kadena and lunch with the JMSDF visitors.

All personnel involved in the visit noted the benefit of interacting with their counterparts.

“I enjoyed discussing my job as tactical coordinator (TACCO) with a fellow TACCO from Japan,” said Lt. j.g. Erik Arstein, who organized the visit for VP-8.

“It’s fascinating how similar our responsibilities, as aircrew as well as naval officers provide such great common ground in our efforts as allies.”

Lt. j.g. Aaron Ingram assisted with the static display and found the JMSDF were very interested in the aircraft’s flight station, especially how to operate the state-of-the-art displays for interface with mission systems and autopilot control.

VP-8 has interacted with their VP-1 counterparts on several occasions in previous deployments both in-flight and on deck to advance bilateral training and partnerships. As this current deployment kicks off in Okinawa, the coordination and cooperation with the JMSDF will continue to flourish.

The Fighting Tigers are based out of Naval Air Station Jacksonville, and are currently on a six-month deployment in support of U.S. 7th Fleet.

http://jaxairnews.jacksonville.com/military-jax-air-news/2016-04-20/story/vp-8-introduces-p-8a-jmsdf#.V1Vx5Vd5w7l

Working with the Indonesians

Also, in the same month, the “Flying Tigers” went to Indonesia to participate in a multi-lateral naval exercise.

According to the VP-8 PAO, in an article published April 27, 2016:

The “Fighting Tigers” of Patrol Squadron (VP) 8 made their first ever visit to Padang, Indonesia on April 10 for the second annual Komodo exercise.

The “Fighting Tigers,” led by VP-8 Commanding Officer Cmdr. Andrew Barlow, were received by Colonel Muhammad Tohir of Wing Udara Two of the Indonesian Navy.

The Komodo exercise is a multilateral naval exercise with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to foster relations, strengthen worldwide naval brotherhood, and conduct operations independently for world peace.

On April 10, flight crews from Indonesia, India, Pakistan, and the United States conducted a ”safety of flight brief” in preparation of the Komodo exercise.

On April 11, the opening ceremony officially kicked off. The Fighting Tigers demonstrated the P-8A in a fly-by for Indonesian President Joko Widodo, over the city of Padang.

After landing, VP-8 aircrew welcomed aboard the American Ambassador, Robert O. Blake Jr., and Rear Adm. Charles Williams, commander, Logistics Group Western Pacific, and CTF-73,

Both were given a tour of the P-8A and expressed great interest in maritime patrol operations.

The next day the Fighting Tigers, Pakistani, Indonesian, and Indian aircrews came together for a photo to commemorate the occasion. Afterwards, VP-8 aircrew provided a static display of the P-8A Poseidon.

“It was a remarkable opportunity to work alongside the members of the Indonesian Armed Forces,” said Lt. Andrew Kirchert, VP-8 Combat Air Crew 3 patrol plane commander. “Sharing this aircraft’s capabilities with our allies only strengthens our bonds.”

The final flight of Komodo exercise took place April 14 where the Fighting Tigers photographed the departing fleet of Southeast Asian Nations. Colonel Muhammad Tohir and his Indonesian aircrew joined VP-8 aircrew for a final meeting where they discussed the capabilities of the P8A in the mission areas of maritime domain awareness, search and rescue, and humanitarian aid.

VP-8 is currently deployed to the 7th Fleet area of responsibility conducting Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance missions and providing Maritime Domain Awareness to supported units throughout the Pacific theater.

http://jaxairnews.jacksonville.com/military-jax-air-news/2016-04-27/story/vp-8-joins-multilateral-naval-exercise#.V1VyD1d5w7l

Working with Malaysians

In an article by the VP-8 PAO published on May 4, 2016, the recent exercise to work with the Royal Malaysian Air Force was described.

Combat Aircrew Four (CAC) 4 of Patrol Squadron (VP) 8 recently participated in a Subject Matter Expert Exchange (SMEE) with the Royal Malaysian Air Force. U. S. Pacific Commanding Officer (PACOM), Adm. Harry Harris Jr. and Chief of Malaysian Armed Forces Gen. Zulkifeli bin Mohd Zin, were among the many distinguished visitors hosted by the VP-8 “Fighting Tigers” during one of many Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) missions conducted in theater.

The exchange played a vital role in demonstrating interoperability between both nations’ MDA forces and served as a continuation of a strong diplomatic relationship in Southeast Asia. The program consisted of two flights in the span of five days.

The first flight from Subang, Malaysia involved a combined crew of nine Fighting Tigers aircrew and eight locally based Malaysian aircrew, in order to display the operations and capabilities of the U.S. Navy’s new P-8A Poseidon aircraft.

The second flight consisted of distinguished guests from both countries, including Adm. Harris, Gen. Zulkifeli, 1st Air Region Chief Staff Royal Malaysian Air Force Brigadier General Abdul Manaf bin Md Zaid, and Assistance Chief of Staff Operation and Exercise Rear Adm. Ahmad bin Abdullah.

“What an incredible opportunity,” said Cmdr. Andrew Barlow, commanding officer of VP-8. “It’s not very often that you get to not only meet, but host VIPs from two nations to promote a relationship that could last lifetime. These flights are bigger than we all realize.”

This marks the beginning of a six-month deployment for the Fighting Tigers out of Kadena Air Base in Okinawa and the first after transitioning from the P-3C Orion to the Navy’s new P-8A Poseidon. The P-8A brings the latest technology to the maritime patrol and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance mission, making it the most advanced anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare aircraft in the world.”

“We are extremely grateful to the people of Malaysia for their hospitality and vital contributions to the alliance,” said Lt. Cmdr. Graham Gill, the detachment officer in charge. “The exchange program couldn’t have gone smoother thanks to the hard work of the Malaysian service men and women.”

http://jaxairnews.jacksonville.com/military-jax-air-news/2016-05-04/story/vp-8-builds-interoperability-royal-malaysian-air-force#.V1abpVd5w7k

Going to Red Flag

And earlier this year, the Pelicans participated in a Red Flag Exercise.

According to a story published by the VP-45 PAO, and published on March 30, 2016:

Members of Patrol Squadron (VP) 45 participated in Red Flag 16-1 at Nellis Air Force Base (AFB), Nev., Jan. 25through Feb.12, with the Navy’s newest maritime patrol aircraft, the P-8A Poseidon.

As part of the squadron’s Fleet Response Training Plan home cycle, Red Flag is an exercise held periodically at Nellis AFB since 1975. The exercise provides pilots, aircrews and support personnel from the U.S. and allied countries the opportunity to practice their skills in a simulated combat environment.

“These scenarios largely involved the P-8 performing advanced intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) missions and preparing the battlespace with timely and accurate information on threats to multiple platforms,” said Lt. Cmdr. Annie Gilson, a naval flight officer with VP-45.

“These platforms were able to use this information to neutralize targets more efficiently and effectively in a highly dynamic environment.”

Those in attendance of this year’s Red Flag exercise were members from the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy, Royal Australian Air Force and United Kingdom Royal Air Force.

“Working with the foreign militaries provided a better understanding of what they do,” said AWO2 Irma Sanchez, acoustic operator with VP-45. “Getting an opportunity to work with these militaries was a real eye opener into the bigger picture.”

“As a squadron, I feel that we did really well,” said Sanchez. “For our first Red Flag exercise as a P-8 squadron, I felt that we exceeded the standards that were set for us.”

Participants said one of the reasons VP-45 had such a successful exercise was because of their ability to work as a team.

“During Red Flag, our communication and capability to work together was very important,” said AWO2 Mathew Pereida, a VP-45 electronic warfare operator. “Working together as a team led to successful takeoff times, mission completeness, and overall coordinated operations effectiveness.”

Overall, members of VP-45 felt Red Flag has prepared them for the future.

“Red Flag does a great job of detecting and resolving squadron and aircraft deficiencies and how we can improve,” said AWO2 Jason Foor, “It really showed us what level we are operating at and where we can be in the future.”

http://jaxairnews.jacksonville.com/military-jax-air-news/2016-03-30/story/‘pelicans’-participate-red-flag-exercise#.V1V0QVd5w7l

Working with the Canadians

And in the Fall of 2015, the P-8 went to Canada for training with the Royal Canadian Navy.

According to a story written by the VP-5 PAO and published on October 28, 2015:

The “Mad Foxes” of Patrol Squadron (VP) 5 spent the past week on the road, completing allied maritime training with Canadian military forces.

The Mad Foxes participated in Frontier Sentinel 2015, a bilateral exercise with the Royal Canadian Navy, the Royal Canadian Air Force, the United States Coast Guard, and the Canada Border Services Agency.

During the exercise, VP-5 was tasked with identifying all targets within the operational area. The crew was able to employ the advanced sensors aboard their P-8A Poseidon to track and monitor these targets throughout the exercise.

The communications suite on the P-8A allowed the aircrew to provide the Canadian Operational Commander with near real-time information, vital intelligence needed to make tactical decisions. The coordination between the allied forces was an overwhelming success.

The Mad Foxes and their Canadian counterparts also had the opportunity to tour each country’s respective aircraft: the P-8A Poseidon and CP-140 Aurora. The CP-140 is a Canadian coastal patrol aircraft based on the P-3 Orion airframe.

AWO2 Tyler Johnson stated, “It was really interesting to see how other countries have taken their P-3s and retrofitted them to their needs, bringing enhanced capabilities to the table.”

The mission commander and detachment officer in charge, Lt. Cmdr. Adam Pace, stated, “As allies, we need to continue conducting bilateral exercises that involve any and every mission set. Whether it’s national defense or humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, when our nations call each other for help – we will be able to answer that call effectively and efficiently. With events like Frontier Sentinel, we are able to continue those personal and professional relationships that lead to success while conducting our respective nations’ tasking.”

VP-5 is currently halfway through its inter-deployment readiness cycle at NAS Jacksonville and Cecil Airport, and will soon start the Operational Readiness Evaluation (ORE) portion of their home cycle. The Mad Foxes will continue training to ready themselves for the ultimate goal of a successful deployment early next year.

http://jaxairnews.jacksonville.com/2015-10-28/‘mad-foxes’-complete-training-our-neighbors-north#.V1V0wld5w7l

Standing up Triton Facilities

The Triton has had less news but is getting ready for its first deployment.

But in this story published on May 7, 2014, the laydown of the Triton facilities was discussed.

The Navy’s first squadron designated to fly the MQ-4C Triton unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is taking shape at NAS Jacksonville.

Unmanned Patrol Squadron (VUP) 19 Officer in Charge Cmdr. Shannon Clark recently explained developments in the program since the squadron stood up Oct. 1, 2013.

“We’re currently working to expand VUP-19 from an administrative entity to a more functional perspective,” said Clark.

“We will start some training on the actual air vehicle this summer to assist with some upcoming testing. However, our primary focus right now is ensuring that the administrative and operational sides of the squadron are properly functioning for the arrival of VUP-19’s first commanding officer (CO). This way, the CO can concentrate on assuming the duties of this command and focusing on the squadron’s mission.”

According to Clark, 21 officers and enlisted personnel will be assigned to VUP-19 at NAS Jacksonville by the end of this fiscal year. Approximately half of the Sailors will be aircrew/operators and the other half will be administrative support.

By the end of 2015, VUP-19, nicknamed “Big Red,” will have approximately 100 Sailors at the squadron’s detachment site located at Naval Base Ventura County/Point Mugu, Calif.

Currently, operators assigned to VUP-19 will receive training at NAS Patuxent River, Md. Flight training will eventually shift to VP-30 at NAS Jacksonville as soon as the Triton curriculum is validated and training equipment is installed.

“The initial teaching will be this summer at NAS Pax River under Northrop Grumman instruction. Training received is in preparation for our involvement in the Operational Assessment and Operational Evaluation testing periods for this platform,” explained Clark.

Other facilities aboard NAS Jacksonville that will support the UAV’s mission include the MQ-4C Triton Mission Control Center that is currently under construction, with a projected completion date of December 2014.

“This two-story structure, with an array of rooftop antennas, will house the squadron’s mission control stations” said Clark.

“In this facility, UAV Operators will execute all phases of the mission, mission planning, mission control and data analysis.”

“From here, the Triton will be operated around the globe by crews consisting of air vehicle operators, naval flight officers and aviation warfare operators.”

The Triton is designed to provide long-range, long-endurance maritime patrol coverage for Naval Air Forces Atlantic; 5th, 6th and 7th fleets; Fleet Forces Command operations in Atlantic; Task Force 80; and support the U.S. Northern and Southern commands as required.

According to the Navy’s Persistent Maritime Unmanned Aircraft Systems Program Office (PMA-262), as an adjunct to the P-8A, the MQ-4C Triton will provide combat information to operational and tactical users such as expeditionary strike groups, carrier strike groups and joint forces maritime component commanders.

http://jaxairnews.jacksonville.com/2014-05-07/triton-uav-squadron-growing-facilities-personnel#.V1V1HFd5w7l

Upgrading P-8 Hangars

And finally, this story focuses on the upgrading of the hangar bays for the P-8.

This story is by Clark Pierce, editor of the Jax Air News and was published on January 20, 2016.

VP-30, the Navy’s fleet replacement squadron for the P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft, is upgrading its hangar at NAS Jacksonville to accommodate the new Navy patrol aircraft based on the Boeing 737-800 airliner.

“This project will convert the VP-30 hangar (originally built in 1996) so it will be able to accommodate P-8A aircraft. The new height of the hangar opening facing the flight line will increase by about five feet,” said Project Management and Engineering Branch Head Thom Tryon P.E. of the NAS Jax Public Works Department, during an on-site interview Jan. 13.

“The work includes raising the hangar door entrance height to accommodate the taller P-8A vertical stabilizer height, install new hangar doors, replace parts of the existing hangar bay concrete deck, reconfigure the AFFF (Aqueous Film Forming Foam) fire suppression system for both discharge and capture of AFFF through a new grating system.”

He added that the project will adjust the existing infrared heating and compressed air systems for the new P-8A parking layout inside the hangar.

Existing energy efficient LED lights and infrared heaters will be reused and relocated as necessary. The hangar maintenance crane will also be relocated.

“No changes will be made to the administrative spaces of VP-30 and those spaces will remain occupied during construction,” said Tryon.

VP-30 Hangar Project Information

Award Date: 20 March 2015

Award Value: $5,267,768

Funding Type: Military Construction (MILCON)

Anticipated Completion Date: September 2016

Contractor: HCR Construction Inc. of Norcross, Ga.

Designer: URS Corporation

http://jaxairnews.jacksonville.com/military-jax-air-news/2016-01-20/story/vp-30-upgrades-hangar-bay-p-8a-poseidon#.V1Xk_ld5w7k

Russia’s Pacific Power Pivot

Posted on June 10, 2016 | by Robbin Laird

2016-06-10 By Richard Weitz

As expected, China’s claims to the South China Sea dominated last weekend’s Shangri-La Defense Dialogue in Singapore.

As usual, Russian military views and actions in the Asia-Pacific theater were largely ignored at the event and in Western commentary.

In his speech to the plenary, Anatoly Antonov, the Russian official in charge of the military’s foreign ties, reaffirmed Russian calls to a new regional security order.

As developed by Antonov and others, the new order would be based on the principles of equal and indivisible security, de-emphasis on bilateral defense allies such as between Japan or South Korea and the United States, and instead concentrate on all forces against fighting terrorism.

According to Antonov, “the existing regional security system, based mainly on a network of close military alliances, does not contribute to creating an atmosphere of trust and mutual understanding, nor does it meet the interests of concerns of all Asia-Pacific states.

Closed military blocs are a relic of the past.

Instead, we suggest mutually respectful partnership, recognition of nations’ right to determine their fate independently, renouncement of any attempts to ensure one’s security at the expense of the others.”

With respect to the terrorist threat that Antonov saw as growing in the region, he offered to share the “valuable experience in fighting terrorist groups” that the Russian armed forces have gained in Syria “with a view to improve counter-terrorism capacity of the Asia-Pacific.”

Antonov also devoted much attention to North Korea. He insisted that Russia would not recognize North Korea as a nuclear weapons state and wanted the Korean Peninsula to be free of nuclear weapons.

But he warned Washington against using the DPRK nuclear threat as a pretext to “change military-political balance in the region” by expanding its ballistic missile defenses (BMD) in Asia.

Antonov failed to mention that in late May, Russia and China conducted their first joint BMD exercise, a command post computer simulation, called “Aerospace Security-2016.”

The Russian media said that the two countries “will use the results of the exercises to discuss proposals on Russian-Chinese military cooperation” in this field

Russian experts said that Russia might supply Kalibr cruise missiles to China for use on its Russian-provided Kilo diesel-electric submarines

Neither Antonov nor others at the conference discussed the major Russian military buildup that has occurred in the Russian Military District (MD or the growing Russian military activities there. The Russian forces there have received new equipment and other capability enhancements and raised their readiness through more large-scale exercises and surprise “snap” drills.

Russia may build pacific fleet base on Matua island in Kurils Chain. Credit: Sputnik News

A few days ago, Colonel-General Sergei Surovikin, commander of the Eastern MD, said that the Russian armed forces were taking “unprecedented measures to develop the civil-military infrastructure.”

Although Putin has complained for a decade about the alleged U.S. quest for “absolute security” at the expense of generating insecurity for everyone else, Surovikin said Moscow was seeking to “exclude the emergence of even the smallest risks” to Russian security in Asia.

During the last year alone, the MOD has sent 22,000 more contract soldiers to the Eastern MD, raising the total number of military personnel in the MD to 65,000.

Surovikin said that the district would receive some 700 pieces of military equipment and weaponry this year, including three warships, more than 20 UAVs, and some 60 warplanes and military helicopters.

The Pacific Fleet has over 70 combat vessels, including some 50 warships and about two dozen submarines. It has received more funding, resulting in better training, maintenance, and equipment.

The Fleet is beginning to obtain new Project 955 Borei-class strategic submarines: the K-550 Aleksander Nevskiy, commissioned in 2013, and the K-551 “Vladimir Monomakh, commissioned in 2014.

Russian Topol in missile test. Credit: Moscow Times

They can carry as many as sixteen Bulava SS-NX-30 (NATO SS-NX-30) Submarine Launched Ballistic Missiles, each of which can deliver up to ten warheads. Following a troubled development period, the three-stage Bulava appears to be working reliably now.

The Borei and the earlier-generation Delta-III submarines play a significant role in sustaining the Russian nuclear deterrent, protected by the Fleet’s attack submarines and naval air power in their Sea of Okhotsk bastion.

In the air, the Eastern MD has two fighter regiments, a fighter/ground attack regiment, two ground attack regiments, one intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) regiment, and several transportation squadrons.

The fighter and interceptor aircraft include some new Sukhoi (Su)-35S generation 4++ multirole fighter aircraft as well as older multirole fighters like the Su-27SM, Su-30M2, and MiG-31.

Besides the anticipated improvements in the submarine force, future Russian maritime plans include increasing the inventory and capabilities of surface forces such as aircraft and helicopter carriers as well as multi-role landing ships; developing a rapid-response marine force equipped with long-range and high-precision strike systems; incorporating more underwater, aerial, and surface unmanned vehicles; and improving naval support systems.

Plans continue for a new aircraft carrier designed to conduct operations in remote and oceanic areas, engage land-based and sea-borne enemy targets, ensure the operational stability of naval forces, protect landing troops, and provide the anti-aircraft defense.

These Project 2300E “Shtorm” (Storm) carriers would be nuclear-powered, capable of carrying up to 90 aircraft, and feature both Catapult Assisted Take-Off But Arrested Recovery (CATOBAR) and Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch Systems (EMALS), for which tests are already underway.

Given fiscal and technological constraints, construction will likely begin years later than the 2019 date suggested by the president of Russia’s United Shipbuilding Corporation.

Beyond lacking requisite technology for building the ship itself, Russia does not have a dock large enough to build the proposed 100,000-ton vessel.

Russia’s sole remaining operational carrier, the Admiral Soyuza Kuznetsov, was built in Ukraine.

As a result, any future carriers may be completed in sections at various locations and assembled at Sevmash, Russia’s largest military shipyard. Future development plans, also constrained by financial realities, include an advanced maritime patrol aircraft, a new multi-mission maritime helicopter, and an advanced airborne strike system.

The Eastern MD is also obtaining new Orlan-10 and Forpost UAVs that have a longer flight capacity and can carry TV-cameras, infrared cameras, radio gear, EW systems, and additional technologies for reconnaissance, intelligence gathering, and other support operations.

The Russian military has been upgrading its capabilities on the Kuril Islands with Tor-M2U air defense systems, Bal and Bastion coastal missiles, and more S-400 long-range air defense missile systems as well as the shorter-range Pantsir-S1.

The military district’s aerospace and naval units have served as a force provider for other Russian strategic commands, recently deploying warplanes on rotation to Syria and warships to the Indian Ocean and Mediterranean Sea.

Unsurprisingly, Russian arms sales to the region are booming, with China leading the pack but some ASEAN markets rising in importance.

Of note, a few days before the June 2016 Shangri-La Defense Summit, the Pacific Fleet’s flagship, the Varyag, conducted a port visit to Singapore.

There it hosted a reception for the representatives from the ASEAN and their dialogue partners—which offered a convenient opportunity to market Russian arms to Southeast Asian military chiefs.

In short, Russia has its own pivot going on in the Pacific which involves both a military buildup and leveraging the Chinese dynamic in the Pacific.

Sources:

http://www.iiss.org/en/events/shangri%20la%20dialogue/archive/shangri-la-dialogue-2016-4a4b/plenary-5-6cb5/antonov-2c1c

http://tass.ru/en/defense/878407

http://sputniknews.com/military/20160430/1038886500/russian-bases-abroad-analysis.html

http://sputniknews.com/military/20160322/1036746542/russia-kalina-class-submarine.html

http://www.rferl.org/content/russia-kuriles-unprecedentedmilitary-upgrade/27761005.html

http://sputniknews.com/military/20160527/1040329099/russian-military-defense-far-east.html

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/article/520849.html

http://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/russia-moves-ahead-building-new-aircraft-carriers-14912

http://www.janes.com/article/53643/russia-s-new-maritime-doctrine

http://www.defencetalk.com/russia-to-deploy-missile-systems-on-kuril-islands-67183/

http://carnegie.ru/commentary/2016/06/07/ru-63739/j1gh

The Most Experienced P-8 Squadron and Shaping the Way Ahead: An Interview with the CO and XO of VP-16

Posted on June 8, 2016 | by Robbin Laird

06/08/2016

2016-06-06 By Robbin Laird and Ed Timperlake

During our visit to Jax Navy On 22 and 24 May, we had a chance to meet with and discuss the P-8/Triton with Commander Miguel Martinez, CO of Patrol Squadron 16 and Commander Amanda Hawkins, the Executive Officer of the Squadron.

The Command has just undergone a Change of Command on May 19^th.

According to an article published by the VP-16 PAO:

Cmdr. Mike Martinez relieved Cmdr. Dan Boman as the 62nd commanding officer of Patrol Squadron (VP) 16 during a May 19 ceremony in Hangar 117 at Naval Air Station Jacksonville.

VP-16 is the Navy’s first operational Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance Force (MPRF) squadron to deploy with the P-8A Poseidon – a modified Boeing 737 aircraft designed to supersede the war-fighting capabilities of its predecessor for 50 years, the P-3C Orion.

Poseidon’s primary missions include anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.

Martinez assumed executive officer duties at VP-16 in May 2015, during the Inter-Deployment Readiness Cycle that followed the squadron’s inaugural P-8A deployment to 7th Fleet. He commended the War Eagles’ former commanding officer.

“I want to pass along my congratulations to Skipper Boman and his family for an amazingly successful command tour. It was my honor to serve under his command and the leadership that he provided to every Sailor in VP-16. That resulted in our outstanding recent deployment to 7th Fleet and set the stage for the squadron’s future success.”

During Boman’s command of VP-16, the squadron completed its second deployment in the P-8A to Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan in support of 7th Fleet operations. Over the deployment, 3,700 flight hours were safely executed without a single class “A” mishap.

Martinez graduated from Texas A&M University in 1998 with a bachelor’s degree, and received his Naval Flight Officer (NFO) “Wings of Gold” in July of 1999. He reported to the “Skinny Dragons” of VP-4 in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, in May of 2000 for his first operational tour. He completed deployments to 7th Fleet and 5th Fleet immediately after 9/11 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

He reported to VP-30 in May 2003 for duty as a Fleet Replacement Squadron NFO Instructor. Additionally, he served on board the USS Theodore Roosevelt as a catapult and arresting gear officer. He also studied at the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island.

Martinez assumes command of VP-16 following the end of a seven month deployment to Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan. As the new commanding officer, Martinez takes responsibility for nearly $1 billion of naval aircraft and personnel. He will lead more than 250 Sailors during the next tour.

Martinez is joined by the squadron’s new executive officer, Cmdr. Amanda Hawkins. Boman’s next assignment will be in Washington D.C., as a staff member for the Office of Chief of Naval Operations.

In the perspective of the CO, VP-16 has completed its transition from a P-3 to the P-8A era.

The squadron has successfully completed its first two deployments at sea.

“VP-16 is at the tail end of its transition. It takes a while to transition philosophically in the squadron.

Now that we’re on the tail end of our second deployment, we’ve really completed our transition because the operators that you’re seeing in the squadron, especially the junior officers and some of our junior enlisted operators, only know the P-8A.

We are taking the ASW skill sets and melding them with the new technology and new sensors onboard the P-8A.”

He emphasized as well that the evolution of software aboard the software upgradeable aircraft was part of the ongoing transition which might be characterized as a “permanent revolution,” if what is being experienced to date is continued into the future.

“We have just completed our second deployment.

A lot of the capability on that deployment did not exist during the first.

And the main difference was because of software upgrades.”

And as they prepare for their next deployment, more software upgrades are under way.

And the CO commented that the “operators are telling me that we will have capabilities through the software upgrades that would have been extremely useful during the last two deployments.”

To date, the working relationship between the squadron and industry is working well in updating the aircraft through the software development process.

“I would tell you part of the reason that exists is because everyone’s invested in the success of P-8A.

Boeing and a lot of the companies that are involved in software upgrades, they want us to succeed.”

The CO expressed his concern that the success to date needed to be maintained throughout the course of the program to get the full value of what a software upgradeable aircraft could yield to the force.

“We have fleet support techs and fleet support reps that support us on deployment and here at home.

And it’s a direct tie-in back to the software developer as he’s pumping out new software updates and they’re getting ready software for our allied partners: UK and Australia.

It’s a very direct inject.”

He provided an example of how the process worked on deployment.

“We were on deployment at Kadena.

We were having difficulty with our media, and the P-8 is very media dependent; if the media is not working properly, the plane is not going to work properly.

The software representative told us that he would look at the software logs. When we burn new media, it writes logs into the computer system. He suggested that he would send the logs back to the lab and they would modify the code and fix the problem.

And they did do so rapidly. We certainly did not have that on the P-3, but we have that now.

I hope that experience continues indefinitely into the future.”

The plane is different; the sensors and software is different; but so is the work style.

When you work onto the plane, it is obvious that the operators are working on a track system with several screens adjacent to one another.

During our hands on visit to the plane, we talked to the crew and began to understand that there was an interactive team approach to managing the aircraft during operations, whereby the mission commander was more like a quarterback than a hierarchical decision maker.

The CO discussed that approach and its challenges.

“There is a certain empowerment which goes to the crew.

The mission commander has to know what is going on and off the aircraft affecting the mission.

He is doing so by empowering his crew whereby, for example, an acoustic operator will be talking to folks on the ground to determine how to deal with the acoustic reads which he getting.”

We noted that the Wedgetail which has a similar workflow to the P-8A also had experienced a similar decision making dynamic. The 2^nd Squadron commander in Australia noted that the mission leader on the plane had to lead not command.

The CO noted that “that is exactly it.

With the P-8 we have the opportunity to reach back for additional brain power, for additional analysis of what we are seeing on station.

And you are collecting information from the moment you take off until the moment you land.”

We noted that when we visited the plane, the crew was very young, and very technologically competent.

The CO agreed. “When I took my family who were here for the change of command and we went onto the aircraft, they also noted that the 25-27 year old mission commanders are operating a combat aircrew in an area like the South China Sea, and making decisions and doing things that could potentially affect our national strategy.

We want them to have that knowledge, that ability to make mission command decisions on their own.”

This younger generation was very “net and information management” savvy. And the CO highlighted that their capability to navigate among information sources was very impressive but also intuitive for them.

“It is hard to overload the current generation with information.

They are just used to it.

For example, when we go on station they are looking for various ways to get into the network.

They are thinking two or three steps down the road concerning different sources and different links, which can be tapped into including coalition assets as well. There’s so many different ways to enter a network of information.

They are very savvy with regard to that task.

We discussed as well the cross learning which is starting from the P-8A to the surface fleet.

“The surface fleet is beginning to experience being on deployment with a P-8A and getting massive amounts of information from the plane in a way we never did in the past.

There is a cross-learning piece which will accelerate in the period ahead.”

We discussed other cross-learning pieces as well.

The CO emphasized that as the software evolved in the P-8A/Triton world the mix of operators onboard the P-8A will evolve as well.

And as the cross-learning with Growlers and other combat assets such as the F-35 evolved as well the skill sets would evolve onboard the P-8A.

“We are the new kid on the block and advanced Hawkeye and Growler are already out there.

We are just now tapping into our EW capability and we will clearly cross-learn and cross-link with other capabilities in the fleet.

And I think if you took a look at how the P-8A operates now versus even five years from now it’s going to be significantly different.

The crew makeup is going to be a little bit different. I think you’re going to see a different mix of operators on the aircraft, perhaps more EW operators.”

The CO discussed as well the evolution of the maintenance team for the aircraft.

Obviously, with a new aircraft determining the actual maintenance requirements takes time and with it the need to adjust procedures and personnel.

Commander Amanda Hawkins, the Executive Officer of the Squadron.

In part, this is due simply to the fact that although the 737 is a commercial aircraft, as a military version of the aircraft, much of the commercial experience simply does not apply.

Another example is corrosion control.

Clearly, the way the P-8 operates will significantly enhance the corrosion challenge. The Navy is focused on ways to attenuate the corrosion challenge but this means paying significant attention from the outset to management of the airframe.

“I think that corrosion control will be a very important factor. It’s not negative. It’s simply something that we need to keep our eye on over the long term.”

The Executive Officer is new to the program but has significant relevant fleet experience, which will inform the evolution of the squadron as well.

She focused on the “family of systems” approach and how important that would be for the squadron and its evolution.

“By 2025 we will not have EP-3 and a VPU and P-3 squadrons; we are going to morph into P-8/Triton.

We need to understand what the EP-3 does as we move forward.

We are starting the cross-colonization now so that the family already has a healthy foundation when the EP-3 roles are subsumed as well.

(The EP-3 is the signals intelligence version of the P-3).

I view the Triton and the work that the weapons school is doing to integrate our family of systems as laying the foundation for the kill web.”

The CO discussed as well two of the allies flying the P-8A.

He noted with regard to the Australians that they had a tradition of keeping their P-3 crews intact for the long term.

When I was the instructor at VP30, I worked with the allied partners and their officers and enlisted operators are embedded in the squadron, and they bring a very unique and positive side in how to operate as a crew which works together regularly on station.

They man to keep their crews together; our manning is different in that we mix and match crews members over time and will do so even more as we rotate personnel among P-8A and Triton assignments.”

The Indian P-8 during the search for the missing Malaysian airliner. Credit: India Strategic

The CO has operated with the Indian P-8I community as well during the Malabar 2015 exercise.

The P-8I is different from the P-8A with a different sensor suite, one which provides more emphasis on coastal defense as well.

“We operated from their P-8I base at INS Rajali.

We found them to be very professional and we operated together from that base.

They are building the infrastructure there to support their P-8Is.

They see P-8I as critical to how they’re going to operate in the future.

They had a lot of questions about how we operated.

We had questions about how they operated.

And at the time they were the only other country operating P-8.”

In short, VP-16 has deployments under its belt and is getting ready for the transition with Triton and operating worldwide with other P-8 allies, the Indians, the Australians and the UK.

A solid foundation has been laid but the way forward is challenging and will see both the plane and the crews evolve their capabilities and skill sets.

The slideshow focuses on the recent change of command for VP-16.

And a piece published on April 27, 2016 by the PAO of VP-16 in the Jax Air News talked about the latest deployment:

Patrol Squadron (VP) 16 returned home this month after a demanding seven-month deployment to the 7th Fleet Area of Responsibility (AOR).

This marked the second deployment VP-16 has taken in the P-8A Poseidon – both deployments having been based out of Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, Japan.

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VP-16 has now deployed in the P-8A Poseidon for more months and executed more deployed flight hours with the new maritime patrol aircraft than any other VP squadron in the Navy.

The deployment included detachments to a multitude of countries in the 7th Fleet AOR. Within Japan, locations such as Atsugi, Misawa, and Yokota were visited by VP-16 aircraft.

Additionally, the Republic of the Philippines, Guam, India, Brunei, Australia, Thailand and Singapore were other countries visited by the “War Eagles” during their assignment to the region. In total, VP-16 was able to safely execute in excess of 3,700 flight hours over the course of the prior seven months.

The squadron excelled in all aspects of their operations. Mission sets included Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW), Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA), Anti-Surface Warfare (ASuW), plus Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR). VP-16 was often tasked for these mission sets since the P-8A Poseidon has a full set of intelligence collection sensors with long-range capability and extended loiter time available.

For many in the squadron, this marked their first time on deployment.

“This was my first deployment since joining the Navy. The experience was extremely rewarding because we were finally able to employ the many years of training we have undergone at NAS Jacksonville,” said Lt. j.g. Michael Reindl, a naval flight officer with VP-16. As anyone who has served can tell you, first deployments come with many new situations that can be difficult to adjust to.

For others, this was not their first experience within actual theater. AWO1 Marcus Belew, for example, was previously deployed on the P-3C Orion but embarked on his first deployment on the P-8A Poseidon this time around.

“This was my fourth deployment. Deploying with the P-8A was more tactically engaging than it was in the P-3C. We utilize our sensors from takeoff until landing, and that makes me feel that I’m able to provide a better product for the Navy as a whole.”

The response from upper level leadership to VP-16’s deployment was tremendous. The squadron was able to perform above and beyond the required levels of proficiency. Now, with VP-16 back home at NAS Jacksonville, training for their next deployment has already begun.