U.S. Marines with Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron (HMH) 461 practice an external lift with a CH-53K King Stallion at Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho, Aug. 11, 2022. T
This was the first time the Marine Corps deployed the King Stallion in an exercise.
HMH-461 is a subordinate unit of 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, the aviation combat element of II Marine Expeditionary Force.
MOUNTAIN HOME AIR FORCE BASE, ID.
08.11.2022
Video by Cpl. Adam Henke 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing
By Debalina Ghoshal
A number of developments call for Australia not only to reply on defensive means to defend itself, but also rely on offensive capabilities like cruise missiles as part of its defense arsenal. Some of these developments are: North Korea’s ongoing missile development program, coupled with its nuclear tests, and Iran’s ballistic and cruise missile developments amid the nuclear crisis, China’s assertiveness in the South China Sea in addition to the recent Ukrainian crisis.
Moreover, if Australia is to play bigger role in the Indo-Pacific region under the AUKUS architecture, it has to possess credible offensive capabilities too to counter/ contain China. Other than Australia, AUKUS comprises the United Kingdom as well as the United States: both of which possess air launched cruise missiles.
Amid these developments, it becomes mandatory for Australia to focus on cruise missile capabilities for a credible conventional deterrence vis-a-vis its adversaries.
Australia’s threat perceptions emanate from China. China has installed YJ-12B category anti-ship cruise missiles in the South China Sea (SCS). China installing anti-ship cruise missiles in Spratly Islands in SCS is a concern for Australia too. Australia has raised concerns in the recent past on China’s “aggressive tactics” in the SCS region.
As early as 2018, Australia’s Foreign Minister at the time, Julie Bishop raised concerns that “any action to militarise features in South China Sea would go against that responsibility and that role.” China’s assertiveness in the form of military presence in the South Pacific Islands like the Solomon Islands has raised concerns too.
Australia also faces ballistic missile threat from China from its DF-26 intermediate ballistic missile (IRBM) also called the “Guam Killer.” It must be noted that approximately sixty percent of the Australian exports pass through the SCS and hence credible military prowess is required to protect the trade route. Russia too is stepping up its maritime presence in not only SCS but also in the Pacific region with the help of the Russian Pacific Fleet. Russia also possesses cruise missile capability.
At the same Australia also faces threats from North Korea’s long range ballistic missiles and in October 2017, the North Korean Foreign Ministry warned Australia of disasters if the latter did not stop supporting the United States and South Korea on their tough stance on North Korean nuclear issue.
To an extent, Iran also is a threat to Australia especially in times of crisis. Iran’s missile systems are becoming more sophisticated and also their quest for developing long range missiles can lead Iran in the near future to become capable of reaching targets in Australia. These long range missiles not only include ballistic missiles but also cruise missile like the Soumar of ranges above 2500kms.
The Ukrainian crisis has become an eye opener to the fact that missiles form an integral component of coercive diplomacy strategy of a state as was seen in the case of Russia using missile systems against Ukraine to deter it from joining NATO or the EU. Australian Defence Minister Peter Dutton in April 2022, expressed concerns “there is a prospect of Russia going into Poland or somewhere else in Europe.”
Australia lacks long range ballistic missile capability and hence, it all the more needs cruise missile capability to maintain strategic balance. Australia also lacks a deep strike capability without air to air refuelling which could be a hazardous task in times of crisis.
Cruise missile capabilities would provide stand-off capabilities to its aircraft having lesser need for refuelling in air.
While Australia is taking keen interest in ballistic missile defence systems, deterrence cannot only rely on a ‘defence by denial’ strategy. Moreover, the strategy to strengthen defence through missile defence system is still at its nascent stage and will require some time for ensuring credible deterrence.
Moreover, there will also be concerns on how effectively can the missile defence system intercept cruise missiles. Though at present, the Royal Australian Navy is progressing to develop capability to field the Aegis missile defence system, there is still a long way to go.
Also, while Aegis may act as a deterrent against emerging ballistic and cruise missile threats, it must be noted that adversaries are also modernising their cruise missile fleet to be able to evade interception.
Hence, Australia needs to also rely on a ‘deterrence by punishment’ strategy for which Australia requires offensive combat capabilities like cruise missiles. In addition, Australia has developed non- nuclear electromagnetic pulse weapons and cruise missiles can effectively deliver these bombs on targets.
In April 2022, there were reports that Australia had accelerated its plans of acquiring long range strike missiles. Australia’s ANZAC class frigates and Hobart Class destroyers would be equipped with Norwegian made Kongsberg Naval Strike Missile (NSM) missiles by 2024.
Australia is keen to acquire the RGM-109 Tomahawk land attack cruise missile, the AGM-158B Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM-ER), the AGM-158C Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM) and the Precision Strike Missile (PrSM).
In May 2022, it was reported that Australia would outfit its Collins class submarine with Tomahawk missile systems as a part of forthcoming Life of Time Extension (LOTE) program. This would help in both protecting Australia’s sea-lines of communication and also for strengthening its sea-denial capabilities.
However, the task is complex as Australia does not possess vertical launch system (VLS) and hence, the Tomahawk variants for the Collin class would have to be torpedo tube-launched ones.
In August 2021, Australian government signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the United States Department of Defence (DoD) to become a partner with the United States in its Precision Strike Missile development program.
In April 2022, the Defence Minister clarified the relevance of these missile systems in Australia’s security realm, “[w]ith Australia’s strategic environment becoming more complex and challenging, our ADF must be able to hold potential adversary forces and infrastructure at risk from a greater distance. These world-class strike weapon systems will equip our forces to better protect Australia’s maritime approaches and when necessary, contribute to Coalition operations in our region. The JASSM-ER will enable the FA-18F Super Hornet, and in future the F-35A Lightning II, to engage targets at a range of 900km.”
In addition, the Australian government will also continue collaborating with the United States and the United Kingdom on hypersonic missile technology under its AUKUS partnership.
That Australia has serious security threats is obvious. It only remains to be seen the kind and type of weapon systems that Australia would choose as a credible deterrence in times to come that would enhance its capabilities for national defence in the Indo-Pacific region as well as its contribution to allied defence in the region.
The author is an Indian-based defense analyst and consultant.
She is a no-resident fellow of The Council on International Policy.
A U.S. Air Force MQ-9 Reaper with the 163rd Attack Wing, California Air National Guard, refuels during Integrated Training Exercise (ITX) 4-22 at Marine Corps Air-Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms, Calif., July 21th, 2022.
The MQ-9 Reaper received fuel via aviation delivered ground refueling from an MV-22 Osprey with Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 764, marking the first time the MQ-9 received fuel from a joint asset and the first time an Air National Guard MQ-9 received fuel from another aircraft.
The MQ-9 Reaper provided close air support to Marine Air-Ground Task Force 23 during its execution of the fire support coordination exercise of ITX as the Marine Corps Reserve continues to work to integrate with sister services in preparation for future operations.
07.23.2022
Video by Lance Cpl. Jennifer Delacruz
Marine Forces Reserve
Petroleum Operators from 17th Sustainment Brigade conducted Exercise Overland – Nautical Petros 22 (EX ONP 22) at Cowley Beach Training Area in Queensland, from 1st to 19th August 2022. EX ONP 22 aimed to qualify Petroleum Operators in the collective operation and supervision of a suite of petroleum capabilities.
This included establishing bulk fuel storage areas, Inland Pipeline Distribution System, Advanced Fuel Quality Control and more.
At the core of the Exercise was the demonstration of the ADF’s capability of moving fuel from a ship to land without support from fixed infrastructure, which falls into its light ship-to-shore transfer capability.
Australian Department of Defence.
August 24, 2022.
By Robbin Laird
A key difference between legacy 20th century military platforms and 21st century platforms revolve around software upgradeability.
With the legacy platforms, integration on the platform has been done by additive change, with then having to modify the platform in various ways to incorporate the additive change.
With software defined platforms, upgrades come through modifying the software, often to provide for capabilities which users of the platform suggest from actual operational experience.
Shaping ways to gain transient software advantage and rapid insertion of technological advances is key to a 21st century software-enabled combat force.
The CH-53K in common with aircraft developed with a digital foundation are aircraft in continuous development even as they are part of the operating force.
This means that with software developments of systems on the aircraft, the capability of that aircraft evolves over time.
And this process is very different from legacy aircraft, such as the earlier CH-53.
Software development teams are a key part of the ongoing evolution of the aircraft, and these teams combine user and government inputs along with the prime contractor for the aircraft in doing collaborative code rewriting and development.
Recently, NAVAIR released an article on the CH-53K which highlights this process and its key advantages for driving innovation. The article was published on August 2, 2022, and was entitled, “Collaboration enhances successful CH-53K Flight Control System.”
That article follows:
A full authority digital fly-by-wire Flight Control System (FCS) is one of many impressive capabilities setting the CH-53K King Stallion heavy lift helicopter apart from any other heavy lift aircraft. “Full authority” means the FCS provides all of the aircraft motion – not just supplementing the pilot for stability.
A digital fly-by-wire FCS is an electronic flight control system teamed with a digital computer that replaces mechanical control systems in an aircraft. It makes the aircraft easier to handle in degraded visual environments at gross weights up to 88,000 lbs. The CH-53K is currently cleared to 27,000 lbs. external lift but will eventually be cleared to 36,000 lbs.
“The CH-53E/D were much harder to fly,” said retired Lt. Col. Lucas Frank, formerly of Marine Operational Test and Evaluation Squadron 1 (VMX-1). “And the ease of flying this, the flight control system is probably the biggest game changer for the 53 community. We’re not used to anything like this.”
The high performance of the FCS is a direct result of the ongoing collaboration and cooperation between subject matter experts within the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) Heavy Lift Helicopters Program Office (PMA-261), the Integrated Test Team (ITT), and the Flight Controls System design engineers from Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin Company.
For pilots, the FCS provides more predictable and stable control responses to improve safety and mission effectiveness.
For maintainers, the FCS reduces complexity by eliminating conventional helicopter hardware like mixers, push-rods and tail rotor cables, while improving diagnostic capability and maintenance time.
For members of the CH-53K ITT, the most impressive FCS benefit is how it can be used to achieve future capabilities and quickly correct identified deficiencies.
The flight test program for the CH-53K uses four Engineering Development Model (EDM) CH-53K aircraft. In these four-test aircraft, the fly-by-wire FCS permits the use of adjustable parameters called Flight Test Variables (FTVs), giving the test team opportunities to improve the aircraft control characteristics.
“FTVs are an extremely powerful tool,” said Craig Merriman, CH-53K assistant program manager for test. “It allows us to test design fixes on aircraft in between major software releases.”
According to Merriman, this means the team can continually improve the FCS software. If an issue is identified in flight test, the FTVs can be adjusted within a preapproved range, providing the pilots an opportunity to evaluate the correction in the aircraft in the intended environment. These FTVs are then incorporated into the next major FCS software release.
“With each major FCS software drop, the aircraft baseline performance markedly increases due to the incorporation of these verified FTVs,” said Merriman.
The CH-53K FCS is a work in progress and a team effort. When issues were identified through flight test, which required a quick resolution, the whole team collaborated from sites in Florida, Maryland and Connecticut.
One example of the team’s success was the correction of air data faults during aerial refueling. During initial aerial refueling testing on the CH-53K in 2018, the FCS showed faults due to the turbulent air data created by the tanker aircraft. The FCS air data computers were reading large pressure fluctuations causing the FCS to think the air data computers had failed.
With the deficiency identified by the flight test team, the design engineers began developing FTVs and performing analysis. The FTVs were evaluated in the Flight Controls System Integration Lab (FCSIL), a Sikorsky-owned lab in Stratford, CT, used by the ITT. The FCSIL is a CH-53K aircraft representative laboratory and simulator with triplex redundancy – a flight representative control system. The facility is used to simulate aircraft behavior and evaluate the aircraft performance relative to new FTVs. The facility is also used to verify the safe load and unload of FTVs to the software.
Following the FCSIL testing, the NAVAIR Airworthiness group reviewed the analysis and granted approval to fly the FTVs. With this approval, the test team loaded the FTV on the aircraft. The fix was tested with no degradation, permitting the fleet aerial refueling operations which are in use today.
“It’s a very intuitive flight control system,” said Frank, “and it blends very well with the pilot and the computers. It allows you to override the computer. And then the second that you stop overriding it, the computer takes back over without any further pilot input. That’s probably the biggest game changer for our community.”
The use of FTVs has been key in resolving FCS deficiencies discovered during flight test and will be used to enhance the already successful fly-by-wire system as the CH-53K takes on additional capabilities in the future.
Ok.
The whole point of the crucial advantage which a platform designed from the ground up in terms of software upgradeability is highlighted.
According to Merriman, this means the team can continually improve the FCS software. If an issue is identified in flight test, the FTVs can be adjusted within a preapproved range, providing the pilots an opportunity to evaluate the correction in the aircraft in the intended environment.
Full stop,
Featured Photo: A CH-53K King Stallion aircraft plugs a refueling drogue behind a KC-130J aerial refueling tanker during a test event over the Chesapeake Bay in 2021. Credit: NAVAIR.
Royal Australian Navy auxiliary oiler replenishment ship HMAS Supply (A 195) conducts a replenishment at sea with Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Essex (LHD 2) during Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2022.
07.22.2022
Video by Canadian Forces LS Ernesto Sanchez
Commander, U.S. 3rd Fleet
3D-printing yokowerx capabilities highlighted.
TOKYO, JAPAN
07.27.2022
Video by Airman 1st Class Brooklyn Golightly
374th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
U.S. Marines with India Co., 3d Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, Ground Combat Element, Marine Rotational Force-Darwin (MRF-D) 22, and Australian Army soldiers with 16th Battalion, Royal Western Australia Regiment, conduct an air assault during exercise Koolendong 22 in Yampi Sound, WA, Australia, July 20 through 22, 2022.
Exercise Koolendong 22 is a combined and joint force exercise focused on expeditionary advanced base operations conducted by U.S. Marines, U.S. Soldiers, U.S. Airmen, and Australian Defence Force personnel.
YAMPI SOUND, WA, AUSTRALIA
07.22.2022
Video by Cpl. Emeline Molla
Marine Rotational Force – Darwin