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USS WASP, At Sea — As the first operational test of the F-35B Lightning II takes place aboard the USS Wasp this week, service members from the United Kingdom are working alongside their U.S. Navy and Marine Corps counterparts to assess the integration of the F-35B into amphibious military operations.
“United Kingdom participation in the F-35 program has been absolutely critical to our success,” said Lt. Gen. Chris Bogdan, Program Executive Officer for the F-35 Lightning II Joint Program Office. “Since the beginning, UK test pilots and engineers have been fully integrated and work shoulder-to shoulder with us as we deliver the F-35 to the warfighter.”
Sixteen Royal Navy and Royal Air Force members embedded aboard the ship during the operational tests. They serve as F-35 operational assessors, ship integration team members, aircraft technicians and maintenance crews.
The Royal Navy’s vision for tactical integration of the F-35B into their current arsenal is similar to the Marine Corps’ plan to integrate the F-35 with legacy aircraft, such as the AV-8B Harrier and the F/A-18 Hornet, and gradually phase out legacy aircraft over the coming decades.
“By 2020, U.K. combat airpower will consist of Typhoon and F-35B Lightning II, a highly potent and capable mix of fourth and fifth generation fighter aircraft. With Typhoon already established as one of the premier multi-role fighters in the world, the F-35 brings a complementary next-generation level of survivability and lethality. This will ultimately provide the UK with an unprecedented level of capability in a single platform,” said Royal Navy Lt. Cmdr. Neil Mathieson, the UK’s F-35B Ship Integration Lead.
U.S. Marine Corps Col. Matthew Kelly, military assistant to the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition, provides background on the Marine Corps’ F-35B program to Air Marshall Bollam, Chief of Defence Material Air, United Kingdom, aboard USS Wasp while embarked in the Atlantic Ocean May 20, 2015. The current Marine Corps operational test, scheduled to continue through the end of May, will assess the integration of the F-35B while operating across a wide array of flight and deck operations, maintenance operations and logistical supply chain support in an at-sea environment. A former test pilot and career Marine aviator, Kelly participated in the earlier shipboard developmental tests of the F-35B. Royal Navy and Royal Air Force pilots are scheduled to begin flying the F-35B from the UK in 2018, and are on track to operate from the Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers in 2020.
A mechanical engineer by trade, Mathieson is working with the Marine Corps aboard USS Wasp for the duration of OT-1.
Mathieson explained that a range of advanced sensors, combined with increased processing power, enables the F-35B to fuse the vast array of information collected into a single picture. This equips the F-35 pilot with a level of situational awareness previously unavailable within a fighter cockpit and an ability to share this instantaneous, high-fidelity view of ongoing operations with other platforms at sea, in the air, or on the ground through advanced datalinks.
“The unique, low observable nature of the F-35 will also allow unprecedented access to very high-threat environments, allowing the U.K. to conduct operations across the full range of operational scenarios, day or night, in fair or inclement weather,” said Mathieson.
During the two week operational test, the Marine Corps and U.K. counterparts are assessing the integration of the F-35B while operating across a wide array of flight and deck operations. Specific OT-1 objectives include demonstrating and assessing day and night flight operations in varying aircraft configurations; digital interoperability of aircraft and ship systems; F-35B landing signal officer’s launch and recovery software; day and night weapons loading; and all aspects of maintenance, logistics, and sustainment support of the F-35B while deployed at sea. Additionally, the joint and international team is working closely with Naval Sea Systems Command to assess specific modifications made to USS Wasp. This will be particularly beneficial for the U.K.’s future program, which will include integration of the F-35B with their new class of amphibious ships.
“Our Queen Elizabeth Class carriers are the largest and most powerful warships ever built in the U.K.,” said Mathieson. “They are capable of the widest range of roles, from defense diplomacy and humanitarian assistance to full combat operations, providing flexibility and choice throughout their 50-year life.”
In February, the United Kingdom stood up their first F-35 squadron at Edwards Air Force Base, California. The historic 17 (Reserve) Squadron is now responsible for the entire operational test and evaluation of the UK’s F-35s. Personnel from 17 (R) Squadron, comprised of engineers and pilots from the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy, fly and maintain the two UK F-35B jets independently from their U.S. colleagues.
“The U.K. team is involved in every facet of F-35B maintenance during OT-1,” said U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Col. Michael Dehner, the Department of the Navy F-35 Operational Test Director. “That includes avionics, air frames, power lines, quality assurance and flight equipment. They’re going to glean valuable lessons that will be critically useful as they move from the developmental to the operational phase of F-35B integration.”
U.K. F-35B pilots will begin operating the next generation stealth fighter from home bases in England starting in 2018, and are on track to fly from Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers in 2020. The U.K. has played a major role in the program throughout the System Design and Demonstration phase, and has a program of record to procure the F-35B in the coming years.
2015-05-27 On May 26, 2015, several journalists flew to the USS WASP aboard an Osprey from the Pentagon to the ship off of the North Carolina coast to talk with the Navy and Marine Corps personnel about the operational testing aboard the ship of the F-35B, its operations shipboard and its integration with the ship.
6 planes are onboard; 4 from Yuma (Green Knights) and 2 from Beaufort.
The planes flew from Yuma flew to Beaufort and all 6 then flew aboard the ship from Beaufort (Warlords).
Maintainers were from these two squadrons plus VMX-22 and reports aboard the ship from the maintenance side were that the plane was very maintainable at sea.
This video above shows one of the planes landing aboard the ship during the morning’s sorties from and to the ship.
There were several.
And at the start of the day there had been 88 sorties since OT started last week.
The plane has nearly 11,000 flight hours to date, much of that accumulated in the last 2 1/2 years.
After shipboard integration operational testing, next up is weapons certification of air to air and air to ground weapons for the operational pilots .
These weapons have already been tested in the Developmental Testing phase.
IOC will be this summer for the Green Knights at Yuma.
Aboard the ship were key representatives from the United Kingdom working as part of the team and leveraging these sea trials as part of their own preparation for the integration of the F-35 with the HMS Queen Elizabeth.
The day was focused on the F-35 and ship integration, and a key point is that the plane and ship are working on integrating their combat systems.
A significant part of the F-35 impact is shaping what the Aussie Minister of Defense refers to as “fifth generation warfare” for his defense force, and the integration of the ship with the F-35B is part of this process for the USN-USMC team.
The XO of the ship, Captain Andrew “Mongo” Smith, highlighted that the ability of a 25 year old ship to become part of “fifth generation warfare” and its ability to operate the F-35 showed the flexibility of the ship and the USN-USMC team.
With the larger amphibious ships able to operate F-35s, Ospreys and CH-53Ks, the ability of the team to insert Marines at greater distance and safety was highlighted in various interviews aboard the ship.
The CO of VMX-22, Col. “Horse” Rauenhorst highlighted that their work as a squadron was focusing on the integration of the Osprey, the F-35 and the new CH53K as key elements enabling a more lethal and survivable MAGTF.
The infantry Marines will be inserted at greater distance, with greater flexibility to enhance their effectiveness and survivability.
That is the whole point of the innovation being tested aboard the USS WASP.
This video below shows one of the planes taking off aboard the ship during the morning’s sorties from and to the ship.
2015-05-27 According to a communication to the journalists who traveled to the USS WASP on May 26, 2012. Major Greenberg, a PAO officer with the USMC provided a helpful update on the operational testing and their progress.
“The first phase of shipboard Marine Corps F-35B operational test (OT-1) is in progress aboard USS Wasp (LHD 1), a U.S. Navy amphibious ship, from May 18 to May 29, 2015.
Six F-35B aircraft from VMFA-121 and VMFAT-501 are participating in OT-1.
OT-1 will evaluate the full spectrum of F-35B measures of suitability and effectiveness to the maximum extent possible.
Specifically, the ship trial will assess the integration of the F-35B while operating across a wide array of flight and deck operations, maintenance operations and logistical supply chain support in an at-sea environment.
OT-I objectives also include:
Test and assessment of day and night flight operations;
Efficacy of the F-35B landing signals officer’s launch and recovery software;
The crew’s ability to conduct scheduled and unscheduled maintenance activities;
The suitability of F-35B maintenance support equipment for shipboard operations;
The logistics footprint of a six-plane F-35B detachment;
Day and night weapons loading;
And all aspects of the logistics and sustainment support of the F-35B while deployed at sea.
Data and lessons learned will lay the groundwork for F-35B deployments aboard U.S. Navy amphibious carriers following the Marine Corps’ F-35B initial operating capability (IOC) declaration in July 2015.
There is not a precise date in July scheduled for IOC declaration.
The Power Module for the F-35 engine was carried onbaord the USS Wasp by an Osprey. Credit Photo: USMC
The U.S. Marine Corps Deputy Commandant for Aviation, Lt. Gen. Jon Davis, has directed that a team of experts carry out a final operational readiness inspection in July before declaring the first squadron (VMFA-121) of F-35B fighter jets ready for initial combat use at IOC.
The Marine Corps-led team will report the findings of the operational readiness inspection, and the Commandant of the Marine Corps will make a decision based on those findings.
Statistics: The F-35B has flown more than 11,800 mishap-free hours as of May 26, 2015.
OT-1 F-35B sorties as of the end of the day on May 26, 2015: 98 OT-1 F-35B flight hours as of the end of the day on May 26, 2015: 73.1 Daily sorties May 26: 17 Daily hours May 26: 11.1
Power Module: The power module arrived aboard the USS WASP via Osprey on May 21, 2015. The power module was loaded into an MV-22B Osprey at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland and flown to USS Wasp on May 21.
The power module is the core of the F-35B’s engine.
A joint effort has been coordinated between the Marine Corps, the F-35 Joint Program Office, Pratt & Whitney and Naval Air Systems Command Special Operations and Cargo Team to make this happen.
The goal was to design, build and test a shipping “buck” to hold and protect the 4,500 pound power module while being transported in a MV-22B.”
05/27/2015: On May 26, 2015, several journalists flew to the USS WASP aboard an Osprey from the Pentagon to the ship, which was operating off of the North Carolina coast.
In addition to viewing the ops of the F-35B aboard the ship, there was opportunity to talk with the crew about the operational testing aboard the ship of the F-35B.
6 planes are onboard; 4 from Yuma (Green Knights) and 2 from Beaufort.
The planes from Yuma flew to Beaufort and all 6 then flew aboard the ship from Beaufort.
Maintainers were from these two squadrons plus VMX-22 and reports aboard the ships from the maintenance side were that the plane was very maintainable at sea.
The slideshow shows one of the planes landing aboard the ship during the morning’s sorties from and to the ship. There were several.
And at the start of the day there had been 88 sorties since OT started last week.
The plane has nearly 11,000 flight hours to date, much of that accumulated in the last 2 1/2 years.
After shipboard integration operational testing, next up is weapons certification for the operational pilots of air to air and air to ground weapons.
These weapons have already been tested in the Developmental Testing phase.
IOC will be this summer for the Green Knights at Yuma.
At the Copenhagen Airpower Symposium, a major theme was the impact of the F-35 on the transformation of airpower for the smaller or medium sized air forces.
The coming of the F-35 was gaining momentum, and now those airpowers which are procuring the F-35, are thinking through the impact of the fifth generation aircraft on their legacy fleets.
This impact is described variously as the integration of the 4th and 5th generation aircraft, or the transformation of airpower, or shaping a new ecosystem for fifth generation enabled operations.
Two core presentations at the symposium were those by Air Vice-Marshal (Retired) John Blackburn and Lt. Col. “Chip” Berke, the fifth generation USMC pilot with significant legacy air experience.
Blackburn focused on the RAAF’s Plan Jericho which has been triggered by the decision to buy the F-35.
The significant advances the F-35 offers to the combat force needs to be matched by similar type of advances in situational awareness an the ability to operate as a team across the whole force.
How are we going to use our legacy systems, and those new platforms we are bringing into the force in an innovative way to shape new capabilities and concepts of operations?
From our dealings with the Marines in Australia and elsewhere, it was obvious that they were thinking along similar lines.
The Marines are truly joint in the Australian terms, and like us, they are not waiting for new systems to come into play prior to shaping a new approach to combat innovation.
They are shaping the template as new platforms – in this case the F-35 comes into play.
They have put several years of work into thinking about and doing combat innovations prior to the F-35 entering their force.
This is the way we are approaching the challenge and opportunity as well.
And for Berke, the F-35 is a disruptive change asset which was driving a change on the eco system for 21st century warfare.
He highlighted the synergy between the plane and the emerging fleet and the fifth-generation enabled combat ecosystem.
Berke used the iPhone analogy to describe the dynamics of change.
When Steve Jobs introduced the iPhone he said it was revolutionary for it combined a computer, with a music player, with a phone.
And he repeated this several times in the roll out presentation.
I doubt that anyone in the audience today would describe their iPhone that way.
The ecosystem which grew up around the phone and with which the phone itself has matured, is what is revolutionary, not simply the phone. The same is true of the F-35; it is revolutionary; but the ecosystem which will change and which will inform the further development of the aircraft is even more so.
In other words, the F-35, notably the global fleet of F-35s, will drive strategic change in the entire approach to warfighting.
But this means as well, that it is about the reshaping of the roles and tasks of legacy assets as well as the addition of new assets that further develop the 21st century warfighting template.
It is not simply about adding yesterday’s systems; it is about crafting new ones, which fit into the evolving warfighting template.
At the heart of this transition clearly are the weapons which empower today’s force, are being adopted by the F-35 or enabled by the F-35, and those which will be added to the 21st century fleet to deal with evolving threats.
The UK has certainly suffered from significant funding shortfalls and with the current election seem hell bent on avoiding any discussion of defense and its central importance to the viability of the United Kingdom, one can be forgiven if the evolving template for change being crafted by the RAF might be missed.
Looking back at the time of Lord Drayson as procurement minister announced the formation of Team Complex Weapons. Naturally, this effort has largely been focused upon in terms of weapons procurement and development.
As the then head of MBDA UK put it in an article published by RUSI in 2010:
It was the publication of the UK MoD’s Defence Industrial Strategy (DIS) in December 2005 that encouraged the UK Complex Weapons (CW) industry and counterparts in MoD to face up to the need for a different approach to the acquisition and support of CW in the future.
The combination of declining investment in CW, the stated need to retain appropriate operational sovereignty of CW through the retention of sovereign industrial capabilities, together with new requirements for enhanced military capabilities, demanded a new sector-wide approach.
Team CW was formed by industry in 2006 in response to the challenge, and is now under the joint leadership of UK MoD and MBDA, with Thales Air Defence, Thales Missile Electronics, Roxel and QinetiQ as members. In the two years of the Team CW Assessment Phase (AP), significant progress has been made both on the six launch projects, and in testing the benefits of a Portfolio approach towards the acquisition of CW, through the development of a family of weapons.
The benefits from commonality, modularity and technology re-use, amongst other initiatives, have been measured to provide evidence to inform an MoD Main Gate investment decision relating to partnering in the CW sector.
A largely unintended consequence of this decision was positioning the UK for a sweet spot with regard to 4th/5th generation airpower transition.
For the focus on a rationalized weapons stockpile being developed for an integrated fleet (integration extending to naval as well as air breathing platforms) has laid a foundation for addressing ways to shape 21st century combat capabilities as well.
There are five elements which can be clearly identified whereby the complex weapons approach is part of the transformation of the RAF and the Royal Navy.
First, when one visits HMS Queen Elizabeth, a significant innovation is the weapons loading system.
The HMS Queen Elizabeth in common with CVN-78 has a new way to load weapons and to configure the weapons loads to enhance the safety and speed of the weaponization process.
There is a highly mechanized weapons handling system and advanced machinery automation.
The weapons are brought to either end of the deck to be loaded onto the combat aircraft; and the mechanism for loading and moving the weapons can provide for a mix and match capacity to push the proper loads to the particular aircraft for the missions of the day.
In fact, the system aboard the HMS Queen Elizabeth can prepare those loads the night before the early morning missions.
The UK approach to building a complex weapons enterprise means that there is a common stockpile supporting the strike force.
This means that the numbers and types of weapons have been necked down and the introduction of new weapons will again be built around commonality which will allow the carrier to optimize its ability to arm the strike force as well.
In contrast to a US carrier that can have upwards of 50 weapons in the stockpile, the UK carrier will have a much smaller stockpile of weapons to choose from but with the wide variety of effects one would want from those weapons.
With the common training and software between the RAF and USMC F-35Bs, certification for cross weaponization is certainly a clear possibility moving forward as well.
The common pool of weapons in support of the F-35 is an important enabler for a resupply effort as well, whereby as the UK operates its carrier forward it could receive weapons from foreign stockpiles of common weapons as well.
Second, the F-35 as a scout can leverage the other combat aircraft which will be in the RAF inventory from 2020 onwards, namely the modernized Typhoon.
There is commonality and overlap between the weapons to go onboard the F-35 and the Typhoon, which will enhance the lethality of the fleet in terms of common stockpiles, training and operations.
The commonality delivered by the complex weapons enterprise is a core element for shaping overlap between the Eurofighter and the F-35 and enhancing the overall capabilities of the combined air fleet.
Third, the Eurofighter is upgradeable as the weapons enterprise evolves.
The current planned modernization whereby a new radar and weapons management tools are installed into the cockpit will allow the Eurofighter to subsume many of the Tornado missions, but as well given the kinetic differences from the operation of the two aircraft, the Eurofighter will bring new strike capabilities to the common stockpile between Tornado and Eurofighter as well.
Fourth, as the Eurofighter evolves through weaponization, and is operated as such by the UK and Italy, the Eurofighter can emerge as a clear legacy partner to the F-35.
Both the UK and Italy will cross learn and cross buy weapons for enabling their combined Eurofighter and F-35 fleets, and as such will place operational integration of the two aircraft via the weapons enterprise as an important centerpiece for the way ahead.
And this will allow as well, those countries transitioning to an all F-35 fleet, can through common weapons also connect to the way ahead being forged by the UK and Italy as well.
In Group Captain Paul Godfrey’s presentation to the Copenhagen Airpower symposium, he highlighted this possibility in the following slide:
Fifth, the coming of the F-35 also facilities a new relationship between the air fleet and the naval surface fleet.
Clearly, as the UK carrier becomes operational, one opportunity is to link the Type 45 destroyer to the F-35 in an offensive-defense strike capability.
As this happens, the ability to modify air delivered weapons to operate aboard the ships of the surface navy will provide multiple strike points from which the overall integrated force can deliver effects.
And the complex weapons approach will facilitate this.
For example, SPEAR 3 could operate from an air platform or from a surface ship and the key is for the forward deployed C2 asset to be able to cue strike in order to ensure the desired kinetic effects.
In short, the synergy among the new carrier, the complex weapons enterprise, the coming of the F-35 and the modernization of the Eurofighter can be significant.
And the UK working relationships with other European air forces, notably that of Italy’s, can provide a catalyst for change in the decade ahead.
Editor’s Note: For a broader look at the weapons revolution, see the following:
2015-05-24 The first photos show an F-35B Lightning during flight operations aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp (LHD 1).
There are six F-35Bs aboard the ship, 4 from Yuma (Green Knights) and two from Beaufort (the Warlords).
USS Wasp, with VMFA-121 and VMFAT-501 embarked, is underway conducting the first phase of operational testing for the F-35B Lightning II aircraft, which will evaluate the full spectrum of F-35B measures of suitability and effectiveness in an at-sea environment.
In the final photo, two F-35Bs practice vertical landings aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp (LHD 1) during flight Operations. Wasp, with VMFA-121 and VMFAT-501 embarked,
According to the CO of the Warlords, Lt. Col. Bachmann, there has been rapid progress over the past two years as the Marines prepared their aircraft for integration with the MAGTF.
When I last interviewed OD Bachmann, he had just flown the 200th sortie of the aircraft.
Fast forward to 2015, and the F-35B has more than 10,000 flight hours and the aircraft at Beaufort are among the 140 flying today.
When asked what are the differences between our last meeting and now, the CO of the Warlords had much to say and that will be discussed in the full interview.
But for now, the key thing to highlight is simply that the Marines in the past 2 and 1/2 years have gone from basic flying of the aircraft to training a “much more capable pilot.
We operate a variety of tactical missions including CAS, armed reconnaissance support, tactical intercepts and we operate multiple airplanes operating together via data links.”
These photos shot aboard the USS WASP during the beginning of the Operational Trials highlight the operation of the aircraft aboard the ship.
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The first photo shows an F-35B Lightning II awaiting refueling before a night operations exercise during F-35B Operational Testing (OT-1) aboard USS Wasp (LHD-1) May 20, 2015.
Over the course of about two weeks, U.S. Marines, U.K. military and industry partners will evaluate the full spectrum of F-35B measures of suitability and effectiveness, as well as assessing the integration of the aircraft into the spectrum of amphibious-based flight operations.
An F-35B Lightning II lands on the flight deck of the USS Wasp (LHD-1) during short take-off, vertical landing operations, May 20, 2015.
No other advanced fighter jet in the world is capable of a vertical landing or taking off from a 400-foot runway.
On April 17, 2015, two of our partners, the Williams Foundation (Australia) and the Centre for Military Studies (University of Copenhagen) hosted a seminar in Copenhagen on airpower innovation.
In this Special Report, an overview to the Symposium as well as the speaker’s presentations are highlighted and summarized.
Related material published on Second Line of Defense augments the focus on coalition operations is also included.
The conference launched a significant effort to think through the core problem of coalition airpower as seen from the standpoint of the smaller powers or air forces, or in the case of the United States, the role of the USMC in working through transformation correlated with evolving coalition approaches.
Operators from key Air Forces gave the core presentations that then drove the broader discussion.
It is no accident that one key element of USMC evolution is new approaches to C2 with allies, being developed by the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, and their approach is indicative of the way the Marines think about the role of embedded airpower.
The Marine Corps approach is widely appreciated by allies as they think through their own relations to coalition operations, notably given the impact of airpower modernization, including the broader use of fifth generation capabilities.
Although a small country, Denmark has optimized its military forces to be one of the most expeditionary in today’s Europe.
In fact, Denmark has a core coalition operational competence, one that is of growing significance as operations become increasingly coalition in character.
Airpower and intervention forces are increasingly modular and scalable.
Denmark has modular and scalable forces in its DNA.
The conference was clearly not about applying lessons learned by other powers being to Denmark; it was an honest quest to understand how to reshape forces to be more effective as modular and scalable building blocks for future coalitions, notably as capabilities are being reshaped under the influence of new technologies, such as the broad introduction of fifth generation aircraft.
The rethinking being done by the Royal Australian Air Force, the Royal Air Force, the Dutch Air Force and the Danish Air Force as well as the USMC were the major inputs that challenged the participants at the symposium to think through the rapidly evolving demands for, and reshaping of, approaches for successful coalition airpower.
For the special report to download as a PDF see the following:
