NATIONAL
HARBOR, Md. — The Navy’s admiral in charge of unmanned aviation said that the
Initial Operational Capability (IOC) of the MQ-25A aerial tanking unmanned
aerial vehicle is “as soon as possible.”

Speaking May
6 to an audience at the Navy League’s Sea-Air-Space exposition here, Rear Adm.
Brian Corey, program executive officer for unmanned aviation and strike
weapons, said that the MQ-25A program does not have a set IOC date but that it
was to be before 2026 “if we can.”

The
Boeing-owned MQ-25 prototype was trucked earlier this week from the factory in
St. Louis to Mid-America airport in Illinois for more ground testing and,
eventually, flight testing.

Corey said
the first flight of the prototype would take place later this year.

He also said that four
aircraft carriers initially will be equipped to operate the MQ-25A, but he
declined to speculate which carrier, citing the flexibility of schedules.

NATIONAL
HARBOR, Md. — The Marine Corps and the Army are running an analysis of
alternatives (AOA) to see whether the two services can meet the same requirements
for Milestone A or B start in fiscal 2021, a Marine helicopter acquisition
official said. The AOA is expected to be complete in the “next couple of
months.”

Speaking May
6 to an audience at the Navy League’s Sea-Air-Space Expo in National Harbor,
Maryland, Marine Col. David C. Walsh, program manager for Marine light attack
helicopters, said the Marine Corps has begun studies for its Attack Utility
Replacement Aircraft to succeed the UH-1Y Venom and AH-1Z Viper helicopters.

The Corps
hopes to field the Future Vertical Lift Capabilities Set 3 by the late 2020s or
early 2030s, Walsh said.

A key
requirement for the Marine Corps is an aircraft that can keep up with or even
exceed the speed of an MV-22B Osprey, 310 knots.

Bell
Helicopter delivered the last of 160 UH-1Ys in April 2018 and has delivered 111
of 189 AH-1Zs to date. The last AH-1Z deliveries are scheduled for 2022.
Bahrain and Pakistan also have purchased AH-1Zs, while Turkey and Taiwan have
procured the older AH-1W.

Walsh said
that there is considerable foreign military sales potential for the UH-1Y and
AH-1Z. He listed potential for 88 AH-1Zs and 29 UH-1Ys in Europe, 129 AH-1Zs in
the Asia-Pacific region, and 44 AH-1Zs and 24 UH-1Ys in the Middle East and
North Africa.

Walsh also
said his office is working on capability upgrades to the Corps’ H-1 fleet,
including Link 16, full-motion video, the Joint Air-Ground Missile, and the
AIM-9X Sidewinder air-to-air missile, as well as some navigational upgrades.

NATIONAL
HARBOR, Md. — The Navy expects to reach a Milestone C decision in late May for
the VH-92A presidential transport helicopter. Such a decision would mark
approval for the helicopter to enter low-rate initial production.

Speaking to
an audience at the Navy League’s Sea-Air-Space Expo in National Harbor,
Maryland, Marine Maj. Gen Greg Masiello, the Navy’s program executive officer
for Air, ASW, Assault and Special Mission PEO (A), said the program team has
three VH-92As, two of which it is running through Developmental Test, with the
two alternating flights every other day.

Program
officials have a meeting scheduled May 30 with James F. Geurts, assistant
secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition, who has the milestone
decisional authority.

The Navy is
developing the Lockheed Martin/Sikorsky VH-92A as a replacement for the VH-3D
and VH-60N helicopters flown in support of the president and other high-level
government officials by Marine Helicopter Squadron One.

NATIONAL
HARBOR, Md. — The Navy will retire is last HH-60H Seahawk special operations
support helicopters this year, an official said.

Speaking to
an audience at the Navy League’s Sea-Air-Space expo in National Harbor,
Maryland, Marine Maj. Gen Greg Masiello, the Navy’s program executive officer
for Air, ASW, Assault and Special Mission PEO (A), said the last seven of the
HH-60Hs in the inventory would be retired and replaced by the next-generation
Seahawk, the MH-60S.

The HH-60H is
flown by reserve Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 85 and deploys in support of
Navy special warfare forces and other forces.

MH-60S
helicopters for the squadron will be modified with the 7.62 mm GAU-17 six-barrel
rotary machine gun used for fire suppression.

The HH-60H is
the last of three Seahawk versions from the H-60’s initial naval service: the
SH-60B, SH-60F, and HH-60H. The MH-60R and MH-60S are the latest versions in
the Navy.

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — An analysis of alternatives (AOA) is underway in the Office of the Secretary of Defense for a replacement for the Navy’s E-6B Mercury strategic communications aircraft.

Speaking to
an audience at the Navy League’s Sea-Air-Space conference here, Marine Maj. Gen
Greg Masiello, the Navy’s program executive officer for Air, ASW, Assault and
Special Mission PEO (A), said that his office is supporting the AOA. PEO(A)‘s
portfolio includes the E-6B aircraft.

The E-6B is
the legacy platform that relays strategic communications to and from the Navy’s
ballistic-missile submarines and national command authority, a program called
TACAMO (Take Charge and Move Out). The E-6B also serves in the airborne command
post (ABNCP) role for U.S. Strategic Command, flying with a battle staff
onboard.

The AOA is for the NEAT
program, which is a simplification of the terms NAOC (National Airborne Operations
Center)/EA (ABNCP/TACAMO). The AOC mission is performed by the Air Force E-4B
aircraft.

ARLINGTON, Virginia
— China’s first home-built aircraft carrier is likely to join the People’s
Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) fleet this year, a highlight of China’s effort to
modernize its fleet with modern, farther-ranging platforms and weapons.

Construction
began on a second aircraft carrier in 2018, said a new report to Congress from
the Defense Department, “Military and Security Developments Involving the
People’s Republic of China 2019.” This carrier, which should reach the PLAN fleet
in 2022, is likely to be fitted with a catapult aircraft launch system,
according to the report.

A coastal
defense navy during the Cold War, the PLAN is continuing a two-decade build-up
with numerous blue-water platforms

“The PLAN is
rapidly replacing obsolescent, generally single-purpose platforms in favor of
larger, multirole combatants featuring advanced anti-ship, anti-air and
anti-submarine weapons and sensors,” the report said. “This modernization
aligns with China’s growing emphasis on the maritime domain and increasing
demands on the PLAN to conduct operational tasks at expanding distances from
the Chinese mainland using multimission, long-range, sustainable naval
platforms possessing robust self-defense capabilities.”

“Modernization
of China’s submarine force remains a high priority for the PLAN,” the report
said. “The PLAN currently operates four nuclear-powered ballistic missile
submarines (SSBN), six nuclear-powered attack submarines (SSN) and 50
conventionally powered attack submarines (SS). The speed of growth of the
submarine force has slowed and will likely grow to between 65 and 70 submarines
by 2020.”

The PLAN also
continues to modernize its surface warship fleet.

China has
built new guided-missile cruisers (CGs), guided-missile destroyers (DDGs) and
guided-missile frigates (FFGs) that “will significantly upgrade the PLAN’s air
defense, anti-ship, and anti-submarine capabilities. These assets will be
critical as the PLAN expands operations into distant seas beyond the range of
shore-based air defense systems” the report said.

China has
built four Renhai-class CGs over the last two years and has several more under
construction. The lead CG is scheduled to join the fleet in 2019. At least
three Luyang-class DDGs joined the PLAN fleet in 2018, bringing the total to
nine with at least four more under construction. A larger variant forthcoming,
Luyang III, will be equipped with a vertical launcher system.

China also
emphasizes small surface combatants, with 27 or more Jiangkai II FFGs and more
than 40 Jiangdao-class corvettes, with more of both types under construction.

All new
attack submarines and surface combatants are being armed with modern anti-ship missiles.

“The PLAN
recognizes that long-range ASCMs require a robust, over-the-horizon targeting
capability to realize their full potential,” the new Pentagon report said. “China
is investing in reconnaissance, surveillance, command, control and
communications systems at the strategic, operational and tactical levels to
provide high-fidelity targeting information to surface and subsurface launch
platforms.”

China also is
building a fleet of amphibious warfare ships, adding three to the current five
Yuzhao-class amphibious transport dock ships.

China also is expanding the
PLAN marine corps from two brigades and 10,000 marines to seven brigades and
30,000 marines by 2020. The Chinese marine corps also now has its own commander
and a new central headquarters.

ARLINGTON, Va. — Lockheed Martin is set to deliver to the Navy the first Advanced Off-Board Electronic Warfare AOEW pods at the end of 2019, the company’s program manager said.

The first set of pods is on track for delivery in December 2019 or January 2020, said Joe Ottovanio, director of electonic warfare solutions for Lockheed Martin, speaking to reporters May 1 in Arlington.

Ottoviano also said the program expects a Milestone C decision for Low-Rate Initial Production of the AOEW pod in December.

The AOEW is a pod designed to be carried aloft by and MH-60R or MH-60S helicopter and function as an extension of a warship’s SLQ-32(V)6 electronic warfare system.

ARLINGTON, Virginia — The existence of a working prototype of the Navy’s MQ-25A Stingray carrier-based aerial refueling UAV will save 18 months of development time and could be a factor if the Navy decides to move up the date of the aircraft’s Initial Operational Capability (IOC), currently planned for 2024.

“Eighteen months of early learning is the biggest step” to pushing up IOC, said Dave Bujold, Boeing’s MQ-25 program director, speaking to reporters April 29 at Boeing’s facility in Arlington.

Boeing built its company-owned prototype, called T-1, for the canceled UCLASS (Unmanned Carrier-Launched Aerial Surveillance and Strike) UAV program and, unlike its competitors, had the prototype on hand for the MQ-25 competition. T1 has not yet flown but has participated in taxi tests and overnight on April 28 was transported from the St. Louis, Missouri, plant to Mid-America airport in southern Illinois for additional ground tests and eventually its first flight.

Boeing expects to fly T-1 later in 2019.

Bujold said that T-1 is a “very strong representation of the EMD [engineering and manufacturing development] aircraft” and that waiting for the first EMD aircraft to emerge from the factory would add 18 months to the program.

At Mid-America, T-1 will receive the aerial refueling system of the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet strike fighter and the Joint Precision Aircraft Landing System. The plan includes, in addition to more ground testing, a “couple hundred flight hours,” Bujold said.

Eventually, T-1 will be transported to participate in risk-reduction deck handling trials on board an East Coast aircraft carrier.

Testing is planned to continue through fiscal 2021, the year the first EMD MQ-25A is completed. Bujold said the design will be frozen sometime in 2020.

He said that a factor that could help speed up development is the fact that Navy program officials are embedded with Boeing officials in a common government maritime acceleration team. Rather than having to communicate with stacks of documents, Boeing and Navy officials operate through a shared network drive, a method that, he said, “speeds up acquisition,” using “rolling [program] reviews.”

ARLINGTON, Va.— The transfer of the new amphibious assault ship USS America to the Forward-Deployed Naval Force (FDNF) next fiscal year will bring a change in capabilities to the 7th Fleet’s amphibious ready group, but the Marines that will go on patrol on America will be able to adjust to the changes and maintain a similar level of combat capability.

America (LHA 6) is scheduled to replace USS Wasp (LHD 1) as the “bog-deck” amphib deployed to Sasebo, Japan. The major difference in the two ships is that America lacks a well deck, a feature on all earlier LHAs and LHDs that can float landing craft and amphibious assault vehicles.

The America and its soon-to-be commissioned sister ship Tripoli were designed to be more aviation-centric. The trend was reversed with the third ship of the class, the future Bougainville, which will have a well deck.

The Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), the 31st MEU, which deploys on the ships of the Sasebo-based amphibious ships, differs from other MEUs in that it does not include M1A1 tanks in its load-out.

“I do not possess tanks, because we don’t have tanks on Okinawa,” said Col. Robert Brodie, commander of the 31st MEU, speaking April 23 to the Potomac Institute in Arlington of the 31st MEU’s patrol in the Western Pacific in early 2019.

With somewhat of a lighter load, the 31st MEU will have less of a problem handling the unit’s equipment of the America-centric amphibious ready group (ARG).

Brodie said his staff already is looking at the optimum way to configure the MEU’s equipment load-out to best operate from the America. The ship’s lack of a well deck means that three fewer landing craft — LCACs or LCUs — would be carried by the ships of the ARG.

Brodie is optimistic that the increased aviation capacity of the America could make up for the loss of a well deck. The America would more easily accommodate 12 MV-22B Osprey tiltrotor aircraft rather than the 10 that the Wasp typically carried. The two additional Ospreys would add to the overall airlift capability that could make up for some of the loss of lift by landing craft, especially without the requirement to accommodate tanks.

The America’s increased aviation capacity also would enable the America to deploy with perhaps as many as eight F-35C Lightning II strike fighters instead of six as on the Wasp. The additional MV-22Bs also would make the eventual installation of an aerial refueling hose on one or more of the MV-22Bs a plus for the range and endurance of the F-35.

The air combat element of the 31st MEU also normally deploys with four CH-53E Super Stallion heavy-lift helicopters on board the Wasp, in addition to the three Navy MH-60S armed helicopters. The four AH-1Z Viper attack helicopters and three UH-1Y Venom utility helicopters are normally staged on the amphibious platform dock ship and dock landing ship of the ARG.

ARLINGTON, Virginia — The airfield that launched the B-29 bombers that dropped the atomic bombs on Japan in World War II is being partially refurbished for use as a divert field and refueling point for Marine Corps aircraft in training events.

The United States has “opened up a long-term contract to be able to utilize the north [air]field” on Tinian, agreed to with a 40-year deal with the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands to use the north airfield on Tinian, said Col. Robert Brodie, commander of 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), speaking April 23 to the Potomac Institute in Arlington of the MEU’s recent patrol in the western Pacific in early 2019.

One of the coral runways of the airfield will be improved, Brodie said. That runway currently is in condition to receive KC-130 aerial refueling/transport aircraft, but “it isn’t user-friendly for a lot of jet airplanes,” said Brodie, an F/A-18 Hornet pilot.

The runway refurbishment is expected to cost $20 million.

The Mariana Islands and Guam are becoming increasingly important to the upcoming move of thousands of Marines and Sailors from Okinawa to Guam, forces who will need combat training sites for maintaining readiness.

Brodie took the opportunity to look at potential beach landing sites and live-fire training sites. He noted that two new hangars for aircraft have been built at Andersen Air Force Base on Guam for Marine Corps aircraft.

The 31st MEU was heavily involved in relief efforts in Tinian after Typhoon Mangkhut swept through the Marianas in mid-September 2018, when the rooves of most buildings on Tinian were destroyed. The MEU’s Marines and the Sailors spent a month on Tinian rebuilding and relieving the suffering of the island’s 2,500 residents.

Brodie said the Marines and Sailors were gratified by the opportunity to help fellow American citizens, telling the islanders, “We’re here to support America!”

He said Tinian’s mayor has asked for a Marine Corps recruiter to come to the island to “focus their high school kids” on considering service in the Corps.

“I can’t tell you what a good feeling it is to have a great relationship with the leadership of the Northern Marianas,” Brodie said. “What I think that is going to directly contribute to the Marine Corps in our path forward as we start to move forces down there.”