AirForces Monthly – September 2019

20 // September 2019 #378 http://www.airforcesmonthly.com

NEWS North America

Orion soldiers on

with ‘Grey Knights’

US NAVY P-3C 159326

(c/n 5616) ‘RC-326’ departs

Boeing Field, Washington,

on June 19, while performing

a series of touch-and-goes.

This Orion belongs to Patrol

Squadron 46 (VP-46) ‘Grey

Knights’ based at Naval Air

Station Whidbey Island. As

well as being the last-active

duty P-3C squadron in the

US Navy, VP-46 is also the

navy’s oldest active maritime

patrol squadron and the

second oldest in the service.

VP-46 completed a final

overseas deployment to the

Fifth, Sixth and Seventh Fleet

areas of responsibility in

April. During the deployment,

VP-46 flew more than 600

sorties. The unit was relieved

by VP-40 ‘Fighting Marlins’,

which left Whidbey in late

March for its final deployment.

The ‘Grey Knights’ are now

in a six-month transition

period by the end of which

the unit will be fully equipped

with the new P-8A.

493rd FS F-15s return from Middle East

AIRCRAFT AND airmen

from the USAF’s 48th

Fighter Wing/493rd

Fighter Squadron ‘Grim

Reapers’ and 748th Aircraft

Maintenance Squadron

recently returned from a six-

month deployment to an

undisclosed air base in the

Middle East. The 493rd’s

F-15Cs arrived back at RAF

Lakenheath, Suffolk, in two

waves on July 12 and 21.

As the 493rd Expeditionary

Fighter Squadron, the

unit had been deployed

at short notice to support

ongoing combat operations,

replacing USAF F-22s when

the Raptors were brought

home to the US earlier this

year. The F-22s returned

to the region on June 27,

when they arrived at Al

Udeid Air Base, Qatar – see

Raptors deploy to Qatar for

the first time, August, p18.

The 493rd had deployed

to the unspecified base

in the region on May 8,

having moved within

theatre to better position

the aircraft to defend US

forces and interests – see

Lakenheath F-15Cs deploy

to Southwest Asia, July,

p19. Images released by the

US Department of Defence

showed the unit’s F-15Cs

operating from Al Dhafra

Air Base in the United Arab

Emirates while supporting

Exercise Tri-Lightning,

which was intended to

enhance capability and

interoperability among F-

variants from the USAF,

RAF and Israeli Air Force.

It is unclear whether this

is the base to which the

‘Grim Reapers’ had been

deployed or if they had

merely been temporarily

detached there solely for

this exercise. Dave Allport

Above: F-15C 86-0163 ‘LN’ arrives back home at RAF Lakenheath, Suffolk, on July 12 after a six-month deployment to the Middle East. USAF/Senior Airman

Malcolm Mayfield

An MQ-8C chained to the fl ight deck of the Independence-class LCS USS ‘Coronado’ (LCS 4)

during trials in the Pacifi c last year. US Navy/Ens Jalen Robinson

Initial operational capability

for MQ-8C Fire Scout

THE US Navy declared

initial operational capability

for its MQ-8C Fire Scout

unmanned helicopter on

June 28. The milestone

paves the way for fleet

service and training using the

new sea-based, vertical lift

unmanned system. Intended

to provide reconnaissance,

situational awareness and

precision targeting support

for ground, air and sea

forces, the MQ-8C is a further

development of the MQ-8B,

offering increased payload

and endurance, including an

on-station time of up to 12

hours. The MQ-8C, which

is based on the commercial

Bell 407 airframe, has flown

in excess of 1,500 hours

with more than 700 sorties

to date. Northrop Grumman

is under contract to deliver

38 MQ-8C production

aircraft to the US Navy.

The MQ-8C will be

equipped with an upgraded

radar with a larger field

of view and a range of

digital modes including

weather detection, air-to-

air targeting and a ground

moving target indicator

(GMTI). It will deploy on

board Littoral Combat Ships

(LCS) in fiscal year 2021.

Joe G Walker

17-20 USNews AFM Sep2019.indd 20 8/5/2019 4:07:48 PM