to-and-fro process of ironing out
problems. ‘You never get to a point where
you can’t proceed, because you had
all that hard engineering work on the
military, government and manufacturer
side completed up front. We ind things
that need to be ixed, but whatever the
issue will be, even if it’s major, we ind it in
time and correct it.’
Development testing is about meeting
the desired speciications. Once ready,
the navy passes a capability or system on
to operational test — the domain of its
sister unit, VX-9 ‘Vampires’. ‘It’s not that we
do the developmental tests with blinders
on and then hand it over to them when
we are done. We do the developmental
testing but we are becoming more and
more integrated with operational testing,
which is a very good thing. We bring VX-9
in early on the project so that they can
get a good look at the weapon to make
sure it can efectively do the mission
using current tactics and all the current
employment methods.’The ‘Devil’ is in the detail
The workforce at VX-31 takes in more than
350 people, of whom 42 are active-duty
naval aviators — pilots and naval light
oicers (NFOs). All of the ixed-wing
aviators are test pilot school graduates.
‘Typically, the seniority of our irst-tour
project oicers is such that they have‘DEVIL’SAR
With AH-1Z and UH-1Y testing having
been concentrated under VMX-1 at
MCAS Yuma, Arizona, the only rotary-
wing activity at VX-31 come in the
shape of three MH-60S Seahawks that
are conigured for search and rescue
(SAR) operations. ‘We are a unique
squadron,’ says CDR Somerville, who
notes that the squadron provides
SAR cover for the local area. ‘We do
that for the local military but also for
the civilian police and ireighting
departments. They have some
speciic capabilities that civilian
helicopters do not have such as night
vision and high-altitude capabilities.’
VX-31 SAR involves activities on the
China Lake ranges and performs
high-altitude rescues in the Sierra
Nevada mountain range — a popular
hiking destination. This is a remote
corner of California, but important for
test and training in the huge R-2508
range complex. ‘In terms of logistics,
it’s much more eicient to assign
these helicopters to a squadron
rather than operate them under a
separate unit,’ Somerville concludes.Above: VX-31’s
‘CAG-bird’
F/A-18E Super
Hornet, BuNo
166871, darts
into a canyon
during a mission
from China
Lake. Richard
VanderMeulen
Below left: A
VX-31 F/A-18D
fires an AGM-88E
AARGM, a navy-
led program for
a new standard
anti-radiation
missile. NAVAIR
Right: VX-31
operates
three MH-60S
helicopters for
local search and
rescue coverage.
Gert Kromhouthttp://www.combataircraft.net // October 2018 73