68
an extraordinary reduction in the level of pilot
inputs in the fi nal approach phase to the
carrier. It has huge implications for the future
of carrier aviation.
“Pilots have felt confident to go to the ship
in half the amount of ‘looks’ that it would
have previously taken,” says Anderson. “Even
for first-time pilots going to the boat, it will
undoubtedly reduce their time to prepare.”
In the more immediate term, it’s down to
VX-9 to ensure the aircraft that goes to sea
is operationally suitable. It’s impossible to
stop a piece of stray metal from going down
an intake on a ‘cat shot’ and there’s a lot at
stake if an F-35C loses the motor at the boat.
CDR Anderson says it just changes decision-
making when it comes to emergencies.
There’s a similar thought to maintaining the
low-observable coating on the jet during long
cruises. CDR Anderson says it’s all part of an
important shift in mindset. He says the integrity
of the low-observable technology “changes
decisions on where and how we fl y the airplane.
“We had a similar progression with Super
Hornet,” he adds. “How we keep it clean,
how we maintain it on the ship – the F-35 is
another generational leap. F-35 maintenance
on the ship is a concern, but it’s the same for
any aircraft operating near saltwater. We take
corrosion control very seriously in the navy.”
Looking more towards the tactical side of the
mission, CDR Anderson acknowledges that
the USAF and USMC have flown the aircraft
longer and have built more experience, but
he says that’s just the nature of the timeline.
“We are working on fighter integration and
we’ve completed two detachments to NAS
Fallon to work with TOPGUN and NAWDC
[the Naval Aviation Warfighting Development
Center] and IOT&E will further support navy
tactics development. We’re looking at the
total spectrum – the F-35C adds a deep strike
capability to the carrier air wing, but in addition
the aircraft will fly SEAD [suppression of
enemy air defence], OCA [offensive counter-
air] and DCA [defensive counter-air].”Enlarging the fleet
VFA-125 ‘Rough Raiders’ was reactivated at
NAS Lemoore, California, as the west coast
RAG (Replacement Air Group – training
squadron) on January 12, 2017. It received its
first four F-35Cs on January 25. While VFA-
101 ‘Grim Reapers’ continues to train those
with previous experience as instructors for
the FRS and NAWDC at NAS Fallon, Nevada,
brand new pilots are coming to VFA-125.
USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) conducted
CQs for nine aviators assigned to VFA-101
and VFA-125, plus VX-9 ‘Vampires’, from
December 7-11, 2017. This included the
first use of the Joint Precision Approach and
Landing System (JPALS) in an operational
setting as well as the first shipboard use of
the Autonomic Logistic Information System
(ALIS). Operations were also conducted
with JPALS in inclement weather during a
portion of the qualification process. Prior
to this underway period the F-35C had only
used JPALS during developmental testing.
The Abraham Lincoln again hosted the
two RAGs and other aircraft from March17-21, 2018, for day and night qualifications
with 140 traps in anticipation of IOT&E.
RADM Dale Horan, director of the US
Navy F-35C Fleet Integration Office said:
“It’s personally interesting for me, but also
professionally, it’s really neat to see this
aircraft out there with other aircraft; we
haven’t done that before. Previously, all
the CQ evolutions have just been F-35s.”
One of the major milestones for this
CQ evolution was the operational use
of the F-35C’s foldable-wing feature.
“My original platform is the Hornet, which
I’ve flown for the past three years,” said LT
Nick Rezendes, a pilot attached to VFA-101,
who qualified on the F-35C during this CQ. “I
wanted to switch to flying the navy’s newest
aircraft, and now that I have, I wouldn’t mind
sticking with it for the rest of my career.”
Meanwhile, VFA-147 ‘Argonauts’ completed
its first F-35C flight at Lemoore on April 18,- At the controls was LT Dave ‘Strokes’
Hinkle. The ‘Argonauts’ have transitioned
from the F/A-18E to the F-35C as the first
operational US Navy Lightning II squadron.
The unit began the initial transition last
December after completing a six-month
deployment aboard USS Nimitz (CVN 68)
as part of Carrier Air Wing 11 (CVW-11).
VFA-147 is receiving aircraft from VFA-125,
as well as from the factory, and transition is due
to be completed before the end of 2018. The
‘Argonauts’ will declare IOC in early 2019 as
the squadron works towards integration into a
carrier air wing, leading to a deployment on the
USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) by 2021. The US
Navy also says it plans to field an unconfirmed
number of F-35Cs to MCAS Iwakuni, Japan,
sometime after 2021. The aircraft will replace
F/A-18E/Fs with one of the four squadrons
that operate from the aircraft carrier USS
Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) as part of CVW-5.F-35
F-35 LIGHTNING II F-35C into service