combat aircraft

T

HE US NAVY’S F-35C

squadrons will be

assigned to a new wing

when Commander,

Joint Strike Fighter Wing

is established at NAS

Lemoore, California, on August 1,

2018. Upon activation the wing will
      assume administrative control over
      strike fighter squadrons VFA-
      ‘Grim Reapers’, VFA-125 ‘Rough
      Raiders’ and VFA-147 ‘Argonauts’.
      Two pilots assigned to VFA- 147
      carried out the squadron’s inaugural
      F-35C flights at Lemoore on April 18.
      The squadron began its transition
      from the F/A-18E to the F-35C in
      December 2017 and will become the
      fleet’s first operational Lightning II
      unit when it completes conversion

in late 2018. The ‘Argonauts’ will

conduct the F-35C’s first deployment

aboard the USS Carl Vinson

(CVN 70) in 2021.

Elsewhere, eight F-35Bs from

marine fighter attack squadron

VMFA-121 ‘Green Knights’ conducted

operations alongside the Japan Air

Self-Defense Force for the first time at

Misawa Air Base from May 10-22. The

Lightning IIs participated in training

with JASDF F-35A, F-2A and F-15J

fighters that included live-fire sorties

at the Misawa air-to-ground firing

practice range.

VMFA-121 completed its first

operational deployment with the

F-35B when six jets returned to MCAS

Iwakuni, Japan, after departing from

the flight deck of the amphibious

assault ship USS Wasp (LHD 1). The

ship returned to Sasebo on April 26

after conducting nearly two months

of operations in the Indo-Pacific area

with the 31st Marine Expeditionary

Unit (MEU). The six F-35Bs arrived

aboard the Wasp in early March.

Meanwhile, the 388th and 419th

Fighter Wings completed the first

long-term overseas deployment with

the F-35A on May 5. The 34th and

466th Fighter Squadrons deployed

12 F-35As and personnel to Kadena,

Okinawa, Japan, in October 2017.

During the six-month deployment,

pilots flew 1,086 sorties and

conducted mini-deployments to

eight other locations in the region.

ARMY HOPES TO

ACCELERATE BLACK

HAWK CONVERSIONS

THE US ARMY is looking for ways to

speed up the conversion of its UH-60L

utility helicopter fleet to UH-60V

configuration. The project, which is

being conducted by the Corpus Christi

Army Depot (CCAD), replaces the

helicopter’s analog instrumentation

with a new digital ‘glass’ cockpit. In

addition to providing a similar pilot-

vehicle interface (PVI) to the UH-60M,

the new cockpit allows the Black Hawk

to meet global air traffic management

(GATM) requirements, and addresses

obsolescence issues. The CCAD will

convert the Black Hawks at a rate of

48 annually once production ramps

up. At that rate, it will take 15 years

to complete the planned fleet of 760

UH-60V conversions. The service is

considering options for increased

funding and output using outside

sources to finish the conversions

sooner. Northrop Grumman won

a US Army contract to develop the

UH-60V’s upgraded cockpit in early

2014 and the first prototype flew in

January 2017. The new variant is still

in development and two prototypes

have flown 140 flight hours at the

Redstone Test Center, Alabama. A

limited user test (LUT) for the UH-60V

is planned for this summer in advance

of low-rate initial production starting.

MARINES SEEK ROTARY

WING ADVERSARY

THE US MARINE Corps has joined

the USAF in seeking contractor-

operated foreign adversary aircraft

support. The US Navy released a

solicitation on April 26 seeking

rotary-wing adversary support for

the Marine Air Ground Task Force

Training Command (MAGTF TC) at

Marine Corps Air Ground Combat

Center (MCAGCC) Twentynine

Palms, California. The service is

seeking either Mi-24 ‘Hinds’ or

Mi-17 ‘Hips’ that can provide

realistic dissimilar aircraft training

against rotary- and fixed-wing

aircraft, forward operating bases,

forward arming and refueling

points, anti-aircraft artillery

defense units and other friendly

force positions. The aircraft will

support five integrated training

exercises (ITX) and up to five

mountain training exercises (MTX)

annually at the MCAGCC and the

Marine Corps Mountain Warfare

Training Center near Bridgeport,

California. Additional support

would be provided for up to two

Talon exercises (TALONEX) at

Twentynine Palms, which are

conducted twice a year in

conjunction with the Weapons

and Tactics Instructor Course

(WTI). The solicitation includes an

option for a fixed-wing An-2 ‘Colt’

that would support training

against airborne and ground-

based air defense units. During the

exercises the aircraft would be

based at MCAS Yuma, Arizona.

YOKOTA DELIVERIES COMPLETE

THE 374TH AIRLIFT Wing’s

complement of Lockheed Martin

C-130Js was completed on April

27 when the final pair of airlifters

touched down at Yokota Air Base,

Japan. The 13th and 14th C-130Js

for the wing comprised one

aircraft that was transferred from

the 86th Airlift Wing at Ramstein

Air Base, Germany and another

that was delivered directly from

Lockheed Martin’s production

line in Marietta, Georgia. Pictured

below is C-130J serial 16-

taxiing at Yokota following its

arrival from Georgia on April

21. The Super Hercules was the
    12th example of the type to
    be delivered to the wing’s 36th
    Airlift Squadron.

An F-35B of VMFA-

prepares to land on

amphibious assault ship

USS Wasp (LHD 1) on April 13.

USMC/LCpl Amy Phan

F-35As from Hill AFB, Utah, have returned

home from their six-month deployment to

Kadena, Japan. USAF/Naoto Anazawa

USAF/Yasuo Osakabe

UNITED STATES [NEWS]

http://www.combataircraft.net // July 2018 09

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