Last C-17A enters
fi nal assembly
Boeing carried out its last C-17A ‘major join’
on February 26 when the airframe’s fuselage,
cockpit, wings and tail section were
assembled at its Long Beach, California,
facility. The aircraft will be the last of 279
Globemaster IIIs constructed at the facility,
which will close later this year. Although
Boeing delivered the last of 223 C-17As to
the USAF in September 2013, the contractor
is producing 10 so-called ‘white tail’
airframes for sale to potential customers.
Seven of those are still available, although
both Australia and the United Arab Emirates
have each shown interest in acquiring two
or more examples.Army helicopter orders
Boeing has received a $591.2-million
modi cation to an existing contract that
provides for the full-rate production of 35
Lot 5 AH-64E helicopters.The contractor
also received a $713.9 million contract
modi cation covering the purchase of 26
re-manufactured and four new CH-47Fs. It
includes options for two more CH-47Fs and
long-lead funding for Production Lot 14.
Sikorsky Aircraft received a $241.7-million
contract modi cation from the US Army
that exercised an option for 22 UH-60Ms to
support contingency operations.Fire Scout airframe ordered
Bell Helicopter has received an $8.4-million
modi cation to an existing contract to deliver
a single Model 407 helicopter to the US Navy.
It also provides for the preservation and
storage of seven aircraft purchased previously
for the endurance upgrade of the MQ-8C Fire
Scout.Orion wing production under way
Lockheed Martin re-started production of
P-3 wings in support of the mid-life upgrade
(MLU) program, which replaces the Orion’s
outer wings, center wing, horizontal stabilizer
and horizontal stabilizer leading edges, at
its Marietta, Georgia, facility on March 4. The
new wings are being produced in support
of upgrade programs for the Chilean and
Royal Canadian Air Forces. The contractor had
previously made new wings for installation
on Orions operated by the US Navy, US
Customs and Border Protection and the Royal
Norwegian Air Force, but production ended in
August 2014.Triton plans con rmed
The US Navy’s plans to deploy the unmanned
MQ-4C Triton to Andersen AFB, Guam during
2017 were con rmed by the Chief of Naval
Operations on March 4. The aircraft is currently
undergoing testing with VX-1 at NAS Patuxent
River, Maryland. The rst of a planned eet
of 68 operational MQ-4Cs will be elded to
unmanned patrol squadron VUP-19 at NAS
Jacksonville, Florida and NBVC Point Mugu,
California, in 2017.PROCUREMENT
‘Tigers’ safe for ight
The ‘Fighting Tigers’ of patrol squadron VP-
were certi ed as safe for ight (SFF) by the
Commander, Patrol and Reconnaissance Group
(CPRG) on February 26, following conversion
from the P-3C to the P-8A. The certi cation
follows a comprehensive evaluation that began
on February 2 when the Maritime Patrol and
Reconnaissance Weapons School conducted
a three-day Conventional Weapons Training
Pro ciency Inspection (CWTPI). Instructors from
eet readiness squadron VP-30 evaluated the
abilities of pilots, naval ight o cers, acoustic
operators and electronic warfare operators
to operate all mission systems on board the
P-8A safely and tactically. Inspectors from
commander, patrol and reconnaissance wing
CPRW-11 began the nal SFF certi cation phase
on February 23. Over a four-day period every
VP-8 maintenance program, administrative
instruction, safety program and NATOPS
program was evaluated. Receipt of SFF
certi cation marked the start of the squadron’s
13-month inter-deployment readiness cycle
(IDRC) in preparation for VP-8’s rst P-8A
deployment. The ‘Tigers’ subsequently carried
out their rst IDRC training ight on March 2.New helicopter squadron planned
The US Navy will activate a sixth operational
helicopter maritime strike squadron for
assignment to its Paci c Fleet carrier air wings
later this year. HSM-79 will be established at NAS
North Island, California, on October 1, 2015, and
will formally stand up on February 1, 2016. It
will operate 11 MH-60R helicopters in support
of carrier strike group operations and is due to
achieve initial operational capability around
January 2017. Assigned to one of six carrier airwings, the Seahawks will operate from
both the carrier and smaller aviation-capable
surface combatants.Navy squadrons to stand down
The US Navy plans to shut down its two Naval
Reserve helicopter sea combat squadrons.
Respectively based at Naval Station Norfolk,
Virginia, and NAS North Island, California,
HCS-84 and HCS-85 are the only squadrons
that provide dedicated support to US Special
Operations Command (USSOCOM). Standing
down the two squadrons will allow the Navy
to retire their 24 HH-60H helicopters and save
more than $27 million in Fiscal 2016. Limited
support for the special operations forces will be
provided by eet squadrons that operate the
newer MH-60S version of the Seahawk. Both
squadrons will be disestablished on March
16, 2016. Although HSC-84 and HSC-85 are
technically reserve squadrons, they are sta ed
by a mix of active-duty personnel, reservists on
active orders, and selected reservists.Lakotas for Guam National Guard
The Guam National Guard will receive a pair
of UH-72A medical evacuation (MEDEVAC)
helicopters in mid-2015. The Lakotas will be the
rst aviation assets assigned to the US Territory,
which is located in the western Paci c Ocean
around 3,300 miles (5,311km) west of Hawaii.
The helicopters will be assigned to Detachment
2, Delta Company, 1st Battalion, 224th Aviation
Regiment (Security and Surveillance) and will
operate from a new Limited Army Aviation
Support Facility in Barrigada. Construction of the
facility at the National Guard Readiness Center
near Antonio B. Won Pat International Airport is
expected to be completed by the end of 2015.UNIT NEWS
MAGIC
CARPET ride
NAVAIR has commenced fl ight trials
of the newly-developed F/A-18 fl ight
control software dubbed MAGIC
CARPET (Maritime Augmented
Guidance with Integrated Controls
for Carrier Approach and Recovery
Precision Enabling Technologies). This
is designed to make landing on an
aircraft carrier easier by maintaining
a commanded glideslope and angle of
attack, giving the pilot the opportunity
to focus more attention on maintaining
a proper line-up. LCDR Tyler Hurst fl ew
the fi rst live test fl ight of the system
on February 6 in a VX-23 F/A-18F
from NAS Patuxent River. LT Brent
Robinson, MAGIC CARPET project
offi cer, commented: ‘The initial airborne
response characteristics observed in both
path and rate modes with both full and
half fl aps are very encouraging’. Testing
in the pattern at ‘Pax’ will pave the way
for initial shipboard work later this year
as the fl ight control software and new
head-up display symbology are tested.http://www.combataircraft.net May 2015 98-12 US News C.indd 9 20/03/2015 11: