Aviation Specials - July 2018

‘GOLDEN SWORDSMEN’

MILESTONE

Patrol squadron VP-47 ‘Golden

Swordsmen’ formally completed

its transition from the P-3C

Orion to the P-8A Poseidon in

November 2017. The squadron,

which is based at NAS Whidbey

Island, Washington, will continue

training in preparation for its  rst

deployment with the P-8. The

safe for  ight (SFF) declaration

followed the squadron’s

completion of a three-phase

transition that concluded with

a series of rigorous tests, drills

and inspections intended to

ensure that the unit was fully

prepared to begin autonomous

P-8A operations. Once these

inspections were complete, the

squadron was deemed SFF, which

certi ed the squadron to conduct

autonomous operations with

the Poseidon.

In preparation for its initial

deployment VP-47 will conduct

homeland defense operations,

participate in exercises and

re ne its anti-submarine warfare

war ghting capabilities. The

‘Golden Swordsmen’ had operated

several variants of the Orion since

receiving its  rst P-3As in 1965.

‘ROADRUNNERS’ MOVE SOUTH

Marine transport squadron

VMR-1 formally relocated

from MCAS Cherry Point,

North Carolina, to NAS Fort

Worth Joint Reserve Base on

December 31, 2017. There it

is transitioning to the C-40A

Clipper alongside the US Navy

Reserve’s  eet logistics support

squadron VR-59. In addition

to transferring the squadron

 ag to the Texas base, the

‘Roadrunners’ became a Marine

Corps Reserve squadron and

were reassigned to the 4th

Marine Aircraft Wing (MAW).

VMR-1 ended  ight operations

with two C-9B transports in

April 2017, as part of the Marine

Corps’ sundown plan for the

Skytrain II. The squadron also

operated a pair of smaller

UC-35D operational support

aircraft that were transferred

to Cherry Point’s Headquarters

and Headquarters Squadron

on October 1. Established as

the Station Operations and

Engineering Squadron in July

1941, it was redesignated

numerous times until becoming

VMR-1 in September 1997.

The ‘Roadrunners’ will operate

alongside VR-59 and will use the

latter squadron’s C-40As until

receiving its own aircraft.

HORNET SHAKE-UP

The US Navy is accelerating its

transition to the F/A-18E/F and

making plans to divest itself of

nearly 140 ‘classic’ Hornets. Seen

as a cost-cutting move, the service

believes that it will recoup nearly $

billion in maintenance costs over  ve

years by retiring the older aircraft.

Under the plan, the service will strike

136 F/A-18A, B, C and D Hornets

from its inventory between 2017

and 2020. The move would provide

the service with an additional pool

of spare parts and allow it to transfer

the best of the jets to the Marine

Corps to help improve readiness,

and to reserve squadrons.

The plan will recoup around $

million in 2019 and $852 million

across the Future Years Defense Plan

(FYDP) that runs through 2023. At

the start of Fiscal Year 2018 the naval

aviation inventory included more

than 40 F/A-18A/Bs and in excess

of 200 F/A-18C/Ds. The service

had previously made the decision

to transition its last operational

F/A-18C strike  ghter squadrons,

comprising VFA-34, VFA-37, VFA-

and VFA-131, to the Super Hornet by

the end of 2019. The latter squadron

began its transition in October 2017.

Conversion of VFA-204 at NAS New

Orleans JRB is already under way

and the ‘River Rattlers’ had received

several F/A-18Cs by early March.

The squadron expects to take on

additional aircraft at a rate of around

two per month.

Meanwhile, Boeing has received

a $73-million contract to begin

work on a service life modi cation

(SLM) for the F/A-18E/F  eet that

will increase the Super Hornet’s

life from 6,000 to 9,000-plus hours.

The program is a precursor to a

subsequent e ort that will upgrade

existing Block II Super Hornets

to Block III con guration. The

contractor will initially upgrade

four Super Hornets at its St Louis,

Missouri, facility but plans call for a

production line to be set up in San

Antonio, Texas during 2019.

VFA-34 ‘Blue Blasters’, along with the three other

surviving  eet F/A-18C units, will transition to the

Super Hornet by the end of 2019.

US Navy/MCS3C Elton Charles Wheeler

US NAVY & MARINE CORPS AIR POWER YEARBOOK 2018

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS^19

14-19 Air power review C.indd 19 31/05/2018 15: