integrate with other assets for large force
operations. It also serves as a laboratory in
which to validate emerging technologies.
At MAWTS-1, digital interoperability
(DI) has progressed from acquisition
buzzwords to being an operationally-
e ective tool, enabling the more reliable
delivery of precision re and enhancing
the situational awareness of commanders
across the MAGTF.
DI has expanded into the assault support
realm by introducing the marine air-
ground tablet (MAGTAB) and the marine
air-ground tablet kinetic integrated low-
cost software integrated tactical combat
hand-held (KILSWITCH) app.
The MAGTAB is simply a tablet that
aircrew carry onto the aircraft with them
— it allows Super Stallion crews to send
and receive mission-critical updates in
near-real time with a minimum of radio
chatter. This is particularly important
during WTI, where the students are
learning, among other things, e ective
ight leadership techniques. Baxter
explained, ‘We teach that in the role
of ight leadership, information
management is key. Who am I pushing
information to? What [information]
do I owe to my senior or next level of
ight leadership? What do I owe to my
subordinate ight leaders as well? What
do I owe my ‘dash-2’, my section lead, my
division lead? How do I get them that
information? This [MAGTAB] is a way to
streamline that.’
Discussing how DI has been used
during WTI, Baxter said, ‘We’re using
di erent waveforms to communicate
with each other over the tablets, mainly
to streamline our communications
process.’ Pre-set tasks are programed into
the tablets at the planning stage, and
the crews can update the task’s status
during the mission at the touch of a
button. Once updated, the information
is populated instantly on all the other
tablets in the network.
Threat management is another function
CH-53 crews can use the MAGTABs for. If
a threat pops up in the battlespace, the
crew can mark the danger on the tablet’s
moving map, hit the ‘publish’ button and
everyone in the network will see it.
Beyond the MAGTABs, marine CH-53s
are undergoing upgrades to help keep
the type relevant and survivable until its
replacement by the CH-53K King Stallion.
Some of the latter’s systems are being
tted to the ‘Echo’, which will have the
added bene t of making the eventual
transition between types easier.The ‘Kilo’s’ dust landing hazard mitigation
technology is one upgrade that is nding
its way into the current marine -53 eet.
One of the most dangerous things the
crews do is to land in the dust at night –
the lack of visibility and ground reference
can be very hazardous, especially to
less experienced pilots. The ‘Kilo’ system
gives electronic guidance via the head-
up display and greatly eases the pilot
workload during dust landings. Baxter
outlines, ‘You have a multi-function color
display right in front of you and a system
to get down in the dust, so you pretty
much don’t have to look outside any more
when you’re landing.’Reset button
The 2013 budget sequester and the scal
austerity it imposed on the US military
exacerbated some already signi cant
readiness issues for the corps’ CH-53E eet.
After a dozen years of sustained combat
operations straining an almost 35-year-old
parts supply system, the HMH squadrons
were facing maintenance problems
that limited airframe availability and
ight hours.
As a stopgap measure to increase and
stabilize airframe and parts availability
across the eet leading up to and
throughout the transition to the CH-53K
(which is projected to be completed in
2031), the corps has initiated a CH-53E
readiness recovery e ort, informally
known as the ‘reset.’ Starting in 2016 at the
direction of then deputy commandant
for aviation Lt Gen Jon Davis, the ‘reset’
program has been putting marine ‘Echoes’
through a more than 100-day process
of stripping each aircraft down and
rebuilding it. The results are aircraft being
returned to their squadrons in like-new
condition.‘Echo’ excellence
Baxter, who has own the ‘Echo’ for
almost eight years and has three combat
deployments to Afghanistan under his
belt, described the goal of MAWTS-1 as,
‘to train weapons and tactics instructors
who are responsible for developing the
overall training plan in the squadron;
also, to make sure everybody is tactically
pro cient in their aircraft, their weapons
system, providing realistic and challenging
training, and then making sure ultimately
that those guys in their squadron are
ready for combat operations.’
The scope of WTI is such that every
operational aircraft type in the US Marine
Corps is represented in the course,33US NAVY & MARINE CORPS AIRPOWER YEARBOOK 2018
MAWTS-1 CH-53E28-35 MAWTS-1 C.indd 33 31/05/2018 15:25