Aviation Specials - July 2018

released National Defense Strategy

states: ‘Our attention must now be on

defeating peer enemies’.

’Our people will be central to this

effort. Well prepared and properly

equipped aviators, maintainers and

Naval Air Forces personnel provide us

our asymmetrical advantage.’

In order to maintain and achieve that

advantage in the coming years, the US

Navy has begun to procure a host of new

aircraft, with none more important than

the first fifth-generation stealth aircraft

to operate from an aircraft carrier — the

F-35C. As the last of the three services to

achieve an initial operational capability

(IOC), waiting to receive the fully combat

capable Block 3F version, the Navy has

taken its time to make sure the aircraft it

receives are ready for all missions. After

11 years and over 16,000 flight hours, the

full Block 3F System Development and

Demonstration testing has recently been

completed, helping pave the way for IOC

in the coming months. The successful

demonstration of Block 3F capabilities

in the upcoming initial operational test

and evaluation is critical for the Navy’s

IOC declaration. That must include the

ability to conduct assigned operational

missions utilizing program of record

weapons, mission systems, sensors and

performance envelopes.

Carrier qualification (CQ) trials were

completed on board USS Abraham

Lincoln (CVN 72) in late March after

pilots from Strike Fighter Squadron

(VFA) 125 ‘Rough Raiders’ and VFA-

‘Grim Reapers’ performed 140 day and

night deck landings. With both the new

GPS-based Joint Precision Approach and

Landing System (JPALS) and Delta Flight

Path (DFP) now proven and CQ having

been achieved, full operational testing of

this element of the F-35C will begin later

this year.

The current program of record calls for

the Navy to receive 273 F-35Cs over the

life of the program. VFA-101 and VFA-

have stood up as the East and West Coast

Fleet Replacement Squadrons (FRS). VFA-

125 at NAS Lemoore will additionally be

responsible for training brand-new naval

aviators on the type and will also assist

in transitioning fleet squadrons to the

F-35C. The first operational fleet squadron,

VFA-147 ‘Argonauts’, has begun the

transition from the F/A-18E Super Hornet

to the F-35C.

Miller comments: ‘Our near-term focus

with the F-35C is to ensure that VFA-147 is

trained and ready to win in combat when

they deploy in USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70)

in 2021. We are proud of the hard work

the ‘Argonauts’ are doing up in Lemoore

to become the first combat-ready aircraft

Above: Aircraft

availability

and training

are the tenets

of a successful

strike fighter

community.

Jamie Hunter

Right top to

bottom: An

MQ‑8C Fire

Scout during

launch and

recovery

procedure

testing. US Navy/

CMC Jacob A.

Shafer

Initial

operational test

and evaluation

of the F‑35C

falls to VX‑9 at

Edwards AFB.

Jamie Hunter

(^08) INTRODUCTION

US NAVY & MARINE CORPS AIR POWER YEARBOOK 2018

6-12 Leadership Interview_v2.indd 8 01/06/2018 10: