AirForces Monthly – July 2018

14 http://www.airforcesmonthly.com

NEWS North America

// JULY 2018 #

US Navy begins Triton operations

Above: The fi rst operational MQ-4C on approach to NBVC Point Mugu last November 9. US Navy
THE FIRST two operational
MQ-4C Triton unmanned
aircraft systems (UAS) for
the US Navy have begun
flying from Naval Base
Ventura County (NBVC),
Point Mugu. Assigned to

Unmanned Patrol Squadron

(VUP) 19, the Tritons were

officially welcomed to the

fleet with a ceremony at

Point Mugu on May 31.

NBVC Point Mugu is

home to the maintenance

detachment of VUP-

DET Point Mugu, the US

Navy’s first unmanned

patrol squadron.

Maintainers are conducting

training and tests on

the MQ-4C here before

the aircraft deploys to

Guam later this year.

An existing hangar at

Point Mugu has been

completely refurbished

to accommodate up to

four Triton aircraft.

Canada to

upgrade

CH-

Cormorant

LEONARDO WILL provide

a mid-life upgrade and

fleet augmentation for

the Royal Canadian Air

Force’s (RCAF’s) fleet of

CH-149 search and rescue

(SAR) helicopters, the

company announced on

May 29. The Cormorant

Mid-Life Upgrade Program

(CMLU) will extend the

service life of the aircraft

to at least 2040. At the

same time, the current

fleet of 14 CH-149s will

be increased by up to

seven additional aircraft.

The modernisation

will be based on the

Norwegian AW101 Srs 612

configuration and work will

be carried out by Team

Cormorant, a consortium

led by Leonardo.

The RCAF introduced

the Cormorant in 2002

and operates its fleet from

four main operating bases:

CFB Trenton, Ontario;

Gander International

Airport, Newfoundland;

CFB Greenwood, Nova

Scotia and CFB Comox,

British Columbia.

MARINE MEDIUM Tiltrotor
Squadron 262 (Reinforced),
the ‘Flying T ige r s’, has
joined the 31st Marine
Expeditionary Unit (MEU),
home based at Okinawa,
Japan. Based at Marine
Corps Air Station Futenma,

Okinawa, VMM-262 (Rein)

will serve as the Aviation

Combat Element (ACE)

of the 31st MEU for a

12-month rotation.

The ACE will include

a reinforced MV-22B

squadron and a

detachment of F-35Bs

from Marine Fighter Attack

Squadron ( VMFA) 121

during the MEU’s regularly

scheduled deployments,

along with supporting

detachments. The last

time VMM-262 (Rein) was

deployed with the 31st

MEU was in 2016, when

it supported exercises

Valiant Shield in Guam,

Philippines Amphibious

Landing Exercise 33

in the Philippines and

Cobra Gold in Thailand.

‘Flying Tigers’ join 31st MEU

A VMM-262 MV-22B takes off at MCAS Iwakuni on May 5. USMC/Cpl Deseree Kamm

USAF issues

RFP for A-

re-winging

THE US Air Force (USAF)

has issued a request for

proposals (RFP) to re-wing

112 of its A-10C aircraft.

The RFP for the A-

Thunderbolt Advanced

Wing Continuation Kitting

(ATTACK) programme

was released on May 25

and specifies re-winging

over five annual ordering

periods, with the option for

two more years after that.

Responses to the RFP

are due by August 23,

and a contract is planned

for fiscal year 2019.

The approved budget

for FY 2018 includes

$103m for ATTACK,

and $79m has been

requested for FY 2019.

ATTACK follows

a previous Wing

Replacement Program

(WRP) effort that upgraded

173 jets. The WRP

began in 2007 and was

completed this year, with

Boeing as prime contractor.

ATTACK and WRP are

expected to provide

a fleet of 285 A-10Cs

into the 2030s.

Boeing prepares for

KC-46A deliveries

Above: In anticipation of fi rst deliveries to the USAF, several production KC-46As have been fl own from Paine Field in Everett,

Washington to Boeing Field in Seattle. Among them is 16-46020 (s/n 34137, l/n 1122) that arrived on May 10, with a temporary

registration. Joe G Walker

BOEING HAS confirmed

its plans to deliver 18

KC-46A aerial refuelling

tankers to the USAF by

the end of the year.

The company has also

said it will provide the

wing aerial refuelling pods

(WARPs) for the Pegasus

in the same timeframe.

The original development

contract called for Boeing

to deliver 18 operational

aircraft and nine WARPs

by August last year.

Delivery of a first

KC-46A then slipped to

early this year, but no

aircraft had been handed

over as of early June.

In May, Boeing

announced it was working

on the first KC-46A that

wouldn’t require post-

build modifications. As

of early May, aircraft l/n

114 9 was due to receive its

refuelling boom and military

avionics before checkout.

This aircraft incorporates

modifications to address

issues discovered during

flight test and Federal

Aviation Administration

(FA A) certification.

Previous aircraft have

received post-build

modifications to address

these problems, most of

which relate to wiring.