Airforces

14 // JANUARY 2018 #358 http://www.airforcesmonthly.com

NEWS North America

CVW-5 jet squadrons arrive at Iwakuni

Above: US Navy EA-18G Growler 168893 ‘NF-500’ from VAQ-141 ‘Shadowhawks’ arrives at MCAS Iwakuni, Japan. USMC/Cpl

Donato Maffin

THE INITIAL jet squadrons

from the US Navy’s Carrier

Air Wing Five (CVW-5)

relocated from Naval Air

Facility Atsugi to Marine

Corps Air Station Iwakuni

on November 28, 2017

at the end of the Ronald

Reagan Carrier Strike

Group (CSG-5) patrol.

Units relocating to

Iwakuni include Strike

Fighter Squadrons (VFA)

115 ‘Eagles’ and VFA-

‘Dambusters’ flying the

F/A-18E, and Electronic

Attack Squadron (VAQ)

141 ‘Shadowhawks’

that flies the EA-18G.

“The arrival of the first

F/A-18 squadrons to

Iwakuni is an important

step forward in the

phased relocation of

Carrier Air Wing Five,”

said CAPT Michael Wosje,

commander, CVW-5.

Carrier Airborne Early

Warning Squadron (VAW)

125 ‘Tiger Tails’, which

flies the E-2D, became

the first of the air wing’s

squadrons to transition to

Iwakuni when it arrived on

February 2, 2017. VAW-

125 was newly allocated to

CVW-5, arriving from Naval

Station Norfolk, Virginia.

Under the Defense

Policy Review Initiative

(DPRI) process, CVW-

5’s fixed-wing aircraft will

transfer to Iwakuni, while

its rotary-wing squadrons

will remain at Atsugi

(see CVW-5 squadrons

prepare to move to Iwakuni,

October 2017, p17).

Tyndall

selected as

preferred

location for

Reaper wing

THE US Air Force has

announced Tyndall Air

Force Base, Florida, is the

preferred location for a new

MQ-9 Reaper wing with

24 remotely piloted aircraft

(RPA). The announcement

on November 28, 2017 also

earmarked Vandenberg

AFB, California, as a

reasonable alternative.

The wing will comprise

an operations group with

mission control elements

as well as a launch and

recovery capability, and a

maintenance group. The

USAF plans for the first

Reaper airmen to arrive

at the Florida base in

2020 with the first RPAs

expected two years later.

First Triton

delivered to

Point Mugu

DELIVERY OF the first

MQ-4C Triton unmanned

air vehicle (UAV) to Naval

Base Ventura County

(NBVC), Point Mugu,

California, took place on

November 9. The UAV

was flown to Point Mugu

from Northrop Grumman’s

facility at US Air Force

Plant 42, Palmdale

Airport, California, and

was controlled from Naval

Air Station Jacksonville,

Florida. It is assigned to

the US Navy’s Unmanned

Patrol Squadron One Nine

(VUP-19) Det Point Mugu.

One more MQ-4C was

expected to be delivered

to the base before the end

of 2017. NBVC will also

be a maintenance facility

for the type and is already

training maintenance

personnel. The Triton

will undergo a series of

tests from NBVC before

forward deployment to

Andersen Air Force Base,

Guam, which is scheduled

sometime in 2018.

A commissioning

ceremony for VUP-19 ‘Big

Red’ had been held at

Jacksonville on October

26, 2016, but until this

delivery it had not received

any aircraft. The unit is

under the administrative

control of Commander,

Patrol and Reconnaissance

Wing (CPRW) 11 at

Jacksonville. After VUP-

achieves initial operational

capability, it is planned that

a second Triton squadron,

VUP-11, will be formed

at NAS Whidbey Island,

Washington. The US Navy

plans to acquire a total fleet

of 68 Tritons. Dave Allport

Last airworthy Fort

Rucker OH-58A departs

Above: A senior aircraft equipment specialist from US Army Aviation Center Logistics

Command, second from left, hands over the keys to 68-16745, the last fl yable OH-58A at Fort

Rucker, to Sgt Randy Phillips of the Lake County Sheriff’s Department, before its departure on

delivery on October 17. US Army

US ARMY OH-58A

68-16745 ‘45B’, the last

remaining airworthy

example of this variant

at Fort Rucker, Alabama,

has now departed. After

being released by US Army

Aviation Center Logistics

Command, it left Fort

Rucker’s Shell Army Airfield

on October 17, 2017 on

delivery to the Aviation

Division of the Lake County

Sheriff’s Department at

Crown Point, Indiana, and

a new mission as a law

enforcement helicopter.

This ends the Kiowa’s

association of more

than 30 years with Fort

Rucker, where the first

examples had arrived in

1986. The final OH-58A,
      68-16745, began its career
      at Fort Hood, Texas, to
      where it was delivered
      on November 19, 1969.
      The Lake County Sheriff’s
      Department is no stranger
      to the OH-58A, having
      had five other ex-US Army
      examples in service for
      more than two decades.
      These comprise N213LC
      (ex 71-20857), N214LC
      (ex 72-21358), N215LC
      (ex 72-21255), N512LC (ex
      71-20776) and N513LC
      (ex 71-20479). The latest
      acquisition has not yet
      had an FAA registration
      allocated. Dave Allport

Above: The fi rst MQ-4C to be assigned to VUP-19 Det Point Mugu landing at Naval Base Ventura County on November 9,

following its delivery fl ight from Palmdale. US Navy