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Scramble 468
2018. During that same month it will conduct its carrier
qualifications on board the USS Carl Vinson. The USS Abraham
Lincoln will be the second carrier to deploy with the F-35C.
This ship also will host the F-35C’s at-sea IOT&E in August
2018 with CVW-7. The current production rate for the F-35 is
seven to nine per month. The goal for full-rate production is
twelve to fifteen per month. The USMC F-35B deployed with
a detachment of Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA)
121 Green Knights (‘VK-xx’) on board the USS Wasp (LHD-1)
in March 2018, and VMFA-211 Avengers (‘CF-xx’) will deploy
with the USS Essex (LHD-2) during summer 2018. The USS
America (LHA-6) and the USS Makin Island (LHD-8) will be the
next amphibious assault ships to operate the F-35B.
Northrop Grumman will begin manufacturing the first newly
build E-2D Advanced Hawkeye with an aerial refuelling
capability during 2018. The manufacturer will start cutting
in modifications to the production line starting with the 46th
assembled E-2D. That E-2D will be delivered to the Navy in
late 2020 and is the 46th of 75 planned US Navy aircraft. The
US Navy has had a longstanding requirement to make the
E-2D capable of being refuelled by US tankers, but at the time
the Advanced Hawkeye began production, the service was
out of budget for this programme. With the aerial refuelling
capability, the E-2D is able to spend up to five hours on station,
twice as long as the current fleet. This increases the aircraft’s
total mission time from four to seven hours and more or less
doubles the time the Hawkeye can stay in the air conducting
surveillance and doing the battle management command
and control. The upgrade will cost each aircraft some USD
2 million more than the ones currently rolling off Northrop
Grumman’s production line in St. Augustine (FL). The
manufacturer and the US Navy are currently negotiating a
contract for retrofitting the first 45 E-2Ds for about $6 million
per plane. Northrop Grumman has already delivered three
developmental test planes in 2017 with the retrofits and two
more aircraft will begin the modification process this year.
The most important of those upgrades involves installing a
refuelling probe in the wing centre section where the fuel
tank is located, as well as some changes to flight controls.
The refuelling capable version of the Advanced Hawkeye
flew for the first time in December 2016. Since then, it has
received gas from a KC-130, KC-135, F/A-18E/F, and a KC-10A.
Off course the E-2D will also be qualified in the future for the
KC-46 and MQ-25.
As reported earlier, the F-35C’s first deployment is planned
for 2021 on the USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70). This first will be
accompanied by another first, the deployment of the CMV-22B
Osprey, soon to be the US Navy’s new carrier onboard
delivery (COD) aircraft. The COD Osprey is currently the only
aircraft that can land on a carrier flight deck with a large and
heavy F-35C engine tucked inside its fuselage. The US Navy
will soon field two prototype CMV-22Bs, with the first one
expected to be delivered in late 2019. The production models
are expected to start rolling off the assembly lines from 2020.
United States Navy unit news
Commander, Naval Air Force U.S. Atlantic Fleet
(ComNavAirLant)
As a result of replacing the final legacy/baby F/A-18C Hornet
units with F/A-18 Super Hornets, VFA-34 Blue Blasters (‘NE-
4xx’), VFA-37 Bulls (‘AJ-4xx’), VFA-83 Rampagers (‘AG-3xx’)
will receive their new Rhinos within the next eighteen
months. From late December 2017, the fourth F/A-18C
squadron, VFA-131 Wildcats (‘AC-3xx’), started its transition
to the F/A-18E at homebase Oceana (VA). The US Marine
Corps will continue up to 2022 with their legacy Hornet
deployments as part of the Tactical Aircraft Integration
programme within CVW’s.
The US Navy is planning the Initial Operating Capability
(IOC) for their F-35C Lightning II this year. The new F-35Cs
are not replacing the aforementioned baby Hornets, instead
the US Navy decided to replace those by Super Hornets. In
2019, all remaining 136 F/A-18A/B/C/Ds of the Fleet and
Fleet Replacement Squadrons must be replaced by the Super
Hornet. Several of these 136 Hornets will replace more
elderly Hornets within the US Navy Reserves as well as the US
Navy Adversary squadrons. Many will be transferred to the
US Marine Corps, to boost their fleet as they are set to soldier
on for at least another decade. To fully replace the 136 birds,
the Navy bought 110 additional Super Hornets through Fiscal
Year 2023. Besides those new ones, the Super Hornets that
come available from the squadrons that transfer to the F-35C
will also be used to strengthen the former legacy Hornet
squadrons. As earlier reported, VFA-147 Argonauts (‘NH-2xx’)
has started switching its F/A-18Es for F-35Cs at NAS Lemoore
(CA).
Carrier Air Wing 1, USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75), AB
The Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group (HSTCSG)
deployed from homeport NS Norfolk (VA) on 11 April 2018
and is currently somewhere in the Mediterranean Sea. The
HSTCSG is scheduled to operate in both the US 6th Fleet and
5th Fleet areas of responsibility while deployed. However,
it has recently been reported that it maybe remains in the
Med for an extended period. Embarked on the USS Harry S.
Truman (CVN-75) is Carrier Air Wing 1
VFA-11 Red Rippers F/A-18F 1xx
VFA-211 Fight’ Checkmates F/A-18F 2xx
VFA-136 Knighthawks F/A-18E 3xx
VFA-81 Sunliners F/A-18E 4xx
VAQ-137 Rooks EA-18G 5xx
VAW-126 Seahawks E-2D 6xx
HSC-11 Dragon Slayers MH-60S 61x
HSM-72 Proud Warriors MH-60R 61x
VRC-40/Det.3 Rawhides C-2A NP xx
Commander, Naval Air Force U.S. Pacific Fleet
(ComNavAirPac)
Carrier Air Wing 2, USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70), NE
From 5 January to 11 April 2018, Strike Fighter Squadron
(VFA) 34 Blue Blasters (‘NE-4xx’) was deployed with CVW-2
on board the USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70). This deployment was
the sundown cruise of the legacy Hornet. CVW-7’s VFA-83
Rampagers (‘AG-3xx’), CVW-8’s VFA-37 Bulls (‘AJ-4xx’) still
operate the legacy F/A-18C Hornet but these squadrons will
not deploy anymore with these types. VFA-34 will transition
to F/A-18E Super Hornet in the upcoming months, followed
by VFA-83 and VFA-37.
Carrier Air Wing 5, USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76), NF
The US Navy expects to field its F-35C Lightning IIs to MCAS
Iwakuni (Japan) sometime after 2021, as announced by the
Naval Forces Japan. The F-35Cs will be assigned to Carrier
Air Wing 5 (‘NF-xxx’) of (currently) the USS Ronald Reagan
(CVN-76) strike group. In April, CVW-5 finished relocating its
fixed-wing aircraft from NAF Atsugi to MCAS Iwakuni, which
is hundreds of miles away near the southern end of Japan’s
main island of Honshu. Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 27
Royal Maces (‘NF-2xx’) operating the F/A-18E and VFA-102
Diamondbacks (‘NF-1xx’) operating the F/A-18F made their
move of some 675 km (365nm). It is not known which US
Navy squadron will be deployed to Iwakuni with the F-35C.
At this moment VFA-102 Diamondbacks (‘NF-1xx’, F/A-18F),
VFA-27 Royal Maces (‘NF-2xx’, F/A-18E), VFA-115 Eagles
(‘NF-3xx’, F/A-18E) and VFA-195 Dambusters (‘NF-4xx’, F/A-
18E) are assigned to CVW-5. Possibly one of these squadrons
will transfer to F-35C, but it cannot be excluded that another
F-35C Pacific Fleet squadron will relieve one of these four
squadrons in the 2021 timeframe.
