F-35B completes first sea trials on USS Wasp

The amphibious assault ship USS Wasp (LHD 1) turned toward homeport Oct. 21 after three weeks hosting the initial sea trials of the F-35B Lightning II, Joint Strike Fighter.

The first F-35B landed on Wasp’s flight deck Oct. 3, beginning an 18-day test period for the aircraft. During testing, two F-35B Marine Corps test jets (BF-2 and BF-4) accomplished vertical landings and short take-offs under various conditions.

While under way, the world’s first supersonic short take-off, vertical landing fighter logged more than 28 hours of flight time and completed 72 short take-offs and 72 vertical landings.

Wasp crew members worked around the clock with pilots, engineers, mechanics and a wide array of aeronautical professionals, both military and civilian, to meet the mission of the F-35B sea trials.

“Wasp Air Department personnel and the JSF team started working together from day one,” said Lt. Cmdr. Michael Curcio, Wasp’s assistant air officer and JSF program officer. “Starting initially with the leadership interacting to set the vision for the ship trials, we worked a top-down approach to gradually bring in more people from each respective team.”

“This ensured that, from planning to execution, every detail

was tended to and no stone was left unturned. Ultimately, this group was well ahead of the power curve at every juncture,” he said.

The Wasp and the JSF team have been preparing for these sea trials for more than a year. The ship, which typically accommodates the AV-8B Harrier, had to receive modifications and installation of test monitoring equipment in preparation for the F-35B’s arrival.

“We used Harrier operations as a baseline from which to deviate. Working with the JSF team, we identified the operational differences between the AV-8B and the F-35B and we trained to those differences,” said Curcio.

The trials are the first of three scheduled sea-based developmental test events for the STOVL variant periods. One goal was to collect environmental data on the deck using instrumentation to measure the F-35B’s sound, power and thermal impact during flight operations.

Ansis Kalnajs, better known as “AK,” a topside design and integration technical warrant for Naval Sea Systems Command, and his team of 31 engineers collected data to capture the effects of the F-35 on flight deck and superstructure components.

“We have been collecting data on how the main engine effects deck edge equipment, as well as thermal load stresses to the structure and the acoustic effects,” said Kalnajs. “We got a sufficient amount of data and real good assessments for the road ahead.”

Also being tested is a newer nonskid deck surface, Thermion, which is supported by a mechanical bond of ceramic and aluminum that makes the surface more resistant to extreme heat and better endures the wear and tear of flight operations. The Thermion covers landing spot nine on the flight deck, a small area used for vertical landings.

“The Thermion shows no signs of heat stress, which is good for the F-35, and eventually good for all surface ships,” said Kalnajs.

During the testing period the WASP and JSF team demonstrated the F-35B‘s at-sea capabilities for the Secretary of the Navy, the Honorable Ray Mabus; Commandant of the Marine Corps, General James Amos; senior military officers; JSF international partners and members of the national media.

The testing for the F-35 and its sea-based operations will continue over the next several years.

“It is imperative that we build off that basic knowledge for the next sea trials,” said Curcio.

The next sea trial, DT-2, is scheduled for 2013 after Wasp receives additional modifications for F-35B operations.

 

-dcmilitary.com

USS Wasp braces for F-35 JSF

USS Wasp is preparing to be the first ship to test the F-35B at sea. A group of Aviation Boatswain’s Mates from the ship’s Air Department will soon work in the jet at NAS Patuxent River to familiarized themselves with the aircraft.

Recently, four members of Wasp’s Air Department traveled to one of the Navy’s premier test facilities at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md., to help give them a good idea of what WASP can expect when testing begins. The group consisted of Cmdr. Stephen McKone, Wasp’s Air Boss; Lt. Michael Curcio, Wasp’s Aircraft Handling Officer and F-35B Ship Integration Project Officer; Ens. Maguel Brooks, Wasp’s Air Bos’n; and Senior Chief Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Handler) Richard McCray.

The F-35B fighter will replace the Department of Navy’s current Vertical and /or Short Take Off/Landing (VSTOL) aircraft, the AV-8B Harrier.

“The F-35B is a really unique aircraft,” said Lt. Curcio. “This aircraft alone has the potential to completely revitalize the utility of large-deck amphibious platforms by adding significant strike capability to their resumes.”

During Wasp’s four-month maintenance availability conducted earlier this year, major modifications were completed to various elements of the ship including the flight deck and combat systems equipment. Also, the aft NATO Sea sparrow missile launcher mount was removed and replaced with a “dummy” launcher.

“The ship has had a few physical changes made to it,” said Curcio. “Some of these are necessary to accommodate the physical differences between the Harrier and the F-35B fighter, while others will help the engineers to collect data on both the ship’s effect on the aircraft and the aircraft’s effect on the ship.”

“For example, the flight deck tramline was shifted slightly to port to accommodate the F-35B’s larger wingspan, while the operational aft NATO Sea Sparrow launcher was replaced with an a test launcher laced with sensors to measure heat, vibrations, overpressure, and sound levels.”

According to Curcio, only five F-35B test aircraft have been delivered to flight test operations at Pax River from the factory. These prototypes are the product of millions of man hours of work and represent the full ingenuity and industrial strength of the United States.

As Wasp and her crew prepare to help test one of the world’s most technologically advanced jet fighters, Curico realizes that this will be a tremendous team effort.

“With any new piece of equipment being tested, there will some road blocks,” said Curico. “Since the crew will be working together on this, Wasp will be writing the book on how to operate the Joint Strike Fighter at sea.”

Source: dvidshub.net

Marines clarify Libya incident

 

Two American airmen were safely rescued in Libya last week after their F-16s crashed near Benghazi (read article here), but the United States Marine Corps dropped two 500-pound bombs during the recovery and faced questions about whether Marines had fired on villagers.

The United States military said that an equipment malfunction rather than enemy fire brought down the F-16 plane. A Marine Corps officer in the Mediterranean strongly denied that any shots were fired at civilians during the rescue.

The weapons officer was found on the ground by “the people of Libya,” said Adm. Samuel J. Locklear III, the tactical commander of the United States-led effort in the country.

At a Pentagon briefing, Admiral Locklear did not describe them as rebels but made clear that they were not forces loyal to Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi.

United States military officers said the F-16 fighter plane took off from Aviano Air Base in northeastern Italy late Monday on an airstrike mission to Libya. At some point over Benghazi, the jet experienced what military officials called an “equipment malfunction,” and at about 11:30 p.m. local time on Monday (about 5:30 p.m. Eastern time on Monday), both the pilot and the weapons officer ejected. Although details remained unclear on Tuesday, the Marine Corps said a rescue team that took off from the Kearsarge quickly located the pilot.

A Marine Corps officer said that the grounded pilot, who was in contact with rescue crews in the air, asked for bombs to be dropped as a precaution before the crews landed to pick him up.

In response, two Harrier attack jets that were part of the rescue team dropped two 500-pound bombs before a Marine Osprey helicopter landed to pick up the pilot, at about 1:30 a.m. Tuesday local time.

“No shots were fired,” said Capt. Richard Ulsh, a Marine spokesman aboard the Kearsarge. “The Osprey is not armed, and the Marines barely got off the aircraft. I was in the landing center the whole time, where we were monitoring what was going on, and firing was never reported.”

 

Original article from The New York Times

Marine Squadron Completed Sorties in F-16s

 

Marine aviators of the F-35B Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 501 completed four sorties this week in F-16 Fighting Falcons, beginning a familiarization process to ensure readiness and efficiency in the transition to the Department of Defense’s fifth generation fighter.

Lt. Col. James Wellons, Warlords commander, said “It’s a tremendous opportunity to fly (these sorties). This is the first time a VMFAT-501 pilot has flown here at our new home.”

Officials elected to bring the F-16s from Luke Air Force Base, Ariz., to the 33rd Fighter Wing, because of its similarity to its descendant, the F-35. Its flying characteristics are similar to the F-35, so the training and mindset pilots will have in a single-engine fighter transitions from the F-16 into the F-35.

The Marines, who’d only flown in Marine and Naval fighters, discovered vast similarities to the Air Force F-16 and their Harriers, Hornets and Prowlers.

This familiarization is doubly beneficial to the Marines, not just to understand an aircraft style similar to the F-35, but to also experience Eglin’s runway and flightline operations, maintenance procedures and airspace.

“This is a major milestone for VMFAT-501,” said the commander. “Every time a Marine flies an aircraft here, it’s one step closer to putting F-35s in the air.”

The Marine variant of JSF, the F-35B, contains a STOVL (Short Take Off and Vertical Landing) engine. The STOVL variant will replace the Marine Corps inventory of F-18 and AV-8s.

 

Source: Air-Attack.com

U.S. Navy begins work to bring APKWS II to AV-8B, A-10

The Navy awarded a contract marking the start of a two-year Joint Capability Technology Demonstration (JCTD) program to implement the Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System II (APKWS II) on the Marine Corps’ AV-8B Harrier and the Air Force’s A-10 aircraft platforms.

As demonstrated by operational requirements in theater, the need for precision laser-guided munitions with low collateral damage is an important capability currently not available to legacy fixed-wing aircraft.

“This is an important capability for the Marine Corps and Air Force crews supporting the troops in harm’s way,” said Capt. Brian Corey, program manager for Direct and Time-Sensitive Strike Weapons. “The team is looking forward to showing that we can fill the capability gap that exists today.”

If the APKWS II can be successfully demonstrated on these legacy aircraft, it will increase safety by allowing greater standoff range during employment as well as provide the ability to support operations in urban terrain.

APKWS II currently is on track to reach Initial Operating Capability in 2011 to deliver capability to the AH-1W and UH-1Y platforms with Fleet Marine Forces currently supporting operations in Afghanistan.

- navair