Republic of Korea Marine Corps Wants More Aircraft Carrying Ships

The Marine Corps is considering introducing a large transport ship capable of carrying warplanes, and mobilizing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to enhance its amphibious operations and surveillance capabilities, its chief said Wednesday.

During his keynote speech at a security seminar, Lt. Gen. Jun Jin-goo also expressed his desire to capitalize on robotics and other cutting-edge technologies to enhance the marines' maritime power projection capabilities.

"We are considering building the LPX (large platform experimental)-type ship capable of carrying aircraft in close cooperation with the Navy," Jun said.

He did not specify what aircraft will be carried by the envisioned ship. But observers say that the commander might have in mind the F-35B, a short takeoff and vertical landing variant of the U.S.-made radar-evading fighter.

The Marine Corps appears to want to secure its own LPX ship apart from the 14,000-ton Dokdo amphibious landing ship and the Marado warship, which are currently in operation and under construction, respectively.

link.

Stealth Saga #25

FCAS:

The Anglo-French UCAV is taking shape (paywall).  Its intended to be 'wingman' for manned fighters.

PAK-DA:

The Russians are trying to claim their PAK-DA bomber may take to the skies by 2021.   This is an acknowledgement their schedule is slipping and the reason for the Tu-160 production revival was exactly for this reason.  

PAK-FA:

The Russians are claiming the PAK-FA will enter initial production in 2017.

MiG-41 (MiG-31 replacement):

 

(MiG-41 artist concept)

A bit more information has been released on the proposed MiG-31 replacement. It has been deemed the MiG-41 and supposedly high supersonic.  A little more about the proposed aircraft and the source of the artist's concept.  There's a speculative post at this forum.  However, it has a imagery from the model MiG Ferret from the 1980s, too, so take with a grain of salt.  The artist concept looks like someone crossed a MiG-21 with the Sukhoi PAK-FA having a love child uglier than the X-32 death pigeon.

FGFA:

Has Russia and India finally struck a deal with respect to the PAK-FA derived FGFA fighter?  Russia was behind on the program, refused to share data and refused to allow the Indians to give input into the derivative's design.  Plus the Indians felt the engines were bad and the performance, including stealth, sucked.  AND it was overpriced.  The Indians were on the edge of pulling out.  However, the Russians came back to the table and offered the Indians a price of $4 billion for the development (to be matched by the Russians), the Russians would get 11 FGFA prototypes and the Indians would get 3.  The Indians would ultimately buy 250 FGFA.  The deal still seems to suck to me...

F-22:

Here's a bit more about the first F-22 to go into combat.

F-35:

The F-35 will be making appearances at the RIAT and Farnborough air shows. This will be the USMC F-35Bs flying.  Apparently, other sources are saying F-35As will also fly.

The Alabama Air National Guard is hoping to switch to the F-35 by the end of the decade.

Apparently, the chief tester is also stating the F-35's software might be vulnerable to cyber attack.

The former top weapons tester in Australia is expressing some very strong distress over the F-35.

The Changes Coming to the US Marine/US Navy Amphibious Fleet

The Navy and Marine Corps amphibious fleet is on the cusp of two major changes – the introduction of the Lockheed Martin F-35B Lighting II Joint Strike Fighter and the growth of the fleet from 30 to 33 ships – that will change the way the fleet trains and fights, the director of expeditionary warfare told USNI News.

Maj. Gen. Chris Owens, who took over the expeditionary warfare directorate (OPNAV N95) four months ago, said in a Dec. 10 interview that his biggest priority in this new job is amphibious fleet readiness – having the maximum amount of ships deployed or ready to deploy, and ensuring those ships are maintained and modernized to stay relevant throughout their entire service lives.

To that end, the fleet stands to make some important gains in the coming years. F-35B integration efforts will bring greater capability to existing ships, helping them leverage the fifth-generation fighter capability and operate more effectively with the rest of the Navy’s surface fleet. And the larger number of ships in the amphibious fleet open up opportunities for single-ship deployments, taking on more missions in the Pacific and providing better training to sailors and Marines.

link.

Stealth Saga #15

J-20:

A new prototype, 2017, of the J-20 stealth fighter has taken flight.  

KF-X:

Indonesia and South Korea worked out more details on how they will work together on the KF-X project.

There is a further delay for the transfer of technologies from the US to South Korea for the KF-X program.

UCLASS:

The Navy has set up an unmanned vehicle office to manage the UAVs, UCAVs, USVs and UUVs.  The stalled UCLASS has been assigned to this office.

Long Range Strike Bomber: 

An opinion states the US Air Force made the right decision for the LRS-B contract award.

US Air Force is investigating the data breach in a Forbes article describing the costs for development.

F-35 Lightning II:

Canada's participation in the F-35 is now completely up in the air.

The Brits have announced they will be increasing their total buy of F-35s.

Denmark is likely to confirm an order for 30 F-35s.

Belgium is likely to release its RFP for its F-16 replacement soon and the F-35 is a contender.

The F-35 will be entered into the Canadian recompete for the replacement of the Canadian CF-18s.

The US Marines F-35B squadron, VMFA-121, has been declared ready for combat deployment.

US Marine Corps Wants Procurement of Spares for F-35B Kept/Sped up

The Marine Corps aviation community is keeping busy preparing to send its first F-35B Joint Strike Fighters to Japan in January 2017, ensuring the training and logistics pipelines are ready for global deployment of the new plane, the deputy commandant for aviation told USNI News.

The first F-35B squadron, Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 121, reached initial operational capability (IOC) in July and could, in an emergency, deploy overseas today.

“if a contingency arose, and I’ve got an IOC squadron, I could put six or more F-35Bs on the [USS] Wasp and sail into harm’s way and do the job and basically do what our nation needs to do with a fifth-generation aircraft from a seabase, the first one ever,” Lt. Gen. Jon Davis told USNI News in an interview.

VMFA-121 is the lone F-35B squadron for now, though the Marines intend to transition Marine Attack Squadron (VMA) 211, an AV-8B squadron, this fiscal year and Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 122, an F-18 Hornet squadron, in 2018.

As the F-35B fleet builds out, Davis said the Marines have to ensure sufficient readiness for all the squadrons. He said he needs to “make sure as we build up 211 we don’t degrade the capability of 121 from the maintenance perspective, make sure we keep our training solid. Right now we’re in good shape, we have a good plan to build out 211.”

“Keeping the procurement ramp solid is imperative to do that,” he said, and the procurement of spare parts may be the most important and most under-emphasized.

link.

Some Naval and Marine Aviation News, Including UCLASS, From DOD Authorization Act

Here's a short list:

1.  6 Additional F-35Bs for the US Marine Corps, bring their total for 2016 to 15.

2.  12 Additional F-18Es for the US Navy.

3.  An additional MQ-4C Triton.

4.  $350 million for UCLASS (navy asked for $135M).   Up to $305M may be used for competitive prototyping and at least some of it is supposed to be used for the X-49B testing to reduce the risk of UCLASS.  The committee also said:

“The conferees believe that the Navy should develop a penetrating, air-refuelable, unmanned carrier-launched aircraft capable of performing a broad range of missions in a non- permissive environment. The conferees believe that such an aircraft should be designed for full integration into carrier air wing operations—including strike operations—and possess the range, payload, and survivability attributes as necessary to complement such integration,” according to the statement.

“Although the Defense Department could develop land-based unmanned aircraft with attributes to support the air wing, the conferees believe that the United States would derive substantial strategic and operational benefits from operating such aircraft from a mobile seabase that is self-deployable and not subject to the caveats of a host nation.”

link.

US Marine Corps to Absorb UK's Royal Navy

The U.S. Marine Corps will deploy its Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II strike fighters on combat sorties from Britain’s new Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers, a senior U.K. Royal Navy officer has confirmed.

Rear Adm. Keith Blount, who is responsible for delivering the two 65,000 ton ships, said that using Marine aircraft and pilots to bolster the U.K.’s nascent carrier strike capability would be a natural extension of coalition doctrine.

“We are forever operating with allies and within coalitions. It’s the way wars are fought”, the Assistant Chief of Naval Staff (Aviation, Amphibious Capability and Carriers) and Rear Adm. Fleet Air Arm told an audience at the DSEI defence exhibition in London on Wednesday.

“In order to get the best out of [the U.K. carrier program] we have to be able to situate it in a coalition context. That could mean that we operate with an American ship as one of the protecting escorts”, Blount said.

“But … given the fact that the U.S. Marine Corps are buying and will operate the same type of aircraft as we are buying and operating, it would make no sense whatsoever if we were to close down the opportunity and potential of the U.S. Marine Corps working from this flight deck.

“So yes, I expect the U.S. Marine Corps to operate and work from the deck of the Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carrier. We are going to get the most bang for the buck we can for the U.K. taxpayer, and that’s one of the ways in which we’ll achieve it.”

link.

ahem.  Just kidding.  This was written as Charlie bait.  I wonder if there might be a point where the Marines might have a permanent wing on the Flying Lizzies though.

US Marine Corps Declares F-35B IOC, Ready for War

The US Marine Corps has decided for good or ill to declare their F-35B has acheived IOC or Initial Operational Capability.   This means the F-35B can do to war.  However, it will not have its entire capability set.  That 'Initial' bit is still set.  The F-35B can do data fusion for 4 F-35Bs at once.  It cannot fire its cannon (which is an external pod on the B anyways).  It successfully went to sea on the USS Wasp, but, unfortunately, could only have 50% of the aircraft being combat ready at any time.

The first squadron will go to Okinawa.  Some will be based on land.  Some will be aboard an LHD.

This is being reported all over the place.

F-35B Does First Ski Jump Lift off for Royal & Italian Navies

The F-35B jump-jet version of the Joint Strike Fighter has completed its first takeoff from a ski jump, the Pentagon announced Tuesday.

The stealthy fifth-generation fighter jet designed to fly like a plane and land like a helicopter accomplished the task Friday from a test-ramp at Naval Air Station Patuxent River in Maryland, according to Joe DellaVedova, a spokesman for the Pentagon’s F-35 program.

“This test is one of the milestones along the way for integrating the F-35B aboard UK and Italian aircraft carriers,” he said in an e-mail.

Both countries plan to deploy their short take-off and vertical-landing (STOVL) versions of the jet aboard carriers equipped with a ski jump, a feature that allows aircraft to carry more weight despite taking off from a short runway.

link.

US Marines Plans for F-35B Operations Mimics Cold War Royal Air Force Harriers

The US Marine Corps is changing the way it plans to use its Lockheed Martin F-35B short take-off, vertical landing fighters, we report here (subscription required). Briefly, the new concept of operations envisages the use of mobile forward arming and refueling points (M-Farps) to support groups of F-35Bs, which would return to U.S. Navy amphbious warfare ships, allied carriers (special mention to the British Queen Elizabeth class) or even regional land bases for routine maintenance.

The new Conops addresses problems with earlier plans, which envisaged conducting sustained combat operations from both LHA/LHD-class ships and forward operating bases (FOBs) on land. Any naval force operating within 150 nm of a hostile coast would be within range of an increasing number of lethal and elusive ground-mobile guided missile systems, and would be hard put to avoid tracking by small unmanned air vehicles. That would make it very vulnerable, absent support from a carrier with its long-range airborne early warning coverage - and one of the major arguments for the F-35B is that it provides air power independent of the big carrier. The new Conops allows the ships to stand off outside coastal missile range because they support operations rather than launching airstrikes.

Meanwhile, large FOBs on land were considered by some (including deputy defense secretary Bob Work, in his days as deputy Navy secretary) as being vulnerable to guided missiles and rockets. The idea of the new Conops is to blunt this threat by making M-Farps much smaller and more nimble than FOBs (because most aircraft maintenance happens elsewhere). They will relocate every 24-48 hours, which is estimated to be inside an enemy's targeting cycle.

However, the new Conops looks remarkably like the way that the Royal Air Force planned to operate Harriers in the last few years of the Cold War. After experiencing great difficulty in operating Harriers in the often-soggy North German countryside, the RAF dispatched survey teams in civilian clothes, who covertly looked for sites that would provide parking, cover and storage for equipment and people, and a length of road long enough for STOVL operations. The actual war locations or Warlocs were highly secret and never used for training.

link.

US Marines Might be Offered use new British Aircraft Carrier HMS Elizabeth?

The Royal Navy may ask US squadrons to fly off its new aircraft carrier following delays to its new F35B fighters, BBC Newsnight has learned.

MoD insiders said the US Marine Corps would be offered the use of HMS Queen Elizabeth for flight operations.

The UK plans to have its first F35 squadron operational by 2018, but Newsnight has learned that there may be further delays.

The MoD said it was not aware of any further delay to the timetable.

The plan is for one squadron of British F35s to be ready for service at sea by 2021. But even if it is achieved, it will create a gap of years where the Queen Elizabeth is ready but British squadrons are not.

For the past year defence analysts had been expecting the MoD to order 14 of the new jets.

link.

Australian Think Tank Recommends Against Acquiring F-35Bs for RAN Jeep Carriers

Acquiring Lockheed Martin Lightning II F-35B short take-off vertical landing (STOVL) fighters to operate from the Royal Australian Navy's (RAN's) two 27,800-tonne Canberra class landing helicopter dock (LHD) amphibious ships would not be justified, a leading think-tank has concluded.

This issue could be addressed in a Defence White Paper expected around mid-2015. However, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) said the benefits of such a capability would be marginal at best and would not be justified by the costs.

The study pointed out that the LHDs - the first of which will be commissioned early in 2015 and the second in 2016 - could not carry a full complement of helicopters and amphibious troops with their vehicles and equipment and simultaneously deploy a useful number of STOVL aircraft and additional support aircraft.

Even in a STOVL-only configuration an LHD would face challenges in generating enough F-35B sorties continuously to protect itself and ships in company against a capable adversary, the study said.

"On the other hand, if the threat levels faced by an embarked amphibious force were low, it's doubtful a handful of F-35Bs would really be needed," it added. "While the LHDs could be modified to allow STOVL operations by US Marines during joint operations, the option still runs the risk of being tokenism."

link.

Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 121 on Track for F-35B IOC in 2015

Pilots at Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 121, the US Marine Corps' (USMC's) first operational squadron of Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters began training in early September to the standards required for the jump-jet version of the aircraft's initial operational capability (IOC) declaration, according to the squadron's pilots and leaders.

"We shifted into IOC training last week," Lieutenant Colonel Steve Gillette, the squadron's commanding officer, told IHS Jane's on 12 September. He explained that the skills checklist the pilots are training to now features more specific and rigorous standards than it did when they first began flying the F-35 in 2012.

After taking over command of the squadron in 2013, Lieut. Col. Gillette began overseeing the move to the more detailed IOC-specific training and readiness standards. "The big difference between what we were doing then and what we're doing now is the rigidity of the standards we're holding people to in order to call a [training] event complete," he explained. Eight pilots in the squadron must master the entire training package in time for the planned July 2015 IOC declaration, he added.

link.

Japan Wants Flat-top Amphibious Assault Ship for V-22s and F-35Bs by 2019

The Japanese defense ministry has brought forward a proposal to construct at least one large amphibious assault ship that will enlarge the country’s naval aviation capability. The program may also enhance sales prospects for the Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey.

Entry into service for the ship is now targeted for the fiscal year from March 2019; previous plans implied it would be commissioned in the early 2020s, if at all. The ministry will request funding for studies of the ship for the budget year beginning April 1, 2015, Jiji news agency reports.

link.

HMS Queen Elizabeth Preparing for F-35B Flights

Preparations are underway for the first F-35 test flight aboard the United Kingdom’s new Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carrier slated for 2018, BAE Systems officials said Tuesday at the Farnborough International Airshow.

BAE Systems engineers and UK Ministry of Defence officials are working with simulation technologies in order to ensure the F-35B Joint Strike Fighter will successfully take-off and land aboard the British Royal Navy’s newly christened HMS Queen Elizabeth carrier. The ship was christened July 4, 2014.

U.S. and British officials had planned for the F-35 to execute a fly over of the Queen Elizabeth on the day of its christening to be the F-35s first ever international flight before the grounding of the Joint Strike Fighter fleet canceled those plans.

“Overall, this ship has been designed with the F-35 in mind from day one,” said David Atkinson, BAE Systems, Team JSF.

Slated to enter service in 2020, the 65,000-ton Queen Elizabeth is the largest warship ever built by the UK. It will be the first in a series of two planned Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers, ships being engineered to house and sustain as many as 36 JSF aircraft, BAE officials said.

While not quite the size of an U.S. Navy Nimitz or Ford-class aircraft carrier, the Queen Elizabeth-class ships will be 280-meters long and carry a crew of 671. The ship will house a total of 40 aircraft including Joint Strike Fighters and Chinook and Merlin helicopters. The first helicopter trial flights from the carrier deck are slated for 2017, Atkinson said.

The ship is being built by a BAE Systems-led team including Babcock and Thales. Some estimates put the prince of the Queen Elizabeth at $5 billion U.S. dollars.

The design, configuration and deck space of the ship have all been engineered to accommodate the F-35B Short Take-Off-and-Landing, or STOVL, variant of the JSF – the same variant of the aircraft planned for the U.S. Marine Corps.

link.

F-35B Vertical Take-off and Landing Test

F-35B Will Fly & Hover But Not Land Vertically at Farnborough Air Show

Will the F-35B land vertically at the Royal International Air Tattoo or the Farnborough Air Show? No. Will it hover? Yes.

One of my colleagues had raised the issue that the F-35B will not perform a vertical landing this July, inferring this might be because it would damage the plane or the runway.

F-35 program spokesman Joe DellaVedova told me that the Marine version of the Joint Strike Fighter will perform short takeoffs and landings and perform hovers at both shows. I’m betting you can expect the same at the July 4 christening of the HMS Queen Elizabeth.

The blast from an F-35B as it lands vertically is pretty fearsome, but the Marines, Navy and program office all say the effects are manageable. I’ve seen the landing spots on the USS Wasp after several days of F-35 testing and spoken unsupervised with crew members. The Wasp deck crew told me they were seeing less damage to the deck than it sustains from some other aircraft that routinely fly from the Wasp and other LHD class ships.

link.

Australia may Procure F-35B VSTOL Variant for Canberra-class Amphibious Ships

Australia will consider buying the short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) variant of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) in addition to the conventional take-off and landing (CTOL) variant to which it has already committed, a spokesman for Defence Minister David Johnston confirmed on 26 May.

The spokesman told IHS Jane's that acquisition of the F-35B "would be considered within the construct of the Defence White Paper", which is due in the second quarter of 2015.

The spokesman was responding to media reports that Prime Minister Tony Abbott has instructed planners working on the White Paper to examine the possibility of buying F-35Bs to operate from the Royal Australian Navy's (RAN's) two Canberra-class landing helicopter dock (LHD) amphibious ships.

The first of the two 27,800-tonne LHDs is currently undergoing delivery trials. The second will be commissioned in 2016.

The government announced on 23 April its decision to acquire a further 58 F-35As to take Australia's total commitment to 72. The first two will be delivered later this year, although they and subsequent deliveries will not arrive in Australia until late in 2018.

It is unclear whether any F-35B acquisition would be in addition to the 72 CTOL variants or be subtracted from that number.

link.

A F-35B on the USS Wasp

Video of Vertical Night Landing of F-35B on USS Wasp