the future of naval aviation

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2011 AN ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO THE WASHINGTON POST EZ EE H1

systems needed to transfer dataamong units;

c) Expansion in the use of rotaryand vertical takeoff-and-landingaircraft continues and mayaffect the kinds of ships thatwill transport them.

“Right now, the future of navalaviation is mixed,” said MackenzieEaglen, research fellow forNational Securities Studies at theHeritage Foundation.

At the same time the Navyhas halted production on someof its new fighter jet platforms,the Navy and Marine Corps’“fighter gap”—a deficit betweenthe services' fighter aircraftinventories and their operationalrequirements—is real andgrowing, she said.

During a hearing in 2009,Senate Armed Services CommitteeChairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.)noted that the Navy could facea shortfall of “as many as 250tactical fighters needed to outfit”10 aircraft carrier air wings and3 Marine Corps air wings in thenext five years.

“A growing deficit thissubstantial will severely limit theaircraft available to combatantcommanders on short notice. Theoutcome can't help but inhibitmission capability and the abilityto undertake global operations,”Eaglen said.

The Navy faces different issuesthan some of the other services,noted Owen R. Coté Jr., associatedirector of the Security StudiesProgram at the MassachusettsInstitute of Technology. “It takes

Sen. Jim Webb: A needfor ViSion And LeAderShipPAGE 2

iS the LArge-deck AircrAft cArrier obSoLete? PAGE 6

InsIde

The Navy enters its second century of naval aviation at a timeof uncertainty, amid deep cuts in national defense expenditures.A sagging economy and drawdowns in Iraq and Afghanistan havemilitary planners trying to balance the desire to downsize with the needto keep up with rapid technology advancements in communications,weapons and air systems.

longer to build a ship than asensor, so when budgets are tightone tends to protect ship building”he said. “But there is a lot of reallyimportant stuff with sensors andnetworks that’s happening. Thedanger is that it would get left onthe shelf.”

Eaglen noted that as part of theongoing cuts, politicians haltedproduction of the Air Force’sF-22 Raptor, meaning that DODis building no fifth-generationalternative should the joint Navy-Marine Corps-Air Force F-35 JointStrike Fighter falter. The LockheedMartin F-35 Lightning II faces itsown threats to funding, particularlybecause of skyrocketing costs andproduction delays.

Traditionally, the Navy and otherarmed services have added newequipment onto old platforms,said retired Vice Admiral RobertF. Dunn, former deputy chief ofnaval operations for air warfareand current president of theAssociation for Naval Aviation.Just as the Navy began its aircraftcarrier fleet by converting colliersand then cruisers, building ontothe proven systems operatingtoday is the least expensivecourse to take, he said.

Thomas Hone, a retired NavalWar College professor who hasworked as a naval planner, agreedthat starting with a reliable platformthat can be updated provides theneeded versatility. The BoeingB-52 Stratofortress has been inuse since 1955 and the NorthropGrumman B-2 Spirit designed inthe 1980s with the Cold War inmind, has shown real usefulnessafter being updated, he said.

The F-35 has run into problemsbecause too many requirementshave been added onto thebasic platform, Hone suggested.The single-engine stealth fighterwill handle ground attack,reconnaissance and air defensemissions and is being designedin a conventional take-off andlanding variant, a vertical take-offand landing variant for the U.S.Marine Corps, and an aircraftcarrier-based model.

The Marines are counting onthe F35-B variant to replace itsaging AV-8B Harriers and BoeingF/A-18 Hornets. The F35-B is themost complex of the three variantsand is set to fly from amphibious

ships. Former Defense SecretaryRobert Gates placed the F-35 ona two-year probation in Januarybecause of cost and performanceproblems, but Lockheed Martinreports a successful year oftesting, including a safe verticallanding onto the USS Wasp dockon Oct. 3.

The Marine Commandant,General James F. Amos, told

the House Armed ServicesCommittee on Nov. 2 thatcuts beyond those alreadyprogrammed would decreaseforward presence and restrictthe service’s ability to reset andrefresh equipment pushed to itslimits over the last decade of war.But the most severe damagewould be to tilt-rotor and VTOLtechnology, he said, because the

United States is the only place inthe world building such aircraft, inthe F-35B and MV-22 tilt-rotor.

“If those lines were closed, thatbecomes terminal,” he said. “Thatwould be irreversible. You will notbe able to gain that back.”

Coté, Hone and Eaglen allasserted that short-term budget

This Century’s Naval Aviation Pioneers Flying Unmanned Aircraft

On Oct. 9, 1903, the New York Times predicted,“The flying machine which might really fly might beevolved by the combined and continuous efforts ofmathematicians and mechanicians in from one to

10 million years.” Yet that very same day, two brothers whoowned a bicycle shop in Ohio started assembling the veryfirst airplane. And only six years from that date, Lt. George C.Sweet would climb into a plane built by those same brothers atCollege Park, Md., becoming the first U.S. Navy officer ever totake flight. One year after that, Eugene Ely flew off a woodenplatform built on the bow of the USS Birmingham (CL 2) andthe era of naval aviation was truly at hand, literally “one to 10million years” earlier than the experts’ predictions.

Battle on to Secure the Future of Naval Aviation

Meantime, the increasingdeployment of unmanned aerialvehicles and the automationof aircraft carrier landings maychange the very nature of whatit means to be a naval aviator.

The Defense Departmentfaces at least $450 billion in cutsover the next 10 years, and theamount could grow substantiallydepending on the final outcomeof Congressional budget debates.Admiral Jonathan W. Greenert,Navy chief of naval operations,told the House Armed ServicesCommitteeonNov.2 that if across-the-board cuts were imposed onthe services and programs, “Wewill be out of balance.”

Greenert noted that the Navyhas provided one-third of theclose air support for the war inAfghanistan. The Navy’s aircraftcarriers and their air-and-sea strikeforces provide power projectionacross the world.

In the coming decades, a fewissues stand out as being keysin the progress of naval aviation:

a) The Navy needs to determinehow best to exploit theexplosion in unmanned aerialvehicles and systems andadjust to the changes it willcreate in personnel, trainingand equipment needs;

b) Similar rapid developmentsin technology for electronicwarfare—both by the UnitedStates and its adversaries—willrequire investments in scienceand technology, while attentionalso needs to be paid toprotecting the communications

An F/A-18E Super Hornet launches from the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) over the Pacific Ocean on Oct. 31, 2011.

FISCAL CRISIS

fiScAL criSiS CONtiNUEd ON 2

UnmAnned technoLogY CONtiNUEd ON 12

UNMANNED TECHNOLOGY IN ITS INFANCY

the most plausible, high-endscenarios for the U.S. militaryare primarily naval and airengagements … in my opinion,any future defense secretary whoadvises the president to againsend a big American land armyinto Asia or into the Middle Eastor Africa should 'have his headexamined,' as General MacArthurso delicately put it.

–As delivered by then-Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates at West Point, NY, February 25, 2011

U.S.

NAv

YPh

oto

bYM

ASS

CoM

MUN

iCAt

ioN

SPEC

iAli

St3R

DCl

ASS

ANth

oNY

W.J

ohN

SoN

U.S.

NAv

YPh

oto

bYSE

Nio

RCh

iEF

MAS

SCo

MM

UNiC

Atio

NSP

ECiA

liSt

JoE

KAN

E

navalavIatIon

THE FUTURE OF

AboUt thiS Section:this special supplement was prepared for the Advertising Custom Content department of The Washington Post by freelancejournalist and editor Marcy Gessel in cooperation with the U.S. Navy and the 100th Anniversary of Naval Aviation Foundation. theproduction of this supplement did not involve the news or editorial departments of The Washington Post.

A sailor crosses the flight deck in front of two Marine Corps CH-53 Sea Stallion helicopters as the amphibious assault ship USS BonhommeRichard (LHd 6) moves through heavy fog south of San Francisco.

We should keep this historyin mind when trying to projectwhere naval aviation is headednext, especially in the realm of“unmanned” or robotic systems.In the blink of an eye, a technologythat once seemed as sciencefiction as a “flying machine” isnow rapidly being adopted intothe force. In the last decade,the number of unmanned aerial

systems in the overall U.S.military inventory has gone froma mere handful to over 7,000and growing. And, just like withthose early aeroplanes, the navalside is an active part of thistechnological revolution.

Today, the new unmannedsystems entering into the fleetrun the gamut of size, shape andform. For instance, the role of

broad area maritime surveillanceis being taken over by the RQ-4Global Hawk. With a wingspan of116 feet and an operational weightof over 22,000 pounds, it dwarfsthe early planes that Sweet andEly flew. Staying in the air over 24hours, while carrying 3,000 poundsof electro-optical, infrared andsynthetic aperture radar sensors,at heights of over 65,000 feet,the system provides persistentmaritime intelligence, ISR datacollection and dissemination at aglobal level.

While the RQ-4 operates froma land base, the Navy is alsoworking to equip many of its shipsat sea. On the surface fleet, theseinclude smaller systems like theMQ-8 Fire Scout. Able to take offand land autonomously from anywarship with a small deck, the littlehelicopter has deployed againstdrug runners in the Caribbean,pirates off Somalia, insurgents inAfghanistan, and recently helpedtargeting in the Libya operation.It packs thermal imagers, radar,high-powered video cameras anda laser designator that can find and

fix targets to be taken out eitherby the mother ship’s weaponsor rockets to be carried on thedrone itself. With a range of over200 miles, the robotic chopper isan unmanned echo of those early

floatplanes, taking the eyes of asurface ship’s captain further thanever before, including inland.

The centerpiece of future plansfor unmanned systems at seamay be the Navy’s unmanned,carrier-launched surveillance andstrike (UCLASS) program. Thistype of robotic plane is speciallydesigned to take on the ultimate ofhuman pilot roles, the “Top Gun.”Some of the key contenders at

the prototype stage right noware the Northrop Grumman X-47,Lockheed Martin RQ-170, GeneralAtomics Sea Avenger, and BoeingPhantom Ray. Without a cockpit,and in some cases, even no tail

wings, such systems have beendescribed as looking more likea set piece from the televisionprogram “Battlestar Galactica”than our traditional notions of aplane. But these same attributesgive them capabilities well beyondeven some of the latest mannedstrike fighters. Designed to beespecially stealthy for the mostdangerous roles, such as sneakingpast enemy air defenses, the

prototypeshavelaunchedprecisionguided missiles, been “passedoff” between different remotehuman operators 900 miles awayfrom each other and, in one wargame, autonomously detectedunexpected threats (missiles that“popped-up” seemingly out ofnowhere), engaged and destroyedthem and then did battle damageassessment on their own. Theyalso promise to lighten the loadon human operators. One humanpilot remotely flew two UCASs atthe same time.

The current U.S. Naval AviationMaster Plan includes provisionsfor the UCLASS systems to beflying off of carrier decks by 2018.Whether they will be delegatedto take on tasks on their own orpaired with manned planes, fora package that is greater thanthe sum of its parts, is a crucialquestion of naval air combatdoctrine moving forward. It is akinto the question early warplanesfaced as to whether they were tobe tethered to the existing surface

despite its relentless advancement,there are no signs that technology will endthe central role of humans in war and at seaany time soon.

—P.W. Singer, author of Wired for War:The Robotics Revolution and Conflict in the 21st Century

Adm. JonAthAn greenert:nAVY WiLL continUe to beforWArd And reAdYPAGE 2

H2 EZ EE AN ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO THE WASHINGTON POST TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2011

THE FUTURE OF Naval aviatioN

Commemorating 100 Years of Naval Aviation

Navy Will Continue to BeForward and Ready

Naval Aviation Continues to Make History

A Need for Visionand Leadership

SENATOR marks anniversary 100TH anniversary of naval aviaTion foundaTion

CHief of naval oPeraTions

Commander of naval air forCes

F rom its humble origins with the A-1 Triad in 1911to today’s futuristic X-47B unmanned combat airsystem demonstrator, the history of U.S. naval

aviation reflects a century of achievement in peace andwar. Just three decades after the A-1 took to the skies,aircraft carriers emerged as the backbone of the modernfleet, a role that endures in today’s all nuclear-poweredcarrier force.

Over the last 100 years, the courage, innovation andaccomplishment of naval aviation has been somethingto be proud of. During its first century, naval aviation

has grown from a niche capability to a primary instrument ofnational security.

During this centennial year of naval aviation, seven of ouraircraft carriers have been deployed, from USS Enterprise(CVN 65), which celebrates 50 years of service this year, to

our newest carrier on her maiden deployment, USS George H.W.Bush (CVN 77). Our carriers with their air wings provided more thana third of the close air support for our service members and coalitionpartners on the ground in Afghanistan. They have countered piracyand provided reliable presence to support our Allies and influenceregional actors, and made history for their contributions in fightingglobal terrorism, especially USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70).

Thisyearwehavewitnessedanoutpouringof recognitionandappreciation for thehistoricrole Naval Aviation has played over the past century for our country and in defense of ourfreedom. No nation in all of history has fielded a more potent and flexible military forcethan that represented by today's Naval Air Forces.

By Senator Jim weBB

By admiral Jonathan w. GreenertChief of Naval Operations

By ViCe admiral allen G. meyerSCommander of Naval Air Forces

In addition to carrier aviation, Navy and Marine helicopters, verticaltakeoff-and-landing aircraft, and unmanned aerial vehicles haveexpanded sea-based aviation with their ability to deploy on surfacecombatant and amphibious force ships. Fewer but increasinglymore capable shore-based maritime air patrol squadrons performcritical fleet- and national-intelligence support missions.

Despite the heady accomplishments of 10 decades, all enabledby a proficient industrial base, naval aviation and the Navy’s fleetwrit large face an uncertain future as Congress and the Departmentof Defense seek ways to reduce defense spending by hundreds ofbillions of dollars over the next decade.

The Navy’s watchword now is “all options are on the table,”including a delay in the construction of a nuclear-powered aircraftcarrier or the cancellation of a new carrier acquisition outright.

As a maritime nation by virtue of geography, economic necessity,and global political commitments, we would be ill-advised to makeadditional reductions to our already greatly diminished naval forcestructure. Today’s Navy of 284 deployable battle force ships—oursmallest fleet since 1916—is maintaining a high operational tempo,with more than 50 percent deployed from their homeports on anygiven day.

Today’s warships are exceptionally more capable than theirpredecessors, but greater numbers offer inherent advantages intheir own right. As my Naval Academy classmate and former Chiefof Naval Operations Adm. Jay Johnson was fond of saying, “Virtualpresence is actual absence.”

The fleet’s undiminished operational commitments are cause forconcern. The Navy is considering an extension of attack submarinedeployments beyond their traditional six months because unifiedcombatant commanders’ mission requirements have steadilyincreased. Aviation squadron and surface ship readiness continuetheir decline owing to under-resourced maintenance accounts.Sailors in many ratings are spending more time on sea duty. Thestrain on them and their families is real. During the years ahead, wemust not repeat the mistakes of the 1970s by placing unacceptablyhigh burdens on their shoulders.

My very strong view, formed over more than 40 years, is thatour national security and vital interests around the world affirm thestatutory requirement for 11 operational aircraft carriers and theneed for a Navy of more than 300 ships. Time and again in far-distant oceans, they have demonstrated their great versatility asstrategic assets with highly potent tactical applications. The Navy-Marine Corps team’s ability to sustain our distant alliances and todissuade, deter, or defeat those who threaten us is enormouslywell-suited for our nation’s 21st -century strategic requirements.

As we withdraw from Iraq and Afghanistan, we should reassesshow our nation will address post-9/11 realities and internationalterrorism in ways that do not entail a large and expensive overseasground presence. We also must refocus our strategic prioritieselsewhere, most notably in the vast reaches of the Pacific region.We should reinvigorate our alliances with Japan and Korea, developcloser ties with the nations of Southeast Asia, and serve as a forcefor peace and stability in the face of China’s clear intention to expandits economic strength, military power, and territory.

The Navy has many important roles to play in this regard. With itsmobility, flexibility, combined-arms strength, and relatively limiteddependence on overseas bases, naval forces are well-posturedto support our nation’s global national defense strategy and toexecute their traditional mission of sustaining unfettered sea linesof communication.

During the height of our country’s worst economic crisis in1933, we faced a similar challenge in deciding how to allocatelimited resources for the nation’s defense. Spurred by an executiveorder by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, legislation sponsored byCongressman Carl Vinson and Senator Park Trammell ultimately ledto a major eight-year naval building program totaling more than 100ships. Their follow-on legislation expanded naval aviation acquisitionprograms during the late 1930s. Obsolete ships were replaced withdesigns that proved their worth for decades to follow—long-termstrategic investments in national security.

Historians note that the landmark Vinson-Trammell Act helpedto revive depressed U.S. industries and led to the long-termshipbuilding program that enabled the U.S. Navy to dominate theworld’s oceans by 1945.

Similar vision and leadership are required today if we are tosustain that legacy for our maritime republic.

Perhapsthestrongestevidenceof the vital strategic role NavalAviation plays in contemporarygeopolitical considerations isthe question posed in momentsof crisis by every U.S. Presidentsince World War II: Where areour aircraft carriers?

The answer, of course, isthat they are ready and theyare located around the globe,anywhere they are needed at amoment’s notice, prepared torepresent American interests,to defend, to strike, to suppress,and ultimately to defeat anyopposing force on earth.However there is more; whilethe essential mission of NavalAviation is in defense of ournation and supporting our NavalForces in keeping vital sea lanesopen, the men and women whocomprise this formidable forcehave also repeatedly answeredthe call to provide humanitarianassistance on the distant shoresof islands and continents farfrom the American homeland.

Launching from the decksof ships ranging from aircraftcarriers to cutters, and fromforward land bases located at

the most remote places on earth,Navy, Marine and Coast Guardaviators flying fixed and rotarywing aircraft have repeatedlyexecuted every imaginablemission asked of them. Enabledby the most advanced equipmentAmerican industry can produceand supported by the unfailingprofessionalism of their fellowservicemen, Naval Aviationrepresents the highest ideals ofmilitary service.

The chronicles of NavalAviation are marked by significantcontributions to our nation in warand peacetime. The future ofNaval Aviation holds the promiseof an even greater impact on ourworld. While the future missionfor Naval Aviation is unchanged,the battlefield may very well bedifferent. From space warfare,unmanned aerial vehicles andstealth aircraft to cyber warfareand terrorism, tomorrow’s NavalAviators will be prepared to meetand prevail over these challengesjust as they have done for thepast 100 years.

On December 1, 2011, we willcommemorate the conclusionof a year-long recognition of the

Centennial of Naval Aviation,its accomplishments over thepast century and a look into itspromising future. Please join usfor the public Centennial of NavalAviation Wreath Laying Ceremony,1 p.m., at the U.S. Navy Memorial,and the Official Centennial of NavalAviation Commemorative Gala, atthe National Building Museumthat evening.

The Board of Directors ofthe 100th Anniversary of NavalAviation Foundation extendsits sincere appreciation tothe generous Sponsors ofthe Centennial, our HonoraryCommittee Members, and themany civilian, active and retiredmilitary volunteers for theirtireless efforts to coordinate thiscelebration. Most importantlywe recognize the members ofthe Naval Aviation family whohave left an indelible mark on ourNation over the past 100 years.Our Board is deeply proud of thecontribution of Naval Aviation toour Nation, and we are humbledto have served in recognition ofthe United States Navy, MarineCorps and Coast Guard’s serviceto America.

Senator Jim Webb, a former Secretary of the Navy and combat Marine in Vietnam,is the senior Senator from Virginia and a member of the Senate Armed Servicesand Foreign Relations Committees.

The Board

Co-ChairmanMajor General Bob Butcher,USMC (Ret)

Co-ChairmanRear Admiral John “Mac”McLaughlin, USN (Ret)

PresidentCaptain Jim DiMatteo, USN

executive directorKatie Everhart

Members

Willis M. Allen, Jr.

Jason Brustkern

Reo Carr

Patrick Connors

Shelly Hall

John Hawkins

Phillip L. Jelsma

Mary King

Scott Mednick

Mitch Mulanix

Ari Petersen

Patti Roscoe

Larry Scott

United States Navy

savings could cause long-termharm if investments do notcontinue in research units suchas the Naval Research Laboratory.Hone, whose book Battle Linedetails thesubject,pointedout thateven during the Great Depression,the Navy pumped money into theNRL and the Director of NavalResearch. This investment helpeda navy demobilized after WorldWar I to win the Pacific War duringWorld War II.

Added to the difficulty ofplanning for the future is theknowledge that it most likely willlook different from the recentpast. Coté noted that with therise of China as a potential militaryadversary, the Navy will facechallenges it hasn’t faced sincethe end of the Cold War.

“If you think about the wars thatwe fought (in recent years), wenever faced air defense systems

designed after the late ’60s," Cotésaid. “There’s a whole generationof air defense systems that wewould face in a war against Chinaand not anywhere else. If you lookat what we have faced, it’s beenthe JV team.”

The answer, Coté said, is toadapt submarines, ships andaircraft carriers to new missionsrather than abandon them.

Yet one area some analystshave targeted for cuts is thelarge-deck aircraft carrier. Withthe increasing importance ofrotary aircraft and vertical take-off and landing aircraft such asthe Bell-Boeing V-22 Osprey,the argument goes, the Navycould transport its air fleet onsmaller ships.

John Pike, director ofGlobalSecurity.org, said, “Onceyou don’t have to spend all of yourtime landing the airplane, it has the

potential to change everything.”Aside from the $12.5 billion cost

of a carrier itself (the estimatedcost of the USS Gerald R. Fordplanned for 2015), supercarriersrequire a larger number of staff,providing support for the aircraftand for the people who maintainand fly the aircraft, Pike said.

“People focus on carriers. Idon’t think you should look at acarrier and say just because itcan’t go anywhere it wants togo on the first day of the warthat it’s obsolete,” Coté said.Though carriers and their strikegroups remain crucial for powerprojection, it probably would nothurt to reduce the number in thefleet to 10 from the current 11,he added.

Hone noted that overall Navypersonnel needs to be one ofthe targets for cuts. “People areexpensive,” he said. “You have

to train them and keep them andreward them for the dangerousand important work they do. Thatcosts money.”

The most critical area inpersonnel, he said, is healthcarespending. Just as it is for civilians,healthcare is a major expensethat is difficult to control. Unlikefor civilians, though, the militarymakes a promise to its peoplethat if they serve, their healthcareneeds will be met, Hone said.

“It’s not going to be easy. Ithink it’s going to be wrenching,”Hone said.

Coté said he’s optimistic thateven if the Navy must shelvesome ideas temporarily, it has thecapacity to come back.

“I think we are going to beunder a lot of financial pressurefor a long time,” Coté said, “butwhen we get genuinely scared,we will react.”

This year we honor thatproud legacy and recognize theongoing contributions of navalaviation to America's securityand prosperity. From biplanesto jets, naval aviation has beenat the forefront of change andtechnology, extending America’sarea of influence from under thesea into the outer limits of space.

Today, our Sailors andMarines with their complementof helicopters, strike-fighters,patrol aircraft and ships areforward, ready, and focused onwarfighting. In Afghanistan, navalaircraft supply about one-third ofthe close air support missions.

As we turn our attentionto naval aviation’s future, it isimportant that we remain focusedon winning today while building

They have also been a forcefor good providing relief andhumanitarian assistance, as didUSSRonaldReagan(CVN76)earlierthis year to our friends in Japanthrough Operation Tomadachi.

While we have honored ourlegacy during this anniversary

year, we also look to thefuture. We remain focusedon warfighting, ready alwaysto operate forward, and wewill maintain this focus aswe prepare to implement ourplanned transitions, includingthe MH-60R/S, P-8 Poseidon,

EA-18 Growler, E-2D AdvancedHawkeye, Joint Strike Fighterand the Ford-class aircraft carriernow under construction with thenew electro-magnetic aircraftlaunch system and advancedarresting gear.

What will remain constant,though, is our shared passion

for flight and the innovation andcourage that is the heart of navalaviation. We have forged a legacyof success that will continue toguide us into the future.

a capable and relevant force.Our Sailors and Civilians are thefoundation of our warfightingcapability. Our people will bemore diverse in experience,background and ideas; personallyand professionally ready; andproficient in the operation of theirweapons and systems.

The aircraft in the next decadespredominantly will be the provenplatformsoftoday,butwithgreaterreach and persistence thanksto new payloads of sensors,weapons, electronic warfaresystems and unmanned vehicles.The unmanned systems in theair and water will employ greaterautonomy and be fully integratedwith their manned counterparts.Additionally, the future fleet willmaintain our current advantages

in the electromagnetic spectrumand cyberspace, but will fullyoperationalizethemaswarfightingdomains.

While the attributor of our navalaviation will change over thecoming decades, our contributionto the nation’s defense will not.Being forward with our people,aircraft and ships we will remainas essential as we are today.Operating forward we will deteraggression, promptly respondto crisis, and win our nation’swars. We will operate globallyat the front line of our nation’sefforts in war and peace, andthe fleet will continue protectingthe interconnected systems oftrade, information, and securitythat underpin our own economyand that of our friends and allies.We will continue to operate withinternational partners to protectthe “maritime crossroads”where shipping lanes, resourcesflows and information intersect,such as the Straits of Gibraltar,Hormuz, and Malacca. Theseareas are extremely important tothe economic prosperity of ournation, as well as our friends andallies.

We have a mandate to recruitand train the most qualified and

capable Sailors. Our Navy willcontinue to be made up of themost sophisticated, professional,and disciplined Sailors in thehistory of our great nation. Theknowledge, high standards andproductivity that are requiredof them, in some of the mostchallenging environments, provehow truly exceptional our peopleare. So, as we share a storiedhistory during this Centennial ofNaval Aviation I am confident thatthe spirit and passion of our pastwill live on for many decades.Go Navy!

FISCaL CoNtiNUed from 1



F/A-18E/F

EA-18G

E-2D

F-35B

F-35C

AH-1Z

UH-1Y

MV-22B

MH-60R

MH-60S

Naval aviatioN aircraft iNformatioN from upcomiNg Naval aviatioN visioN ~ JaNuary 2012.SketcheS by keN colliNS (omNitec SolutioNS, iNc.).

The Future of Naval Aircraft

F-35C Lightning iiThe Joint Strike Fighter

program is building a tri-servicefamily of next-generation,strike-fighter aircraft that isflexible and survivable. With itsall-aspect stealth strike design,internal weapon carriage, fullyfused mission systems, andunrefueled combat radius ofgreater than 600 nautical miles,the Navy’s F-35C Lightning IIwill complement the capabilitiesof the F/A-18E/F Super Hornetnow serving as the Navy’spremier strike fighter. The F-35Cwill enhance the flexibility,power projection, and strikecapabilities of carrier air wingsand joint task forces.

E-2C hawkEyE / E-2D aDvanCED hawkEyEThe E-2C Hawkeye provides all-weather airborne early warning,

airborne battle management, and command-and-control functions forstrike group and joint force commanders. An integral component ofcarrier air wings, the E-2C uses its radar, identification friend or foe,electronic surveillance sensors, and offboard data sources to provideearly warning threat analysis against potentially hostile air, surface,and ground targets. E-2C/D usage of Link-11, Link-16, CooperativeEngagement Capability, and a communication suite connects carrierair wings and strike groups at the tactical level to the operational levelof warfare. The E-2D Advanced Hawkeye will replace the current E-2Caircraft beginning in 2014, with the final squadron transition scheduledfor 2022. The E-2D’s electronically scanned array radar will provideenhanced capabilities in the overland and littoral environments, whilesignificantly improving performance against clutter and small targetsand providing integrated air and missile defense capabilities. TheE-2D is currently undergoing flight testing and has been approved forall four years of low-rate initial production. Initial operational capabilityfor the aircraft will be October 2014.

Mh-60R / Mh-60R REpLaCEMEntThe MH-60R provides surface and subsurface warfare support

with its airborne low-frequency sonar, inverse synthetic apertureradar with automatic periscope detection and discriminationmodes, electronic support measures, an advanced forward-lookinginfrared system, precision air-to-ground missiles, machine guns,and lightweight torpedoes. The MH-60R is the only organic airborneanti-submarine warfare asset within strike groups and is critical toensuring maritime dominance.

Mh-60S / Mh-60S REpLaCEMEntThe MH-60S multimission helicopter is currently conducting search-and-rescue, combat search-and-rescue, special operations forces support,

air ambulance, anti-piracy, combat support, and fleet logistics operations. (Through the 2020s, the HH-60H will also provide special operationsforces support in addition to the MH-60S.) Its utility has been critical to successful humanitarian assistance and disaster relief efforts since thedevastating 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. Using the forward-looking infrared (FLIR) sensor, Link-16, and an array of current and programmed air-to-ground weaponry as well as crew-served weapons, the MH-60S operates independently or as part of a “hunter/killer” team with the MH-60R foranti-surface warfare missions. In addition, the platform provides critical airborne mine countermeasures as part of the littoral combat ship minecountermeasures mission package. Using one of four advanced sensor and weapon packages to provide detection, localization, and neutralizationof anti-access mine threats, these systems allow naval forces to operate and maneuver in littoral and blue-water environments.

ah-1Z vipER anD Uh-1y vEnoMHaving achieved full-rate production and initial operational capability

for both the UH-1Y and the AH-1Z, focus for the H-1 upgradeprogram has shifted toward fielding and sustaining these capableairframes. H-1 upgrade aircraft are equipped with a four-bladed rotorsystem, 10,000-hour airframes, integrated avionics, glass cockpits,significantly improved sensors, and helmet-mounted displays, andhave vastly increased payload, range, and time-on-station. The UH-1Y has supported combat operations in Operation Enduring Freedomsince October 2009, and the AH-1Z deployed for the first time inNovember 2011 alongside the UH-1Y as part of an “all upgrades”MEU. The AH-1Z/UH-1Y combined deployment showcased theadvantages of sharing 84 percent of components, significantlyincreasing maintainability while reducing the logistics footprint andassociated training requirements.

Mv-22B oSpREyThe MV-22B Osprey is a tiltrotor vertical/short takeoff and landing

aircraft designed as the medium-lift replacement for the Vietnam-era CH-46E Sea Knight assault support helicopter. The Osprey canoperate as a helicopter or as a turboprop aircraft and incorporatesadvances in composite materials, airfoil design, fly-by-wire controls,and digital avionics. It has twice the speed, six times the range,and three times the payload of the aircraft it replaces. In February2011 the V-22 program surpassed 100,000 flight hours and hassuccessfully deployed multiple times to Iraq and Afghanistan andaboard U.S. naval shipping. It currently supports combat operationsin the Central Command area of responsibility.

F/a-18E/F SUpER hoRnEt / F/a-18E/F REpLaCEMEntThere are a number of enhancements to the F/A-18E/F Super

Hornet that will sustain its lethality well into the 21st century.Upgrades include critical growth capability, enhanced survivability,and weapon bring-back improvement. Avionics upgrades for the F/A-18E/F Block II include the APG-79 Active Electronically Scanned ArrayRadar System, the Infrared Search and Track System, and advancedsensor integration. Future avionics upgrades will enable network-centric operations, which will enhance situational awareness and thetransfer of data to command-and-control nodes. The Super Hornetalso fills the critical organic tanking mission for carrier air wings,extending the operational reach of the nation’s sea power.

Naval Aviation continues to study the capabilities required whenthe F/A-18E/F reaches the limits of its service life beginning in2025. The assessment is the initial stage of the requirements andacquisition process; it will evaluate a full range of considerationsfor addressing future Navy needs and recapitalization issues,including manned, unmanned, and system-of-systems options. Thecapabilities assessed during the study will be further developedand refined through operational analytical modeling and simulation,potentially leading to an analysis of alternatives and, eventually, acompetitive fly-off between various industry proposals for the F/A-18E/F Replacement.

Ea-18g gRowLER / Ea-18g REpLaCEMEntThe EA-6B Prowler has long served as the nation’s foremost

tactical airborne electronic attack platform. In December 2001, theNavy completed an analysis of alternatives for electronic attack,laying the foundation for the replacement of the Prowler with theEA-18G Growler. The Growler leveraged the investments made in theALQ-218 receiver system, which is the heart of the EA-6B ImprovedCapability III program. The next step is to replace the ALQ-99 TacticalJamming System with the Next Generation Jammer (NGJ), with aninitial operational capability anticipated in 2020. Development of NGJis critical to the Navy’s vision for the future of airborne electronicattack and is a vital component of the Defense Department’s planto build a joint system-of-systems electronic attack capability. TheEA-18G is already in service, and saw its first combat sorties in Libya.Full operational capability is scheduled for 2015. By 2032, the EA-18GReplacement aircraft will have begun replacing the EA-18G Growler.

Although the Navy regularly updates itsexisting platforms, eventually aircraftmust be replaced with new technology.This page highlights aircraft newly in

production or now in development.

p-8a poSEiDonThe P-8A Poseidon will replace the P-3C Orion, which has reached

the end of its service life. The Poseidon will provide broad areamaritime and littoral anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare as wellas armed intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilitiesto joint warfighters. To keep pace with emerging threats, the P-8Afeatures a sensor and communications suite built within an openarchitecture to facilitate the insertion of state-of-the-art anti-submarinewarfare sensors, net-ready technologies, and the latest joint weaponsthroughout its service life. The procurement plan for the Poseidonprovides for a force with the lethality and capacity needed to supportstrike groups and the joint battle force in any maritime environment.Initial operational capability for the P-8A Poseidon is 2013.

F-35B/C Lightning iiThe Marine Corps’s AV-8B

Harrier, EA-6B Prowler, andF/A-18A/C/D Hornet aircraftwill be replaced with the F-35Lightning II B and C models. TheLightning II combines multirole,low-observable, fifth-generationcapabilities with the flexibilityrequired for expeditionarybasing. The F-35 will allow theMarine Corps to provide a widerange of air operational optionsand tactical supremacy to taskforce commanders.

p-8a

F-35C

F-35B

F/a-18E/F

Ea-18g

E-2D

ah-1Z

Mh-60R

Mh-60S

Uh-1y

Mv-22B

U.s.

Nav

yph

oto

byM

ass

CoM

MUN

iCat

ioN

speC

iali

st1s

tCl

ass

MiC

hell

elU

Cht

U.s.

Nav

yph

oto

CoUr

tesy

loCk

heed

Mar

tiN

U.s.

Nav

yph

oto

CoUr

tesy

oflo

Ckhe

edM

arti

Nby

MiC

hael

dJa

Ckso

N

U.s.

Nav

yph

oto

byM

ass

CoM

MUN

iCat

ioN

speC

iali

st3r

dCl

ass

doM

iNiq

Uepi

Nei

roph

oto

CoUr

tesy

Nor

thro

pGr

UMM

aNU.

s.N

avy

phot

oby

Mas

sCo

MM

UNiC

atio

N3r

dCl

ass

JaM

estU

rNer

U.s.

Nav

yph

oto

byM

ass

CoM

MUN

iCat

ioN

speC

iali

stse

aMaN

deve

Nb.

kiN

G

U.s.

Nav

yph

oto

bype

tty

offi

Cer

2Nd

Clas

sda

Nie

lba

rker

U.s.

Nav

yph

oto

byCl

ark

pier

CeU.

sN

avy

phot

oby

Mas

sCo

MM

UNiC

atio

Nsp

eCia

list

2Nd

Clas

sJa

Mes

r.ev

aNs


Huntington Ingalls Industries salutes the U.S. Navy on the 100th anniversaryof Naval Aviation.

In 1934, we built the first ship designed from the keel-up as an aircraftcarrier – USS Ranger – at our Newport News Shipbuilding division. Today, weare building Gerald R. Ford, the lead ship in a new class of aircraft carriers.Aircraft carriers are the most flexible and capable ships in our nation’sfleet, able to project presence, combat power and support humanitarianefforts – anywhere, anytime.

Huntington Ingalls Industries and our shipbuilders are proud to support themen and women who protect our liberty and freedom everyday.

www.HuntingtonIngalls.com

SEA & AIR DOMINATIONA CENTURY OF



Twilight of the $UPERfluous Carrier

The Supercarrier isNOT Superfluous

When It Comes to Aircraft Carriers,Other Nations Think Small

With smaller and lighter unmanned aircraft coming into the mix, the United States

can also deploy smaller and lighter—and less expensive—ships to carry them. We

can’t know for sure how future adversaries will challenge our Fleet, but we can

assess with some certainty how technology is affecting their principal capabilities.

Whenever the budget gets tight, the

age-old large-vs.-small-carrier debate

seems to resurface; it has risen again

with an article by Navy Capt. Henry J.

Hendrix and retired Marine Lt. Col. J. Noel Williams.

In arguing their case that the age of the supercarrier

is on the wane, the authors espouse the supposed

advantages of using an increased number of smaller

ships in place of large carriers. But that viewpoint is

based on false assumptions and flawed premises, and

the summary conclusion that the supercarrier suffers

a “declining utility” is often stated but never proved.

Despite the alarm sounded in some quarters by the sea trial in August

of a Chinese aircraft carrier, the nations of the world do not come even

close to approaching the power projected by the U.S. Navy’s aircraft

carrier fleet.

Judging from the evidence,future Fleet actions will placea premium on early sensing,precision targeting, and long-range ballistic- and cruise-missile munitions. Increasinglysophisticated over-the-horizon andspace-based sensors, in particular,will focus on radar signaturecontrol and signature deception.Thus, we must ask ourselves howbest to win this battle of signaturesand long-range strike.

In the current Fleet, submarinesare the gold standard for signaturecontrol. But unless they receiveintelligence, surveillance, andreconnaissance (ISR) from othersources, they have limited sensingranges. While surface combatantshave longer-range sensingcapabilities in multiple domains,they pay for it with a significantlyhigher signature.

Given clear technology trendstoward precision long-range strikeand increasingly sophisticatedanti-access and area-denialcapabilities, high-signature, limited-range combatants like the currentaircraft carrier will not meet therequirements of tomorrow’sFleet. The march of technologyis bringing the supercarrier erato an end, just as the new long-

The challenge in the maritime environment is this: developingintelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities as wellas remote-targeting capability. To merely assume that initial operationalcapability of the Chinese DF-21D antiship ballistic missile means thedeath knell of the large aircraft carrier (a popular mantra now with theanti-large-carrier contingent) is to not understand the full requirements ofa successful kill-chain.

The notion that the aircraft carrier’s radar signature will be the carrier strikegroup’s Achilles’ heel is wrong. Current Navy and Department of Defenseefforts to combat the DF-21 threat focus on the entire kill-chain to assureaccess for our maritime forces. The DF-21 is a chess move against our

The United States fleet notonly overshadows other naviesin sheer numbers, the size ofits supercarriers far exceedsthe aircraft-transporting ships ofother countries, said John E. Pike,director of GlobalSecurity.org, amilitary intelligence think tank.

If the LHD-1 Wasp amphibiousassault ships are included,the United States operates 20carriers—twice the number in useby the rest of the world’s naviescombined. Those 20 Americancarriers add up to nearly 70 acresof deck space, almost five timesmore than the less than 15 acresof deck space aboard the carriersof other nations, according toGlobalSecurity.org.

“The real future of navalaviation is amphibious assaultships because people have goneberserk in the last decade overthe amphibious assault ship. Itis usable military power,” Pikesaid. The smaller carriers can getcloser to land and accommodatehelicopters and combinedrotary-fixed wing aircraft that

are becoming standard in navalwarfare, he said.

Of the nine countries (Brazil,France, India, Italy, Russia, Spain,Thailand, United Kingdom, andthe United States) that currentlypossess ships with open flightdecks, only four (Brazil, UnitedStates, France and Russia)accommodate fixed-wing aircraft,while six (Spain, United States,Great Britain, India, Italy andThailand) transport short take-off/verticle landing (STOVL) aircraft,according to GlobalSecurity.org.

Great Britain plans to constructtwo large-deck carriers and Indiaplans to build two carriers andrebuild a third.

“There’s just been an enormousoutburst of shipbuilding,” Pikesaid. “A century ago if you askedwhat was the currency in whichnaval power was denominated,it would be dreadnaughts, all biggun ships.” After World War I,naval power was measured in thetonnage of battleships.

“Then for a while we measurednaval power with aircraft carriers,

and every self-respecting countryhad to have an aircraft carrier,” hesaid. “But over time the airplanesgot to be too big, and over timeone by one a lot of these countriesthat had picked up war surplusaircraft carriers gave them upbecause they could no longer findairplanes that were small enoughto fit.” Argentina and Canada areamong those countries.

“In the 21st century, usablenaval power projection is definedby amphibious assault ships.There are a number of countriesthat have decided that they wanta seat at that table,” he said.

Military capabilities are pricingnations out of the market, hesaid. Stealth fighters are thestate of the art now. The UnitedStates will have two types: theF-22 and F-35. China, Russia andIndia have designed their ownstealth fighters. Beyond that,“a dozen countries will buy thesingle-engine F-35 stealths andeverybody else is just going to getby without it,” Pike said.

The big-deck carriers owned

by most other countries—Russia,Thailand and the Ukrainian-builtChinese aircraft carrier—arenot very functional, Pike said.The amphibious assault shipsare less expensive to build andmaintain, and they effectivelytransport troops to a battle or adisaster, he added.

“The next time there’s a peaceenforcement operation like Libya,they want a ship to fly attackhelicopters from off shore. Thenext time there’s a tsunami, theywant a ship that can go over tothe shore, doesn’t have to findnavigable waters and an intactdock in order to be of service.

Now I have a navy I can explain topeople. Now I’ve got a navy whereI can see where tax dollars areat work and we’re an importantcountry that matters,” Pike said.

The smaller carriers work fora nation that isn’t inherently amaritime power, but the UnitedStates still needs supercarriers,said Owen R. Coté Jr., associatedirector of the Security StudiesProgram at the MassachusettsInstitute of Technology.

“The main thing about a bigcarrier is it’s efficient and it canconveniently carry an airwing thatincludes all the components thatyou need. You can have 5 E-2Hawkeyes on it, 5 Growlers onit. You can have 5-10 ASW (anti-submarine warfare) helicoptersand 40 strike fighters,” he said.A small deck carrier cannotaccommodate that kind of airwing, he said.

“The deck is big enough forspecialized airplanes like the newE-2D that are absolutely necessaryfor higher threat environments,”Coté said. Despite the higherinitial cost, nuclear-poweredsupercarriers also provide a muchlonger lifecycle than smallervessels, staying at sea longerwithout needing to be refueledand resupplied.

“I worry more about theChinese submarines and oceansurveillance sensor” than thesmaller aircraft carrier it’s testing,Coté said. “The carrier is sort ofsymbolic at this point.”

carriers. The United States holdsthe advantage. It is folly to thinkthat strike-group commanderswould not fight in the event of aconflict with China that puts ourcarriers at risk. Risk calculus willbe assessed in the same manner itwas assessed for the four decadesof the Cold War, against anadversary with fleets and aircraft ofdedicated “carrier killers.”

Marginal Savings,Significant Limitations

Since 1957, carrier studieshave reached a consistent

conclusion: Large-displacement,nuclear-powered carriers capableof launching and recovering an80-aircraft air wing consisting ofcurrent and future-generationaircraft provide inherent missionflexibility and breadth, mobility,survivability, connectability, sea-keeping, and sustainability. Nofewer than 76 studies wereconducted in the CVX next-generationaircraftcarrier“Analysisof Alternatives” underpinningthe design of the new Gerald R.Ford class. These studies, heldin three parts from October 1996

range strike capabilities of carrieraviation brought on the demise ofthe battleship era in the 1940s.

The Carrier DilemmaFactors both internal and external

hasten the carrier’s curtain call.Competitors abroad have focusedtheir attention on the UnitedStates’ ability to go anywhere onthe global maritime commons andstrike targets ashore with pinpointaccuracy. That focus has resultedin the development of sensors andweapons that combine range andstrike profiles to deny carrier strikegroups the access necessaryto launch squadrons of aircraftagainst shore installations.

In addition, a series of pooracquisition decisions, beginningwith the mismanagement andultimate cancellation of the A-12Avenger as the replacementaircraft for the A-6 Intruder deep-strike aircraft, have exacerbatedthe challenge to carrier efficacy.The resulting reduction in thecombat-effective range of thecarrier air wing from 1,050 to 500nautical miles forces the carrier tooperate closer to enemy shoreseven as anti-access systemswould logically force the carrierfarther seaward.

Accompanying this rangedeficiency has been the dramaticincrease in the cost of the carrierand air wing. The price tag forthe USS Nimitz (CVN-68) was$950 million, or 4.5 percent ofthe Navy’s $21 billion budget in1976. The USS Gerald R. Ford(CVN-78), lead ship of a new classof supercarriers, is estimated bythe Congressional Budget Officeto cost $12.5 billion. Add to thatthe Navy’s own estimate of a60 percent chance the ship willexceed the original cost projectionand the number of technologiesstill under development. Thisbrings the estimate to around$13.5 billion, or 8.7 percent ofa $156 billion budget—all thiswhile the ship is still plaguedwith technical risk factors likeelectromagnetic aircraft launchsystem (EMALS) and multi-function radar. The Gerald R. Fordis just the first of her class. Sheshould also be the last.

New Paradigm, New FleetChange is essential, but Fleets

don’t just change overnight. Asalways, the true pacing factorsare the financial and industrialcapacities of a nation. Currentanti-access systems suggest that

submarines will dominate thefuture Fleet. But the relative lackof maturity in implementing thosetechnologies intoacomprehensivebattle network means that wehave time to make deliberate andstrategic course corrections toa lower signature and a longer-range striking Fleet. That wouldfeature not only subs, but alsounmanned systems in the air, onthe surface, and below the waves,thus establishing a new paradigmfor Fleet design.

In such a new strategicenvironment, unmanned systemsdiminish the utility of thesupercarrier, because the sea-control and power-projectionmissions can be performed moreefficiently and effectively byother means. When the carriersuperseded the battleship, thelatter still retained great utility fornavalsurfacefiresupport.Similarly,today’s carrier will be replaced bya network of unmanned platforms,while still retaining utility as an as-needed strike platform. Even if wepurchased no new supercarriers,we would still have operationalcarriers in the Fleet for more than50 years.

In the meantime, the America-class big-deck amphibious shipcould become a new generationof light aircraft carrier. At 45,000tons’ displacement, she willslide into the water larger thanher World War II predecessors,and larger even than the modernFrench aircraft carrier Charles

de Gaulle. Designed without anamphibious well-deck, she will putto sea with a Marine Air CombatElement and key elements of aMarine Expeditionary Unit.

However, to view this purely asan amphibious-assault ship wouldbe to miss the potential as a strikeplatform. Stripped of rotorcraft, theAmerica class could comfortablyhold two squadrons of F-35B shorttake-off vertical-landing (STOVL)stealth fighter/attack aircraft.Such an arrangement would allowthe naval services to increasepresence and strike potentialthroughout the maritime domain.In addition, if the requirementswere instituted in the near term,the new unmanned carrier-launched airborne-surveillance andstrike (UCLASS) aircraft could bedesigned tooperate fromAmerica-class decks with greater potential

utility and distribution than whatcould be expected when operatingfrom supercarriers.

Beneath the SurfaceCruise-missile-equipped fast-

attack submarines and large-salvo guided-missile submarineswould become the naturalcomplements to the UCLASS.Launched from stealthy platformslying hidden beneath the waves,cruise and conventionally armedballistic missiles would speedtoward critical command, control,communications, and computerISR nodes ahead of manned andunmanned strike aircraft, cripplingan enemy’s ability to defend itself.Such platforms would have adeterrent effect, promising quick-reaction strikes from unknown and

The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) pulls out of Busan, Republic ofKorea, after a port visit.

Lt. Cmdr. Jessica R. Parker, catapult officer, gives the signal for launch to the pilot of anF/A-18E/F Super Hornet aboard USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72).

Deploy Smaller veSSelS

lARGe-Deck CarrierS Still eSSential

AccommoDAte rotary airCraft

U.S.

Nav

yph

oto

byM

aSS

CoM

MUN

iCat

ioN

SpeC

iali

St3r

dCl

aSS

Chri

Stop

her

K.hw

aNg

U.S.

Nav

yph

oto

byM

aSS

CoM

MUN

iCat

ioN

SpeC

iali

St3r

dCl

aSS

robe

rtro

bbiN

S

DEPLOY CoNTiNUEd oN 11

“Twilight of the $UPERfluous Carrier” is adapted from an article that appeared in the May 2011 issue of the U.S. Naval Institute magazine, Proceedings.“The Supercarrier is NOT Superfluous” is adapted from a response published in the September 2011 issue. These are republished with permission.

to October 2000, concluded thatthe Nimitz-class follow-on shouldbe designed for a large air wing,shouldhavecatapultsandarrestinggear, should benefit from nuclearpower, and should be based on amodified Nimitz-class design dueto budget limits.

A September 1998 DefenseAcquisition Board affirmed thesestudies and endorsed the Ford-class design. In a forthcomingstudy, the RAND Corporation highlyrates the Ford class across a widerange of parameters, includingmission flexibility, humanitariansupport, operating-area access,availability, and interoperabilityvs. smaller design concepts. ThesameRANDresearchfoundthat theFord-class design accommodates75 days of ship stores, steams14 days between underwayreplenishments, carries 9,275metric tons of aviation fuel, has375,000 cubic feet of ordnancestorage, and produces 500,000gallons of fresh water per day.All of these metrics far exceedthose of any comparable-missionship design.

These studies note that smaller,mid-sized carriers provide onlymarginal cost savings but result insignificant operational limitations.

The Center for Naval Analysesnoted in its November 1997study that the “size of the carriermatters most when the carrier isoperating alone, at the beginningof the conflict, and in a high threatenvironment,” and RAND statesthat a “small CVN (less than 90,000tons) cannot meet the threat.”

The America and similaramphibious-assault vessels areideally suited for their mission:close-in amphibious supportto the Marine Air-Ground TaskForce (MAGTF). Strippedof their rotorcraft, the decksize is postulated to handletwo squadrons of F-35s—anunconstrained prediction basedon PowerPoint slides more thanreal-world demonstration. Thereduced capability of a 45,000-tonshipcarryingshort- takeoff/vertical-landing (STOVL) strike-fightersto generate sorties would be sodramatic as to make this platformfar less capable across the rangeof military options than it wouldbe with a full MAGTF air-combatelement with its combination ofrotor, tilt-rotor, and STOVL aircraft.

A “high/low” or “light/heavy”mix with the supercarriers as

LargE-DEck CoNTiNUEd oN 11


TODAYTOMORROWBEYOND

Military Aircraft

C4ISR

Support & Services

Information Solutions

Space Systems

www.boeing.com/bds

H8 TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2011 EZ EE AN ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO THE WASHINGTON POST TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2011 H9

TODAYTOMORROWBEYOND

The future of naval aviation will be defined by the courage of

those flying and operating the most capable and ready aircraft.

It is and will be our privilege to support their many missions.


Angle of Attack chronicles the amazing triumphs and challenges of

Naval Aviation during the past hundred years. Boeing is proud to be

the sponsor of this heroic and compelling two-part chronicle.

Watch Angle of AttackTonight on WETA, 8-10 p.m.


Maintenance Crew Keeps Aircraft Flying

There is little down time in the HSC-8 Detachment 1 maintenance shop. Just 14 aircraftmaintainers on board the Navy cruiser USS Mobile Bay are charged with keeping ourdetachment helicopter, a MH-60S Knighthawk, in a continuous, fully mission-capableflying status. This is half the number of maintainers per helicopter that the squadrons

operate with aboard an aircraft carrier. We must be ready to fly at a moment’s notice. Themaintainers know this helicopter, the intimate details and idiosyncrasies, from spending at times18-hour days focused on its needs.

helicopter sea combat detatchment

unidentifiable locations shouldcompetitors choose to attackAmerican national interestsanywhere on the planet.

However, as shown by othernations throughout the Asia-Pacific region, the United Statescannot place all of its emphasison submarines to perform day-to-day presence missions. To bean effective agent of Americaninfluence, a platform must beseen, and the nation must beperceived to be taking the risksthat go along with presenceoperations just like any othernation. The United States requiresan effective surface fleet—butnot the one currently planned.

Ironically, one of the most malignedand dismissed components ofthe current Fleet already hasthe fundam ental attributesneeded to meet tomorrow’schallenges. Amphibious shipsare the prototypes for future

Even with the helicopter awayfrom the ship on a mission,the maintainers are busy. Frommaintaining support equipment,ordering parts, and generatingdetailed documentation ofaircraft inspections to masteringaircraft systems and studying forqualifications, they have little timeto relax.

All helicopter maintainers mustbe expert tradesmen in their craft.Whether focusing on ordnance,power plant systems, airframesystems, electronics, avionics,survival equipment systems ormaintenance administration, eachplays a vital role in keeping thehelicopter operational. The levelof knowledge that our maintainerspossess is astounding. Evenmore, each helicopter maintainer,while a technical expert in aspecific aircraft specialty, must beproficient in multiple aspects ofhelicopter maintenance. With thesmall number of maintainers onboard, each must know everyoneelse’s job.

From the moment our wheelshit the cruiser deck on landing,this tight family goes to work.

The aviation ordnanceman isthe first maintainer to touch thehelicopter on deck. Often timesthat is Petty Officer 2nd ClassKelton Masterson, a cross-ratedParachute Rigger. He makes surethe aircraft ordnance is safe soother maintainers can performtheir work. He rushes into the

spinning rotor arc at the 3 o’clockposition, then scurries aft of theengine toward the tail, duckingunder the 100 mph, 300-degreeexhaust of the number 2 engine.In position near the chaff andflare dispenser, with only 3 feet ofclearance between his head andthe still-spinning main rotor, he

secures the dispenser and puts itin safe mode.

Head low, he moves up theright side of the aircraft. Hedisables the Hellfire missiles andensures the M240D, a 7.62 mmmachine gun, is clear and safe.He scurries around the nose andrepeats this process with theweapons on the left side of theaircraft. The helicopter is safeto shutdown. The rotor bladesbegin to slow down and graduallycease spinning.

The detachment maintainersmaterializefrombehindthehangarwith their support equipment andtake over. Aviation ElectronicsTechnician Petty Officer GeorgeHohnsbehn directs this chaoticballet while the maintenanceChief Petty Officer MarcusMoore supervises to ensurethe perilous environment of thecruiser’s pint-sized flight deck isas safe as possible. Maintainershave minimal room to move on aflight deck about half the size ofa basketball court, most of whichthe Knighthawk occupies. Windand salt spray beat the flightdeck crew and coat everything,including the aircraft, with agreasy slush of salt, fuel, oil,water, and grime. Occasionallythe tops of massive waves lickthe flight deck as the cruiser cutsthrough 10-foot waves.

“It’sanunbelievablyinhospitableplace. On the flight deck, it’s140 degrees during the day, it’s95 degrees at night, pitch black,windy, and the deck rolls around

a lot,” Petty Officer Hoensbehnsaid. There are no deck railingsbetween the crew and the oceanbelow; just a metal safety netslightly illuminated by the coolgreen deck edge lights.

Despite the challengingflight deck environment, themaintainers are on a compressedschedule. They have to get thehelicopter ready to fly by the nextmorning. Plane captains needto analyze fuel samples, checkhydraulic oil levels and ensuretransmission fluids are free ofcontamination. They also mustcheck the airframe and enginesfor fatigue stress and corrosion.

The ordnancemen clean theweapons and reload and groundtest the countermeasure systemsto ensure the weapons willoperate properly if the flight crewsever need them. Specializedsoftware is loaded into a varietyof secure-voice, long-range radiosand mission systems by theAvionics Electronics Technicians,ensuring tactical information canbe collected and sent to the ship’sintelligence office or the carrier forreview and analysis.

“With little to no warning, wecan be called upon to protect theships in our strike group, conductsearch and rescue, provide specialwarfare support or humanitarianassistance, among manyother things,” said LieutenantCommander Josh Ellison, one ofthe four pilots in the detachmentand our Officer-in-Charge. “Wehave a truly impressive team of

maintainers who make it possiblefor the pilots and aircrew toanswer the call right away.”

Over the last century ofnaval aviation, the need foraircraft maintenance grew asaircraft became increasinglycomplex. While pilots putthese sophisticated machinesthrough their paces in the sky,these workhorses would beuseless scraps of metal if notfor dedicated crews of aircraftmaintainers. When I first beganflying helicopters as a studentin 2009, I was far removedfrom the day-to-day gruelingmaintenance that takes place. Itwas not until reporting to my firstfleet squadron, and now on myfirst deployment, that I see justhow much devotion, skill, andhard work go into making thesecomplex machines safe to fly andable to execute their missions.

As people on the ground lookup and watch these aircraft,they may not realize how muchdedicated work goes intomaintaining them. We, as pilotsand aircrew, readily put our lives inour maintainers’ hands. Out herein the Arabian Sea, I am convincedthat we are the most powerful,ready and flexible naval air force inthe world, in large part because ofthese hard-working and singularlycapable men and women.

surface combatants. Their designessentials make them perfectcarriers of unmanned systems.

The new combatants wouldbe “carriers,” but rather thancarrying aircraft, they would carryan array of unmanned systems.A balanced Fleet would have amix of small, medium, and largeunmanned carrier combatantsto cover the range of Fleetfunctions. One near-term optionwould be to truncate productionof the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS)and replace both that and theDock Landing Ship (LSD) with acommon hull displacing around10,000 tons.

America the BeautifulThat small amphib would have

a flight deck capable of handlingall naval rotorcraft and a well-deckthat could accommodate currentship-to-shore connectors, as wellas future unmanned surface and

subsurface vehicles. Building60 of these combatants wouldprovidesignificantflexibility totheFleet, allowing ships performingLCS missions to be easilysortied as amphibs in supportof a large amphibious mission,should the need arise. Thoseships would provide a platformfor engagement missionsand humanitarian-assistance/disaster-relief response at oneend and amphibious operationsand sea control at the other.

This sort of mission flexibilityshould be considered a key designattribute for any future combatant.HavingmoreshipswouldallowtheFleet to operate forward in moreplaces. Further, more numerous,smaller vessels would provide aresilient and survivable high-lowmix. Technology enables a smallsignature-controlled combatantto take advantage of the long-range precision strike otherwise

associated with larger platforms.Given the strong capabilities

of each component, there is nosingle point of failure, and thesystem would attrite gracefully, incontrast to the catastrophic failurethe loss of a supercarrier wouldentail with today’s Fleet.

The course of technologicaldevelopment renders a Fleet

incorporating the design principlesdiscussed here inevitable. Withemerging-threat and economicchallenges, it is essential we as anation recognize the need for anew Fleet design sooner ratherthan later. We can raise an Armyin years, but building a Navytakes decades.

DEPLOY Continued from 6

LARGE-DECK Continued from 6

By CApt. Christopher J. MurrAy, u.s. NAvy

Capt. Murray is head of Strike Aircraft Plans and Requirements in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations.

surge forceswouldbeprohibitivelyexpensive to acquire, operate andsustain. The inherent flexibilityof the large-deck nuclear carrierfielded in the correct numbers isthe most cost-effective way toservice combatant-commandermissions. Congress has mandatedby law a floor of 11 carriers and 10carrier air wings.

But perhaps 11 will not beenough in an unknown, futureworld order of regional conflictprowled by ambitious andaggressive adversaries. Mostexperts fear that our carriercapability is stretched too thin,and they are very concernedabout what will happen in 2013when the 51-year-old nuclearsupercarrier USS Enterprise (CVN-65) is retired. The replacement, theGerald R. Ford, is not scheduled tobe commissioned until late 2015.

still No substituteThe assumption that new,

smaller, unmanned aircraft as wellas STOVL capability will supersedecarrier power projection and airdominance violates first, thelaws of physics, and second,rules of engagement. To fulfill the“one target: one weapon” goal,aircraft will have to be capableof launching with an employablepayload against a representativetarget. Weapons in this classweigh 500 to 2,000 pounds, adesign constraint for smaller and/or STOVL designs when payloadcarriage and weapons bring-backare key performance parameters.

Unmanned aircraft offer manyadvantages, which is why theNavy is demonstrating theN-UCAS X-47 and developingthe follow-on Unmanned CarrierLaunched Airborne Surveillanceand Strike (UCLASS) system.These unmanned aircraft willbecome a part of the carrier

air wing as early as 2018,complementing a mix of survivablefirst-day-of-war penetrators andhigh-capacity strike-fighters witha persistent, long-range ISR andstrike capability.

But the artificial intelligenceneeded for these vehicles tooperate autonomously is far intothe future, circa 2050. Theselimitations and realities constrainpresumptions about autonomousnetworks of smaller, unmannedvehicles to fantasy, not reality,in the next four decades.Notably, these systems will notcost less than similar, mannedsystems because the mission setrequires investment in high-endtechnology. The conclusion thatUCLASS is a more cost-effectivesolution to fifth-generationmission sets is uninformed.

superior sortie CapabilityMuch has been made of the

cost of the large-deck aircraftcarrier. It is one thing to pointat the high dollar cost and quiteanother to assess the value of theweapon system—the operationalcapability. Comparison of thenewest carrier system againsta 1976 Nimitz baseline isinappropriate, as budgets thatare three decades old andexisted in a different world orderare irrelevant.

A 2006 study revealed that theaverage annual nuclear-carrierprice inflation was 7.4 percentfrom 1950 to 2000. This wasattributed mostly to increasesin capability and government-furnished equipment, as well aseconomic factors such as laborandmaterialcosts.Notably,RANDfound that costs rose much lesssteeply for aircraft carriers thanthey did for surface combatants,nuclear-powered submarines,and amphibious ships.

An analysis of the contract costsof all ships in the Nimitz classshows that the follow-ship costsare fairly steady. Thus, follow-onvessels of the Ford class will costless to launch in constant-yeardollars. Additionally, Ford capabilityimprovements, which resultedin three times more electricalpower and a 25 percent increasein sortie generation, achieved a$5.5 billion total-ownership costreduction, including a reductionof maintenance requirements by30 percent. The advanced designand inherent technology of theElectro-Magnetic Aircraft LaunchSystem (EMALS) allow the useof smaller aircraft-launch-and-recovery-equipment teams andlower sustainment costs whileexpanding the flexibility of thecarrier decks to accommodate thebroad array of possible aircraft.Overall, the technology embeddedin the Ford design allows crew-size reduction to 4,660 fromnearly 6,000 required to operateNimitz-class carriers.

An investment inWorldwide presence

Several countries with interestin maritime influence are sailingor building aircraft carriers, Chinabeing the most recent fledglingnotable. The British, French, andItalianshavea longhistoryofcarrieroperations. For the United States,the inescapable culmination of thecarrier debate is the investmentthe country makes in worldwidepresence, sea control, maritime-domain primacy, and influencingpotential areas of conflict.

The debate is not about thedollar cost, it is about the value ofAmerican influence. The mightycarriers of the U.S. Navy carrynot just F/A-18s, but also a setof understandings about what itmeans to be a powerful nation.

due to high winds and rough seas, main rotor blades' tips must be secured with clamps andlines to prevent damage to the aircraft or injury to personnel walking underneath them.

Phot

oby

Pett

yof

fice

r1s

tcl

ass

Just

inW

righ

t

By CAptAiN heNry J. heNdrix, u.s.

NAvy, ANd LieuteNANt CoLoNeL J. NoeL

WiLLiAMs, u.s. MAriNe Corps (retired)

By LieuteNANt JuNior GrAde

stepheN deFAzio

Capt. Hendrix is a strategist inthe Pentagon. He is a naval flightofficer and former aviation squadroncommanding officer. Lt. Col. Williamsworks as a strategy and policy analystat Headquarters Marine Corps.

proven

Carrier

Hamilton Sundstrand

Otis

Pratt & Whitney

Sikorsky

UTC Fire & Security

Our Sikorsky BLACK HAWK helicopters have logged millionsof hours in the most dangerous situations, which is why theyare the first choice for tactical military operations worldwide.Find out more at utc.com.



Also in 2013, the MQ-8B FireScout unmanned helicopterwill become the first sea-based unmanned system tocarry weapons, when NorthropGrumman delivers the first FireScouts equipped with laser-guided missiles.

Does this spell the end of theNavy pilot?

“You’re talking to a pilot,”laughed Rear Admiral (select)DeWolfe Miller, director of theNavy’s Intelligence, Surveillanceand Reconnaissance Capabilitiesdivision, who has made 850carrier-arrested landings. “Idon’t really see that happeningany time soon, even despitethe tremendous strides in whatunmanned systems can do.”

Unmanned aerial vehicles(UAV) and unmanned aircraft

systems (UAS) will continue totake on many of the intelligence,surveillance and reconnaissance(ISR) tasks for the Navy. So far,the Navy has not emphasizedcombat missions for UAVs, as theAir Force has with its Predator.

“I think right now the realvalue that unmanned gets youis endurance,” said Owen R.Coté Jr., assistant director ofthe Security Studies program atthe Massachusetts Institute ofTechnology. “People talk aboutunmanned that you don’t have toworry about losing the pilot. Buta lot of them cost a lot of money.They aren’t disposable.”

The newest thing in militaryaviation isn’t completely new. TheDahlgren Naval Surface WeaponCenter, using a pioneering radiocontrol system developed by

the Naval Research Laboratoryflew the first remotely pilotedaircraft, the Wild Goose, in 1924.A World War I Navy advancedtrainer, the Curtiss N-9H, wasconverted to a radio-controlleddrone and successfully flew 40minutes before being damagedon landing. During its flight time, itexecuted 49 commands.

In the 1960s, UAVs were usedas target drones and for stealthsurveillance. Cruise missiles alsoare antecedents to today’s UAVS.The Navy and Marine Corpshave operated the Pioneer UAVsystem since 1986. Once duringDesert Storm, Iraqi troops actuallysurrendered to a Pioneer.

Unmanned vehicles havebecome a fixture in the warsin Afghanistan and Iraq, andimportant new platforms are inthe works.

In addition to the Pegasus andFire Scout, the Navy is awaitingdelivery in about four years ofthe MQ-4C Broad Area MaritimeSurveillance (BAMS) aircraft,which is a maritime variation ofthe Northrop Grumman RQ-1Global Hawk UAV. In June, theNavy awarded Boeing a studycontract toward the developmentof an Unmanned Carrier LaunchAirborne Surveillance and Strike(UCLASS) system to providepersistent ISR and precisionstrike capabilities. The Navywants that system by 2018.

All the U.S. military serviceshave been employing UAVs,but the Navy has specialrequirements. Naval UAVs mustwithstand the corrosive effectsof the salt-air environment andundergo special maintenanceprocedures, Miller said.

“Basically any air-capableship that the Navy has, from thelittoral combat ship to amphibiousassault ships to aircraft carriers,you will see them populated withunmanned systems,” Miller said.

John Pike, founder and directorof the GlobalSecurity.org thinktank, thinks the F-35 Lightning nowunder development could be thelast jet fighter with human pilots.

“I really think that they’re goingto have a big ceremony one dayand stop the line and cut a ribbonand point to the last one that had

an ejection seat in it and see thefirst one that doesn’t,” he said.

“I don’t think the F-35 is thelast piloted plane,” Coté said.“I do think there’s always goingto be value in having people co-locating with the sensors and theweapons with certain kinds ofmissions,” he said, particularlythose involving mobile targetsin cluttered environments suchas cruise missiles and tacticalballistic missiles.

Rear Admiral William E. Leigher,director of Warfare Integration forInformation Dominance, said thedeterminations would be basedon “what we want a human pilotto do because of intuition andinteractiveness versus a job thatwe’re pretty comfortable puttingin an autonomous setting becauseit’s straightforward.”

“I am pretty certain thatautonomy and increasing levels ofautonomy will be a future featureof all types of vehicles: air, land, seaand space,” said Richard J. Foch,a senior scientist with the NavalResearch Laboratory, who hasworked with unmanned vehiclesfor decades. Next year NRLwill open its new Laboratory forAutonomous Systems Researchto advance that work.

“The main issues to be workedout on autonomy are thoseprimarily involving the level ofautonomy we prefer to bestowon them, and to what capacitywill we want them to self-learn,adapt and perhaps self-evolve. Sothe issues on artificial intelligencefor UAVs are more social/political/ethical than technological—in myopinion,” Foch said.

Naval historian Thomas Honesaid he envisions a time whenrather than having four pilotstraveling together, pilots may flywith unmanned vehicles undertheir control, coordinating withthem like fingers, commandingthem to deploy to the nextformation. “I tell aviators, justdream,” he said.

“‘Unmanned system’ justmeans there’s not a pilot or aircrewin the airframe itself. There’s aton of hard-charging, dedicatedyoung men and women doing theoperating,processing,maintenanceand planning,” Miller said. Untilrecently, the control has been like aweekend hobbyist flying a remote-control plane, he said. Now thecontrol often is made by a click of acomputer mouse.

In the Navy, aviators undertakethe piloting aspects of operating

the UAVs, but that maychange over time, Miller said.The seniority and rank of theindividuals who operate thesystems may depend on thetype of system and its mission.Recruits are coming into theNavy already with technicalsavvy, just because it’s so mucha part of the culture, he added.

The Navy also must resolvehow to process the data flowing infrom the long-endurance sensorson UAVs gathering information.For example, a minute of videotakes two minutes to transfer offthe platform, Leigher said.

“None of the services aregrowing right now. I’ve got moreinformation coming into the sameanalytical pool that’s doing thiswork,” he said.

Artificial intelligence will beincorporated into future sensors,to discriminate among data andnot transmit that which is notneeded, he said.

Considering the progress theNavy has made since Eugene Elytook off in his Curtiss pusher planefrom a makeshift ship’s platformin 1910, Miller noted, lookingahead to the state of unmannedvehicles in 100 years is “a prettydifficult task to envision.”

An MQ-8B Fire Scout unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) successfully completes the firstunmanned biofuel flight at Patuxent River, Md., on Sept. 30. The aircraft flew with acombination of JP-5 aviation fuel and plant-based non-food source camellia.

Freed of the need to accommodate a pilot, and armed with the micro-technology that powers cellphones, scientists are working on small,relatively inexpensive and often autonomous aerial vehicles to supportthe work of the armed forces.

Small UAVs perform missions that are too dull, dirty, dangerousor expensive for other manned and unmanned aircraft. For example,expendable UAVs flew sensors inside the towers of the Fukushima,Japan, nuclear power plant after it was damaged by the Marchearthquake and tsunami.

For 32 years, Richard J. Foch has conceived, planned and researcheddevices for the Naval Research Laboratory, Tactical Electronic WarfareDivision. Trained as a mechanical and aerospace engineer, Foch workson multidisciplinary teams. Electrical engineers contribute to projectsinvolving electrical warfare, while material scientists provide theirexpertise on issues involving coatings and epoxies for vehicles. Chemicalengineers help to develop fuel cells and aerospace engineers work onspace technology.

Each scientist at the lab works on three to five projects at once,perhaps being project manager on one team, working on designs foranother project, conducting computer simulations for another, andcontributing to development of a prototype for another, Foch said. NRLstaff members do the concept work and demonstrate the capabilities,and then the design goes to industry for production.

“Our job is to show what can be done, show it in operation. Wetake risks that industry can’t,” Foch said recently in his office at theNRL, on the 131-acre campus just south of Bolling Air Force Base inWashington, D.C.

Since 1985, NRL’s Expendable Air Vehicle Research group hascontributed to more than 54 programs and developed more than 250vehicles on a $175 million investment. At times it assists or develops justpieces of larger projects by other agencies such as the U.S. Air Force,NASA, Naval Air Station China Lake, and sometimes industry.

“I was told, ‘You’ll be lucky if you get one thing produced’” as anexperimental designer, Foch said. “I’m lucky, I’m having two.” TheDragon Eye, the first autonomous expendable small UAV in production,was used for urban reconnaissance in Iraq and Afghanistan. The ALE-50towed decoy system was first deployed in 1996 and is still in use.

The XFC (eXperimental Fuel Cell), a self-launching long-enduranceelectric unmanned aerial system, probably will be the third projectFoch has worked on to go into full production. It is in its fifth year of

development and soon will beready to go to bid.

“Three patents are pending andwe’ve got several companies thatwill be bidding to further developthe technology. We license thetechnology to all of them, and theproject could be completed, readyfor production in two or threemore years,” Foch said.

The XFC can be launched fromthe ground, off a ship’s deck or

from a submarine. It is launchedfrom a 19-inch tube, a littlesmaller than the torpedo tube,and can fly for about six hours onreconnaissance missions. The UAVincludes interchangeable nosesthat can be equipped with both acamera and a tactical electronicwarfare payload. With its electronicpayload, it could act as a decoy.

Lance Cpl. Malcomlynd Williams prepares to launch a Raven B Unmanned Air Vehicle during an operators course in Al Qa'im, Iraq, in 2008.A training team provided the Marines with a two-day course on how to effectively operate the lightweight, hand-launched UAV that wasreplacing the Dragon Eye.

In the 1984 movie, "The Last Starfighter," an American teenager is recruited to take his videogaming skills into real battle to save the galaxy. Will the Navy soon be recruiting pilots forunmanned vehicles based on similar skills?

U.S.

Mar

ine

Corp

Sph

oto

byCo

rpor

albi

lly

hall

phot

oCo

Urte

Syof

Univ

erSa

lSt

Udio

S.

U.S.

nav

yph

oto

byKe

lly

SChi

ndl

er

Small UAVs Play Growing Rolein Navy Arsenal

expendable air vehicles

Not all the unmanned aerial vehicles in the

Navy’s arsenal are deadly Reaper drones.

Some are so small they look like toys. Others

are launched with a toss, just as a model airplane is

sent aloft.

More Unmanned Systems Taking off in Future

In July a piloted F/A 18 jet tested software and systems developed for the X-47Pegasus unmanned aerial vehicle to successfully land on the deck of the USSDwight D. Eisenhower. Northrop Grumman says demonstration of carrier takeoffsand recovery by the unmanned aircraft is just two years away.

uav missions expanding

U.S.

nav

yph

oto

CoUr

teSy

nor

thro

pGr

UMM

an

An X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System Demonstrator completes its first flight at EdwardsAir Force Base on Feb. 4, 2011.

By P.W. SINGER

P.W. Singer is senior fellow and director of the 21st Century Defense Initiative at TheBrookings Institution and the author of Wired for War: The Robotics Revolution andConflict in the 21st Century.

force of battleships or serve astheir own new form of battle fleet.

For all the excitement ofsuch programs, it is importantto realize two things. The firstis that we are only at the startof this robotic revolution at sea,the World War I stage of things,if airplanes are a parallel. Indeed,just as the first Navy planesstarted out just for observationand soon began to be used foreverything from bombing runs tocarrier onboard delivery (COD), sowe are seeing a similar expansionwith unmanned systems. But justlike back then, we don’t yet haveall the answers as to the optimalroles and doctrine. Even the basicdesign of this technology remainsto be learned and adopted. Thenext few decades will be anexciting time, with new pathsbeing forged, much like theywere by the first generation ofnaval aviation pioneers.

The second lesson, though,is that despite its relentless

UNMANNED TECHNOLOGY CoNTINUED FRoM 1

advancement, there are no signsthat technology will end thecentral role of humans in warand at sea any time soon. Thespecifics of the human roles maybe altered, certainly; most Navywarplanes today don’t have tailgunners or navigators. And theskill sets and ranks of thosewho wear the wings of goldmight change; does the remoteoperator of a plane that can takeoff and land on its own, who issitting behind a computer screen,actually need 20/20 eyesight orthe ability to do 50 sit-ups? Dothey even need to be an officer?But war will remain that sameat its essence: a human affairfought because of human needs,desires, and flaws. And for thatreason, we can be certain of onething: the America of the futurewill still need the same thing itneeded in the last 100 years,the men and women of a strongand powerful Navy to ensureher security.

EXPENDABLE CoNTINUED oN 13


A Scan Eagle unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) launches from the flight deck of the amphibious dock landing ship USS Comstock (LSD 45). Scan Eagle is a runway independent, long-endurance, unmanned aerial vehicle system designed toprovide multiple surveillance, reconnaissance data, and battlefield damage assessment missions.

But sometimes a solution isneeded right away, as with theDragon Eye small UAV.

The Dragon Eye took only 30months from the Secretary ofthe Navy’s approval of the ideato the battlefield in Afghanistan,said Richard J. Foch, an NRLsenior scientist and one of thelead developers.

In late 2001, small units ofMarines in Afghanistan werefinding themselves surroundedby insurgents, and they neededa way to see if where they wereheading was safe. NRL wasasked to work with the MarineWarfighting Lab to develop alocal-area surveillance device thatwas easy to use and transport.

The scientists first had toprove that the technology wasready. Foch said that a fewstaff members in NRL's vehicleresearch section deployed anNRL micro air vehicle follow andrecord then-Brig. Gen. TimothyE. Donovan, vice chief of navalresearch/commanding generalof the Marine Corps WarfightingLab, as he left his home andtraveled to his office to meetwith NRL's staff. There, he wassurprised to watch himself onvideo making the trip.

The scientists used existingmicro UAV technology and off-the-shelf materials to create theDragon Eye, a 4.5-lb., battery-

“If a missile’s headed for acruiser or a carrier, a decoy willdivert it to itself, so all you’relosing is a $20,000 airplane,”Foch explained.

The self-launching XFCrequired different thinking todesign. Rather than focusing onbuilding a flying machine, theteam started with a design thatwas easy to unfold and thenturned it into a good airplane, hesaid. The result: a 5-foot fuselagewith a pair of wings that pivotoutward into an “X” shape whenlaunched. When in place, thewings look strangely bird-like,with a missile-shaped body.

NRL researchers also areworking on the first UAVto launch from a UAV. As aGeneral Atomics Predatordestroys a target, the FlightInserted Detector Expendablefor Reconnaissance (FINDER)will launch from the drone tofly to the explosion and bringback samples for analysis. Inthis way, crews can determinewhether chemical agentsexisted in facilities suspectedof manufacturing weapons ofmass destruction.

“We’ve really improved thecapability of the Predator in

the case of battlefield damageassessment,” Foch said.

Generally NRL’s expendableair vehicle projects take three tofive years to reach the productionstage. Tomorrow’s smallunmanned vehicles likely willinclude these features:

AutonomyOperators flying UAVs often

are based remotely, sometimeshundreds of miles away. Theneed to stay tethered bycommunications satellites leavesthe operations vulnerable todisruption by an adversary.

One way UAVs can operatewithout a satellite is to navigatewithout GPS. Engineers havestudied how insects and humansuse optic flow—visual motion—todetect changes between speedand depth in order to navigatethemselves. Using texturedmaterial running down themiddle of a hallway, the scientistscan adjust the sensors’ abilityto digitize an image and thenanalyze it to determine howto avoid obstacles. Ultimately,a micro UAV can fly down thehallway without GPS. If it veerscloser to the wall, energy goes tothe sensors, causing the plane toadjust just as instinct causes aninsect to adjust, Foch said.

NRL teams will further their

work with artificial intelligencein the new Laboratory forAutonomous Systems Research,due to open next spring.

Researchers will be able totest the systems in realisticenvironments, including a desert,

the arctic and a forest. Everywall and floor will be covered insensors to measure the actionsof UAVs and the people workingwith them, Foch said. One end ofthe building is an entire Tropicaljungle with living insects andplants and natural light.

“Now we will also be able totest human interactions with thevehicles in the lab. You can studythe guys operating the machine,”Foch said.

Alternative EnergyNot too far into the future,

small UAVs will be able to operateon hydrogen fuel cells poweredby using electricity from the

nuclear-powered aircraft carrierthat transports it. “A nuclearvessel could make hydrogen andoxygen right on the ship fromwater,” Foch said. “You justneed to electrolize the water. Thehydrogen fuel cells work better

than the others that have beenused. So if you’re by a watersource and have electrical power,you can make fuel.”

Even better, the exhaust fromhydrogen-powered fuel cellsis simply water. For militarypurposes, the fuel cell excelsbecause it is quiet and causeslittle heat that can be detectedby adversaries.

NRL is working with GeneralMotors and the U.S. Departmentof Energy to develop hydrogen-powered fuel cells for manyapplications, as exemplified byGM’s fuel cell-powered car.

“People think the Hindenburgblew up because it was filled with

hydrogen to provide its buoyancy.But the problem was the skin,which was treated with a coatingthat was basically solid rocketfuel. It acted as a flying wick.Hydrogen is actually a fairly safefuel,” Foch explained.

The Dragon Eye UAV waspowered electrically by alithium battery. It could fly just60 minutes, far below whatis possible with the kind ofadvanced high power fuel cellsavailable now. A similar UAV hasflown for 26 hours. Foch said hehopes to increase the time to 72hours within the next year.

Beyond fuel cells, researchersare investigating self-replenishment,making a system that can feeditself. “We’d like to build a UASthat could go to water and eatgarbage. There’s an Army systemthat eats biomatter for fuel,”Foch said.

The technology exists toextract energy from micro-organism’s bioenergy in theseabed. If an autonomoussystem could do that, the unitcould sustain itself on long-termmissions over a large area.Space rovers are similar, butthey can extract energy fromthe sun, Foch said. Under thesea, a vehicle cannot depend onthe sun and must adjust to thecurrent. Further, work needs to

be done to ensure that a long-term ocean system does notcause a negative environmentalimpact, he said.

Affordable ExpendabilityMost of NRL’s Small UAVs,

including the XFC, are not evendesigned to land. For example,when used as a decoy, theUAS will be hit by a missile,diverting a weapon that targetsa Navy vessel. At a cost of$50,000 each, including militaryspecifications, they are designed“to carry a payload that makes a$1 million missile useless.”

Particularly at the conceptualstage, the small UAVs do notnecessarily contain state-of-the-art materials. When possible,the designers use off-the-shelfmaterials. Some model airplaneparts even exceed militaryspecifications, Foch said.

For the small UAVs, theinvestment in individual unitsis small. Their intrinsic value isthe payloads they carry and theimportance of their missions. Thesmall UAV, Foch said, “is just thebus to carry the payload.”

NRL has tested an aircraftthat isn’t just expendable, it’sdisposable. The Close-in CovertAutonomous Disposable Aircraft(CICADA) is designed to carrytiny sensors and deploy inlarge groups, guided by GPS.Weighing less than 8 ounces,the micro UAVs would cost onlyabout $100 each.

Dual MobilityAnother step forward in

UAS development will beto create systems that canfunction in two ways: fly-crawl,fly-swim or swim-fly. Foch iscurrently working on what hecalls “Flimmers.” His teamis evaluating proposals todevelop the surveillance andreconnaissance air- and sea-craft further.

“You can imagine flying itwithin 200 miles of where youcan’t go. It flies the rest of theway undetected, then submergesand flaps its wings like a mantaray,” Foch said.

“It’s not trivial to both flyand swim.”

The device would navigate,but not with GPS. After a designand development phase thatwould take four or five years, aprototype could be demonstrated.There’s no telling what theFlimmer will look like.

“We know how fish swimand bumble bees fly,” Fochsaid. Scientists will use thebiometric information they havefrom these animals to design arobot that works.

“We have built flyingmachines that flap but don’t looklike birds. They fly and swim, butthey do not look like a bird or afish,” Foch said.

The goal is to build long-range,long-endurance multimodalvehicles. Like Marines, theywould operate on the ground, inthe air and on the sea.

operated aircraft. The Dragon Eyecan be taken apart and fit intoa standard military backpack. Itcomes with a miniature GroundControl Station, a laptop thatcontrols the aircraft and receivesits GPS position and video fromtwo cameras.

The aircraft pieces can beassembled without tools inminutes. The operator types intothe computer where the aircraftshould go and then launchesthe device either with a bungeecatapult or just by tossing it likea model airplane. The operatorcan reprogram the craft inflight, remotely steer it, or let itfly autonomously following itspreset course.

“A Marine who comes outof the chow line can do it withonly a few hours training,”Foch said. "Any eight-man unitequipped with a Dragon Eye cando reconnaissance for up to 10kilometers. and see if it’s safe tobed down for the night.”

Foch said grateful Marinescalled him on the telephone tothank him for developing theDragon Eye. Preproductionsystems were deployed in Iraq,and the Dragon Eye served80 missions in Afghanistan in2003 and 2004. AeroVironmenthas built about 1,300 DragonEye UAVs, though the Marinesnow use the company’s lessexpensive and lighter Raven. U.S. Marines prepare to launch a Dragon Eye Small Unit Remote Scouting System, outside the village of Al Qa'im, Iraq, in 2004.

Three Marines were responsible for repairing all the Dragon Eyes for the Marine Corps.

U.S.

Nav

yph

oto

byM

aSS

CoM

MUN

iCat

ioN

SpeC

iali

St2N

dCl

aSS

JoSe

phM

.bUl

iava

C

U.S.

Mar

iNe

Corp

Sph

oto

byla

NCe

Corp

oral

Chri

Stop

her

G.Gr

ahaM

U.S.

Mar

iNe

Corp

Sph

oto

bySG

t.Kr

iSti

NS.

JoCh

UMS

Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) scientists working on unmanned vehicles

usually spend three to five years taking an idea to concept testing before it

goes on to a manufacturer for development.

fits inside a backpack

Dragon Eye UAV Quickly Answered Marine Call for Help

You can imagine flying (a 'Flimmer') within 200 milesof where you can’t go. It flies the rest of the wayundetected, then submerges and flaps its wings likea manta ray.

— richard J. Foch, senior scientist for expendable vehicles for the Naval research laboratory

EXPENDABLE ConTInUED FRoM 12



Information is Power in Cyberand Electronic Warfare

Cyber AND eLeCTrONIC WARFARE

Command of the airwaves is taking its place

alongside command of the ocean waves in the

21st century Navy.

“Information will be treated asa weapon across the full range ofmilitary operations” rather than asjust a tool, according to the Navy’sVision for Information Dominancereleased in May 2010.

The Navy's intelligence,cyber warfare, command andcontrol, electronic warfare, battlemanagement and knowledgeof the maritime environmentareas are being combined intoa network where data can beshared across the service. Morethan 45,000 professionals—military and civilian—work aspart of the Navy’s InformationDominance community.

Rather than organizing databased on how the informationis gathered, the Navy is beingtasked with focusing on thedecision makers who will usethe information, said RearAdmiral William E. Leigher, Navydirector of Warfare Integrationfor Information Dominance.

“If you put back the focus on acommander who it’s going to goto, you look at how you start toshape and use a wide variety ofsources of information,” includingdata collected by the increasinglypowerful and prevalent unmannedaerial vehicles, Leigher said.

“There’s a lot of room left toevolve this,” he said, comparingthe future use of intelligence tothe vastly different ways in whichairpower is used in the Navy nowcompared with the 1930s andeven Operation Desert Storm 20years ago.

Traditionally, electronic warfarehas involved detecting radar inthe battle space and suppressingenemy radar in support of strikemissions. The EA-6B Prowlerand its replacement, the EA-18G Growler, also can carry outelectronic attacks, disrupting thecommunications, surveillanceand reconnaissance activityof adversaries.

Cyber warfare and electronicwarfare come together whencell phone communications andsmartphone functions can bedisrupted because they’re in theelectro magnetic spectrum.TheUnited States needs to protectitself against threats to itsown communications, Leighersaid. UAVs, for example, aredesigned with defenses againstsuch disruptions.

“It’sprettywelldocumentedthatwe worry about threats to cyberspace. It’s an emerging threat.Most generally, it’s an area wherethe attacker probably always hasas an advantage the ability to hidein plain sight,” he said.

One of the challenges withcyber is that “a well fundedterrorist network can move into thiswithout having a lot of capabilitythemselves,” Leigher said.

“A terrorist organization withfunding can go to pretty welldeveloped criminal elementsand buy cyber capability. It’sdifferent than with platform-based warfare. It takes a lot ofmoney to buy a division of tanksand an aircraft carrier. But cybercapability is easily within reach ifyou’re well funded,” he said.

The threats can includedamage to systems and theft ofintellectual property or militarysecrets. Other governments aswell as individuals have beenaccused of cyber attacks in theUnited States.

In 2009 the Department ofDefense created the U.S. CyberCommand. Its initiatives includeimplementing a new doctrine,now under review, that will layout rules of engagement againstan attack in cyberspace.

The command, along with

the Department of HomelandSecurity, also is piloting a programin which the government sharesclassified intelligence about cyberthreats with participating defensecontractors or their Internetproviders so they can increasetheir defenses.

In electronic warfare, the U.S.Navy has had the advantagefor years. In the 1950s and1960s, the Navy led theprogression from analog todigital technology, said ThomasC. Hone, a retired professor forthe Naval War College.

In the 1970s and ’80s, theNavy pioneered the use ofpassive detection. With radar, asignal is sent out and then returnswith information. Passive sensorswatch and listen without alertingthe target.

In the post-Cold War period,“We’ve become used to anenvironment that’s not realistic,that we’re the only game in town,”said Owen R. Coté Jr., associatedirector of the Security Studiesprogram at the MassachusettsInstitute of Technology.

With China building satellitesand detection capability, “we’re

going to have to start thinkingmore about eluding surveillancesystems,” he said. Stealthtechnology in materials, designand systems attempts to loweran aircraft’s signature, what canbe detected by sensors. TheF-35 Lightning should be animprovement over existing low-signature technology, he said. In

addition, the Navy has invested inthe E/A-18A Growler and in anti-radiation missiles (ARMs), whichtarget detection systems.

To retain dominance in thewestern Pacific, the UnitedStates must control the air, Cotésaid. That mission, he said, isbest handled by the Navy andcarrier aviation.

Sailors perform pre-launch checks on an EA-18G Growler on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77). TheGrowler combines the combat-proven F/A-18 Super Hornet with state-of-the-art electronic warfare avionics.

A Sikorsky MH-60R Seahawk fires a live AGM-114 series Hellfire laser-guidedprecision air-to-surface missile.

U.S.

Nav

yph

oto

byM

aSS

CoM

MUN

iCat

ioN

SpeC

iali

St3r

dCl

aSS

bill

yho

U.S.

Nav

yph

oto

byM

aSS

CoM

MUN

iCat

ioN

SpeC

iali

St2N

dCl

aSS

Mar

ka.

leoN

eSio

ResouRces

Web sites:

100th Anniversary of NavalAviation Foundationwww.navalaviation100.org

U.S. Navywww..navy.mil

U.S. Marine Corpswww.marines.mil

U.S. Coast Guardwww.uscg.mil

Naval Research Laboratorywww.nrl.navy.mil

U.S. Naval Institute and itsProceedings magazinewww.usni.org

Global SecurityGlobalSecurity.org

Books:

Wired for War: The RoboticsRevolution and Conflict in the 21stCenturyby p.W. Singer, 2009

Air Power at Sea, A Century of U.S.Naval Aviation 1911-2011by defense Media Network, www.defensemedianetwork.com/publications/air-power-at-sea-a-century-of-u-s-naval-aviation/

Battle Line: The United StatesNavy 1919-1939by thomas hone and trent hone, 2006

As we commemorate the conclusion of a year long recognition

of the Centennial of Naval Aviation, we recognize the amazing

accomplishments made over the past 100 years and the

enormous contributions made by a century of Naval Aviation

personnel, their families and the civilian partners who provide

material support and service to the Naval Aviation Community.

Thank you to those who serve and support Naval Aviation,

you have left an indelible mark on our Nation over the past

100 years. Congratulations on your momentous anniversary.

The 100th Anniversary of Naval Aviation Foundation is a

publicly supported, non-profit 501(c) (3) organization working

independently to support the USN, USMC and USCG’s

Centennial Celebration. The Foundation has orchestrated

the production of the official 2011 Centennial of Naval

Aviation Kick-Off and Closing Events and provided support to

the 2012 Marine Corps Anniversary Event. These celebrations

are made possible by the generous support of our Sponsors.

MARINE CORPS Navy coast guard

www.navalaviation100.org

Thank you to our sponsors

Silver Sponsors

Bronze Sponsors

Mr. & Mrs. James SlatteryTASC

Local Sponsors

Platinum Sponsors

Coast Guard Aviation AssociationMBDA Missile Systems

Naval Aviation Museum FoundationRC Baker Foundation

The Tailhook Association &Education Foundation

USS Midway Museum

Vanguard Industries

Presenting Sponsor


Marine Corps Aviation Always Ready to Respond as Part of Expeditionary Force

Coast Guard Aviators Stretched, but Strong

Coast Guard aVIaTION

MaRINE CoRPs aVIaTION

U.S.

CoaS

tGU

ard

phot

oby

pett

yof

fiCe

r2n

dCl

aSS

hen

ryG.

dUn

phy

U.S.

CoaS

tGU

ard

phot

oby

pett

yof

fiCe

r1S

tCl

aSS

Sara

fran

CiS

U.S.

Mar

ine

Corp

Sph

oto

byCp

l.aa

ron

d.ho

StUt

ler

In broad terms, what is the current state of Coast Guard aviation,assets, and programs?

Vice Adm. John P. Currier: I think it’s very strong right now. In fixedwing, we have a long-range strategy to convert our C-130 fleet toC-130Js, which will increase our capability in that arena. Also, thereplacement of our medium-range surveillance fleet with the HC-144CASA Ocean Sentry is a priority in the next 10 years.

Overall, the fleet is almost two-thirds rotary. Given the missions wehave, I think that’s about right, in percentage, but we could use moreaircraft overall. For example, the demand for maritime patrol for theJoint Interagency Task Force is higher than we are able to meet, as aremost fisheries patrols in the North Pacific and Atlantic and for armedhelicopters for counter-narcotics in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific.For major contingencies, such as Katrina or Deepwater Horizon, wehave limited assets to draw upon. There is no surge capacity—we arefully deployed every day. So our response to emergencies is at theexpense of other operations elsewhere in the country.

We are able to do great things with our aircraft, but with additionalcapacity and capability, we could do more for the country.

What is the primary role of Coast Guard aviation today?

The security and safety of U.S. waterways. It’s an all-encompassingjob that focuses basically on two channels: security for our maritimeborders, inland and port coastal waters and, by extension, our maritimeborders in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific. In the past few decades,our SAR [search and rescue] capabilities have become highly evolvedand, in the past decade, our security capability has approached thatexpertise as well.

Coast Guard aviators have been involved in virtually every typeof manned flight, from spotter balloons to the space shuttle—andnow unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Are there any frontiers yetto challenge?

I think flight test, where we continue to be involved with the Navyat Pax River [Md.] for rotary wing; some of the missions and newplatforms that are developed, for surveillance or weapons or actualTTPs [tactics, techniques, and procedures] for helicopters across theirvaried mission set. And, although we are naval aviators, our continuedpartnership with DHS [Department of Homeland Security] and CBP[Customs and Border Protection] in protection of our ports, waterways,and even land borders.

Does Coast Guard aviation still have a combat capability?

We are written into many of the COCOM’s [combatant commanders’]

Our role as naval expeditionaryforces is to be “most ready whenthe nation is least ready,” and thisis due to the foresight of the 82ndCongress, which insisted uponforces forward deployed and readyto respond to crises before theybecame large contingencies. In1952, that Congress determinedthat the Navy-Marine Corps teamwas the force of choice to performthis role. As that force of choice,Marines have responded from thesea in more than 110 interactionsand contingencies in the last 20years. The world is changingrapidly, but what America expectsfrom its Navy-Marine Corps teamhas not changed.

Whatweexpect fromourselveshas also not changed: immediate,decisive action on and from theworld’s oceans. Our Marine Corps

war plans, both from a surface and aviation perspective. In the case ofa declared conflict, we are committed by law to augment the U.S. Navyrequirements for aviation, and our ability to provide armed helicoptersand expertise in SAR would be fully employed.

While the first Coast Guard aircraft were armed, more than 60years passed without weaponized aviation. Why did you returnto armed aircraft in 1999?

Initially, we armed our helicopters specifically for counter-drugoperations in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific. Our unarmedhelicopters, while effective in detecting threats, notably go-fast drugboats, could do nothing more when we arrived overhead—and ofttimes the cutter would not be in position to do an intercept, so thosethreats passed us by.

In 1999, we armed helicopters to apply warning shots—and ifnecessary, disabling fire—to these narcotics carriers. Following9/11, we developed packages for protection of critical assets andinfrastructure in our ports, including high-value naval assets.

What role will UAVs play in the Coast Guard’s future, and do yousee any future need for weapons there?

We will explore the use of UAVs in two ways: A high-altitude vehiclewe would need for broad area maritime surveillance and vessel-based UAVs that could operate off our ships, extending not only theship’s eyes and ears, but also, for smallboats, their reach for threatinterdiction.

At this point, our doctrine for airborne use of force is helicopter-based.Due to the strategies and tactics we use for employment, I don’t seea need, at least in the near term, for weaponized UAVs for the CoastGuard.

How do Coast Guard aviators differ from their Navy, Marine,Army, and Air Force counterparts?

First, Coast Guard aviators fly in a domestic environment, which makesthem perhaps more attuned to operations in congested areas. Wehave to be expert tacticians in both our mission areas and our missionenvironment.

Another difference is, when the alarm goes off, our young aircraftcommanders adapt to the situations they face. They are given fairlybroad doctrinal guidance, with well-developed TTPs, but they also are

expected to be independent thinkers, facing situations as they evolve,and acting accordingly.

What do you see for the future of the Coast Guard?

I think we have a strong future. We are a unique instrument in ournational toolbox for safety and security and our relevance, despite oursmall size, is reinforced through the performance of our people. No otherorganization, national or international, has the span of responsibilitieswe have in the context of maritime safety and security.

That is both our strength and our weakness. Building support for 11different missions is more difficult than trying to resource a singlemission. So our survival mechanism in the world of competition forresources is outstanding performance; if we can’t set the bar high andachieve that performance, then we would have a hard time achievingthe support we need.

But, from where I sit, I don’t see any problem in maintaining thatsupport.

As the Coast Guard’ssenior aviator and deputycommandant for missionsupport, Vice Adm. JohnP. Currier is uniquely placedto assess the status andfuture of USCG aviationas the service’s missionrequirements continue togrow. The Coast Guard’sofficial aviation centennialis 2016—five years afterthe Navy—and it marks thearrival of Coast Guard AviatorNo. 1—Elmer Stone—at theNavy’s flight school at Pensacola, Fla., where all subsequentCoast Guard pilots have been trained.

Currier spoke with writer J.R. Wilson for the recent book,Air Power at Sea: A Century of Naval Aviation 1911-2011. Thefollowing excerpt is reprinted with permission.

By MArINe LIeUteNANt GeNerAL terry G. roBLING,

DePUty CoMMANDANt For AVIAtIoN

An MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter lands at Coast Guard Sector San Diego after the medevac of an injured man from a fishing vessel 225 miles south of San Diego.

A Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew and personnel from the Coast Guard BaseKodiak Fire Department prepare Jimmy Cook, 48, for transfer from the rescue helicopter toan ambulance. Cook sustained a head injury from a crab pot while aboard a 70-foot fishingvessel 46 miles west of Kodiak Island, Alaska.

About this section:this special supplement was prepared for the advertising department of the Washington post byfreelance journalist and editor Marcy Gessel in cooperation with the U.S. navy and the 100th anniversaryof naval aviation foundation. the production of this supplement did not involve the news or editorialdepartments of the Washington post.

For more information, please contact:Marc h. rosenberg, Manager, Corporate and public policy advertising, at 202-334-7634.

Custom Content Manager: Julie Gundersonproduction Coordinator: Mamie belleSection designer: Kristin Kato

For More InForMatIon

deploying forces go to sea asintegrated Marine Air-Ground TaskForces, or “MAGTFs.” These agileand responsive forces stay afloatand ready. For example, earlythis year we took a 1,200-maninfantry battalion off of the 26thMarine Expeditionary Unit, whichwas operating at sea, and sentthem ashore in Afghanistan to jointhe more than 20,000 Marinessupporting the multinational effortin Operation Enduring Freedom.

In the past two years Marineshave fought in Afghanistan; fedrefugeesinPakistanandevacuatedover10,000people fromthefloodsin that country; executed counter-piracy operations in the Gulf ofAden; put Marines and sailorsashore in Japan and led the jointand interagency task force helpingout after the earthquake and

tsunami; and conducted theatersecurity cooperation operationsfrom the Black Sea to Africa. All ofthese operations were enabled byMarine Corps aviation.

This spring, the Marinesreturned to the shores of Tripoli.As the Arab Spring accelerated andthe situation in Libya escalated,26th MEU ships pulled into port,onloaded a Marine rifle battalionto replace the one which wasashore in Afghanistan, and thenput back to sea offshore of NorthAfrica, ready to respond shouldthe need arise. And that needsoon arose: Marine Corps AV-8BHarriers flew the first combatmissions from aboard amphibiousships in the Mediterranean as partof NATO’s Operation OdysseyDawn supporting rebel forces.Sea-based Marine aviation also

rescued a downed U.S. Air Forcepilot, flying a rescue packageof MV-22B Ospreys and CH-53E helicopters from the USSKearsarge into Libya in the middleof the night to bring that pilot backto American ground.

To enable this strategicforward presence, all of MarineCorps aviation is expeditionary.The equipment we use and thetactics we employ are focusedon conducting operations in thelittorals and beyond in harshenvironments. The MarineCorps has made significantadvances in aviation technologiesthat support our mission setand make us a more agile andresponsive seaborne force. TheMarine Corps pioneered thebattlefield use of the helicopter,and now is doing the same with

tiltrotor technology. The MV-22B Osprey is the next step inthe evolution of rotary lift and isnow at the forefront of assaultsupport capability. The Ospreycompleted three deployments toIraq, is on its fourth deploymentto Afghanistan, and is on itsfourth aboard US Navy ships aspart of the deployed Navy-MarineCorps team.

In the same way the Ospreyrevolutionizes assault support,the Joint Strike Fighter willrevolutionize tactical air support ofground forces. The Marine Corpscontinues to use our rugged,proven helicopters and jets at seaand ashore, and we are breakingnew ground with our family ofunmanned aircraft systems.All of this is tied together by adeployable command and controlsystem, while our logisticsfrom sea to shore enable our

expeditionary character.President Theodore Roosevelt,

in his second inaugural messageto Congress in 1902, stated, “Agood Navy is not a provocationto war. It is the surest guarantyof peace.” More than a centurylater, Roosevelt’s quote stillserves as fine advice. Thenation has demanded our readyexpeditionary Navy-Marine Corpsaviation force for the past 100years and will continue to demandthat force into the future. We arealways prepared, ready to assistin a humanitarian mission or full-scale combat, and everything inbetween. These are turbulenttimes, and a strong naval serviceis vitally important to the healthand security of our nation. YourNavy-Marine Corps partnershipis strong, and will remain strongas we look forward to the nextcentury of success.

One hundred years ago, Alfred A.

Cunningham, our first Marine Corps aviator,

said that Marine Corps aviation exists to

“assist the troops on the ground to successfully

carry out their missions.” Marine aviation’s number

one priority now is the same as it was then: to support

the ground force in winning our nation’s wars. We

know that we must be prepared to operate across

the range of military operations, and we will do this

with systems and capabilities that maintain and

strengthen our fundamental expeditionary character.


© 2011 Lockheed Martin Corporation

Photo courtsey of the U.S. Navy

For one hundred years, Naval Aviation has played a major role in the defense of freedom. And pushed the envelope ofaviation technology. From the Curtiss biplane that performed the first takeoff and arrested landing aboard a ship to today’sstate-of-the-art fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft, Naval Aviators and support personnel have been at the tip of the spear. Themen and women of Lockheed Martin are extraordinarily proud to be a part of the Naval Aviation team. As we celebrate the100 th anniversary of Naval Aviation, we offer our heartfelt thanks and a resounding Bravo Zulu.

Photo courtsey of the U.S. NavyPhoto courtsey of the U.S. Navy

A OF SERVICECENTURYFIRSTFROM TOGENERATION.

5TH

the future of naval aviation

Documents

air systems

insidethe navy

air forcesf

naval planner

otherarmed services

century of naval aviation

lockheedmartin f

new ghter jet platforms