Aircraft/Marines

Sea Power, Jan 2003

AV-8B BARRIER II

F/A-18 HORNET

BRIEFING: The F/A-18 Hornet replaced the F-4 Phantom II in all of the Marine Corps' fighter-attack squadrons. The two-seat FIA-18D also has assumed the tactical and forward air-control missions formerly carried out by OV-10 and OA-- 4M aircraft in addition to the all-weather attack missions formerly carried out by the A-6E Intruder. In 1999, with the delivery of the ATARS (Advanced Tactical Air Reconnaissance System), the F/A-18D assumed the tactical reconnaissance (TACRECCE) mission previously carried out by RF-4B aircraft. ATARS permits transmission of real-time imagery to joint commanders via digital data link. The Corps now has two active squadrons of FIA-18As, six of F/A-18Cs, and six of F/A-18Ds, and four reserve squadrons flying F/A-18As. A fleet-- replacement squadron operates F/A-18A/B/C/D aircraft. From 1995 to mid1997, F/A-18D squadrons made rotational deployments to Aviano Air Base, Italy, providing support to NATO forces in Bosnia. Two F/A-18D squadrons-the first to deploy with the ATARS-were staged in Hungary in early 1999 and flew strike and reconnaissance missions over Serbia and Kosovo in Operation Allied Force. Four Marine F/A-18C squadrons have been integrated into Navy carrier air wings; one of these flew strikes against Iraq in Operation Desert Fox in 1998 and against terrorist targets in Afghanistan in 2001. Marine Corps F/A-1 8s continued to support the global war on terrorism in 2002 with missions flown by two forward-deployed squadrons in Southwest Asia and one squadron embarked aboard an aircraft carrier. The Marine Corps is presently upgrading all the F/A-- 18As to F/A-18C capability (as F/A-18A+) through Engineering Change Proposal-583. The Corps does not now plan to acquire F/A-18E/Fs; instead, it will continue to operate F/A-18A+/C/Ds until they are replaced by F-35 Joint Strike Fighters (JSFs). The last Hornet to be manufactured (an F/A-18D) was delivered to the Corps in August 2000. (See Navy Aircraft section for F/A-18 specifications.)

EA-6B PROWLER

BRIEFING: The EA-6B Prowler provides the landing force commander with an excellent weapon against enemy air defenses. Marine Prowlers can operate from prepared airfields, expeditionary airfields, and/or aircraft carriers. The Corps will continue to operate four squadrons of five EA-6Bs each. Marine Corps EA-6B squadrons are unique in that they deploy with the Tactical Electronic Reconnaissance Processing and Evaluation System (TERPES), which provides a task force commander with valuable tactical order-of-battle information and access to data from national sensors. With the retirement of Air Force EF-111 aircraft, the EA-6B is the nation's only tactical electronic jamming aircraft. The Marine Corps is receiving Block 89A upgrade aircraft-the baseline aircraft for the ICAP III upgrade-through fiscal year 2002. The Block 89A modification program combines avionics upgrades and depot-level maintenance to reduce the number of aircraft awaiting repairs. Block 89A avionics improvements include the installation of ARC-210 radios, an enhanced AYK14 mission computer, and an embedded global-positioning system/inertialnavigation system. The standardized Block 89A configuration is intended to enhance joint and allied interoperability. (See Navy Aircraft Section for EA-6B specifications.)

KC-130 HERCULES

UC-35

MV-22 OSPREY

BRIEFING: The V-22 Osprey-a tiltrotor aircraft developed by the Navy/Marine Corps and the tiltrotor team of Bell Helicopter Textron and Boeing Defense and Space Group-was introduced in rollout ceremonies at Bell's Flight Research Center at Arlington, Texas, in May 1989. It is the world's first production tiltrotor aircraft and is slated to replace the aging CH-46E and CH-- 53D helicopters as the Marine Corps' medium-lift aircraft. Designed to carry 24 combat-equipped troops, or 10,000 pounds internally (15,000 pounds externally), it can attain speeds over 300 mph and altitudes close to 25,000 feet. The aircraft has demonstrated its ability to lift an HMMWV.

Low-rate initial production of the MV-228 was authorized in FY 1997. HMT-- 204, the CH-46E training squadron at MCAS New River, N.C., was redesignated VMMT-204 in June 1999 as the MV-22B training squadron. The MV-22B completed its Operational Evaluation-a comprehensive series of tests designed to evaluate the aircraft's operational effectiveness and suitability-in 2000 and was rated operationally effective and suitable for land operations. HMX-1's Multiservice Operational Test Team conducted extensive operationally representative missions from amphibious ships, airfields, remote sites, confined areas, ranges, and other test facilities. After modifications and further trials at sea of the aircraft's wing-fold mechanisms in November 2000, the MV-- 22B was rated operationally effective for shipboard operations.

The MV-22 program was projected to achieve a full-rate production decision by December 2000, but the Marine Corps recommended a delay of the decision in the wake of the Osprey's two fatal accidents that year. The Secretary of Defense, at the Marine Corps' request, convened a panel of experts to conduct a comprehensive review of the program. The panel determined that the technology was sound and recommended that the program be funded at a rate sufficient to sustain the industrial base until the engineering deficiencies were fixed and the panel's recommendations could be implemented. Concluding that the Osprey's engineering deficiencies could be fixed, the panel concurred with the findings of 17 prior studies that found the Osprey to be the most cost-effective replacement for the Marine Corps' aging fleet of medium-lift helicopters and the only aircraft capable of fulfilling its 21st-century mission requirements. Foremost among those requirements were greater speed, range, and lift capacity. The panel made a series of recommendations to correct the aircraft's engineering deficiencies, to extensively test the fixes, and to improve management of the program.