Naval Air Station Fallon

Navy Adjusts F-35C Squadron Size to End Fighter Shortfall by 2025

An F-35C Lighting II from the ‘Argonauts’ Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 147, left, a F/A-18F Super Hornet from the ‘Bounty Hunters’ VFA 2, center, and F/A-18E Super Hornets from the ‘Stingers’ VFA 113, right, sit on the flight deck of the USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) on Jan 30, 2021. US Navy Photo

Navy officials told a key House panel this week that by creating a different mix of aircraft in the future carrier air wing, the service could shave five years off the timetable to close the shortfall in...

https://news.usni.org/2021/07/14/navy-adjusts-f-35c-squadron-size-to-end-fighter-shortfall-by-2025

Navy Revamping Aviation Maintenance in New Ten-Year ‘FIOP’ Plan

Fleet Readiness Center Southwest. US Navy Photo

The Navy is working on a new 10-year effort to revitalize its aviation infrastructure, the service’s top officer told Congress on Tuesday.

The service is pursuing what it’s calling the Naval Aviation Fleet Infrastructure Optimization Plan (FIOP) to revamp the aviation maintenance facilities so they can better maintain aircraft, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday told the Senate Armed Services Committee in written testimony.

“We are also...

https://news.usni.org/2021/06/22/navy-revamping-aviation-maintenance-in-new-ten-year-fiop-plan

Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group in Middle East, Reagan Carrier Strike Group Begins WESTPAC Patrol

USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76) steams ahead, followed by Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force guided-missile destroyer JS Maya (DDG-179) on May 16, 2021. US Navy Photo

The Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group is now operating in the Middle East after transiting the Suez Canal on Tuesday, U.S. 5th Fleet officials told USNI News.

USS Iwo Jima (LHD-7), USS Carter Hall (LSD-50) and USS San Antonio (LPD-17) entered the Red Sea on Tuesday with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) embarked.

The MEU is made up of...

https://news.usni.org/2021/06/03/iwo-jima-amphibious-ready-group-in-middle-east-reagan-carrier-strike-group-begins-westpac-patrol

First F-35C Air Wing Ready to Bring 5th-Gen Fighters to Carrier Strike Group

PACIFIC OCEAN (Jan. 30, 2021) An F-35C Lighting II from the “Argonauts” Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 147 sits on the flight deck on Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70). Carl Vinson is currently underway conducting routine maritime operations. (U.S. Navy Photo by Mass Communications Specialist 3rd Class Erin. C. Zorich)

As the Navy approaches the first-ever deployment of its advanced carrier air wing – with the fifth-generation F-35C Joint Strike Fighter paired with the...

https://news.usni.org/2021/04/29/first-f-35c-air-wing-ready-to-bring-5th-gen-fighters-to-carrier-strike-group

Navy Harnessing New Technology to Restructure Aviation Training

Wilfred Merkel, simulator requirements officer for Chief of Naval Air Training (CNATRA), provides guidance to 2nd Lt. Liam Wells, a student naval aviator assigned to the “Rangers” of Training Squadron 28, in March 2019. US Navy photo.

The Navy is incorporating new technologies into its aviation training curriculum, from hand-held devices to full simulators, to better train airmen to fly and fight their aircraft.

Speaking at a panel over the weekend at the Tailhook Association’s online symposium,...

Mission Capable: How More Ready Jets Is Helping the Navy Create Deadlier Pilots

Sailors inspect an F/A-18E Super Hornet, assigned to the ‘Blue Diamonds’ of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 146, on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) on March 23, 2020. US Navy Photo

This post is the second in a two-part series on the naval aviation community’s effort to build better readiness and how that is changing the future of naval aviation.

“It was, quite frankly, a little scary.”

In 2015, Rear Adm. Rich Brophy was a captain who had just taken command of...

https://news.usni.org/2020/04/23/mission-capable-how-more-ready-jets-is-helping-the-navy-create-deadlier-pilots