Naval Air Systems Command
Navy Approves CH-53K Heavy-Lift Helicopter for Full-Rate Production
U.S. Marines with Marine Operational Test and Evaluation Squadron One (VMX-1) test the capabilities of the CH-53K King Stallion on Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune on Dec. 16, 2021. US Marine Corps Photo
The Marine Corps’ new heavy-lift helicopter is now in the full-rate production stage of the program, the Navy announced last week.
The new stage comes after acting Navy acquisition chief Jay Stefany performed a program assessment and signed a Dec. 21 memo permitting the CH-53K King Stallion to...
https://news.usni.org/2022/12/28/navy-approves-ch-53k-heavy-lift-helicopter-for-full-rate-production
USNI News Video: New Navy Helo Tech Taking Danger Out of Low Visibility Flying
Marines with Battalion Landing Team 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, walk through a rotor wash ‘brown out’ after exiting a CH-53E Super Stallion in Djibouti, Feb. 24, 2015. US Marine Corps Photo
NAVAL AIR STATION PATUXENT RIVER, Md. – Lt. McMillan Hastings and Lt. Ethan Hahn attempted a near-impossible feat of flying – landing their MH-60R Seahawk on a moving destroyer in a fog that brought visibility down to practically zero.
Compared to the acres of deck on an...
INDO-PACOM Used Ground-based Aegis Combat System Prototype to Target Missile Threats, Surface Targets
Overview of Valiant Shield 2020 experiment that paired a ground-based Aegis combat system with Army units. Lockheed Martin Image
Last year, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command quietly packed the combat system from a guided-missile destroyer into about the size of a footlocker, took it ashore and hooked it up to an Army artillery unit, an Air Force command node and an F-35 Lighting II Joint Strike Fighter.
Last September, INDO-PACOM used the Virtualized Aegis Weapon System (VAWS) in an experiment to see if...
Report to Congress on Precision-Guided Weapons
The following is the June 11, 2021 Congressional Research Service report, Precision-Guided Munitions: Background and Issues for Congress.
From the report
Over the years, the U.S. military has become reliant on precision-guided munitions (PGMs) to execute military operations. PGMs are used in ground, air, and naval operations. Defined by the Department of Defense (DOD) as “[a] guided weapon intended to destroy a point target and minimize collateral damage,” PGMs can include air- and ship-launched...
https://news.usni.org/2021/06/15/report-to-congress-on-precision-guided-weapons
Admiral in Charge of Naval Aviation Maintenance Depots Removed Over Harassment Allegation
Rear Adm. Trent DeMoss. Navy Photo
The admiral in charge of naval aviation maintenance depots has been removed from command pending an investigation into harassment complaints in the wake of a Navy Inspector General investigation, two Navy officials told USNI News.
Rear Adm. Trent DeMoss, head of Commander Fleet Readiness Centers (CFRC), was removed from his position by Naval Air Systems Command head Vice Adm. Dean Peters on Monday. The removal follows a preliminary review of a sexual harassment...
Marine Corps Conducting Fleet Flight Tests of CH-53K Ahead of IOT&E This Summer
CH-53K, K3, piloted by Mr. Rob Pupalaikis and Maj. Joshua Foxton, flies an aerial refueling test with an external load on Sept. 28, 2020, from NAS Patuxent River, MD. Sikorsky Photo.
Operational test Marines have begun flying the new CH-53K ahead of this summer’s planned test event to bring the heavy lift helicopter to initial operational capability, the Navy’s program manager said today.
Marine Corps Col. Jack Perrin, the heavy lift helicopter program manager at Naval Air Systems Command, said...
Last Piece of CH-53K Helicopter Trainer Triad Declared ‘Ready for Training’
Marine Corps aviators in the CH-53K Containerized Flight Training Device (CFTD) experience a highly immersive virtual environment. Sikorsky photo.
The final of three CH-53K heavy-lift helicopter trainers has been declared “ready for training,” and an industry/government team next month will begin training the squadron that will conduct the new helo’s initial operational test and evaluation.
The Composite Maintenance Trainer (CMT) just recently reached RFT, Lockheed Martin’s Sikorsky announced...
Navy Awards $737M for China Lake Airfield Repairs Following 2019 Earthquake Damage
Faultline on China Lake on Oct. 17, 2019. US Geological Survey Photo
The Navy last week issued contracts worth at least $737 million for new airfield capabilities at Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, Calif., where two major earthquakes last year damaged critical facilities at the premier base for research, testing and evaluation that remains not fully operational.
The July 2019 earthquakes severely damaged facilities on the east side of the airfield.
“Replacement facilities were planned in an...
Flight Tests Begin on Next Generation Jammer Mid-Band Pods; Could Reach Milestone C This Fall
Next Generation Jammer Mid-Band (NGJ-MB) flies for the first time on an EA-18G Growler, Aug. 7, over Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md. The NGJ-MB capability, forward pod located under the right wing of the aircraft, is a jamming technology that provides enhanced airborne electronic attack capabilities to the EA-18G Growler platform. US Navy photo.
The Navy’s Next Generation Jammer Mid-Band (NGJ-MB) pod began its first flight tests earlier this month and could move into production this fall.
An...