US Navy & Marine Corps Air Power Yearbook 2021
Transcript of US Navy & Marine Corps Air Power Yearbook 2021
AIR TEST AND EVALUATION SQUAD1RON 23
Mark Ayton provides an overview of Naval Air Systems C10 1mmand's fixed wing tactical a~rcraft. test squadron VX-23. He, als10 exam~nes its current programmes associated with the EA-18G Growler, F/A-18 Super Hornet, and the F-35 Lightning II.
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.IKE THE US Nava1I Test Pil,ot
School., AirTest and Evaluation
Squadron 2.3 (VX-23) ha.s a
waterside l,ocation on board
INavall Air Station Patuxent
IRiver in M!a1ryland ..
According to its mission statement,
VX~23 is Naval Air Systemis Command's
(NAVAi R's) largest flight test organisation.
Its missi·on i1s to s1upport the research,
development, test, and evaluation of
fixed wing tactical aircraft by providing
aircraft and pilots, ·maintenance services,
safety oversight and facility support to
those ,efforts. Primary areas of support
inclu,de flying qualities and p,erforrnance
evaluations, shipboard suitab;ility,
propulsion system testing, tactical
aircraft mission system testing, ordna·nce
compatibility and ballistic efforts, rel iability
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• and maintainability assessments, flight • • •
• • •
fidelity simulation1 and flight control • • • • • •
software developme1nt. •
·vX-23 also provide.s US government
flight representatives, test monitoring1, • • •
chase aircraft support, and faci lities for • • • • • • c,ontractor demon1stration, validation • •
• • • •
and development work involving tactical • • • • • •
aircraft and associated systems. • • • • • •
lits workforce - officers (US Navy, US, • • • • • •
Marine :Corps, a1nd fioreign nationals), • • •
enlisted (US Navy and US Marine Corps),
civilians and con1tractors - .supports aircraft •
maintenance, test planning and con.duct,
safety overs·iglht .a'nd support of th•e
squadron's F/A-18 Horn1et, IF/A-18 Super •
Hornet, EA-18G Gr,o,wler, T-45C Gos·ha.wk,
and F-35• Lightning II aircraft. • • • • •
During each fiscal year, VX-23 conducts • • • • • •
more than1 3,000 flight operations, totalling • • •
Below: F-35C test • • apIproximately 4,400 flight hours, much • • •
aircraft CF-03 • • • of which involves high-risk fl ight test. •
on theTC-7 • • • • • VX-23 condu1cts operations, both shore catapult with an • • • •
asymmetric loadl • • based and shipboard, locally at Naval Air • • •
of GBU-38 and • • • Station PatIuxent River and operates and •
GBU-54 JDAMs • • • • • maintains theTC-7 catapullt an1d MK-7 prior to cats and • • • •
trap.s testing on • • arresting gear test sites . • • •
Marc:h 31, 2021. • • • VX-23 comprises multiple de:partments, • • US Navy/Dane •
• • • e·a,ch responsible for a specific aircraft Wiedmann • • • • • • type, sub-sys·tem, we.apon, or tlig:ht • • • • • • activity. IEach department undertakes • • • • • • testing for NAVAIR's weapon system • • • • • • programme officers .. • • • • • • In addition to active-duty military • • • • • • pilots, and Naval Fight Offi1cers, a team of • • • • • • government engineers, analysts and fl ight • • • • • • test engineers work hundlreds of man • • • • • • hours to prepare, plan and ,execute each • • • • • • test event, some ,of wh~ch can last for as • • • • • • l:ittle as 20 minutes. After completio:n o·f • •
any test, fol llow-on work includes data
analysis, as,sessment, categ1orisatio,n of
any d,eficie,ncies, and report writing. Eac:h
report· must document the squadron's
test results andl conclusions in1 a manner
that's appropriate for all individruals
involved w;ith gover:nment 'procurement
and fielding decisions.
F/A-18 Sup1er Hornet Despite the hrigh degree of co1mmonality
between the F/A-18 Super Hornet
and the EA-18G Growler, VX-23 has an
independent department for each which
work together for weapons and systems
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Below: F-35B BF-OS ,on the forwar-d elevator of thie ltalia.n aircraft carrier ITS Cavour heading ·to the forward h1angarfor fuellingi and de-fuellingi tests. US Navy/Dane Wiedmann
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integrated on the Growler, ,especially thre
Next Generation Jammer .
The F/A-18 department conrtinues
its !long-standing developme,ntall test
role of system configuration set (S,CS)
software. At any po,int in1 time t·h1e
department has oversight of an SCS
that's under developmental test (DT),
one that's at a mature phase of its OT,
and one at the initial requirements stage.
Currently t 'he three H-series SCS with
VX-23 are additiional builds of H14 each1
with specific capabUities; Hl 6 in fl ight
te,sting; and wo,rkin1g and developing
requirements for H 18 .
VX-2.3 wo1rks regularly with iits sist,er
sq,uadron, VX-31 based at Naval Air
Weapons Station 1Chi'na Lake, California,
~ which conducts exte.n.sive SCS testing . • • • • • • • •
In paral[el, VX-23 also ev,aluates the
~ i1nteroperability aspects of the SCS with • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
al l aircraft types, in carrier air wi'ngs and
those flown by the US Ma1rin1e Corp,s and
: US Ai r Force . • • •
; Weapons testing is sh1ared between • • : VX-23 and VX-31. Alli live missile shots • • • • • • • •
and we,apon release,s are undertaken on •
~ ranges in Callifornia and over t he Pacific • • : Ocean. iBack. at Pax River, VX-23 tends t•o • • • ~ focus on the flight science port·ion ,of a • •
; weapon's test programme . • •
~ Northrorp Grumman's AGM-8,8G • • • • • •
Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided • •
~ Missile - Extended Range, (AARGM-• •
~ ER) is a current weapo,ns iintegration • • ~ pro,gramme 1underway w:it h VX-23 • •
: and VX-31. Tests are s,et-up to enable • • •
: v.al idati,on of the weapon's functio·nality -• • • ~ launch ,and targeting • • • ~ Explaining, VX-·23's commander, • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Captain Elizabeth Somerville s,aid: "We
ne,ed to ensure the weapon comes ,off
the aircraft clleanly; it wjll neither impact •
: the aircraft or any adljacent stores . • •
~ "An,other part of we,a1po1ns integration • •
~ work at VX-23 is carrier suitabili'ty • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
testinrg. Does the weapon1 have any issue
w'ith the loads from flying ·throughout
the tact ical profile, noise, vibrat~ons, and
flutter, and is the we·apon able, to survive
in a deploye,d environment on board a1n
aircraft carrier. We load the weapon on
the aircraft and 1use a test profile with
multiple catapul t shots and multiple
arrested lan,dings using the TC-7
catapult and MK-7 arr,esting •Q'ear facility.
"We use an instrumented air,craft and
an instrumented weapon to ensure
al l the imp,o,sed loads are within the
tolera,ble levels and that the weapon or
t he system continu1es to function. Cain
we sti ll turn it on, to make sure it passes
al ll its built-in te.sts?' Whatever vallidated
fu1nctiio,nality works on the ground
or whe,n airborne with the weapon
attached to th•e aircraft, does t hat stil l
fu1nction after multiple cats and traps?"
At the time of writing, VX-23 was
expectin,g to conduct a similar cats a'ndl
traps test programme with th,e Next
Generation Jammer.
Block Ill Super Hornet The fir.st Block Ill F/A-18 s.uper Ho1rnet
jets arrived at VX.-23, in June 20,2,0 - a
single-sea1t F/ A- l 8E (IE323) and a
two-se,at F/A-1 a.F (F287)1. As of August
2021, both aircraft are flying with VX-31
at China L.ake conducting software
fu1nctionality and networlking test
programmes.
Aircraft E323 a1nd F287 a re the fi rst
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Above: VX-2.3 test pilot Dan Levin releases ,a GBU-53 test article
: from F-35B ~ BF-0.3 dur·ing • • : .aweapon • • = .sepa1rat1on test •
~ on May2'7, ; 2021. US Navy/ ~ Dane Wiedmann • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
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two. Subsequent product ion! aircraft are ~ • •
expected off the Boeing production line
in September and willl continue at a rate
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of approximat,ely two pe,r month until
contract completion in early FY2025.
As more Block 1111 jets co,m1e off the
prod1uction line, th,e,y wi ll deliver
to ·vx squadrons to com'p,lete the
developmental and ope,rationa.l
test phases.
In M.arch 2019, NAVAIR awarded
Boein1g a U1S$4bn m1ulltiye,ar procurement
contract enabl ing the US Na,vy t,o, order
a min1im1um of 24 Block Ill jets each year
through FY2021 . Accordi1ng to PMA-
265, the first deployment of a Block
111-equi·pped squadron is anticipat·ed in
mid-2023, with a plan to have two Block
111-equi·pped squadrons (comprising
new productio,n Blo,ck Ills and upgraded
Block 1:Is to SLMP configuration) in each
carrier air w'in1g by 2027.
8,efore any deployment takes place,
PMA-26S's initial goa1I is to complete
a tran1sition ·from flight testing to fleet
operations sometime in 02 or Q3
FY2022, al lowin1g the first squ,adron a
minim:um nine,-mon1th work-1up period ..
B,ecause the Super H:ornet is a
m,ature airframe the Block Ill does, 1not
necessitate an extensive flight test
programme. Most of the changes are
internal so the set of test points is l,ess
extensive ..
Lieutenant Commanide,r Jlonathon
Malyc~e is a tes·t pilot assigned to VX-23
with experi'ence of test flying the Block
Ill ,aircraft.
,, •· ,, ., ., • . . •· •· •· • • ., •· •· •· ,, .. ,, •· •• •· " ,, •· • •• •· •· •· •· •· • • • •· •. •· •· • •· ,, •· •· ., •· .. . . •· ., •· •· •· • • •· . . ,, ., •· •· •· ,, ,, •· • • •· ,, ., • • •· •· •· ., " •· . . •• •· " •· •· •· ,, • •· ,, ., •· ., •· •· ,, •· ., ,, •· •· •• •· •· • • •· •· •· • •• . . •· •• •· •· ., •· •· •· •· ., .. •· ., ,, •· ., •· •· " •· ., •· .. • ., •· •· • • " •· ., •· •· " •· • ,, •· " •• •· ,, •· •. •· •• ., •· .. " •· ., •· •· •· •· •. ,, •· •· •• •· •· •· •· •· " •· •• •· •· • • •. ,, " •· •· " •· . . •· •· •· ,, •· •· •· ,, •· •• ., •· . . •· " • •· •· .. •· •. •· •· "
Describin,g the Bl,ock Ill, Lt Cdr
Malycke said the c,ockpit is completely
touchscreen and completely colour,
like, using a big tablet. He said: "The
pilot vehicle interface makes life ,as easy
as possible fo,r the aircrew to use the
aircraft's. sensors and weapons. Data
throughput on the aircraft is much
higher to deal with the networking
requiremen,ts. Com pa.red to an original
Block 11, it's like dial up, to broadband. A
data. fusion computer fuses and presents,
the most relevant information pertin1ent
to your mission and what you need to
know about threats and tar,gets in one
place. Aircrew can pick out exactly what
they need and use th1e information as
quickly a1nd a:s effectively a1s ;possible:'
According to Lt Cdr Malycke, the
Block Ill's sensor fusion computer is
a much more robust co1mputer than1
the ,equivalent on ,a Block 11. 'The Block
1111 fusion computer can handle the
massive amounts of data received from
the advanced data links and; its suite ,of
sensors and is alble to fuse and p1lace the
informatio1n o,n the LAD .
During 01ne of the first phases of
development,all testing at Pax River, l t Cdr
Malycke put the Block HI through its paces,
going as fast as possib~e, p1ulling as many
Gs as possible to make sure the vibrations
were n1ot ,going to break the large area:
display {LAD) ,and tlhe new head-up
displlay {HUD1) andi were c,ompatiblle
AIR TIEST AND EVALUATION SQUADRON 23
with all manoeuvres within the aircraft's
envelope. ,Other missions involved
shooting the gun to check the vibration
generated did not affect or break either
the LAD or HUD.
Discussing the LAD, Lt Cdr Malycke
said: l[With a LAD in the front cockpit, I
can set up a specific scenario with the
LAD using the sensors, while the weapon
system operator in the aft cockpit can
concurrently conduct different roles set up
on the aft cockpit's LAD.
"We can display a large map on the 8x10
screen, upon which all air contacts, and all
sensor inputs can be displayed. On Block II
aircraft the pilot has a SxSin screen though
the weapon systems operator has an 8x10
screen. But generally, the pilot had to
guess w·hat the weapon system operator
is looking at. On the Block 111, both the
front and aft cockpits have the exact
same display:'
A shake, rattle, and roll (carrier suitability)
programme followed. Using the TC-7
catapult and MK-7 arresting gear facility
at Pax, Lt Cdr Malycke flew multiple worst
case catapult launches (cats) and arrested
landings (traps) to make sure the LAD
and the HUD remained intact, in place
and worked properly before and after
cats and traps. All operating requirements
were proven.
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In August, Lt Cdr Malycke deployed • • • •
•
j to Point Mugu, California to participate • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• • j in a large NAVAIR test exercise in which • •
j the two Block Ills used the networking • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
systems and sensor fusion with Block. II
Super Hornets to make sure the Block Ill
systems are compatible with the Block lls
and all the types of aircraft in the air wing. j • •
Block II Super Hornets, EA-18G Growlers i • •
and E-2D Hawkeyes and other types j
conducted relevant air-to-air missions with
the Block Ills at the heart of each mission.
These were fleet-representative missions
designed to verify that the Block 111, flown
by test pilots, is compatible with the other
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types. Any anomalies found will have time j • • •
j to be fixed ahead of Block Ill aircraft being j • • • •
; assigned to the first fleet squadron. ; • • • • j Lt Cdr Malycke explained that all the : : : Below: VX-: Block lls involved were instrumented = : : 23 F/A-1 BF • •
j to collect data between other Super j • • • •
: Hornets and Growlers and the sensors : • • • • • •
j involved. Engineers used the data to j • • • •
j validate the Block II l's connectivity. j • •
Super Hornet BuNo 165932/ 5D1 22 releases an AGM-158 LRASM test
1 Operating wjth H 16 software, fixes to any j article from : : Station 4 as ! issues will be included in the follow- ! part of the
j on Hl 8 SCS. j missile's weapon • •
j One interesting fact about Hl 6 is j separation
l its different versions. A Block II has a ! programme : : backin • •
j different version of Hl 6 to a Block Ill, to j November 2018. • •
l use a slang term, "each does different l US Navy/Erik I stuff under the hood'~ ; Hildebrandt • • • • • •
• • • • • • • •
In the cockpit, the two versions look
~ much the same, but the pilot's interaction • • ~ is different .. However, according to Lt Cdr • • • • • •
Malycke aircrew can go from a Block II to • •
~ a Block Ill easily . • •
: H 18 will facilitate the AGM-88G • • •
: Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile • • •
~ - Extended Range (AARGM-ER) and more • • • • • • • •
incremental upgrades and improvements
j to the aircraft's networking and • •
~ infrastructure capabilities . • •
: PMA-242, NAVAIR's direct and time • • •
j sensitive strike programme office, received • •
~ Milestone C approval for the AARGM-ER • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
missile on August 23, the green light for
the missile to enter production .
PMA-242 conducted the first AARGM-ER
~ live-fire in July to verify aircraft to missile • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
integration, rocket motor performance,
and to start modelling and simulation
validation. The programme will continue
captive and live fire testing through • • • • • • •
2022 with initial operational capability
; declaration planned for 2023. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
F-35 Lightning II AnotherVX-23 department is the
F-35 Integrated Test Force which has
completed all developmental testing
for the F-35B and F-35C since the first
( aircraft arrived at the Maryland base on • • j November 13, 2009. • •
• --
One of the largest test program'mies
recently undertalken were sea trials
of t lhe F-35B on1board the Italian Navy
aircraft carrier ITS Cavour (C 550).
Captain Somervil lle said the sea
tria lls were required to test t ihe F-35B's
compatibility with the carrier and
to certify the jet to operate on the
Cavour. She said:"We embarked a large
detachment of engineers, m,aintainers,
aircrew, support personnel], analysts
onto the Cavour for a ;lengthy 1period to
execute all of the flight tes.ts. F-358s BF-
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05 and BF-19 were flown, out to the ship : • •
and operated fro1m1 the ship throughout
th,e period without returning to Pax:'
VX-23 has years of test work a1head,
not just for the US Marine Corps and
US Navy, but also for other nations
flying or that will be flying the F-35B,
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testing new weapons, a specific load-01ut ~
requested by the fleet, or advancement
of the airframe and its mission
systems S•oftware.
Since the F-35 prog:ramme completed
th,e System Development and
De'm1onstration in the spring of 2018,
the F-35 lnteg1rated Test Force (ITF) has
focussed on1 develop·m1ent and testing
of t1he aircraft's Bllock 4 capabillity to
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increase its combat effectiveness. Much ~ • •
of t lhe com1bat has focussed primarilly on ~
the inte,gration of more air-to-surface
weapons. VX.-23's F-35 ITF is currently
conducting weapon environmental,
expansion, and in1tegratio1n testing for
th,e GBU-53/B StormBreaker (previously
referred to as the Sm1all Diameter Bomb
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11) for the F-35B, the so,olb GBU-38 JDAM ~
and the 50011b GBU-54 laser-guided
JDAM for the F-35C.
According to thie ITF's flig lht test
director, US Marine Corps Lieutenant
Colonel Jay Zarra, th,e ITF completed a
series of GBU-53/B tests that evaluated
the characteristics of the wearpon's safe
S•eparation fro'm1 the aircraft. Explaining1,
Zarra said:"We're currentlly evaluatin1g
how the weapon interacts with the
aircraft and its effectiven,ess. ln1 parallel
with flights, modelling and simulation
forms a llarge part ,of the evaluation
effort to determi1ne if the weapon does
what it is designed to do, and thereby
generate increased confidence in the
weapon. Testing the GBU-53 is complex
and takes much [longer to execute:'
The GBU-53/B glide-bomb is a curre1nt
priority for the US Marine Corps given
its stand-off, day-night, all-weather and
moving targ1et capabilities, which make
it a suitable weapon for striking targets
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located in contested environments
where stand-off capability is key.
Discussing the two JDAM programmes,
Lieutenant Colonel Zarra said the ITF
had recently completed cats and traps
with the GBU-38 and GBU-54 munitions
on the F-35C as part of a wearpons
integration effort.
Because the GBU-38 and the GBU-54 are
smalller weapons, they enable an F-35C
to carry more of them in a s1ingle weapon
paylload. That's an important capabillity
for the now-d•eployed F-35C. Though1
the two weapons were n.ot C•ertified in
time for the inaugural deployment of the
F-35C in early Aug1ust, the two 500-pound
munitions are likely to be ready for
s1ubsequent F-35C deployments.
According to Andrew Maack, chief test
engineer and site director, the F-35 ITF wUI
use Pax River's chamber facilities 1m1ore and
more for the Block 4 development.
Retired F-358 test aircraft BF-04 is now
bein1g used by the ITF as a dedicated
gro1und asset. More specifically the jet is
used for multiple aspects of testing and
• Above: VX-23 • • • • • F-35Bs BF-OS • • • • and BF-19 • • • • • during night • • • •
operations • • • • • aboard the • • • • Italian aircraft • • • • • carriier ITS • • • • Cavour o:n March • • • • • 7, 20211. US Navy/ • • • • • Dane Wiedmann • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • + • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • + • • • • • • • • • • • • • • + • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
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assists the test team witih scopitng and
determining areas of focus for open air
flight testing .
Future Programmes Testing the latest types of fighters is 1not
the sole role tasked to VX-23, the squadron
is also involved i1n the US Navy's MQ-25A
Stingray 1unmann1ed tanker. lln what is set
to be a major test programme, VX-23 will
undertake the task in conjunction with Air
Test and Evaluation1 Squadron1 24 (UX-24),
Naval Test Wing Atlantic's unmanned test
squadron based at 1nearby Webster Field .
,captain Somervilllle said in the medium
term VX-23 willl be standing up with
MQ-25 air vehicles that will be flown and
operated from Pax River throughout
its flig1ht test prog:ramme and carrier
suitability tests. Some flight tests have
alr,eady been completed. A VX-23 crew
flew an F/A-18F S1uper Hornet in the
first ever air refuellling mission with th,e
MQ-25 Stingray Tl on June 4, 2021 (see
the MQ-25 Stingray feature elsewhere in
this edition). $