ARLINGTON,
Va. — The first two fuselages for the Navy’s CMV-22B Osprey
carrier-onboard-delivery (COD) aircraft have been detailed for final assembly,
the aircraft’s program manager said.

“First
delivery is later this year,” said Marine Col. Matthew Kelly, joint program
manager for the V-22, speaking May 6 to reporters at the Navy League’s
Sea-Air-Space exposition in National Harbor, Md. “We’re really excited to get
it out there.”

The CMV-22B will
replace the C-2A Greyhound as the Navy’s COD aircraft. As a tiltrotor aircraft,
it will not need a tailhook for arrested landings. The CMV-22B adds new
features such as an HF radio, a public address system for the cabin and extra
fuel tankage. The Navy is procuring 42 CMV-22Bs.

Kelly said
that V-22 production is closing in on a potential end to the program unless
further orders develop. The Marine Corps has received 326 of 354 ordered out of
a program of 360 aircraft. The Air Force has received 52 of 54 ordered out of a
program of 56 aircraft. The Navy has 42 ordered of a program of 48 aircraft. Japan
has ordered 17 Ospreys.

The Ospreys
being built now are part of the Multi-Year Procurement-3 contract awarded in
2018. Kelly pointed out that December 2020 is that last opportunity for a
potential V-22 customer to order aircraft within the current contract at the
current prices.

With V-22
production for the Marine Corps approaching completion, a question for planners
is 360 Ospreys enough considering actual and reasonable attrition over the
service life of the inventory, or whether the Marine Corps V-22 program would
need to add to the program of record.

“We’re
continuing to look as to whether or not that would be the call,” Kelly said.
Right now, it does seem to be adequate.”

The Corps has
begun to induct fleet MV-22Bs into the CC-RAM (Common Configuration-Readiness
and Modernization) program, designed to standardize the different configurations
of Ospreys from 70 to five. The program involves 50 engineering change
proposals.

The Corps now
has four MV-22Bs inducted, with a fifth set for induction this summer. The
first CC-RAM completed aircraft is scheduled to roll out by the end of the
summer. The Corps plans to put 129 Block B MV-22Bs through the program.

ARLINGTON,
Va.— Raytheon Missile Co. will build a new block upgrade of the Tomahawk cruise
missile for the U.S. Navy even as the company takes older missiles into a recertification
program to return them to service.

“Tomahawk has
returned to production [after a one-year gap],” said Chris Daily, Raytheon’s
Tomahawk program manager, speaking to reporters May 7 at the Sea-Air-Space Expo
in National Harbor, Md. “All production beginning in fiscal ’20 will be Block 5.”

He said the
fiscal 2020-2021 production — 90 missiles per year — will emerge as Block 5
versions.

The Block 5
version is an upgrade of the Block 4 Tomahawk, with upgrades such as navigation
and communications improvements.

A subversion,
Block 5A, will be the Maritime Strike Tomahawk (MST), equipped with a multimode
seeker that retains a land-attack capability.

“The MST is
going to be a great addition to the fleet,” Daily said.

Another, the
Block 5B, will be a Block V armed with the Joint Multiple Effects Warhead and
will be fielded in 2024-2025.

Daily said
the Block 4 Tomahawks being recertified after 15 years in service also will
emerge as Block 5 versions. The first deliveries will occur in 2020.

“Tomahawk will be in the
fleet until the 2050s,” Daily said.

NATIONAL
HARBOR, Md. — Using the congressionally approved Other Transaction Authority
with the Marine Corps Systems Command, Raytheon will integrate the Naval Strike
Missile (NSM) into the Marine Corps’ existing force structure.

In recent
years the Corps has determined a need to field an anti-ship missile to defend
its forces ashore and the fleet that supports them.

Randy
Kempton, Raytheon’s NSM program director, briefing reporters at the Navy
League’s Sea-Air-Space exposition here, was not at liberty to discuss which
platforms would deploy the NSM. He did say the Corps had a lot of integration
options and that the missile would be the same as the one on order with the U.S.
Navy.

The Navy has
selected the Naval Strike Missile for its littoral combat ships and
new-generation guided-missile frigate.

The NSM is a fifth-generation
long-range precision-strike cruise missile originally designed by Kongsberg. A
mobile, land-based version is deployed with the coastal defense forces of
Poland.

The missile
is produced “in partnership with Norway and its defense leader Kongsberg,” a
May 7 Raytheon release said. “The Marine Corps’ selection of the Navy’s
anti-ship missile enhances joint interoperability and reduces costs and
logistical burdens.”

NATIONAL
HARBOR, Md. — The first seven of Block II F/A-18E/F Super Hornet strike
fighters have been inducted into the service-life modernization (SLM) at
Boeing’s St. Louis, Missouri, facility, while next month the company’s San
Antonino facility will induct its first Super Hornet.

Bob Kornegay,
Boeing’s capture team lead for F/A-18, briefing
reporters May 7 at the Navy League’s Sea-Air-Space Expo in National Harbor,
Maryland, said the inducted jets will emerge as Block III Super Hornets with
their 6,000-hour life extended to 10,000 flight hours.

Boeing plans to process 40 Super Hornets
per year through the SLM sites, with production running through 2033.

Kornegay
described the Block III Super Hornet as having conformal over-wing fuel tanks,
freeing up two wing pylons for more weapons. The new version also will be
equipped with the Distributed Targeting Processor-Networked
(DTP-N), which incorporates the Tactical Targeting Network Technology
and produces a common operating picture. The Block II Infrared Search and Track
sensor will be installed in a centerline pod. With some additional coating
applied, the Block III will have a smaller radar cross-section and will feature
the Advanced Cockpit System.

This year the Navy issued a contract for
the fourth multiyear procurement for the Super Hornet, ordering 78 new Block
III Super Hornets over fiscal years 2019, 2020 and 2021. Production is planned
to continue through 2023, with 12 Super Hornets per year for three years.  

The two Super Hornets selected by Boeing
to be the test jets for the Block III program have been inducted into the
factory and will be ready to turn over the Navy at the end of the year, said Jennifer Tebo, director of Development
for the F/A-18 and EA-18G. This event had been accelerated by one year.

The conformal
fuel tanks were flown in February and March.

NATIONAL
HARBOR, Md. — The Navy’s admiral in charge of unmanned aviation said that the
Initial Operational Capability (IOC) of the MQ-25A aerial tanking unmanned
aerial vehicle is “as soon as possible.”

Speaking May
6 to an audience at the Navy League’s Sea-Air-Space exposition here, Rear Adm.
Brian Corey, program executive officer for unmanned aviation and strike
weapons, said that the MQ-25A program does not have a set IOC date but that it
was to be before 2026 “if we can.”

The
Boeing-owned MQ-25 prototype was trucked earlier this week from the factory in
St. Louis to Mid-America airport in Illinois for more ground testing and,
eventually, flight testing.

Corey said
the first flight of the prototype would take place later this year.

He also said that four
aircraft carriers initially will be equipped to operate the MQ-25A, but he
declined to speculate which carrier, citing the flexibility of schedules.

NATIONAL
HARBOR, Md. — The Marine Corps and the Army are running an analysis of
alternatives (AOA) to see whether the two services can meet the same requirements
for Milestone A or B start in fiscal 2021, a Marine helicopter acquisition
official said. The AOA is expected to be complete in the “next couple of
months.”

Speaking May
6 to an audience at the Navy League’s Sea-Air-Space Expo in National Harbor,
Maryland, Marine Col. David C. Walsh, program manager for Marine light attack
helicopters, said the Marine Corps has begun studies for its Attack Utility
Replacement Aircraft to succeed the UH-1Y Venom and AH-1Z Viper helicopters.

The Corps
hopes to field the Future Vertical Lift Capabilities Set 3 by the late 2020s or
early 2030s, Walsh said.

A key
requirement for the Marine Corps is an aircraft that can keep up with or even
exceed the speed of an MV-22B Osprey, 310 knots.

Bell
Helicopter delivered the last of 160 UH-1Ys in April 2018 and has delivered 111
of 189 AH-1Zs to date. The last AH-1Z deliveries are scheduled for 2022.
Bahrain and Pakistan also have purchased AH-1Zs, while Turkey and Taiwan have
procured the older AH-1W.

Walsh said
that there is considerable foreign military sales potential for the UH-1Y and
AH-1Z. He listed potential for 88 AH-1Zs and 29 UH-1Ys in Europe, 129 AH-1Zs in
the Asia-Pacific region, and 44 AH-1Zs and 24 UH-1Ys in the Middle East and
North Africa.

Walsh also
said his office is working on capability upgrades to the Corps’ H-1 fleet,
including Link 16, full-motion video, the Joint Air-Ground Missile, and the
AIM-9X Sidewinder air-to-air missile, as well as some navigational upgrades.

NATIONAL
HARBOR, Md. — The Navy expects to reach a Milestone C decision in late May for
the VH-92A presidential transport helicopter. Such a decision would mark
approval for the helicopter to enter low-rate initial production.

Speaking to
an audience at the Navy League’s Sea-Air-Space Expo in National Harbor,
Maryland, Marine Maj. Gen Greg Masiello, the Navy’s program executive officer
for Air, ASW, Assault and Special Mission PEO (A), said the program team has
three VH-92As, two of which it is running through Developmental Test, with the
two alternating flights every other day.

Program
officials have a meeting scheduled May 30 with James F. Geurts, assistant
secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition, who has the milestone
decisional authority.

The Navy is
developing the Lockheed Martin/Sikorsky VH-92A as a replacement for the VH-3D
and VH-60N helicopters flown in support of the president and other high-level
government officials by Marine Helicopter Squadron One.

NATIONAL
HARBOR, Md. — The Navy will retire is last HH-60H Seahawk special operations
support helicopters this year, an official said.

Speaking to
an audience at the Navy League’s Sea-Air-Space expo in National Harbor,
Maryland, Marine Maj. Gen Greg Masiello, the Navy’s program executive officer
for Air, ASW, Assault and Special Mission PEO (A), said the last seven of the
HH-60Hs in the inventory would be retired and replaced by the next-generation
Seahawk, the MH-60S.

The HH-60H is
flown by reserve Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 85 and deploys in support of
Navy special warfare forces and other forces.

MH-60S
helicopters for the squadron will be modified with the 7.62 mm GAU-17 six-barrel
rotary machine gun used for fire suppression.

The HH-60H is
the last of three Seahawk versions from the H-60’s initial naval service: the
SH-60B, SH-60F, and HH-60H. The MH-60R and MH-60S are the latest versions in
the Navy.

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — An analysis of alternatives (AOA) is underway in the Office of the Secretary of Defense for a replacement for the Navy’s E-6B Mercury strategic communications aircraft.

Speaking to
an audience at the Navy League’s Sea-Air-Space conference here, Marine Maj. Gen
Greg Masiello, the Navy’s program executive officer for Air, ASW, Assault and
Special Mission PEO (A), said that his office is supporting the AOA. PEO(A)‘s
portfolio includes the E-6B aircraft.

The E-6B is
the legacy platform that relays strategic communications to and from the Navy’s
ballistic-missile submarines and national command authority, a program called
TACAMO (Take Charge and Move Out). The E-6B also serves in the airborne command
post (ABNCP) role for U.S. Strategic Command, flying with a battle staff
onboard.

The AOA is for the NEAT
program, which is a simplification of the terms NAOC (National Airborne Operations
Center)/EA (ABNCP/TACAMO). The AOC mission is performed by the Air Force E-4B
aircraft.

ARLINGTON, Virginia
— China’s first home-built aircraft carrier is likely to join the People’s
Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) fleet this year, a highlight of China’s effort to
modernize its fleet with modern, farther-ranging platforms and weapons.

Construction
began on a second aircraft carrier in 2018, said a new report to Congress from
the Defense Department, “Military and Security Developments Involving the
People’s Republic of China 2019.” This carrier, which should reach the PLAN fleet
in 2022, is likely to be fitted with a catapult aircraft launch system,
according to the report.

A coastal
defense navy during the Cold War, the PLAN is continuing a two-decade build-up
with numerous blue-water platforms

“The PLAN is
rapidly replacing obsolescent, generally single-purpose platforms in favor of
larger, multirole combatants featuring advanced anti-ship, anti-air and
anti-submarine weapons and sensors,” the report said. “This modernization
aligns with China’s growing emphasis on the maritime domain and increasing
demands on the PLAN to conduct operational tasks at expanding distances from
the Chinese mainland using multimission, long-range, sustainable naval
platforms possessing robust self-defense capabilities.”

“Modernization
of China’s submarine force remains a high priority for the PLAN,” the report
said. “The PLAN currently operates four nuclear-powered ballistic missile
submarines (SSBN), six nuclear-powered attack submarines (SSN) and 50
conventionally powered attack submarines (SS). The speed of growth of the
submarine force has slowed and will likely grow to between 65 and 70 submarines
by 2020.”

The PLAN also
continues to modernize its surface warship fleet.

China has
built new guided-missile cruisers (CGs), guided-missile destroyers (DDGs) and
guided-missile frigates (FFGs) that “will significantly upgrade the PLAN’s air
defense, anti-ship, and anti-submarine capabilities. These assets will be
critical as the PLAN expands operations into distant seas beyond the range of
shore-based air defense systems” the report said.

China has
built four Renhai-class CGs over the last two years and has several more under
construction. The lead CG is scheduled to join the fleet in 2019. At least
three Luyang-class DDGs joined the PLAN fleet in 2018, bringing the total to
nine with at least four more under construction. A larger variant forthcoming,
Luyang III, will be equipped with a vertical launcher system.

China also
emphasizes small surface combatants, with 27 or more Jiangkai II FFGs and more
than 40 Jiangdao-class corvettes, with more of both types under construction.

All new
attack submarines and surface combatants are being armed with modern anti-ship missiles.

“The PLAN
recognizes that long-range ASCMs require a robust, over-the-horizon targeting
capability to realize their full potential,” the new Pentagon report said. “China
is investing in reconnaissance, surveillance, command, control and
communications systems at the strategic, operational and tactical levels to
provide high-fidelity targeting information to surface and subsurface launch
platforms.”

China also is
building a fleet of amphibious warfare ships, adding three to the current five
Yuzhao-class amphibious transport dock ships.

China also is expanding the
PLAN marine corps from two brigades and 10,000 marines to seven brigades and
30,000 marines by 2020. The Chinese marine corps also now has its own commander
and a new central headquarters.