FORT WORTH, Texas — The Bell V-280 Valor recently completed flight demonstrations ahead of schedule of its low-speed agility key performance parameter in the U.S. Army-led Joint Multi-Role Technology Demonstrator (JMR TD) program, Bell Helicopter announced.

The V-280 Valor, which the U.S. Marine Corps is monitoring for possible use as well, has demonstrated in flight testing that it has the raw control power in pitch, roll and yaw maneuvers to meet the Army’s Level 1 handling qualities requirements, which is the highest performance standard for agility.

This flight testing validates Bell’s engineering models and development processes to design, build and test an aircraft on an aggressive development schedule that meets Army performance requirements.

“This latest flight milestone proves that the V-280 Valor tilt-rotor delivers first-rate handling for pilots during low-speed maneuvers without sacrificing speed, range or payload that the military needs for multidomain operations,” said Ryan Ehinger, the V-280 program manager at Bell.

For pilots, this achievement provides additional proof that the V-280 will have unprecedented agility on the objective (at the “X”) for operational effectiveness, according to the Bell release. The aircraft’s digital flight controls and performance-driven design increases mission effectiveness by providing a high level of agility, reducing pilot workload and enhancing flight safety.

As the JMR TD period of performance winds down, Bell and Team Valor continue to expand the flight envelope and demonstrate new capabilities to prove the V-280 Valor’s key technologies and reduce the risk for future vertical lift programs.

The latest flight statistics for the V-280 include:
• Forward flight over 300 knots true airspeed.
• More than 110 hours of flight and over 225 rotor-turn hours.
• Greater than 50-degree banked turns.
• 4,500-feet-per-minute rate of climb and sustained flight at an altitude of 11,500 feet.
• Single flight ferry of more than 370 miles.
• Demonstrated Level 1 low-speed agility with fly-by-wire controls.
• In-flight transitions between cruise mode and vertical takeoff and landing.

ARLINGTON, Va. — An AV-8B Harrier II based at Marine Corps Air
Station Cherry Point, North Carolina, crashed May 20 near Cherry Branch, according
to May 20 and May 21 releases from 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing Strategic
Communications. The pilot ejected safely.

The Harrier II pilot was transported to Carolina East Medical
Center in New Bern for evaluation and was released with no injuries, the May 21
release said. There are no reports of civilian casualties or property damage.
Personnel from 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing responded to the scene and assisted
local authorities, who had responded first.

The pilot was assigned to Marine Attack Squadron 542, a unit of
the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing. Cherry Point is home of three Marine attack
squadrons and one Marine attack training squadron, all of which fly the Harrier
II.

The
aircraft is cordoned off at the crash site and an emergency reclamation team is
onsite and beginning recovery operations.

The
Marines of VMA-542 “are working closely with the Marines of Aircraft Rescue and
Fire Fighting, Explosive Ordnance Disposal and both military and local
authorities,” the May 21 release said. “The scene has been deemed safe and
secure by all parties involved, but recovery personnel are still implementing
environmental and personal protective measures.”

“I
would like to start by thanking the Craven County sheriff’s office and the
community for their ongoing support,” said Maj. Gen. Karsten Heckl, commanding general
of 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing.

“On
days like this, our dedication to duty is reaffirmed, and we are reminded how
proud we are to call Havelock our home. Thankfully, there were no serious
injuries. The safety of our Marines and the local community is of the utmost
importance to us, and we are extremely grateful that everyone who was involved
is OK.”

The
cause of the incident is still under investigation.

According to one
source, the Marine Corps AV-8B fleet has lost 104 aircraft (36%) of its
aircraft in mishaps over the service life of the jet. An additional 13 were
combat losses — either shot down, destroyed in a ground attack or damaged by
enemy fire and not repaired. The Marine Corps plans to keep the Harrier II in
service until 2028.

ARLINGTON,
Va. — Boeing is in the wrap-up stages of a trade study and architecture
assessment of an upgrade — called Block II — to the Navy’s EA-18G Growler
electronic attack aircraft. The upgrade is an effort to enable the EA-18G to
keep up with the dynamic electronic warfare threats.

“It makes
sense that we would take something that was designed in the ‘90s and now
enhance it to be relevant for decades to come,” said Jennifer Tebo, Boeing’s
director of development for the F/A-18 and EA-18G, speaking to reporters May 7
at the Navy League’s Sea-Air-Space exposition.

“The current
thinking on that is that it is a retrofit program,” Tebo said. “There is no
official new-build Growler Block II. We will continue to work with the Navy to
determine what those needs are, how we might incorporate them into a new build.
We’re thinking of a retrofit program that would deliver capability in the 2025 timeframe.
We’ve already starting work in earnest and early this year got initial funding
from the Navy to start moving to the [System Functional Requirements] phase by the
end of this year to deliver that capability on time.”

Tebo said
that the Growler Block II enhancements will include some of the upgrades of the
Super Hornet Block III program, plus “enhanced sensitivity through the
modernization of the sensors on the platform. … It’s about adaptive and
distributive processing, having big computers to process and be able to react
to the threats that are out there today and into the future.”

“It’s also
about enhancing the crew-vehicle interface,” Tebo added. “As the Growler crews
get more and more information into the cockpit, they’re going to need a way to
reduce the workload to be able to digest and use it effectively. All of that is
accomplished through software-defined radios that are enabled through a
flexible and adaptable hardware architecture.”

Tebo said the
infrastructure and the architecture will “allow us to continually evolve
capability as the threat dynamic changes. The life of the Growler is very, very
long. We’re setting this up for the Navy to be able to continue add capability
rapidly to the Growler.

“It’s been a joint
effort and it will evolve as we pin down the requirements,” she said.

She confirmed
that the Next-Generation Jammer and the mid-band and low-band jammers “are
considered part of the future of the Growler and Growler Block II.”

Boeing’s
concept of Block II includes the conformal fuel tanks being included in the
Super Hornet Block III, but “the Navy will have to decide,” she said.

Also to be
decided is whether the Growler will go through a service life-extension
program. The Super Hornet fleet is going through a service-life extension from
6,000 flight hours to 10,000 hours.

“That is to be decided,”
Tebo said. “The Growler has a 7,500-hour service life compared to 6,000-hour
life of the Super Hornet. [The Growler] has not finished its service-life
assessment program yet.”

PITTSBURGH — RE2 Robotics, developer of human-like
robotic manipulator arms, has received $3 million from the Office of Naval Research
to develop a dexterous, underwater robotic hand with tactile feedback, the
company said in a release.

The program, called Strong Tactile mARitime hand for
Feeling, Inspecting, Sensing and Handing (STARFISH), will create an advanced
end-effector for mine countermeasures and explosive ordnance disposal for expeditionary
forces.

Using next-generation tactile sensing technology and a
multifinger, electromechanical design, STARFISH will allow operators to locate,
identify and neutralize hidden and visible explosive threats on land and
underwater. STARFISH-enabled manipulators will be deployed on both ground-base
and underwater robotic system to defeat explosive threats.

“The development of STARFISH takes underwater robotic
technology to the next level by providing operators with the ability to ‘feel’
and sense the environment around them while remaining at a safe distance,” said
Jorgen Pedersen, president and CEO of RE2. “The use of advanced tactile sensing
and intelligent grasping will improve operational performance by removing
operators from dangerous areas and allowing them to quickly and accurately
respond to explosive threats.”

RE2 will work with researchers at UCLA and the University
of Washington to develop the hand, which will use state-of-the-art tactile skin
and sensorized fingertips that are capable of sensing normal and shear forces.
Operators will command the hand using information provided by external sensing,
such as cameras, sonar or LIDAR, which will then be processed with
machine-learning algorithms to assist the operator in manipulating the object.

“Tactile sensing at the end effector can provide a wealth
of information about the environment to a robotic system and its operator,”
said Dr. Andrew Mor, RE2’s principal investigator. “Using a rich network of
sensing, machine learning and assisted manipulation, STARFISH will be able to
perceive and then share its interpretation of the environment with the
operator, allowing naval expeditionary forces to manipulate and control the
robot at human speed.”

ST. LOUIS —
Boeing has received a one-year contract to continue modernizing the U.S. Navy’s
F/A-18 fleet under the Service Life Modification (SLM) program, the company
said in a May 17 release.

The $164
million contract for fiscal 2019, which also includes a one-year option for
2020, funds the standup of a second SLM line in San Antonio, Texas, complementary
to the line established last year in St. Louis.

“The Service
Life Modification program is making great strides as we’ve already inducted
seven Super Hornets into the program and will deliver the first jet back to the
Navy later this year,” said Dave Sallenbach, the program’s director. “This
program is crucial in helping the Navy with its readiness challenges and will
continue to grow each year with the number of jets we induct.”

The San
Antonio SLM line is scheduled to receive its first Super Hornet in June and a
total of 23 Super Hornets over the course of this contract. The U.S. Navy fleet
consists of more than 550 Super Hornets.

The SLM
program extends the life of existing Super Hornets from 6,000 to 10,000 flight
hours.

In the early
2020s, Boeing is scheduled to begin installing initial updates to the aircraft
that will convert existing Block II Super Hornets to a new Block III
configuration.

The Block III
conversion will include enhanced network capability, longer range with
conformal fuel tanks, an advanced cockpit system, signature improvements and an
enhanced communications system. The updates are expected to keep the F/A-18 in
active service for decades to come.

WASHINGTON — Naval
Air Systems Command has awarded a $1.3 billion contract to Sikorsky for 12 U.S.
Marine Corps CH-53K King Stallion helicopters, the command said in a release.

“The
Marine Corps is very appreciative of the efforts by the Navy and our industry
partners to be able to award the LRIP 2/3 contract,” said Lt. Gen. Steven
Rudder, deputy commandant for aviation. “This is a win for the Marine Corps and
will secure the heavy-lift capability we need to meet future operational
requirements and support the National Defense Strategy. I’m very confident in
the success of the CH-53K program and look forward to fielding this critical
capability.”

The Pentagon’s
most powerful helicopter, the King Stallion is a new-build helicopter that will
expand the fleet’s ability to move more material more rapidly throughout the
area of responsibility using proven and mature technologies. The CH-53K is the
only aircraft able to provide the Marines with the heavy-lift capability it needs
to meet future operational requirements for the vertical-lift mission.

“This
contract award reflects close cooperation and risk sharing between the government
and industry teams to deliver critical capabilities to the Marine Corps,”
said James Geurts, assistant secretary of the Navy for research, development
and acquisition. “Working with our industry partners, the team ensured
that solutions for technical challenges are incorporated into these production
aircraft.”

The CH-53K carries
triple the baseline CH-53E capability, having demonstrated the ability to lift nearly
14 tons at a mission radius of 110 nautical miles. The CH-53K has proven the
ability to lift up to 36,000 pounds via an external cargo hook.

Sikorsky is a Lockheed
Martin company based in Stratford, Connecticut.

ARLINGTON,
Va. — The Navy is installing a co-axial 7.62 mm machine gun on the mounts of
its Mk38 chain gun systems, a Northrop Grumman official said.

The Mk52 7.62
mm is gas-operated and uses recoil to eject spent cartridges and advance to the
next round. A misfired round is safely ejected forward of the barrel as well, Jarrod
Krull, communications manager for Northrop Grumman Armament Systems, said in an
interview with Seapower.

The Mk38 Mod
2 gun mount includes an 25mm M242 Bushmaster rapid-fire cannon that fires an
explosive round. The mount is automatic, gyro-stabilized and remotely operated,
but retains the optional manual firing of the Mk38 Mod 1. The system has day
and night sensors and a laser rangefinder.

The Mk52 7.62
mm is designed as a defense against small boats, aircraft and unmanned aerial
vehicles for most U.S. surface warships and as a general-purpose gun for the
Cyclone-class coastal patrol ships and Mk VI patrol boats.

Krull said
the addition of the co-axial Mk52 machine gun gives the gunner another
“right-sized” option for countering a small target, such as pirates or
terrorists on jet skis.

The Mk52 is
very durable, reliable and accurate,” according to a Navy briefing slide.

Northrop
Grumman is installing the Mk52 guns in the Mk38 under an indefinite
delivery/indefinite quantity contract.

The company
also is offering the Navy another upgrade of the Mk38 by switching out the M242
Bushmaster cannon for a larger caliber weapon, the Mk44 30mm cannon, the same
gun used as a close-in weapon on the San Antonio-class amphibious transport
dock ship, the littoral combat ship’s surface warfare module and the
Zumwalt-class guided-missile destroyer. Another option is the stretch version
of the Mk44, which would allow use of programmable ammunition, such has
air-burst ammunition.

Krull said
the Mk38 could even be up-gunned to a 40mm cannon.

The Chinese navy
already is larger than the U.S. Navy and is building ships four times as fast,
with a firm goal of achieving sea control by 2030 and naval superiority by
2039, a former Pacific Fleet director of intelligence warns.

“The biggest
challenge for U.S. national security leaders for the next 30 years is the speed
and sustainability of the [People’s Republic of China] national effort to
deploy a global navy,” retired Navy Capt. James Fanell said.

By 2220, the
People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) will have more than 450 surface warships
and a submarine force approaching 110, Fanell told a May 14 Hudson Institute
forum. And in its rapid move from a force of small ships mainly engaged in
coastal operations into a large fleet capable of extended blue-water operations,
the PLAN now exceeds the U.S. Navy not just in numbers but in tonnage, Fanell
said.

The U.S. Navy has
289 ships in the active battle fleet, including 80 submarines and counting the
14 ballistic-missile subs and four guided-missile boats. Navy leaders have set
a goal of a 355-ship battle force, but the fleet would not reach that strength until
the 2030s at projected building rates.

In the last
decade, China has launched more ships that any other country in the world,
outbuilding the U.S. Navy four to one, Fanell said, displaying a slide showing the
United States building 22 ships to the PLAN’s 85 warships from 2015 to 2018. “I
expect the [PLAN] will continue to surpass the U.S. Navy in new ships in the
next decade.”

And the Chinese
have an even greater advantage in ship-based anti-ship missiles, Fanell added,
with more weapons and missiles that have longer range and are faster than what
the U.S. Navy fields. He noted that a new class of PLAN guided-missile
destroyers has 132 vertical-launch missile tubes.

Over the last
decade, the PLAN has gained valuable experience with task force deployments not
only in its regional waters but in the Eastern Pacific, the Indian Ocean and
recently into the Atlantic Ocean, Fanell said. He predicted there would be even
more operations closer to U.S. coastlines.

A career
intelligence officer who served most of his time in the Pacific with aviation
units, carrier strike groups and then with the Pacific Fleet staff, Fanell said
that, for most of his time in uniform, U.S. national security officials have
refused to acknowledge the growing threat from China and its determination to
supplant the United States as the dominate power in the western Pacific. He
said that changed with the new National Security and National Defense
Strategies released last year, which recognized China — and Russia — as
strategic rivals and acknowledged the return to “Great Power Competition.”

The rapidly
growing PLAN “will increasingly challenge us,” and given its ship production
projections and its experience of operating farther from China, “we can assess
that the PLA Navy is on track to gain sea control by 2030 and superiority by
2039,” Fanell said. The only way to prevent that is by acknowledging the threat
and conducting a whole-of-government campaign to counter its power, which he
said the Trump administration has shown the willingness to do.

WASHINGTON
— The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) and the Navy’s premier science and
technology research squadron, Scientific Development Squadron ONE (VXS-1),
unveiled on May 11 the UV-18 “Twin Otter” as the newest addition to the
squadron’s fleet of aircraft research platforms.

The
UV-18 is the military equivalent of the DeHavilland DHC-6 — a high-wing, unpressurized
twin engine turbine powered aircraft with fixed tricycle landing gear.

“The
Twin Otter is a safe, highly maneuverable and extremely versatile aircraft,”
said Cmdr. Erik Thomas, commanding officer of VXS-1. “The fact that it is
unpressurized simplifies modifications and will accelerate our ability to get
projects airborne for the Naval Research Enterprise.”

The
aircraft compliments the VXS-1 “Warlocks” fleet by providing an affordable and
stable research platform with slow flight capabilities and an operational
payload of up to 3,000 pounds.

The
performance capabilities of the UV-18 aircraft offer customers a slow flight
speed of 85 mph, a maximum cruise speed of 190 mph, a nominal service ceiling
of 13,000 feet (higher with supplemental oxygen) and a six-hour flight duration,
depending on payload and flight configuration.

In
addition to the UV-18, VXS-1 operates a varying range of aircraft that include
three NP-3C and P-3C Orions, an RC-12 King Air and 12 TigerShark unmanned aircraft
systems.

The
fleet of squadron aircraft are operated and maintained by the men and women of
VXS-1 and contain an S&T framework to provide power, Ethernet and GPS feeds
as required for temporary project installations and to quickly conduct airborne
research. The squadron has a self-contained configuration and project shop to
assist prospective customers with rack designs, gear installations and flight
clearances.

“Using
our squadron’s aircraft, scientists and engineers can install and test the
latest technology they are developing in an operational environment anywhere in
the world. We truly turn their ideas into reality,” Thomas said.

Providing
proof of concept for the latest technology, VXS-1 enables operational fleet
commands to receive time pertinent technological advances to better execute
their missions and fill critical capability gaps in their theater.

Historically,
the squadron has supported a broad spectrum of research projects, which include
magnetic variation mapping, hydro-acoustic research, bathymetry, electronic
countermeasures, gravity mapping, electro-optical and radar research and remote
measuring of water contained in snow for NASA.

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.