Rhino rage, Hornet sting

This year’s biennial exercise saw a strong naval presence from the United States, spearheaded by the return of the 97,000 tonne Nimitz class aircraft carrier USS George Washington (GW) to Australian waters. In order to gain a rare insight into the GW’s carrier operations during TS11, a small number of Australian media and ADF personnel – including from Australian Aviation – were invited to come aboard the ship for a day visit – flying in and out on a US Navy C-2A Greyhound.

‘The Spirit of Freedom’

With an overall flightdeck area of approximately 1. 8 hectares, the 332m long, 76m wide nuclear powered George Washington remains the United States’ only permanently forward deployed aircraft carrier.

Based out of Yokosuka, Japan, the GW was on patrol approximately 120 miles west of Darwin in the Arafura Sea at the time of Australian Aviation’s visit during TS11.

“While this may be more of a military exercise, the most important thing is command and control. How we meet, how we plan for everything,” CO of the GeorgeWashington Capt David Lausman said of Talisman Sabre during an interview on the ship’s navigation bridge.

“This is my third Talisman Sabre in a row. I was the CO of the [USS] Blue Ridge [during TS07] and then obviously in ’09 on the George Washington and this year again…All of the ships involved work on command and control through all of their different communication needs…We may be the largest ship, but by no means the most important,” he continued.

“One of the strengths here is our command and control centre because of our size, and there are a significant number of Australian military personnel who actually work with us to do command and control, just as we have a lot of Americans from all our services ashore working in the command and control centres also throughout the Australian military. So really, we’re kind of mixing up a lot of groups, and we’re seeing how each other operates. And even though we do this every other year, we learn more and more every time we do this [exercise]. ” As the flagship for Commander, Battle Force Seventh Fleet (Task Force 70), a key asset to the GW’s command and control capability is it’s Combat Direction Centre, or CDC. Manned by approximately 120 naval aviators, surface warfare officers, sonar technicians and various other specialist personnel, the CDC is tasked with a number of missions, including air warfare, anti-submarine warfare and operating its self-defence systems.

“This is really the nerve centre for the ship. This is where we make tactical decisions, where we make decisions on how to defend the ship. We have a lot of sources of information coming from all over,” CDC officer Cmdr Dave Sullivan said.

“Of course, the most potent weapon on the aircraft carrier is it’s air wing, all our aircraft…We work very closely with the bridge…but again, we look at the whole tactical situation, and we’re the tactical control for the ship. How are we going to best defend the ship? Where do we need to move the ship to best defend it? That comes from here. I’d say the bridge is the eyes of the ship and the air wing is the arm of the ship,” Cmdr Sullivan explained.

Aside from the ship’s air assets, which were provided by Atsugi based Carrier Air Wing Five (CVW-5) during TS11, Cmdr Sullivan noted some of the extensive air defence weapons onboard the GW, including the Phalanx ‘sea whiz’ close-in weapons system (CIWS), RIM-116 rolling airframe missile system and Ball Aerospace Sea Sparrow missile system. Within the CDC itself, a tactical action officer (TAO) assumes overall responsibility for the execution of tactical decisions, before gaining final authorisation from the ship’s captain.

Flight Ops: An Insight

However, it is up above on the flightdeck where those crucial tactical decisions are put into action. What looks like organised chaos, the carefully choreographed and well executed aircraft launch and recovery routine sees typically between 80 and 100 sorties over a 12 hour day.

A multitude of sailors wearing different coloured shirts move purposely about the flightdeck, with each colour designating a specific aircraft related responsibility.

For example, those wearing yellow shirts are aircraft directors, responsible for both moving aircraft around the flightdeck and launching them off the catapult, the latter performed by a designated ‘shooter’. Sailors wearing green shirts operate and maintain the carrier’s catapult and arresting gear, red shirts (‘ordies’) load and arm aircraft ordnance, purple shirts (‘grapes’) performrefuelling duties (transferring on average almost 600,000 litres per day), while blue shirts are responsible for aircraft handling or ‘chock and change’ on the flightdeck. Finally, sailors wearing brown shirts are individual squadron support personnel, not part of the ship’s company.

Observing a plethora of F/A-18E/F Super Hornets, EA-6B Prowlers, C-2A and E-2C Hawkeyes come and go from the GW’s flightdeck, the professionalism and intense focus required by naval aviators and Landing Signal Officers (LSOs) alike is evident as an aircraft begins its approach towards the carrier. Essentially, the aircraft’s glideslope, pitch, angle of attack (AOA) and proportional airspeed will determine a successful approach and ‘trap’ aboard a carrier. Aircraft weight is also a consideration during approach, with more airspeed required for a heavier aircraft to match its ideal AOA. During this process, another key determining factor will be ‘line-up’, which is used to determine how far left or right an aircraft is from the flightdeck’s centreline (the azimuth).

Assisted by constant communication with the LSO, the pilot will aim to catch one of four arresting wires on the flightdeck with the aircraft’s tail hook. Ideally, the pilot will aim for the third (middle) wire for a successful trap, but if the approach is completely misaligned, the LSO will call in a ‘waveoff ’, requiring the aircraft to go around again for a second attempt.

In addition to guidance from the LSO, a pilot will also look towards the optical landing system (OLS) to determine correct glideslope. The OLS consists of a row of horizontal green lights fixed to either side of a series of vertical cells that are normally amber in colour (known as the ‘meatball’).

Seeing the meatball align with the row of green lights to form a continuous straight line is the desired approach for carrier landings. However, the meatball will appear above the row of green lights (too high) or below (too low) if a pilot has misaligned the approach, resulting in small corrections to the aircraft’s glideslope, airspeed, pitch and/or angle of attack. If the meatball displays red (bottom cell), the approach is far too low and must be aborted. Navy doctrine sees junior aviators taught the method ‘meatball, line-up, angle of attack’ when preparing to land aboard a carrier for the first time.

Strike Force

Embarked aboard the GW, CVW-5 was extensively involved during TS11, participating in a number of offensive counter air, defensive counter air, strike and electronic attack missions as part of either the designated ‘red’ or ‘blue’ forces.

Presiding over all nine squadrons (VFA-102, VFA-27, VFA-115, VFA-195, VAQ-136, VAW-115, VRC-30, HS-14 and HSL-51) in the air wing during the exercise was CO CVW-5 and TOPGUN graduate, Capt Daniel ‘Caveman’ Cave, who spoke highly of TS11.

“Anytime you can train with our great friends and allies like the Australians, it increases the combat effectiveness of both countries,” Capt Cave said, himself a veteran of several air campaigns including Desert Storm, Bosnia, Kosovo, Southern Watch and Iraqi Freedom.

“The cooperation [between US and Australian forces] has been second to none. Similar airframes, tactics and a common language make the integration seamless,” he added.

As the first and so far only carrier air wing to have its strike fighter squadrons entirely equipped with F/A-18E and F model Super Hornets, Capt Cave said CVW-5’s maintenance support effort could now be streamlined, also offering an increase in “sortie generation…due to newer airframes and reliability. ” “The Super Hornet utilises the same weapons as the legacy Hornet, but the Block II brings to the table an increase in combat efficiency and survivability,” Capt Cave noted.

Responsible for coordinating air assets between RAAF Darwin, Tindal and the GW during TS11, RAAF Commander Task Unit Headquarters North (TUHQNorth), GPCAPT Scott Winchester also saw potential advantages in CVW-5’s full transition to the Super Hornet.

“Now that the George Washington has an entire fleet of Super Hornets, it will certainly assist with our [the RAAF’s] maturing and bed-down of our Super Hornet fleet. In due course, that will be very beneficial to us. But regardless of whether we have our Super Hornets operating with their Super Hornets, our classic Hornets and other aircraft share a lot of commonality between the fleet’s tactics, techniques and procedures which are exercised during Talisman Sabre,” GPCAPT Winchester said.

Soon to be added to CVW-5’s fleet will be the EA-18G Growler, as EA-6B equipped Electronic Attack Squadron 136 (VAQ-136) is replaced by VAQ-141 flying the G.

“Again, that’s going to streamline the maintenance effort by aligning parts and supply lines. Additionally, the Growler brings an increase in reliability, survivability and the ability to protect itself. ” Capt Cave said.

Experiencing a Carrier landing and takeoff

Originally entering service in the mid 1960s, the since upgraded and ‘reprocured’ C-2A Greyhound remains a workhorse for the US Navy in providing the vital Carrier On-board Delivery (COD) funtion.

While the aircraft served as our passenger transport into and out of the GW, the twin engine turboprop C-2 can also transport up to 4500kg of high priority cargo (such as jet engines and various equipment) a distance of over 1000nm.

After a short brief by our C-2’s aircrew at RAAF Darwin, we secured our helmets (cranials) and life vests and were loaded onboard via the aircraft’s rear ramp before being securely strapped into our seats.

Once off the tarmac at RAAF Darwin, it was a fairly smooth hour-long transit to the GW. With about five minutes to go, both loadmasters onboard warned us to prepare for landing on the GW. In effect, itwas easy to identify that the noisy C-2 was on approach due to the constant pulsating of its twin Allison T56-A-425 engines as the aircraft descended and lined up for its ‘trap and catch’ aboard the GW. After what seemed an eternity, the C-2 slammed onto the deck, tail hook catching the arresting wire as it brought the shuddering transport to a complete halt in a matter of seconds.

Both engines were briefly given full power in case of a ‘bolter’ or missed landing, but it wasn’t necessary and the C-2 slowly taxied to its assigned park on the flightdeck.

A rollercoaster ride in reverse is perhaps the best way of describing the catapult shot (cat-shot) out from the GW. As was the case before the C-2 landed onboard, both loadmasters ensured that each passenger was secured in their seat, with nothing obviously loose. Once the front nose gear was secured to the steam catapult, an unmistakeable G-force upon launch pushed me out from my seat, with only the straps preventing me from being hurled into the seat directly in front. The whole process, which sees the average aircraft launched from 0 to 220km/h, lasts no more than a few seconds, after which it was fairly smooth sailing back to RAAF Darwin.

Warlords

Performing a largely unnoticed role during TS11 was Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron Light Five One (HSL-51), the ‘warlords’. Stationed aboard Command and Control ship USS Blue Ridge (LCC-19) during the exercise, HSL-51’s Detachment 11 (DET-11) conducted VIP transport and a range of other missions for the US Seventh Fleet with its two specially configured SH-60F ‘Foxtrot’ Seahawks.

NAF Atsugi based HSL-51 operates seven detachments in total, split up among various destroyers, frigates and cruisers within the Seventh Fleet, and is also stationed aboard the George Washington. Squadron fleet strength comprises 13 Seahawks in total, with the two VIP configured SH-60Fs and 11 SH-60Bs with Light Airborne Multi- Purpose System (LAMPS) Mk III ASW capability. Though primarily concerned with the transportation of US Commander, 7th Fleet, VADM Scott R Van Buskirk, DET- 11 can also perform search-and-rescue, force defence and various other logistical missions for the Blue Ridge.

“The executive transport role I would say is our biggest contribution to the Blue Ridge, to the Commander and to the Navy,” said OIC HSL-51 DET-11 and Air Boss onboard the Blue Ridge, LCDR Willson ‘DILS’ Porter.

“We did a lot of aerial observation of different events [during TS11]. We provided the United States Marine Corps Commander with aerial observation of amphibious landings at Shoalwater Bay. We also did a lot of passenger and logistics moves back and forth from the ship to the beach, mostly out of Rockhampton,” LCDR Porter noted.

“We’ve flown in the day, we’ve flown at night, we’ve flown in all weather conditions.

So in terms of that, there haven’t been a whole lot of limits…Typically our missions are between three and four hours, whether it be a training mission or an actual real world mission. ” Able to carry a total of five passengers in its VIP configuration, the SH-60F may be limited in seating capacity, but compensates with a lighter, more versatile helicopter as LCDR Porter explained.

“The ASW suite is removed, but we still have an internal fuel tank and an external fuel tank on one of the aircraft…With the external fuel tank on, we can get almost five and a half hours of flight time if we do our numbers right,” he said.

Given the high priority nature that VIP transport entails for DET-11, a matching high level of experience on the Seahawk is a must for such operations. LCDR Porter estimates between 7500 and 8000 hours of combined flying experience between the detachment’s four pilots, and another 4 to 5000 hours between the four aircrewman stationed aboard the Blue Ridge. Being able to translate that experience across multinational operations is also important for DET-11, seen through the interoperable nature of an exercise like TS11.

“It really is from the ground up, everything from the staffs meshing together, being able to coordinate [operations] figuratively speaking the same language,” LCDR Porter said of TS11’s focus on interoperability. “With interoperability, it all starts there and that’s why we do these exercises to really grow that…There’s always lessons learned. We always find ways to improve the process and to maximise our ability to work together as allies. ”

Marine Machines

In addition to CVW-5’s and HSL- 51’s deployment, the US Marine Corps brought a number of air assets to TS11, with Fighter Attack Squadron 314 (VMFA-314) ‘Black Knights’ temporarily based at RAAF Townsville while conducting close air support (CAS) operations over the Townsville Field Training Area (TFTA) and Rockhampton’s Shoalwater Bay Training Area (SWBTA).

Fresh from completing a three month unit level training (ULT) exercise in support of the Marine Aviation Weapons and Training Squadron 1 (MAWTS-1) under Marine Division Tactics Course 2-11 at Kadena AFB in Japan, the F/A-18A++ equipped Black Knights were fully deployed to Townsville by July 8. Though normally based at Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Miramar in San Diego as part of Marine Aircraft Group 11 (MAG-11), the squadron had been augmenting MAG-12 operations at MCAS Iwakuni under a Unit Deployment Program (UDP) since March, before transitioning to ULT at Kadena later in the year.

While the move to Townsville for TS11 (and later, Exercise Southern Frontier) could have been viewed as just another exercise for the deployment-weary squadron, it holds a far greater significance for CO VMFA-314, LtCol Waylan ‘Raisin’ Cain.

“It’s a big operational testament to the ability of the Marine Corps and our air combat element within that Marine Corps construct, to be…focusing somewhere else on a very stringent exercise, to pick up and move and basically about a week later, be able to employ ordinance on a different continent in support of a totally different exercise,” LtCol Cain said of the squadron’s most recent deployment to TS11.

“The other big thing is the tactical training, which [means] being able to go right off the bat here and work down at Talisman Sabre with our Australian Defence Force partners,” he added.

That “tactical training” was a core focus for VMFA-314 at TS11, with the squadron participating in a number of CAS, strike coordination armed reconnaissance (SCAR) and armed reconnaissance (AR) missions throughout the duration of the exercise.

TS11 was essentially split up into two phases for VMFA-314, with live weapons training conducted in the first week across open ‘canned’ ranges, followed by simulated weapons training in the second week, as ground forces moved in to the SWBTA.

Supported in the air by KC-130J tankers from Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 152 (VMGR-152), the 180 strong squadron’s cadre of 19 pilots flew on eight sorties per day over the SWBTA, giving them valuable exposure to working with RAAF and Australian Army Joint Terminal Attack Controllers (JTACs) on the ground. Talisman Sabre also marked the first time VMFA-314 had participated in the exercise, with 16 pilots in the squadron having previously never worked directly with Australian forces. At the forefront of such operations were VMFA-314 Hornet pilots Captain Thomas ‘Puppy’ Frey and Captain Patrick ‘Spool’ Moran, both serving their first tours with the Black Knights.

“It is a close air support exercise. It’s mainly focused on air-to-surface type training, so a large part of it is the joint multinational side of it,” Capt Frey said.

“We’ve been working with Australian Army JTACs from the 7th Brigade…some Marines off the MEU [Marine Expeditionary Unit] and 5th ANGLICO [Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company]. ” With VMFA-314 focusing almost exclusively on the employment of CAS at TS11, clear communication between pilot and JTAC remained paramount throughout the exercise. Subtle differences in accent between Australian and American forces did present a challenge for the squadron initially, but Capt Moran advised the issue was eventually resolved with time and practice.

“We both speak English, but surprisingly there’s still a language barrier that exists.

We have similar procedures and we have joint publications that we all follow. . . so it’s interesting to see the kind of friction that comes out when you start talking to someone on the ground, and they have their own sort of interpretation and how they run things,” Capt Moran noted.

“And that’s kind of the friction that we’re working through by participating in an exercise like this…As far as their [JTAC’s] capability and their experience level, they’re on par, they’re just as good as any of the guys that we’ve worked with on our side.

As far as capability and speed of time to kill being minimal, they’re very good as well. Once we learn how to speak each others’ dialects or accents, then we get pretty lethal,” he said.

Capt Frey agreed, also stressing the importance of the JTAC in the squadron being able to fulfil the CAS role during TS11. “Probably the most crucial part of that actual mission is going to be that JTAC.

Without that JTAC, there really is no close air support mission,” he said.

Another crucial factor in performing effective CAS operations during TS11 was VMFA-314’s ‘time on station’ once they arrived at the SWBTA. According to Capt Moran, tanker support spelled the difference between a quick ‘fire-and-forget’ sortie and one that could be sustained for a reasonable period of time.

“The tanking is critical in being able to execute the mission. It’s about 300 miles one way from Townsville to the Shoalwater Bay Training Area. So by the time we get there, if we were to immediately take on a mission, we’d only be able to afford approximately 10 to 15 minutes at tactical airspeeds of air-toground support for the guys on the ground,” Capt Moran explained.

“But we’ve brought our own indigenous tanker support with us in the form of KC-130s and VMGR-152. We have them down in the area [SWTBA]…to top off the tanks, and now we’re able to provide 30, upwards of 45 minutes [on-station time], depending on what they [JTACs] have us doing for them,” he said.

At the heart of VMFA-314’s strike capability is the F/A-18A++ Hornet. Featuring a new Link 16 Multifunctional Information Distribution System (MIDS), colour glass displays, AN/APX-111(V) combined interrogator/transponder (CIT), ALE-47 countermeasures dispenser system (CMDS), digital direct feed recorders, an uprated Martin-Baker SJU-17/A Naval Aircrew Ejection Seat (NACES), and a Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System (JHMCS) integrated with the AIM-9X missile, this heavily modified variant of the original F/A-18A is comparable to Phase 2 elements of the RAAF’s Hornet Upgrade Program (HUG).

“In the Marine Corps, we do so many different missions with the F-18, it requires us to continue to develop new tactics, techniques and procedures, as well as to upgrade the airframe,” LtCol Cain said of the A++ variant.

“So again, just like the RAAF has done with their Hornets [with HUG], we’ve done the same thing with ours. Different bits of kit go on to make things more lethal on today’s battlefield. ” The A++ also provides VMFA-314 with a Super Hornet-like avionics package, opening up non-traditional ISR capabilities for the squadron as seen through a number of SCAR and AR related missions that were performed during TS11. Categorising the A++’s performance as “stellar” during the exercise, Capt Frey also didn’t hesitate in making comparisons with the Super Hornet.

“You could pretty much say that we could do everything that a Super Hornet could do, avionics wise, and the computers in the airplane are able to provide the same level of information and the same format, the same usability and easy presentation that the pilot can understand,” Capt Frey said.

“Obviously with a single-piloted aircraft, one brain is getting a lot of information fed to it, so the way in which that information is presented is very important. The A++ upgrades all that so that it just makes it very user friendly and provides you with the most situational awareness in the easiest format,” he added.

As the first Marine Corps squadron to receive the F/A-18A in 1982, it’s no secret that VMFA-314’s Hornets are ageing, but with the A++ upgrade, it is hoped the aircraft will remain combat effective until the introduction of the F-35B in the 2018-2020 timeframe. Until that happens, the Marine Corps will continue flying the Hornet, further honing its interoperability and air-to-ground skills in exercises like Talisman Sabre.

“A lot of our people have done a lot of operational work in Iraq, but they haven’t come here to do the detailed, high tempo training operations that we’re doing in Talisman Sabre, in conjunction with the Australian Defence Force,” LtCol Cain noted, himself a former exchange pilot with the RAAF’s 75SQN and a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

“There’s a myriad, a multitude of different training venues that make my guys better.

From the pilots, having to come in and work with the Australian Defence Force, the way that they do command and control. The way that even though the CAS procedures are the same and they’re standardised over all the coalition forces that go and work in Iraq or Afghanistan, there’s still little changes between each service. So they [VMFA-314 pilots] get that exposure,” he continued.

“Again, I think it comes down to the fact that the interoperability [we have], it’s already there…The established standard procedures that are already out there work.

The things that were put in place before we got here, that the higher-ups put in place a long time ago and that we continue to upgrade, they work…It’s that seamless integration between the United States Marine Corps and the Australian Defence Force as a whole. ”