B-1 aircrews make history by employing laser JDAMS

B-1 aircrews make history by employing laser JDAMS

 

Weapons load crew Airmen prepare six GBU-54 laser Joint Direct Attack Munitions for loading onto three B-1 Lancer on May 12, 2012, during a Combat Hammer exercise at Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D. The goal of the exercise was to evaluate the effectiveness, maintainability, suitability and accuracy of precision-guided munitions and other advanced air-to-ground weapons. The Airmen are assigned to the 28th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron at Ellsworth AFB. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Zachary Hada) B-1 aircrews make history by employing laser JDAMS by Airman 1st Class Hrair H. Palyan 28th Bomb Wing Public Affairs 5/16/2012 - ELLSWORTH AIR FORCE BASE, S.D. (AFNS) -- B-1 Lancer aircrews from here employed laser Joint Direct Attack Munitions against moving targets during a weapon system evaluation program exercise May 14 through 16. Aircrews from the 37th Bomb Squadron and 34th BS employed six GBU-54 laser JDAMs against targets on the Utah Test and Training Range near Hill Air Force Base, Utah, as part of the Air Force's air to ground WSEP, known as Combat Hammer. "Combat Hammer provided us with the unique opportunity to employ weapons in real-world scenarios and evaluate the weapon and aircraft-to-weapon interface in great detail due to the telemetry kits on the weapons," said Lt. Col. Stuart Newberry, the 37th BS commander. "This data, when coupled with scenarios usually unavailable to us except in combat scenarios, provides us with an opportunity to validate and refine our tactics, techniques and procedures ... as well as adjust training plans and combat standards." The goal of the exercise was to evaluate the effectiveness, maintainability, suitability and accuracy of precision guided munitions and other advanced air to ground weapons. The entire process of weapons handling was evaluated from start to finish during Combat Hammer. Maj. Michael Ballard, the lead bomber evaluator for Combat Hammer, said this time around, WSEP focused on the cradle-to-grave evaluation for the LJDAM. The LJDAM is a 500-pound, dual-mode guided weapon. It's equipped with a laser seeker, which aids in its ability to demonstrate outstanding accuracy and can be employed to engage both stationary and moving targets on the ground. "We didn't do anything different because of WSEP - our main focus is always on safe and reliable loading first time, every time," said Master Sgt. Joshua Klotz, the 28th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron NCO in charge of loading. "We qualify monthly on all B-1 bomber assigned munitions and are required to complete proficiency loading every month." Leadership was mindful in the selection process of aircrews for Combat Hammer, ensuring that Airmen who had less experience would be teamed up with seasoned aviators. "We try to provide a mix of experience during Combat Hammer sorties," Newberry said. "All crewmembers were fully qualified, but it's important to allow younger aviators -- those without a lot of experience -- the opportunity to build confidence in their skills and weapon system while they are supervised by more experienced aircrew." Newberry noted that aircrews have been limited in training opportunities with the LJDAM unless they are participating in a Combat Hammer scenario. "It was gratifying to be part of the first operational release," said Capt. Charles Armstrong, a 37th BS B-1 weapon systems operator and a mission leader for Combat Hammer. "We're learning a lot from these missions, and it's vital to uncover the peculiarities of this weapon now in a training environment so we can employ it with no issues in combat." Since LJDAMs had never been employed by an operational B-1 squadron before, Ellsworth AFB was the first to be evaluated on tactics and procedures while employing LJDAMs. Newberry added that the Combat Hammer team continuously looks for different scenarios that could occur during combat situations, including GPS jamming, slowing down or speeding up moving targets, and then attempts to replicate them during sorties. "Evaluators will be able to retrieve data from the telemetry kits on the weapons and build a picture of how the weapon was or was not affected in various scenarios," Newberry said. "That data is invaluable in refining and adjusting our training plans." Ellsworth AFB is home to two of the nation's three B-1 combat squadrons and carries the lion's share of the deployment taskings involving the B-1. Since 2007, Ellsworth AFB B-1s have deployed 12 of every 18 months in support of missions in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility. Additionally, aircrews from here conduct missions to rapidly deliver massive quantities of precision and non-precision weapons against adversaries. Armstrong said that adding LJDAMs to the B-1's already diverse arsenal will only increase the already remarkable mission effectiveness rate Ellsworth AFB has had in current operations around the globe.

Royal Navy HMS Defender sails through second sea trials

Ministry of Defence | Defence News | Equipment and Logistics | HMS Defender sails through second sea trials

HMS Defender sails through second sea trials

An Equipment and Logistics news article

10 Apr 12

The fifth of Britain's Type 45 destroyers is getting closer to being taken in to operational services after completing her second period of sea trials off Scotland.

HMS Defender off Greenock in Scotland (stock image)
[Picture: Crown Copyright/MOD 2012]

HMS Defender spent nearly a month off the Scottish coast testing her combat systems and sensors ahead of her impending handover to the Royal Navy and is now in the final weeks of trials and tests on the Clyde as she prepares to join her sisters in Portsmouth.
Defender put to sea for her first sea trials last autumn, sailing two years to the day of her launch, to test the basics – engines, power and manoeuvrability.
As with those inaugural trials, Defender's second trials period saw a mixed crew from her builders BAE Systems, plus the growing band of Royal Navy personnel assigned to her, to give the ship a thorough run-out.
After a few sea safety trials, which all went well, the ship quickly knuckled down to manoeuvring and power and propulsion trials before the crux of the renewed spell at sea: combat systems.
The team aboard attuned all the various weapons and sensor sub-systems to the main command system – the brains of Defender where all the information is fused to give the operations room team the complete picture.

HMS Defender's mixed crew of personnel from BAE Systems and the Royal Navy
[Picture: BAE Systems]

Lieutenant Commander Jonathan Pearce said:

"It is a great privilege to be serving as the Weapon Engineer Officer in HMS Defender, these trials marked another significant step to not only acceptance of the ship by the Royal Navy but success on operations in the future.
"Defender boasts extremely impressive capability throughout her decks which was tuned to optimum performance over the trials period."

The ship is affiliated to Glasgow and Exeter and her second time at sea gave her mixed BAE Systems and Royal Navy ship's company the chance to help out good causes in those cities.
Horse racing nights, an Ironman athletics competition, bingo and quizzes helped raise £1,500 for Kelbourne School for physically-impaired youngsters in Glasgow, Dream-a-Way Holidays in Exeter which organises holidays for people in the West Country with disabilities, and BAE's favoured charity, Erskine Hospital.

HMS Defender
[Picture: BAE Systems]

Defender also hosted her first VIP sea day where she welcomed the destroyer's sponsor, Lady Julie Massey, who launched the ship on Trafalgar Day 2009, as well as the great and the good from industry and the MOD's maritime defence procurement team.
HMS Defender continues to hit every milestone towards her delivery to Portsmouth and the Royal Navy in July.
She's due to be declared operational in early 2013, by which time the final ship in the Type 45 programme, HMS Duncan, will have made her debut at sea. She's in the latter stages of fitting out at Scotstoun and sails later this year on her first trials.

MOD announces change of F-35 Lightning II Joint Striker Fighter jet

Equipment and Logistics

Defence

News Article

MOD announces change of Joint Striker Fighter jet

An Equipment and Logistics news article

10 May 12

Defence Secretary Philip Hammond has announced that plans to deliver Carrier Strike capability will now be executed using a different type of Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) jet than was planned.

Philip Hammond, Secretary of State for Defence
[Picture: Harland Quarrington, Crown Copyright/MOD 2011]

The MOD will move away from the Carrier Variant (CV) JSF and our Armed Forces will instead operate the short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) variant.
Even with this change in JSF jet type, the MOD's plan to deliver Carrier Strike in 2020, as a key part of Future Force 2020, is still on schedule.
Speaking at the House of Commons this morning, Mr Hammond outlined the reasons this decision has been made. They included:
• sticking with the Carrier Variant would delay Carrier Strike by at least three years to 2023 at the earliest;
• the cost of fitting catapults and arrestor gear ('cats and traps') to the Queen Elizabeth Class carriers to operate CV aircraft has doubled from around £1bn to £2bn; and
• the STOVL aircraft offers the UK the ability to have an aircraft carrier available continuously. Although no decision on budgeting for crew and support costs will be taken until the next Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) in 2015, the second carrier would be able to provide capability while the first vessel is in maintenance.
See Related Links to read Mr Hammond's statement in full.
The STOVL aircraft has made significant progress since the SDSR was published over 18 months ago and the US Marine Corps has conducted successful STOVL flights from their ships.
The UK will receive the first STOVL aircraft this summer and, as HMS Queen Elizabeth is due to arrive for sea trials in early 2017, UK STOVL flight trials will begin off the carrier from 2018.

"Carrier Strike with 'cats and traps' using the Carrier Variant jet no longer represents the best way of delivering Carrier Strike and I am not prepared to tolerate a three-year further delay to reintroducing our Carrier Strike capability."

Philip Hammond

The SDSR stated that we wanted to develop joint maritime task groups with our allies. Through the adoption of the STOVL aircraft, the UK will benefit from full interoperability with the US Marine Corps and the Italian Navy - both of which operate the STOVL aircraft.
Mr Hammond said:

"The 2010 SDSR decision on carriers was right at the time, but the facts have changed and therefore so too must our approach. This government will not blindly pursue projects and ignore cost growth and delays.
"Carrier Strike with 'cats and traps' using the Carrier Variant jet no longer represents the best way of delivering Carrier Strike and I am not prepared to tolerate a three-year further delay to reintroducing our Carrier Strike capability.
"This announcement means we remain on course to deliver Carrier Strike in 2020 as a key part of our Future Force 2020."

Chief of the Defence Staff, General Sir David Richards, said:

"Our Armed Forces have a successful history of operating short take-off and vertical landing aircraft and our pilots are already flying trials in this variant of the Joint Strike Fighter alongside our US allies.
"These stealth aircraft will be the most advanced fast jets our Armed Forces have ever operated and I know they will do so with the greatest skill and professionalism."

La Armada presenta sus conceptos sobre la futura fragata F-110 | Infodefensa

La Armada presenta sus conceptos sobre la futura fragata F-110 | Infodefensa

The CVN 21 design features an enhanced flight deck with increased sortie rates, a redesigned island and a new nuclear power plant. - Image - Naval Technology

The CVN 21 design features an enhanced flight deck with increased sortie rates, a redesigned island and a new nuclear power plant. - Image - Naval Technology

Ministry of Defence | Defence News | Military Operations | HMS Protector battles through ice to retrieve scientists

Ministry of Defence | Defence News | Military Operations | HMS Protector battles through ice to retrieve scientists

HMS Protector battles through ice to retrieve scientists

A Military Operations news article

19 Mar 12

The Navy's Antarctic patrol ship has had to punch her way in and out of dangerous pack ice to pick up a research team.

HMS Protector off James Ross Island
[Picture: LA(Phot) Arron Hoare, Crown Copyright/MOD 2012]

The Portsmouth-based survey ship had delivered a small geology team from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) to remote James Ross Island, off the eastern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula.
Sailors used her small work boat Terra Nova to carefully navigate the ice field and land the scientists with equipment, food and fuel to last 30 days in one of the world's bleakest locations.
While the scientists got to work, the weather and ice forecasts in the area began to worsen.
And so, after four days, the ship's command decided to pull the scientists out much earlier than planned. A change of wind meant there was a chance ice from the nearby Weddell Sea would be driven towards James Ross Island and potentially block HMS Protector in - like a cork in a bottle.

The bridge of HMS Protector with Captain Peter Sparkes at the helm during the ship's transit from James Ross Island through thick ice
[Picture: LA(Phot) Arron Hoare, Crown Copyright/MOD 2012]

Protector's Commanding Officer, Captain Peter Sparkes, decided the safest and least risky option would be to sail through the increasing pack ice and send in the Terra Nova, the fast rescue craft Yelcho, and the inflatable boat Whiskey 1.
The scientists were collected with all their kit and were back aboard HMS Protector within 90 minutes of the first boat entering the water.
But now the ship had to fight her way out of the ice in the Erebus and Terror Gulf:

"Then the daunting task of breaking out of James Ross Island and into open water where the ice density was not as thick began in earnest," said Captain Sparkes.
"With very careful navigation and a cool head, our ship's company managed to break through some dense pack ice in the Erebus and Terror Gulf at night and into relatively safer waters."

HMS Protector's work boat the Terra Nova transferring personnel from the ship to James Ross Island
[Picture: LA(Phot) Arron Hoare, Crown Copyright/MOD 2012]

Professor Mike Hambrey from Aberystwyth University, who's working in Antarctica with the BAS, said he was grateful for the help and glad they had been able to do some research.
He said:

"Unusually adverse ice conditions meant it had taken three attempts to get through to James Ross Island.
"We are grateful to the crew of HMS Protector for their persistence in eventually finding a way through the ice and although this left us with only four days on the island we achieved a lot in that time."

Having experienced some extremely challenging ice-breaking conditions, Protector has resumed her survey work around the frozen continent.

The Terra Nova landing British Antarctic Survey scientists and supporting personnel onto James Ross Island
[Picture: LA(Phot) Arron Hoare, Crown Copyright/MOD 2012]

The incident last week came shortly after sailors from HMS Protector fought a major fire at a research station which claimed the lives of two Brazilians.
Twenty-three sailors from Protector with firefighting equipment took over four hours to extinguish the blaze at Brazil's Ferraz research station.
The Brazilian Government praised HMS Protector's crew for their assistance in the incident and invited British representatives to the memorial service for the two casualties.

Royal Navy HMS Bulwark lands commandos in the Arctic

Ministry of Defence | Defence News | Training and Adventure | HMS Bulwark lands commandos in the Arctic
 

HMS Bulwark lands commandos in the Arctic

A Training and Adventure news article

16 Mar 12

HMS Bulwark has landed Royal Marines from 42 Commando on the shores of Norway for NATO's winter war games, Exercise Cold Response.

A Sea King helicopter approaches HMS Bulwark
[Picture: Crown Copyright/MOD 2012]

As well as putting commandos onto the snow and shingle near the Norwegian port of Harstad, Bulwark landed their counterparts from the Netherlands and the USA, and equipment and vehicles, not least BV tracked vehicles (which are perfectly suited to operations in the Arctic), and the 'Beast' recovery vehicle - the Royal Marines' ultimate 'tractor' capable of shifting anything if it gets stuck on the shoreline.
Beyond serving as the UK's flagship, Devonport-based assault ship Bulwark is the lead ship for Cold Response, a Norwegian-run exercise for NATO and allied nations. From Bulwark's viewpoint, the training, which sees her in charge of an international naval force operating in the fjords around the Arctic port of Harstad, will ensure she remains ready to conduct a wide variety of tasks around the world in any climatic conditions.
See the gallery at Related links for more pictures from Exercise Cold Response.

A vertical replenishment via helicopter involved the transfer of 90 Royal Marines commandos from HMS Illustrious, with all their weapons and kit - three Sea King helicopters ran ferrying sorties for several hours until the transfers to HMS Bulwark were complete
[Picture: Crown Copyright/MOD 2012]

The fleet flagship has two key roles: to act as the command and control hub for all task group activity and to put men and machines ashore (currently marines from the UK, US and the Netherlands) by sea via landing craft or by air using Fleet Air Arm helicopters.
Amphibious operations remain the most complex operation any nation's military can undertake, as Bulwark's Commanding Officer, Captain Alex Burton, explained:

"It is not simply park the ship and offload it. In war - and therefore in training - we have to take account of the environment, enemy forces in the air, sea and on land, co-ordinate people into boats and naval helicopters, all to arrive on target, in the right order, at the right time, to achieve the battle-winning effect.
"Few navies deliver this successfully and most aspirants look to the Royal Navy, Royal Marines and Fleet Air Arm, with our war-proven capability, for guidance - on the sea, in the air and on the land."

Royal Marines practise 'Dutch Wader' drills as part of landing on Red Beach in the military exercise area of Harstad in Norway
[Picture: Crown Copyright/MOD 2012]

Ahead of the landings, Bulwark was positively brimming with Royal Marines, having embarked an extra 90 Green Berets from HMS Illustrious who were transferred to the flagship by Sea King helicopter.
Never an easy manoeuvre given the amount of equipment the commandos carry in their Bergen packs on their backs, the Arctic weather added to the challenges air and flight deck crews faced (operations were temporarily suspended on Monday when a snowstorm swept through the fjords), and the marines had to wear their bright-red watertight suits when flying over the ocean to protect them should the Sea Kings have to ditch.
They didn't, thankfully, but the whole transfer took the three aircraft from the Commando Helicopter Force several hours.
Once aboard Bulwark the new arrivals found accommodation rather austere, calling corridors, passageways and camp beds their home - although, unlike the 320-strong ship's company, they're only aboard temporarily; for short periods, Bulwark can accommodate more than 650 troops:

Sailors in the Ops Room controlling the action during a 'Thursday War'
[Picture: Crown Copyright/MOD 2012]

"My ship is phenomenally versatile and in this exercise we act as the hub to bring together all the units that make up the modern-day complex battlefield," Captain Burton added.
"Taking the fight ashore from the sea using helicopters and boats is not for the amateur but I have a ship's company of complete professionals. For us it's what we do."

Following Cold Response, Bulwark will undertake a similar role in another international amphibious exercise in the waters around Scotland.
And the ship will be off Weymouth and Portland for the bulk of the summer, acting as a floating command centre for the security mission surrounding Olympic and Paralympic sailing events being staged in the bay.
Meanwhile, helicopter carrier HMS Illustrious is returning to Portsmouth on Sunday following her participation in Cold Response.

An overhead view of a helicopter on the deck of HMS Illustrious
[Picture: Crown Copyright/MOD 2012]

She successfully carried out amphibious helicopter operations in extreme conditions. It enabled the completion of vital training for all members of the ship's company and helicopter crews.
Illustrious is returning to complete the repair of two small holes caused when one of four tugs came into contact with the ship's starboard quarter while assisting her to berth at Harstad on 9 March. An investigation is being conducted.
The holes are well above the waterline and do not affect her seaworthiness or safety. No-one was injured in the incident.
Initial repairs were carried out by the ship's engineers and, while she could have continued to participate in Exercise Cold Response, the decision was taken to return her to Portsmouth so that the repairs could be completed to ensure that her future programme is not affected.