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The Future of Naval Aviation of data to command-and-control nodes. To meet the demand for persistent, multirole intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capability, the Navy and Marine Corps are building a balVice Adm. anced portfolio of manned and Paul Grosklags unmanned aircraft focused on missions in the maritime environment. The Unmanned Carrier Launched Airborne Surveillance and Strike (UCLASS) system will provide a persistent aircraft carrier-based There are several central themes ISR&T and strike capability as to our 2016 Naval Aviation Budget an integral part of carrier air-wing plan: fifth-generation fighter/attack Rear Adm. operations no later than the early capability; netted persistent multiMichael C. Manazir part of the next decade. MQ-4C role intelligence, surveillance, reconTriton will provide persistent naissance and targeting; supporting land-based maritime ISR and capabilities such as electronic attack, complement our P-8 multi-mission maritime patrol, and vertical lift; maritime aircraft (MMA); MQ-8 advanced strike weapons programs; Fire Scout will provide ISR support readiness recovery; and targeted to our frigates and other suitablymodernization of the force for equipped air-capable ships; and relevance and sustainability. smaller unmanned systems such First, we are acquiring F-35 Lt. Gen. Jon Davis as the RQ-21A Small Tactical Unfifth-generation fighter/attack manned Aircraft System (STUAS) aircraft while maintaining sufficient and RQ-7B Marine Corps tactical UAS tactical aviation (TACAIR) inventory capac(MCTUAS) will provide the shorter duraity. Our plan will integrate fifth-generation tion, line-of-sight reconnaissance capability technologies into the carrier air wing and integral at the unit level. expeditionary forces while maintaining and The fiscal year 2016 budget request modernizing the capability of the current enables naval aviation to continue recapitalTACAIR fleet. The F-35B and F-35C will ization of our aging fleets of airborne early replace Marine Corps F/A-18 and AV-8B airwarning, maritime patrol and vertical lift craft significantly increasing capabilities across platforms. The department is recapitalizing the range of military operations of Marine our fleet of E-2C airborne early warning sea- and land-based MAGTFs. The F-35C, aircraft with the E-2D, maritime patrol F/A-18E/F and EA-18G provide complemenand reconnaissance with the P-8A, airborne tary capabilities that enhance the versatility, electronic attack with the EA-18G, and carlethality, survivability and readiness of our rier onboard delivery (COD) with the V-22. air wings. F/A-18A-F and AV-8B aircraft will E-2D integrates a new electronically-scanned continue to receive capability enhancements radar that provides a two-generation leap in to sustain their lethality well into the next technology with the capability to detect and decade. Future avionics upgrades will enable network-centric operations for integrated fire control, situational awareness and transfer Continued On pAGE 8 ➥ Vice Admiral Paul Grosklags, Principal Military Deputy, Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Research, Development and Acquisition), Rear Admiral Michael C. Manazir, Director Air Warfare, and Lieutenant General Jon Davis, Deputy Commandant for Aviation testified before the Seapower Subcommittee of the Senate Armed Services Committee on the Navy’s plans for its aviation programs going forward.
31 MAR
Plus: • PACFLT Senior Leaders Meet • Frank C. Jones Award
2015
Coast Guard Cutter Procurement By Ronald O’Rourke, Specialist in Naval Affairs The Coast Guard’s program of record (POR) calls for procuring eight national security cutters (NSCs), 25 offshore patrol cutters (OPCs), and 58 fast response cutters (FRCs) as replacements for 90 aging Coast Guard cutters and patrol craft. The NSC, OPC and FRC programs have a combined estimated acquisition cost of about $21.1 billion, and the Coast Guard’s proposed fiscal year 2016 budget requests a total of $449.9 million in acquisition funding for the three programs. NSCs are the Coast Guard’s largest and most capable general-purpose cutters. They have an estimated average procurement cost of about $684 million per ship. The first four are now in service, the fifth through seventh are in various stages of construction, and long lead time materials are being procured for the eighth. The Coast Guard’s proposed FY16 budget requests $638 million for the NSC program, including $91.4 million in acquisition funding for the NSC program. OPCs are to be smaller, less expensive and, in some respects, less capable than NSCs. They have an estimated average procurement cost of about $484 million per ship. The first OPC is to be procured in FY17. The Coast Guard’s proposed FY16 budget requests $18.5 million in acquisition funding for the OPC program. FRCs are considerably smaller and less expensive than OPCs. They have an estimated average procurement cost of about $73 million per boat. A total of 32 have been funded through FY15. The 11th was commissioned into service on January 24, 2015, and the 12th is scheduled to be commissioned in March 2015. The Coast Guard’s proposed FY16 budget requests $340 million in acquisition funding for the FRC program. Continued On pAGE 19 ➥
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March 31, 2015