The Next Generation – Embracing Technology to Expand on the Tried and True

By CAPT Jade Lepke, USN Commander, Training Air Wing Five

Naval Aviation training is rapidly evolving after remaining stagnant for decades, and today’s newest generation of aviators are embracing the change. As our Fleet warfighting platforms continue to evolve, so too are our methods of training. Our newly commissioned Officers and Sailors are arriving to the Fleet having been trained in the tried-and-true basics that have stood the test of time; however, fundamental skills they learn are now being reinforced with realistic hands-on training through technology.

Across the Navy, we have learned that readiness and safety are byproducts of currency and proficiency gained through reps and sets. These reps and sets often elude us when resources are scarce. Lessons learned through mishap investigations in both Naval Aviation and across the Navy draw a direct correlation to old and outdated methods of training to flight crews and bridge watchstanders that deserve more relevant and impactful training than what we’ve provided in the past. Mishaps aboard the USS Fitzgerald (CG 62) and USS McCain (DDG 56) were no surprise to anyone who had visited bridge simulators in Norfolk and San Diego. As a Navigator on the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), it was readily evident to me that something needed to change when I looked to maintain currency and build proficiency for our navigation team. Our team was forced to travel an hour north of NS Norfolk to Ft. Eustis to train in the only carrier bridge simulator that could fully accommodate a bridge team with navigation charts. Yes, that’s right, to an Army base! Training facilities on NS Norfolk were available, but were lacking to say the least. Following the unfortunate collisions, the surface fleet and the entire Navy has looked to state of the art simulators and commercial off-the-shelf technologies to bridge the gap. Our Navy has improved with Mariner Skills Training Centers that have opened in both Norfolk and San Diego and our leadership has invested in technologies that are transforming Naval Education and Training Command (NETC) Learning Centers, one at a time with Ready Relevant Learning. We are also bringing the training directly to the carrier piers in mobile classrooms that can move from one pier to another.

Naval Aviation leadership has also made the needed investment in our future throughout Chief of Naval Air Training (CNATRA). Naval Aviation Training Next (NATN) is a concept that is proving that commercially available technologies can be modified to provide high fidelity training to our fledgling aviators throughout their entire training pipeline. Project Avenger is the first NATN Program that incorporates technologies such as virtual reality, mixed reality, and 360-degree immersive videos into a new agile training syllabus focused on a small group or det concept. With help from Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division (NAWCTSD), technologies such as mixed reality have also been able to transform low fidelity or no fidelity simulators from instrument trainers into fully functional simulators with 360-degree views and flight characteristics that arguably match our highest fidelity simulators, at a fraction of the cost. Project Avenger students are also able to practice instrument approaches in virtual reality sims with off duty FAA Air Traffic Controllers linked in and controlling multiple students at a time in the same airspace. This is an example of chair flying that could have only been imagined by Gen X. The concept behind NATN is not to replace flight time with simulator time, but to make each minute of training in the aircraft more impactful.

Gulf Coast Fleet Fly In 2022 celebrated the next generation of training at South Whiting Field. With almost 30 of 130 new TH-73 Thrashers on the flight line, the first students have completed their solo flights and are on their way to earning Wings of Gold. Gone are the days of steam gauges and instrument scan patterns that change from platform to platform. Moving from the T-6B to the TH-73 and then onto any of the Navy, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard Fleet aircraft will require only a minor modification to scan patterns. CRM is further reinforced in the new training syllabus with navigation and flight control systems in the TH-73 that closely mirror our Fleet aircraft. The fidelity of our new simulators has been described by the FAA as the best they have ever seen. Like Project Avenger, TH-73 students are no longer learning checklists and chair flying in static trainers. Instead, this generation of aviators is being trained in newly arriving mixed reality trainers and our classrooms are being transformed with interactively linked desktop trainers that bring the cockpit into the classroom with hands-on learning. These trainers are expected to be available to students for up to 20 hours a day to increase exposure and allow for reps and sets prior to graded simulator and flight events.

The future of rotary training at Whiting Field will continue to modernize over the next three years and beyond. Training Air Wing (TRAWING) Five will transition all three Helicopter Training squadrons to the TH-73, with Helicopter

Training Air Wing Five’s first 12 student naval aviators to begin training in the new TH-73A Thrasher helicopter stand in front of one of the aircraft in early September. This training system includes a new syllabus, virtual reality simulators, and the infrastructure to support the aircraft. Photo by LTJG Nelson Chandler, NAS Whiting Field Public Affairs.

Training Squadron Eight (HT-8) currently in the transition and HT-18 and HT-28 beginning the transition in FY24 and FY25 respectively. Additionally, the construction of our new training facility will begin this fiscal year and is expected to be completed in 2025. A new multi-use squadron ops/hangar facility is also expected to begin construction once funding for FY25 is secured. The Advance Helicopter Training System (AHTS) is not just a program to introduce a new training helicopter, but a comprehensive modernization of aircraft, facilities, and training that will sustain us into the future.

As our newly trained aviators begin to arrive at Fleet Replacement Squadron (FRS) and the Fleet, CNATRA training wings will need continuous feedback from Fleet Commodores, COs, and FRS instructor pilots and aircrew. Additionally, active Fleet participation in CNATRA Production Alignment Conferences and Curriculum Conferences will allow us to further improve training and ensure we focus on the needs of the Fleet. Embracing technology in our training pipelines does not mean we are throwing out the past for the sake of change. Instead, technology is helping our newest aviators keep pace with the systems they will be expected to manage in the Fleet. We need your feedback to ensure our training is hitting the mark and you are getting exactly what you need.

In closing, it is important to credit the efforts of those who have worked tirelessly to bring the entire AHTS program to the execution phase. A special thanks to the efforts of the TW-5 Fleet Introduction Team, both past and present, and also to the members of our team from N98T, PMA-273, Fleet Readiness Center Southeast (FRCSE), CNATRA Fleet Support Team, NAWC-TSD, and our industry partners, many who have worked long hours in uniform and beyond to secure the future of Naval Aviation.