NEWS 2022 March, 6

USS Truman joins NATO effort in air policing patrols over Eastern Europe

Fighter jets from the aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman are conducting airborne patrols with NATO allied air forces in U.S. 6th Fleet.
NATO has nearly doubled the number of military jets on alert across Europe amid concerns that Russia’s reckless flying in international airspace could escalate alongside its war in Ukraine.
Strike Fighter Squadrons 11, 34, 81 and 211, and Electronic Attack Squadron 137, from embarked Carrier Air Wing 1 kicked off a variety of missions, including NATO enhanced air policing, to bolster the security alliance in late February, a 6th Fleet spokesperson told Navy Times. The airborne patrols commenced Feb. 24 and are ongoing.

militarytimes

USAF F-35s conduct air policing operations out of Baltic countries

U.S. Air Force F-35As are conducting flight operations out of Lithuania and Estonia — along with fighter jets from the Royal Danish and Polish air forces — to secure the skies over Baltic allies following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Six  Lightning IIs with the 34th Fighter Squadron out of Hill Air Force Base, Utah, forward deployed from Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, to NATO’s eastern flank Feb. 24 to augment the alliance’s air policing mission, just one day after Russia invaded Ukraine.

NATO released video Tuesday of F-35s conducting flight operations at Šiauliai Air Base in Lithuania. Other Lightning IIs are deployed to Ämari Air Base in Estonia and Feteşti Air Base in Romania.

Operating alongside F-16 Fighting Falcon and F-15 Eagle fighter jets, the F-35s are tasked with ensuring no illegal or threatening air traffic is present in NATO territory, a tall order as Russia continues its assault on Ukraine.

airforcetimes

Carrier Truman joins ISIS fight alongside French flattop

The aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman joined the fight against the Islamic State group Tuesday, launching the first missions over Iraq since the flotilla arrived in the Middle East in mid-December.
Truman joins Operation Inherent Resolve more than two months after the Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group departed U.S. Central Command, leaving the region without a carrier for the first time in years.
The Truman is in the Persian Gulf with the French carrier Charles de Gaulle, which is fresh off strikes in Syria after the IS-directed terror attacks in Paris.
navytimes

Iran denies it fired rockets near U.S. warships in Strait of Hormuz

Iran on Thursday denied U.S. accusations of launching a provocative rocket test last week near Western warships in the Strait of Hormuz, dismissing the claim as "psychological warfare" against the Islamic Republic.
Gen. Ramezan Sharif, a Revolutionary Guard spokesman, said his forces didn't carry out any drills in the key Persian Gulf waterway.
The denial came a day after Cmdr. Kyle Raines, a U.S. Central Command spokesman, said Revolutionary Guard vessels fired several unguided rockets about 1,370 meters from the aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman and other Western warships and commercial traffic last Saturday. The firing came after Iranians announced over maritime radio 23 minutes earlier that they'd be carrying out a live-fire exercise, according to Raines.
"The Guard's Navy had no drills in the vicinity of the Strait of Hormuz and didn't fire missiles or rockets during the past week and the time claimed by the Americans," Sharif said in comments posted on the Revolutionary Guard's website. "Publication of such false news under the present circumstances is more of a psychological warfare."
Raines said while the rockets weren't fired in the direction of any ships, Iran's "actions were highly provocative" because firing so close to coalition ships and commercial traffic in international waters is "unsafe, unprofessional and inconsistent with international maritime law."
militarytimes

US Army AH-64 Apaches join USS Harry S. Truman for overseas deployment certification

The South Carolina Army National Guard 1st Battalion/151st Attack Reconnaissance Battalion (ARB) participated in joint exercises June 9-16 with the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group off the coast of northeast Florida in the Atlantic.
Operating from NAS Jackson-ville, the ARB detachment of 45 aircrew, maintainers and ordnancemen flew their six AH-64D Apache Longbow helicopters in support of the Truman Strike Group sustainment exercise (SUSTAINEX).

jaxairnews

Budget cuts to force US Navy to shutter four active aircraft carriers

The U.S. Navy plans to shut down four of its active aircraft carriers in one of the worst-case scenarios presented to Congress by the service since the debate on budget cuts heated up this winter.
The Navy previously announced a delay in deploying the carrier USS Harry Truman to the Middle East, plus a stop in the refueling and overhauling of the nuclear-powered USS Abraham Lincoln and a delay in repairing the USS Theodore Roosevelt.

washingtontimes

X-47B UCAS-D, Back on Land

Yet another update on the US Navy's X-47B unmanned combat air system demonstrator - this time unashamedly because I like this picture released by Northrop Grumman.

Northrop says deck trials of X-47B air vehicle AV-2 on the USS Truman from Nov 27 to Dec 17 demonstrated the ability to maneuver the fighter-sized unmanned aircraft on the flightdeck using a wireless handheld controller. Tests included maneuvering the aircraft up to the catapults, taxiing over the arresting cables and moving up and down the elevator.

"The X-47B deck trials proved convincingly that the design and operation of the aircraft are fully compatible with the rhythm and operational requirements of the carrier flight deck," Mike Mackey, Northrop's UCAS-D program director is quoted as saying. Tests proved the aircraft can operate in the hostile electromagnetic environment of a carrier, he adds.

Graham Warwick-aviationweek

X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System Completes First At-Sea Tests

The X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System (UCAS) demonstrator completed its first at-sea test phase aboard the nuclear powered aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) Dec. 18.

seawavesmagazine

US Navy starts X-47B deck handling trials at sea onboard USS Harry S Truman. High resolution pics

The US Navy has started deck-handling trials for the Northrop Grumman X-47B unmanned combat aircraft system demonstrator onboard the USS Harry S Truman (CVN-75).

Dave Majumdar flightglobal-the-dewline

X-47B unmanned test aircraft hoisted aboard ship for first sea tests

One of two Northrop Grumman X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System (UCAS) demonstrator aircraft was barged down from Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, and arrived on Nov. 26 at Norfolk naval base, Va., where it was promptly hoisted aboard the aircraft carrier USS HARRY S. TRUMAN (CVN 75). This marks the first time one of the stealthy aircraft has been on board a ship.

blogs.defensenews

X-47B hoist on board USS Harry S. Truman

A X-47B was hoisted on board aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman on Nov. 26. The unmanned aircraft will test carrier deck handling aboard Truman next year.

alert5.com

navair.navy