Page 40 - Renorming of Airpower: The F-35 Enters the Combat Fleet

The Renorming of Airpower: The F-35 Arrives into the Combat Force

From the effectiveness side of the equation, it was getting ten pilots out here and used to operating around
the ship, and getting the ship used to operating 35’s on board, getting the deck crew used to moving an
aircraft that is much larger than what they’re used to operating with on this somewhat smaller deck than what
we would see on a normal big-deck aircraft carrier.
Functioning as a team, and that’s really what we’ve done over the first week.
And I think based on what we saw this morning, you could see how efficient the operations have become just
over that one-week time span.”
Question: How have you done with regard to supportability of the aircraft on board the ship?
Lt. Cdr. Kitchen: I’ll start by touching on the main solutions that we’ve conducted.
A large proportion of those main solutions that we’ve conducted have not directly been required as a part of
the service of the aircraft themselves. We have gone over and above basic maintenance requirements.
Among those things we have done over an above any basic maintenance requirements include: conducting
demonstrations for installation removal of the engine, the lift back, and the integrated compartment, the
canopy, and the ejection seat….. At sea, we obviously have a moving deck. We have looked at how we tie
down the aircraft from very calm sea states up to heaviest possible sea states.

FIGURE 8 THREE OF THE PARTICIPANTS IN THE PANEL HELD ONBOARD THE USS WASP DURING THE DT-2 TRIALS. CREDIT: SECOND LINE OF DEFENSE

And these have taken a huge amount of time. The good news is that we have gone through all of these
evolutions, we have identified lessons, and majority evolutions we are confident that we can now conduct at
sea.
The real difference between DT2 and DT1 and OT is the fact that this first time that Marines have been
responsible for conducting maintenance. So part of that verification was not just ensuring that we ensured that
the equipment, the tools, the procedures in the ship environment worked but also that we trained the
maintainers correctly. And that’s why this detachment has been hugely a success not just from a flying
perspective but a maintenance one as well.
Question: With regard to the UK personnel, it is clear that you view the USS Wasp operational trials as an
important input to the preparation for operations aboard your own new carrier, HMS Queen Elizabeth.
Second Line of Defense

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