Page 30 - F-35B and USMC

The Integration of the F-35B into USMC Operations

With the USS Kearsarge off of (ironically enough) the shores of Tripoli, the Air Combat Element or ACE began
to deliver unique resupply capabilities to the Kearsarge, which allowed the Harriers to triple their sortie
generation rates.

By being able to fly directly to Sigonella rapidly and back the Ospreys kept the Harriers in the air much
longer than anticipated.

And the TRAP mission over Libya saw the Marines execute the mission at least 45 minutes faster than the next
available platform and did so very rapidly after having received the go order.

We interviewed Marines involved in the Trap mission and it was clear that to these Marines there was
growing awareness of what the Osprey could provide to the MAGTF.

As Maj. B.J. Debardelebe, one of the Osprey aviators involved with the TRAP mission highlighted:

We made the judgment that we had to accelerate the mission.
We moved towards our top speed as the pilot was moving to a new location on the ground.

The pilot on the ground indicated that “they’re still going at us, and things are getting worse.”

And he is clearly on the move.

We had the grid of the plane crash site and we got a new grid and realized that it was much further away from
where the original crash site was. So he’d been on the move the whole time. If I had been flying a SEA KNIGHT,
by the time I had gotten the new information with regard to the shift in the grid, and flown for the 40 minutes
under those conditions, I would have been relatively exhausted by the time I got there because you’re holding the
controls, and you’re getting shaken the whole time.

On the Osprey, I am on autopilot.

So I can take a sip of water, I’m assessing everything, and I’m listening to what’s going on very clearly.
The V22s very quiet in airplane mode so we can hear the radios very well, but if I was in a SEA KNIGHT the noise
would make it difficult to hear.

The grunts in the back were able to look at a moving map that they can look at to have both SAs when we’re
getting closer and closer to coast line

And so in that flight task now they’re relaxed and comfortable instead of them shaking in the back because
usually with all the shaking makes you groggy you sleep, so you have to wake them up when you land.

So they’re in the back at least relaxed and calm before we drop them off.

http://www.sldinfo.com/looking-back-on-the-libyan-trap-mission-battle-hardened-marines-drive-innovation/

http://www.sldinfo.com/the-execution-of-the-trap-mission-over-libya/

This capability is a significant strategic capability and one, which is crucial in the fight against ISIS, a
terrorist group more than willing to torture and kill pilots.

Now with the F-35 replacing the Harrier and flying with the Osprey, the range of operational conditions into
which the TRAP mission can now be flown is expanding significantly.

Second Line of Defense

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