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"A great responsibility is put into your hands, for growth and change is still the very life of any air service that hopes to survive. I look to Patuxent River to carry a large part of the burden of ensuring that quality, imagination, and resourcefulness are all included in our future equipment and in its typical use. You have the chance to make a great reputation."

RAdm. John S. McCain,
NAS Patuxent River
Commissioning Day, 1 April 1943

Innovation and change have always been the watchwords of Naval Aviation. Since its commissioning, Patuxent River has been dedicated to meeting new challenges and exceeding operational expectations. The first US all jet-powered airplane, the XP-59A, was flight tested in 1944 at Patuxent River. The first Navy all-jet airplane to operate from a carrier, the FD-1 Phantom, was tested here in 1945. The burden of excellence willingly carried by Pax River since the charter set forth by RAdm. McCain in 1943 has given birth to a tremendous explosion of accomplishments, new technologies, and improved capabilities.

Today, that tradition is carried into the twenty-first century by the Naval Strike Aircraft Test Squadron, Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division. Strike, as it is called, evaluates and tests fixed-wing, carrier-based jet aircraft and their systems. The squadron consists of approximately fifty-one officers, 336 enlisted, and thirty-seven civil service personnel directly involved with maintenance, planning, safety oversight, and support of the squadron’s thirty-three aircraft. The test pilots are fleet aviators, assigned to Strike following graduation from the US Naval Test Pilot School, also located at Patuxent River. They currently fly and test the Super Hornet, Hornet, Tomcat, Prowler, Goshawk, and unmanned aerial vehicles.

Cdr. Emmitt D. Dickens, the commanding officer of Strike, sets an example for his personnel by focusing on delivering excellence to the fleet. "What have you done for the fleet lately?" he asks. "This question forms the core of our approach to the testing and evaluating of future warfighting systems. My mission, and the mission of the project pilots and engineering test teams, is to provide the fleet with the best possible warfighting product."

Flight testing has changed since its often perilous beginnings, according to Steve Cricchi, the chief test engineer at Strike. "Flight testing today is conducted safely and efficiently because of the hard work and dedication of every member of the team," he says. "The project officer and engineer relationship serves to highlight the effectiveness of the team concept. So the next time the image of the fearless test pilot chasing that demon alone comes to mind, remember that a flight test engineer is in the ground station probably asking for a repeat of that last data point."

Indeed, flight test is vastly different today and will continue to evolve in response to changing threats and missions. "Two major trends have been identified as significant influences on military operations in the twenty-first century technology growth and shrinking resources," explains Capt. Michael Cosgrove, who commands Test Wing Atlantic of the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division. Cosgrove is in charge of Strike’s fixed and rotary wing aircraft test squadrons. "We still are going to be doing many of the same things," he says. "However, we will see more modeling and simulation. Actual test flights will be flown as an end point to verify the simulator results."

"These twin challenges of the twenty-first century can work with each other to help Strike continue to produce a superior flight test product with increased efficiency," says Rusty Lowry, the technical director of the aircraft test squadron. "The next ten years will bring an increased use of simulation to help further streamline flight testing to make each minute of flight meaningful, as well as to lower the risk and protect limited and valuable flight resources. This ‘pre-flight’ testing is a critical tool in assessing the huge number of variables monitored in a flight test program so that the limited amount of actual flight time available can be sharply focused on critical areas."

Carrier-based aviation is a key to the forward presence and crisis response of the US military. Currently, the Navy operates twelve carriers (eleven active and one operational reserve), and ten active and one Naval Air Reserve carrier wings. These are multipurpose wings, consisting of strike-fighter, reconnaissance, surveillance, electronic combat, anti-submarine, tanker, and search-and-rescue capabilities. In the coming years, carrier aviation’s capabilities will increase as the composition of the air wings evolve. The Navy is moving to a smaller, more capable, and more lethal multimission aircraft.

Setting the example for the combination of leading-edge technology at a time of shrinking budgets is the F-18E/F Super Hornet program, home-based out of Patuxent River. Cosgrove singles out the F-18E/F as the program that will lead Naval Aviation into the twenty-first century.

The Super Hornet can fly up to forty percent farther on a typical mission. It has increased engine power, thirty-three percent more internal fuel capacity, eleven additional weapon stations, twenty-five percent more surface area, and three times the capability to bring back unused ordnance to the ship.

Currently, seven Super Hornets are undergoing testing at Pax River, each with a dedicated test plan. The first E model is being used to expand the flutter envelope with various store loads and to certify the safety of the aerostructure. The second E model is used to investigate the flying qualities and performance aspects of each new configuration. Each maneuver is analyzed for handling assessments and basic stability and control characteristics.

Expanding the g envelope and identifying maneuvering stresses on the aircraft structure is assigned to the third E model test team. The fourth E model is being used to document high alpha characteristics in various configurations, carrying a spin recovery chute as an insurance policy. The fifth E model and the two F model aircraft are used in weapon separation flights. The first F model (two seater) is also the carrier suitability aircraft. This test team focuses on determining minimum controllable static and dynamic airspeeds at various symmetrical and asymmetrical loadings. The TC-7 steam catapult and the MK-7 arresting gear located at Patuxent River are used to validate the maximum anticipated structural loading.

These seven F-18E/Fs, categorized as engineering and manufacturing development aircraft, are working towards a program completion date of November 1998. Preparations are underway for operational evaluation at NAWC Weapons Division, China Lake, California. "The ultimate goal is fleet initial operational capability in May 2002," says Lt. Ken Ham of the F-18E/F integrated test team.

As the F-18E/Fs continue EMD, the F-14 Tomcat continues to be the Navy’s premier long-range fighter. The Tomcat will incorporate significant performance improvements in the next four years, many of which complement the F-18. The F-14 will enable the Navy to maintain the desired force structure of fifty strike-fighter aircraft on each carrier deck until it is replaced by the Super Hornet.

A high priority for the F-14 in FY 96 was to qualify F-14B LANTIRN system, which provides the F-14 with an accurate, autonomous designation and targeting capability for the delivery of laser-guided bombs. This effort resulted in the successful completion of qualifications for fleet deployment in November 1996. The Tomcats carrying the Tactical Airborne Reconnaissance Pod System, or TARPS, continue to provide a manned tactical reconnaissance capability. Strike currently is testing a prototype upgrade to the existing F-14 TARPS, allowing for realtime downlink of digital reconnaissance photos. Carrier suitability tests resulted in a recommendation for operational deployment of the enhanced system. "A major accomplishment by Strike in the past fiscal year was the incorporation of a digital flight control system in the F-14," says Cosgrove. "This major safety improvement for the fleet will prevent departure from controlled flight. Installation is projected for June 1998."

Strike offers other examples of leading edge technologies emerging in spite of diminishing funds. USAF KC-135 refueling tankers were equipped with a multipoint refueling system to replace the "iron basket" formerly used to refuel Navy aircraft. The system consists of two wing-mounted, hose-and-drogue style refueling packages. The tanker remains configured for the Air Force and alleviates the need to reconfigure it to accommodate different types of receiver aircraft. The refueling pod is an upgrade to the package currently deployed on the KC-10.

In July 1997, Strike took on the first EA-6B Block 89A aircraft from the EA-6B project office to put through acceptance tests. Pax River now has three Prowlers. The EA-6B project office performs integrated research, development, and test and evaluation combined with developmental and operational testing of the EA-6B and associated electronic warfare assets. Acceptance tests are scheduled for May 1998.

In 1988, Strike put the T-45, originally a British aircraft design, through a series of flight tests before introducing it to the fleet. Converting this land-based jet into a training aircraft proved to be complicated. Today, a much-modified version is now in service.

Strike is also responsible for developmental test and evaluation of unmanned air vehicles, or UAVs, for the Navy. Currently, the Navy has one UAV system, the Pioneer, which is deployed aboard LPD-class ships. In ten years, Pioneer has logged nearly 14,000 flight hours and supported every major US contingency operation. It flew 300-plus combat reconnaissance missions during Persian Gulf operations in the early 1990s. Since September 1994, it has flown in contingency operations over Bosnia, Haiti, and Somalia. Most recently, it flew in Task Force Eagle and IFOR operations over Bosnia.

At the present time, nine unmanned systems are in the active force: five in the Navy, three in the Marine, and one in the Joint UAV Training Center in Fort Huachuca, Arizona. The Navy systems at Pax River support software changes, hardware acceptance, test and evaluation of potential payloads, and technology developments to meet future UAV requirements.

Two of the Strike Squadron’s goals for 1998 are to ensure the F-18E/F program continues to receive the support and guidance it needs to stay on track and to begin preparing for initial Joint Strike Fighter work in the year 2000. The squadron is improving facilities and infrastructure to support its EMD efforts and preparing itself for the next twenty-five years of weapon system flight testing. At the same time, direct fleet support through the testing of fielded weapons systems, like the F-14 and EA-6B, will continue to stay at the top of the squadron’s priority list.

Naval Aviation is taking full advantage of ongoing technological innovations that will be the basis for operational excellence in the next century. The leadership will remain ready to adapt to new warfare fundamental to ensure operational and technological superiority. From the next-generation aircraft to advanced multimission aircraft, such as the Joint Strike Fighter and the Common Support Aircraft, Naval Aviation will adapt, evolve, and succeed. And Strike Aircraft Test Squadron will lead the evolution.