Do not feel bad about the
USMC F/A-18G situation. I thought they had them as well, it would've been a "
natural" extension or "route" to replace the venerable
EA-6B "PROWLER". The date I gave in my last post was for when the
USMC retired the
EA-6B planes
they flew.
They
USN retired theirs roughly
two years prior when fleet levels for the
F/A-18G "GROWLERS" was achieved to allow for the "sundown" of the USN versions.
Ironically that's also about the time when the USMC "
sunset" their first
SQD. of EA-6B planes.
So what
replaced the
USMC the
EA-6B? What is considered to this day a somewhat "
controversial" program called
MAGTF EW. I'm not going to spend a lot of time on this matter except to quote the following ref. (
And yes I read this.) so this is the "
big picture"...
Won't let me copy, so just scroll down to just
below the
4th picture showing the EA-6B refueling, it's
only 2 sentences and you're done.
https://aviationphotodigest.com/wti-1-18/
Let's now continue where I left off with the
USMC...
First a
refresher from my last post...
1) These next
2 articles are from the
USMC.mil website.
2)
Program Status (Real time) of the F35B/C from the same named section of the next ref.
"
FOC is
expected for
both variants in the
late 2020’s."
https://www.candp.marines.mil/Progra...-Lightning-II/
Now what's to be done...Well again from the same
official USMC.mil site they provided the answer concerning
USMC aviation into the future.
But again background is required concerning everyone's
F-35 version as already posted
1) The "key operational/logistics software "
ODIN" will not reach
FOC until DEC 2022.
2) Also posted an article discussing a
13 month production delay for the
whole F-35 program from late
2018. This
might cause some of the below to actually,
shift to the right 1-2 years.
Also a factor which I posted in the MBT Thread will be the
USMC PLAN 2030 which will reduce the of Squadrons along some plane types to include the
F-35B/C.
I do believe that
Suhiir will be surprised by what will survive and for how long they'll be around. Most will still be
operational through 2030 and maybe slightly beyond.
So having done the daily ops brief for
5 different Admirals in
2 separate tours at
COMSUBGRU TEN, I can say this started out as a "
top brass" review before being filtered down to the local area Commanders.
This "
Power Point" presentation is from
NOV 2019, therefore was meant to address
current issues from 2020 forward.
This covers all aspects of aviation to include ongoing and future upgrades already planned for. It addresses
MAGTF and
MAGTF EW which are
similar but,
different in their overall scope and
Weapons.
There is a lot to this, however, I'm
primarily limiting myself to the
air assets under
Section 3 Marine Aviation Platforms and Programs I'm keeping this at
KISS. I'm concerned
only with the
type and
operational service aspect.
It is
incumbent upon the reader for the rest. And I've read this
fully where it touches on game issues and
not so much on
subsystems beyond service upgrades for said aircraft and helicopters.
I will add 1 year to those end dates (As noted.) based on the current delays to the F-35 Program that affects the whole series i.e. ODIN etc.
Even though I'll add that year (Again maybe.), the
F/A 18A might stay as projected. This possibly could affect the
F/A 18B as well, due to
USMC PLAN 2030 as these plans just don't "
pop up" out of nowhere, based on the scope of the Plan
normally it takes months or longer to prepare them, so it
might be already considered in this brief based on that
NOV 2019 release date.
So the...
2019 MARINE CORPS AVIATION PLAN
FOCUS...Section 3 Marine Aviation Platforms and Programs
F-35B/C I see no change due to recent Program events and from the USMC "
newer" (Compared to this one.) ref that projects
FOC in the late
2020's. I'll be a little more optimistic in regards to the
USMC because they are
further along in the development process then the
USN and
USAF. From all I can gather to this point...
I see
F-35B FOC between
JUN 2023+ - DEC 2025.
Again from the earlier posted same source ref.
"
FOC is expected for
both variants in the
late 2020’s."
https://www.candp.marines.mil/Progra...-Lightning-II/
From the "
Transition Chart (TC)" Note
Block 10B with the following caveat "
Right side depicts planned FOC and PAA, but remains event driven." and we are...
EVENT DRIVEN as neither
NAVAIR or
USMC have announced
FOC.
F/A-18 A-D...
From the below ref...
"
F/A-18s are, and will remain, the primary bridging platform to F35B/C, with a planned sunset of 2030."
Upgrades contracted through
2023 currently.
Increase
TI/GSR w/
4th GEN LITENING Pods.
Suhiir you've got some work here that will at least include a small
EW increase and maybe weapons changes for you're
(USMC) HORNETS.
F/A-18A-END OCT 2023 leaving it as is.
F/A-18A++ (Improved-Mine)-END OCT 2027 possibly could be longer.
F/A-18C/D-END DEC 2030 possibly could be longer.
Next...
AV-8B "HARRIER"...
Upgrades contracted through
2025 currently.
Increase
TI/GSR w/
4th GEN LITENING Pods.
You have many
NEW weapons to use on this platform as noted in here.
END OCT 2027 + 1yr = OCT 2028. This aircraft will benefit from the F-35 delays. There is still plenty of information on the web that due to
generous UK offering I posted on several years back, that they'll be around until
2030. This due to the
newer airframes the Brits had on their
GR9 aircraft.
Skipping down to Helos...
AH-1W...
END OCT 2021.
CH-53E...
Upgrades/Maintenance through end of
2021.
END MAR 2028.
CH-53K...
START FOC... Looking like
Mid-2022 at this time from my files and other.
As you scroll up/down
USMC other craft are covered
KC-130J/UAV's etc. that's on you.
This
F-35 sequence of events over the last week has given me work to do on the
USN and
USAF side of things, hopefully just "
tweaking" some aspects such
TI/GSR and
EW.
Make your USMC planes better. You're selling the CORPS "
legacy" aircraft a little "
short" I feel.
https://www.aviation.marines.mil/Por...9%20AvPlan.pdf
I'm surprised they stayed up on my PC for about the last 30hrs.
But I did backup what I had up to 0200 this morning.
Now I have to respond to a guy in Germany who I think wants to buy a book on
LEOPARDS from Tankograd in Germany. All I wanted was 2 pieces of information,
nothing comes easy or in this case
cheap!?!.
I'm ready for my walk! 
Regards,
Pat
