Tag Archives: RQ-21

Senators Want More Details on 2-Carrier Buy, LCS Requirement Before Supporting Additional Shipbuilding Funds

Senators Want More Details on 2-Carrier Buy, LCS Requirement Before Supporting Additional Shipbuilding Funds

A crane moves the lower stern into place on the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy (CVN-79) at Huntington Ingalls Shipbuilding in Newport News, Va. on June 22, 2017. HII Photo

The Senate Armed Services Committee is looking for more information from the Navy before it will support buying additional ships in Fiscal Year 2019, which its House counterparts wholeheartedly endorsed doing. Read More

Lt. Gen. Jon Davis on Marine Corps Aviation Readiness, Modernization

Lt. Gen. Jon Davis on Marine Corps Aviation Readiness, Modernization

U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Gen Jon M. Davis, deputy commandant, Aviation, salutes the flag during the playing of the national anthem during his retirement ceremony at Marine Barracks Washington, Washington, D.C., July 10, 2017. Davis retired after 37 years of service US Marine Corps photo

Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Jon Davis retired this week after 37 years of service and was a witness to generational evolution in Marine Corps Aviation. Davis began his career as an AV-8A Harrier pilot, and in his last assignment as deputy commandant for aviation guided the service to fielding the fifth-generation F-35B. Read More

MAWTS-1 Advancing F-35B, Marine Aviation Operations For Future Fight

MAWTS-1 Advancing F-35B, Marine Aviation Operations For Future Fight

U.S. Marine Corps CH-53E Super Stallions assigned to Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron One (MAWTS-1) fly in formation during FINEX-3 near Yuma, Ariz., Oct. 22, 2016. FINEX-3 was part of Weapons Tactics Instructors (WTI) course 1-17, a seven week training event hosted by MAWTS-1 cadre which emphasizes operational integration of the six functions of Marine Corps aviation in support of a Marine Air Ground Task Force. MAWTS-1 provides standardized advanced tactical training and certification of unit instructor qualifications to support Marine aviation Training and Readiness and assists in developing and employing aviation weapons and tactics. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Andrew Huff)

U.S. Marine Corps CH-53E Super Stallions assigned to Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron One (MAWTS-1) fly in formation during FINEX-3 near Yuma, Ariz., Oct. 22, 2016. FINEX-3 was part of Weapons Tactics Instructors (WTI) course 1-17, a seven week training event hosted by MAWTS-1 cadre which emphasizes operational integration of the six functions of Marine Corps aviation in support of a Marine Air Ground Task Force. US Marine Corps photo.

This article is the second in a two-part series on the future of Marine Corps aviation. To read about how F-35B Joint Strike Fighter testers and operational pilots are preparing for the plane’s first deployment, please click this link.

YUMA, Ariz. – In a glimpse of what the future of Marine Corps aviation could bring, this fall F-35B Joint Strike Fighters were operating at long ranges with the MV-22 Osprey, passing information to other aircraft and to ground forces with tablets. Unmanned aerial vehicles provided intelligence, and precision rockets hit targets in dense urban areas.

At Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron-One (MAWTS-1) and its semi-annual Weapons and Tactics Instructor (WTI) course, top aviators from around the fleet not only trained to high-end warfighting scenarios but also help advance tactics to keep up with real-world developments and conduct experiments with emerging technologies that could give Marines in the air and on the ground an edge on the battlefield. Read More