Naval Aircrewman (Helicopter) 2nd Class Joshua White, assigned to the “Black Knights” of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 4, sits in the gunner’s seat of an MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter on July 21, 2016. US Navy Photo
The Navy’s top two aviation safety priorities could benefit from a half-billion-dollar bump in funding for aircraft modification kits if the service’s fiscal year 2019 budget request is approved. Read More
Pilots perform pre-flight procedures in T-45C Goshawks from Training Air Wing One (TRAWING) 1 on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73) on Dec. 10, 2016. US Navy photo.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Navy isn’t moving fast enough to fix the ongoing systemic physiological episodes that have plagued fighter pilots and flight students, members of the House Armed Services Committee said on Tuesday. Read More
USNI News polled its writers, naval analysts and service members on what they consider the most important military and maritime stories in 2017.
The following is part of a series. Please also see Top Stories 2017: Navy Acquisition, International Acquisition, Marine Corps Operations, Marine Corps and Coast Guard Acquisition, International Operations and New Administration.
In 2017, the Navy and Marine Corps were active in nearly every corner of the globe. Some forces conducted land-attack and air warfare not seen by U.S. forces in years, while others provided desperately needed humanitarian aid.
USNI News polled its writers, naval analysts and service members on what they consider the most important military and maritime stories in 2017.
The following is part of a series. Please also see Top Stories: International Acquisition, Navy Operations, Marine Corps Operations, Marine Corps and Coast Guard Acquisition, International Operations and New Administration.
2017 began with the promise of planning for a larger fleet: at the end of 2016, the Navy announced a 355-ship requirement, and the incoming Trump Administration expressed its support for a larger military and a heftier Navy. Few concrete steps were taken this year, though, to begin a buildup – though many programs that will be pivotal to the 355-ship fleet of the future reached significant programmatic milestones in 2017.
Commander, Naval Air Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet Vice Adm. Mike Shoemaker speaks with sailors in Atsugi, Japan on March 23, 2016. US Navy Photo
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Navy’s multi-pronged efforts to address hypoxia, decompression sickness and other physiological episodes (PEs) in its F-18 and T-45 aircrew are showing positive results, with the number of PE events down in most aircraft types and the T-45C Goshawk trainers set to resume full operations by the end of the month, according to the commander of Naval Air Forces. Read More
An undated file photo of Lt. j.g. Wallace E. Burch, 25, of Horn Lake, Mississippi. Burch was one of two pilots who were killed Oct. 1 when their T-45C aircraft crashed in Tellico Plains, Tennessee. US Navy photo.
This post has been updated to include additional information from the Navy.
The Navy identified pilot Lt. Patrick Lawrence Ruth and student aviator Lt. j.g. Wallace Eugene Burch as the two sailors who died in an Oct. 1 crash. Read More
A T-45C Goshawk training aircraft assigned to Carrier Training Wing (CTW) 1 approaches the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) on March 20, 2017. US NAvy Photo
Two Navy pilots are dead following a Sunday crash of a jet trainer in the deep woods of Tennessee, the service announced Monday morning. Read More
Capt. Sara Joyner, then commander, Carrier Air Wing 3, on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75) in 2013. US Navy Photo
THE PENTAGON — The Navy has appointed former commander of Carrier Air Wing 3 and F/A-18 Hornet pilot Capt. Sara Joyner to lead the service’s effort to research and prevent physiological episodes in its fixed-wing aircraft, amid progress this summer collecting data to help understand the root cause of these PE events, Vice Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Bill Moran told USNI News on Wednesday. Read More
The following is the June 21, 2017 CRS Insight brief to Congress, Out of Breath: Military Aircraft Oxygen Issues.
The Air Force recently grounded some of its newest aircraft, F-35A strike fighters, due to incidents in which pilots became physiologically impaired with symptoms of oxygen deficiency while flying. Although the root cause of the F-35 incidents has not yet been established, the grounding has renewed attention on hypoxia, a physical condition caused by oxygen deficiency that may result in temporary cognitive and physiological impairment and possible loss of consciousness. Hypoxia has affected pilots of F-22, F/A-18, and T-45 aircraft in recent years. Read More
A T-45C Goshawk training aircraft assigned to Carrier Training Wing (CTW) 1 approaches the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) on March 20, 2017. US Navy Photo
This post has been updated to include additional comment from Vice Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Bill Moran in a phone call with reporters.
A comprehensive review of the rising number of physiological episodes and the Navy’s response to those PEs determined the Navy’s oxygen-generation and cabin pressure systems are too complex for reliable performance, and that the process for reporting and investigating the root cause of physiological episodes is “fundamentally flawed,” according to the review released this afternoon. Read More
