Top Marine aviator: Budget cuts impede readiness

A vigorous fight for money will define the year ahead for Marine aviation, according to the service's top pilot. who says that protecting his budget is imperative if the service is to recover aircraft readiness by clearing maintenance backlogs; improve training for pilots, crew and maintainers; keep mishaps in check; and develop platforms to meet future threats.At stake: the readiness of Marine aircraft, which has been spiraling downward for several years.

Continuing to underfund the air combat element will could have dire consequences, warns Lt. Gen. Jon Davis, the deputy commandant for Marine aviation. More funds if tThe service needs more money to clear recover aircraft readiness by clearing maintenance backlogs; improve training for pilots, crew and maintainers; keep mishaps in check; and develop platforms to meet future threats.

"I've got low readiness on the flight line and I've got very high operational tempo," he said. "And I've been underfunding those readiness accounts for a number of years. You can't sustain that forever." We've made that case from the Hill, we've made that case inside the Pentagon here, and we are actually getting support to put funding back in our programs. Basically we are saying we cannot take 80 cents on the dollar."

Chronic underfunding has had a cascading effect, Davis said. It has delayed aircraft maintenance at the unit and depot level, resulting in significant F/A-18 shortfalls with the F/A-18, for example, putting the service 19 percent below its acceptable minimum number of acceptable operational aircraft. Fewer jets aircraft on the flightline means pilots fly fewer flight hours and get less practice, as do aircraft crews and maintainers, risking more an uptick in mishaps.

In fact, a recent spate of crashes this year has bought the number of Marine aviation deaths to 18, a five-year high with 18 killed and three and a half months left in the year. It should be noted that while the accidents have been deadlier than usual, there has been only a modest uptick in the mishap rate which is the number of mishaps per 100,000 hours flown. That rate is now 3.08, higher compared to last year's rate of 2.28, but still lower than 2013 when it was 3.60.

"When I took the job last July I saw that our numbers were creeping up," he said. "I saw the flight hours kind of going down. And my assessment was, if we couldn't pull the flight hours back up, we were going to have a continuing hard time with keeping the mishap rate under control." he said.

But Davis said if he is adequately well funded, he already has a reliable plan to bring recover aircraft readiness to acceptable levels numbers within just a four years. A recent study of restoring completed in June to restore readiness to the CH-53E 35E Super Stallion, completed in June, shows the aircraft could be back on track in three years. For the AV-8B Harrier and F/A-18, that will take two and three years, respectively. Another study of on the MV-22 Osprey is about to begin.

While adequate funding is the top priority, Despite Davis' ongoing fight for more money and more mission-ready aircraft, there are silver linings with some significant aviation advances slated for the year ahead and beyond.

To improve safety and readiness, the Corps must invest in and grow Improving safety and readiness requiresd investing growing and investing in the enlisted maintainer community, Davis said.

That includes an preliminary effort to consider create a new course for maintainers that would be — their version of the Weapons and Tactics Instructor course for pilots. WTI is an intensive seven-week training effort to that ensures pilots know every facet of their job.

Meanwhile, aviation leaders are working with Manpower and Reserve Affairs as part of a Corps-wide effort to identify the Marines in each community that who fulfill a squad leader-like role. The service has begun began offering incentives to retain corporals and sergeants who serve as infantry squad leaders sergeants and corporals. But in other communities like aviation, that critical leader may be of a different rank because since technical aviation expertise takes years to develop.

"To say, 'Hhey your squadron is fully manned; you've got 210 people' … that is not necessarily the number we need to look at," Davis said. "Do you have the density of the senior leaders, the senior supervisors, the guys with qualifications? dDo you have the right inspectors, a master mechanic if you want to call it that."

It's too early to say whether this effort that will bear fruit, with translate into more money and or training is too early to say for sure, according to Davis said, but he is now making the case for new incentives.

In 2016, the MQ-21 Blackjack — an unmanned aerial system — will go to sea on deployment for the first time when it ships out with the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit, which is now gearing up for its pre-deployment training.

Upgrades for tThe Osprey are planned, will see some significant advancements including the continued development of a roll-on, roll-off fueling capability and arming efforts to weaponize the aircraft with missiles. and communications capabilities that ensure Marines in the back have up-to-the-minute intelligence when they hit their landing zone.

The refueling capability, which will receive funding in 2016 and be fielded beginning in 2017, will allow the tiltrotor to fuel everything from other Ospreys and everything from helos to F-35Bs, including other Ospreys. That is a significant advancement, Davis said. It will , when considering it would provide a KC-130J Super Herculese-like capability that can be based off of a small amphibious ship.

"You could actually have a ship loaded with 16 F-35s and four 4 V-22s for a certain perdiod of time if the MAGTF commander needed that for [Marine eExpeditionary bBrigade] operations," Davis said, adding that during an initial assault, it that would allow provide the Marine Corps' F-35s to penetrate deep into enemy territory.

Davis said the service will also continue to study placing more weapons on Ospreys in the year ahead. Recent testing at the last iteration of WTI included and Osprey with an advanced nose sensor that delivered Weapons. Tests during the most recent iteration of WTI included an Osprey that used an advanced nose sensor to identify targets and strike them with low-yield munitions.

"To me it's only a matter of time," he said. "It makes all the sense in the world." he said.

The Corps next-generation heavy lift helicopter, the CH-53K King Stallion, should make its first flight before the end of the year, Davis said. It is a significant milestone for the aircraft, with engines that will provide 50 percent more power than the already behemoth CH-53E Super Stallion. The new version will be able to carry considerably more Marines men and gear thatn the current version, especially at higher altitudes.