P-3 trainer completes US Navy final fleet evaluation

PATUXENT RIVER (BNS): The P-3 Aircrew Tactical Team Trainer (PACT 3) has completed its fleet evaluation to showcase the capabilities of its training system, which emulates a tactical aircrew station, at Naval Air Station (NAS) Jacksonville, Florida.

The crew has completed the final four demonstrations to ensure that all performance requirements required by the US Navy are met, according to NAVAIR.

The demos Members of the Naval Aviation Training Systems programme office (PMA-205), along with representatives from the fleet, looked on as the Patrol Squadron THIRTY (VP-30) fleet project team tested the device using various anti-submarine warfare (ASW) scenarios.

New attack aircrafts Su-24M to join Black Sea Fleet

New attack aircrafts Su-24M will be soon commissioned into Black Sea Fleet (BSF); however, the fleet lacks experienced pilots because they have been dismissed in result of the military "reform". BSF has no simulators either. 

First-class pilots were "dismissed due to age limits and staff reductions", said BSF Naval Aviation Commander Alexander Otroschenko in the interview to the fleet's newspaper Flag Rodiny. Even 2 years ago BSF naval aviation had "large number" of pilots, underlined the newspaper. 

"At present, 80% pilots of attack aviation are not higher than third-class specialists", said the general having added that young pilots were being retrained. 

"After retraining course they will start mastering new upgraded attack aircrafts Su-24M which soon will come to airbase Gvardeiskoe", assured Otroschenko. 

Meanwhile, BSF has no simulators for aircrew training, writes the newspaper. The general hopes that an advanced simulator recently designed in Russia "will be put into service soon". 

Having assumed the office in Oct 2010, Alexander Otroschenko noted imperfect qualification of BSF naval pilots and rapid aging of aircraft park, reports New Region. 

"Currently, BSF naval aviation has no experienced pilots, navigators and snipers", stated the general.

US Navy’s aircraft carrier to take part in military drills with South Korea

SEOUL (BNS): US Navy's Nimitz-class nuclear-powered supercarrier USS Ronald Reagan will take part in the ongoing annual military drill in South Korea.

The Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group arrived in the US 7th Fleet area of responsibility (AOR) Wednesday. The AOR spans 48 million square miles, from the International Date Line to the Western Indian Ocean.

The carrier strike group (CSG) is comprised of USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76), guided-missile cruiser USS Chancellorsville (CG 62) and Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 7, which includes USS Preble (DDG 88).

While in the 7th Fleet, the group will conduct exercises and port visits to enhance maritime partnerships and promote peace and stability in the region, the Navy said.

It will participate in the Foal Eagle military exercise with South Korea.

The annual field training exercise which began on February 28 “highlights the longstanding military partnership and enduring friendship between the United States and Republic of Korea,” the US Navy statement said.

INS Vikramaditya started mooring trials

Aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya which is retrofitted for Indian Navy started mooring trials on March 1. Sevmash shipyard's director general Nikolai Kalistratov signed an order to begin the trials. 

This is an essential milestone in the carrier's modernization particularly marked in the general schedule. Outfitting works have reached the final stage. The ship has been gradually filled with equipment, mechanisms, pipelines, cables; and now all those systems must be tested in different modes. 

The trials will be conducted in accordance with special programs and techniques. Tests of main propulsion plant are considered the most complicated and important. The second large-scale goal is testing of radioelectronics, including Indian-made systems, and air-technical facilities. The main purpose of mooring trials is preparation of shipborne systems for further important stage – shipyard's sea trials. The aircraft carrier is planned to take the sea late in 2011.

Aircraft Launch Bulletins Move into Digital Age with Cutting Edge Calculator

Flight crews responsible for launching aircraft from the decks of carriers are transitioning into the computer age, with the aid of an Office of Naval Research (ONR) TechSolutions effort to move paper tables onto handheld devices.

The Catapult Capacity Selector Valve (CSV) Calculator, which is being developed at Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) Lakehurst, NJ with New Jersey-based contractor Specialty Systems, could eventually eliminate the need for paper-bound launch bulletins. The device underwent final test and evaluation at the end of January aboard USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75). Eleven members of the Truman's flight deck crew recently underwent three days oftraining with the Catapult CSV Calculator.

The capacity selector valve is used to set the energy level needed for a launch on an aircraft carrier. Calculations are based on aircraft type, weight and wind speed, among other variables.