Inside VP-16’s P-8A Poseidon deployment to NAS Sigonella during U.S. Sixth Fleet operations. In 2017 the U.S. Navy’s Patrol Squadron 16 “War Eagles” deployed its Boeing P-8A Poseidon aircraft to NAS Sigonella, Sicily, supporting U.S. Sixth Fleet operations across the Mediterranean and Europe.
In the summer of 2017 we visited Naval Air Station Sigonella, the key U.S. Navy maritime patrol hub in the Mediterranean, where Patrol Squadron 16 (VP-16) “War Eagles” was operating the Boeing P-8A Poseidon during a forward deployment supporting U.S. Sixth Fleet operations. During the visit we had the opportunity to meet the squadron’s leadership, observe flight operations and join a training mission over the Mediterranean, gaining a close look at the capabilities of the Navy’s new generation maritime patrol aircraft. During the deployment the squadron conducted anti-submarine warfare, maritime surveillance and ISR missions while working closely with NATO partners across the region.
Based at NAS Jacksonville, Patrol Squadron (VP) 16 “War Eagles” was the U.S. Navy’s first Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance Force (MPRF) squadron to achieve “safe for flight” status in January 2013 with the P-8A and was certified for its first deployment in November 2013. “The main tasks of VP-16 in Sigonella is to maintain regional stability, providing support to our NATO allies and regional partners to maintain a safe, secure, and prosperous environment in the European theater”, explained CMDR Amanda A. Hawkins, Commanding Officer of VP-16.
The CMDR Amanda A. Hawkins is graduated with a degree in Environmental Science from the University of California, Berkeley in 1998 and she holds a master’s degree in Environmental Management from the University of Maryland, University College. She earned her designation as a Naval Flight Officer and reported to VP-47 in Hawaii in 2000 for her first operational tour, where she completed multiple deployments to the Fifth and Seventh Fleets. At sea she served as Assistant Navigator aboard USS George Washington (CVN-73) and deployed to the Fourth Fleet. Her most recent operational tour before VP-16 was her department head tour in VP-45, where she deployed to the Sixth Fleet.
“Our squadron footprint here in Sigonella,” CO Hawkins told us during the deployment in Italy, the second for the P-8 in the Sixth Fleet Area of Responsibility (AOR), “consists of 12 Combat Aircrews (CAC – 5 officers, 4 enlisted each) and approximately 200 maintenance and support personnel. We fly and maintain seven P-8A aircraft. We are currently exclusively assigned to the Sixth Fleet AOR”.
VP-16 was attached under the command of Task Force 67. “The primary CTF-67 mission is to conduct anti-submarine warfare operations and help build and maintain the Common Operational Picture (COP), which includes tracking and monitoring every ship, submarine and aircraft from every nation operating within the area of operation”, explained LT O’Bannon of CTF-67. “While a CSG (Carrier Strike Group) is in the area, the P-8A routinely provides these updates to it in support of its operation including Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR)”.
The P-8A would also have been able to work with the MQ-4C Triton unmanned reconnaissance platform as a future capability when it deployed to the C6F Area of Operations. The MPRF was vital to ensuring the safety of all assets associated with a carrier strike group. When the Poseidon was not providing anti-submarine or surface warfare, it had the capability to perform Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) of all surface vessels around the strike group. This resulted in the ability to sanitize the area of all contacts surrounding the carrier and neighboring ships, in excess of several hundred miles from the strike group, by utilizing the full sensor suite on board the P-8A.
In preparation for the upcoming deployment, Patrol Squadron (VP) 16, together with other Commander Patrol and Reconnaissance Wing (CPRW) 11 squadrons, supported in December 2016 the George H.W. Bush (CVN-77) Carrier Strike Group with P-8A Poseidon MPRF aircraft during the strike group’s Composite Training Unit Exercise (COMPTUEX) in the Atlantic.
The “War Eagles” also went to the deserts of Nevada, at NAS Fallon, to gain valuable experience practicing the P-8A Poseidon’s overland ISR capabilities while integrating with multiple non-maritime assets and Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 8. The squadron prepared itself for the upcoming George H.W. Bush CSG deployment utilizing various platforms from different communities to simulate a multi-platform wartime environment. F/A-18 Hornets and Super Hornets, EP-3 Aries, and E-2 Hawkeyes all worked in conjunction with the P-8A to execute tasked missions as part of Air Wing Fallon.
VP-16’s role was to provide imaging from the onboard L-3 Wescam MX-20HD camera and emitter intelligence, in conjunction with the EP-3 Aries, to provide a real-time surface and air picture of how the battlespace was developing during the exercise. The information provided by the P-8A, a truly invaluable tool, was relayed to fighter assets to provide the battlespace picture that allowed them to achieve successful “kills” on simulated targets during high-stress evolutions requiring real-time information.
“The P-8A is capable of broad-area maritime and littoral operations. The Poseidon is a long-range Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW), Anti-Surface Warfare (ASuW), Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft. The P-8’s primary missions are ASW, Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance”, explained LCDR Emanuelsen, an experienced Naval Flight Officer since 2005 and Mission Commander of VP-16 at the time.
Assigned to VP-26, he completed deployments with the Sixth and Fifth Fleets and numerous worldwide detachments ISO Operations Active Endeavor, Carib Shield, Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. In 2009 he was selected for assignment as an FRS Instructor at VP-30. In 2011 he reported to USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77) where he served as a Catapult and Arresting Gear Officer (“Shooter”). After several qualifications and specializations, in 2015, after transitioning to the P-8A, he reported to VP-16 and was serving as the Administrative Department Head. He most recently served as the Tactics Officer and CTG 72.2 Operations Officer. “The P-8A Poseidon’s state-of-the-art open architecture mission system coupled with next-generation sensors dramatically improves the fleet’s ability to efficiently conduct ASW, ASuW and ISR missions”.
The Poseidon was a very long-range aircraft (4,000 nm), with an endurance of more than 10 hours. It was capable of remaining on station for four hours at 1,200 nm and had a cruising speed of 440 kt. The P-8’s core sensors and systems included Raytheon’s AN/APY-10 maritime surveillance radar; L-3’s Wescam MX-20HD EO/IR sensor; Northrop Grumman’s AN/ALQ-240(V)1 electronic support measures system; and Terma’s AN/ALQ-213(V) electronic warfare management system. “The P-8A can be loaded out with MK-54 torpedoes and Harpoon Block 1C missiles”, LCDR Emanuelsen detailed. The aircraft had an internal weapons bay, two weapons stations beneath each wing, and two additional stations below the forward fuselage.
The P-8A Poseidon leveraged the experience and technology of the P-3C’s capabilities and assets to meet the Navy’s needs for developing and fielding a maritime aircraft equipped with significant growth potential, including extended global reach, greater payload capacity, and higher operating altitude. “Each crew consists of three Pilots, a Tactical Coordinator, a Co-Tactical Coordinator, two Acoustic Warfare Operators (AWO), and two Electronic Warfare Operators (EWO)”, LCDR Emanuelsen detailed. “Depending on the mission for the day the Combat Aircrews can usually plan for a typical mission day of around 14–15 hours and at times can push this day to 18–19 hours”, explained an experienced VP-16 aircrew operator.
The flight day began with a brief, which included mission data and airspace de-confliction. An intelligence and mission update followed. After completing the flight brief the aircrew proceeded to the aircraft to conduct both outer and inner pre-flight inspections of flight surfaces and mission equipment. “The aircraft preflight is a team effort that includes the maintenance department working hand in hand with the aircrew to ensure that an aircraft is safe to fly”, the operator said. Mission evolution included transit to the on-station area and return to base, but in between the aircrew completed tasks assigned during the mission brief, updating them in flight if needed.
“These tasks can be searching for submarines, conducting airborne ISR, and working with surface assets to paint a picture of the maritime areas around the surface units”, the operator explained. Upon completion of the flight event the aircrew returned to the briefing rooms to report on mission completion. Also important during de-briefs was the post-mission analysis: the crew discussed what went right during the flight and how to better prepare for the next flight evolution.
To better understand the way a P-8 squadron operates, we went on board a VP-16 aircraft for a training flight. When we took our seats on board the Poseidon all crew members were performing system checks. After take-off from runway 10L at NAS Sigonella we traveled east to reach the assigned working box, a large sea and airspace area inside which we could conduct ASW training. Another P-8A was already working in the box.
In the area we performed the first part of the mission at high altitude. Under the control of the TACCO, EWOs employed the Raytheon AN/APY-10 maritime surveillance radar, comfortably switching between different modes and ranges using a trackball. The tactical picture was very clear on the large multifunction displays of the five interchangeable workstations.
“The Naval Aircrew Operator rate has become more flexible with the P-8A coming on-line”, the VP-16 operator explained. “The ability to have three acoustic operators (AWO) at workstations during ASW flights eases the workload, or having two electronic warfare operators (EWO) and one camera operator at the stations for ISR allows for more efficient processing of information, leading to an outstanding real-time information stream to combat commanders”.
“Vastly improved computing power running fully integrated workstations”, the operator continued, “linked to an improved communications suite with integrated datalinks have facilitated integration into the battlespace in ways not previously possible. The P-8A is the most capable maritime platform in the world. The ability to make this claim is due to the state-of-the-art computer systems incorporated into the airframe. The ability to process the incredible amounts of information that come into the aircraft during an ASW or ISR mission is a testament to this”.
It was interesting focusing on the training path for a Naval Aircrew who would specialize in demanding ASW operations. “For an Enlisted member of the aircrew we start our flight training upon completion of boot camp at RTC Great Lakes in Chicago, Illinois. Upon graduation of boot camp, we report to Naval Aircrew Candidate School (NACCS) in Pensacola, Florida, for a four-week course”, a VP-16 Naval Aircrew Operator told us. At NACCS they were exposed to numerous PT evolutions including running, swimming, a timed one-mile swim, as well as tests in every area. They also learned to use the basic water survival equipment and swim strokes in both training tanks and Pensacola Bay.
“Upon graduation of NACCS we then move to Naval Air Technical Training Center (NATTC) for a 16-week course of instruction that includes: basic theory of airborne warfare detection systems including capabilities, limitations, and basic employment tactics; fundamentals of acoustic and non-acoustic analysis and factors affecting sensor equipment operation, including environmental and oceanographic conditions. In addition, the course covers basic sensor systems theory and ASW aircraft currently employed and their application in modern ASW. Also during our time at NATTC the operator will be given a choice of becoming an acoustic operator or an electronic warfare operator”.
The next step in training was the Fleet Replacement Squadron (VP-30) in Jacksonville, Florida. The “Pro’s Nest” is the United States Navy’s Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance Fleet Replacement Squadron (FRS). VP-30’s mission was to provide Boeing P-8A Poseidon-specific training to pilots, naval flight officers, and enlisted aircrew prior to reporting to the fleet. Upon graduation of the VP-30 16-week course, an operator achieved the qualification of Level 200 operator and was deemed safe to fly the P-8A aircraft with an aircrew or alone.
“An AWO has 18 months to fully qualify on their individual mission system in the P-8A aircraft”, the operator told us, “and upon this completion they are awarded a Level 300 designation and the coveted Naval Aircrew Wings officially ending their initial training pipeline. Overall a junior operator can expect to be in the initial pipeline for almost three years before being fully qualified”.
The seven P-8As of VP-16 were deployed in a “hub and spoke” model, primarily operating from Sigonella as the “hub” and sending aircraft detachments to various “spoke” locations based on operational requirements. During its seven-month deployment VP-16 supported 43 detachments across 15 countries. “Different detachments allow the USN to promote interoperability and standardization with our allies and partners in the region”, CO Hawkins told us. “VP-16 has participated in Week 713 out of Ronneby Sweden, Joint Warrior 17-1 out of Scotland, EASTLANT exercise out of Norway, BALTOPS exercise based out of Denmark”.
During the deployment VP-16 worked with the USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77) Carrier Strike Group for training purposes but also supported strike missions from the Eastern Mediterranean during Operation Inherent Resolve, performing large-area maritime surveillance around the CSG. VP-5 “Mad Foxes” relieved the War Eagles in Sigonella, which returned to Naval Air Station Jacksonville in early October 2017. VP-16 logged more than 4,500 flight hours performing ASW, ASuW, SAR and maritime ISR, always according to the squadron’s slogan:
By Francesco Militello Mirto – EmmeReports