In 2011, USS Bataan operated in the central Mediterranean off the Libyan coast under NATO’s Operation Unified Protector, contributing to the enforcement of the maritime embargo and UN-mandated no-fly zone imposed by the international community.
USS Bataan (LHD 5) is a multipurpose amphibious assault ship designed to enable the Navy-Marine Corps team to accomplish a seamless transition from the sea to a land battle. The ship is fully capable of amphibious assault, advance force, non-combatant evacuation and other humanitarian assistance missions.
During the major combat phase of Operation Iraqi Freedom, LHD 5 carried 24 AV-8B Harriers and, along with USS Bonhomme Richard LHD 6 from the Pacific Fleet, became one of TF 51’s Harrier Carriers, launching air strikes and close air support missions twenty-four hours a day.
Bataan’s CO up to July 2011 was Captain Steve Koehler. Naval Aviator since 1989, he had over 500 traps and 3600 hours in various Naval Aircraft, mainly F-14 Tomcat and F/A-18E Super Hornet, served with VF-124, VF-211, VF-101, VF-41, VFA-143, deployed aboard USS Nimitz, USS JFK, USS George Washington and USS Carl Vinson, and participated in Desert Storm, Southern Watch, Deliberate Guard and Iraqi Freedom.
As the CO explained to us in 2011, the differences in the management of air operations on ships like USS Bataan compared to a CVN were significant: “Both are very dynamic, but different. Both have to constantly be concerned about the surrounding airspace, and where to place aircraft depending upon what is currently airborne and needing to land. Unlike the aircraft carrier, there is no organic tanking (directly assigned airborne refueling assets) available on the LHD, so fuel must be managed a bit differently, especially with Harriers airborne”.
“CVNs carry mostly fixed wing jets and propeller planes, and have less of a rotary wing component. The LHD is completely opposite. Finally, onboard an LHD, all aircraft set to launch in a particular wave must be spotted on the launch spot, except for the Harriers; on carriers, they are able to turn up (power up and ready for flight) in the parked spot. This affects our ability to have turning spare aircraft (aircraft standing by ready to launch but not in launch position) depending upon the number in the launch”.
The Bataan ARG included Amphibious Squadron 6, Tactical Air Control Squadron 22, Fleet Surgical Team 8, Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 28, and Naval Beach Group, which included Assault Craft Unit 2, 4, and Beachmaster Unit 2. ARG ships included USS Bataan, USS Mesa Verde, and USS Whidbey Island.
TACRON 22 provided trained, combat-ready air command and control detachments to support Expeditionary Strike Group air operations planning, coordination and execution. A detachment consisted of approximately 30 personnel, was assigned to the amphibious squadron commander, and oversaw every aspect of strike group air ops, including: control and management of organic and non-organic aircraft missions in support of the ESG and Marine ops ashore; development, assignment and de-confliction of airspace within the ESG area of ops; management of ESG air assets as the Air Resource Element Coordinator and Helo Element Coordinator.
USS Bataan supported two staffs, the Amphibious Squadron Commander (CPR-6) and the Marine Air to Ground Task Force (MAGTF), in this case the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (22MEU). Colonel Eric Steidl was the Commanding Officer of 22nd MEU. The mission of Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron was to provide assault support, a robust air defense capability, and Close Air Support. VMM-263 is an MV-22B Squadron serving as the Air Combat Element (ACE) of the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit.
The ACE is a composite squadron composed of various aircraft that contribute to the capabilities of the Marine Air and Ground Team. The ACE is formed with the primary mission to support Marines engaged in ground combat. The CH-53Es and MV-22s provide troop insert and logistics, while the AV-8Bs and AH-1Ws provide Close Air Support to maneuvering units and escort coverage. The UH-1Ns provide flexibility performing escort, command and control, and light troop lift and utility missions.
The key element for MAGTF is 10 MV-22B Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft and over 200 Marines consisting of aircrews, maintainers, and support personnel. Based out of Marine Corps Air Station New River in Jacksonville, North Carolina, when reinforced with detachments, the squadron has 27 aircraft and over 500 Marines. Missions as a medium lift assault support squadron include passenger and cargo transport, long-range logistics, casualty evacuation, and tactical recovery of aircraft and personnel.
Captain John Brandt, a MV-22B Osprey Pilot of VMM-263 (Rein.), described a landing maneuver of an Osprey on USS Bataan: “There is nothing inherently different about landing an Osprey onboard a ship as compared to any other large helicopter. Because of our side-by-side rotor systems, one of the most common questions asked is if we as pilots notice in the flight controls or how the aircraft handles that hovering over the landing spot puts one rotor system over the deck and one rotor system over the water” .
“Put another way, hovering over the spot puts one rotor in a hover-in-ground-effect (HIGE) condition whereas the other is in a hover-out of-ground effect (HOGE) condition. The answer is simple – it is entirely transparent to the pilot. We make controls inputs as required to position ourselves accurately and do not have to take that into account when doing so. Our cyclic and TCL (thrust control lever) inputs are received by the flight control computers, which take into account whatever aerodynamic forces are in place at the time and make the appropriate control surface movement commands in response”.
Brandt flew the Osprey in Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2007 and 2008: “We flew the spectrum of general support missions including the transportation of personnel (including many U.S. civilian, military and Iraqi VIPs) and cargo to more than 50 locations in Iraq, and a few in neighboring countries. We maintained a TRAP alert, stood CASEVAC alert during the Hajj, and conducted numerous troop inserts missions in the Al Anbar province. As with all aircraft we faced the threat of small arms, RPGs and limited man-portable surface to air missiles but were unsuccessfully engaged, only on a few occasions”.
“Our flight profiles and tactics, techniques, and procedures were built around minimizing our time at the speeds and altitudes where we would be more exposed to the threat. Missions highlighting the capabilities of the MV-22B included those where we took off from a helo pad at an LZ to another helo pad at an LZ approximately 300 miles away and flew the entire distance back without refueling in between”,
No other aircraft is capable of that; before we arrived in theater, that transit required either a helicopter or ground convoy movement from the LZ to a nearby airfield with a runway, transfer to a fixed-wing aircraft such as a C-130, flight to an airfield near the destination, transfer onto a different helicopter or ground convoy, and finally arrival at the intended destination. That three-leg movement is extremely inefficient and requires much greater exposure to the threat, yet was the only way to get between many locations outside the range of traditional helicopters before the arrival of the tilt-rotor Osprey”.
VMM-263 Reinforced includes the Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 366, Detachment Bravo, which has approximately 50 Marines and Sailors and operates 4 CH-53E Super Stallions. The detachment is designed to fall in on the core squadron and provide Long Range, Heavy Lift. HMH-366 is located at MCAS Cherry Point, NC. An HMH squadron operates between 12–16 CH-53Es. The detachment has stood alerts for Personnel Recovery and provided long-range transport of cargo and personnel.
ACE detachments include equipment and personnel of HMLA-167. The average HMLA has approximately 250–300 Marines, consisting of approximately 40 Officers and the remainder enlisted Marines. HMLA-167 is based at MCAS New River in Jacksonville, NC. The average HMLA has approximately 9 UH-1Ns and 18 AH-1Ws. The detachment supports the Marine Air Ground Task Force Commander by providing offensive air support, utility support, armed escort, and airborne supporting arms coordination, day or night under all weather conditions during expeditionary, joint, or combined operations. During the MEU deployment, the HMLA detachment had 3 UH-1Ns, 4 AH-1Ws, and 65 Marines aboard USS Mesa Verde.
HMLA helicopters are equipped with advanced avionics suites and Forward Looking Infrared Sensors for target acquisition. The UH-1N “Huey” can carry 2.75” rockets with various warheads, .50 caliber machine guns (GAU-16), M240D 7.62 Medium Machine Gun, and 7.62 minigun (GAU-17). The AH-1W “Cobra” can be loaded with precision guided munitions (Hellfire and TOW missiles), 5” rockets, 2.75” rockets, and has a 20mm gun. Both aircraft are dual engine, with the Cobra being newer and more powerful. Mission types include offensive air support, utility support, armed escort, and airborne supporting arms coordination.
ACE assets also include fixed-wing aircraft such as AV-8B Harrier and support from a US-based KC-130 Hercules Squadron. Bataan’s detachment comes from Marine Attack Squadron 231 (VMA-231), one of four VMAs located at MCAS Cherry Point, NC. The other Fleet squadrons are VMA-223 and VMA-542, along with the Harrier Fleet Replacement Squadron (VMAT-203).
VMAs currently average 16 aircraft per squadron, with 10–12 “Radar” aircraft (AV-8BII+) and 4–6 “Night Attack” aircraft (AV-8BII). The detachment aboard USS Bataan consists of 9 pilots and 84 maintenance and support personnel, with 6 Harriers.
Major Brad Collins is the Detachment Officer in Charge for the VMA. He has 1,400 hours in military aircraft, including over 1,000 hours in AV-8B, plus T-34C, T-2C, and T-45C. After a 7-month deployment in Western Al Anbar Province, Iraq, he served as Instructor Pilot at VMAT-203: “I have flown the AV-8B on two MEU deployments; one with the 26th MEU aboard USS Bataan in 2007, and now with the 22nd MEU aboard USS Bataan again. Our mission in 2007 was in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and now we support Operation Unified Protector”.
VMA detachment aircraft have Rolls-Royce 402-RR-408B engines. The primary missions are Close Air Support, Deep Air Support, Assault Support Escort, and Anti-Air Warfare. All aircraft can carry all standard, conventional ordnance along with laser-guided weapons and GPS-guided weapons, with targeting acquisition systems.
“The Harrier is a truly amazing aircraft, a ‘pilot’s aircraft’”, Major Collins continues. “It provides excellent performance and flexibility with its V/STOL (vertical/short takeoff and landing) capabilities. It is very responsive to control inputs, but certainly requires skill and precision to fly. The aircraft has wonderful capabilities, but demands respect and attention from the pilot at all times”.
“A typical day for an AV-8B pilot on board”, a Harrier pilot says, “consists of flight planning, briefing and debriefing, along with managing ground billet duties in departments such as Operations or Maintenance. Some of the Harrier pilots on board also serve as LSOs (Landing Signal Officers). An LSO is required to be present in Primary Flight Control at all times while AV-8B operations are being conducted”.
By Francesco Militello Mirto – EmmeReports