On May 6, as a result of their continued focus on force readiness, Airborne Command & Control and Logistics Wing (ACCLOGWING) and the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye community achieved a new milestone of 23 Fully Mission Capable (FMC) aircraft.
In 2020, the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) Airborne Command and Control Systems Program Office (PMA-231) and ACCLOGWING set a goal of 22 FMC E-2D aircraft to ensure a depth of combat capable Advanced Hawkeyes across the fleet. That goal was attained on April 29, 2022, then surpassed last week, through coordination and teamwork between ACCLOGWING and the Naval Aviation Enterprise (NAE), including PMA-231, Naval Supply Systems Command Weapons System Support (NAVSUP WSS), various Fleet Readiness Centers (FRC), Naval Aviation’s Maintenance Operations Center (MOC) and fleet Airborne Command & Control (VAW) squadrons.
“Achieving this critical milestone is a testament to the teamwork and trust built across this community, our industry teammates and our entire team across the NAE,” said Capt. Pete Arrobio, PMA-231 program manager. “Our energy is focused on sustaining 22 warfighting-ready Advanced Hawkeyes.”
By Navy definition, a “fully mission capable” aircraft can be safely flown and is able to perform all of its missions. A “mission capable” (MC) aircraft is one that can be safely flown and perform at least one of its missions. In a 2018 memo, then Secretary of Defense James Mattis targeted subpar aviation mission capability across the U.S. Armed Forces, mandating swift improvement through fiscal year (FY) 2019.
“In concert with ground and naval assets, for which separate guidance will be provided, our air assets must prove dominant over the battlefields of both today and tomorrow,” said Mattis. “A key component of this effort is ensuring our critical aviation platforms meet their mission capability targets by the end of FY 2019.”
Those “critical aviation platforms” for the U.S. Navy included the F-35C Lightning IIs, EA-18G Growlers, and F/A-18E/F Super Hornets, and the MC target established by Mattis was 80%. Before Mattis’ memo, the overall MC rate for those platforms was approximately 50%. To achieve this goal, NAE instituted the Naval Sustainment System-Aviation (NSS-A) initiative, which brought in best practices from the commercial aviation industry to improve aircraft maintenance at the FRC and fleet squadron levels. On Sept. 24, 2019, Commander, Naval Air Forces, announced that the U.S. Navy reached the 80% goal.
The knowledge and momentum gained through this achievement was applied to all U.S. Navy aviation platforms, and in 2020, PMA-231 and ACCLOGWING applied NSS-A practices to the E-2D program, setting the goal of 28 MC—which was achieved on Feb. 3, 2021, five months ahead of schedule—and 22 FMC Advanced Hawkeyes.
“Attaining 23 FMC, above our target of 22, is a huge accomplishment not only for our community but for Naval Aviation,” said Capt. Chris “Mullet” Hulitt, ACCLOGWING commodore. “We’re embracing the Chief of Naval Operations’ ‘Get Real, Get Better’ guidance to take hard, honest looks at our efforts to make sure we have the right plan. We achieved this through unwavering determination and superb teamwork across an entire team of teams in the NAE.”
Having a depth of E-2D aircraft enhances the projection of power and enables the joint force to defend against our adversaries during sustained operations at sea, increasing the lethality and survivability of the entire Carrier Strike Group (CSG).
The E-2D Advanced Hawkeye is the “quarterback” of the CSG, providing critical command and control, detection, and advanced battle space management for the joint force. The E-2D has advanced sensing systems and communications networks, which allow the crew of five to effectively direct and command aircraft and coordinate with surface ships to achieve maritime aviation dominance. It is currently the most advanced and capable airborne command and control platform in the U.S. Joint Force.
Today, four fleet E-2D squadrons are Aerial Refueling (AR) capable, which significantly extends on-station time, and increases their mission flexibility, reach and endurance. In the future, all Advanced Hawkeyes will be AR capable and will also serve as a key enabler for integrating the MQ-25A Stingray into the “Air Wing of the Future” through manned/unmanned teaming. The future for the community is bright, and Hulitt credits the hard work of Sailors at the fleet squadron level for the E-2D’s current and future successes.
“Our fleet squadrons have done an incredible job,” said Hulitt. “They have completely embraced best practices and are properly scheduling maintenance and grooming for aircraft to achieve FMC with every warfighting system. Over the past four weeks our fleet squadrons have met or exceeded metrics for inspection turn-around time. An FMC aircraft gives our aircrew the right platform to train and to ensure that we are ready for anything that the fight may throw at us.”
