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Navy aviation, today and tomorrow

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Rescue swimmer Ryan Benaglio was a spectacular ambassador for the Navy’s MH-60 Seahawk helicopter Saturday.

He told visitors how much hydraulic fluid flows through its pipes, showed them how the hoist works and even lifted toddlers into the rescue basket for photos.

But as excited as the 27-year-old was about his aircraft, he was pretty frank with visitors attending the North Island Naval Air Station open house.

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“That over there,” Benaglio said, gesturing at the MQ-8B Fire Scout helicopter drone in the next display. “That’s pretty much the future.”

The workhorses of today’s naval aviation fleet are on display at the San Diego Fleet Week event, which continues Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The open house, which is a companion to the Coronado Speed Festival, is free and includes public tours of the aircraft carrier Nimitz, destroyer Pinckney and amphibious transport dock ship Somerset.

An estimated 12,500 people attended Saturday’s events.

On the tarmac, visitors see an F/A-18 Hornet fighter jet and two kinds of helicopters, the combat search and rescue MH-60 Sierra and the sub-hunting MH-60 Romeo.

But in the next 10 years, those aircraft will probably be moved to the also-ran column as technology continues to transform naval aviation.

Here’s a primer on the next big things in Navy flying.

  1. Fighter drones launched from aircraft carriers

They weigh less than today’s F/A-18 Hornet fighters, can fly longer without the worry of pilot fatigue and have been consistently landing on a tiny piece of real estate on aircraft carrier decks.

The Navy is poised to issue a long-awaited public call for defense contractors to bring forth designs for unmanned fighter jets for production. A Northrop Grumman prototype finished its final tests at sea last month. The drone flew in a pattern with manned jet fighters off the carrier Theodore Roosevelt.

Naval analysts call the unmanned fighter jet a transformational idea.

“If you can make it work, it’s a very, very big deal,” said author and naval historian Norman Friedman, who said the longer flying endurance of a drone would mean that its aircraft carrier could stay farther from shore and still send planes over the beach.

“That makes the Chinese anti-carrier missile a bigger joke than it already is,” Friedman said.

The Navy is still debating the cost of the program and what the goal of the aircraft will be, according to news reports. Two variations under consideration: a smaller version focused on surveillance versus weapons, and a larger, heavily-armed version.

  1. Unmanned helicopters launched from ships

This fall, the San Diego-based littoral combat ship Fort Worth will sail on the first Navy deployment during which manned helicopters will work side-by-side with helicopter drones.

It’s a coming of age for Northrop Grumman’s MQ-8 Fire Scout, engineered in San Diego.

Navy helicopter pilots in Coronado learned to fly them over the past few months, and during the deployment pilots might fly the traditional Seahawk one day and the Fire Scout the next.

In the 2015 defense budget, the Navy halted its buy of Fire Scouts at 42, citing affordability. The move dovetails with the reduction of the littoral ship program from 52 to 32.

However, Friedman, the naval analyst, said that the Navy’s move toward modularity — meaning, being able to move gear around interchangeably — might mean that the Fire Scout could find another home.

  1. F-35 Joint Strike Fighter

The Pentagon’s most expensive equipment program is nearing the start line, after years of controversy over its price tag.

The Joint Strike Fighter will provide the Air Force, Navy and Marines a next-generation jet fighter tailored to the needs of each service.

The first operational squadron of Marine Corps F-35B jets opened its door in Yuma in November 2012 and officials there are shooting to become combat ready sometime next year. Replacing the aging AV-8B Harrier, this jet lands vertically to accommodate the shorter flight decks of amphibious ships.

San Diegans can get an up-close look at the Miramar Air Show, Oct. 3 to 5. The F-35 will appear there for the first time, offering a flying demonstration and a standing display.

The Navy’s tailhook version for aircraft carriers is in earlier stages of testing.

Naval analyst Eric Wertheim said the F-35 brings two things to naval aviation: stealth and the ability to “see” 360 degrees from the cockpit thanks to sophisticated electronics.

“When you are up against a stealthy airplane you can’t see them, which means they can get a lot closer. Surprise is the biggest thing there is in air-to-air warfare,” Werthheim said. “It means a far greater chance to get in there and bomb a runway without being detected.”

  1. Ford-class aircraft carrier

In a little less than a year, sailors will move aboard the Navy’s newest class of aircraft carrier, the Gerald R. Ford, which is supposed to reinvent Navy flattop life.

Some of the highlights:

-- The steam-driven aircraft catapult will be replaced by an electromagnetic version, which goes with a switch to all-electric systems for the nuclear-powered carrier.

A redesigned flight deck should mean a 25 percent increase in flights launched. The “island” -- the part of the ship that towers over the flight deck -- was moved 140 back. That created a larger area up front where in-deck refueling stations are placed.

Between that and revamped weapons handling, the Navy expects “NASCAR-style pit stops” during which aircraft can go through maintenance checks, re-arm, and refuel in the same location on a busy flight deck.

-- The ship’s crew, usually roughly 3,000 people, will shrink by about 700 sailors. That reduction is achieved through greater automation, more efficient design – including reconfigured galleys, or kitchens – and the slimmed-down maintenance expected from all-electric systems.

– Sailor life should get a little nicer. On the Ford, there will be fewer people per berthing, or bedroom area, and bathrooms will be inside, not down the hall.

The Ford was christened in November 2013 and is scheduled to be commissioned in 2016.

Correction: An earlier version of this story included an incorrect figure for the reduction of the littoral ship program. U-T San Diego regrets the error.

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