Article - MCAS New River - 2019

MCAS New River - 2019

Aviation Reporting had an opportunity to visit MCAS New River in April 2019. Such opportunities rarely come along so it was with eager anticipation that we ventured to North Carolina to visit two of the based squadrons – and to learn that we would meet with another outside of the confines of the Air Station!

Before I talk about the squadrons and the helicopters, I will just reflect on the Corps itself and MCAS New River, to ‘set the scene’ for the work that is done.

What is it that we think of when we hear about the Marine Corps for they are renowned. Maybe it is a bit like the images that we in the UK conjure up when we think about the SAS or SBS. Similarly, in the USA, the Marines Corps is seen as something special. What makes it so?

Is it the history? The image of the flag being raised on Iwo Jima? Or is it more? The Corps is older than you might think and their role is not just one of Combat.

The establishment of the Marines Corps can be traced back to 1775 when two battalions were formed in Philadelphia for fighting at sea and on the shores, with the first amphibious landing taking place in 1776. But it wasn’t until 1798 that an Act of Congress was passed “Establishing and Organising a Marines Corps”. As to its other roles, well it is the Marine Corps that provides security at American Embassies around the World. It is a Marines band that plays at major State functions. It is the Marines who fly the (HMX-1) helicopters that ferry the President between the White House and ‘Air Force One’ and which are shipped abroad to ferry him from airport to Embassy etc.

The USMC reputation may have spread through coverage of its activities during WWII when it took the lead in the huge (in today’s terms) campaign of amphibious warfare which went from island to island in the Pacific, but its presence has been at the forefront in numerous campaigns since then. Kuwait, Iraq and Afghanistan, of course, but also in Grenada, Panama, Lebanon, Liberia and in the fight against piracy.

New River is the Air Station adjoining the huge complex that is Camp Lejeune. That an aviation element is directly alongside a principal infantry element of the Marine Corps is no coincidence. In a way, it reflects the way the Corps itself is run and one of those features that makes it unique. The ground combat forces, the aviation element, the logistical support and command structure are all there for the common purpose; each element is interwoven (perhaps reflecting that Marines maxim that “every Marine is a rifleman”).

Everything about the Corps is so interconnected that it makes great sense to have the transport helicopters and vertical lift aircraft and the armed helicopters for force protection all located close by so they can easily work and train together and so they can more easily see themselves as one body, one Corps. (Not so very far away at MCAS Beaufort and MCAS Cherry Point are the fast jets that can spearhead an assault and fly in support of the infantry).

On this visit, we had the opportunity to visit HMLA-167 and HMH-464.

The two Light Attack helicopter squadron’s, HMLA-167 (“Warriors”) and HMLA-269 (“Gunrunners”), sit alongside each other. Both fly a mix of the Bell UH-1Y Venom and Bell AH-1Z Viper. The transition to these uprated models is almost complete, the Venoms having replaced the UH-1N and the Vipers now replacing the AH-1W.

The ‘Yankee’ model can, in addition to the two crew, carry eight infantrymen over 120 miles and return to base. It is not simply used as a transporter though. It can carry out or contribute to the command and control function, it can be armed to act as an escort, carry out "recce" and medical evacuation. It is as versatile as it's predecessor in the range of tasks it can perform but, being a new platform, can do so more efficiently (increased payload, greater range, higher cruise speed) and making use of greater technology to hand.

The ‘Zulu’ is an attack helicopter, typically providing escort for the Venoms. Like the Venom, it is a very much enhanced development of the earlier AH-1W (and previous models). It shares much commonality with the Venom – tailboom, engines, rotor system, drivetrain, avionics software, controls and displays. Compared to the earlier models, the Zulu can locate targets at a far greater range and then attack them with a greater variety of weapons. The wing stubs are noticeably longer enabling a missile, such as the ‘Sidewinder’ to be carried. With two other hardpoints on each of the stubs and the 20mm Gatling cannon in the front turret, the Viper is a formidable piece of kit.

The Venoms and Vipers have four rotor blades; perhaps the most externally visible difference between the old and the new models. Those blades, along with the uprated engines, are what has provided the improvements in speed, rate of climb, range, payload and reduced vibration and, for that matter, noise. The rotor system is described as bearingless and hingeless. It reportedly has 75% fewer parts than that of four bladed ‘articulated’ systems (eg Bell 412). The rotor blades are made of composites, making them both lighter and stronger and therefore more resistant to damage from small arms fire. Both models also have a semi automatic folding system for the blades to enable greater ease of storage of the helicopters on an assault ship.

Typically, the Venoms will carry infantrymen and the Vipers act as escort. The ratio will vary according to the mission but quite often there will be two Vipers to escort each Venom.

Inevitably, HMLA-167 has been involved in the major recent campaigns of ‘Desert Shield’ and ‘Desert Storm’ and undertaken work in places such as Albania, Liberia, the Congo and, of course, Afghanistan.

There are three Heavy lift CH-53E squadrons and one training squadron at New River. HMH-366 (“Hammerheads”), HMH-461 (“Ironhorse”) and HMH-464 (“Condors”). The training squadron, the largest is HMHT-302 (“Phoenix”).

These CH-53E’s are the stalwarts of the transport function for the Corps. The E model is a development of earlier models but will itself be replaced over the years ahead with the even more resilient K model about to enter service.

The sight and sound of these huge helicopters moving around the ramps and in the circuit is something to behold and which, hopefully, the photos below illustrate.

HMH-464 has been active in the major operations in recent years, i.e ‘Desert Storm’, ‘Iraqi Freedom’ and ‘Enduring Freedom’. They provided material assistance during the post-hurricane crisis in Haiti in 1994, have provided tactical recovery of personnel in the Balkans and provided humanitarian assistance in Albania and Turkey as well as in the USA, eg following Hurricane Katrina.

Once our visit on New River drew to a close, we travelled for a couple of hours North to a remote landing ground known as Marine Corps Operating Landing Field (MCOLF) Atlantic, where we were met by an MV-22B Osprey of VMM-263 from New River. The crew were on a training mission but gave us the opportunity, as the light went and into the darkness, to watch them conduct landings and take-offs from a rough field location. And very impressive it was too. We had hoped to capture in a photograph the lights on the tip of the rotors forming an arc in the night time but, with the wind blast created by those giant blades, it was extremely difficult to achieve that in the near darkness. Nevertheless, some great photos of an Osprey and its crew at work and one day we hope we will be able to visit one or more of the seven Osprey squadrons at New River (for completeness, VMM-162 “Golden Eagles”, VMM-212 created in 2019, VMM-261 “Raging Bulls”, VMM-263 “Thunder Eagles”, VMM-264 “Black Knights”, VMM-266 “Fighting Griffins” and VMM-365 “Blue Knights”)

From this, an Air Station with thirteen squadrons, you can see that New River is large; the aprons are huge, the ramps full and the airspace busy. Day in, day out and of course, in the hours of darkness.

An impressive base staffed by impressive Marines with impressive pieces of kit. Our thanks to the crews of the squadrons that hosted our visit. To Captain Roberts media chief of the PAO team at MCAS Cherry Point for giving it the ‘go ahead’ to 2nd Lt Rossi and his colleague, 2nd Lt Curtis, for taking us around on the day, for their enthusiasm about the work undertaken and for accompanying us to MCOLF Atlantic for the MV22 “night ops”.

Author Peter Nelson

Photography Peter Nelson, Mark Forest, Mark Burden and Steven Fenton