Six Functions of Marine Aviation
AAA CEO
Air reconnaissance
Anti-air warfare
Assault support
Control of aircraft and missiles
Electronic warfare
Offensive air support
Air Assault Operations
Capabilities
- Attack EN positions from any direction
- Overfly or bypass barriers and obstacles and strike objectives in other inaccessible areas
- Conduct deep attacks and raids beyond the forward line of our own troops
- Rapidly concentrate, disperse, or redeploy to extend the area of influence
- Provide responsive reserves allowing commanders to commit a large portion of their forces to action
- Conduct fast paced operations over extended distances
- Rapidly reinforce committed units
- Conduct night terrain flight with the use of night vision devices, which allows them to locate a landing zone and land without illumination
Air Assault Operations
Limitations
- Severe weather, extreme heat and cold, and other environmental conditions such as blowing snow and sand that limit flight operations, aircraft lift capability, or flight visibility
- Reliance on airborne communication
- Reduced ground mobility once inserted
- Limited accessibility to supporting arms, especially indirect fires
- Increased logistical considerations (fuel, maintenance, spare parts, facilities, and aircraft availability)
Air Assault Operations
Vulnerabilities
Assault support forces use helicopters and tiltrotor aircraft to close with the EN. Initial assault elements must be light and mobile. They are often separated from weapon systems, supporting arms, equipment, and material that provide protection and survivability to the battlefield. Thus, the vertical assault force is particularly vulnerable to:
- Attack by EN air defense systems during the mvmt phase
- Attack by NBC systems, because of limited NBC protection and decontamination
- Attacks (ground, air, artillery) during the loading and unloading phase
- Electronic warfare (jamming), due to the heavy reliance on radio communications for command and control
s for Helicopter Platforms
Air Assault Operations
UH-1Y "Venom" Pax: 8 Payload: 6,600 lbs Speed: 160 kts Range: 130nm
MV-22B "Osprey" Pax: 24 Payload: 15,000 lbs Speed: 280kts Range: 880nm
CH-53E "Super Stallion" Pax: 24 (for the test) Payload: 20,000 lbs Speed: 150kts Range: 540nm
Air Assault Operations
5 Stages of Planning
Staging Plan
Loading Plan
Air Movement Plan
Landing Plan
Ground Tactical Plan
Air Assault Operations
LZ Brief
Zone Location
- geographic feature, checkpoint, grid, road intersection
Marked by
- air panel, buzz saw, chem lites, IR strobes, smoke, talk on
Obstacles
- power lines, trees
- include height of obstacle
Winds are from ______________
- tell aircraft which subcardinal heading winds are blowing from
- include est speed in knots or est strength such as strong or light
- for reference, 1 knot equals 1.2 mph
- aircraft will always want to land into wind
Friendlies
- direction distance from LZ and orientation
Enemy
- direction distance from LZ and orientation
- most recent activity and type
Remarks
- dimensions and slope of LZ
- where to land in reference to the mark
Aviation
SEAD
Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses
2 categories of reconnaissance
Strategic and Tactical
2 categories of CAS
Preplanned
Immediate
2 categories of DAS
Air Interdiction
Armed Reconnaissance
Strike Coordination and Reconnaissance (SCAR)
Categories of Assault Support
Combat assault transport Air Delivery Aerial refueling Air evac Tactical recovery of aircraft and personnel (TRAP) Air logistical support Battlefield illumination
