IWO TO, Japan –
Aircrew from the Navy’s only forward-deployed air wing completed another qualification milestone with Field Carrier Landing Practices (FCLPs) at Iwo To, Japan, May 19 through 31.
FCLP is a required flight training for pilot qualification and proficiency that precedes aircraft carrier landing operations, ensuring warfighting readiness in support of regional security and stability in the U.S. Indo-Pacific region.
“[This is the training] that is required for Air Wing 5 air crews to get ready to go to sea,” said Capt. William Fallon, assistant chief of staff for Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Japan/Navy Region Japan. “[There is a great] amount of effort in the practice and the professionalism that goes into learning how to do this. [The] carrier environment is very challenging to work in—whether it’s daytime or nighttime. A large carrier suddenly feels very small when you do it, so it’s incumbent on us to practice realistically as we found right here, which is the benefit of Iwo To. It’s very dark at night, so it feels similar to our carrier environment.”
The routine training is required for all pilots of fixed-wing aircraft assigned to the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73). The types of aircraft that participate in FCLP are F-35C Lightning IIs, F/A-18E/F Super Hornets, EA-18G Growlers and E-2D Hawkeyes.
FCLPs also provide valuable training to Air Wing 5’s landing signal officers (LSO). LSOs, or “paddles,” are naval aviators trained specifically to guide and ensure the safe recovery of aircraft aboard aircraft carriers.
“Today, specifically, the ‘paddles’ are training on the manually operated visual landing aid system (MOVLAS),” said Lt. Cmdr. Tory West, an LSO attached to CVW-5. “The pilots have to respond to the MOVLAS system differently, so if the ship is moving differently, the pilots can adjust and land safely.”
Although Iwo To offers an invaluable training opportunity for fixed-wing pilots and aircrew, it does come with its challenges. Iwo To is not suitable as a permanent FCLP site because of the difficulty in maintaining its remote facilities and its lack of optional airfields for use during inclement weather or other emergency situations. The U.S. government reserves the right to conduct FCLP at alternate mainland facilities when required.
“If there is an issue on the field, whereas if we had an area to conduct FCLPs much closer to land, it would provide much bigger safety margins for us to operate and train,” Fallon said.
Air Wing 5 includes the EA-18 Growlers of Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 141, the E-2 Hawkeyes of Airborne Command and Control Squadron (VAW) 125, the MH-60S Seahawk helicopters of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 12, the F-35 Lightning IIs of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 147 and the F/A-18F and F/A-18E Super Hornets of VFA-102.
Air Wing 5 became America’s first permanently forward-deployed air wing in 1973, when it embarked with the first-in-class aircraft carrier, USS Midway (CV 41), in Japan.
Written by Petty Officer 1st Class Brian Reynolds with Commander, Naval Forces Japan. 