Pilots Can Now Earn Their Wings of Gold Before Landing on an Aircraft Carrier

Due to ‘increased technological capabilities’, pilots in the US Navy no longer have to log a landing on an aircraft carrier before graduating from flight training. Instead, aviators will save much of their carrier practice for follow-on training with their fleet replacement squadron assignment.

“The strategic decision of moving strike pipeline carrier qualifications from the training syllabus to their fleet replacement squadrons was driven by increased technological capabilities in the fleet,” explained a spokesperson for the Navy.

The regulatory change-up stems from the integration of the service’s “Maritime Augmented Guidance with Integrated Controls for Carrier Approach and Recovery Precision Enabling Technologies”... simply put, MAGIC CARPET. This takes away the need for pilots to focus on roll, yaw, pitch, power, and intersecting the plane’s path with the boat’s, leaving just the responsibility to control the flight path during landing.

The Navy completed testing for the tech almost a decade ago and has since integrated it with the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, EA-18G Growler, and F-35 Lightning II fleets. Its training aircraft, on the other hand, have been left behind.

The service’s student pilots currently train with the T-45 Goshawk: an aged and overworked jet that cannot be integrated with the MAGIC CARPET platform. However, the Navy’s debut of the Undergraduate Jet Training System in 2020 came with plans to ditch the T-45s in favor of a new, more capable advanced jet trainer and integrated training system.

Being tossed alongside the old jets is the requirement for student pilots to take an aircraft carrier approach to the ground. In the UJTS aircraft, pilots will only be required to conduct Field Carrier Landing Practice (FCLP) up to a simulated wave off, since MAGIC CARPET would take care of much of the full landing procedure anyway. This only applies to pilots training for the F-18s, F-35s, and EA-18Gs, excluding future E-2 pilots and international military students.

According to the Navy, this change is a critical timesaver that will get qualified pilots in the field sooner without sacrificing performance.

FMI: www.navy.mil