Future of NFOs in the Marine Corps?

[cfam]

This expertise will be harnessed by aligning the electronic warfare and missions systems skills in the NFO community with emerging requirements in the UAS family of systems (FoS), manned ISR initiatives and the F-35B program. Additionally, the sundown plan will include an increase in NFO-to-pilot transition opportunities.

Damn..I hope most of the Marine NFOs are able to pick up the transition. Going from a Prowler/D backseat to working with UAVS/F-35s in a non-flying billet does not sound like much fun.

Edit: Re-read it. What does the Corps have in terms of manned ISR platforms (unclas level)?

 

[Flash]

What does the Corps have in terms of manned ISR platforms (unclas level)?

What type of ISR? They have F/A-18D's with ATARS, the VMFA(AW) squadron I was in Iwakuni with had, IIRC, 3-5 aircraft that basically had the system installed full time.

Any other manned aircraft can act as an ISR bird, especially ones with EO/IR systems. But other than a short stint of borrowing a USAF system for C-130's during Desert Storm they have not had a dedicated, manned 'ISR' platform since the RF-4's of VMFP retired in 1990.

 

[cfam]

I was just asking based on that AVplan sentence I quoted. It says there will be opportunities for Marine NFOs to participate in "manned ISR initiatives" after their NFO sundown. I was wondering if the Marines had anything in the works for the future.

 

[Flash]

I was just asking based on that AVplan sentence I quoted. It says there will be opportunities for Marine NFOs to participate in "manned ISR initiatives" after their NFO sundown. I was wondering if the Marines had anything in the works for the future.

Maybe hitching a ride with the USAF on E-8 JSTARS, they already have a lot of Army guys on board. Doubt manned ISR is on the USMC's list though, those toys are expensive and really don't fit nice and neatly into the USMC scheme of things, they are more 'strategic' in nature and design though they have done a fair bit of 'tactical' work lately.

 

[Fog]

My flight package is currently at the selection board, and even though the doctors at NAMI said that I am good to go for NA, the doc at MCRC is saying that he may only recommend NFO because my pre-PRK vision was poor. I would just like to know what I should expect if the NAMI doc doesn't convince the MCRC doc that I'm good to go and if all of my attempts to switch to NA fail. I'm a FY12 applicant, so I probably won't even get to TBS until late 2012, and it would be somewhere around 2014 when I finish flight school. I just want to make sure I keep my options open and don't get stuck in a crappy spot.

Bikes: Per the most recent issue of AW&ST , the UK is pulling the plug on the F-35B for their Navy & will buy the F-35C as a catapult launched & wire-retrieved a/c. This can only push-up the $$ of the B model for the Marine Corps. I think it looks better everyday that the USMC cannot possibly afford to go to an all F-35B inventory of fixed-wing fighter/attack a/c. The DOD & they simply can't afford it. JMHO, though.

11/001/2010 Bloomberg News says the F-35 programs for the A& C models may be delayed up to a year and the B model (USMC) 2-3 years because of cost overruns & development delays. Total of new overruns to be about $5bn. This could be a huge problem for the Corps. Trouble is, VSTOL a/c are all you can operate from LHA-type platforms.