Tom Clancy: I've heard some of the people involved in the design and development of CVX call this the first non-Navy or "CinC's" [regional commander in chief's] carrier. Given your own use of carriers during Haiti in 1994, would you concur with this view?
Admiral Johnson: We're saying the same thing. As I mentioned earlier, we're looking for open architecture and connectivity to be able to deal with operations ashore, as well as the Joint Task Force [JTF] commanders in the field, and to handle whatever other circumstances may arise. When you're trying to shape the battlespace and respond to emerging situations, then a battle group commander is going to have to be responsible for a full spectrum of crises. Whether it's a little bitty event or the biggest situation, a commander needs a carrier that can respond on the spot. That's what we need to embed in the CVX design.It will be very exciting to see the kinds of things that we'll be coming out with in areas like catapult and arresting gear technology, combat systems upgrades, and other new systems. We'll be looking at the proper air wing aircraft mix, including V/STOL [vertical/short takeoff and landing] or STOL [short takeoff and landing] kinds of airplanes, for this new platform. Everything is wide open right now.
Tom Clancy: While I know that your first passion is naval aviation and carriers, I also know that you are passionate about modernizing the submarine force as well. Tell us, if you would, a little about Seawolf b[SSN-21] and the New Attack Submarine [NSSN] programs?
Admiral Johnson: I recently took a ride on Seawolf, and it is awesome. The best submarine that has ever been built in the world, period. The Seawolf is truly, truly a magnificent submarine-and remember, I'm a fighter pilot saying this! I took some submariners with me on the Seawolf, and watched their reactions, listened to their comments, and made my own observations. All of that convinced me that this is an awesome platform. I can't wait to get it into the fleet, as well as the two others that come behind it.After the Seawolf, we move into NSSN, where we're going to use a special teaming arrangement between General Dynamics Electric Boat Division and Newport News Shipbuilding. The idea is to try and get the cost down so we can afford to buy them in the numbers that we'll be needing to replace the Los Angeles-class [SSN-688] boats when they retire.
Tom Clancy: Let's talk about aircraft procurement. It's been a really tough decade for the Navy with regards to new aircraft procurement. There hasn't been a single new tactical aircraft for the sea services in more than two decades. Are you comfortable with the current Navy aircraft development and procurement strategy?
Admiral Johnson: Yes. We've made some workable plans to upgrade our aircraft. Though I must point out that if you were to look at a graphic depiction of the last twenty years, it would tell you that we're coming out of something that looks like a bathtub with regards to new aircraft deliveries. I know that we need to buy new airplanes, the plans are in place to begin to acquire them, and I think that we have the platforms and programs that can deliver in a way that makes sense for Naval aviation.The current plan covers the V-22 Osprey for the Marines, the strike fighters we've already talked about, T-45 trainers for our undergraduate training programs, and H-60 airframes for ASW and fleet replenishment. I know that sounds like a lot of aircraft, but we're working our way out of a period when we were lucky to buy more than just a couple of airplanes a year.
Tom Clancy: Since money is going to be the determining factor in making these procurement plans into reality, one wonders how well the Congress is receiving your message about the value of naval aviation. Just how well are you getting that message across?
Admiral Johnson: You'd have to ask them how well we're doing. But from my perspective, when I go talk or testify to Congress, I see a lot of support.
Tom Clancy: If you don't mind, let's run down those aircraft programs one at a time and get a comment on each from you.
Admiral Johnson:
F/A-18E/F Super Hornet — From my standpoint, this is a model program. The aircraft is meeting or exceeding every milestone and specification that we've put out there. It's a wonderful airplane. I've flown it, and though it's bigger than the F/A-18C/D Hornet, it flies "smaller." I say this publicly and I mean it. This plane is the corner-stone of our future Navy air wing. Over the next two decades, they will first replace our fleet of F-14 Tomcats, and eventually our older F/A- 18's. By the end of the next decade, we will have three squadrons [with twelve aircraft per squadron] of these aboard every carrier.
Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) — This bird will eventually replace the newest of our F/A-18C Hornets and Marine AV-8B Harrier IIs, which we are buying right now. Initially, each carrier air wing [CVW] will have a single squadron of JSFs, with fourteen aircraft per squadron. When CVX-78 arrives, this will give it a total of 36 F/A-18E/Fs and 14 JSFs. We expect the concept demonstration and fly-off between Lockheed Martin and Boeing to happen in 2001.V-22 Osprey-Even though this is technically a Marine Corps airplane with Marine Corps painted on the side if it, it's part of our budget, and a part of the Navy/Marine Corps forward-presence force. So it's as important to us as it is to Chuck Krulak. Whether it has a role in the U.S. Navy, I'm frankly not smart enough to answer that at this time. If I had to give you an answer, I'd probably have to say yes. Right now, though, those V-22 derivatives are not what I'm focusing on. That's only because the total focus of our effort for V-22 must be to get them into service to replace those H-46's that are older than the men and women who are flying them.
Helicopter Programs — We're necking down into just the H-60 series. The H-60R airframe is going to be what we use for everything within the battle groups, from ASW [with the SH-60R] to logistics and vertical replenishment [VERTREP with the CH-60R].
Tom Clancy: Could you summarize the major focus of the Naval aircraft procurement for the next few years?
Admiral Johnson: Right now, our focus and effort within Naval aviation is clearly with the Super Hornet and what that takes us to with JSF. Those are the two main tactical aircraft programs. The EA-6B Prowler and E-2C Hawkeye are also important to us. The F-14's are vital to us surely, but we are anxious to get the Super Hornets into the fleet to replace the Tomcats in an orderly flow and fashion. Over the next fifteen years or so, if everything goes as planned, what you will see is Super Hornet replacing Tomcats as well as some of the oldest regular F/A-18 Hornets; then JSF will come in and replace the rest of the F/A-18Cs. So, by around 2015, the combat "punch" on carrier flight decks is going to be filling up with Super Hornets and JSFs. That's the vision that we have.
Tom Clancy: Does this mean that you are going to be leveraging the remaining life in existing airframes like the F-14 Tomcat, EA-6B Prowler, and S-3 Viking, to buy time to get those new airframes into service?