| Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 20 | |
|---|---|
 VX-20 Insignia | |
| Active | 1975–present |
| Country | United States |
| Branch | United States Navy |
| Type | special flight test aircraft squadron |
| Garrison/HQ | NAS Patuxent River |
| Nickname(s) | Force / Score |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander | CDR Charles Larwood III, USN [1] |
VX-20, Air Test and Evaluation Squadron Twenty, (AIRTEVRON TWO ZERO) is a United States Navy air test and evaluation squadron based at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland.
VX-20 operates a variety of Naval aircraft for testing and evaluation of new technologies, including variants of the Northrop Grumman E-2 Hawkeye, Boeing E-6 Mercury, Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Triton, Lockheed P-3 Orion, Lockheed C-130 Hercules, and C-12 Huron. VX-20's Lockheed Martin KC-130J Super Hercules tanker was used for flight tests of the Harvest HAWK weapon systems used to arm the tanker aircraft. [2] Since 2010, VX-20 has been operating flight test models of the Boeing P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft. [3]
The official VX-20 mission statement reads, "We provide trained people, test ready aircraft, and access to state of the art facilities necessary for the development of cutting edge technology to support the War fighting needs of the operating forces." [4]
Air Test and Evaluation Squadron Twenty can trace its roots all the way to the founding of the Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland. Recognizing the need for consolidation of the Navy's flight test efforts, NAS Patuxent River was established on 1 April 1943, due to its proximity to the coast, freedom from air traffic congestion, and isolation for testing of classified projects. On 16 June 1945, the Navy officially designated the Naval Air Test Center.
In April, 1975, after 30 years of operations at Patuxent River, the Flight Test Division, Weapons Test Division, Service Test Division, and U.S. Naval Test Pilot School reorganized under the Naval Air Test Center into the Antisubmarine Aircraft Test Directorate, Strike Aircraft Test Directorate, Rotary Aircraft Test Directorate, and Naval Test Pilot School.
Under the command of Officer-in-Charge Captain John A. Dunaway, Antisubmarine Aircraft Test Directorate was tasked to support the fleet through the flight test and evaluation of aircraft systems for the VP, VS, VAW, VRC, VQ (TACAMO), VQ (ELINT/SIGINT), VR, and VT squadrons.
In order to more closely identify itself with the communities to which it was responsible, the directorate was renamed Force Warfare Aircraft Test Directorate in June 1986. In May 1995, the organization officially became a squadron and was renamed Naval Force Aircraft Test Squadron under the command of Captain Stuart A. Ashton.
As of December 1998 the squadron was responsible for testing and evaluating aircraft and systems used for various Navy missions, including anti-submarine warfare under command of Capt. John B. Hollyer (former test pilot of the squadron). It operates and maintains 11 types of aircraft, including the P-3 Orion, the C-130 Hercules, the E-2 Hawkeye, the S-3 Viking and the E-6 Mercury. [5]
In December 2000 Capt. J. B. Hollyer turned over command of the Force Aircraft Test Squadron to Cmdr. Steve R. Eastburg. [5] In order to more closely align itself with the squadrons it serves, in May 2002, under the command of Capt. S. R. Eastburg, the squadron was redesignated Air Test and Evaluation Squadron Twenty. Now a combined USN / USMC organization, the squadron has also assumed responsibility for test and evaluation of Marine Corps VMGR aircraft and follow-on Navy VP and VR aircraft.
The squadron is currently under the command of CDR Charles Larwood III.
The Lockheed S-3 Viking is a four-crew, twin-engine turbofan-powered jet aircraft designed and produced by the American aerospace manufacturer Lockheed Corporation. Because of its characteristic sound, it was nicknamed the "War Hoover" after the vacuum cleaner brand.
The Northrop Grumman E-2 Hawkeye is an American all-weather, carrier-capable tactical airborne early warning (AEW) aircraft. This twin-turboprop aircraft was designed and developed during the late 1950s and early 1960s by the Grumman Aircraft Company for the United States Navy as a replacement for the earlier, piston-engined E-1 Tracer, which was rapidly becoming obsolete. The aircraft's performance has been upgraded with the E-2B and E-2C versions, where most of the changes were made to the radar and radio communications due to advances in electronic integrated circuits and other electronics. The fourth major version of the Hawkeye is the E-2D, which first flew in 2007. The E-2 was the first aircraft designed specifically for AEW, as opposed to a modification of an existing airframe, such as the Boeing E-3 Sentry. Variants of the Hawkeye have been in continuous production since 1960, giving it the longest production run of any carrier-based aircraft.
TACAMO is a United States military system of survivable communications links designed to be used in nuclear warfare to maintain communications between the decision-makers and the triad of strategic nuclear weapon delivery systems. Its primary mission is serving as a signals relay, where it receives orders from a command plane such as Operation Looking Glass, and verifies and retransmits their Emergency Action Messages (EAMs) to US strategic forces. As it is a dedicated communications post, it features the ability to communicate on virtually every radio frequency band from very low frequency (VLF) up through super high frequency (SHF) using a variety of modulations, encryptions and networks, minimizing the likelihood an emergency message will be jammed by an enemy. This airborne communications capability largely replaced the land-based extremely low frequency (ELF) broadcast sites which became vulnerable to nuclear strike.
The Grumman C-2 Greyhound is a twin-engine, high-wing cargo aircraft designed to carry supplies, mail, and passengers to and from aircraft carriers of the United States Navy. Its primary mission is carrier onboard delivery (COD). The aircraft provides critical logistics support to carrier strike groups. The aircraft is mainly used to transport high-priority cargo such as jet engines and special stores, mail, and passengers between carriers and shore bases.
The Northrop GrummanEA-6B Prowler is a twin-engine, four-seat, mid-wing electronic-warfare aircraft derived from the A-6 Intruder airframe. The EA-6A was the initial electronic warfare version of the A-6 used by the United States Marine Corps and United States Navy. Development on the more advanced EA-6B began in 1966. An EA-6B aircrew consisted of one pilot and three Electronic Countermeasures Officers, though it was not uncommon for only two ECMOs to be used on missions. It was capable of carrying and firing anti-radiation missiles (ARMs), such as the AGM-88 HARM.
Carrier onboard delivery (COD) is the use of aircraft to ferry personnel, mail, supplies, and high-priority cargo, such as replacement parts, from shore bases to an aircraft carrier at sea. Several types of aircraft, including helicopters, have been used by navies in the COD role. The Grumman C-2 Greyhound has been the United States Navy's primary COD aircraft since the mid-1960s.
The Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Triton is an American high-altitude long endurance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) developed for and flown by the United States Navy as a surveillance aircraft. Together with its associated ground control station, it is an unmanned aircraft system (UAS). Developed under the Broad Area Maritime Surveillance (BAMS) program, the Triton is intended to provide real-time intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions (ISR) over vast ocean and coastal regions, continuous maritime surveillance, conduct search and rescue missions, and to complement the Boeing P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft.
Naval Air Station Patuxent River, also known as NAS Pax River, is a United States naval air station located in St. Mary’s County, Maryland, on the Chesapeake Bay near the mouth of the Patuxent River.
The Northrop Grumman X-47B is a demonstration unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) designed for aircraft carrier-based operations. Developed by the American defense technology company Northrop Grumman, the X-47 project began as part of DARPA's J-UCAS program, and subsequently became part of the United States Navy's Unmanned Combat Air System Demonstration (UCAS-D) program. The X-47B is a tailless jet-powered blended-wing-body aircraft capable of semi-autonomous operation and aerial refueling.
Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 23 (VX-23) is an aviation unit of the United States Navy based at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, United States. The squadron was established on 22 July 1995. Using the tail code SD, the squadron operates multiple aircraft types of the United States Navy for test and evaluation purposes.
The Operational Test and Evaluation Force (OPTEVFOR) is an independent and objective agency within the United States Navy for the operational testing and evaluation (OT&E) of naval aviation, surface warfare, submarine warfare, C4I, cryptologic, and space systems in support Navy and Department of Defense acquisition programs.
Naval Air Warfare Centers are research organizations within Naval Air Systems Command. The centers are grouped within the following divisions:
Vice Admiral Walter Black Massenburg is a retired US Navy admiral and former commander of the Naval Air Systems Command in Patuxent River, Maryland.
Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 30, nicknamed The Bloodhounds) is a United States Navy air test and evaluation squadron based at Naval Air Station Point Mugu, California. Using the tail code BH, the squadron flies the E-2D Hawkeye, Lockheed P-3 Orion, Gulfstream NC-20G, and the Lockheed C-130 Hercules aircraft. The VX-30 Bloodhounds provide support to the United States Navy's Sea Test Range off the shores of central California.
Air Development Squadron Six was a United States Navy Air Development Squadron based at McMurdo Station, Antarctica. Established at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland on 17 January 1955, the squadron's mission was to conduct operations in support of Operation Deep Freeze, the operational component of the United States Antarctic Program.
Patrol Squadron 30 (VP-30) is a maritime patrol squadron of the United States Navy, established on 30 June 1960. It is based at Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Florida.
Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron 4 (VQ-4), nicknamed the Shadows, is a naval aviation squadron of the United States Navy based at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma. The squadron flies the Boeing E-6B Mercury airborne command post and communications relay aircraft. It is part of the U.S. Navy's TACAMO community, whose mission is to enable the President of the United States and the Secretary of Defense to directly communicate with U.S. submarines, bombers, and missile silos during a nuclear war.
The Boeing MQ-25 Stingray is an aerial refueling drone that resulted from the Carrier-Based Aerial-Refueling System (CBARS) program, which grew out of the earlier Unmanned Carrier-Launched Airborne Surveillance and Strike (UCLASS) program. The MQ-25 first flew on 19 September 2019.
VX-1, Air Test and Evaluation Squadron One, is a United States Navy air test and evaluation squadron based at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland.
