Naval flight officer


A naval flight officer is a commissioned officer in the United States Navy or United States Marine Corps who specializes in airborne weapons and sensor systems. NFOs are not pilots, but they may perform many "co-pilot" or "mission specialist" functions, depending on the type of aircraft. Until 1966, their duties were performed by both commissioned officers known as Naval Aviation Officers and senior enlisted personnel known as Naval Aviation Observers.
In 1966, enlisted personnel were removed from naval aviation observer duties. The principal catalyst for this action was due to many of the aircraft that NAOs flew having nuclear weapons missions and concerns within the OPNAV staff and the Office of the Secretary of Defense over enlisted personnel having the ability to release/drop nuclear weapons. The enlisted NAOs continued to serve in enlisted Naval Aircrewman roles while NAO officers received the newly established Naval Flight Officer designation, and the NFO insignia was introduced. NFOs in the U.S. Navy begin their careers as unrestricted line officers, eligible for command at sea and ashore in the various naval aviation aircraft type/model/series communities and, at a senior level, in command of carrier air wings and aircraft carriers afloat and functional air wings, naval air stations and other activities ashore. They are also eligible for promotion to senior flag rank positions, including command of aircraft carrier strike groups, expeditionary strike groups, joint task forces, numbered fleets, naval component commands and unified combatant commands.
A small number of U.S. Navy NFOs have later opted for a lateral transfer to the restricted line as aeronautical engineering duty officers, while continuing to retain their NFO designation and active flight status. Such officers are typically graduates of the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School and/or the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School with advanced academic degrees in aerospace engineering or similar disciplines. AEDO/NFOs are eligible to command test and evaluation squadrons, naval air test centers, naval air warfare centers, and hold major program management responsibilities within the Naval Air Systems Command.
Similarly, U.S. Marine Corps NFOs are also considered eligible for command at sea and ashore within Marine aviation, and are also eligible to hold senior general officer positions, such as command of Marine aircraft wings, Marine air-ground task forces, joint task forces, Marine expeditionary forces, Marine Corps component commands and unified combatant commands.
The counterpart to the NFO in the United States Air Force is the combat systems officer, encompassing the previous roles of USAF navigator, weapon systems officer and electronic warfare officer. Although NFOs in the Navy's E-2 Hawkeye aircraft perform functions similar to the USAF air battle manager in the E-3 Sentry AWACS aircraft, their NFO training track is more closely aligned with that of USAF combat systems officers.
The United States Coast Guard had a short-lived NFO community in the 1980s and 1990s when it operated E-2C Hawkeye aircraft on loan from the Navy. Following a fatal mishap with one of these E-2C aircraft at the former Naval Station Roosevelt Roads, Puerto Rico, the Coast Guard returned the remaining E-2Cs to the Navy and disestablished its NFO program.

Training

Overview

Training for student NFOs starts out the same as for student naval aviators, with the same academic requirements and nearly identical physical requirements. The only real distinction in physical requirements is that SNFOs may have less than 20/40 uncorrected distance vision. Both SNAs and SNFOs complete Naval Introductory Flight Evaluation at Naval Aviation Schools Command at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida before splitting off into different primary training tracks.
The SNFO program has continued to evolve since the 1960s. Today, SNFOs train under the Undergraduate Military Flight Officer program at Training Air Wing 6 at NAS Pensacola, alongside foreign students from various NATO, Allied and Coalition navies and air forces. All Student NFOs begin primary training at Training Squadron TEN, flying the T-6A Texan II trainer, eventually moving on to advanced training at Training Squadron 4 or Training Squadron 86. Upon graduation from their respective advanced squadron, students receive their "wings of gold" and are designated as naval flight officers. After winging, students conduct follow-on training at their respective fleet replacement squadron before proceeding to their initial operational assignments in combat coded, deployable fleet aviation squadrons for what is nominally a three year assignment during which time they will become Mission Commander qualified in their respective fleet aircraft.

NFO training squadrons

Naval Introductory Flight Evaluation

All SNFOs and SNAs start their aviation training with naval introductory flight evaluation. NIFE consists of several phases: academics, ground school, flight training, and physiology. The academics portion spans three weeks and covers aerodynamics, engines, FAA rules and regulations, navigation, and weather. Academics phase is followed by one week of ground school. Every student then enrolls in one of two civilian flight schools located near NAS Pensacola. Students complete approximately 9 hours of flight training in a single engine aircraft. NIFE flights can be waived based on proficiency for students entering training with a private pilot license. After the flight phase, students will complete training in aerospace physiology, egress, and water & land survival.

Primary

After completing NIFE, all SNFOs report to VT-10 under Training Air Wing 6 to begin primary training. All training in VT-10 is done in the Beechcraft T-6A Texan II and consists of two stages :
  • Familiarization Stage
  • Navigation Stage
After graduating from Primary, SNFOs will select between multi crew aviation or strike aviation. Students selected for multi-crew training will continue on to the Maritime Command and Control curriculum at VT-4. Those that select strike aviation will continue to Intermediate training and remain at VT-10.

Intermediate

SNFOs destined for carrier-based strike fighter and electronic attack aircraft remain in VT-10 and continue to fly in the T-6A Texan II. Training consists of four stages:
  • Single ship instrument stage
  • Section instrument stage
  • Tactical formation stage
  • Section visual navigation stage

    Maritime Command and Control (MC2)

After primary, students who have selected E-2, P-8 or E-6s check into VT-4 for Maritime Command and Control training. The MC2 program was developed to allow SNFOs to receive advanced platform-specific training while still at NAS Pensacola, and to receive their wings before progressing to their respective fleet replacement squadron for training in their ultimate operational combat aircraft. All MC2 training is conducted in the Multi-Crew Simulator, a new simulator system that allows students to train independently, as a single-ship crew, or as a multi-ship mission. MC2 training has two phases: Intermediate and Advanced. Advanced phases are specific to the selected platform and consist of Advanced Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance, Advanced Strategic Command and Control and Advanced Airborne Command and Control.

MC2 Intermediate

SNFOs begin MC2 training in the MC2 Intermediate syllabus. These classes include a combination of SNFOs who selected "big wing" aviation out of VT-10 Primary training. Training in this phase builds upon the instrument training from Primary and includes:
  • Operational flight planning, instruments, and navigation
  • Communications and navigation systems
  • Sensor and link operations
  • Fleet operations
Upon completion of MC2 Intermediate, SNFOs will select between E-2C/D Hawkeyes, P-8A Poseidons or E-6B Mercurys. From there all SNFOs remain at VT-4 for Advanced training in their respective pipelines.

Advanced MC2

Advanced MC2 training is platform-specific training in VT-4 via the MCS, allowing SNFOs destined for the carrier-based E-2 community or the land-based P-8 or E-6 communities to begin learning their responsibilities on their fleet aircraft. The development of this program relieves the associated fleet replacement squadrons from teaching SNFOs the basics of naval aviation and to focus more on advanced fleet tactics, thus streamlining FRS training, reducing costs and increasing training effectiveness and efficiency and providing fleet with better-trained, mission-capable NFOs. Upon completion of advanced stage training, students receive their "wings of gold" and are designated as naval flight officers.
SNFOs progress through one or two of four strands, depending on what platform they select.
Advanced Airborne Command and Control consists of:
Advanced Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance consists of:
  • Surface search and littoral surveillance
  • Electronic warfare and acoustic operations
  • Maritime patrol and reconnaissance
Advanced Strategic Command and Control consists of:
  • Strategic operations
  • Strategic communications and procedures

    Advanced strike

SNFOs report to VT-86 and fly the T-45C Goshawk. Training consists of five phases:
  • Contact phase
  • Strike phase
  • Close air support phase
  • Basic fighter maneuver phase
  • All weather intercepts phase
After graduating from advanced strike training, Navy SNFOs will select:
Marine SNFOs will select:
  • F/A-18D Hornet

    Comparison with naval aviators

Naval flight officers operate some of the advanced systems on board most multi-crew naval aircraft, and some may also act as the overall tactical mission commanders of single or multiple aircraft assets during a given mission. NFOs are not trained to pilot the aircraft, although they do train in some dual-control aircraft and are given the opportunity to practice "hands on controls" basic airmanship techniques. Some current and recently retired naval aircraft with side-by-side seating are also authorized to operate under dual-piloted weather minimums with one pilot and one NFO. However, in the unlikely event that the pilot of a single piloted naval aircraft becomes incapacitated, the crew would likely eject or bail out, if possible, as NFOs are not qualified to land the aircraft, especially in the carrier-based shipboard environment.
NFOs serve as weapon systems officers, electronic warfare officers, electronic countermeasures officers, tactical coordinators, bombardiers, and navigators. They can serve as aircraft mission commanders, although in accordance with the OPNAVINST 3710 series of instructions, the pilot in command, regardless of rank, is always responsible for the safe piloting of the aircraft.
Many NFOs achieve flight/section lead, division lead, package lead, mission lead and mission commander qualification, even when the pilot of the aircraft does not have that designation. Often, a senior NFO is paired with a junior pilot. NFO astronauts have also flown aboard the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station as mission specialists and wear NFO-astronaut wings.
Like their naval aviator counterparts, NFOs in both the Navy and Marine Corps have commanded aviation squadrons, carrier air wings, shore-based functional air wings and air groups, Marine aircraft groups, air facilities, air stations, aircraft carriers, amphibious assault ships, carrier strike groups, expeditionary strike groups, Marine aircraft wings, Marine expeditionary forces, numbered fleets, and component commands of unified combatant commands. Three NFOs have reached four-star rank, one as a Marine Corps general having served as the Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps, and the other two as Navy admirals, one having served as Vice Chief of Naval Operations before commanding U.S. Fleet Forces Command & U.S. Atlantic Fleet, U.S. Pacific Command and U.S. Central Command, and the other having commanded U.S. Pacific Command, having previously commanded U.S. Pacific Fleet. Another former NFO who retrained and qualified as a Naval Aviator also achieved four-star rank as a Marine Corps general, commanded U.S. Strategic Command and later served as Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
In some quarters, NFO careers may be viewed more restrictive than their Naval Aviator counterparts. For example, NFOs only serve aboard multi-crew naval aircraft and as certain multi-crew aircraft are retired from the active inventory, NFOs can become displaced, as happened with the withdrawal of the A-3 and EA-3, A-5 and RA-5, A-6, EA-6A, EA-6B, F-4 and RF-4, F-14, S-3 and ES-3 from active service. In addition, as avionics have become more advanced, the need for some multi-crew aircraft using one or more NFOs has been reduced.
However, the majority of NFOs from aircraft being retired have historically been afforded the opportunity to transition to another aircraft platform, such as F-4 and F-14 transitions to the F/A-18D and F/A-18F, A-6 transitions to the F-14, EA-6B, S-3, and F/A-18D, S-3 transitions to the P-3/P-8, E-2, E-6, and F/A-18F, EA-6B transitions to the EA-18G, and P-3 and EP-3 transitions to the P-8. Although it is true that Naval Aviators can also transition their piloting expertise into civilian careers as commercial airline pilots and that NFOs are not able to similarly translate their skills into this career field unless augmented by associated FAA pilot certificates, the military aviation career opportunities of NFOs remain on par with their Naval Aviator counterparts, as do their post-military career prospects in the civilian sector in defense, aviation & aerospace, as well as other career pursuits beyond that of civilian commercial airline pilot.