confidence

Deliveries of the CH-53K King Stallion to the U.S. Marine Corps are starting to ramp up, with the planned 16-aircraft annual milestone now expected for Fiscal Year 2029. The Marine Corps also says that, for the future, they are open to developing a mine countermeasures version, something that would be able to replace the current MH-53E.

Updates on the latest developments within the Marine Corps’ CH-53K program were today provided by Col. Kate Fleeger, a program manager for the H-53 Helicopters Program, at the annual Modern Day Marine conference in Washington, D.C., at which TWZ is in attendance.

Fleeger confirmed that, while the legacy CH-53E and MH-53E are “both still healthy and viable” and critical components of the Marine Corps fleet, the focus is now very much on the CH-53K as the future of heavy lift.

Currently, four Marine Corps squadrons have CH-53Ks as part of their stable, and Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 461 (HMH-461), which was the first fleet squadron, is fully outfitted with Kilos.

“We also have our training squadron, HMHT-302, which has received multiple CH-53Ks and will continue to be a dual type/model series training squadron throughout the transition from the Echo to the Kilo,” Fleeger explained. “We also have the CH-53K in our developmental test squadron, HX-21 at Patuxent River, and with our operational test squadron, VMX-1, in Yuma, Arizona.”

With the CH-53K “rocking and rolling across the board,” the 25th example off the Sikorsky production line in Stratford, Connecticut, was delivered earlier this week. Fleeger said that the service expects to add another eight aircraft for the rest of the year. This is part of a total Marine Corps program of record of 200 aircraft, a figure that has not changed. On top of this figure, Israel has procured 12 CH-53Ks, and Fleeger confirmed that the country is “in conversations” about the potential for additional aircraft.

As part of ongoing training work, HMH-461 has been putting the CH-53K through its paces “in every clime and place in CONUS,” Fleeger said. This has included taking the aircraft on detachments at the Weapons and Tactics Instructor (WTI) school in Yuma, and in exercises out of Twentynine Palms, California.

Fleeger said she is “extremely happy with how the aircraft is performing” with the operational fleet.

Meanwhile, the CH-53K is also still being tested, with the two units covering operational and developmental tests. “We are continuing to expand the envelope of the baseline aircraft that’s been delivered to the fleet, whether it’s expansion of the envelope with the existing equipment, or whether it’s modifications that allow for additional capability moving forward, and ultimately providing those modifications to fleet aircraft,” Fleeger explained.

Part of the recent mission expansion saw one CH-53K lifted by another example of the same type, to broaden options for the Tactical Recovery of Aircraft and Personnel, or TRAP mission. The aircraft that was lifted had its gear boxes and engines removed, but this is common practice, Fleeger said. The purpose of the test was not only to set up and document the flight characteristics, but also the rigging procedures. In the test, the aircraft that provided the sling load weighed about 28,000 pounds, which is well below the 36,000 pounds maximum external load for the CH-53K.

“When you talk to the pilots that lift something like that, even something that heavy, there’s very little ‘feel’ in the cockpit that you have a significant load underneath,” she added.

One of the other elements of additional testing has involved aviation ground fuel delivery. This involved a CH-53K landing with fuel and then providing this fuel to a V-22 tiltrotor that landed next to it.

At the same time, the transition to the CH-53K has involved training pilots with four Containerized Flight Training Devices (CFTD) now delivered. “They are state-of-the-art, fully immersive environments that have some of the highest fidelity visual databases and digital acuity that you’ll see in flight simulation today,” Fleeger said.

“The pilots have every opportunity to see exactly what’s going to happen in the aircraft before they even get in the aircraft. The idea here is the first time a pilot sits in that cockpit on the flight line is kind of a non-event, because he’s basically seen everything he needs to see along the way.”

These new CFTDs consist of a mobile box with the “guts of the simulator inside.” As Fleeger explained, “Gone are the days of the big dome, fully motion-based simulators that we’ve had previously. The motion platform is no longer a big portion of what provides the training fidelity. The majority of that fidelity actually comes from the visual systems, the realism of the visual system, and the haptic cueing to the pilots.

Another training aid is the Advanced Aviation Training Device, or AATD, new for the H-53 community, but loosely based on some of the early developmental training systems that arrived with the V-22, with its interactive cockpit learning environment.

“This is a lower fidelity,” Fleeger said, “There’s just screens, computer monitors, if you will, that show the pilot the outside visuals. But the pilot also has a see-through virtual-reality goggle set that he puts on. It’s absolutely amazing technology that really allows you, with very little additional cost, to be able to get that immersive and simulated environment.”

The AATD is designed primarily as a familiarization training device or for refresher-level training. “You got a few minutes, you go spend some time in here,” Fleeger explained. “You brush up on some stuff. It can also be used for some of the more advanced activities, like tactics, techniques, and procedures development. You can get in there and try some things out before you get to the aircraft and do it in the real world.”

The AATD has been so successful at its current location in New River, close to the training squadron, that the Marines expect to expand throughout the rest of the fleet as it works through the CH-53K transition.

Concurrently, Fleeger says the service has been “very forward-leaning with our Marines in the maintenance shed and making sure that they have the training tools that they need in order to prepare for a state-of-the-art, very data-intensive, data-rich aircraft.”

Maintenance of the fleet benefits from a fully condition-based maintenance model, at least for some of the CH-53K’s components.

“We can look at the vibratory signatures, the temperature signatures on gearboxes, for example, and we can understand when that gearbox might be approaching the end of its life.” The result is that the fleet is increasingly able to manage the maintenance rather than having the maintenance manage them. They can decide when they want to change that gearbox, for example, depending on operational commitments, the amount of flight time they may have planned, the criticality of that flight time, the availability of spares, and so on.

All of this training, including shipboard evolutions, is building up toward the first operational deployment, with the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, in Fiscal Year 2027. Last month, the CH-53K fleet hit 10,000 fleet flight hours, a big milestone considering there are currently only 25 aircraft in the fleet.

At this stage, there are 12 aircraft sitting on the production line in Stratford, in various phases of completion.

“The fact that there are 12 aircraft is a big improvement as we move forward in the ramp-up through low-rate initial production,” Fleeger explained.

Once Sikorsky hits the milestone of 16 production aircraft per year, this will trigger the start of the Marine Corps CH-53K transition from East Coast to West Coast, and thus across the entire heavy-lift fleet.

Fleeger said that the line will be “getting up there” toward full-rate production at the end of Fiscal Year 2028, with the milestone to be achieved in FY29.

“The East Coast squadrons will complete transition, and then the transition plan will move out to the West Coast, and we will start transitioning the West Coast squadrons there as well,” Fleeger added. The CH-53E is slated to be retired in 2032.

As for the Navy MH-53E Sea Dragon, it is slated to be withdrawn in 2027. Exactly what will happen with its primary airborne mine countermeasures mission, a general capability set that is increasingly in the spotlight, is unclear. Currently, the Navy is beefing its MH-60 Seahawk mine countermeasures capabilities to help offset the loss. Still, the unique heavy countermeasures sled-towing capability that will be gone when the MH-53E leaves the inventory is likely to be felt, as will the heaviest vertical lift capability organic to the U.S. Navy.

According to Fleeger, “there have not yet been conversations about the Navy procuring the CH-53K or producing a minesweeping variant.” However, she added that “we are certainly open to that in the future, should that need arise.”

Whether or not the CH-53K eventually adopts another new mission, the type is clearly keeping busy for the time being, as the Marine Corps looks forward to taking it on its first operational deployment next year.

Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com

HOUSTON — While leading the Lakers to a commanding 3-0 lead over the Houston Rockets in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs, LeBron James has stepped out of his airtight postseason mindset for only a few fleeting moments.

He has a good reason.

“All those moments has been with Bronny,” James said Friday after leading the Lakers to a 112-108 win over Houston. “It keeps getting better and better. It’s like, wow.”

Steadily growing under the postseason spotlight, Bronny James scored his first playoff points Friday in a five-point, 26-second flurry in which he drained a three behind a screen from his dad and then hit a reverse layup to complete the NBA’s first father-son postseason alley-oop. The Lakers can clinch the first-round, best-of-seven series Sunday at Toyota Center.

Without Luka Doncic (hamstring) and Austin Reaves (oblique) to run the Lakers’ halfcourt sets, the team has placed an emphasis on running in transition. When Deandre Ayton blocked a shot at the rim with 7:18 remaining in the second quarter, LeBron corralled the rebound and pushed the ball up the court. Bronny, the youngest player on the Lakers’ roster, knows he can beat anyone up the court. He locked eyes with his dad as they sprinted toward the basket.

It’s been a while since Bronny caught a lob from his 41-year-old dad. Maybe not since last year’s training camp, he estimated. Getting to connect again while contributing to the Lakers’ thrilling overtime win is “what I always wanted,” Bronny said.

“Especially a playoff game, the first playoff bucket is great for me, great for my confidence and how I approach the rest of the playoffs,” he added.

The 21-year-old got his first postseason rotation minutes in Game 1, starting the second quarter. The Crypto.com Arena crowd cheered when he got his first touch of the ball.

He had one turnover and two fouls in his nearly four-minute shift. Several of his passes were slightly off the mark, forcing teammates to reach for the ball. Assistant coach Greg St. Jean pulled him aside for words of encouragement before the second-year pro returned to the bench. He didn’t reenter the game.

LeBron remembered the nerves he had during his first postseason game in 2006 against Washington, he said after Game 1, and there was little advice he could give his son that would make the experience easier until he actually did it.

“I was nervous for my first playoff game too,” Bronny said. “I definitely think I’ve gained a little more confidence and relaxed myself over these three games.”

The Lakers are going to need his minutes. Still waiting for Doncic and Reaves to return, the Lakers can’t turn down any advantageous shots, coach JJ Redick said.

Seeing him confidently step into a three-pointer Friday was even more important than the fact that Bronny made the shot for his first playoff points.

Lakers guard Bronny James (9) and Rockets guard Reed Sheppard (15) chase after a loose ball during Game 3 on Friday night in Houston.

(Michael Wyke / Associated Press)

“The amount of confidence that a young kid in our league can get from a postseason game is like — a regular-season game would never,” LeBron said. “You will never get nervous from a regular-season moment ever again when you play meaningful postseason games and postseason minutes. And he’s done that, and I think that’s pretty cool for his career, for his confidence.”

Not only has Bronny gained confidence in his shot, but also Redick praised his improvement on defense throughout the season. Against the famously physical Rockets, the 6-foot-2 guard doesn’t look out of place on defense. In the moments LeBron zooms out to realize his son is playing, he marvels at his oldest child’s attention to detail, improvements on the ball and defensive mindset.

Bronny is appreciative of the coaches’ trust in him. The former five-star recruit out of Sierra Canyon High still is growing into his career, especially after surgery for a congenital heart defect derailed his brief college experience at USC. That he didn’t get to play a March Madness game will irk him for the rest of his life, Bronny said. But the Lakers’ postseason run isn’t a bad consolation prize.

“Got to do it in the playoffs,” Bronny said, “and that’s just the best feeling.”

Injury updates

Austin Reaves remains questionable for Game 4 in Houston on Sunday . Reaves participated in an individual shooting workout Saturday.

Reaves and Doncic are less than four weeks removed from their Grade 2 injuries suffered April 2. Doncic remains out for Game 4, but with the Lakers close to extending their season into the second round, Doncic’s potential postseason return becomes more realistic.

Needing a win Sunday to extend his season, the Rockets’ Kevin Durant is questionable because of a left ankle sprain. The superstar forward missed Game 1 because of a bruised right knee and injured his ankle late in Game 2. He has been receiving treatment “around the clock,” Rockets coach Ime Udoka told reporters Saturday. Durant was running on an underwater treadmill during Friday’s game and will test the ankle again beforeGame 4.

“Every day that goes by, the likelihood goes up,” Udoka said of Durant playing. “But I thought he might be OK [Friday] based on shootaround and that’s different going half speed and then ramping it up right before a game. And so you really can’t tell, but he’s doing everything he can to get back.”

DENVER — Before Anze Kopitar left the ice after the final regular-season home game of his NHL career, he told the fans he was saying good-bye, not farewell.

He would return, he promised, in the playoffs.

He’ll make good on that pledge Thursday when his Kings and the Colorado Avalanche face off in Game 3 of their first-round series at Crypto.com Arena. But it could prove to be a short encore because after losing the first two games of the best-of-seven Stanley Cup playoff in Denver, the Kings need a win Thursday or in Game 4 on Sunday to extend both their season and Kopitar’s Hall of Fame career.

The Kings’ — and Kopitar’s — last six playoff appearances have all ended after just one round. And they’re halfway to another first-round loss this year, though they probably deserve better after giving the league’s best team everything it could handle, only to lose twice by a goal, including a 2-1 overtime loss in Game 2 on Tuesday.

“To a man we’re playing hard,” interim Kings coach D.J. Smith said. “We hoped to split here, but regardless we’re gonna have to win at home. We’ve got to find a way to win a game.

“Clearly good isn’t enough.”

Kopitar announced his retirement before the start of this season, the 20^th in his Hall of Fame career. And while many of his teammates talked of their desire to see their captain hoist the Stanley Cup one more time, just making the playoffs appeared beyond the Kings’ reach until the final two weeks of the regular season.

Colorado, meanwhile, led the league in everything, winning the most games, collecting the most points, scoring the most goals and allowing the fewest. The Kings? Not so much. They gave up 22 more goals than they scored, worst among playoff teams, and needed points in 11 of their last 13 games just to squeak into the postseason as the final wild-card team.

Colorado left wing Joel Kiviranta skates under pressure from Kings center Scott Laughton and goaltender Anton Forsberg during Game 2 of their first-round NHL playoff series Tuesday in Denver.

(Jack Dempsey / Associated Press)

Yet two games into this series, it’s been hard to tell the teams apart on the ice. The Kings have outhustled, outhit and outskated the Avalanche for long stretches. But those moral victories have been their only wins.

Asked if he can take solace for the way the team has played, goalie Anton Forsberg, who was outstanding in his first two career playoff games, stared straight ahead.

“No,” he said. “We wanted to go to home [with] a win.”

Forward Trevor Moore was a little more forgiving.

“We would have liked to steal one,” he said. “But you can’t look back. You have to look forward. Confidence-wise, we hung in there with them for two games and we’ve been competitive. I think we could have won either night.”

They won neither night, however, which leaves little margin for error in the next two games.

If the Kings lacked wins in Denver, they didn’t lack chances. On Tuesday they had a man advantage for nearly a quarter of the first 25 minutes and had five power plays and a penalty shot on the night.

When Quinton Byfield’s second-period penalty shot was stuffed by Colorado goalie Scott Wedgewood, a group of Avalanche fans celebrated by pounding on the protective plexiglass behind the Kings’ bench with such force it shattered, raining shards down on the team’s coaches

“Whoever the guy [was] just kept pushing and pushing and pushing,” Smith said. “I looked back because it hit me a bunch of times, then it broke.”

The Kings couldn’t score on the power play either until Artemi Panarin finally found the back of the net with less than seven minutes left in regulation, giving the team its first lead of the series.

“We had every opportunity,” Smith said. “You’ve got to be able to close it out.”

They couldn’t. So when Colorado captain Gabriel Landeskog evened the score 3 ½ minutes later, the teams headed to a fourth period.

The overtime was the 34th in 84 games for the Kings this season, an NHL record by some distance. But it ended in the team’s 21st overtime loss when Nicolas Roy banged home a rebound 7:44 into the extra period.

“We had some good looks. I thought we really had the momentum in overtime,” Smith said. “Maybe a bad bounce or a turnover, whatever, it ends up in your net. But to a man this team is playing hard and we’ve got to find a way to win.

“I expect that we’ll be better at home.”

If they aren’t, the Kings face another long summer and Kopitar’s retirement will start earlier than he had hoped.