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Marine helicopters drop supplies to ballistic missile submarine in the Pacific, a first

By 

MATTHEW M. BURKE 

STARS AND STRIPES • May 18, 2023

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Aboard a CH-53E Super Stallion, Staff Sgt. Joseph McDonnell, a crew chief with Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 462, lowers supplies to the Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine USS Maine in the Philippine Sea, May 9, 2023. (Emily Weiss/U.S. Marine Corps)

CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa — A Marine helicopter squadron from Okinawa for the first time delivered supplies to an Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine transiting the Philippine Sea, a practice integral to the Corps’ island-hopping doctrine.

Two CH-53E Super Stallions on May 9 dropped “mission-essential equipment” to the USS Maine by a “vertical replenishment,” according to a III Marine Expeditionary Force news release Wednesday. The Super Stallions are assigned to Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 462 of the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing.

Airborne delivery allows Navy assets like the Maine to resupply without disrupting “maritime security operations,” a key tenet of the Marine Corps’ role as a “stand-in force,” the statement said.

Stand-in force is a concept born from Commandant Gen. David Berger’s Force Design 2030, the operational doctrine at all levels of the Marine Corps, especially in the Pacific where the U.S. military is training to deter potential Chinese aggression and maintain open sea lanes. It calls for inserting smaller, mobile units within range of enemy missiles to seize and hold key islands and deny enemy vessels access to the surrounding seas.

The “1st MAW’s persistent and forward presence makes it the backbone of the stand-in force’s expeditionary capability,” Col. Christopher Murray, Marine Aircraft Group 36 commander, said in the release. “The intricacies of seamlessly sustaining the force through naval integration and aviation-delivered logistics is a testament to our adaptability, readiness, and ability to project power within the Indo-Pacific.”

The May 9 drop was the first of its kind to an Ohio-class submarine, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing spokesman Maj. Rob Martins said in an email Thursday.

The Marine Corps does not discuss mission-specific cargo due to operational security, Martins said. Photos posted to Defense Department websites showed a black, plastic case being attached to one of the Super Stallion’s integrated hoists.

The hoists secure the cargo, guide its descent to a designated area, release and retrieve the hoist cable, Martins said. The Super Stallion, a heavy-lift variant of the CH-53 helicopter, can carry 16 tons of cargo at sea level for 50 nautical miles and return.

Martins declined to discuss how often the sea-service replenishes other submarine classes in the region. He referred all submarine-related questions to Pacific Fleet’s Submarine Force, which did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment Thursday.

The Maine was commissioned in 1995 and is homeported at Naval Submarine Base Bangor, Wash. The nuclear-powered sub hosts 155 sailors and features an armament of MK-48 torpedoes and up to 20 Trident II D-5 ballistic missiles, which can carry nuclear warheads.