NAVAL AIR FACILITY ATSUGI, Japan -- Patrol Squadron (VP) 47 hosted Sailors assigned to Commander, Submarine Group (CSG) 7/Task Force 74 (CTF-74), allowing the staff to familiarize themselves with the P-8A Poseidon’s varying mission sets and to gain a better understanding of the aircraft’s capabilities. Six training flights carrying a total of 33 Sailors were conducted at Naval Air Facility Atsugi, Japan, from Feb. 18-24, 2022.
“It was a great opportunity to be able to host CSG-7 Sailors and show them how we operate in support of Commander, Task Force (CTF) 72,” said Cmdr. Joel P. Martinez, commanding officer of VP-47. “Maritime domain awareness is a necessity in the 7th Fleet area of operations, and to be able to work seamlessly across CTF’s only makes us, as a Navy team, a more lethal and effective fighting force.”
During the flights, the VP-47 aircrews demonstrated the aircraft’s roles in both anti-submarine warfare (ASW) and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) missions. By observing the mission crew workstations, the CSG-7 Sailors were able to see first-hand how the combat crews operate as a team to execute the wide-ranging mission set of the P-8A.
“The knowledge of the aircrew was exceptional,” said Chief Sonar Technician (Submarine) Marco Morris, after observing an Expendable Mobile Anti-Submarine Training Target Exercise (EMATTEX). “It was great to be able to learn about sonar and anti-submarine warfare from my counterparts in the air, as I have interacted with maritime, patrol and reconnaissance aircraft (MPRA) before, but only while I was submerged on a submarine.”
The P-8A Poseidon, the Navy’s modernized patrol and reconnaissance aircraft and replacement to the P-3C Orion, is designed for a wide variety of maritime missions. Based on the Boeing 737, the P-8A is manned by three pilots, two naval flight officers, and four enlisted sensor operators.
The “Golden Swordsmen” of VP-47 are based in Oak Harbor, Washington, and are currently deployed to NAF Misawa, Japan conducting maritime patrol and reconnaissance and theater outreach operations within the U.S. 7th Fleet (C7F) area of operations in support of Commander, Task Force 72, C7F, and U.S. Indo-Pacific Command objectives throughout the region.
Submarine Group 7 was established during the Korean Crisis in the 1950’s as Submarine Group Western Pacific, serving as squadron commander and administrative coordinators for submarines in the Western Pacific. In June 1973, when the command was elevated to Task Force level subordinate to Commander, 7th Fleet, it assumed its present status as Commander, Submarine Force 7th Fleet/ Commander Task Force 74 reporting to U.S. 7th Fleet and Commander, Submarine Group 7 reporting to Commander Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet.
Submarine Group 7 directs forward-deployed, combat capable forces across the full spectrum of undersea warfare throughout the Western Pacific, Indian Ocean, and Arabian Sea.
For more news on Patrol Squadron (VP) 47, please visit https://www.airpac.navy.mil/Organization/Patrol-Squadron-VP-47/.
For more news from Commander, Submarine Group 7, visit www.csp.navy.mil/csg7/.