Mission Provide standardized training, evaluation, and support to Helicopter Maritime Strike squadrons, instilling in them the confidence to be ready for battle, excel in all mission areas, and ultimately succeed in combat.
About Us HSMWSP provides advanced air combat weapons and tactics training and standardization for ten Pacific Fleet HSM squadrons composed of MH60R aircraft. History After an initial cadre of Helicopter Anti-submarine Light (HSL) pilots and aircrewmen graduated from the Seahawk Weapons and Tactics Instructor (SWTI) course, they returned to San Diego to form the HSL Weapons and Tactics Unit (WTU). Attached to Commander, Helicopter Anti-Submarine Wing (Light) Pacific, the WTU provided tactical instruction in Anti-submarine Warfare, Anti-surface Warfare, and Hostile Environment to squadrons across HSL Wing. Expanding on the work of the WTU and preparing for the community’s transition to the Helicopter Maritime Strike (HSM) mission, the Helicopter Maritime Strike Weapons School Pacific (HSMWSP) was established in 2005 as an Echelon V command. Since then, HSMWSP has recruited experienced pilots, helicopter aircrewmen, intelligence analysts, and ordnance technicians training them to become instructors. The training process for pilot and aircrewman instructor candidates includes completion of a three-month SWTI course in Fallon, Nevada. Weapons School instructors in turn train and evaluate Fleet aircrew and ordnance technicians. Since 2005, The Weapons School has conducted its signature training event the Helicopter Advanced Readiness Program (HARP), a course for up to 12 combat crews that combines academic instruction, simulator events, tactical flights, and live fire exercises. Additionally, HSMWSP provides aviation ordnance inspections and assist visits certifying squadron ordnance teams for deployment. To deliver HARP and other tactical training to the Fleet, the Weapons School deploys detachments to San Clemente Island, the Pacific Missile Range Facility in Hawaii, and Atsugi, Japan. HSMWSP moved to its current facility on Naval Air Station North Island in October of 2010.