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(Jan. 26, 2013) Huntington Ingalls Industries celebrated significant progress today as the 555-metric ton island was lowered onto the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) at the company’s Newport News Shipbuilding division. The 60-foot long, 30-foot wide island was the 452nd lift of the nearly 500 total lifts needed to complete the aircraft carrier. (U.S. Navy photo courtesy Huntington Ingalls Industries/Released)

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Three found alive in Navy crash
Search continues for 2 others in crash of North Island helo


UPDATE from Bahrain: 12:55 p.m.

Three crew members are accounted for and stable. Search efforts continue for the two remaining.

Six Navy ships are assisting in the search and rescue, as well as the rest of the HSC-6 squadron, Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 75 and one P-3 Orion aircraft from Patrol Squadron 47.

Original story:

A San Diego-based helicopter crashed into the Red Sea on Sunday, and the status of the five crew members is not yet known.

The MH-60S Knighthawk helicopter from North Island Naval Air Station’s Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 6 was operating from the destroyer USS William P. Lawrence, which is on deployment with the aircraft carrier Nimitz.

A Navy news statement from Bahrain said the crash was not caused by hostile activity. A spokeswoman said that there is no information yet about casualties.

The Nimitz is providing aircraft and small boats for the search-and-rescue effort.

The incident is under investigation, the Navy said.

http://www.utsandiego.com

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Lockheed Martin-Built Trident II D5 Missile Achieves a Total of 148 Successful Test Flights Since 1989

The U.S. Navy has conducted four successful test flights of the Trident II D5 Fleet Ballistic Missiles built by Lockheed Martin. The U.S. Navy launched the unarmed missiles Sept. 10 and 12 in the Atlantic Ocean from a submerged Ohio-class submarine home-ported at Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, Georgia.




This event marked the 145th, 146th, 147th and 148th successful test flights of the D5 missile since design completion in 1989 – a reliability record unmatched by any other large ballistic missile.

“This ultra-capable system serves a critical role in deterring aggression,” said Doug White, vice president of Fleet Ballistic Missile programs, Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company, the Navy’s Trident missile prime contractor. “We are dedicated to supporting Navy Strategic Systems Programs in assuring the system’s continued readiness, reliability, performance and affordability.”

The Navy launched the missiles as part of Follow-on Commander’s Evaluation Tests. The missiles had been converted into test configurations using kits produced by Lockheed Martin that contain range safety devices and flight telemetry instrumentation. As required by the Department of Defense’s National Command Authority, the U.S. Navy conducts a continuing series of operational system evaluation tests of the Trident Strategic Weapon System under the testing guidelines of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.



First deployed in 1990, the D5 missile is currently aboard U.S. Navy Ohio-class and U.K. Royal Navy Vanguard-class submarines. The three-stage, solid-propellant, inertial-guided ballistic missile can travel a nominal range of 4,000 nautical miles and carries multiple independently targeted reentry bodies. The Fleet Ballistic Missile team has produced six generations, each more capable than its predecessor: the Polaris A1, Polaris A2, Polaris A3, Poseidon C3, Trident I C4 and Trident II D5 missiles.

Lockheed Martin has been the Navy’s strategic missile prime contractor since the program’s inception in 1955. The United States and the United Kingdom signed the Polaris Sales Agreement in 1963, which was modified in 1982 to provide for the Trident II D5 missile system. Since 1968, Lockheed Martin has provided program management and engineering services to the Royal Navy under the terms of the agreement.

http://www.navyrecognition.com

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Lockheed Martin Receives $18 Million Contract to Transition the Long Range Land Attack Projectile to Production



Orlando September 23, 2013 - Lockheed Martin received an $18 million contract from the National Warhead and Energetic Consortium to transition the Long Range Land Attack Projectile (LRLAP) to production.
The contract includes developing production line tooling, test equipment and manufacturing process plans for initial production of the advanced projectile. The guidance and control unit will be assembled at Lockheed Martin's Ocala, Fla., facility. Final assembly of LRLAP will be performed at the company's Troy, Ala., facility. 
LRLAP is a 155-mm projectile fired from the Advanced Gun System for the U.S. Navy's next-generation DDG 1000 destroyer. It provides precision fire support from a safe standoff distance to U.S. Marine Corps, Army and Joint/Coalition forces engaged in expeditionary assaults or urban operations in coastal cities, with minimal collateral damage. 
"This contract represents a significant step towards fielding LRLAP to support the Navy's requirement for surface fire support," said Richard Benton, program manager for LRLAP at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control. "Fire support to troops deployed ashore is a critical capabilities gap, which LRLAP fills with precision lethality."
To withstand the gun-launch environment, LRLAP uses an advanced rocket motor and hardened electronics, including a global positioning system and inertial measurement unit. LRLAP will be fielded in 2016 concurrent with the Initial Operational Capability for the first DDG 1000. Previous LRLAP testing was performed under subcontract to BAE Systems. All transition to production activity is being performed under direct contract to the U.S. Government.

http://seawavesmagazine.blogspot.fr/2013/09/lockheed-martin-receives-18-million.html?spref=tw

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Watchdog faults U.S. Navy approach to building unmanned carrier planes

(Reuters) - The Government Accountability Office on Thursday faulted the U.S. Navy's plan to spend $3.7 billion to develop, build and field a new unmanned carrier-based warplane without subjecting the program to a rigorous review until 2020.

In a report for lawmakers, the congressional research agency criticized the Navy's plan to skip a "Milestone B" review until after initial deployment of the plane in 2020, arguing that this strategy would limit Congress' ability to oversee the program and hold it accountable for schedule, cost and performance.

Major acquisition programs are required by the Pentagon to undergo a comprehensive review after its preliminary design has been approved. At that "Milestone B" review, senior defense officials look at the military requirements and independent cost estimates for the program, and certify that it has reasonable cost and schedule estimates.

In this case, the Navy has argued that it can put off the Milestone B review until after 2020 because the Unmanned Carrier-Launched Airborne Surveillance and Strike (UCLASS) plane is a technology-development project.

Lockheed Martin Corp, Northrop Grumman Corp, Boeing Co and privately-held General Atomics have all expressed interest in bidding for the UCLASS program. The Navy has awarded the four companies preliminary contracts for early designs and plans to issue a formal request for proposals in 2014.

The Navy plans to deploy from 6 to 24 unmanned planes for use on up to four aircraft carriers during the initial phase of the UCLASS program. It would use the planes mainly for surveillance and reconnaissance missions, especially at night, complementing the manned fighters on board the carriers.

The GAO report said the Navy's approach would exempt the program from cost-growth thresholds and periodic reports on its cost, schedule and performance, giving lawmakers less oversight.

The report recommended requiring the Navy to hold a Milestone B review, and suggested lawmakers should limit funding for the program if the Navy refuses to comply.

It said it had suggested the Milestone B review in a draft report sent to the Navy, but Navy leaders rejected that recommendation.

"The system development and early production activities included in the Navy's UCLASS acquisition strategy go well beyond technology development and requirements refinement, and thus warrant oversight commensurate with a major weapon system development program," the report said.

The GAO report said the program also faced possible cost increases and schedule delays because the Navy was not budgeting the full amount needed for the system through 2020. The agency also noted the Navy planned to award a contract in eight months, when such contract awards normally took 12 months.

It said the program was also highly dependent on other weapons systems and software being developed for other programs, which heightened the risk of delays.

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MQ-8C : le nouveau drone de Northrop Grumman pour l'US Navy



Northrop Grumman est en train de mettre la touche finale au premier prototype de MQ-8C. Ce drone à voilure tournante, développé pour le compte de l'US Navy, a réalisé ses premiers essais de point fixe le 20 septembre dernier, sur la base de Ventura County, en Californie. Il devrait voler prochainement.
 
Le MQ-8C est le nouveau membre de la famille Fire Scout de Northrop Grumman, qui compte déjà le MQ-8B. Ce dernier est déployé depuis 2011 en Afghanistan, par l'US Navy. Avec plus de 5000 heures de vol au compteur, il a notamment été utilisé pour des missions de surveillance, de ciblage et de lutte contre les engin explosifs improvisés (IED).
 
Avec le MQ-8C, l'US Navy va se doter d'un engin à la charge utile beaucoup plus importante : prenant comme base le Bell 407, il peut emporter 450 kg de charge utile en interne, et 1,2 t sous élingue. Des caractéristiques pas vraiment comparable avec celles du MQ-8B plus petit, car dérivé du de l'hélicoptère d'aéroclub Schweizer 333, et dont la distance franchissable est par ailleurs inférieure de 30 %.
 
Outre l'intégration de divers équipements (capteurs optroniques-infrarouges, radar, système d'écoute et recueil électroniques, etc.), le MQ-8C pourrait donc également réaliser des missions de transport de charge.
 
Pour l'heure, Northrop Grumman a réussi des contrats pour la fabrication d'un total de 15 MQ-8C. La marine américaine pourrait en acquérir jusqu'à 30 exemplaires. Il est prévu que le premier MQ-8C soit opérationnel en 2014.

http://www.air-cosmos.com/defense/mq-8c-le-nouveau-drone-de-northrop-grumman-pour-l-us-navy.html

PHILIPPINE SEA (Sep. 26, 2013) An F/A-18E Super Hornet from the "Eagles" of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 115 prepares to launch from the flight deck of the U.S. Navy's forward-deployed aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN) 73 during night flight operations.



PACIFIC OCEAN (Sept. 25, 2013) An F/A-18F Super Hornet from the "Diamondbacks" of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 102 takes off from the flight deck of the U.S. Navy's forward-deployed aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73).



PHILIPPINE SEA (Sept. 26, 2013) An SH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter from the Island Knights of Helicopter Combat Support Squadron (HSC) 25 delivers supplies to the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Preble (DDG 88) during an underway replenishment with the Military Sealift Command dry cargo and ammunition ship USNS Charles Drew (T-AKE 10).



WHITE BEACH, Japan (Sept. 25, 2013) - A landing craft air cushion (LCAC) assigned to Naval Beach Unit (NBU) 7 departs the well deck of amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6) during the offload of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU).



ARABIAN SEA (Aug. 25, 2013) The aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) sails alongside the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68). The Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group (CSG) assumed responsibilities as Commander, Task Force (CTF) 50 from the Nimitz CSG



 THEODORE ROOSEVELT, At Sea (Sept. 19 2013)-- The aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) conducts nighttime flight operations while transiting the Atlantic Ocean.


 
PACIFIC OCEAN (Sept. 18, 2013) An SM-3 Block 1B interceptor is launched from the guided-missile cruiser USS Lake Erie (CG 70) during a Missile Defense Agency test and successfully intercepted a complex short-range ballistic missile target off the coast of Kauai, Hawaii.

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US Navy activates first F-35C squadron


The US Navy has stood up its first official Lockheed Martin F-35C squadron in order to train aviators to operate the aircraft.

The squadron, VF-101, has been formed using two F-35s, and more will be delivered. Four additional F-35Cs are at NAS Patuxent River for aircraft testing.

The F-35C is scheduled to be the final version of the aircraft put into service, with an initial operating capability expected in 2019.

Lockheed expects to deliver a total of 15 aircraft to VF-101.

http://www.flightglobal.com

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Des commandos américains mènent des raids en Somalie et en Libye


  Des combattants d'Al Shabab en banlieue de Mogadiscio en 2011, l'attaque internationale samedi visait ce mouvement lié à Al-Qaïda.
 Photo :  PC/Mohamed Sheikh Nor  

Les forces spéciales américaines ont mené deux opérations en Afrique contre des leaders du groupe Al-Shabab et d'Al-Qaïda, ont confirmé des responsables américains.

En Somalie, un commando de la marine américaine a effectué un raid visant un chef du groupe islamiste Al-Shabab, l'organisation qui a revendiqué l'attaque menée le mois dernier contre le centre commercial de Westgate, à Nairobi au Kenya.

Un haut responsable des autorités militaires américaines a confirmé l'attaque samedi soir. Il a toutefois précisé qu'aucun leader des Shabab n'avait été capturé lors de l'opération, contrairement à ce qu'affirmaient le New York Times et NBC.  

Citant un responsable américain, le New York Times a indiqué qu'un commando des Navy SEALs pensait avoir tué un chef des Shabab somaliens lors d'un raid mené samedi avant le lever du jour contre sa résidence dans la ville côtière de Barawe, au sud de la capitale Mogadiscio. Essuyant des tirs nourris, le commando américain a cependant dû quitter les lieux avant de pouvoir confirmer la mort de ce chef islamiste.

Selon des témoins, le commando est arrivé par la mer et les combats ont duré plus d'une heure, des hélicoptères assurant un soutien aérien.

« Le raid de Barawe a été prévu il y a une semaine et demie. Il a été provoqué par l'attaque contre Westgate », a précisé un responsable américain au New York Times, en évoquant l'attaque, par des activistes du Shabab, d'un centre commercial de la capitale kenyanne, qui a fait au moins 67 morts.

« L'attaque [à Barawe] a été menée par les forces américaines. Le gouvernement somalien en avait été averti par avance », a indiqué un responsable gouvernemental somalien cité par le New York Times.

Le quotidien a cité un porte-parole des Shabab affirmant que son organisation avait perdu un combattant mais qu'elle avait aussi repoussé cet assaut.

Selon un responsable des services de renseignement somaliens, la cible de l'opération menée à Barawe était un commandant d'origine tchétchène et ce dernier aurait été blessé et l'un de ses gardes du corps tué. D'après la police, sept personnes sont mortes au cours de cette intervention.

Plus tôt, les Shabab ont accusé les forces spéciales britanniques et turques d'être responsables de l'opération. Londres et Ankara ont démenti.

Un leader d'Al-Qaïda capturé en Libye


Anas al-Libye, un leader d'Al-Qaïda capturé en Libye par les forces
américaines.Anas al-Libye, un leader d'Al-Qaïda capturé en Libye
par les forces américaines. Photo :  AFP/FBI  

Dans une autre opération, en Libye cette fois, les forces américaines ont capturé Anas al-Libye, un leader d'Al-Qaïda.

Il était recherché par les États-Unis pour son rôle dans les attentats contre les ambassades américaines au Kenya et en Tanzanie en 1998, qui ont fait 224 morts.

Le gouvernement américain offrait une récompense de 5 millions de dollars pour sa capture.


http://www.radio-canada.ca/nouvelles/International/2013/10/05/013-raid-marine-americaine-somalie-capture-un-chef-al-shabab-reponse-attaque-westgate-kenya.shtml

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Raytheon demonstrates new seeker technology for Tomahawk Block IV missile

Raytheon Company completed a successful field test of an advanced Electronic Support Measure (ESM) seeker installed in a Block IV Tomahawk missile as part of the company's new product improvement program.

The ESM seeker incorporates a state-of-the-art processor and antenna to locate and track moving and fixed emitting targets. The seeker's capability was validated in a realistic high-density environment after seven months of testing in anechoic chambers.

Raytheon Company completed a successful field test of an advanced Electronic Support Measure (ESM) seeker installed in a Block IV Tomahawk missile as part of the company's new product improvement program.

"This new moving target capability would enhance Tomahawk's already exceptional land attack mode capability by allowing it to engage moving targets on land," said Roy Donelson, Tomahawk program director for Raytheon Missile Systems. "We believe this evolution would align with DOD's vision of increasing capability while maintaining development costs."

Raytheon continues to work with the U.S. Navy to evaluate Tomahawk's technical and operational capabilities, while using cost-efficient manufacturing processes. A major enhancement introduced with the Tomahawk Block IV missile includes a two-way satellite data-link that enables a strike controller to redirect the missile in-flight to preprogrammed alternate targets or more critical targets.

"Raytheon is providing the U.S. Navy with a missile that can evolve its capability," Donelson continued. "Tomahawk is an open architecture 'truck' capable of integrating payloads and sensors that have high technology readiness levels."

The new multi-mode seeker technology would allow the Navy's Surface Action Group to fire Tomahawks from sanctuary and defeat mobile threats at long range.

Raytheon Company completed a successful field test of an advanced Electronic Support Measure (ESM) seeker installed in a Block IV Tomahawk missile as part of the company's new product improvement program.

About Tomahawk Block IV
With a range of approximately 1,000 statute miles, the Tomahawk Block IV missile is a surface- and submarine-launched precision strike stand-off weapon. Tomahawk is designed for long-range precision strike missions against high-value and heavily defended targets. More than 2,000 Tomahawks have been employed in combat. Tomahawk is integrated on all major U.S. surface combatants, as well as U.S. and U.K. sub-surface platforms, including the Los Angeles, Virginia, Ohio, Astute and Trafalgar-class submarines.

http://www.navyrecognition.com

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Navy Chooses Raytheon for New Air and Missile Defense Radar

The U.S. Navy has chosen Raytheon to build its Air and Missile Defense Radar, a next-generation defensive system for its Arleigh Burke-class destroyers.

The radar significantly increases ships’ ability to detect ballistic missiles, which are proliferating around the world, as well as air and surface targets.

Air and Missile Defense Radar Simulated Engagement Video
Watch the Air and Missile Defense Radar simultaneously defend against multiple threats in this simulated engagement video.

"The threats that AMDR is designed to counter require leap-ahead technology that Raytheon is ready to deliver," said Raytheon’s Kevin Peppe, vice president of Seapower Capability Systems.

Raytheon’s radar is highly scalable, allowing it to fit any ship or mission.

The radar features digital beamforming, which provides unique capability to perform wide-area surveillance while providing high precision with multiple, simultaneous radar beams.

The system also has radar resource scheduler capabilities that enable it to perform multiple missions simultaneously while maintaining an even demand on the ship’s prime power system. That's a critical feature for the modern Navy.

“Our AMDR solution benefits from decades of radar development and integration experience,” Peppe said. The design, he said, “will pay dividends in its adaptability, affordability and ability to meet emerging threats for years to come.”

Raytheon builds upon decades of experience designing active phased-array radars, each of which uses hundreds or thousands of individual transmitters per radar face to steer precision signals electronically.

They include the Navy’s SPY-3, Dual Band Radar and Cobra Judy Replacement programs, the Army's AN/TPY-2 missile-defense radar, the radar-carrying JLENS blimps and the F/A-18 APG-79 and Raytheon Advanced Combat Radar for the U.S. Air Force.

Raythen's Advanced Air and Missile Defense Radar Key to Integrated Defense
Raytheon's Air and Missile Defense Radar is key to protecting the fleet.

The company has produced more than 1.8 million transmit/receive modules, the individual elements that make up the transmitter of an active electronically scanned array radar.

Raytheon also has decades of experience working with adaptive beamforming: shaping, steering or changing the strength of radar signals for different uses.

The company is also the industry leader in production of high-performance gallium nitride, a material that can generate five times the radio energy density of previous technologies.

http://www.raytheon.com

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Newport News Shipbuilding Floods Dry Dock and Floats Aircraft Carrier Gerald R. Ford

Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) announced today that its Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS) division began flooding the dry dock where the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) has been under construction since November 2009. With the push of a dozen buttons, ship’s sponsor Susan Ford Bales initiated the flow of more than 100 million gallons of water into the dry dock.

Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) announced today that its Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS) division began flooding the dry dock where the aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) has been under construction since November 2009. With the push of a dozen buttons, ship’s sponsor Susan Ford Bales initiated the flow of more than 100 million gallons of water into the dry dock.

The flooding of the dry dock takes place in phases during which various tests are conducted. Initially, the dock is flooded about 4 feet high to its keel blocks, wood-capped concrete pads on which the ship has been supported during construction. Once the dock is fully flooded and initial afloat testing is complete, water will be partially pumped out and the ship returned to her keel blocks in anticipation of Ford’s christening on Nov. 9. The ship will float again about a week later when it is moved to a pier for outfitting. Ford is scheduled for delivery to the U.S. Navy in 2016.

Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) announced today that its Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS) division began flooding the dry dock where the aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) has been under construction since November 2009. With the push of a dozen buttons, ship’s sponsor Susan Ford Bales initiated the flow of more than 100 million gallons of water into the dry dock.

“Flooding of the dry dock, floating of the ship, and transfer to the outfitting pier all represent the successful completion of a tremendous amount of hard work by our talented shipbuilders,” said Rolf Bartschi, NNS’ vice president of CVN 78 carrier construction. “The shipbuilding team has taken great pride in building this first-of-class ship, and we all look forward to the next phase of ship construction and testing that will occur at the pier.”

Gerald R. Ford represents the next-generation class of aircraft carriers. The first-in-class ship features a new nuclear power plant, a redesigned island, electromagnetic catapults, improved weapons movement, an enhanced flight deck capable of increased aircraft sortie rates, and growth margin for future technologies and reduced manning.

“Thanks for holding my hand,” Bales said, addressing a group of shipbuilders following the event. “It has been really special, and walking down the side of the ship today, I wished my dad was here. He would have been so proud of all of you, and I’m proud of all of you.”

http://www.navyrecognition.com

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Northrop Grumman joins Honeywell in project to upgrade Navy shipboard aircraft landing systems

October 10, 2013




PATUXENT RIVER NAS, Md., 10 Oct. 2013. Air traffic control experts at the Northrop Grumman Corp. Electronic Systems segment in Woodland Hills, Calif., is joining the Honeywell Inc. Aerospace sector in Clearwater, Fla., on a project to upgrade precision landing systems aboard U.S. Navy aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships.
Officials of the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) at Patuxent River Naval Air Station, Md., have announced their intention to award five-year contracts to Northrop Grumman and Honeywell to upgrade and improve Navy Precision Approach Landing Systems (PALS) on carriers and big-deck amphibs.
The contracts to Northrop Grumman and Honeywell have yet to be negotiated, and should be awarded in February, Navy officials say. The contracts, which will be basic ordering agreement (BOA), will be for services and materials to fabricate, modify, repair, replace, upgrade, and improve PALS components, assemblies, and associated hardware.
PALS provides precision landing information to air traffic controllers and pilots during final approach while landing aircraft aboard aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships.
Northrop Grumman and Honeywell are to return the system to a level of serviceability comparable to a new system, and will include previously produced and delivered navigation and communication systems and equipment, to include fault isolation, assembly, disassembly, and refurbishment of parts, components, assemblies, and material for the PALS navigation and communication systems.

Northrop Grumman and Honeywell are the original manufacturers of the navigation, communication, and guidance equipment, and the companies are the only qualified providers of the necessary work, Navy officials say.
JPALS is an all-weather landing system based on real-time differential correction of the GPS signal, augmented with a local area correction message, and transmitted to the user via secure data links.
The onboard receiver compares the current GPS-derived position with the local correction signal to deliver a three-dimensional position that is accurate enough for all-weather approaches via an instrument landing system (ILS)-style display.

http://www.militaryaerospace.com/articles/2013/10/northrop-jpals-upgrade.html

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Raytheon Wins Key US Navy Radar Competition


A Raytheon model of a Flight III Arleigh Burke-class destroyer fitted with the company's Air Missile Defense Radar concept. Note the built-up superstructure above the bridge to accommodate the new radars. (Christopher P. Cavas)

WASHINGTON — Raytheon’s years of trying to break Lockheed Martin’s near-stranglehold on the top rung of US Navy radar programs paid off Thursday with the service’s announcement that the electronics giant has won the contract to build a new radar for the Aegis Combat System.
Raytheon beat out Lockheed and Northrop Grumman to build the Air Missile Defense Radar (AMDR), a new dual-band system that will provide the electronic eyes for the Lockheed-produced Aegis system. The AMDR will replace SPY-1D radars in new-construction Aegis ships.
“We are confident in our AMDR solution, leveraging our decades of radar development and integration experience,” Carolyn Beaudry, a Raytheon spokeswoman, said Thursday after that award was made public. “We are eager to move forward and deliver this exceptional capability to the Navy.”
Plans call for the first AMDR ship to be ordered in fiscal 2016. AMDR-fitted Flight III ships will replace Flight IIA Arleigh Burke-class destroyers now in production.
Raytheon’s AMDR uses the existing SPQ-9B X-band horizon search radar and a newly developed S-band integrated air and missile defense radar designed for long-range detection and engagement of advanced threats. The radars are brought together through a radar suite controller (RSC) to integrate, coordinate and manage the system.
Raytheon will receive up to $1.63 billion to develop, test and deliver the AMDR. The initial contract announced Oct. 10 is a $385.7 million cost-plus-incentive-fee contract, using $157 million in fiscal 2013 funding already appropriated.
The Navy is asking for $240 million in AMDR research and development funding in the 2014 budget request.
It is not yet clear what effect sequestration budget cuts could have on the Navy’s AMDR plans. Adm. Jonathan Greenert, chief of naval operations, testified to Congress on Sept. 18 that with sequestration, “the new Air and Missile Defense Radar would be delivered on only four ships, as compared to seven under our PB-14 [President’s Budget for FY2014] submission, between 2021 and 2024.”
A key requirement for the AMDR is to be scalable. The version to be fitted on the Flight III destroyers, for example, is to have a diameter of 14 feet, while a larger and more powerful version can be fitted on bigger ships.
Controversy about the AMDR has focused on the basic Burke-class’s ability to supply enough electrical power and have the right stability characteristics to mount the sensors. Precise details of the system’s characteristics remain classified.
This year, Lockheed withstood a challenge from Raytheon and Boeing to take over management of the Aegis system. The Combat System Engineering Agent (CSEA) contract awarded March 4 gave the company — which along with the Navy developed the system starting in the 1970s — management rights over Aegis through May 2018.
As a sub-contractor, Raytheon also produces key components of the Aegis system. The company also makes the Standard surface-to-air missiles that equip all Aegis cruisers and destroyers and that have been adapted to the anti-ballistic missile defense role.
The CSEA contract is part of a series of reforms led by Sean Stackley, the Navy’s top acquisition official, to inject more competition into the service’s business relationships. Strenuous efforts to turn previously proprietary systems like Aegis into open architecture configurations also are a major aspect of that effort.
The AMDR competition was fought by Lockheed, Raytheon and Northrop Grumman. Stackley — by all accounts a stern task master — has been routinely upbeat when discussing what he’s seen from the AMDR competition.
Northrop also makes the SPQ-9B radar forming the X-band portion of Raytheon’s AMDR.
The victory by Raytheon impressed at least one Wall Street analyst, who noted a trend after July’s win of the Next Generation Jammer development contract, a key element in the Navy’s airborne electronic attack mission. Raytheon won over BAE, Northrop Grumman and ITT Exelis. BAE is protesting that decision.
“Put this back to back with the next generation jammer, they surprised a lot of people with that,” said Byron Callan, a defense market analyst with Capital Alpha Partners.
“They’re clearly doing something right from a research and development standpoint to basically pick up two franchise programs and knock off entrenched competitions,” Callan noted. “Raytheon has emphasized they’re trying to protect investment in R&D.”
Lockheed spokesman Keith Little expressed the company’s dismay at the Navy’s decision.
“Lockheed Martin is very disappointed to learn the US Navy has not selected us to procure the next generation Air and Missile Defense Radar system,” he said Thursday evening. “We believe we presented the most affordable solution, founded on decades of performance with naval radar systems. We will await the Navy’s de-brief in order to understand why we were not selected and evaluate our next steps.
“At the same time, we remain fully committed to supporting the Navy on the Aegis and SPY radar programs.”
Here is the official announcement released Thursday by Naval Sea Systems Command:
“Raytheon is being awarded a $385,742,176 cost-plus-incentive-fee contract for the engineering and modeling development phase design, development, integration, test and delivery of Air and Missile Defense S-Band Radar (AMDR-S) and Radar Suite Controller (RSC). AMDR is the Navy’s next generation integrated air and missile defense radar and is being designed for Flight III Arleigh Burke (DDG 51) class destroyers beginning in 2016.
“AMDR consists of an S-band radar, an X-band radar and a Radar Suite Controller. AMDR-S is a new development integrated air and missile defense radar designed for long range detection and engagement of advanced threats. The X-band radar is an existing horizon-search radar. The RSC provides S- and X-band radar resource management, coordination and interface to the Aegis combat system.
“Under the contract, Raytheon will build, integrate and test the AMDR-S and RSC Engineering Development Models (EDMs). For the ship sets covered under this contract, the AMDR suite will integrate with the existing AN/SPQ-9B X-band radar. The base contract begins with design work leading to Preliminary Design Review and culminates with system acceptance of the AMDR-S and RSC engineering development models at the end of testing.
“This contract includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $1,633,363,781. Previously appropriated FY13 funding in the amount of $156,960,000 will be obligated at time of award.
“This contract includes options for manufacturing low-rate initial production systems which may be exercised following Milestone C planned for fiscal year 2017.
“This contract was awarded following a full and open competition, with three offers received.”

http://www.defensenews.com/article/20131010/DEFREG02/310100022/Raytheon-Wins-Key-US-Navy-Radar-Competition

Citation :

Exelis to provide sonobuoy launchers, carriage and release systems for P-8A Poseidon aircraft

Exelis (NYSE: XLS) has completed negotiations for two production contracts from Boeing Co. to supply sonobuoy launchers and carriage and release systems for the U.S. Navy’s P-8A Poseidon multimission maritime aircraft.
Exelis will supply systems that will include rotary, single-shot sonobuoy pneumatic launchers and pneumatic carriage and release equipment. The Exelis-designed Sonobuoy Launching System (SLS) is planned to provide aircrews with a high-performance airborne launching capability.
“Unlike conventional launch devices, the Exelis SLS employs compressed air, rather than electro-explosive charges, to deploy payloads,” said Pete Martin, director of defense systems for the Exelis electronic attack & release systems business.
Introduced into service in 2012, the P-8A Poseidon is a modified Boeing 737 airliner designed to engage submarines and surface ships. Deliveries of the Exelis SLS will begin in October 2014 with work being completed at the Exelis facilities in Amityville, N.Y.
Source : Exelis

http://www.asdnews.com/news-51371/Exelis_to_provide_sonobuoy_launchers,_carriage_and_release_systems_for_P-8A_Poseidon_aircraft.htm

next aircraft carrier meets seawater for the first time.
Newport News Shipbuilding began flooding Dry Dock 12 to float the first in class aircraft carrier, Pre-Commissioning Unit Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78)

Zumwalt stealth destroyer will be ready next week

Citation :

Seapower for the Missions of the Future

The DDG 1000 Zumwalt-class destroyer is America’s next generation, multi-mission, naval destroyer, serving as the vanguard of an entire new generation of advanced multi-mission surface combat ships.

Under the U.S. Navy's DDG 1000 Detail Design and Integration contract awarded in 2005, Raytheon Integrated Defense System (IDS) serves as the prime mission systems equipment integrator for all of the leading-edge electronic and combat systems for the Zumwalt-class destroyer program. Working with the Navy and a team of industry leaders, IDS is leading the effort to transform the Navy's ship requirements to reality.

Zumwalt’s advanced mission capabilities are driven by 10 critical technologies that give the ship unprecedented versatility in a variety of operational environments and dramatically reduce manning requirements. The systems’ open architecture design enables commonality across the U.S. Navy’s entire family of ships, which will pay dividends for years to come.
Zumwalt Delivers

   Unmatched warfighting capabilities
   Tested and proven technologies
   Scalability for both forward fit into the Navy’s Family of Ships and backfit into legacy fleet
   Meets known and anticipated future threats
   Design margin for new capabilities and relevance well into the century

Zumwalt will be the centerpiece of seapower for the next 50 years.

http://www.raytheon.com/capabilities/products/zumwalt/

Citation :

US Navy's largest destroyer going into water

http://www.woodtv.com/news/national/us-navys-largest-destroyer-going-into-water_78557899

Citation :

LCS Freedom suffers flooding in port

WASHINGTON — The littoral combat ship (LCS) Freedom suffered minor flooding Oct. 20 when about three feet of water was discovered in the bilge, the lowest part of the ship.

The LCS was pierside at the Changi Naval Base in Singapore and was in no danger, the Navy said.

The ship’s crew controlled the flooding and dewatered the space, said Capt. Darryn James, spokesman for the US Pacific Fleet in Pearl Harbor.

“The problem was traced to a small rupture in a seawater service system pipe,” he said.

Impacts from the flooding are not severe, James added, and the problem “will result in minimal operational impact to the ship.”

According to a Navy report, a half-inch rupture was discovered in the discharge piping of the No. 1 gas turbine motor lube oil cooler. It is not yet clear whether the problem is due to a manufacturing defect, an installation problem, or some other issue.

“This latest problem is not related to previous lube oil cooling issues that occurred during this deployment,” James said.

The Freedom, which has been in port for several weeks, was to have gotten underway Oct. 21 for several days of local operations before returning to Changi for a maintenance period, but “the ship will now remain in port to conduct repairs,” James said.

The Freedom’s crews have dealt with several mishaps since leaving San Diego on March 1 to begin the cruise, the first-ever extended overseas deployment for an LCS. The ship has experienced several short-duration power losses — each a matter of minutes — including an event in July that caused the Freedom to break off operations and return to Singapore for repairs.

Several problems have resulted from issues in the lube oil cooling systems — essentially tubes filled with seawater that circulate around hot engines to cool them down. Such systems are common to virtually all big ships, and are not necessarily LCS-specific.

James declined to discuss specific operational schedules for the Freedom, but he indicated no changes are planned.

“We don’t expect this to be a problem that affects Freedom’s deployment schedule,” he said. “The ship is working to prepare for CARAT Brunei exercises in November.”

CARAT, or Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training exercises, have been a staple of the Freedom’s deployment, and have included exercises with naval forces from the Philippines, Thailand and Singapore.

Sailors also completed a crew swap in early August when the Blue Crew relieved the Gold Crew.

The Freedom is expected to leave for home before the end of November, and be back in San Diego around Christmastime.

http://www.navytimes.com

Citation :

Wi-Fi Coming To US Ships, Subs

WASHINGTON — US Navy leaders, based on feedback from the fleet, plan major upgrades to shipboard communication and maintenance to make sailors’ and officers’ jobs easier on warships and submarines.
One great leap envisioned under the Reducing Administration Distractions (RAD) campaign is the introduction of Wi-Fi aboard ship, which will be one feature of the fleet’s next-generation computer network.
This system places Wi-Fi hotspots around the vessel, where sailors can access the ship’s local area network. That vastly expands the number of computers that can be online, to include laptops and tablet computers.
“The Wi-Fi capability will predominantly be for official duties only,” Steve Davis, a spokesman for Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR), wrote in an email.
If you’re a glass half full person, Davis is saying there will at least be some time that Wi-Fi is used for unofficial purposes.
However, he adds, “It’s not anticipated at this point that [bring-your-own-device] will be applicable to connect with the network. The primary quality of life benefit will be increased bandwidth.”
Computers are in short supply aboard ship, where there is a limited number of local area network drops. Using laptops at Wi-Fi hotspots in offices and work shops will dramatically reduce wait times for computers, which every sailor needs to use for required training and administrative work. And when the work is done, it also boosts their chances to surf the web or send emails home.
Officials are still working through many of the rules for Wi-Fi, a system that could be susceptible to interception at close range. But this feature will soon be commonly available. It is working on the destroyer McCampbell, the first ship to use the network, and is being installed aboard seven destroyers, two aircraft carriers and one big-deck amphibious assault ship as part of the new computer system, Consolidated Afloat Network and Enterprise Services (CANES).
More than 190 ships, submarines and operations centers will have CANES by 2021, SPAWAR said.
Many Applications
Wi-Fi has many advantages. Sailors could use it to communicate at any point during the day. Leaders such as the chief engineer or the commanding officer could use it to check the status of the ship’s plant. And sailors armed with tablets could immediately report completion of a training session or maintenance check into a central log, which supervisors and chiefs could track real-time. Before a training lecture is missed, they would get a red flag.
Crew members could also use them off-duty as e-readers and download digital books and magazines wirelessly from the ship’s e-library, a concept tested aboard four ships and a sub this year.
As every sailor knows, when you really can’t find the answer, go ask your chief. But what if there were a central repository of information that you could check first, a forum where sailors and chiefs from around the fleet could share gouge and experiences?
That’s the idea behind the SailorWiki.
Officials see this Wikipedia-like site full of sailor-created pages packed with helpful information. An unclassified version could become a central storehouse for facts about personnel policies, instructions and lessons learned. The classified one could be a forum for sailors to discuss tactics, intelligence collection and other secrets.
Rear Adm. Herm Shelanski, the director of the Navy’s Assessment Division who is overseeing the Navy’s RAD campaign, views this as “a way ahead” but said he doesn’t know how quickly it could come to fruition.
Tablets and How-to Videos
The brass launched a Navy-wide innovation experiment in July, asking sailors and civilians to report the biggest time-wasters and then collaborate on ways to fix them. Again and again, they heard complaints about 3M (maintenance and material management). This scheme of checks, paperwork and spot-checks consumes millions of sailor hours every year across ships, squadrons, shops and subs. Not to mention millions of pages and countless amounts of printer toner.
Shelanski sees overhauling this headache-inducing scheme as his task force’s primary mission. Fixing it will require cooperation between bureaucracies and new technologies, all now within reach because of devices such as iPads, which could also improve training and communications across the fleet.
“I think it’s a process that has kind of stagnated over the years, and it’s just ripe for modernization, digitization,” Shelanski said in a September interview.
The RAD campaign’s vision: issuing an unspecified type of tablet computer to every work center and division. In other words, tens of thousands of sailors in the fleet.
The tablets could streamline all general military training. New lectures and updates could instantly be sent to even the fleet’s most far-flung corners.
The screens could be used to share a presentation or just to show notes for the speaker.
Similarly, all of a workshop’s equipment checks will be uploaded to the tablet computer and issued to the techs every time they head out for maintenance.
“Every time he opens it, he knows he has the latest card,” Shelanski explained. “All the changes have been incorporated, and it’s been pushed to him. He doesn’t have to do anything. No more lining out, no more seeing what’s the latest card. He doesn’t have to look it up because it’s there on his tablet. It’s been pushed from the source that owns the card.”
So, say you’re assigned a check that you’ve never done before or one that’s complicated, and you’re not sure how to go about a step. The tablet computer offers a quick solution: how-to videos, much like YouTube offers help about everything from fixing a flat tire to mixing a mimosa. Shelanski envisions the Navy’s videos will feature instructors going step-by-step through a maintenance check. Sailors could watch this as prep or refer to it mid-process.
Shelanski offered an example: A sailor wants to know how to perform maintenance on an electrical generator. The video will “have the expert, walking through that and showing him step-by-step,” Shelanski said. “He can pause, replay if he needs to, or do the first step, then play the second step. We think that will add to the quality of the maintenance.”
Those tablets will come in handy once the check is done, too. The sailor could add any notes as needed and then hit a “submit” button on the tablet, much like any smart phone app. That’s relayed immediately to the supervisor via Wi-Fi.
When the Navy issues tablets, it’s likely they will require the same security and IT rules as laptops and computers that connect to the command’s local area network. Many tablet computers, like iPads, have built-in cameras and microphones, so it’s likely that they’ll be excluded from classified areas aboard ship.

http://www.defensenews.com/article/20131016/DEFREG02/310160016

 

Citation :

The Navy’s newest warship is powered by Linux

The USS Zumwalt will be a floating data center—armed with missiles and robot guns.
When the USS Zumwalt (DDG 1000) puts to sea later this year, it will be different from any other ship in the Navy's fleet in many ways. The $3.5 billon ship is designed for stealth, survivability, and firepower, and it's packed with advanced technology. And at the heart of its operations is a virtual data center powered by off-the-shelf server hardware, various flavors of Linux, and over 6 million lines of software code.
On October 10, I flew up to Rhode Island to visit Raytheon's Seapower Capability Center in Portsmouth, where engineers assembled and pre-tested the systems at the heart of the Zumwalt and are preparing to do the same for the next ship in line, the USS Michael Monsoor—already well into construction. There, Raytheon's DDG-1000 team gave me a tour of the centerpiece of the ship's systems—a mockup of the Zumwalt's operations center, where the ship's commanding officer and crew will control the ship's sensors, missile launchers, guns, and other systems.
Over 20 years ago, I learned how to be a ship watch stander a few miles from the Raytheon facility at the Navy's Surface Warfare Officer School. But the operations center of the Zumwalt will have more in common with the fictional starship USS Enterprise's bridge than it does with the combat information centers of the ships I went to sea on. Every console on the Zumwalt will be equipped with touch screens and software capable of taking on the needs of any operator on duty, and big screens on the forward bulkhead will display tactical plots of sea, air, and land.
Perhaps it's appropriate that the first commanding officer of the Zumwalt will be Captain James Kirk (yes, that's actually his name). But considering how heavily the ship leans on its computer networks, maybe they should look for a chief engineer named Vint Cerf.

Off the shelf and on the ship

In the past, you couldn't just put off-the-shelf computer systems aboard a ship for mission critical tasks—when I was aboard the USS Iowa, we had to shut down non-tactical systems before the guns were fired because the shock and vibration would crash systems hard. So typically, individual computer systems are ruggedized. But that adds heavily to the cost of the systems and makes it more difficult to maintain them.
The design of the Zumwalt solves that problem by using off-the-shelf hardware—mostly IBM blade servers running Red Hat Linux—and putting it in a ruggedized server room. Those ruggedized server rooms are called Electronic Modular Enclosures (EMEs), sixteen self-contained, mini data centers built by Raytheon.
Measuring 35 feet long, 8 feet high, and 12 feet wide, the 16 EMEs have more than 235 equipment cabinets (racks) in total. The EMEs were all configured and pre-tested before being shipped to Bath, Maine, to be installed aboard the Zumwalt. The EME approach lowered overall cost of the hardware itself, and allows Raytheon to pre-integrate systems before they're installed. "It costs a lot to do the work in the shipyard," said Raytheon's DDG-1000 deputy program manager Tom Moore, "and we get limited time of access."
Each EME has its own shock and vibration damping, power protection, water cooling systems, and electromagnetic shielding to prevent interference from the ship's radar and other big radio frequency emitters.
The EMEs tap into the Total Ship Computing Environment, the Zumwalt's shipboard Internet. Running multiple partitioned networks over a mix of fiber and copper, TSCE's redundantly switched network system connects all of the ship's systems—internal and external communications, weapons, engineering, sensors, etc.—over Internet protocols, including TCP and UDP. Almost all of the ship's internal communications are based on Voice Over IP (with the exception of a few old-school, sound-powered phones for emergency use).

It looks like you want to launch a missile


Some of those networked clients were what I was looking at in the mocked-up Zumwalt operations center. The operations center isn't just where screens are watched and commands are shouted—the whole ship can be practically run from the space, from guns and missiles to engines. There's no "radio room" on the Zumwalt; all the communications are managed from the operations center. The ship's guns are fully automated and operated by an operations center watch stander instead of a gunner's mate in the mount. Theoretically, the ship could even be steered from the ops center—the ship is piloted by computer, not a helmsman. And all of these tasks are performed from the same type of console.

Called the Common Display System, or CDS (pronounced as "keds" by those who work with it), the three-screen workstations in the operations center are powered by a collection of quad-processor Intel motherboards in an armored case, which gives new meaning to the nautical phrase "toe buster." Even the commanding officer's and executive officer's chairs on the bridge have CDS workstations built-in.

Each CDS system can run multiple Linux virtual machines atop LynuxWorx's LynxSecure, a separation kernel tthat has been implemented in CDS as a hypervisor. This allows the workstation to connect to various networks partitioned by security level and purpose. "Every watch stander station runs out of the same box," Raytheon's DDG-1000 developer lead Robert Froncillo told me. "So they can sit at any CDS and bring up their station."
This may not seem like a big deal to most people. But on past ships, workstations tended to be purpose-built for a specific weapons system or sensor. That meant every system had a different configuration and interface, and you couldn't have a watch stander handle multiple tasks without having to switch seats. The CDS workstation uses common USB interfaces for its peripheral devices (such as trackballs and specialized button panels) and is equipped with touchscreens, as well, so that watch standers have a choice between "classic" and touch interfaces.
That doesn't mean there's necessarily a "Clippy" to help new operators master their systems. The Raytheon team has had sailors in to perform usability assessments from before code was even written, showing them screen shots of interfaces to get feedback from users. "We had a chief that said, 'We don't want any 'wizards,'" said Froncillo.



Putting all of the pieces together is a collection of middleware running on those IBM blade servers. Many of the shipboard systems use a commercial publish/subscribe middleware platform to send updates to operator consoles. But for other systems that need to be more tightly coupled (like, for example, missile launch commands), the Navy has specified the use of the Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA)—the military's favorite mission-critical middleware model. (The software for the Joint Tactical Radio System's software-defined radios was also developed using CORBA.)

The next release



The Zumwalt may not have sailed yet, but its software has already shipped six times. When Release 5 was completed, Raytheon brought in more sailors to test the system, tethering it to the company's Total Ship System Simulator to run through a number of combat scenarios. "We did antisubmarine warfare, air, and land attack missions," Froncillo said. The lessons learned were incorporated into release 6, and 7 will be installed on the ship before the ship's "shakedown" cruise. Another upgrade will be installed post-delivery, and continual improvements will be made as the software is deployed to the other two ships in the class.
But the life of the technology being deployed on the Zumwalt won't end there. CDS will be used as part of the Navy's Aegis Modernization Program to upgrade the systems of the fleet's guided missile cruisers and destroyers. "And there are a lot of things we're developing that will be reused," Moore said.
Considering how much has been spent over the past decade trying to get the Zumwalt built, and the other technologies that were developed in the process, one can hope that more than just the software gets some reuse.

http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2013/10/the-navys-newest-warship-is-powered-by-linux/?sf892043=1

Citation :

Submarine Albany enters naval shipyard


The submarine Albany went around the corner to Portsmouth on Wednesday for its midlife overhaul, traveling a short distance for a long stretch away from base.
The Albany, a nuclear-powered, fast-attack submarine homeported in Norfolk, will spend approximately 29 months at Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth. The scheduled work involves removing the shaft and sonar dome for maintenance and modernization of its combat systems, a shipyard spokesman said.
The overhaul also will incorporate some firsts for the shipyard, spokesman Jeff Cunningham said. The yard created a toolroom close to where the work on the submarine is being done, he said. That’s been the practice for aircraft carriers, but because of the layout of the shipyard, it wasn’t done for submarines in the past.
The team also has incorporated additional management training to streamline the project, Cunningham said.
The Albany was commissioned in 1990, the 43rd nuclear-powered, fast-attack submarine in the Los Angeles class and the fifth to carry the name of the New York state capital.


http://hamptonroads.com/2013/10/submarine-albany-enters-naval-shipyard

Citation :

Le F-35C entame ses essais d'armement

Le 25/10/2013 à 11:10 | Par François Julian



Après le F-35A et le F-35B, c'est désormais au tour du F-35C de tester ses premiers armements. L'avion d'essais CF-2, deuxième exemplaire construit de la version embarquée du Joint Strike Fighter, a mené pour la première fois un essai de séparation d'une bombe guidée laser de 250 kg GBU-12 le 21 octobre, au dessus d'un polygone d'essais dans l'Atlantique.

Désormais, les trois versions du JSF ont montré des capacités offensives. Pour autant, la route est encore longue avant la mise en service opérationnelle du F-35C, qui n'est pas attendue avant 2018 ou 2019 dans l'US Navy, son unique client. Prochaine étape pour le F-35C, les premiers essais « en mer », qui auront lieu l'an prochain.

Selon un bilan arrêté à fin septembre, les trois versions du F-35 ont réalisé un total de 3585 vols d'essais, dont 1153 pour la seule année 2013. Cela représente un peu plus de 46 % de la campagne d'essais en vol qui doit se terminer en 2019.

Dans le courant du mois de septembre, la flotte de F-35 (ce qui inclut les avions livrés aux forces américaines et britanniques) a franchi la barre des 10 000 heures de vol.

A ce jour, 75 F-35 ont déjà pris l'air : 61 avions livrés aux forces américaines et britanniques, et 14 avions d'essais (dont un a été arrêté de vol). A ce bilan, il faut également ajouter les six cellules construites pour les essais statiques et de fatigue.
La mise en service opérationnelle initiale du F-35B est prévue en 2015. Celle du F-35A aura lieu en 2016.

http://www.air-cosmos.com/defense/le-f-35c-entame-ses-essais-d-armement.html

Citation :

Raytheon's Joint Standoff Weapon C-1 demonstrates networked capability with E-2D aircraft

TUCSON, Ariz., Oct. 27, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) and the U.S. Navy demonstrated the capability of the newest version of the Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW) C-1 by establishing communications among an F/A-18E/F Super Hornet aircraft, an E-2D Advanced Hawkeye aircraft and the JSOW C-1.

The test was part of the Navy's Trident Warrior 2013 demonstration in July. During the demonstration, fighters simulated the launch of a JSOW C-1 while the E-2D directed the weapon toward the positively identified target. The E-2D aircraft also received status updates sent from the JSOW C-1.

"The success of the Trident Warrior 2013 demonstration proves the feasibility of providing the fleet a means of executing the complete kill chain with carrier-based assets utilizing the F/A-18E/F, JSOW C-1 and E-2D to engage maritime targets at range," said Cmdr. Errol Campbell, the U.S. Navy's Precision Strike Weapons program office deputy program manager for the JSOW program.

Additionally, the team was able to track and designate a target; simulate the launch of the JSOW; send, receive and acknowledge target updates; and receive bomb hit indication data from the weapon.

"This test further verifies the flexibility and seamless plug-and-play connectivity of JSOW C-1's network-enabled capability," said Celeste Mohr, JSOW program director for Raytheon Missile Systems. "The test demonstrates the relative ease with which the U.S. Navy can build on the ongoing integration of the JSOW C-1 on the U.S. Navy's F/A-18 and expand the interoperability and connectivity to a fielded carrier-capable tactical airborne early warning aircraft."

In 2009, the Navy performed a similar demonstration of connectivity and interoperability among sensor platforms, a shooting platform and the JSOW C-1 during the Joint Surface Warfare Joint Capability Technology Demonstration. This demonstration involved a P-3 Orion aircraft's littoral surveillance radar system and an E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System aircraft.

Citation :

Navy To Resume Heavyweight Torpedo Procurement Despite Budget Pressure




ARLINGTON, Va. - The Navy plans to purchase more Mk48 Mod 7 heavyweight torpedoes in the near future, restarting production that ended 17 years ago.
Rear Adm. Richard Breckinridge, director of submarine warfare in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, addressing an audience at the annual Naval Submarine League Oct. 23 in Falls Church, Va., was not at liberty to discuss the 2015 budget proposal, which the Navy had just submitted to the Office of the Secretary of Defense, but he said that funds for the torpedo were being protected.
“The Navy had the courage, even in the face of sequestration, to keep the heavyweight torpedo restart in the budget,” Breckinridge said. “[It’s] a hard, hard challenge to do something like that. It’s been 17 years since we last built a full-up round torpedo. We’ve been on a recycling program ever since.”
The Navy has sustained a vigorous technology refresh program for its Mk 48s to improve their capability and performance.
New production will allow the Navy to sustain its inventory — to allow for more test firings — and to build new torpedoes as potential platforms for undersea sensors.
The Mk48 “is a naturally modular vehicle,” said Rear Adm. Dave Johnson, program executive officer for submarines, also addressing the audience.

http://seapowermagazine.org/stories/20131025-torpedo.html

Citation :

Navy: New sub program still 'top priority'



ST. MARYS, GA. — Navy officials call the replacement of Ohio-class submarines home-ported at Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay and at the Pacific base in Bangor, Wash., the service’s “top priority program.”
And if it means scrapping air and land nuclear weapon delivery systems to replace the fleet, then so be it, according to a study by the Cato Institute, a public policy think tank that conducts independent, nonpartisan research on a wide range of policy issues.
The study underscores what it considers the importance of the replacement fleet as a deterrent to nuclear war.
The Navy’s plan to build 12 of the replacement submarines, estimated to cost as much as $100 billion, will put a large dent in its shipbuilding budget.
The study suggests the Pentagon may have to bend the rules to fund the program and suggests it should consider different alternatives.
It suggests a simple, but potentially controversial solution.
“Eliminating the other two legs of the nuclear triad -- intercontinental ballistic missiles, or ICBMs, and nuclear bombers -- would save American taxpayers around $20 billion a year,” the study said. “Part of the savings could be put toward replacing the Ohio-class subs.”
Analysts agree the Trident submarine fleet is the most survivable leg of the nuclear triad. In fact, the submarines by themselves are a more powerful nuclear war deterrent than any possessed by nearly every other nation.
“Russia retains a relatively large arsenal, but no other country is capable of deploying more than a few hundred nuclear warheads,” according to the study. “A single Ohio-class submarine can carry up to 192.”
The Navy’s 14 Ohio-class submarines are capable of carrying 24 nuclear ballistic missiles and each missile can carry up to six warheads. The D-5 missile has a range of about 7,000 miles, allowing it to strike anywhere on the planet within 30 minutes.
The missiles are believed to be as accurate as land-based ICBMs and are “far superior as a delivery vehicle than bomber aircraft,” the study said.
“Given their stealth and survivability, SSBNs represent a secure second-strike force on their own,” the study said. “No other state now threatens America’s SSBN fleet.”
The institute has an answer for those who believe all three delivery systems are necessary.
“The reliance on three nuclear delivery systems is a relic of Cold War bureaucratic politics, not the product of strategic calculation,” the study said. “A submarine-based monad is more than sufficient for America’s deterrence needs, and would be considerably less expensive to modernize and maintain than the current force. The Navy would not have to skirt the law in a desperate bid to shake additional money from American taxpayers if the Obama administration shed its attachment to the nuclear triad.”
Sheila McNeill, president of the Camden Partnership and former national president of the Navy League, said she is aware of the study but cannot comment. She said other military officials will also decline comment.
But she said the issue will be discussed sometime in the near future.
“We are working on a conference that will educate our leadership on each leg of the triad,” she said.

http://www.navytimes.com/article/20131025/NEWS04/310250002

Citation :

General Dynamics to Christen the U.S. Navy's Most Advanced Submarine, North Dakota, on Saturday

GROTON, Conn., Oct. 29, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- General Dynamics Electric Boat will christen North Dakota (SSN-784), the U.S. Navy's newest and most advanced nuclear-attack submarine, at its shipyard here on Saturday, Nov. 2, at 11 a.m. Electric Boat is a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD).

Katie Fowler, wife of retired Vice Adm. Jeff Fowler, is the ship's sponsor. The event's principal speaker is Vice Adm. Michael J. Connor, commander – Submarine Forces.

The submarine North Dakota is the 11th ship of the Virginia class, the first U.S. Navy combatants designed for the post-Cold War era. Unobtrusive, non-provocative and connected with land, air, sea and space-based assets, North Dakota and the other Virginia-class submarines are equipped to wage multi-dimensional warfare around the globe, providing the Navy with continued dominance in coastal waters or the open ocean.

Electric Boat and its construction partner, Newport News Shipbuilding, have delivered 10 Virginia-class submarines to the Navy, and have contracts for eight additional ships.

A live video and audio webcast of the North Dakota christening will be accessible online at www.gdeb.com. Webcast coverage will begin Saturday at 10:30 a.m. EDT; the ceremony will begin at 11 a.m. and conclude at approximately 12:15 p.m. The program will be available for on-demand replay for one week, beginning at approximately 2:30 p.m. EDT on Saturday.

More information about General Dynamics Electric Boat is available at www.gdeb.com. More information about General Dynamics is available at www.generaldynamics.com.

SOURCE General Dynamics Electric Boat

Citation :

US Navy considers extending F/A-18 procurement into fiscal year 2015

The US Navy is considering ordering additional Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet aircraft in fiscal 2015, despite current plans to cease procurement in the current 2014 fiscal year, which ends on 30 September.

In a pre-solicitation notice posted on FedBizOpps.gov, the Naval Air Systems Command says it “intends to solicit and negotiate a fixed-price” contract with Boeing for up to 36 F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and E/A-18G Growler aircraft in FY2015.

The notice comes amid concern about ending F/A-18E/F production in a time of uncertainly about the readiness of the Lockheed Martin F-35C Joint Strike Fighter.

The navy’s order would also include ancillary mission equipment and technical data.

In a separate pre-solicitation, the navy says it intends to acquire from General Electric up to 84 F414 engines, which power both the Super Hornet and Growler.

“It looks like [navy leaders]are hedging their bets and creating the option to go with the Super Hornet in the near term,” Todd Harrison, senior fellow at Washington, DC-based Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, tells Flightglobal.

If the navy does order more F/A-18E/Fs, it could cut the number of F-35Cs it purchases in the near-term by delaying deliveries, says Harrison.

“As we understand it, [the pre-solicitation] is more of a formality to keep the door open to potential future buys” of F/A-18s, according to Boeing, which has said it will not keep its St. Louis F/A-18 production site operating without further US military orders.

Boeing referred additional questions to the navy.

Lockheed Martin declined to comment, also referring questions to the navy.

The navy declines to comment about F/A-18E/Fs for FY2015, telling Flightglobal it “can’t speculate about the contents of forthcoming budgets.”

But during a 23 October meeting of the US Senate Armed Services Committee, US Navy Vice Admiral Allen Myers told senators that FY2014 budget cuts threaten the ability of the navy to ensure F-35Cs reach “initial operational capability” by 2018.

Other US officials have also expressed concern about ending F/A-18E/F production and have hinted the navy might order more aircraft in 2015.

“Due to the delay in fielding the navy variant of the joint strike fighter, ending the Super Hornet production prematurely creates risk in the navy's strike fighter force structure, and in the nation's production capacity and a competitive industrial base,” said the US Senate appropriations committee in its report on the Department of Defense 2014 appropriations bill.

“The committee recommends a $75 million increase for advance procurement of F/A-18 aircraft and expects the navy to procure additional aircraft in the fiscal year 2015 budget request,” added the Senate.

The appropriations bill has not yet been passed by the Senate.

The navy has orders for 260 F-35C aircraft, with initial operational capability scheduled for between August 2018 and February 2019.

F-35s could cost up to $125 million each, according to one defence aviation analyst, while Super Hornets cost “in the mid-$50 million range,” according to Boeing’s website.

The F-35 joint program office (JPO) declined to speculate about how a navy order for F/A-18E/Fs would impact the F-35’s budget or schedule, noting that JPO does not know the navy’s intentions and that budget constraints have created more uncertainly.

The office adds that it communicates with the armed services daily and that its role is to provide access to acquisition information.

Harrison notes that the navy has interest in keeping Boeing’s St. Louis facility open in the near-term because the site is a second source for fighter aircraft.

Another navy order would also keep production open to foreign customers such as Brazil, which has postponed an order for up to 36 F/A-18E/Fs.

Also, Harrison notes a closure at St. Louis threatens other Boeing operations there, such as Boeing Phantom Works, the company’s advanced technology division.

But don’t read too much into the pre-solicitation bid, Harrison cautions.

The navy has not yet placed firm orders for more F/A-18s and does not yet have the necessary funding, he notes. Also, pre-solicitation is a “first step” in a lengthy contracting cycle.

“It doesn’t mean they will do it,” Harrison says.

Foreign buyers of the F-35 will likely take note of the navy’s interest in more F/A-18s, but not because it signals lack of faith in the F-35, Harrison adds.

Rather, changes to the US Navy’s orders might affect the cost of F-35s or the delivery schedule, Harrison says.

“A lot of foreign customers are worried the [production] schedule will slip,” Harrison says, and fewer orders from the US Navy could drive up unit costs.

“I don’t think it affects their confidence in the technology or performance, it’s more of a schedule and unit-cost issue,” he says.

http://www.flightglobal.com

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Premier vol du Fire Scout MQ-8C de l’US Navy  

Le 04/11/2013 à 12:40   | Par Gabrielle Carpel  



C’est le 31 octobre dernier que le MQ-8C Fire Scout, l’hélicoptère dronisé de la Marine américaine, a effectué son premier vol au-dessus de la base navale de Ventura County, à Point Mugu, en Californie. L’appareil est resté dans une zone contrôlée durant un vol de 7 minutes afin de valider les systèmes autonomes de contrôle. Un deuxième vol a eu lieu quelques 2 heures plus tard et a atteint une altitude de 150 mètres.

Le MQ-8C doit, selon l’US Navy, surpasser les performances du MQ-8B, qui opère actuellement sur le navire USS Simpson. Il aura un rayon d'action de 270 km (150 miles nautiques) et une capacité de 320 kg de charge utile. Il a été développé par Northrop Grumman à partir du Bell 407.

Le MQ-8C devrait être opérationnelle en 2016, avec un potentiel de déploiement au début de l'année 2014.

http://www.air-cosmos.com/defense/premier-vol-du-fire-scout-mq-8c-de-l-us-navy.html  

Citation :

Publiée le  3 nov. 2013  


The Navy's newest variant of the Fire Scout unmanned helicopter completed its first day of flying today, Oct. 31 at Naval Base Ventura County at Point Mugu, CA. The unmanned helicopter lifted off at 12:05 pm PDT and flew for seven minutes in restricted airspace to validate the autonomous control systems. The second flight that took off at 2:39 pm was also flown in a pattern around the airfield, reaching 500 feet altitude. The Northrop Grumman MQ-8C is a larger air vehicle will can provide, has a range of 150 nautical miles and a payload capacity of more than 700 pounds. The MQ-8C air vehicle upgrade will provide longer endurance, range and greater payload capability than the MQ-8B, which is currently operating aboard USS Samuel B. Roberts.
 

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Guerre électronique: la Navy reconduit son contrat avec le Phoenix Group  

Depuis 2009, le Phoenix Group assure la formation à la guerre électronique des personnels de l'US Navy dans le cadre du contrat EWAT (Electronic Warfare Aircraft for Training). Ce contrat a été reconduit jusqu'en 2018, sans appel d'offres . Phoenix met en oeuvre deux Gulfstream pour ce contrat d'une valeur de 23 millions de dollars.  

Citation :

Phoenix Air Group Inc., Cartersville, Ga., is being awarded a $23,153,136 firm-fixed-price and cost-reimbursable indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for contractor owned and operated aircraft for fleet training in support of the commander, Naval Air Forces, various Department of Defense (DoD) and non-DoD agencies, and foreign military sales customers, including fleet integrated training contracted air services and electronic warfare aircraft for training. These aircraft will be utilized for training shipboard, and aircraft weapon system operators and aircrew, tactics and procedures to counter potential enemy electronic warfare threats. Work will be performed in Cartersville, Ga., (40 percent) and various locations inside and outside the United States (60 percent), and is expected to be completed in November 2018. Fiscal 2014 operations and maintenance, Navy contract funds in the amount of $2,524,948 are being obligated on this award, all of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to 10 U.S.C. 2304(c). The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity (N00421-14-D-0005).  

http://lignesdedefense.blogs.ouest-france.fr/archive/2013/11/06/guerre-electronique-le-phoenix-group-10591.html

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Bluefin and NRL complete Reliant UUV’s long-endurance mission for US Navy



Bluefin Robotics and the US Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) have successfully completed the Reliant Heavyweight unmanned underwater vehicle's (UUV) long-endurance mission from Boston to New York, totalling over 100 hours.
During the multi-day mission, conducted as part of a series to support NRL's research in UUV-based technology for the US Navy, the team exercised UUV autonomy methods as well as demonstrated capability of a high capacity energy configuration.
The UUV travelled completely autonomously at an average speed of 2.5k at 10m water depth and resurfaced every 20km to provide navigation updates for the team members over GPS, as part of the mission with overall effort funded by the US Office of Naval Research (ONR).
As well as onshore, the team onboard Boston Harbor Cruise's, M/V Matthew J. Hughes also received vehicle status information over Iridium satellite system.
After 109 hours of operation, the system successfully transited over 500km through strong currents and reached its destination end point in New York Harbor with 10% of its battery life remaining.

The endurance test has been designed to extend the UUV limits, with the objective to address the need for significantly extending endurance for new applications.
Reliant, which is an advanced version of the Bluefin-21 vehicle, can be integrated with a low frequency broadband (LFBB) sonar payload to serve as a prototype Surface Mine Countermeasure Unmanned Undersea Vehicle (SMCM UUV) Knifefish system for the US Navy.
Featuring fibre-optic gyro-based INS, the unmanned vehicle uses supplemental data from a GPS and a Doppler Velocity Log (DVL) for long endurance missions with precise underwater navigation.
The Knifefish MCM UUV will enable sailors to detect and identify mines in high-clutter underwater environments, including those that are suspended in the ocean, resting on the sea floor, or buried.

http://www.naval-technology.com/news/newsbluefin-nrl-reliant-uuvs-mission

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Première mise à l'eau du DDG-1000 ZUMWALT

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General Dynamics NASSCO Lays Keel of MLP-3 in AFSB Configuration

General Dynamics NASSCO hosted a keel laying ceremony for the USNS Lewis B. Puller, the third ship in the Mobile Landing Platform (MLP) class. The ship is named in honor of Lewis B. Puller, the most decorated U.S. Marine in history and the only one to be awarded five Navy Crosses. Mrs. Elizabeth Glueck was the honoree for the keel-laying ceremony. She is the wife of Lieutenant General Kenneth J. Glueck, Jr., deputy commandant for Combat Development and Integration; commanding general, Marine Corps Combat Development Command; and commander, U.S. Marine Corps Forces Strategic Command.

The Navy's second MLP, John Glenn, had its keel laid in December, with completion and delivery expected in March 2014.
 The MLP class of modular, flexible ships belongs to MSC's Maritime Prepositioning Force as a mobile sea-base option that provides our Navy fleet with critical afloat capability, supporting the flexible deployment of forces and supplies. Contract mariners will operate and navigate the MLP ships on behalf of the Navy and Marine Corps.




Mrs. Glueck validated the ship’s keel by welding her initials onto a steel plate which will be permanently affixed to the ship, remaining with the vessel throughout its time in service.

MLP-3 is the first ship of the class to be configured as an Afloat Forward Staging Base (AFSB). Delivery is scheduled for the second quarter of 2015.

“This third Mobile Landing Platform ship, configured as an AFSB, will provide significant new capability to the Navy and Marine Corps’ Maritime Prepositioning Force,” said Fred Harris, president of General Dynamics NASSCO. “The NASSCO team will continue to efficiently build and deliver these ships to help strengthen the forward presence of the Navy.”

The MLP AFSB is a flexible platform and a key element in the Navy’s large-scale airborne mine countermeasure mission. The ship is designed to facilitate a wide variety of future mission sets in support of special operations. With accommodations for 250 personnel and a huge helicopter flight deck, the MLP AFSB will provide a highly capable and affordable asset to the Navy and Marine Corps.

http://www.navyrecognition.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1336

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Le nouveau porte-hélicoptères américain débute ses essais en mer



L’USS America (LHA 6), premier d’une nouvelle génération de porte-hélicoptères d’assaut destinés à la marine américaine, a débuté ses essais en mer. Le bâtiment a appareillé hier du chantier Huntington Ingalls Industries de Pascagoula, dans le Mississipi. Mis sur cale en juillet 2009, le LHA 6 doit être livré cet hiver à l’US Navy. Long de 257.3 mètres pour une largeur de 32.3 mètres, l’USS America présentera un déplacement de plus de 45.000 tonnes à pleine charge. Il sera donc par exemple plus lourd que le porte-avions français Charles de Gaulle (42.500 tonnes) et presque aussi long (261.5 mètres).






Ce bâtiment est conçu pour mettre en œuvre un parc aérien d’une trentaine d’appareils comprenant des avions de combat F-35B, des convertibles MV-22 Osprey et des hélicoptères. Armé par un équipage de 1059 hommes, dont 65 officiers, le LHA 6 pourra accueillir près de 1700 soldats de l'US Marine Corps. Contrairement aux précédents porte-hélicoptères d’assaut de l’US Navy, il ne dispose pas de radier permettant d’abriter des engins de débarquement (chalands ou LCAC). Il en sera de même pour son premier sistership, le futur USS Tripoli (LHA 7), dont la construction a débuté et qui doit être livré en 2018. En revanche, les cinq bâtiments suivants devraient être dotés d’un radier, le Pentagone ayant finalement décidé, apparemment sous la pression de l’USMC, de revenir à cette configuration offrant plus de polyvalence aux bâtiments. Premier de cette variante avec radier, le LHA 8 devrait voir sa construction débuter en 2018 pour une mise en service en 2025.
 
Ces nouveaux porte-hélicoptères d’assaut vont remplacer l’USS Peleliu (LHA 5), datant de 1980 et qui est la dernière unité du type Tarawa encore opérationnelle, ainsi que les huit Wasp (LHD 1 à , mis en service entre 1989 et 2009. 



http://www.meretmarine.com/fr/content/le-nouveau-porte-helicopteres-americain-debute-ses-essais-en-mer

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Boeing Delivers 12th Production P-8A Poseidon Aircraft to US Navy


SEATTLE, Oct. 30, 2013 – Boeing [NYSE: BA] delivered the 12th production P-8A Poseidon on schedule on Oct. 25, enhancing the long-range maritime patrol capabilities of the U.S. Navy.
The P-8A departed Boeing Field in Seattle for Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Fla., where it joined the other Poseidon aircraft being used to train Navy crews. The aircraft is the sixth from the second low-rate initial production contract lot awarded in November 2011. 
“This is our second-to-last P-8A delivery of 2013 and the program is meeting all cost and schedule milestones,” said Rick Heerdt, Boeing vice president and P-8 program manager. “As we’ve focused on ramping up production and delivering planes, the Navy is preparing for the first P-8A fleet deployment in the coming months.”
Boeing is on contract to build and support 37 P-8A aircraft as part of four LRIP contracts awarded in 2011, 2012 and 2013. The Navy plans to purchase 117 P-8As, which are based on the Next-Generation Boeing 737-800 platform. The versatile multi-mission aircraft provides anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities and will replace the Navy P-3 fleet.

http://boeing.mediaroom.com/Boeing-Delivers-12th-Production-P-8A-Poseidon-Aircraft-to-US-Navy