US Navy

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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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The amphibious transport dock ship Arlington – named in honor of the first responders and victims of the 9/11 attack on the Pentagon – will be commissioned this weekend

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Lockheed Martin Completes First Ever Live Firing of Latest Aegis Co

Lockheed Martin's Aegis Combat System recently completed a live fire test, using the system’s newest capability build, Baseline 9. During the at-sea test scenario, Aegis successfully detected, tracked and engaged a medium-altitude subsonic target from the USS Chancellorsville (CG 62). During the exercise, the USS Chancellorsville’s Aegis Weapon System sent tracking orders to the ship’s gun system by performing ballistic computations, providing pointing orders, readying ammunition and firing five-inch projectiles – all while striking the target high overhead with an SM-2 missile.

USS Chancellorsville (CG 62) fires a surface-to-surface Standard Missile during MISSILEX 04-1 U.S. Navy photo by Intelligence Specialist 1st Class Roberto Montoto.

“Every day our customers face a growing number of threats from our adversaries, which requires a continuous evolution in capabilities,” said Jim Sheridan, director of U.S. Navy Aegis programs for Lockheed Martin’s Mission Systems and Training business. “Baseline 9 as part of Aegis modernization ensures we stay one step ahead of each of those complex and sophisticated threats at a faster pace and with more technological advancements than ever before." Four additional live firing exercises will be completed aboard the USS Chancellorsville before the ship’s Combat System Ship Qualification Trial (CSSQT) events begin later this year. The ship is the first of four Aegis cruisers scheduled for Baseline 9 modernization. USS Normandy (CG 60), the next ship to receive upgrades, is nearing the end of the industrial phase of modernization and USS Princeton (CG 59) and USS Cape St. George (CG 71) are next in line to enter their availability periods. Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin is a global security and aerospace company that employs about 120,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration, and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products, and services. The Corporation’s net sales for 2012 were $47.2 billion.

http://www.navyrecognition.com

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Members the color guard assigned to the newly commissioned amphibious transport dock ship USS Arlington (LPD 24)

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Sailors and Marines assigned to the amphibious transport dock ship USS Arlington (LPD 24)

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Une arme laser embarquée à bord de l’USS Ponce
9 avril 2013 – 9:14

L’armée américaine s’intéresse depuis longtemps aux armes laser. Ainsi, la Darpa, l’agence de recherche et développement du Pentagone, travaille actuellement sur deux programmes visant à en équiper les avions militaires.

Le premier, appelé HELLADS (High Energy Liquid Laser Area Defense System), entrera dans sa phase d’essai en 2014. Le second, dit ABC pour Aero-Adaptive/Aero-Optic Beam Control, a surtout une vocation défensive étant donné qu’il prévoit l’installation d’une tourelle laser de haute énergie devant permettre de protéger un appareil de combat contre les missiles.

La difficulté pour intégrer une arme laser à bord d’un avion tient en premier lieu à sa taille. Un problème qui est cependant plus facile à résoudre quand il s’agit d’en installer une à bord d’un navire de guerre, comme ce sera le cas avec l’USS Ponce, un ancien bâtiment amphibie de la classe Austin transformé en base flottante et déployé dans le golfe Persique. L’US Navy en a fait l’annonce le 8 avril.

D’après la marine américaine, une telle arme est désormais arrivée suffisamment à maturité sur le plan technologique pour un premier déploiement, lequel aura lieu en 2014.

Les essais d’un prototype ont été menés l’été dernier par l’Office of Naval Research (ONR) et le Naval Sea Systems Command. Ces derniers ont pu montrer l’efficacité d’une telle arme contre des drones et des embarcations rapides au large des côtes californiennes (voir la vidéo ci-dessous). Les recherches menées par ces organismes ont permis d’améliorer la qualité et la puissance des faisceaux lasers ainsi que la robustesse et la portéee de telles armes.






“L’avenir est ici”, a commenté Peter A. Morrison, responsable du programme au sein de l’ONR. “Le laser à semi-conducteurs est un grand pas en avant et les armes à énergie dirigée vont révolutionner la guerre moderne, comme la poudre l’a fait à l’époque où l’on se battait avec des épées et des poignards”, a-t-il estimé.

“Nos initiatives en matière d’armes à énergie dirigée, et plus particulièrement celles concernant le laser à semi-conducteurs, figurent parmi nos programmes hautement prioritaires”, a expliqué l’amiral Matthew Klunder, le chef de l’ONR. “Le programme laser à état ​​solide est au cœur de notre engagement à fournir rapidement des fonctionnalités avancées pour les forces opérationnelles”, a-t-il poursuivi. Et d’ajouter : “Cette capacité offre une réponse extrêmement abordable au problème coûteux de se défendre contre les menaces asymétriques, et ce genre de démarche innovante est cruciale dans un contexte de ressources budgétaires limitées.”

Le fait est, l’arme laser qui sera installée à bord de l’USS Ponce coûte 32 millions de dollars. Qui plus est, et fonctionnant grâce à l’électricité, son coût de fonctionnement est très faible, avec moins d’un dollar par tir. En outre, leur généralisation éventuelle pourra permettre de se passer, un jour, de produits explosifs, ce qui améliorera encore la sécurité à bord des navires de guerre.

“Comparez cela à des centaines de milliers de dollars qu’il en coûte pour tirer un missile, et vous pouvez commencer à voir l’avantage de cette technologie”, a fait valoir l’amiral Klunder. Seulement, les armes laser ont un défaut de taille : si les conditions météorologiques sont mauvaises (brouillard, pluie), elles fonctionnent mal.

Outre les armes laser, la marine américaine cherche également à concevoir un canon électro-magnétique, dont le principe consiste à placer un objet entre deux rails alimentés en électricité. Une force électro-magnétique créé par un courant électrique de forte intensité donne à ce dernier un grande accélération. Ainsi, un tir d’une puissance de 33 mégajoules peut donner à un projectile une vitesse proche de Mach5 et le faire retomber 200 km plus loins. Une telle arme devrait équiper les futurs destroyers de la classe DDG-1000 Zumwalt de l’US Navy.


http://www.opex360.com/

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at the Sea Air Space exposition in D.C., the Navy announced plans to deploy a solid-state laser aboard a ship for the first time in fiscal year 2014

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MEDITERRANEAN SEA (March 29, 2013) Sailors practice fighting a simulated fire during a general quarters drill aboard the amphibious assault ship USS KEARSARGE (LHD 3).

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U.S. 5TH FLEET AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY (March 29, 2013) Amphibious assault vehicles approach the amphibious transport dock ship USS GREEN BAY (LPD 20) during an exercise with the amphibious dock landing ship USS Rushmore (LSD 47).

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PHILIPPINE SEA (April 2, 2013) Boatswain’s Mate 2nd Class Gerald Battle directs an SH-60 Sea Hawk helicopter assigned to the Warlords of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 51

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Laser weapon systems aren’t science fiction. For the Navy, it’s real and costs less than $1 to fire, and we’re planning to deploy it

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50 years ago today, 112 Sailors and 17 civilians died when USS Thresher (SSN 593) sank off the coast of Massachusetts.

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SAN DIEGO (April 4, 2013) A patrol boat assigned to Coastal Riverine Squadron (CRS) 3 blank fires on a target in San Diego Bay during an evaluation and training exercise. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Dominique Pineiro/Released)

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A landing craft air cushion (LCAC) from Assault Craft Unit (ACU) 4 exits the well deck of the amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge (LHD 3).



An F/A-18E Super Hornet assigned to the Pukin Dogs of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 143 performs a touch-and-go on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69).



Aviation Ordnanceman Airman Isia Washington, from Atlanta, directs as an MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter from the Eightballers of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 8 lands on the flight deck aboard the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74).



The Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Cowpens (CG 63) arrives in San Diego after completing its forward-deployed mission and a hull swap with USS Antietam (CG 54) in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of responsibility.

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NORTH ARABIAN SEA (April 9, 2013) Aircraft assigned to Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 7 prepare to launch off the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69).

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APRA HARBOR, Guam (April 9, 2013) The Los Angeles-class attack submarine USS Cheyenne (SSN 773) pulls into Apra Harbor to conduct maintenance and liberty. Cheyenne is conducting operations in the U.S

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PACIFIC OCEAN (April 9, 2013) Lt. Mary Gresko directs an F/A-18F Super Hornet assigned to the Black Knights of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 154 before a launch from the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68).

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SAN DIEGO (April 4, 2013) Patrol boats assigned to Coastal Riverine Squadron (CRS)

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SUEZ CANAL (April 5, 2013) The amphibious transport dock ship USS San Antonio (LPD 17) transits the Suez Canal from the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea

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MANAMA, Bahrain (April 3, 2013) Fire Controlman 1st Class Nathan Miller, assigned to the guided-missile destroyer USS Shoup (DDG 86

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STRAIT OF HORMUZ (March 30, 2013) The amphibious dock landing ship USS Rushmore (LSD 47) leads the amphibious assault ship USS Peleliu (LHA 5) as they transit the Strait of Hormuz

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San Diego (Aug. 4, 2012) A still image from video shows a split-screen view of the Laser Weapon System (LaWS), upper left, striking a remote-controlled target aircraft, The LaWS technology demonstrator is built by Naval Sea Systems Command from commercial fiber solid state lasers, utilizing combination methods developed at the Naval Research Laboratory, successfully shoots down a target

Incendie de moteur diesel aux essais à la mer sur la LCS-4 Coronado : dégâts mineurs...

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Newest LCS suffers fire at sea, damage “minor”

Fire broke out aboard the littoral combat ship Coronado late Friday morning while the vessel was on its second day of sea trials in the Gulf of Mexico, a U.S. Navy official confirmed Saturday.

No one was injured in the accident, and early indications are that the damage was minor, the official said.

The incident happened as the ship was conducting a full power demonstration and running at high speed. Insulation on the starboard diesel exhaust first smoldered, then ignited but, according to the official, the flames were “extinguished immediately.”

Shortly after, the lagging on the port diesel exhaust repeated the sequence and again, the flames were immediately put out.

Running on its gas turbines, the Coronado returned to the Austal USA shipyard in Mobile,Alabama late Friday night to begin the incident assessment by representatives from the Navy, Austal USA, diesel builder MTU and others.

Initial expectations were that the incident would not trigger a major delay in the ship’s sea trials or completion.

The Coronado (LCS 4) is the second ship of the Independence (LCS 2) class under construction for the Navy. The ship was christened in January 2012 and is scheduled for delivery this spring. It has been under construction in Mobile since 2009.

A spokesperson for prime contractor General Dynamics could not immediately be reached for comment. GD is the prime for the first two ships in the class, while Austal USA has taken over as prime for the remaining ships of the LCS 2 class. Austal USA spokesman Craig Hooper declined to comment on the incident, deferring to the Navy and GD.

Both the Freedom and Independence LCS variants are powered by a combined diesel and gas turbine power plant. Two MTU 20V 8000 M90 diesels power the Independence-class ships, along with two General Electric LM 2500 gas turbines.

Intended to be manned by very small crews compared to other naval warships, the LCSs are designed with a high degree of automated damage control systems, including extensive fire fighting fittings.

It could not be immediately confirmed if any design changes in the lagging or engine insulation had been made between the Independence and Coronado, or if any changes were planned for future ships.

The number of people aboard the Coronado at the time of the incident could not be immediately confirmed. Prior to acceptance by the Navy, ships on sea trials are operated by civilian crews — usually shipyard employees or contractors — and a large number of other people are on board, including representatives from the Navy and a host of technical contractors.

After the Coronado, Austal USA has contracts or contract options to build another 10 LCSs for the Navy.

The company is also building ten Joint High Speed Vessels for the Navy’s Military Sealift Command.

http://blogs.defensenews.com/intercepts/2013/04/newest-lcs-suffers-fire-at-sea-damage-minor/

Un financement a finalement été trouvé pour les réparations du SNA USS Miami endommagé par un incendie !

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Navy will continue repairs to USS Miami: Senators from Maine and N.H. announce decision


Saturday, April 13, 2013


WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Navy has identified the funds needed to continue forward with repairs to the USS Miami as planned, according to an announcement by the Maine and N.H. Senate delegations Friday night. This announcement comes as the Navy is considering spending reductions to ship overhauls, maintenance and other programs as a result of sequestration.

The FY 2013 Defense Appropriations bill included $150 million specifically for repairs to the USS Miami, which was severely damaged in an arson fire in May 2012. That bill was included in the Continuing Resolution that passed the Senate on March 20 and was signed into law.

“As the Navy undergoes the difficult task of implementing budget cuts under sequestration, I am pleased that Secretary Mabus plans to move fully forward with repairs to the USS Miami,” Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said.

“As a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, I fought to include $150 million in the Defense Appropriations bill because the USS Miami is a significant investment in our national security, and it must return to our fleet as soon as possible. There is no workforce better suited for this task than the talented men and women at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery,” she said.



“This is a welcome announcement from the Navy and represents a serious investment in our national security,” said Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., chair of the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness. “The men and women serving at Portsmouth are the best at what they do and have been providing critical Navy support for almost 200 years. These repairs will allow Portsmouth to continue its long tradition of supporting our military and I look forward to the day that our Shipyard officially delivers USS MIAMI back to the fleet,” Shaheen stated in an announcement released jointly Friday night by herself, Collins, and Sens. Angus King, I-Maine, and Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H.“I applaud the Navy’s decision to complete the repairs on the USS Miami,” said Ayotte, ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness. “I’ve worked with fellow delegation members to ensure the Navy completes these important repairs, and I’m pleased the skilled workers at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard can now finish their work and return this submarine to the fleet — where it will provide a critical capability for our combatant commanders.” Said King: “I could not be more pleased by the Navy’s announcement that it is moving forward with repairs of the USS Miami despite significant budgetary limitations.”



King is a member of the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Seapower. “Recognizing the instrumental role the USS Miami plays in our submarine fleet, I joined with my colleagues to press for the passage of the Fiscal Year 2013 Defense Appropriations Bill which will help fund its repair — and I know the exceptional men and women of Portsmouth Naval Shipyard will work tirelessly to return the ship to service in first-rate condition as quickly as possible,” he said.

http://www.fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130413/GJNEWS_01/130419558

Sept noms de futurs bâtiments de l'US navy ont été attribués : Sally Ride ainsi que 6 villes honorées

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New ship names to honor Sally Ride, 6 cities


Navy Secretary Ray Mabus announced the names of seven new ships Friday.

• The fifth, sixth and seventh joint high speed vessels will be named Trenton, Brunswick and Carson City, respectively, honoring cities in New Jersey, Georgia and Nevada. The choices go along with established naming convention for the class — “small American cities and counties” — as outlined in a 2012 ship-naming report

• An amphibious transport dock, LPD 27, will be named Portland, honoring the city in Oregon. This ship type usually bears the name of an American city, but Mabus in April 2010 named LPD 26 after the late Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa.

• The 13th littoral combat ship will be named Wichita, honoring the city in Kansas, and LCS 14 will be named Manchester, after the New Hampshire city. LCS naming generally honors “regionally important American cities and counties,” the report states, noting the exception of LCS 10, to be named for Gabrielle Giffords, the former Arizona congresswoman who survived a 2011 assassination attempt.

• An auxiliary general oceanographic research ship, AGOR 28, will be named Sally Ride, after the first American woman in space.


http://www.navytimes.com/article/20130412/NEWS/304120021/New-ship-names-honor-Sally-Ride-6-cities

Ford (CVN 78) Flight Deck Timelapse

voir aussi les pics déjà postées en haut sur cette redoutable arme...

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De la SF à la réalité: une arme laser déployée

Depuis le temps, comment se fait-il qu’elles ne soient pas plus répandues?


Le Système d’Armement Laser (LaWS) temporairement installé à bord du destroyer lance-missile américain USS Dewey (DDG105) a San Diego, en Californie est une arme expérimentale conçue par la délégation navale de l’armement à partir de lasers commerciaux, en utilisant diverses méthodes de construction combinées au laboratoire de recherche de la Marine.Avec l’aimable autorisation de John F. Williams/U.S. Navy .
Le magazine Navy on Monday a annoncé la mise en place de nouveaux plans de défense des navires déployés dans le Golfe persique dont l’équipement de l’un d’entre eux avec un laser. Cela fait des décennies que l’on entend parler de lasers dans le domaine militaire, mais c’est la première fois qu’une arme laser est déployée. Comment se fait-il qu’il ait fallu attendre autant de temps pour développer des armes laser efficaces ?

La première explication tient à la source d’alimentation d’une telle arme, qui doit être très importante, parmi d’autres défis d’ingénierie. La théorie derrière les armes laser est assez simple à comprendre: il s’agit de détruire une cible en utilisant un faisceau concentré d’énergie électromagnétique.

Les armes conventionnelles fonctionnent peu ou prou de la même manière – une balle de fusil est seulement un moyen plus tangible de délivrer une quantité létale d’énergie.

Ce concept est si simple que des gens tournent autour de cette idée depuis des millénaires. La légende veut qu’Archimède ait enflammé les voiles de navires ennemis lors du siège de Syracuse en utilisant les rayons du soleil.

Les rayons utilisés par les extraterrestres dans La Guerre des Mondes de H.G. Wells est une arme fictive utilisant elle aussi des rayons d’énergie, comme l’Etoile de la mort qui détruit la planète Aldérande dans Star Wars. Les spécialistes des systèmes de défense espèrent et annoncent l’arrivée d’armes lasers depuis la fin des années 1970. Mais la construction d’une arme laser efficace est porteuse de vastes défis techniques.

Premièrement, et avant toute chose, donc, il y a la question de l’alimentation en énergie. Même dans les meilleurs modèles, seule 20% de l’électricité qui alimente l’arme est utilisée par le laser. Pointer et concentrer le rayon laser consomme encore davantage d’énergie. En raison de ces déperditions, un laser de 20 kilowatts, capable de détruire ou d’endommager gravement une petite embarcation consomme des centaines de kilowatts d’électricité. (Comme élément de comparaison, un climatiseur de fenêtre de base consomme 1 kilowatt). Voilà pourquoi cette nouvelle arme laser est déployée sur un navire de guerre, qui dispose d’une abondante ressource en électricité.

Quand bien même on découvrirait une source d’énergie portable capable d’alimenter de manière super efficace en énergie une arme laser, nous ne pourrions pas disposer d’une arme laser portative. Une arme laser typique émet en effet trois rayons. Le premier est envoyé afin de mesurer la distorsion d’atmosphère entre la source et la cible.

Lorsqu’il revient à la machine émettrice, un ordinateur calcule les changements qui doivent être apporté au rayon pour qu’il s’adapte à l’environnement. Le second rayon est un rayon traqueur. Malgré les nombreuses descriptions de science-fiction, un laser doit resté pointé sur sa cible plusieurs secondes avant de lui infliger des dégâts sérieux et cette fonctionnalité permet au rayon de continuer de pointer une cible en mouvement. Le troisième rayon est celui qui émet la véritable onde énergétique et mesure environ un mètre de diamètre. Le laser tend à chauffer et la machine doit donc être équipée d’un système de refroidissement.

Un autre obstacle majeur explique la difficulté à déployer des armes laser sur le champ de bataille: il ne suffit pas qu’elles soient techniquement réalisables – elles doivent également être meilleures ou moins coûteuses que les armes déjà disponibles. Voilà pourquoi l’armée a introduit les premières armes laser dans des niches plutôt que de créer une armée entièrement équipée d’armes laser.

Jusqu’ici, l’arme laser la plus efficace est le Tactical High Energy Laser, assez puissant pour détruire de petits objets comme des obus de mortier en pleine course. La Marine fait face à un problème différent pour ce qui concerne les petites cibles. Il est en effet difficile de toucher de petits navires rapides avec des armes à feu conventionnelles. Un laser tactique, pointé quelques secondes seulement sur un petit navire en approche peut faire sauter son réservoir de carburant ou endommager son moteur, ce qui permettrait d’éviter une redite de l’attaque suicide contre l’USS Cole, en 2000.

Petit bonus de la rubrique «L’explication»:
Quel effet cela fait-il d’être pris pour cible par une arme laser? Et bien ça chauffe. Le laser produit de l’énergie. Un laser de forte puissance réchaufferait très rapidement la surface de votre peau et sans doute les cellules en dessous. Cela ferait certainement mal et toute personne qui resterait trop longtemps devant un laser de 20 kilowatts serait tuée.

Mais il est peu probable que les militaires feront usage du laser contre des personnes à brève ou longue échéance. Les lasers ne sont pas seulement encombrants: ils mettent beaucoup de temps à tuer. Dès que vous sentez le laser, il suffit de se déplacer derrière un objet opaque pour en être protégé. L’armée étudie d’ailleurs une arme basée sur la technologie des micro-ondes pour disperser les foules, car soumis à pareille chaleur les gens prennent généralement la fuite. Les balles restent et demeurent un moyen bien plus efficace que les lasers pour blesser ou tuer quelqu’un.

http://www.slate.fr/story/70751/arme-laser-sf-realite

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Navy shapes UCLASS acquisition strategy



Upcoming shore-based and carrier tests will help the Navy determine its acquisition strategy for the Unmanned Carrier Launched Airborne Surveillance and Strike System (UCLASS), a large, carrier-based, next-generation drone likely to have a large wingspan and high-tech sensors engineered to gather and send back images and data, service officials said.
“The UCLASS will be the first deployed carrier based unmanned air vehicle with persistent ISR and a strike capability,” said Navy spokeswoman Jamie Cosgrove.
There are two related and interwoven trajectories with this UAS technology; the Navy is currently testing an early “demonstrator” model of the aircraft while simultaneously preparing to conduct a full and open competition have the UCLASS ready to fly by 2018 to 2020, service officials explained.
At the same time, the demonstrator will inform the development of what will be the future UCLASS program and next-generation technological capability, said Capt. Jaime Engdahl, Unmanned Combat Air System Program Manager.
“The UCAS-D program is an essential early step that will demonstrate the suitability of a low observable relevant unmanned air system operating in the [carrier] environment. The X-47B UCAS {Umanned Combat Air System} demonstrator will conduct launch, recovery, and carrier controlled airspace [CCA] and flight deck handling demonstrations,” he added.
The 10-foot tall 44,000-pound Navy drone is slated for shore-based arrested landings at Paxtuent River, Md., and will then embark upon a series of tests aboard the USS George Bush in May, said Engdahl.
“During the test period, the UCAS-D test team will perform deck handling and ship integration tests, the first aircraft launches from the ship’s catapults, carrier approaches with the aircraft, and potentially the first carrier landings on the flight deck,” Engdahl explained.
So far, two UCAS-D aircraft have been built and delivered by Northrop Grumman, however, many vendors are expected to compete for the upcoming formal Navy competition to develop and build the UCLASS, Navy officials explained.
Two upcoming Requests For Proposal (RFP) are likely to shape the upcoming competition; a draft RfP for a Preliminary Design Review is slated for May to be followed by a formal Technology Development RFP a month later, Cosgrove said.
“We are demonstrating the technology and taking lessons learned from the UCAS-D effort to help the UCLASS program. We are still working on our acquisition strategy,” she added.
The UCAS-D conducted successful flight tests last December aboard the USS Truman, she added.
“Additionally, the UCAS-D program includes Automated Aerial Refueling (AAR) demonstration on a manned surrogate to prove out multiple AAR technologies. Lessons learned from UCAS-D support follow-on acquisition programs,” said Engdahl.

http://www.dodbuzz.com/2013/04/16/navy-shapes-x-47b-acquisition-strategy/

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NORTH ARABIAN SEA (April 15, 2013) A shooter launches an F/A-18C Hornet assigned to the Rampagers of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 83 from the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69).


NORTH ARABIAN SEA (April 11, 2013) An F/A-18F Super Hornet assigned to the Jolly Rogers of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 103 prepares to launch off the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69).

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Welcome to Singapore, USS Freedom (LCS 1)! The arrival of the Navy's first littoral combat ship highlights the next phase of Freedom's deployment to Southeast Asia.


The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Curtis Wilbur (DDG 54) fires its MK 45 5-Inch lightweight gun during a board of inspection and survey rehearsal on Tuesday. Curtis Wilbur is part of Destroyer Squadron 15, forward deployed to Yokosuka, Japan, in support of regional security and stability in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region

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PACIFIC OCEAN (April 14, 2013) An MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter from the Eightballers of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 8 carries cargo from the Military Sealift Command fleet replenishment oiler USNS Yukon (T-AO-202) to the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) during a replenishment-at-sea. John C. Stennis is deployed to the U.S. 7th Fleet area of responsibility conducting maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts

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APRA HARBOR, Guam (April 16, 2013) The Los Angeles-class attack submarine USS Bremerton (SSN 698) pulls into Apra Harbor to conduct maintenance and liberty. Bremerton is conducting operations in the U.S

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Navy extends comment period for F-35C report

NAVAL AIR STATION LEMOORE — The public comment period for the draft environmental impact statement for the West Coast home-basing of the F-35C Joint Strike Fighter aircraft has been extended until May 7.
The Navy said the extension was made to ensure ample time for the community to provide feedback. The original deadline was Monday.
The draft EIS evaluated the potential environmental effects of basing the aircraft at either Naval Air Station Lemoore or Naval Air Facility El Centro. Comments will be included in the final document.
Paper copies of the document are available for review at Kings County Library branches in Hanford and Lemoore, as well as the West Hills College Lemoore library.
Written comments may be submitted online at the project website or by mail. For more information or to review an electronic copy of the document,
visit www.navyf35cwestcoasteis.com.

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Navy still seeks to decommission more ships


WASHINGTON — Rebuffed by Congress in an attempt to inactivate nine warships as a cost-cutting measure, the US Navy is set to try again – in 2015.

The effort is reflected in data tables sent by the service to Capitol Hill in advance of a Wednesday-morning hearing on acquisition plans for the Navy and Air Force. The tables, prepared to accompany the forthcoming annual 30-year shipbuilding plan, were sent to Congress this week without explanation as, according to Navy sources, the final report has yet to be approved.

The tables show few changes over last year’s shipbuilding plans, but nine additional ships appear in the retirement column planned for fiscal 2015.

Other ships also are scheduled to leave service in 2015, reflecting earlier plans, but unexpectedly, two T-AOE fast combat support ships are now on the early retirement list, one each in 2014 and 2015. Previously, the earliest T-AOE retirements weren’t scheduled until 2033.

At about 49,000 tons, the Navy’s four T-AOEs, operated by the Military Sealift Command, are some of the world’s largest and most sophisticated support ships, carrying fuel, ammunition and supplies. The high-speed ships usually accompany aircraft carrier strike groups on overseas deployments.

The renewed effort to reduce the numbers of cruisers and amphibious ships follows an initial announcement in February 2012 that, as a cost-cutting measure, the cruisers Cowpens, Anzio, Vicksburg and Port Royal would be decommissioned in 2013, with the cruisers Gettysburg, Chosin, Hue City and amphibious dock ships Whidbey Island and Tortuga following in 2014.

All were being inactivated prior to the normally-expected end of their service lives. The service looked for savings by cutting operations, canceling further modernization of the ships and reducing the need for about 3,000 sailors.

But Congress objected to the force reductions and, in the 2013 defense authorization bill passed Jan. 1, required the Navy to keep the ships in service. But the Navy didn’t request operating funds for the ships it wanted to inactivate in 2013, and they were placed in an “operational but not funded” status.

It is not clear from the data tables if the seven cruisers and two amphibs to be decommissioned in 2015 are the same ships the Navy early planned to inactivate. But the decommissionings are sure to be a point of contention on Capitol Hill.

“If decline is a choice, this new 30-year shipbuilding plan willingly chooses to continue the slow, painful decline of American seapower,” Rep. Randy Forbes, R-Va., said Tuesday in a statement. Forbes chairs the Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee, set to hold the Wednesday morning hearing.

“After committing to a 313-ship fleet,” Forbes continued, “this plan has the Navy headed to just 270 [in 2015] after retiring 31 vessels and only procuring 16 new ones during this time. More alarming, while this fleet is shrinking by retiring and building less major surface combatants and amphibious ships, we are artificially filling these gaps with smaller surface combatants and support vessels.

“In the decade ahead we will lean more heavily on our seapower forces to underpin our national security strategy; prioritizing a shipbuilding budget to resource this strategy should be one of our first priorities,” Forbes said in the statement.

Rear Adm. John Kirby, the service’s top spokesman, defended the service’s efforts.

“Today we provided Congress information tables from our draft 30-year shipbuilding plan,” Kirby said in a statement. “We believe the information found in these tables clearly articulates our intention to modernize and grow the fleet to our required minimum of 306 ships.

“We have been upfront and transparent about the need to decommission older ships,” Kirby continued, “while at the same introducing new and more capable platforms. Both Secretary [Ray] Mabus and Admiral [Jonathan] Greenert,” chief of naval operations, “have been clear about the need to further our success in shipbuilding. Indeed, under Secretary Mabus' leadership the Navy has put 43 new ships under contract. We look forward to working with the Congress to discuss the way forward.”

http://www.navytimes.com

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Aircraft carrier docks in Hawaii after eight-month deployment
Hawaii on Sunday became the first stop back in the United States for the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis after an eight-month deployment to the Middle East and Western Pacific.
The carrier’s air crews flew more than 11,500 sorties totaling 27,000 flight hours. Port visits were made in Thailand, Malaysia, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates and Singapore.
“We are excited to be back in the U.S. after a very successful deployment,” Rear Adm. Mike
Shoemaker, the Stennis strike group commander, said in a Navy release.
Shoemaker said the strike group provided “extensive support” to the war in Afghanistan.
The Stennis left its home port in Washington State in late August of 2012 — four months earlier than expected — to maintain a two-carrier presence in the Middle East.
The Pentagon, citing a budget crunch, has since dropped back to one carrier in the Middle East with the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower relieving the Stennis in March as the sole aircraft carrier in the region.

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L’US Navy nomme 7 de ses futurs bâtiments


TCD de type San Antonio,


Transport de chalands de débarquement, LCS, transports rapides et bâtiment océanographique… La marine américaine a attribué les noms de 7 de ses futurs bâtiments. Tout d’abord le 11ème et dernier transport de chalands de débarquement du type San Antonio, l’USS Portland (LPD 27), qui doit être livré en 2017. Devant entrer en service la même année, les 13ème et 14èmeLittoral Combat Ships (LCS) seront, pour leur part, baptisés USS Wichita (LCS 13) et USS Manchester (LCS 14), le premier étant du type Freedom (monocoque) et le second du type Independence (trimaran). L’US Navy a, par ailleurs, attribué les noms de trois transports rapides du type JHSV (Joint High Speed Vessel), cinquième, sixième et septième de cette série de 10 unités, livrables d’ici la fin de la décennie. Il s’agit des USNS Trenton (JHSV 5), USNS Brunswick (JHSV 6) et USNS Carson City (JHSV 7).
Enfin, le premier des deux nouveaux bâtiments océanographiques qui seront armés par le Military Sealift Command (MSC) et doivent entrer en service en 2014/2015 portera le nom de Sally Ride.
LCS du type Freedom

LCS du type Independence

JHSV

Le futur Sally Ride


http://www.meretmarine.com/fr/content/lus-navy-nomme-7-de-ses-futurs-batiments

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KEY WEST, Florida (April 23, 2013) The Military Sealift Command high-speed vessel Swift (HSV 2) and a tethered TIF-25K aerostat are moored at Mole Pier at Naval Air Station Key West prior to at sea testing for future Operation Martillo counter transnational organized crime operations while assigned to U.S. 4th Fleet. (U.S. Navy photos by Lt. Cmdr. Corey Barker/Released)

ca m'a rappelé le policier marocain

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APRA HARBOR, Guam (April 25, 2013) Sailors aboard the Los Angeles-class attack submarine USS Chicago (SSN 721)

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PACIFIC OCEAN (April 24, 2013) Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Equipment) 2nd Class Luis Collazo Alvarado hooks a C-2A Greyhound from Fleet Logistics Support Squadron (VRC) 30 up to the catapult on the flight deck aboard the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70).

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ATLANTIC OCEAN (April 21, 2013) Sailors participate in the Run It, Walk It or Dance It 5K sponsored by the MWR division aboard the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75).

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NORTH ARABIAN SEA (April 20, 2013) The aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) is underway in the North Arabian Sea

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GULF OF OMAN (April 20, 2013) A landing craft, air cushion from Assault Craft Unit (ACU) 4 embarks aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge (LHD 3).

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PACIFIC OCEAN (April 18, 2013)
The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Pinckney (DDG 91) fires her MK 38 25 mm machine gun during a board of inspection and survey (INSURV) rehearsal. INSURV is conducted every five years to ensure a ship's mission readiness and material conditions are up to standards