The U.S. Navy’s MQ-4C Triton high-altitude, long endurance unmanned aerial vehicle has been deployed for more than a year to the Western Pacific and by all accounts is impressing the fleet with its capabilities and is in high demand by regional commanders.

Unmanned Patrol Squadron 19 (VUP-19), the first of two planned Triton fleet squadrons, deployed two MQ-4Cs to Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, in January 2020 on the aircraft’s early operational capability (EOC) deployment. The two Tritons are being used for fleet operations and to provide lessons learned to pave the way for future operations off full “orbits,” the Navy’s term for a fully equipped site of four Tritons able to support a 24/7 on-station presence.

“Our operations from Guam are fully integrated into the 7th Fleet mission, from interactions with joint partners, carrier strike groups, and other MPRF [maritime patrol reconnaissance force assets, such as P-8A aircraft] and exercises,” said Cmdr. Michael V. Minervini, commanding officer of VUP-19, responding to questions from Seapower. “Typical missions range from 20 to 24 hours. VUP-19 is administratively controlled by commander, Patrol and Reconnaissance Wing 11 and operationally controlled by commander, Task Force 72.”

Minervini, a naval flight officer with flight time in P-3 and P-8 aircraft who assumed command in April 2020, said the EOC deployment “was established to smooth the supply chain and operate forward to push the airframe and discover maintenance challenges. EOC has been successful at identifying areas for improvement in the supply system and logistics process as well as determining scheduled maintenance inspection schedules and spare parts. These lessons learned will allow for a seamless transition and immediate impact on IFC-4 [Integrated Functional Capability 4] operations forward.”

The two MQ-4Cs deployed by VUP-19 are equipped with the baseline capability, IFC-3, which includes a multi-sensor mission payload — maritime radar, electro-optical/infrared, electronic support measures, automatic identification system and basic communications relay — said Capt. Dan Mackin, the Navy’s Persistent Maritime Unmanned Aircraft Systems program manager, in response to questions from Seapower.

“The next phase, known as IFC-4, will bring a multi-INT capability as part of the navy’s maritime intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and targeting transition plan,” he said.

“Triton sensors are performing to expectations and are providing 7th Fleet, [Pacific Fleet] and [Indo-Pacific Command] commanders with an additive early operational capability and persistent ISR in a vital area of U.S interest. These assets are in high demand.”

Rear Adm. Gregory Harris, the director of Air Warfare in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, told an audience on March 30 of the “good news that we’re getting. We are really excited with what we’ve learned there [operations from Guam], the growth that’s gone on in that program and the early operational capabilities that we’ve seen. So, first and foremost, we’re excited by what we’re seeing out of Triton.”

‘Incredible Capability’

Harris said the Triton fielded “an absolutely incredible capability” and the fleet is “looking forward to having full operational capability in the future.” 

VUP-19 is based at Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Florida, but its Tritons and maintenance personnel are based at Naval Air Station Point Mugu, part of Naval Base Ventura County, California. Minervini said approximately 350 officers and enlisted personnel are assigned to the squadron, but full manning is expected to reach an estimated 600 personnel. 

“The average footprint in Guam is around 40-80 personnel, which varies during turnover and readiness training detachments, when maintenance personnel are forward deployed from Point Mugu to earn their qualifications,” Minervini said. “Maintainers on sea duty deploy for approximately six to eight months with a 12-month home cycle. Unmanned aircraft commanders [UACs/pilots] on shore duty deploy for an average of two to three months once a year.”

VUP-19’s maintenance detachment is scheduled for a homeport change from Point Mugu to Naval Station Mayport, Florida — only a few miles from NAS Jacksonville — in the fall of 2021.

“The relative geographical colocation of our stateside operators with our maintenance team will establish a hub of unmanned operations and ensure success as we expand our operations into other areas of responsibility,” Minervini said.

The Navy plans to activate a second Triton squadron, VUP-11, on the West Coast. Minervini said his squadron expects to “have a significant role in establishment of VUP-11. This will pertain to operations, training and administration.”

The Navy’s program of record calls for the procurement of 68 production MQ-4Cs from Northrop Grumman. Low-rate initial production orders as of April 2021 totaled 15: LRIP-1 (2016): four; LRIP-2 (2017): two; LRIP-3 (2018): three; LRIP-4 (2019): three; LRIP 5 (2020): two, plus one more authorized by the fiscal 2021 congressional plus-up. Three Tritons had been delivered to the fleet by early 2021.

Procurement of the Triton for the U.S. Navy is being paused for fiscal 2021 and 2022. Australia will take delivery during fiscal 2023-2025 of three Tritons.

“The intent of the production pause in air vehicle procurement across the FYDP [Future Years Defense Plan] was to strategically focus on the development of SIGINT [signals intelligence] capabilities IFC-4 Multi-INT [multi-intelligence],” Mackin said, noting that two Australian Tritons were procured in fiscal 2020 and the additional Triton in the fiscal 2021 congressional plus-up “will partially mitigate the effects of a production pause.”

Mackin said the production pause would affect the fielding of the Triton’s planned orbits.

“The Navy plans to deploy Triton to five orbits world­wide,” he said. “MQ-4C will support three OCONUS [out­side the continental United States] orbits by end of 2025. However, due to the production pause, deployment to the two CONUS orbits will be delayed.”

Three prototype Tritons are based at NAS Patuxent River, Maryland, as test assets for the program.

One test asset is in the current IFC-3 configuration and “is being used to support sustainment of EOC deployed systems as well as risk reduction for IFC-4,” Mackin said. “The other two assets are being modified into the IFC-4 configuration in support of IOC [initial operational capability] in fourth quarter” of fiscal 2023.

One of the test assets is owned by Northrop Grumman and will be used to test the Multi-INT systems.

Mackin said the main operating base and forward operating base mission control elements for IFC-3 “have been delivered and are performing well.”

Sense and Avoid

Since early in the Triton program, the Navy has been planning for a sense-and-avoid radar (SAAR) for the Triton to enhance its collision-avoidance capability.

“The program of record SAAR engineering manufacturing development is deferred” until fiscal 2023, Mackin said. “The program continues to support SAAR cost, schedule and risk reduction activities including the delivery of a partial capability, prototype SAAR by the end of the year. Traffic Collision Avoidance subsystems are in use as part of the Due Regard alternate means of compliance.”

The Navy’s earlier Global Hawk/Broad-Area Maritime Surveillance – Demonstration (BAMS-D) program continues to shine, despite the loss of one RQ-4A Global Hawk to an Iranian missile in June 2019. The aircraft are operated in the U.S. Central Command area of operations by a detachment of Patrol Reconnaissance Wing 11.

Since the system’s first flight in October 2004, “the system has completed 2,119 sorties totaling over 39,596 flight hours, of which 1,825 sorties, totaling over 37,633 flight hours, are in direct support of overseas contingency operations,” Mackin said. “During the over 12-year period since the deployment began, BAMS-D has been the by-name requested asset for maritime ISR in the theater, surpassing all expectations for the originally planned six-month demonstration.”

ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Navy has been reducing its patrol boat force in recent years and proposes to continue that trend by retiring its rather new Mark VI patrol boats under the fiscal 2022 budget, after having retired its entire riverine force.

As the Navy pivots to reshape its force to focus on high-end capabilities to counter China and Russia, the relatively flat 2022 budget is demanding some sacrifices, and the Navy chose to inactivate its fleet of 12 Mark VI PBs.  

Last year the Navy changed the names of the units that had operated the 78-foot-long Mark VI PBs and the smaller coastal and harbor — and previously riverine — patrol boats. The Coastal Riverine Force is now known as the Maritime Expeditionary Security Force. 

“Riverine warfare is no longer an assigned mission area for the United States Navy, and the legacy name no longer captures the roles and missions of our force,” said Lt. Cmdr. Amber Lewis, a spokeswoman for Navy Expeditionary Combat Command (NECC). “The new name captures the Maritime Expeditionary Security Force’s (MESF’s) growing green and blue-water fleet integration and contributions to the high-end fight in an era of great power competition, which are more robust than the legacy riverine roles.” 

The change is significant. The Navy has operated riverine forces off and on over the decades, most recently restoring the capability during the Iraq War, assuming the role from the Marine Corps. The Navy built and sustained an impressive riverine capability during the Vietnam War, but most of that capability was turned over to the South Vietnamese Navy as the United States ended its in-country force presence in South Vietnam. (The Navy Special Operations Command retains some small boat coastal and riverine capability for insertion and extraction of SEALs and other special operations forces.) 

In May 2012, the Navy selected a SAFE Boats International design for the Mark VI, eventually procuring 12 boats. Other Mark VI PBs are being procured by Ukraine. The first Mark VI PBs were delivered to the Navy on Aug. 27, 2014, and were delivered to NECC in September 2015. Some of the PBs have been deployed to the Persian Gulf and to Guam. 

The Mark VI is the largest craft in the MESF. It can patrol shallow littoral waters beyond sheltered harbors and bays. The PBs are used for maritime intercept; escort; infrastructure protection; theater security cooperation; security force assistance; and visit, board, search and seizure operations. They can launch UAVs and UUVs. The PBs are armed with Mk38 25mm guns and .50-caliber machine guns and feature integrated workstations, shock-mitigating seats, a galley and a shower. 

In addition to the Mark VI PBs, the MESF operates 164 patrol craft. These include 117 SeaArk 34-foot Dauntless-class patrol boats and 17 SAFE Boats 25-foot Oswald-class patrol boats. The riverine assault craft, riverine command boats and riverine patrol boats all have been retired and stored. The single Coastal Command Boat, a smaller predecessor to the Mark VI that was deployed to the 5th Fleet, was transferred to a test role in 2018. 

The current mainstay of the MESF, the SeaArk 34-foot patrol boat, performs the roles of high-value escort, port and harbor defense, and port security. The 34-foot boats are scheduled for replacement, beginning in June 2021 when the first new 40-foot patrol boats arrive, Lewis said. 

In October 2017, the Navy awarded a contract to Metal Shark for a new patrol boat, PB(X), to replace the service’s Oswald- and Dauntless-class tactical craft. Metal Shark’s 40-foot Defiant design actually is a 43-foot-long welded aluminum boat powered by twin diesel inboard engines. The boats have a wide-waterplane, sharp-entry hull capable of attaining 40 knots and enhanced handling at cruise speeds of 10 to 15 knots. The boats offer ballistic protection; an armored, climate-controlled pilothouse; five whole-body isolation suspension seats and an advanced communications, navigation and situational awareness suite.  

“Metal Shark Boats currently has 54 40-foot Patrol Boats [PBs] under contract, with two delivered for a total of 56,” said the Support Ships, Boats and Craft program office of the Program Executive Office – Ships. “To date, two boats have been delivered and 10 boats are in production and scheduled to be delivered in [fiscal 2021]. The current plan is to procure a total of 120 40-foot PBs over the next 10 years [to replace the 34-foot and 25-foot PBs].” 

The Navy also has ordered 24 Force Protection-Medium (FP-M) patrol boats from Lake Assault Boats LLC, which was awarded a contract for up to 119 FP-Ms in February 2020. The 33-foot-long aluminum V-hull boats will be used for harbor and waterway patrols, interrogation of other waterborne assets and escorting large vessels in and out of ports in various weather and water conditions. The first was scheduled for delivery this spring. 

ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Coast Guard is requesting $13.1 billion for fiscal 2022, according to the service’s budget documents, just $38 million more than enacted in the 2021 budget. 

The cutter procurement portion of the Coast Guard budget includes $1 billion for cutter construction and long-lead materials. The procurement includes: 

• $170.0 million for program management for construction of Polar Security Cutter (PSC) hulls #1 and #2 and for long-lead materials for PSC #3
• $597.0 million for construction of Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC) #4, detailed design for the re-compete contract for the OPC, and long-lead materials for OPC #5  
• $67.0 million for the detail and design and construction of the Waterways Commerce Cutter 
• $87.8 million for sustainment of numerous in-service cutters  
• $78.0 million for post-delivery activities for National Security Cutters #10 and #11 
• $20 million for program management of the Fast Response Cutter (FRC) program 
• $15 million for the multi-year service-life extension of the USCGC Polar Star, the services only operational heavy icebreaker. 

The Coast Guard also requested $221.8 million for aircraft procurement and modification:  

• $102.8 million to continue life extension of the MH-60T helicopter fleet to serve into the 2030s and initial funding to expand the size of the fleet beyond 48 aircraft (through conversion of ex-Navy H-60 airframes)   
• $66.5 million for continued missionization of C-27J medium-endurance surveillance aircraft into HC-27J versions 
• $20.0 million for long-lead materials for HC-130J long-range surveillance aircraft in preparation of the transition of Air Station Barbers Point, Hawaii, from the legacy HC-130H versions 
• $32 million for modernization and sustainment of the MH-65 helicopters to extend their service life into the 2030s 
• $0.5 million to continue funding installation of small unmanned aerial system capability into the National Security Cutters. 

The Operations and Maintenance portion of the budget includes $92.5 million, which includes funding for: 

• Crew and shore side support for the homeporting of the 10th NSC in Charleston, South Carolina 
• Crews and support for six FRCs for Manama, Bahrain; St. Petersburg, Florida; Ketchikan, Alaska; and Boston, Massachusetts 
• Crew, support, and facilities for OPCs at San Pedro, California 
• Crew and support for three HC-130J aircraft at Air Station Barbers Point 
• Support for a new C-27 long-range command-and-control aircraft in Washington, D.C. 
• Support for a new air station in Ventura County, California 
• Support for home-porting a medium-endurance cutter at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek, Virginia 
• Support for the transition of Air Station New Orleans, Louisiana, from the MH-65 to the MH-60T helicopter 
• Crew and support for the 49th MH-60T helicopter 
• A third Cyber Protection Team. 

The 2022 budget also plans for retiring five HC-130H aircraft (four at Barbers Pint and one in depot maintenance); decommissioning five 110-foot Island-class patrol boats; and decommissioning five 87-foot Marine Protector-class coastal patrol boats. 

The 10 patrol boats are being replaced by FRCs. 

ARLINGTON, Va. — The Navy Department’s fiscal 2022 budget requests totals $211.7 billion, a $3.8 billion increase over the enacted 2021 budget. The request includes funds for eight battle force ships and 107 aircraft. 

The Navy Department’s $211.7 billion request is part of the Defense Department’s $715 billion request. Defense programs in the Department of Energy total $37.9 billion. 

The department’s request includes $71.2 billion for operations and maintenance; $56.6 billion for personnel; $58.2 billion for procurement; $22.6 billion for research, development, test and evaluation; $150 million for revolving and management funds. 

SHIPS 

The procurement budget requests $22.6 billion for shipbuilding, a 3% reduction from the 2021 amount of $23.3 billion. The administration is planning incremental funding for the Columbia-class ballistic-missile submarine (SSBN) as well as the fifth increment of the detailed design and construction of the third Ford-class aircraft carrier, the future USS Enterprise and the fourth increment for the fourth Ford-class CVN, the future Dorie Miller. 

The Navy is planning on procuring two Block V Virginia-class attack submarines (SSNs), each with the Virginia Payload Module and funding advance procurement of the Block VI Virginia version; one Flight III Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer; one Constellation-class guided-missile frigate (FFG); one John Lewis-class fleet replenishment oiler (T-AO); two Navajo-class towing, salvage and rescue ships (T-ATS); and one T-AGOS(X) ocean-surveillance ship. 

The shipbuilding procurement request also includes two LCAC 100-class ship-to-shore connectors, four LCU 1700-class utility landing craft and five used commercial logistics ships for conversion to sealift ships. Two older LCACs will be given service-life extensions.  

The shipbuilding budget also requests funds toward one America-class amphibious assault ship and an additional increment of funding for the future USS Pittsburgh, a Block II San Antonio-class amphibious platform dock ship.  

RDT&E funds for ships are planned for the Columbia SSBN, Ford-Class CVN, Virginia-class SSN, Future Attack Submarine (SSN(X)), Constellation-class FFG, Future Large Surface Combatant ((DDG(X)), Next-Generation Logistics Ship (NGLS), Large USV, Orca UUV, Snakehead UUV and Mk18 UUV.  

The Navy anticipates delivery of 17 ships in fiscal 2022 and retirement of 15 ships. Deliveries include three Virginia-class SSNs, three Arleigh Burke-class DDGs, one Zumwalt-class DDG, one expeditionary staging base ship (ESB), one Spearhead-class expeditionary fast transport ship, one John-Lewis-class T-AO and one Navajo-class T-ATS.  

Ships planned for retirement include four littoral combat ships (LCS 3, 4, 7 and 9), two Los Angeles-class SSNs, seven Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruisers (including two not previously planned for retirement — USS Hue City and USS Anzio), one Whidbey Island-class dock landing ship (LSD) and one Powhatan-class fleet ocean tug. Also planned for divestment are the Navy’s 12 Mark VI patrol boats.  

The Navy is decommissioning LCS 1 and 2 in 2021. The service moved the planned retirement of LCS 3 and 4 to 2022. These four ships, currently serving as training and research ships, no longer meet the desired capabilities for the class. LCS 7 and 9 are more modern. The reason LCS 5 was not selected for retirement is that it is preparing for deployment and that it made more sense to select LCS 7 and 9 for budget reasons, according to Rear Adm. John Gumbleton, deputy assistant secretary of the Navy for budget, briefing reporters May 28. 

AIRCRAFT 

Funding of aircraft procurement for 2022 totals $16.5 billion, a 15.6% decrease from 2021’s $19.5 billion. Navy aircraft requested for 2022 include 20 F-35C Lightning II strike fighters, five E-2D Advanced Hawkeye battle management aircraft, three CMV-22B Osprey carrier-onboard-delivery aircraft and 36 TH-73A training helicopters. For the Marine Corps, the request includes funds for 17 F-35Bs, six KC-130J Super Hercules tanker/transport aircraft, nine CH-53K King Stallion heavy-lift helicopters, five MV-22B Osprey assault transport tiltrotor aircraft and six MQ-9 extended-range Reaper medium-altitude surveillance unmanned aerial vehicles. 

Notably, the budget contains no further funding for the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet strike fighter, P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol reconnaissance aircraft, the VH-92A presidential transport helicopter or the training version of the E-6B Mercury strategic communications aircraft. Procurement of these types has been completed, assuming no additions by the Congress. There is no 2022 request for funding for the MQ-4C Triton high-altitude, long-endurance UAV in that there is a pause in procurement while the UAV’s Integrated Functional Capability 4 is matured. 

RDT&E funds are programed for the F-35, CH-53E, VH-92A, Next-Generation Jammer, F/A-18E/F Advanced Infrared Search and Track (IRST), and MQ-25 Stingray UAV. 

The 2022 budget plan calls for accelerated divestment of legacy F/A-18A-D Hornet strike fighters, moving up the divestment of the 55 on strength from 2024 to 2022 and replacing them in the adversary role with F-16s transferred from the Air Force. Divestment of the RQ-4A Global Hawk Broad-Area Maritime Surveillance-Demonstrator UAV is planned for acceleration from 2023 to 2022, with the savings invested in higher priorities. 

WEAPONS 

Weapons procurement is slightly less that that of 2021, with $4.2 billion requested for 2022 to purchase 1,092 missiles and torpedoes, compared with $4.5 billion for 2,095 weapons in 2021. One missile type being added to the inventory for the first time is the AGGM-158B Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JAASM), which has up until now has been an Air Force-only weapon. 

RDT&E funds are programmed for the Conventional Prompt Strike hypersonic weapon and the Navy Family of Laser Systems. 

PERSONNEL 

The 2022 budget calls for a reduction of active-component Sailors by 1,600 to a level of 346,200 Sailors. Part of the decrease is a planned result of some ship decommissionings. The reserve component is planned for a decrease of 200 personnel to 58,600 Sailors. 

SAN DIEGO — Northrop Grumman’s autonomous high-altitude, long-endurance (HALE) Broad Area Maritime Surveillance-Demonstrator (BAMS-D) system surpassed 40,000 flight hours during a routine mission in the U.S. Central Command (USCENTCOM) area of operations April 13, the company said in a May 27 release.

“This milestone in the BAMS-D program demonstrates Northrop Grumman’s commitment to delivering critical capabilities to our customers that provide an advantage to U.S. and coalition partners in theater,” said Doug Shaffer, vice president and program manager, Triton programs, Northrop Grumman. “BAMS-D providing operational support well beyond its intended demonstration period highlights the unrivaled strategic value of autonomous maritime HALE while the Navy integrates the MQ-4C Triton into its vital maritime patrol mission.”

BAMS-D entered operational service for the U.S. Navy in 2009. Originally intended to be a six-month demonstration deployment, BAMS-D has supported U.S. Navy intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) missions in USCENTCOM for more than 12 years.

“BAMS-D sustainment is truly a Northrop Grumman cross-enterprise effort and is a testament to our unwavering commitment to mission readiness,” continued Shaffer.

“This is a significant milestone for any aircraft, but especially remarkable for an originally planned six-month demonstration system,” said Capt. James P. Johnston, commander, Task Force 57. “The persistence and dependability of the BAMS-D system and the resilience of the personnel who operate the platform here in 5th Fleet, are essential in sustaining maritime security and freedom of navigation throughout the region.”

While BAMS-D remains in operational service, its replacement, the MQ-4C Triton, completed its first year of an early operating capability deployment in the U.S. Indo-Pacific area of responsibility. The Triton system is currently progressing toward a multi-intelligence configuration and will ultimately support five operational orbits for the Navy with 68 operational aircraft. Australia is set to receive their first Triton in 2023 as part of a cooperative development program that will enable intelligence sharing between the U.S. and Australia.

Northrop Grumman’s family of autonomous high-altitude, long-endurance systems perform critical wide-area ISR collection. Today, autonomous HALE systems operate across the globe, with 24-plus hour endurance, collecting essential ISR data over land and sea to enable rapid, informed decision-making. In the future, these systems will connect the joint force, implementing advanced autonomy and AI and machine learning while delivering indispensable capabilities with fewer people to provide information at the speed of relevance.

Ron Tremain hails from Sherwood, Oregon, and is the vice president of Maritime Domain Awareness for Saildrone Inc. Prior to coming aboard Saildrone, Tremain led the maritime business development team at Insitu and consulted on avia­tion programs at Boeing.

Tremain’s history of maritime operational success is demon­strated by his 23-year career as one of the first elite U.S. Coast Guard rescue swimmers and by his strong track record of building some of the largest and most successful autonomous maritime programs, as evidenced by the highly successful U.S. Coast Guard ScanEagle program and his work protecting national security and battling illegal, unreported and unreg­ulated fishing; piracy; and transnational organized crime in the U.S. government and international arenas. 

Tremain responded to questions from Senior Editor Richard R. Burgess.

What is Saildrone?

TREMAIN: Saildrone is a company building and operat­ing unmanned surface vehicles [USVs] that are powered primarily by solar energy, with wind being the primary propellent for the craft. Our founder, Richard Jenkins, has set a number of world records in the sailing industry be­fore coming to the autonomy world, and he brought his technologies and his experience into creating a vehicle that has the capability to operate at long range and long endurance with primarily solar and wind power.

We have three difference sizes of platforms: Our small­est is the 23-foot-long Explorer. Our medium size is the 33-foot-long Voyager. Our largest size is the 72-foot-long Surveyor. The carbon-fiber sail on each is more like a wing than a sail but is a sail that can be controlled mechanically and with the wind. Depending on which di­rection we want it to sail, the operator can make adjust­ments to increase the speed, decrease the speed, change course direction as needed. The largest USV, Surveyor, also has a diesel engine installed to augment the genera­tor and to drive an underwater propeller as needed.

The speed of the Saildrones depends on the wind and on the size of the vessel. Surveyor can do at more than 9 knots, Voyager can do 7 knots plus and Explorer typically does up to 4 knots, but it can do 4 knots plus.

What kind of sensors equip Saildrones?

TREMAIN: For sensors, the USVs are fitted with an ad­vanced sensor suite of atmospheric and oceanograph­ic sensors, combined with MDA sensors such as AIS [Automatic Identification Systems], radar. Depending on the configuration, we have either four to 16 cameras that are pointing in a variety of directions but overlap 360-degree cameras to give a complete picture of the vehicle’s surroundings. The USVs also can be fitted with towed arrays.

How is the data transmitted to the user?

TREMAIN: All data coming off a Saildrone is real-time and is on a secure network, so it is mission hardened ready for military applications. The data will be linked directly into systems like Minotaur, which is the mesh network for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and other services. The advantage of that means that they don’t have to have a standalone data feed for Saildrone. The data goes right into the existing architecture.

What are some of Saildrone’s operations?

TREMAIN: It’s important to note all three vessels are equipped to be at sea for six months or longer. So it’s a real force multiplier and a game-changer to current op­erations, because it allows an autonomous vehicle to be at sea for extended periods of time and at extreme rang­es. To put it into perspective, not long ago we launched USVs from our site base in Alameda, California, and they currently are conducting fisheries operations in the Bering Sea, tracking and surveying tagged king crabs for a fisheries consortium. We’ve done the same with other fisheries and government agencies. The government and fisheries can do a comparative analysis and determine the best recommendations for a particular fishery.

With respect to the Coast Guard, Voyager fits very well for their mission of countering illegal, unreported and un­regulated fishing [IUU], which has overtaken piracy as a maritime law enforcement problem. In addition to coun­tering IUU fishing, USVs could conduct long-duration intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions to enable narcotics interdictions.

Last year, we conducted an operational demonstration for the Coast Guard’s District 14 in Hawaii, a very good showing of the capabilities and how we can inject into current operations. We also learned that there were some shortcomings, so we went back to the drawing board and created our middle-sized vessel, Voyager, our flagship for maritime domain operations. Our larger platform, Surveyor, was built for the mission of ba­thymetry, surveying the ocean floor. But all three USVs are basically utility vessels and can be configured as appropriate to customer needs based on space-weight-power requirements.

Saildrones have conducted the first eastbound and west­bound crossings of the Atlantic Ocean. They have tracked fish in the North Sea, surveyed ocean eddies off Africa and air-sea heat transfer over the Gulf of Mexico and discovered a shipwreck in the gulf. They have sailed up to and into bands of Arctic sea ice.

Explorer has done several missions worldwide to include circumnavigating Antarctica and then returning to Ala­meda, a journey of over 12,000 miles and 196 days. It has been used for many years now to conduct fishery surveys, bathymetry, NOAA [National Oceanic and Atmospher­ic Administration] operations, and other science and oceanographic operations. It’s been quite successful.

Saildrones have been used by NOAA and a university to study great white sharks between California and Hawaii, resulting in a lot of new knowledge about them. We’re also conducting a lot of weather operations, providing real-time weather data feeds from every hour from each vessel to NOAA and to the National Weather Service. Most weather patterns develop over the ocean and are tracked by satellite, but lacking are data on water salinity and temperature, etc. Now, we’re able to provide real-time, accurate reports of weather conditions wherever Sail­drones are deployed.

What business model does Saildrone use?

TREMAIN: A customer could either make an acquisi­tion outright or lease services. COCO [contractor owned, contractor operated] services has been our primary source of revenue. We provide the service and maintain the equipment thereby affording government agencies. As with UAVs, the services model is working quite well for the government because they can avoid the high cost of hiring additional personnel or pose additional risk to personnel at sea.

Customers typically pay by the day for USV services, because we provide 24/7 surveillance and a 24/7 data feed from the Saildrone. That’s a real advantage compared with UAVs where customers pay for so many hours per day.

Can you deploy Saildrones to launch from remote sites?

TREMAIN: It depends on the geographic location, the operation, its duration and what is most cost effective. We can transport out to the location, but for many oper­ations, we launch from Alameda, sail to the destination, conduct operations and recover back. We’ll repair on site as needed and continue the operation. With the current king crab mission, we deemed it appropriate to launch from Alameda and sail them north. For other missions in Alaska, it made best sense to transport them to Dutch Harbor for launch.

How many Saildrones do you have in inventory now? Does your company build or procure them?

TREMAIN: We have about a hundred, based in a hangar at the former Naval Air Station Alameda, which also is the location of our data center. Incoming data arriving via satellite can also be shared to government networks, for example the Customs and Border Protection [CBP] Ca­ribbean Air Marine Operations Center in San Juan, Puerto Rico, or the Air and Marine Operations Center in River­side, California. That allows CBP and all DHS agencies to take that information, inject it into their architecture and then make an educated decision on where, when and how to operate.

We currently manufacture all of our platforms. We did have some assistance on building Surveyor. But the com­pany has gotten to the size where the number of plat­forms deploying is so great that we most likely will have to outsource some of the keels and such to shipbuilders. It’s a good problem to have.

Where do you see Saildrone potentially fitting in Coast Guard operations?

TREMAIN: The Coast Guard is planning for the next 20 years on how to bring autonomy into their operations. Their ScanEagle program is up and running and doing a great job. The Coast Guard stood up a UxS program office last year to build their long-term unmanned system and autonomy strategy for the next 20-25 years.

The Coast Guard always has been a little budget-chal­lenged, priding itself with doing more with less. Provid­ing capabilities like Saildrone allows them to do more with less. It’s a cost-effective solution that provides critical data so they can better make decisions and can better prosecute the missions and more effectively use their personnel. We look forward to doing more work with the Coast Guard and the other branches of the mili­tary going forward. I think the Coast Guard is really going to cross-pollinate their autonomous capabilities — their surface assets with their air assets.

An example: Saildrones conducting surveillance in a particular area can find friendly and unfriendly targets and provide that real-time data back to the Coast Guard. An aircraft like a Volansi vertical takeoff and landing UAV may be conducting a shore based coastal patrol, may be able to intercept and surveil the target of interest, while ScanEagle UAVs continue conducting ship-launched patrols. In theory, the USV and UAV will have the capa­bility to talk to each other, forming a mesh network that expands the search horizon thereby allowing the UAV to track that target well after the Saildrone picked it up as a hot target. Being able to do that and other autonomous operations, I think is going to really increase the effec­tiveness of the Coast Guard.

For search and rescue, if Saildrones track a ship that is in a particular area and then that vessel sinks, having a patrolling Volansi UAV drop a small raft or a data marker buoy to the survivors then ascend to provide safe over­watch while the Coast Guard helicopter or cutter comes out to make the rescue.

ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Navy has been heralded for the significant progress in increasing the mission-capable rates of its F/A-18E/F Super Hornet strike fighter fleet, but the initiatives that made it possible are not being limited to strike fighters, the admiral in charge of the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) said.   

“It was never meant to be just for Super Hornets,” said Vice Adm. Dean Peters, commander, Naval Air Systems Command, speaking May 24 at a webinar preview — sponsored by SAIC and Government Matters — of the Navy League’s upcoming 2021 Sea-Air-Space Exposition. “The plan all along was we were going to replicate those across all of our aircraft, so that’s every shop within every shop within every depot, all of our intermediate-level maintenance sites, and all of our organizational-level sites at the squadron level.” 

The admiral said that one of the key elements of the Super Hornet’s readiness recovery was the establishment of a Super Hornet maintenance operations center in Norfolk, Virginia, which was able to manage all of the maintenance and resources for the Super Hornet enterprise.      

The same effort is being established for the EA-18G Growler electronic combat aircraft, P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol reconnaissance aircraft, the H-60Seahawk helicopter and the V-22 Osprey tiltrotor transport aircraft, he said. 

“Over the last couple of years — from about October 2018, that’s when we had broad efficacy for a number of these sustainment initiatives — we have been able to increase our mission-capable rates by 14%,” Peters said. “That’s 330 additional mission-capable aircraft for our aircrews to train in. So, I see this absolutely trending in the right direction. The readiness is always going to be a concern. Once you get to those readiness levels, you want to be able to sustain it.”    

Peters said there were two key aspects of the success.  

“The first is establishing the supported and supporting alignment that’s required,” he said. “The air boss at the time, [commander, Naval Air Forces Vice Adm. Dewolfe Miller III], [had a] requirement of 341 Super Hornets,” which Peters said was the metric that mattered and all else was to support that.  

Peters also said he “elevated the role of the program managers to be the quarterbacks of the sustainment effort and that’s something we had not done in the past. And the program executive officers are also stepping up to be the sustainment leads for those platforms that are under their purview. 

The second key was the use of commercial best practices, Peters said.  

“For the last 20 years we missed out on all of the improvements that were going on in commercial aviation,” he said, noting the focus on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. “Now we have the chance to incorporate some of these associated with how we do maintenance. It’s all about the workflow, the work content and velocity.” 

NAVAIR has established the Reliability Control Board, Peters said, “an all-encompassing effort that identifies improvements in reliability [and] in the maintenance plan, so that’s continually being revised. What we need going forward is just to continue to prioritize. If we can do that, then we will not only sustain readiness levels that we have achieved, but we will also continue to make incremental improvements. We’ll continue to improve lethality and survivability in addition to just the basic mission capability.” 

ARLINGTON, Va. —The third Sealion combatant craft being configured for the Navy’s SEALs is scheduled for delivery this summer, which will bring the craft up to Full Operational Capability, a U.S. Special Operations Command official (SOCOM) said. 

Known formally as the Combatant Craft – Heavy (CCH), the low-profile Sealion is designed to provide long-range insertion and extraction capabilities for special operations forces. The approximately 80-foot-long Sealion has retractable masts for sensors and communications. Jet Skis, inflatable rubber raiding craft and diving equipment can be carried and launched out the stern. The craft can be carried inside a C-17 transport. 

Capt. Randy Slaff, program executive officer – Maritime for SOCOM, speaking May 19 in a webinar of the annual National Defense Industrial Association Special Operations Forces Industry Conference, said the third Sealion — Sealion III — has been built and will be delivered to SOCOM during the next two months after factory delivery trials. It was the first CCH built from the keel up for SOCOM under a $17 million contract awarded in 2017.  

Slaff said the first two CCHs, Sealion I and Sealion II, which were transferred to SOCOM by the Navy and were tailored to meet Navy Special Warfare needs, “are still going strong.” 

Sealion I has been serving SOCOM since 2014. 

A fourth CCH is planned for procurement to replace Sealion I, Slaff said. 

The Sealion III was built by Vigor Industrial’s Oregon Iron Works.   

ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) will be putting the new Dry Combat Submersible (DCS) Block 1 through testing in preparation for delivery this fall, a senior SOCOM official said, and is laying the groundwork for a DCS-Next version.  

James Smith, acquisition executive for SOCOM, speaking with reporters May 17 in a roundtable of the National Defense Industrial Association’s Special Operations Industry Conference, said the first submersible, DCS1, is finishing up Developmental Test and will begin Operational Test this summer.  

The 30-ton DCS provides a fully enclosed environment to transport SEAL teams to and from objectives without being exposed to cold and fatigue. The submersible is designed to be operated by a crew of two and to carry eight SEALs. The hull features two topside hatches as well as a lockout chamber. The DCS Block 1 is to operate from surface ships only and not from submarines. DCS1 was delivered in 2019 to begin sea trials. 

In July 2016, Lockheed Martin was awarded a $166 million contract to build up to three lithium battery-powered DCSs over five years. The first vessel, DCS1, was delivered in 2019 to begin sea trials. 

Smith also said SOCOM is working on “pre-program activities” for DCS-Next, which is planned as a DCS that will be able to operate from submarines, is scheduled for program start in fiscal 2024, but that SOCOM is “working right now to pull that left into ’23.”  

Smith also noted that the prototype approach — three prototypes (one leased and two procured) — for DCS Block I would be too expensive for DCS Block II, but that using digital design and engineering would make the program affordable. 

ARLINGTON, Va. — Two U.S. Navy training jets collided in mid-air over Texas on May 17, but all four crew members survived. 

Two T-45C Goshawk training jets assigned to Training Air Wing Two, collided over Ricardo, Texas, at approximately 11:00 am. Central Time, the chief of naval air training (CNATRA) said in a Facebook post. The pilots are assigned to Training Squadron 22, one of two T-45C squadrons based at Naval Air Station Kingsville, Texas. 

“One aircraft was able to safely land at Naval Air Station Kingsville, Texas, and the other aircraft’s instructor and student pilot safely ejected about nine miles south of Kingsville in Ricardo, Texas,” CNATRA said. “One pilot was taken to CHRISTUS Spohn Hospital Kleberg for minor injuries. The incident is currently under investigation and the U.S. Navy is cooperating fully with local authorities.” 

The T-45Cs were part of a three-plane formation flight. 

According to an unofficial count, a total of 31 T-45s of 222 built have been lost in mishaps since the type began service in 1991, an average of one per year.