WASHINGTON
— Bruce Jette, assistant secretary of the U.S. Army for acquisition, logistics
and technology, on June 20 approved the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV)
program’s transition into full-rate production, the Army Program Executive
Office for Combat Support and Combat Service Support announced in a release.

The
approval follows an Army decision in December to begin fielding the new
platform with the Army’s 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart,
Georgia, in April. The 1-3 ID became the Army’s first unit equipped with JLTVs
in April after receiving more than 300 vehicles.

Fieldings
to the Ordnance School, Fort Lee, Virginia, the 84th Training Command, Fort
McCoy, Wisconsin, the Marine Corps’ School of Infantry-West at Camp Pendleton,
California, as well as the Marine School of Infantry-East, Camp Lejeune, North
Carolina, have also been completed.

“Thanks
to tremendous teamwork across two services on requirements, resources, program
management, testing and other areas, this is a great modernization success story.
JLTV shows how teams focused on stable requirements, mature technologies and
the right incentives can deliver meaningful capability advancements in a
cost-conscious way,” said Jeffrey White, Jette’s principal deputy.

The JLTV
family of vehicles is designed to restore payload and performance that were
traded from light tactical vehicles to add protection in recent conflict,
giving commanders an improved protected mobility solution and the first vehicle
purpose-built for modern battlefield networks.

“Getting
an improved capability into the hands of Soldiers and Marines has been our
team’s driving focus throughout this program,” said Michael Sprang, project
manager, Joint Program Office, Joint Light Tactical Vehicles.

“We
are also grateful for Soldier feedback on new features and enhancements,” Sprang
continued. “The Soldiers of the 1st ABCT, 3rd Infantry Division provided
valuable input on enhancements such as increased situational awareness,
reduction of system noise, a troop seat kit, and a companion JLTV trailer.
Their assessments helped bring us all to a successful Full-Rate Production
decision.”

The JLTV
program remains on schedule and on budget to replace a significant portion of
the Army’s High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle fleet. The JLTV comes in
two variants and four mission package configurations: general purpose, close combat
weapons carrier, heavy guns carrier and a utility vehicle. The U.S. Navy and
Air Force also plan to field JLTVs in much smaller quantities.

“The full-rate production decision is a key
milestone for the JLTV program, closing out the low-rate initial production
(LRIP) phase, which began in 2015, George
Mansfield, vice president and general manager of joint programs for Oshkosh
Defense, said in a June 21 statement. “Important insights from
manufacturing and rigorous developmental and operational test during LRIP
contributed to shaping the vehicle’s current configuration. The program remains
on schedule and on budget and ensures our troops have the protection,
connection and extreme off-road mobility they need today for current and future
battlefields. The JLTV is the only light tactical vehicle being fielded today
that can maneuver within combat formations.”

SAN JUAN,
Puerto Rico — The Coast Guard Cutter Donald Horsley (WPC-1117) repatriated 11
Dominican migrants to a Dominican navy patrol vessel June 19 in waters just off
Samana, Dominican Republic, following the interdiction of an illegal migrant
voyage in the Mona Passage, the Coast Guard 7th District said in a release.

The
interdiction is the result of ongoing efforts in support of Operation Unified
Resolve, Operation Caribbean Guard and the Caribbean Border Interagency Group
(CBIG). Since October 2018, the Coast Guard and CBIG partner federal and state
agencies have interdicted over 1,523 migrants at sea near Puerto Rico and the
U.S. Islands.

During a
routine patrol June 17, the crew of patrolling Coast Guard HC-144 Ocean Sentry
maritime patrol aircraft detected a 20-foot fiberglass migrant boat transiting
towards Puerto Rico, about 20 nautical miles north northeast of Punta Cana,
Dominican Republic.

Coast Guard
watchstanders in Sector San Juan diverted the cutter Donald Horsley to interdict
the suspect vessel. Upon arriving on scene, the Donald Horsley crew stopped the
blue and white makeshift boat with 11 migrants onboard, nine men and two women,
who claimed Dominican nationality. Horsley crew members proceeded to embark all
the migrants from the makeshift boat that was taking on water and in danger of
sinking.

“I am proud
of my crew for saving 11 people from a small, grossly overloaded boat traveling
in very dangerous sea conditions,” said Lt. Christopher Martin, commanding
officer of the Donald Horsley. “Crossing the Mona Passage is an extremely
dangerous journey, especially in the case of illegal voyages, in which migrants
risk their lives by trusting smugglers who transport them in inhumane
conditions on boats that are not safe to navigate and do not have any safety
equipment on board.”

Once aboard a
Coast Guard cutter, all migrants receive food, water, shelter and basic medical
attention.

The cutter
Donald Horsley is a 154-foot fast-response cutter homeported in San Juan,
Puerto Rico.

ARLINGTON,
Va. — The U.S Navy will christen its newest Arleigh Burke-class guided missile
destroyer, the future USS Daniel Inouye (DDG 118), during a 10 a.m. ceremony June
22, in Bath, Maine, the Defense Department announced.

The future
USS Daniel Inouye is named in honor of Daniel Inouye, who served as a United
States senator for Hawaii from 1963 until his death in 2012.

Inouye
received the Medal of Honor June 21, 2000, for his extraordinary heroism in
action while serving with the 442nd Infantry Regiment Combat Team in Italy
during World War II. During an assault on April 21, 1945, an exploding grenade
shattered his right arm; despite the intense pain, he refused evacuation. He
remained at the head of his platoon until they broke the enemy resistance and
his men deployed in defensive positions, continuing to fight until the
regiment’s position was secured.

U.S. Sen.
Mazie Hirono of Hawaii will deliver the christening ceremony’s principal
address. Irene Hirano Inouye, the late senator’s wife, will serve as the ship’s
sponsor. In a time-honored Navy tradition, Irene Inouye will christen the ship
by breaking a bottle of sparkling wine across her bow.

“The
future USS Daniel Inouye will serve for decades as a reminder of Senator
Inouye’s service to our nation and his unwavering support of a strong Navy and
Marine Corps team,” Navy Secretary Richard V. Spencer said. “This
ship honors not only his service but the service of our shipbuilders who help
make ours the greatest Navy and Marine Corps team in the world.”

The future
USS Daniel Inouye will be the 68th Arleigh Burke-class destroyer and is one of
21 ships under contract for the DDG 51 program. The ship is configured as a
Flight IIA destroyer, which enables power projection and delivers quick
reaction time, high firepower, and increased electronic countermeasures
capability for anti-air warfare. The USS Daniel Inouye will be 509.5 feet long
and 59 feet wide, with a displacement of 9,496 tons. She will be homeported in
Pearl Harbor.

PORTSMOUTH,
Va. — Norfolk Naval Shipyard dedicated its new submarine maintenance facility
on June 14.

The
dedication marked the next crucial step in the NNSY’s realization of a shipyard
infrastructure optimization plan that will enhance the ability of the four
public shipyards to meet the mission of delivering ships back to the fleet on
time and within budget.

The new
facility consolidates submarine maintenance, production and support shops into
a single facility adjacent to NNSY’s submarine drydocks. This two-story
structure features shops, storage and support spaces on the ground level, with
office spaces and conference rooms on the second floor.

“NAVSEA Cmdr.
Vice Adm. Tom Moore has challenged us to build an environment that promotes
increased levels of innovation, collaboration and knowledge sharing,” the shipyard’s
commander, Capt. Kai Torkelson, said at the dedication.

“This will
give our people the space and tools they need to forge high-performing teams
and complete our mission of returning submarines to the fleet with superior
quality and reliable delivery.”

More than
three years in the making, the $10 million project is designed to withstand the
impact of a 500-year flood, and the 24,000-square-foot building should also
hold up against a Category 4 hurricane. The building also follows antiterrorism
protection requirements, featuring blast-proof windows and 18-inch thick
concrete walls. It also features amenities such as a kitchen, break room,
nursing mothers room and showers.

NNSY’s
current submarine projects include conversions of USS La Jolla and USS San
Francisco into moored training ships and the refueling and upgrading of USS
Wyoming for return to the nation’s active submarine fleet.

NNSY submarine
program manager Pat Ensley said the building supports work on Los Angeles-class
submarines and will support work on the future Virginia and Columbia classes of
subs.

“It
improves our abilities by having a permanent facility and place to perform
production work as close to the boat as possible,” he said. Adding that the
building is segmented by mechanical, electrical, nuclear and nonnuclear work
areas, he said: “We’re going to have capability for every shop, with
ergonomically designed work areas as well as giving individuals all the
amenities they would want from starting to ending their work days.”

PARIS — Raytheon
won a four-year $234 million contract from the U.S. Navy to outfit all of its
nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships with 23 Joint
Precision Approach and Landing Systems (JPALS), the company announced in a release.

JPALS is a
GPS-based precision landing system that guides aircraft to precision landings
in all weather and surface conditions.

“The U.S.
Navy understands how JPALS contributes to their mission success and safety of
its people,” said Matt Gilligan, vice president of Raytheon’s intelligence, information
and services business. “Other military services could also benefit from the
system’s ability to safely land both fixed and rotary-wing aircraft in almost
any low-visibility environment.”

Since 2018,
U.S. Marine Corps F-35B Lightning II fighter pilots have used JPALS to guide
them onto the USS Wasp amphibious assault ship during deployed operations in
what Navy Capt. B. Joseph Hornbuckle III, program manager, Naval Air Traffic
Management Systems Program Office, called “the most difficult conditions on
Earth.”

Earlier this
year, F-35B pilots participated in two demonstrations of a new expeditionary
version of the JPALS system that brings the same precision capability from sea
to shore. The proof-of-concept events showed how the GPS-based system could be
reconfigured into a mobile version to support landings in a traditional airport
setting.

Expeditionary
JPALS fits in five transit cases and could be repackaged for a variety of small
transit vehicles transportable by C-130. Once on the ground, the system can be
fully operational in under 90 minutes.

PARIS — The
U.S. Navy successfully completed a series of guided flight tests for Raytheon
Co.’s Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) Block 2A short-range, surface-to-air
missile, the company said in a release.

Testing
occurred at Naval Air Warfare Center in China Lake, California, and from the
Navy’s self-defense test ship off the coast of Southern California.

RAM is the world’s
most modern ship self-defense weapon and protects ships of all sizes. It is
deployed on more than 165 ships in 11 countries, ranging from 500-ton fast
attack craft to 95,000-ton aircraft carriers. The latest software upgrade
enhances guidance and the missile’s capability to defeat threats.

Raytheon
expects to deliver the RAM Block 2A missile to the Navy by the end of the year.

RAM is an international
cooperative program between the United States and Germany. Raytheon and the
German company RAMSYS share development, production and maintenance costs.

MARINETTE,
Wis. — The Lockheed Martin-led shipbuilding team launched Littoral Combat Ship 21,
the future USS Minneapolis-Saint Paul, into the Menominee River at the
Fincantieri Marinette Marine Shipyard on June 15.

Ship sponsor
Jodi J. Greene, deputy U.S. Navy undersecretary for policy, christened LCS 21
just prior to launch, according to a Lockheed press release. “LCS 21 is going
to bring the name ‘Minneapolis-Saint Paul’ all around the globe,” said Greene, who
is native of the Twin Cities.

“LCS is the
second largest ship class in the U.S. Navy, and Lockheed Martin is proud to
deliver capability and added force projection with each additional hull,” said
Joe DePietro, vice president and general manager of small combatants and ship systems
for Lockheed.

Littoral
combat ships are designed to complete close-to-shore missions and are a growing
part of the Navy’s fleet. With 40 percent of its hull easily reconfigurable, an
LCS can be modified to integrate capabilities such as over-the-horizon
missiles, advanced electronic warfare systems and decoys and, in the future,
vertical launching systems or laser weapon systems.

An LCS is fast,
as it is capable of speeds in excess of 40 knots. The ships are lethal as well,
as all are equipped with Rolling Airframe Missiles (RAM) and a Mark 110 gun, which
is capable of firing 220 rounds per minute.

Lockheed
Martin is in full-rate production and has delivered eight LCS to the U.S. Navy.
There are eight others in various stages of production and testing. This year,
Lockheed and Fincantieri Marinette Marine will begin construction on two ships,
deliver two ships, complete sea trials for two ships and see three ships
commissioned (LCS 13, 15 and 17).

WASHINGTON —
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD)
announced $19.6 million in grants to support capital improvements at 28 U.S.
small shipyards as a part of its Small Shipyard Grant program, MARAD said in a release.

Provided
through MARAD’s Small Shipyard Grant program, the funding supports employee
training and related improvements that foster increased efficiency and economic
growth, the release said.

“These grants
help create jobs in America’s small shipyards, which play a significant role in
our country’s maritime sector,” Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao said.

In 2013, U.S.
shipbuilders produced $37.3 billion in gross domestic product. Usually
family-owned and employing less than 1,200 workers, small shipyards play a
critical role in contributing to our nation’s economy. Supporting more than
400,000 jobs, they create employment opportunities for working families and
small communities.

“Small
shipyards are an irreplaceable aspect of America’s shipbuilding industry,” Maritime
Administrator Mark. H. Buzby said. “They are a key component to national
security and our economic viability as a whole, providing good jobs for
hardworking Americans.”

Since 2008,
MARAD’s Small Shipyard Grant Program has awarded more than $226 million for a
total of 216 grants. These grants help fund upgrades and expansions that often
lead to more competitive operations, quality ship construction and improved
employee skill.

Having
produced some of the most innovative vessels in the world, U.S. small shipyards
have become economic backbones throughout the country. Small shipyard grants leverage
the skills and expertise of the shipyard community, according to the release.

MCLEAN, Va. — Alion Science and Technology has been
awarded a task order totaling $75 million to support Naval Information Warfare
Center (NIWC) Pacific, the company announced in a release.

The contract supports a technical focus of Combat Vehicle
Command, Control, Communication, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance, and
Reconnaissance (C4ISR) On-the-Move (OTM) Systems for the Joint Warfighter.

The Alion team will support the U.S. Marine Corps and
Army programs for C4ISR-OTM at NIWC Pacific to ensure interoperability and
commonality of functions between systems and upgrades. This includes the
advancement of joint and coalition force capabilities by helping to provide OTM
satellite communications technology that gives weapon system platforms on the
battlefield reliable, worldwide connectivity to the Joint Information
Environment.

Alion will provide technical expertise to develop
operational concepts for OTM satellite communications across multiple weapon
system platforms, to include tactical vehicles. Focus will be on systems
engineering and providing the technology expertise required to evaluate, design
and test and implement advanced hardware and software components for the
C4ISR-OTM.

“Alion has supported this customer since 2009. Being able
to provide continued access to the team that built the NOTM [Networking
On-the-Move] system and the OEMs for the individual components allows for
uninterrupted advancement of C4ISR technologies,” said Tim Lawrence, Alion senior
vice president.

TODENDORF, Germany — German, Norwegian, Danish and U.S. Navy Sailors from the Baltic Operations (BALTOPS) exercise Mine Warfare Task Group came together to clear three World War II-era air-laid mines in the Baltic Sea on June 14, the Naval Surface and Mine Warfighting Development Center said in a release.

During complex mine warfare training to increase combined
force integration and maritime capability among 11 nations, the task group
identified three historical mines on the sea floor. The team detonated the
mines after receiving approval from German authorities to increase safety and
reduce risk to mariners operating in German territorial waters.

“This is an excellent example of the valuable training we
gain from exercises like BALTOPS,” said U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Scott Robertson,
commander of the BALTOPS 2019 Mine Warfare Task Group and commander of Naval
Surface and Mine Warfighting Development Center.

“Working together with our professional partners from
Denmark and Norway to clear these undetonated, historical mines provides
hands-on training and increases safety to mariners in the region by clearing
hazardous material from the Baltic Sea. There is a good chance we will find
more of these mines as the exercise continues, and it’s reassuring to know our
international task group has the training and expertise necessary to safely
dispose of them,” Robertson emphasized.

A team of mine warfare professionals aboard the Norwegian
Alta-class MS HMNoS Otra (M351) detected and classified two mines, which were
reacquired and identified by a team of Danish divers. Members of a Norwegian
dive team discovered the third mine in another Mine Warfare Task Group’s
training area off the coast of the Bundeswehr Military Training Area in
Todendorf, Germany.

“German authorities willingly support the reduction of
threat to navigation and shipping,” said Bundeswehr Personnel Exchange Program
Officer Fregattenkapitaen Stefan Oeggl, who is assigned to the U.S. Navy’s Mine
Countermeasures Division 31 and serves as a liaison for the Mine Warfare Task Group
and Germany.

“Even after 75 years, explosives like these are dangerous,
and we are happy to have the mines cleared as part of the exercise.”

Each of the cleared mines were World War II-era British
air-laid, bottom mines (A Mk I–VI), each roughly 1,000 pounds.

“This has been a tremendous opportunity to continue to work
with partner and allied forces that we frequently engage with throughout the
region,” said U.S. Navy Cmdr. Jeff Demarco, commanding officer of Explosive
Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit 8 based in Rota, Spain, which serves as the
Undersea Mine Countermeasures Commander within the BALTOPS Mine Warfare Task
Group.

“Working with the Norwegian, Danish and Belgium clearance
diving and AUV teams during training exercises is critical to our ability to maintain
sea control in a complex theater.”

Nations participating in the BALTOPS 2019 Mine Warfare Task
Group include Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Denmark, Belgium, Germany, the
Netherlands, Norway, the United Kingdom, France and the United States.

Nations participating in BALTOPS 2019 include Belgium,
Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands,
Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, the United Kingdom
and the United States.

BALTOPS is an opportunity to promote partnerships, presence,
and professionalism through an unambiguous display of strength in the Baltic
region.