WASHINGTON —The admiral in command of the nation’s strategic deterrent forces defended the new W76-2 low-yield nuclear warhead before the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) in a hearing on Capitol Hill and praised the agile process that rapidly deployed the weapon.  

The requirement for a submarine-launched low-yield warhead became a requirement noted in the 2018 Nuclear Posture Review. The result was the W76-2 warhead, which was deployed in 2019 on the tips of some Trident submarine-launched ballistic missiles carried by Ohio-class ballistic-missile submarines.   

“I think it’s an example that shows that we can move fast,” said Adm. Charles A. Richard, commander, U.S. Strategic Command, testifying Sept. 17 before the SASC. “We still know how to do this. That is an example of where the threat changed, new capability was needed, we provided on an operationally responsive timeline [and] closed a potential hole in our deterrence strategy. We should be able to do that more.” 

Richard said the rapid development and deployment of the W76-2 was “a type of hedging strategy that enables you to react inside what somebody is attempting to do. That enhances a nation’s deterrence by a nation’s ability to do that.” 

Richard stressed that the strategic climate was changing as China and Russia began surging on their way to becoming peer competitors “that have to be deterred differently.”   

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — The crew of the Coast Guard cutter Joseph Napier (WPC-1115) offloaded approximately eight kilograms of seized cocaine and transferred custody of two suspected smugglers to federal law enforcement authorities Sept. 16 in San Juan, Puerto Rico, the Coast Guard 7th District said in a Sept. 17 release. 

The seized drug shipment has an estimated value of more than $176,000 dollars. The two men apprehended who claimed to be Dominican Republic nationals remain in U.S. custody facing criminal charges for drug smuggling.  

The interdiction was the result of ongoing efforts in support of Operation Unified Resolve, the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program and the Caribbean Corridor Strike Force (CCSF). Prosecution is being led by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Puerto Rico.  

“Throughout the pursuit and interdiction of this drug smuggling go-fast the crew of the Winslow Griesser demonstrated another outstanding performance all around,” said Lt. Joel Wyman, commanding officer of the cutter Winslow Griesser. “We appreciate the great collaboration and professionalism of our Coast Guard aviators, Command Center, Enforcement and Intel personnel, who greatly contributed to achieving a successful outcome, which kept these drugs from reaching the streets and will bring these smugglers before justice.” 

During a routine patrol of the Mona Passage on Sept. 12, the crew of a Coast Guard HC-144 Ocean Sentry aircraft from Air Station Miami detected a suspect 25-foot go-fast vessel with two people aboard, approximately 25 nautical miles northwest of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico. Coast Guard watchstanders at Sector San Juan diverted the cutter Winslow Griesser to interdict the suspect vessel. 

Once the cutter Winslow Griesser closed in on the suspect vessel, the occupants of the go-fast were observed jettisoning objects overboard. Shortly thereafter, the crew of Winslow Griesser’s over-the-horizon cutter boat stopped the go-fast, and located eight packages of suspected contraband nearby. The recovered packages tested positive for cocaine. 

The detainees and contraband were transferred to the cutter Joseph Napier for transport to Sector San Juan. The Napier’s crew offloaded the contraband and disembarked the suspected smugglers in coordination with CBP officers, DEA and CCSF special agents in San Juan.  

Cutters Winslow Griesser and Joseph Napier are 154-foot fast response cutters homeported in San Juan, Puerto Rico. 

WASHINGTON — The Coast Guard has released a new strategy to enhance global safety, security, and stewardship of the maritime domain by combatting Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) fishing, Coast Guard Headquarters said in a Sept. 17 release. 

IUU fishing is a collection of dishonest fishing practices, both on the high seas and in areas within national jurisdiction, that threatens global geo-political security and prosperity and weakens rules-based order; especially as the worldwide demand for fish as a protein source continues to grow. 

It’s a huge problem. According to the strategy, one in five fish caught around the world are from IUU, resulting in tens of billions of lost revenue for legal fishers each year. 

This IUU Fishing Strategic Outlook announces the Coast Guard’s commitment to leading an international effort to combat illegal exploitation of the ocean’s fish stocks and protect our national interests. 

“The Coast Guard’s IUU Fishing Strategic Outlook outlines the service’s efforts to combat the scourge of IUU fishing over the next decade. We are committed to working with our allies and like-minded partners to strengthen the international fisheries enforcement regime and counter this pervasive threat,” said Adm. Karl L. Schultz, Commandant of the Coast Guard. 

“As a recognized world leader in maritime safety, security and environmental stewardship, the Coast Guard has a responsibility to help build a coalition of partners willing to identify and address IUU fishing bad actors and model responsible global maritime behavior.” 

The Coast Guard has been the lead agency for at-sea enforcement of living marine resource laws for more than 150 years. The service will continue to lead global efforts to build a multilateral coalition to detect and deter IUU fishing on the high seas and in the exclusive economic zones of partner nations in order to disrupt the corrupt cycle of influence that enables illegal operations. 

Working with partners in the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, the Department of State, and the Department of Defense, the Coast Guard will advance a whole-of-government effort to promote economic prosperity and drive stability, legitimacy, and order in the maritime domain. 

Schultz and officials from the Department of Defense, NOAA and the State Department appeared at a prerecorded panel discussion on Sept. 17 about IUU, hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. 

“It [IUU] really has replaced the focus on counter narcotics, it has replaced the focus on piracy,” he said.  

With that said, he noted the Coast Guard is usually stretched thin, so “this isn’t about the Coast Guard being the fish cops across the globe. This is about synchronizing efforts” with other agencies and allies. 

Adm. Craig S. Faller, commander of U.S. Southern Command, said he speaks with defense ministers from the Caribbean, South America, Ecuador, Chile and others and “this is in their top three, if not the top. … This is economics, and it’s threatening their livelihoods.”

Technology can help monitor illegal fishing, along with more information sharing, the officials said. Schultz said a Southcom ship recently helped Ecuador locate a 300-ship Chinese fleet operating just outside of Ecuador’s waters, and which was probably engaging in illegal fishing.

Boats from China and Taiwan make up about 60% of all IUU fishing, said Dr. Whitley Saumweber, who moderated the event.

“It’s right to focus on China because of their dominance, but we should not forget they are not the only actors in this space,” he said.

Additional information on the Coast Guard’s IUU Fishing Strategic outlook can be found at – https://www.uscg.mil/IUUFishing 

Artificial intelligence, machine learning and unmanned systems are enabling surface and undersea activities even while COVID-19 hampers the ability to put humans on ships, maritime leaders said during a webinar on Sept. 17.

Retired Rear Adm. Tim Gallaudet, deputy administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the former Oceanographer of the Navy, said COVID has put ship deployments on hold for months, but the agency has leveraged autonomous systems to keep the work going.

For instance, NOAA sent Sail Drones to Alaska to perform a critical fishery survey and for coastal mapping.

“We were able to map in pretty shallow areas that would have been hazardous for ships,” Gallaudet said in the webinar, hosted by the Marine Technology Society’s Washington section and the company Oceaneering.

NOAA was also able to use underwater gliders to measure water temperatures, which helped accurately predict the track of Hurricane Laura. This was done with the deployment of just a few operators on small boats in the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico.

The agency is leveraging artificial intelligence, machine learning, autonomous systems, data management and other advances and “applying those technologies in everything we do,” he said, including setting up a NOAA AI center.

The U.S. Navy is also leaning into these technologies, said Adm. Bill Houston, director of the Undersea Warfare Division in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations (N97).

His unmanned underwater vehicle portfolio alone is worth $2.8 billion, he said, including the MK18 and the Knifefish, as well as the larger Orca, Razorback and Snakehead UUVs that are being developed. AI and machine learning are going to be key in using these systems and maintaining U.S. overmatch against adversaries, he said.

“We’re not going to be a leader in AI, industry is, [and] we need to go ahead to be able to leverage that with academia,” he said.

ARLINGTON, Va. — The on-time delivery of ships, submarines and systems from the Navy’s repair yards and the private shipyards as well as on-time delivery of new construction ships remains the Naval Sea Systems Command’s (NAVSEA’s) top priority, the NAVSEA commander said.  

“It all starts with advance planning,” said Vice Adm. William Galinis, the NAVSEA commander, speaking Sept. 16 in a webinar of the Virtual Fleet Maintenance & Modernization Symposium of the American Society of Naval Engineers. “We’re going to be relentless to get the planning right.” 

Advance planning is critical in determining what work a ship will need so that materials can be ordered and delivered in time and the necessary work force assigned and mustered to perform the maintenance before the work starts. Each day matters, he said. 

Galinis noted that the duration and complexity of ship maintenance and modernization availabilities is increasing.   

“We need to be absolutely relentless in execution,” he said.  

One of the planning actions that has proved beneficial is sending assessment teams to do ship checks, inspecting a ship in advance of the availability to determine the condition and needs of the ship to develop the work package as completely as possible.  

Galinis said that one of the biggest challenges is unplanned work that emerges. Managing that change is critical to minimizing its impact on the schedule. 

He also said, “We are challenged in some areas by capacity. We need to build additional capacity.” 

The admiral said that currently 47 CNO [chief of naval operations] availabilities are being executed in private shipyards (including three nuclear-powered attack submarines at Newport News Shipbuilding). Of those, he said, approximately half are “tracking to the schedule,” he said, with the other half being challenges. In addition, 13 nuclear-powered ships — 11 submarines and two aircraft carriers — are in availabilities in the Navy’s shipyards. 

Galinis stressed the importance of teamwork between the Navy, the ship repair industry and the supply chain in meeting the challenges of on-time delivery. 

Achieving a predictable and stable workload in ship repair yards benefits both the Navy and industry, enabling the yards to hire and retain a skilled, right-sized work force, a feature that also enables suppliers to get backlogs of orders. It benefits the populations and economies of the communities located by the yards and suppliers as well. 

MIAMI — Coast Guard Sector Miami and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Office of Field Operations law enforcement teams interdicted about 33 pounds of cocaine Monday after conducting a joint boarding of the motor vessel La Temperance on the Miami River, the Coast Guard 7th District said in a Sept. 16 release. 

The motor vessel was boarded due to the last port of call and suspected fraudulent mariner credentials. 

While the law enforcement teams inspected common spaces on the vessel, a CBP K-9 unit detected and found 20 packages of cocaine. 

“This successful joint boarding illustrates the power of the DHS Security Regional Coordinating Mechanism to combat illicit trafficking,” said Capt. Jo-Ann Burdian, commander, Sector Miami. “We work together each day with our partners to improve the safety and security of Miami’s ports and waterways.” 

“This is the latest example of strong partnerships developed in Florida to combat illicit smuggling tactics and keep drugs off our streets,” said Miami Seaport Port Director Jorge Roig. “CBP’s mission demands vigilance as we address all the border security threats.” 

Enforcement actions are pending. 

PASCAGOULA, Miss. — Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Ingalls Shipbuilding division announced today the successful completion of builder’s sea trials for the U.S. Coast Guard’s newest national security cutter (NSC), Stone (WMSL 758), the company said in a Sept. 14 release. The ship spent three days in the Gulf of Mexico testing propulsion and auxiliary equipment, as well as various shipboard systems.   

“Every successful sea trial is a major accomplishment for our shipbuilders, but this set proved to be a particularly substantial undertaking,” said Jay Boyd, Ingalls’ NSC program manager. “Since the year began, our team has persevered through every challenge. Learning through each obstacle presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, the NSC team has worked tirelessly to ensure the Coast Guard receives another high-performance cutter to help protect our nation.” 

In the weeks preceding NSC 9 builder’s trials, safety precautions were put in place to minimize the potential risk of COVID-19 to participants while at sea. The number of shipboard riders was reduced by one-third to allow for adequate social distancing. Those allowed onboard were tested for COVID-19 one week prior to sail, and were screened the morning of departure. Masks were required at all times, food services were staggered, and in addition to the cutter’s regular cleaning regimen, each individual received their own personal supplies to clean their way in and out of spaces onboard the ship. 

Ingalls has delivered eight Legend-class NSCs with two more under construction, and one additional under contract. Stone (WMSL 758), the ninth NSC, is scheduled for delivery later this year. 

NSC 9 was named to honor Coast Guard officer Commander Elmer “Archie” Fowler Stone, Coast Guard aviator number one, who made history in 1919 for being one of two Coast Guard pilots in the four-man air crew who completed the first transatlantic flight in a Navy seaplane.  

The Legend-class NSC is the largest, most technologically advanced ship in the Coast Guard’s fleet, which enables it to meet the high demands required for maritime and homeland security, law enforcement, marine safety, environmental protection and national defense missions. NSCs are 418 feet long with a top speed of 28 knots, a range of 12,000 miles, an endurance of 60 days and a crew of 120. 

HONOLULU — The Coast Guard Cutter Kimball (WMSL 756) returned to Honolulu Sunday following its nearly two-month patrol supporting the multi-country maritime Operation Nasse throughout Oceania, the Coast Guard 14th District said in a Sept. 15 release. 

Operation Nasse is an annual Pacific Quadrilateral Defense Coordination Group operation consisting of assets from the United States, Australia, France, New Zealand, and Pacific Island Forum Fisheries Agency which completed Aug. 23. 

“This is the first time the Coast Guard has sent a surface asset to participate during the Pacific Quadrilateral Defense Coordination Group’s operation,” said Lt. j.g. Joseph Fox, an assistant combat systems officer aboard the Kimball. “Service members from the Coast Guard Cutter Kimball and an Air Station Barbers Point HC-130 aircrew conducted joint missions with their multi-national counterparts to achieve the common goal of preventing illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing in the Pacific.” 

The purpose of this year’s operation was to investigate the effect COVID-19 had on fishing activities on the high seas and to identify fishing vessels not complying with the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) conditions. Illegal, unregulated or unreported (IUU) fishing undermines a nation’s sovereignty, threatens its economic security, and weakens global rules-based order. 

Each participating country provided assets to support the operation including flights by RNZAF P-3K Orions based out of Auckland, Australian Maritime Border Command Dash 8s based out of Brisbane, and French Guardians from Noumea. 

The partner’s cooperation provided a significant reach in surveillance which allowed the French patrol boat “La Glorieuse” and the Kimball to home in on specific vessels identified as possibly being of interest to confirm their activities were within regulations. 

Air and sea surveillance, and maritime intelligence sharing provided an opportunity for the participants to work collaboratively to detect, deter, suppress, and report potential IUU fishing activity. 

In addition to Operation Nasse, the crew of the Kimball also conducted a high seas patrol off American Samoa and Fiji. 

Working closely with their Fijian counterparts, the crew supported U.S.-Fiji bilateral agreements and enforced partner nations respective Exclusive Economic Zones while promoting legal, sustainable fisheries. 

In the Pacific, the annual tuna catch is estimated at over $5 billion and provides a significant percentage of the income of many of the South Pacific Nations. Ensuring that vessels operating on the high seas are complying with WCPFC regulations to protect fish stocks and other marine life resulting in these valuable resources remaining sustainable for future generations. 

All asset crews were working to national rules regarding COVID-19, implemented to keep all personnel as safe as possible while still being able to achieve many of the operational goals. 

MELBOURNE, Fla.—The U.S. Navy has awarded L3Harris Technologies a $104 million follow-on contract to supply the next production lot of the electronic warfare (EW) system that protects F/A-18 Hornet and Super Hornet aircraft against electronic threats. The announcement was made on Sept. 10 in conjunction with vHook’20 being held virtually, September 10-12. 

L3Harris will manufacture and deliver Integrated Defensive Electronic Countermeasures (IDECM) jammer systems for the F/A-18C/D/E/F variants, with deliveries under the new contract expected to be completed by May 2024. The L3Harris ALQ-214A(V)4/5 is the key Onboard Jammer for the IDECM program, protecting the aircraft from electronic threats, including sophisticated integrated air defense systems. The company has received more than $2 billion in awards to date from the Naval Air Systems Command for AN/ALQ-214 development and production. 

“Our commitment to continually modernize F/A-18 EW systems has helped to keep naval aviators ahead of emerging threats and out of harm’s way for more than two decades,” said Ed Zoiss, President, L3Harris Space and Airborne Systems. “This longterm collaboration with the Navy and continued development of advanced EW technology uniquely positions L3Harris to provide the jammer solution for the F/A-18 throughout the service-life of the aircraft.” 

L3Harris has delivered EW solutions for a wide variety of airborne platforms for more than 60 years, including strategic bombers, tactical fighters and rotary aircraft.   

L3Harris’ Space and Airborne Systems segment provides space payloads, sensors and full-mission solutions; classified intelligence and cyber defense; avionics; and electronic warfare solutions. 

ARLINGTON, Va. — The number of ship days delayed by maintenance has been reduced by 80% in fiscal 2020, a senior Navy engineering duty officer said, even with the COVID-19 pandemic affecting operations.  

“The needle is really moving, and moving in a good direction,” said Rear Adm. Eric Ver Hage, commander, Regional Maintenance Center, speaking Sept. 15 in a webinar of the Virtual Fleet Maintenance & Modernization Symposium of the American Society of Naval Engineers. “Even with the challenges of COVID, we’ve achieved an 80% reduction in the days of maintenance delay in [fiscal] ‘20 as compared to [fiscal] ’19.” 

Ver Hage said, “It’s not just about on time, it’s also getting the required work complete. In our 2020 DDG [guided-missile destroyer] availabilities, we are tracking to complete 99% of all of our mandatory technical requirements, the things required to keep a ship operating to its full expected life cycle. That also is an improvement over last year.” 

The admiral said that fiscal 2020 has been a super-busy year, with 50 CNO [chief of naval operations] availabilities and another 100 in planning; almost 700 emergent availabilities; 20,000 intermediate-level tasks; and 25,000 technical assists.  

He said that also conducted were 157 ship readiness assessments, which help “our ships prepare for deployment and really importantly, on preparing for the next CNO avail.” 

Ver Hage said the accomplishments were the result of “a great team effort,” while noting that “there has been steadily improving collaboration between industry and the government.”