PASCAGOULA, Miss. — San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock Fort Lauderdale (LPD 28) departed from HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding division July 11 enroute to its commissioning site in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, HII said in a release. 

“Ingalls Shipbuilders take great pride in knowing that each and every amphibious ship that leaves this shipyard will support our Navy and Marine Corps team defending our nation,” said Ingalls Shipbuilding President Kari Wilkinson. “We at Ingalls remain committed to this partnership and consider it a privilege to serve those who serve.” 

Fort Lauderdale was delivered to the U.S. Navy in March following acceptance sea trials and is the 12th San Antonio-class ship delivered by HII. Additional San Antonio-class ships are under construction at Ingalls, including Richard M. McCool Jr. (LPD 29) and the first Flight II amphibious ship in the San Antonio class, Harrisburg (LPD 30). Later this year, fabrication will begin on the 15^th San Antonio-class ship, Pittsburgh (LPD 31). 

“Watching Fort Lauderdale sail away to join the Navy’s fleet is a very proud moment for our entire LPD shipbuilding team and our skilled workforce,” said Mike Pruitt, Ingalls LPD program manager. “Our shipbuilders have done an outstanding job building a mission capable ship for these sailors and our country.” 

LPD 28 is scheduled to be commissioned July 30 in Fort Lauderdale. It is named to honor the Florida city’s historic ties to the U.S. Navy, which date back to the 1830s and include an important naval training center during World War II. 

Amphibious transport docks are a major part of the Navy’s 21st century expeditionary force, deployed with a U.S. Marine Corps Air-Ground Task Force for amphibious and expeditionary crisis response operations that range from deterrence and joint-force enablement to humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. 

ALAMEDA, Calif. — The crew aboard U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Munro (WMSL 755) returned to their homeport in Alameda July 10 following a 128-day, 20,000-nautical-mile deployment, the Coast Guard Pacific Area said in a release. 

Munro departed Alameda in early March for a multi-mission deployment to the South and North Pacific Ocean. The deployment aimed to counter illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and strengthen relationships to enhance maritime sovereignty and security throughout the region. 

Munro’s crew supported Operation Blue Pacific and North Pacific Guard during the patrol. These operations lead and promote international efforts that uphold the principles of security, safety, sovereignty, and economic prosperity in Oceania and the North Pacific through operations and engagements to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific. 

“Munro’s deployment demonstrated the Coast Guard’s unique authorities in the support of combatting IUU fishing,” said Vice Adm. Andrew J. Tiongson, commander U.S. Coast Guard Pacific Area. “Through Operation Blue Pacific, the Coast Guard aims to strengthen relationships with like-minded nations. Our shared efforts will improve maritime governance within the Pacific Ocean, increase capacity for bilateral search-and-rescue and law enforcement, and promote shared technical expertise and proficiency.” 

As a federal law enforcement agency, the Coast Guard combats illegal fishing and other maritime threats across the Pacific and promotes maritime governance, safety and security through partnerships around the world. 

 “Our relationships in the Pacific are stronger today and our partners are unified in their commitment to security,” said Capt. Rula Deisher, who assumed command of Munro mid-patrol during a change-of-command ceremony in Guam. “It was an incredible opportunity for our crew to work alongside allies, share law enforcement concepts to promote peace, prosperity and the sovereign rights of all nations.” 

Commissioned in 2017, Munro is one of four Coast Guard Legend class national security cutters homeported in Alameda. National security cutters are 418-feet long, and have a range of 12,000 nautical miles, endurance of up to 90 days and can hold a crew of up to 170. Munro is the second cutter named for Signalman First Class Douglas A. Munro, the only Coast Guardsman awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. 

WASHINGTON — The new Australian government said it has no illusions of the immensity of the AUKUS plan to build nuclear-powered submarines and the effort required to make it come to pass. 

Last September, Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom announced an agreement — AUKUS — to develop a nuclear-powered submarine capability for Australia.  

“It will be a huge national project to pull this off,” said Richard Marples MP, minister of defense and deputy prime minister of Australia, speaking July 11 at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank. Marples was in Washington for a meeting with U.S. Defense secretary Lloyd Austin.  

“For a three-ocean nation, the heart of deterrence is undersea capability,” Marples said. “AUKUS will not only make Australia safer, it will make Australia a more potent and capable partner that the United States and the United Kingdom have agreed to work with Australia to meet our needs is not only a game changer, it illustrates why alliances help reinforce, not undermine, our country’s national sovereignty. And I want to recognize the Biden administration and the strong support in Congress for helping bring this agreement to life.  

“In determining the optimal pathway forward, the Australian government is acutely aware of the obligations of nuclear stewardship,” he said. “We are focused on the whole enterprise. Safely stewarding sensitive technology, building the workforce and industrial capacity to support the capability, and ensuring that this initiative sets the strongest possible non-proliferation standards.” 

Marples said Australia, with Collins-class diesel-electric submarines, faces the challenge of an increasing capability gap. 

“How do we get the new capability as soon as possible to minimize any capability gap and then what are we going to do to plug whatever gap exists?” he asked rhetorically. 

“To move to operating a nuclear-powered submarine fleet is as big a national challenge, not just in defense, but in terms of really the whole breadth of government that our country has been presented with, almost at every level, not just in terms of developing the capability but building the industrial base, building the regulation, building the government structures around it,” he said, also noting the cost. “We need to work out how we build this into a budget which has a significant debt associated with it. 

“At every level there are challenges,” he said. “That said, we mean to meet those challenges. This is a huge national challenge for the country but it’s one we’re going to meet.”  

HONOLULU — The island nation of Kiribati is surrounded by water. Too much of it, actually, because climate change and rising sea levels are endangering the 33 scattered small, sparsely populated and low-lying islands in the Gilbert, Phoenix and Line chain islands of Micronesia. And, safe drinking water is in short supply.

The government of the Republic of Kiribati recently declared a state of disaster last month due to lasting drought conditions caused by below normal rainfall.

Kiribati is 2,400 miles due south of Hawaii, about half way to Australia, and straddles the equator. It has a population of about 119,000, most of whom live on the island of Tarawa. The country’s highest elevation is 266 feet above sea level on the island of Banaba. 

The Pacific Humanitarian Air Service, operated by the United Nations World Food Programme and UNICEF, transported emergency supplies to Kiribati on July 7, to help with the emergency.

According to the World Food Programme, the delivery included essential supplies, including “water, sanitation, hygiene” and dignity kits with collapsible water containers, buckets with lids, water purification tablets and soap. The shipment also delivered portable water field testing kits to help Kiribati authorities monitor water quality at both source and household levels.

A 2018 declaration by the Pacific Islands Forum nations said climate change is the “single greatest threat to the livelihoods, security and wellbeing of the peoples of the Pacific.”

Melting polar ice and glaciers are causing the sea level to rise, endangering low-lying countries like Kiribati. In fact, the islands may become inhabitable in a matter of decades. Many small islands rely on rain catchment systems for drinking water, so severe drought has a negative impact on the population.

Honolulu-based Coast Fast Response Cutter USCGC Oliver Berry (WPC 1124) delivered  potable drinking water to the island of Kiritimati, working with U.N. representatives to support the local residents amid the national state of emergency. 

In addition to providing humanitarian assistance, the Oliver Berry crew supported Kiribati maritime law enforcement efforts, providing patrol coverage in Kiribati’s exclusive economic zone to deter illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing, support Kiribati resource security and strengthen maritime governance in Oceania.

“The Oliver Berry’s patrol demonstrates the United States Coast Guard’s enduring commitment to our partner nations throughout Oceania,” said Howell. “Instances like these pave the way for future Coast Guard assets to support The Republic of Kiribati and its citizens.” 

Amid the natural disaster is a political storm, too. Kiribati withdrew from a July 11-14 summit of Pacific Islands Forum leaders at the last minute, citing a lack of concern over issues important to the country. 

The withdrawal coincides with efforts by China to have greater influence in Oceania.

The positive presence of a U.S. Coast Guard cutter and crew sends a reassuring message of support at a critical time.

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — HII, America’s only builder of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, announced July 11 that its Newport News Shipbuilding division reached a significant milestone in the compartment and systems construction of aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy (CVN 79). 

Newport News recently turned over to the ship’s crew the 1,000th compartment of the 2,615 total spaces. The milestone reflects the shipyard’s steady progress toward delivery of the ship to the Navy. Newport News has also installed more than 9.8 million feet of cable, or more than 1,800 miles, of the approximately 10.5 million feet of cable on John F. Kennedy. 

The most recently completed spaces include electrical and engineering. This allows sailors assigned to the pre-commissioning unit to increase training on the ship while final outfitting and testing progresses. 

“Our shipbuilders are highly skilled, determined and working incredibly hard to bring Kennedy to life,” said Lucas Hicks, vice president, New Construction Aircraft Carrier Programs CVN 78 and CVN 79. “This is about equipping our Sailors with the most advanced aircraft carrier ever built for the U.S. Navy. We are proud to execute for the customer, and finalize the remaining equipment, systems and compartments that will bring us closer to delivering the ship to the Navy.” 

John F. Kennedy, the second ship in the Ford class, is scheduled to be delivered to the Navy in 2024. Two other Ford-class aircraft carriers are currently under construction at Newport News, Enterprise (CVN 80) and Doris Miller (CVN 81). 

The Ford-class aircraft carriers are the first to be designed 100% digitally. Although the ships were designed in a digital environment, paper drawings are still used during the construction process. John F. Kennedy represents a transition to a new digital construction process, with shipbuilders beginning to use visual work instructions on laptops and tablets rather than paper drawings. Enterprise will be the first carrier totally built using the digital tools. 

Ford-class enhancements incorporated into the design include flight deck changes, improved weapons handling systems and a redesigned island, all resulting in increased aircraft sortie generation rates. The Ford class also features new nuclear power plants, increased electrical power-generation capacity, allowance for future technologies, and reduced workload for Sailors, translating to a smaller crew size and reduced operating costs for the Navy. Construction processes on Ford–class carriers are enabled by workforce learning that took place on USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) and those lessons are being applied throughout the Ford class, HII said.

NAPLES, Italy — An F/A-18 Super Hornet assigned to Carrier Air Wing 1, embarked aboard USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75), blew overboard on July 8 due to unexpected heavy weather in the Mediterranean Sea, U.S. Naval Forces Europe said July 10. 

According to a source, the Super Hornet was a two-seat F/A-81F and was assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron 211, based at Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia Beach, Virginia.

The carrier was conducting a replenishment at sea, which was safely terminated through established procedures. All personnel aboard the ship are accounted for. 

One Sailor received minor injuries while conducting operations during the unexpected heavy weather. The Sailor is in stable condition and expected to make a full recovery. 

USS Harry S. Truman and embarked aircraft remain full mission capable. Details and the cause of the incident are under investigation. 

PATUXENT RIVER, Md. — The Navy recently demonstrated a mine countermeasure prototype technology aboard the MQ-8C Fire Scout UAS at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, proving a capability that could allow the warfighter to rapidly detect and respond to threats, Naval Air Systems Command said July 7.  

The objective of the demonstration was to gather performance data for both the MQ-8C Fire Scout and Single-system Multi-mission Airborne Mine Detection (SMAMD) System to inform future MCM integration efforts. 

“The team successfully demonstrated that the prototype SMAMD System effectively operates as designed aboard the MQ-8C Fire Scout unmanned helicopter in relevant real-world environments,” said Capt. Thomas Lansley, Fire Scout program director. “This cutting-edge technology could really enhance Fire Scout’s capability going forward.” 

The team conducted operations from the Naval Surface Warfare Center using drifting, tethered and moored mines throughout beach zone to deep waters. They gathered data day and night, across all water depths and in mild to difficult weather conditions.  

The demonstration also proved the reliable and repeatable high performance of the MQ-8C Fire Scout. The air vehicle handled the dual podded system with ease, being the first MCM capability flown on the MQ-8C as well as the heaviest payload carried to date. Fire Scout successfully operated in restricted and unrestricted air space alongside other aircraft platforms. 

The SMAMD System, developed by BAE Systems under a Future Naval Capability Program sponsored by the Office of Naval Research, is an airborne optical sensor suite that, in a single pass, detects and localizes mines and obstacles on land and at sea. With a low false alarm rate, SMAMD provides real-time detection sent via data link enabling warfighters to respond much quicker to threats than the current MCM technologies allow as post-mission analysis is required. 

This effort, led by ONR, included support from multiple organizations across the Navy and industry including the MQ-8 Fire Scout program office, the Program Executive Office Unmanned and Small Combatants, Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Aircraft Prototype Systems Division, Webster Outlying Field, the Digital Analytics Infrastructure and Technology Advancement Group Prototyping, Instrumentation and Experimentation Department, and Air Test and Evaluation Squadron Two Four (UX-24). 

ONR and PMA-266 engaged NAWCAD AIRWorks to manage the demonstration taking advantage of AIRWorks’ project execution expertise and ability to connect warfare center resources. 

“The AIRWorks SMAMD Team was proud to be a part of demonstrating a future naval capability which provides real-time threat detection to the warfighter,” said AIRWorks’ project lead Kristina Hewitt-Thompson. “Through this effort, we were able to assist in risk reduction and provide critical data for future integration.” 

Throughout the project, the team facilitated execution of a complex demonstration including airworthiness and cyber certifications, design, fabrication and hardware integration along with flying qualities testing prior to the final demonstration at Eglin, she said. They assured close coordination between the U.S. Air Force, ONR, NAVAIR, NAVSEA and other stakeholder organizations to successfully achieve their objectives in less than 24 months and at a reduced cost. 

White Sands Missile Range, N.M. — The Marine Corps’ Medium-Range Intercept Capability prototype successfully hit several simultaneously-launched cruise missile representative targets during the live-fire test at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico on June 30., Program Executive Officer Land Systems announced July 8.

The MRIC prototype provides Marine Corps point defense in an expeditionary package. The system is one of several initiatives critical to Force Design 2030, addressing an emergent capability gap for the Marine Corps. PEO Land System’s Ground-Based Air Defense program oversees the system.

“This demonstration proves that we do now have a relevant capability,” said Don Kelley, program manager for GBAD at PEO Land Systems, immediately following the successful test.

MRIC, which counts the Corps’ Ground/Air Task-Oriented Radar and Common Aviation Command and Control System among its primary subsystems, also incorporates technology from Israel’s proven Iron Dome system. The live-fire test was designed to validate the primary subsystems’ integrations and the system’s overall capability to provide critical information to senior Marine Corps leadership as they decide the path forward for the MRIC prototype.

During the test, the G/ATOR successfully tracked each target, from immediately after launch and passed the tracks through the CAC2S to the Israeli Iron Dome components. This allowed the MRIC system to simultaneously neutralize multiple missiles encircling the system from various angles. At its peak, numerous in-air targets, each with its own unique flight trajectory and velocity, surrounded the MRIC prototype. Upon firing, MRIC successfully hit each target using the Tamir missile.

The June event built upon the previous live-fire test in December, during which the program office launched multiple targets in sequence, with MRIC intercepting each target before the next one launched. This time around, multiple targets were launched simultaneously. Prior to the event, Kelley said engineers at Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren ran independent simulations of what would happen during the live-fire test. The results, Kelley said, correlated closely to the modeled simulations.

ARLINGTON, Va. — The rapid deployment of Marine Corps forces exercising in Norway to a real-world situation in eastern Europe to shore up NATO presence was a good example of a stand-in force operating inside a weapons engagement zone, the Marine Corps commandant said. 

Speaking July 7 in a webinar of the Hudson Institute, a Washington think tank, Gen. David H. Berger, commandant of the Marine Corps, said the 2,000-plus Marines sent from the U.S. East Coast to Norway for a scheduled major exercise, as well as others to an unrelated reconnaissance/counter exercise, were able to rapidly redeploy deeper in Europe in support of NATO forces when Russia invaded Ukraine in February.   

The Marine Corps forces Europe at the time included a squadron of F/A-18C Hornet strike fighters and an air control squadrons detachment with a Ground/Air Task-Oriented Radar, plus information and intelligence units. KC-130J tanker/transport aircraft also were dispatched to the area. 

The Marine units were in a “very forward posture inside the collection and weapons engagement zone, operating persistently all the time, not trying to hide, showing them that we’re there,” Berger said. 

“The creativity of them [the deployed Marines] in terms of mobility and also understanding things like satellite vulnerability windows, the basics of camouflage — in other words, knowing when they can see me and how do I use that from an information perspective effectively,” he said. “How do I confuse them [the adversary], how do I convince them that they’re seeing is what they want to see but it’s not really accurate?” 

Berger praised the deployed Marines, noting their “just marvelous, magnificent, creative work by a bunch of Marines, all as stand-in force, all withing the range of weapons systems.” 

He noted that a similar demonstration from the Indo-Pacific region, where Marines were moving around between the first and second island chains by ship and ashore “constantly making sure the adversary knew we were there, constantly moving small elements, constantly repeating closing kill chains over and over — constructive ones — trying to cut the timeline down, down, down. Once you get it down and you’re comfortable, start interdicting [our] different communications paths to make it harder on ourselves. 

“The idea is just ‘give it to the operating forces, the fleet, and let them run with it,’” he said. “They will inform us what worked best in their neighborhood. I’m very comfortable what’s working in the Middle East may be a little bit different flavor and what’s happening in Europe may be different than what’s happening in the Pacific. We need to be flexible enough to allow for that, and we can. 

“This isn’t a ‘go there for exercise and come home’,” the commandant said. “It’s ‘stay in their face the whole time.’”    

LONDON — In early 2022, while on routine maritime security operations, Royal Navy ship HMS Montrose seized Iranian weapons from speedboats being operated by smugglers in international waters south of Iran, the U.K Ministry of Defence said July 7. The weapons seized included surface-to-air-missiles and engines for land attack cruise missiles, in contravention of UN Security Council resolution 2216 (2015).   

This is the first time a British naval warship has interdicted a vessel carrying such sophisticated weapons from Iran.     

The seizures, which occurred on Jan. 28 and Feb. 25, took place in the early hours of the morning. HMS Montrose’s Wildcat helicopter was scanning for vessels smuggling illicit goods. The helicopter crew spotted small vessels moving at speed away from the Iranian coast.     

During the February interdiction, U.S. Navy Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Gridley supported efforts by deploying a Seahawk helicopter to provide critical overwatch during the operation. On both occasions, the Wildcat helicopter pursued the vessels and reported back to HMS Montrose that they could see suspicious cargo on deck.      

A team of Royal Marines approached the vessels on two rigid-hulled inflatable boats before securing and searching the vessel. Dozens of packages containing advanced weaponry were discovered, confiscated and brought back to HMS Montrose.     

“The U.K. is committed to upholding international law, from standing up to aggression in Europe to interdicting illegal shipments of weaponry that perpetuates instability in the Middle East,” said Minister for the Armed Forces James Heappey. “The U.K. will continue to work in support of an enduring peace in Yemen and is committed to international maritime security so that commercial shipping can transit safely without threat of disruption.”     

The seized packages were returned to the U.K. for technical analysis, which revealed the shipment contained multiple rocket engines for the Iranian-produced 351 land-attack cruise missile and a batch of 358 surface-to-air missiles.     

The 351 is a cruise missile with a range of 1,000 kilometers, regularly used by the Houthis to strike targets in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and was also the type of weapon used to attack Abu Dhabi on Jan. 17, which killed three civilians.     

On June 24, the Ministry of Defence hosted a panel of experts established pursuant to Security Council resolution 2140 (2014), which concerns the conflict in Yemen. The panel inspected the seized weapons and received a technical brief by the U.K.’s defense intelligence analysts.    

“These interdictions demonstrate the professionalism and commitment of the Royal Navy to promoting stability in this region,” said Cmdr. Claire Thompson, commanding Officer of HMS Montrose. “I am extremely proud of my crew — the Royal Navy Sailors, aircrew and Royal Marines involved in these endeavors and the significant positive impact they are having in maintaining the international rules-based order at sea.”     

The U.K. retains a permanent presence in the Middle East, with HMS Montrose having been deployed to the region since early 2019, actively supporting multinational maritime security operations and protecting the interests of the United Kingdom and its allies. The ship operates under the control and direction of the UK Maritime Component Command, based in Bahrain.