In January, the U.S. Navy’s newest surveillance aircraft, the Northrop Grumman-built MQ-4C Triton, a high-altitude, long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), embarked on its first deployment, a move to demonstrate what the Navy calls early operational capability.

Two MQ-4Cs assigned to Unmanned Patrol Squadron 19 (VUP-19), the first Triton squadron, deployed to Andersen Air Force Base on Guam and were in place by Jan. 26 to fly missions in support of the U.S. 7th Fleet.

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“VUP-19 is operating Triton to further develop the concept of operations and fleet learning associated with operating a high-altitude, long-endurance system in the maritime domain,” Capt. Dan Mackin, the Navy’s Triton program manager, said in response to a query from
Seapower. “The squadron plans to conduct multiple flights per month in support of Commander Task Force 72, 7th Fleet and Indo-Pacific Command.”

“The fielding of the Navy’s premier unmanned aircraft system and its additive, persistent, multisensor data collection and real-time dissemination capability will revolutionize the way maritime intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance [ISR] is performed,” Mackin said in a Jan. 26 Navy release.

“While developing the concept of operations, the MQ-4C Triton is actively conducting missions that are complementing the P-8A Poseidon,” said Cmdr. Kim DaCosta-Azar, commanding officer of VUP-19, in an email response to Seapower. “This complement brings increased persistence, capability and capacity through its multisensor mission payload.”

The MQ-4C’s mission payload includes a Northrop Grumman-built ZPY-3 Multifunction Active Sensor, an X-band radar with modes that include maritime surface search, spot synthetic aperture radar (SAR), strip SAR, inverse SAR snapshot and inverse SAR high-resolution. The radar’s 360-degree scan enables the Triton to cover 2.7 million square miles during a mission.

The Triton’s suite also includes a Sierra Nevada-built ZLQ-1 electronic surveillance measures sensor equipped with specific emitter identification and with an automatic identification system. A Raytheon-built MTS-B multispectral electro/optical/infrared sensor with a laser designator/pointer/range-finder capability also is installed.

“The fielding of the Navy’s premier unmanned aircraft system and its additive, persistent, multisensor data collection and real-time dissemination capability will revolutionize the way maritime [ISR] is performed.”

Capt. Dan Mackin, the Navy’s Triton program manager

The Triton can transmit its data to a ground station, including video live-streaming. It also can be an alternative communications relay to space-based satellites.

“The MQ-4C Triton will provide 7th Fleet with a round-the-clock ISR capability, as the aircraft have capability to fly more than 24 hours during each mission,” DaCosta-Azar said. “The VUP-19 detachment has the ability to pilot the MQ-4C from Guam or from Jacksonville, Florida, mission-control station. The majority of the VUP-19 crew operates from Naval Air Station Jacksonville.”

VUP-19 is headquartered at Naval Air Station Jacksonville, but its Tritons are home-based at Naval Air Station Point Mugu, California.

“The introduction of MQ-4C Triton to the 7th Fleet area of operations expands the reach of the U.S. Navy’s maritime patrol and reconnaissance force in the Western Pacific,” said Capt. Matt Rutherford, Task Force 72’s commander. “Coupling the capabilities of the MQ-4C with the proven performance of P-8, P-3 and EP-3 will enable improved maritime domain awareness in support of regional and national security objectives.”

Praise for — and Commitment to — the MQ-4C

Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michael Gilday praised the Triton during March 11 testimony before the Senate Appropriations Committee’s Defense subcommittee.

“The capabilities that the MQ-4 brings are game-changing in terms of long-range ISR at altitude, with sensors that we haven’t had supporting the fleet before,” he said. “We’re still committed” to the Triton.

Mackin said the Navy’s program of record remains at 68 UAVs, despite a gap of two years — 2021 and 2022 — proposed in the Navy’s 2021 budget proposal. The total does not include the two Navy-owned and one Northrop Grumman-owned test aircraft.

The Navy has ordered 20 Tritons to date and has accepted delivery of seven: three flyable test aircraft (including one owned by Northrop Grumman), one fatigue test article and three production aircraft, the latter three delivered to VUP-19. One of the VUP-19 Tritons was involved in a flight mishap during a landing at NAS Point Mugu on Sept. 13, 2018.

“The Triton aircraft damaged during the gear-up landing at Point Mugu has been stricken from inventory although some components were salvaged for use on training devices,” Mackin said.

Configurations With More Advanced Capabilities

He said the two MQ-4Cs deployed to Guam are in the Triton’s baseline configuration known as IFC 3 (Integrated Functional Capability 3). The Navy is working on deploying the Triton with IFC 4, which gives the UAV a signals intelligence capability and will put it on the path to replace the Navy’s EP-3E electronic reconnaissance aircraft. IFC 4, also called the multi-int (multi-intelligence) capability, is planned for fiscal 2022.

Multi-int capability deployed in four Tritons at a single site to establish a 24/7 orbit over the Western Pacific area of operations also will mark the achievement of initial operational capability for the Triton.

The Northrop Grumman-owned MQ-4C in the test program is being used to advance the Triton’s capabilities.

“We are … integrating and testing IFC-4 upgrades to meet the U.S. Navy’s and Australia’s multi-intelligence requirement, which will ultimately enable the U.S. Navy to retire the EP-3,” said Doug Shaffer, vice president and program manager, Triton program, Northrop Grumman, in response to a query from Seapower.

Mackin said there “is a plan for upgrading older aircraft to the multi-int configuration with some [aircraft] already” in the works.

VUP-19 eventually will operate 12 MQ-4Cs operated and maintained by 500 personnel. The Navy plans to establish a second Triton squadron, VUP-11, at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Washington. The two squadrons together eventually will field 20 Tritons at five sites to sustain five around-the-clock orbits. The remaining 48 Tritons would be used for training, attrition and the maintenance pipeline over the service life of the UAV.

The groundwork for the MQ-4C, based on the U.S. Air Force Block 20 RQ-4A Global Hawk, was laid more than a decade ago with the Broad-Area Maritime Surveillance Demonstration (BAMS-D) program, in which the Navy acquired from the Air Force two Block 10 RQ-4As and their integrated sensors that included an electro-optical sensor, SAR with a ground moving target indicator and wide-area search modes. The Navy added an LR-100 electronic surveillance measures sensor, the automatic identification system, inverse SAR capability, and maritime moving target and maritime search sensing.

The Navy in 2011 received three more RQ-4As from the Air Force for the BAMS-D. Since then, one RQ-4A was lost in a mishap in eastern Maryland in 2012 and another was shot down by Iranian forces last June. A third was damaged in a takeoff mishap in November. Mackin said repair is underway on the damaged RQ-4A.

The Navy deployed the RQ-4A to the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility in early 2009 for a planned six-month deployment. Now, more than 11 years later, after continuous deployment, the Navy still values the BAMS-D program as it awaits more deployments of the MQ-4C Triton.

According to the 2021 budget proposal, the Navy plans to phase out the BAMS-D, beginning in fiscal 2023, to allow the sea service to fund the whole MQ-4C program. “The MQ-4C will assume the signal intelligence mission from the EP-3E in [fiscal] 2022, which will require aircraft and control station modifications and calibrations to keep pace with emerging signals of interest at greater sensitivity thresholds.”

Allies See Triton’s Value, Sign Up to Take Delivery

Two allied nations are on track to operate the Triton. Australia signed a memorandum of understanding for up to six Tritons in June 2019, with delivery of the first scheduled for 2023. Germany also has announced its intention to procure three Tritons. Foreign procurement may be key in sustaining a steady Triton production line if the Navy gaps the procurement in 2021 and 2022.

“A two-year gap in production would have significant negative effects on the production line and the supplier base,” Shaffer said. “A pause would mean we lose the lessons learned that have enabled our suppliers and Northrop Grumman to achieve production efficiencies and get to this mature point of the program, which would then add more risks and costs to the program.

“We estimate that stopping and restarting the line alone will cost roughly $100 million to $150 million and then each aircraft likely costs about $20 million more. We are working closely with the Navy on multiple options [that] could keep the production line open and potentially result in cost savings for both the Navy and Australia.

“We have had multiple discussions with the U.S. Navy and Australia about options to fill the [fiscal] ’21 and ’22 production lines with Australian aircraft,” he said. “An acceleration of the Australian program would result in significant savings to Australia and ensure cost savings to the U.S. Navy by preventing a pause in Triton production. While any decision to accelerate the Australian program is between the U.S. Navy and Australia, we are prepared to provide the necessary support to an accelerated Australian program.”

The novel coronavirus has been a stunning and tragic disrupter of U.S. sea service operations — both major and routine, traditional events as well as long-planned operations.

Shortly after the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic on March 11, the effect on America’s military started to come into sharper focus.

Check out the digital edition of the May Seapower magazine here.

See: At War With the Virus — A Timeline

ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Navy’s third Zumwalt-class guided-missile destroyer will be commissioned after its combat systems are fully installed and activated, rather than going through a two-part delivery, the Navy’s top acquisition official said. 

The future USS Lyndon B. Johnson (DDG 1002), under construction at the Bath Iron Works shipyard in Bath, Maine, will not be commissioned until after its combat systems are installed, unlike the process used for its two predecessors, USS Zumwalt (DDG 1000) and Michael Monsoor (DDG 1001), said James F. Geurts, assistant secretary of the Navy for research, development and acquisition, speaking to reporters in an April 28 teleconference. 

In the case of the first two of the class, the ships’ hulls were completed and put through trials and then delivered to the Navy before their combat systems were installed. The Zumwalt was commissioned — in a status the Navy calls In Commission, Special — in Baltimore and then proceeded to San Diego for installation and activation of its combat systems. It was delivered to the Navy on April 24 and will begin at-sea testing of its systems preparing for its initial operational test and evaluation and its 2021 initial operational capability milestone. 

The USS Michael Monsoor similarly was commissioned on Jan. 26, 2019, and proceeded to San Diego for its combat systems installation, which was completed in March. 

The Lyndon B. Johnson is 93% complete, Geurts said, but will not be delivered and commissioned until its combat systems are installed. Since the combat systems activation will be conducted in San Diego, it will need to proceed there in a status other than as a commissioned ship. 

“We did change to a single-phased delivery for that ship, and so we are adjusting that ship’s future plans based on all the learning we’ve had on DDG 1000 and DDG 1001,” Geurts said.  

“I’m personally not a fan of two-phased delivery,” he said. “I can understand why we do them. In certain cases, I think they’re also problematic because you end up delivering the ship more than once and you can get into a delayed test-maintain-fix cycle.” 

ARLINGTON, Va. — CACI International has been awarded contract to provide communications systems, satellite communications and network-support services to the Naval Information Warfare Center (NIWC) Atlantic in support of U.S. Special Operations Command, the company said in a release. 

The award is a five-year and six-month (if all options are exercised), single-award indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract, with a ceiling value of $199 million. 

Under the contract, CACI engineers and technicians will provide mission expertise, including fielding and training for operational systems, maintenance, logistics and 24/7 technical support for personnel working with the satellite and network systems. CACI will support about 2,000 satellite communications systems worldwide, as well as wide-area network infrastructure services for nearly 90 sites. 

CACI has a modern facility designed to support and enhance NIWC’s mission. CACI experts can maintain, assemble and test satellite communications systems at the Fayetteville, North Carolina, facility. 

“This recompete award results from the long-standing professional and productive relationship between our dedicated team and NIWC, focused on providing service members with the critical communications support they need to execute their mission,” said John Mengucci, CACI’s president and CEO. 

CACI Executive Chairman and Chairman of the Board J.P. (Jack) London said, “As our country continues to face evolving national security threats, CACI remains focused on providing the support our customers rely on to safeguard our nation.”

ARLINGTON, Va. — Leonardo DRS has received a contract from the U.S. Navy to produce advanced consoles and display systems to support the Navy’s future surface ship combat system, the company said in a release. The contract is worth more than $62 million with options that could be worth up to $462 million. 

The Leonardo DRS Naval Electronics business unit will provide a suite of Common Display System (CDS) consoles, thin client displays, multimission displays, and support equipment. The CDS consoles are a set of open-architecture watch station display consoles made up of two different console variants: water-cooled and air-cooled. The common display hardware provides the interface between the Sailor and the ship’s combat systems.  

“Building these advanced systems gives U.S. Navy sailors the latest in combat networking hardware and provides mission-critical fleet modernization and readiness requirements today and into the future,” said Tracy Howard, senior vice president and general manager of the Leonardo Naval Electronics unit. 

The Common Display System consoles are the next generation of hardware infrastructure representing the latest technology available on the market. Leonardo DRS has a history of producing advanced hardware for all Navy surface and subsurface platforms for use in combat systems, tactical networks, processing and machinery control.  

Work will be performed at the Leonardo DRS Naval Electronics facility in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. 

SAN DIEGO — As part of the U.S. Navy’s response to the COVID-19 outbreak on board the guided-missile destroyer USS Kidd, the ship was to arrive at Naval Base San Diego on April 28 for medical care for its Sailors and for cleaning and disinfecting of the ship, according to Naval Surface Forces public affairs. 

“Sailors have called San Diego home for many years, and we’re especially thankful for that relationship now,” said Vice Adm. Richard Brown, commander of Naval Surface Forces. “Taking care of our Sailors and cleaning this ship is a team effort, and we’re fortunate that the partnership between the Navy and the city of San Diego is allowing us to focus on that mission.”

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USS Kidd was at sea participating in counter-narcotics operations in the U.S. Southern Command area of responsibility when several of its Sailors began exhibiting flu-like symptoms. 

One Sailor was evacuated to the U.S. on April 22 after experiencing shortness of breath. The commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet redirected the amphibious assault ship USS Makin Island — with its medical facility, including an intensive care unit, ventilators and additional testing capability — to rendezvous with the Kidd. 

“Taking care of our Sailors and cleaning this ship is a team effort, and we’re fortunate that the partnership between the Navy and the city of San Diego is allowing us to focus on that mission.”

Vice Adm. Richard Brown, commander of Naval Surface Forces

On April 23, eight medical personnel arrived on board the Kidd with equipment to begin testing the crew for COVID-19. As of April 25, 33 Sailors there had tested positive for the virus, the Navy reported. 

The Kidd’s executive officer, Cmdr. Matt Noland, released a letter via social media to friends and family on April 24. In it, Noland wrote, “The Navy pulled out all the stops — specialist doctors have already arrived from the United States to test and help care for our shipmates.” 

As Navy leadership solidified plans to return the ship to port, Sailors who warranted closer observation were transported from the Kidd to the Makin Island out of caution. An additional Sailor was medically evacuated to the United States. Meanwhile, the ship’s crew began intensive cleaning efforts while still underway. 

All Sailors will be isolated off the ship with twice-daily medical screenings. Crew members who have tested negative will quarantine for a period of observation, to include daily visits from military health professionals. 

A small contingent of Sailors who have tested negative will remain on the ship for essential services and deep cleaning. These Sailors will be outfitted with appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) and will maintain social distancing, in accordance with U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) guidance. 

“San Diego may not be USS Kidd’s home port, but we are definitely being made to feel at home,” said Cmdr. Nathan Wemett, commanding officer of the Naval Station Everett, Washington-based ship. “I am personally grateful to know that we have such a strong bond with our Navy communities. It’s the strength of those bonds that helps us work together in challenging situations.” 

While in San Diego, the Kidd will undergo a deep cleaning that balances decontamination with preventing damage to the ship’s systems. The cleaning process begins with spaces being vacated for seven days — four days longer than the minimum recommended by the CDC. The ship will be cleansed room-by-room, with access to each space restricted. The process is expected to take about two weeks, at which time Sailors who are confirmed to be healthy will return to the Kidd and Sailors moving off the ship will go into isolation. 

The Navy is providing a resiliency counselor, team of chaplains and psychologist for Sailors in isolation and quarantine. The Navy has also established a 24-hour roving patrol to ensure that Sailors who are sequestered off the ship are adhering to all public health and safety policies, the Navy said. 

USS Kidd Sailors have been told to immediately report any flu-like symptoms — a lesson learned from the USS Theodore Roosevelt and its Sailors, all of whom are now housed in Guam. 

As of April 25, the entire crew of the Roosevelt had been tested for the virus, with 833 total positive and 4,105 negative results, the Navy reported. A small number of results were pending. Of the total cases, 112 Sailors have recovered and 4,273 Sailors have moved ashore, the Navy said. 

Also, as of April 25, two assigned to the Roosevelt were in U.S. Naval Hospital Guam under treatment for COVID-19 symptoms. One Sailor from the Roosevelt died there earlier this month from complications of the infection, the Navy reported.

PORTSMOUTH, Va. — The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Harriet Lane returned to its homeport of Portsmouth, Virginia, on April 26 following a 71-day patrol of the central Caribbean, the Coast Guard 5th District said in a release. 

The cutter’s multimission patrol resulted in the interdiction of 1,306 pounds of marijuana, with a street value of over $2.3 million. Harriet Lane conducted its patrol in support of the Coast Guard’s 7th District and the United States Southern Command’s Joint Interagency Task Force South.  

The Harriet Lane crew started their patrol with flight operations off the coast of Miami for a biannual aviation assessment. Working with a helicopter from Air Station Miami, the Harriet Lane completed a series of day and night flight operations, including vertical replenishment, in-flight refueling and landing evolutions. 

Soon after, Harriet Lane joined forces with the Honduran Navy Special Forces to conduct a joint law enforcement patrol off the coast of Honduras. This engagement provided the opportunity for law enforcement subject matter expert exchanges and improved interoperability between the two nations for future counter-narcotic operations. 

The Harriet Lane continued into to the central Caribbean to combat the smuggling of illegal narcotics across the region. During their time there, the cutter’s crew worked with a maritime patrol aircraft to interdict a go-fast style vessel off the coast of Jamaica. The Harriet Lane arrived on scene, with the crew seizing 1,306 pounds of marijuana from the vessel and its jettison field and detaining four suspected drug traffickers.

PASCAGOULA, Miss. — The U.S. Navy accepted delivery of the guided missile destroyer Delbert D. Black from Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Ingalls shipbuilding division on April 24, the Navy’s Program Executive Office (PEO)–Ships said in a release. 

Accepting delivery of the Delbert D. Black represents the official transfer of the ship from the shipbuilder to the Navy. Prior to delivery, the ship successfully conducted a series of at-sea and pier-side trials to demonstrate its material and operational readiness.  

The 68th Arleigh Burke-class destroyer honors Delbert D. Black, the first master chief petty officer of the Navy, and will be the first naval ship to bear his name. Black is known for guiding the Navy through the Vietnam War and ensuring enlisted leadership was properly represented Navy-wide by initiating the master chief program.  

“The DDG 51 shipbuilding program and Supervisor of Shipbuilding, Gulf Coast are proud to accept delivery of Delbert D. Black on behalf of the Navy and look forward to her commissioning later this year,” said Capt. Seth Miller, DDG 51 class program manager for PEO-Ships. “Ingalls has delivered another highly capable platform that will sail from our shores and help protect the nation for decades to come.” 

The DDG 51 class ships currently being constructed are Aegis Baseline 9 Integrated Air and Missile Defense destroyers with increased computing power and radar upgrades that improve detection and reaction capabilities against modern air warfare and ballistic missile defense threats. 

In addition to Delbert D. Black, HII’s Pascagoula shipyard also is in production on the future destroyers Frank E. Peterson Jr. and Lenah H. Sutcliffe Higbee as well as the Flight III ships, Jack H. Lucas and Ted Stevens.

PATUXENT RIVER, Md. — The U.S. Navy took delivery of the final Block II Super Hornet, closing out a run of 322 one-seater F/A-18Es and 286 two-seated F/A-18Fs, on April 17, the Navy’s Program Executive Office-Tactical Aircraft said in a release. 

Since 2005, F/A-18 Super Hornet Block II aircraft have been rolling off Boeing’s production line and serving as the Navy’s multimission capable workhorse. 

“Aircraft E322 will leave Boeing’s production line and head straight to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 34 based in [Naval Air Station] Oceana,” said Cmdr. Tyler Tennille, of the Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA), who oversees acceptance testing. 

“When the Super Hornets first came online, they were a game-changer,” he said, pointing to the Block II’s Active Electronically Scanned Array radar as well as larger displays, upgraded sensors and avionics and increased range and capability to employ an arsenal of precision weapons that delivered advanced lethality and mission flexibility for the service. 

The airframe was built with an open mission systems architecture, which has enabled easy integration of new weapons and technologies. The Block II Super Hornet serves as the Navy’s responsive aircraft, capable across the full mission spectrum, including air superiority, fighter escort, reconnaissance, aerial refueling, close air support, air defense suppression and day/night precision strike. 

This aircraft been the backbone of the Navy’s carrier air wing and has proven itself repeatedly during numerous operations where it has been the pre-eminent platform performing multiple missions, sometimes rapidly reconfiguring on the fly. 

Even though it is substantially larger — about 7,000 pounds heavier and a 50% higher range, the Super Hornet delivered with fewer parts and lower maintenance demands than its predecessor, the Hornet. 

“Delivery of this last production Block II Super Hornet is hardly the end of an era, but rather a stepping stone along the path to continuously evolving our platforms to meet the Navy’s ever-evolving needs,” said Capt. Jason Denney, program manager of the F/A-18 and EA-18 Program Office.  

Following the delivery of these aircraft, Tennille said he expects the transition from Block IIs to Block IIIs to be seamless. 

The capabilities and successes of the Block II program were leveraged by the Navy in awarding a multiyear procurement contract for Block III Super Hornets to Boeing in March 2019, totaling about $4 billion. The Navy will procure 72 Block III Super Hornets between fiscal years 2019 and 2021. 

Boeing is expected to deliver the Block III test jets to the Navy as early as late spring, where subsequent testing will commence at both Naval Air Station Patuxent River and Naval Air Weapons System China Lake. This latest version of the Super Hornet includes an advanced cockpit system, advanced network infrastructure, reduced radar cross-section and a 10,000-flight hour lifespan.