CANBERRA, Australia — The Royal Australian Navy frigate HMAS Ballarat seized more than 900 kilograms of heroin worth approximately $195.2 million during two boarding operations that took place Dec 21-23 as part of Operation Manitou, the Australian Ministry of Defence said in a Dec. 28 release.

HMAS Ballarat conducted flag verification checks by boarding vessels of interest, under the direction of the Combined Maritime Forces’ Combined Task Force 150 in international waters in the Arabian Sea. The fishing vessels, known as dhows, were believed to be engaging in illegal activity.

The boarding team discovered and seized illegal narcotics on both dhows; 165 kilos of heroin was found on the first dhow, and 766 kilos on a second. The drugs were transferred to Ballarat for disposal.

“A thorough search by the boarding parties uncovered a large quantity of heroin intended for distribution around the world,” said Comdr. Paul Johnson, commanding officer of HMAS Ballarat. “By keeping these illegal narcotics out of the hands of those that exploit others, we improve the lives of those in the region. The crew is well prepared for these activities and I am glad that they have been able to showcase their professionalism in supporting security in this complex maritime environment.”

“These drug seizures support Australia’s long-term mission to ensure maritime security, stability and prosperity in the region,” said Rear Adm. Jaimie Hatcher, commander of Australian Forces in the Middle East. “This operation will impact on the flow of narcotics around the world and the use of drug money to fund extremist organizations. This is a promising start to Ballarat’s work here and the crew should be very pleased with this excellent result.”

These are the first seizures Ballarat has made since starting operations in the Middle East Region during November in support of Operation Manitou.

ARLINGTON, Va. — The Navy has ordered five more V-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft under a modification to a multiyear contract.

Naval Air Systems Command awarded to Bell Boeing a $367 modification for five Ospreys on Dec. 28, an addition to a $4.2 billion contract for 78 Ospreys awarded on June 28.

Under the new order, Bell Boeing will deliver three CMV-22B carrier-onboard-delivery aircraft for the Navy and two MV-22B assault transport aircraft for the Marine Corps by October 2023.

The Ospreys ordered in June include 39 CMV-22Bs for the Navy, 34 MV-22Bs for the Marine Corps, one CV-22B for the Air Force and four MV-22Bs for the government of Japan.

ALAMEDA, Calif. — U.S. Coast Guard members recently completed loading six small boats and accompanying equipment onboard the USS Green Bay in Townsville, Australia, for transport back to the United States.

The loadout follows the Coast Guard’s recent deployment to Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea (PNG) where 94 Coast Guard personnel logged more than 2,000 underway hours providing round-the-clock maritime security during the 2018 Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders Week, Nov. 12-18. The high-profile summit was attended by leaders and senior officials from 21 nations, including Vice President Mike Pence representing the United States.

A first-of-its kind Memorandum of Understanding signed by U.S. Ambassador Catherine Ebert-Gray and PNG Police Commissioner Gary Baki provided temporary authority for the Coast Guard to deploy small boats and specialized members as part of an adaptive force package (ADF) that provided port security, waterside protection, and anti-terrorism capabilities prior to and during the summit.

Operating under the control of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, the ADF worked in cooperation with PNG’s Joint Security Task Force and the Australian Defense Forces.

The ADF was led by Port Security Unit (PSU) 305, based in Fort Eustis, Virginia, and included Reserve and active-duty service members from PSU 301 based in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, PSU 308 based in Kiln, Mississippi, and PSU 313 based in Everett, Washington, along with Maritime Safety and Security Team (MSST) Honolulu, MSST Seattle, MSST San Francisco and MSST Los Angeles/Long Beach.

“As a global leader in maritime law enforcement and port security, the U.S. Coast Guard was proud to work with the PNG Joint Security Task Force and our Pacific partners to ensure safety and security throughout the APEC Economic Leaders Week,” said Cmdr. Michael McCarthy, commanding officer of PSU 305.

The deployed service members and their international partners conducted waterway security at three separate maritime restricted areas around Port Moresby including waterways surrounding the APEC Haus, the main venue during the summit, and several cruise ships which served as lodging for global leaders and dignitaries during the summit.

Throughout the deployment the ADF operated from the Royal Australian Navy’s HMAS Adelaide, a 757-ft long Australian amphibious assault ship equipped with a well deck that

allowed for launching and recovering the Coast Guard’s six 32-foot transportable port security boats.

Coast Guard personnel participated with their international partners in a Remembrance Day Ceremony Nov. 11 commemorating the 100th anniversary of World War I on the Adelaide’s helicopter landing deck.

The APEC security mission is one of several recent joint operations conducted by the Coast Guard in the Western Pacific. In August, the service participated in the 17th annual Southeast Asia Cooperation and Training exercise, which brought together service members from navies and coast guards from nine nations to focus on increasing maritime domain awareness through collaborative and coordinated information sharing.

The Coast Guard is also engaged in the Oceania Maritime Security Initiative, with law enforcement detachments deployed on supporting U.S. Naval vessels such as the USS Shoup, assisting Pacific nations with protecting their exclusive economic zones and combating illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.

“The United States is a Pacific nation,” said Vice Adm. Linda Fagan, commander, Coast Guard Pacific Area. “We have deep and long-standing ties with our partners in the region, and more importantly, we share a strong commitment to a free and open Pacific, governed by a rules-based international system that promotes peace, security, and shared prosperity.”

ORLANDO, Fla. — Lockheed Martin has delivered the first Long Range Anti-Ship Missiles (LRASM) to U.S. Air Force operational units, achieving early operational capability (EOC) status ahead of schedule.

After successfully completing the required integration, flight testing and modeling and simulation, warfighters accepted the first of many tactical production units, meeting key criteria for the EOC declaration milestone.

“This event is the culmination of successful partnerships with the U.S. Air Force, Navy and DARPA,” said David Helsel, LRASM director at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control. “This milestone serves as a great example of collaboration to bring critical capabilities to the warfighter at accelerated acquisition timelines.”

LRASM is designed to detect and destroy specific targets within groups of ships by employing advanced technologies that reduce dependence on intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance platforms, network links and GPS navigation in contested environments. LRASM will play a significant role in ensuring military access to operate in open ocean/blue waters, owing to its enhanced ability to discriminate and conduct tactical engagements from extended ranges.

LRASM is a precision-guided, anti-ship standoff missile based on the successful Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile–Extended Range. It is designed to meet the needs of U.S. Navy and Air Force warfighters in contested environments.

The air-launched variant, integrated onboard the U.S. Air Force’s B-1B, provides an early operational capability meeting the offensive anti-surface warfare Increment I requirement. LRASM is on schedule to achieve EOC on the U.S. Navy’s F/A-18E/F Super Hornet in 2019.

FORT WORTH, Texas — Lockheed Martin delivered the 91st F-35 aircraft for the year, meeting the joint government and industry delivery target for 2018 and demonstrating the F-35 enterprise’s ability to ramp to full-rate production, the company announced Dec. 20

The 91 deliveries in 2018 represent nearly a 40 percent increase from 2017 and about a 100 percent production increase compared to 2016. Next year, Lockheed Martin is set to deliver more than 130 F-35s representing yet another 40 percent increase in production.

“This milestone demonstrates the F-35 enterprise is prepared for full rate production and ready to deliver on increasing demand from our customers worldwide,” said Greg Ulmer, Lockheed Martin vice president and general manager of the F-35 program. “Year-over-year, we have increased production, lowered costs, reduced build time, and improved quality and on-time deliveries. Today, the F-35 is the most capable fighter jet in the world, and we’re delivering more aircraft per year than any other fighter on the market at equal to or less cost.”

The 91st aircraft is a U.S. Marine Corps F-35B, to be delivered to Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, South Carolina. In 2018, deliveries included 54 F-35s for the United States, 21 for international partner nations, and 16 for Foreign Military Sales customers.

To date, more than 355 F-35s have been delivered and are now operating from 16 bases worldwide. More than 730 pilots and over 6,700 maintainers are trained, and the F-35 fleet has surpassed more than 175,000 cumulative flight hours. Ten nations are flying the F-35, seven countries have F-35s operating from a base on their home soil, four services have declared initial operating capability, and two services have announced their F-35s have been used in combat operations.

BOSTON — The crew of Coast Guard Cutter Campbell returned to Kittery, Maine, on Dec. 18 following a three-month counter narcotics patrol in the eastern Pacific Ocean, the 5th Coast Guard District said in a release.

During the patrol, the crew of the Campbell seized approximately 5,300 kilograms of cocaine with an estimated value of $159 million and detained six suspected smugglers.

“Campbell’s crew demonstrated unwavering dedication and operational excellence during the 90-day deployment in the eastern Pacific Ocean,” said Cmdr. Mark McDonnell, commanding officer of Campbell. “We enjoyed strong support from our international and interagency partners, helping us thwart criminal networks’ illicit operations in the Western Hemisphere.”

The Campbell crew also located and rescued a sea turtle that had become entangled in a net. During the deployment, the crew of Campbell navigated 20,849 nautical miles.

Campbell is a 270-foot medium-endurance cutter with a crew of 106 and has been homeported in Kittery since 2003.

KEY WEST, Fla. — The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Thetis returned to its homeport after a 90-day patrol in support of Operations Southeast Watch and Unified Resolve in the Caribbean Sea in support of alien migrant interdiction operations, the 7th Coast Guard District said in a Dec. 19 release.

The Thetis crew, along with other Coast Guard units, worked alongside the Puerto Rico Joint Forces of Rapid Action to interdict and repatriate 219 migrants from the Dominican Republic and Haiti attempting to illegally enter the United States. While off the coast of Haiti, the cutter crew rescued six Jamaicans who were stranded at sea for three days with little food and water.

“The crew of the Thetis worked with the Haitian Coast Guard and National Police, the Dominican Republic Navy, the Cuban Border Guard, and the Royal Bahamas Defence Force as well as key United States agencies including the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service, strengthening our domestic and international partnerships,” said Cmdr. Randall Chong, commanding officer of Thetis. “I’m very proud of my crew for our continued contributions to stopping the flow of illegal migrants while rescuing those without basic survival equipment who were found drifting in the ocean for several days.”

Adm. Karl Schultz, commandant of the Coast Guard and Master Chief Petty Officer Jason Vanderhaden, master chief petty officer of the Coast Guard, joined the crew for a Thanksgiving meal in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where they expressed gratitude for crew’s sacrifices made while underway during patrol. The commandant specially recognized several crewmembers for their commitment to excellence and for exemplifying his guiding principles: ready, relevant and responsive.

The cutter Thetis is a 270-foot Famous-class cutter, homeported in Key West and has a crew of 100.

ARLINGTON, Va. — Fifteen teams from three continents met on the beaches of Honolulu last week for the 2018 Maritime RobotX Challenge. The week-long biennial autonomous maritime system competition — co-sponsored by the Office of Naval Research (ONR), the Association of Unmanned Vehicles International Foundation and NAVATEK, a Hawaii-based company that designs ships, small crafts and other amphibious vehicles — wrapped up Dec. 15.

Like ONR’s other sponsored robotic events — RoboBoat and RoboSub — this competition is designed to foster student interest in autonomous systems.

“This event rounds out the trifecta of maritime robotics competitions that ONR supports,” said Kelly Cooper, a program officer in ONR’s Ocean Battlespace Sensing Department and RobotX judge. “Each of these events is designed to build upon skills learned in previous competitions, and participation in all can help build a solid foundation of engineering skills.”

Using a common boat platform called the Wave Adaptive Modular Vessel (WAM-V) surface craft, all teams must outfit their vessel with propulsion, sensor and control systems. These systems must be programmed to recognize and compute various data, to help the WAM-V make decisions autonomously as it traverses a course of seven increasingly difficult, maritime-related tasks.

“Besides having to accomplish a series of seven tasks without human interference, the vessels also have to deal with environmental issues like wind, rain and sun glare,” said Cooper. “Being in an open maritime environment like the North Pacific Ocean provides teams with more challenges than just what is laid out on paper in the mission requirements.”

The vessels — without human or computer interaction — had to demonstrate navigation and control; obstacle avoidance; location and sequence; identification and docking; detection and delivery; underwater recovery; and situational awareness.

Teams also needed to create a website and video, write a technical design paper outlining their work and give a presentation.

Each task tested students’ mechanical, electrical, computer and systems engineering skills — as well as their presentation prowess and teamwork — while competing for cash prizes totaling nearly $100,000 (which go directly to the school, usually to a robotic club or program).

“RobotX brings together the international student engineering community to showcase their know-how and help find new solutions to autonomous challenges faced by industry and the military,” said Cooper. “In fact, they are truly helping to advance autonomous maritime technology through their fresh ideas.”

National University of Singapore took this year’s top prize, while Australia’s Queensland University of Technology and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University placed second and third, respectively.

U.S. teams included: Florida Atlantic University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Old Dominion University, University of Florida, University of Hawaii at Manoa, and University of Michigan.

International teams included: Australia’s University of Newcastle and University of Sydney, China’s Harbin Engineering University, Japan’s Osaka Prefecture University, Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University, and Taiwan’s National Chiao Tung University.

ARLINGTON, Va. — Two of the Navy’s U.S.-based numbered fleets will become expeditionary, backed up at home by their respective training carrier strike groups (CSGs), the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Adm. John Richardson aid. The move is a reflection on the need to increase the agility of naval forces in a return of an era of peer competitors.

The initiative is one of the CNO’s goals in an updated version, 2.0, of his document “A Design for Maritime Security.

“Commander, 2nd Fleet (C2F) and Commander, 3rd Fleet (C3F) will be expeditionary: they will have the capability to command and control their forces while deployed forward,” the CNO said in the document.

U.S. 2nd Fleet, established in August to operate in the North Atlantic Ocean, is expected to reach full operational capability in 2019.

As a backstop for sustaining training of the fleet’s units in their at-home cycles, the fleets’ respective carrier strike group staffs in charge of fleet work-ups will be charged with building up deploying forces while the fleet staffs are deployed.

“In order to retain the capability for force generation while C2F and/or C3F are deployed, Carrier Strike Group (CSG)-4 and CSG-15 will develop the capability and capacity to generate forces, reporting directly to Commander, Fleet Forces Command, and Commander, Pacific Fleet, respectively,” the document said.

ARLINGTON, Va. — The chief of naval operations (CNO) is pushing to accelerate the development of the Navy’s next-generation ballistic-missile submarine (SSBN) so that it is ready to deploy “as quickly as possible.” He also is pushing the more rapid acquisition timeline of new ships, aircraft, weapons, and networks.

In the new “Version 2.0” of his “A Design for Maintaining Maritime Superiority” strategy document, Adm. John M. Richardson emphasized the Navy’s No. 1 acquisition priority, the Columbia-class SSBN, as necessary to sustain the nation’s nuclear strategic deterrent force.

Richardson stated his goal is to “be ready to deploy USS Columbia (SSBN 826) as quickly as possible — beating the current schedule — in order to preserve our ability to defeat the threat. Refresh and fortify the nuclear command and control system. Develop the nuclear capabilities directed in the Nuclear Posture Review.”

Construction of the first Columbia-class SSGN is scheduled to begin by 2021, with strategic certification expected in 2026, the first patrol in 2031 and complete replacement of the Ohio class by 2039. The tight schedule for the new submarine is dictated by the need for a seamless phase-out of the 14 Ohio-class SSBNs as they reach the end of their 42-year service lives and the nuclear deterrent patrols are assumed by the Columbia class.

With the new era of peer competition in the maritime arena, Richardson also is calling for rapidly acquiring other key platforms and payloads, as listed in the document.

Ships:

■ Award the Future Frigate contract in 2020 to deliver as soon as possible (ASAP).

■ Award the Large Surface Combatant contract in 2023 to deliver ASAP.

■ Award the Large Unmanned Surface Vehicle contract in 2023 to deliver ASAP.

■ Award the Future Small Auxiliary contract in 2023 to deliver ASAP.

■ Award the Future Large Auxiliary contract in 2023 to deliver ASAP.

Underwater Unmanned Vehicles:

Contract for and field the family of Underwater Unmanned Vehicles (Orca, Snakehead, Razorback, Knifefish) ASAP, and no later than (NLT) 2025.

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, Aircraft, Weapons:

■ Reach MQ-25 first flight in 2021 and initial operating capability ASAP.

■ Reach MQ-4C Triton initial operating capability in 2021.

■ By the end of 2019, identify requirements across the family of systems to replace the F/A-18E/F and EA-18G by 2030.

■ Develop and field an offensive hypersonic weapon by 2025.

■ Develop and field the family of laser weapons (low-power lasers, high-power lasers, Surface Navy Laser Weapons System) beginning in 2019 and NLT 2025.

Networks:

Improve the performance of our current enterprise networks in 2019. Modernize these networks under the NGEN-R contract.