Release from the Secretary of the Navy  

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Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) Carlos Del Toro announced USNS Bethesda (EMS 1) as the name for the lead ship in the new Expeditionary Medical Ship (EMS(X)) class of ships during his mental health awareness month video. EMS(X) will now be referred to as the Bethesda Class Expeditionary Medical Ship.   

The naming is to honor and immortalize the history and community of healthcare professionals that make up Naval Support Activity Bethesda, who have saved and rehabilitated the lives of service members, veterans, civilians, their families, and even Presidents of the United States.  

“For most in the armed services, the name ‘Bethesda’ is connected to the world-class medical center for healing that has served a countless number of service members since 1942,” Del Toro said. “The real strength of our Navy and Marine Corps are our people, and if they are willing to sacrifice all for service, they deserve the best medical care available. This ship will honor the medical staff, who compassionately dedicate their time and expertise to take care of our service members. Bearing the name Bethesda will continue the legacy of life saving and medical innovation.” 

Former Assistant Secretary of the Navy (1913-1920) President Franklin Delano Roosevelt envisioned a Navy Medical Center and in 1937 Congress appropriated funds for construction of a new Naval Medical Center, with ground breaking on the site June 29, 1939, bringing to life what became the National Naval Medical Center (NNMC) and National Institutes of Health to Bethesda. Today, Naval Support Activity Bethesda is home to tenant commands such as Naval Medical Leader and Professional Development Command, Naval Medical Research Center, Navy Medical Support Command, Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command, and the Navy Dosimetry Center. In 2011, due to the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure decision, Bethesda National Naval Medical Center and Walter Reed Army Medical Center consolidated into the current Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, located on the grounds of the former National Military Medical Center, Bethesda. 

Secretary Del Toro has also invited the 63rd Governor of Maryland Wes Moore’s spouse, Dawn Moore to be the ship’s sponsor. Mrs. Moore has ties to the military as a former military spouse and is also an advocate for Marylanders living with a disability.  

“This first-in-class ship will be state-of-the-art and the Navy’s first medical ship in 35 years,” said Del Toro. “This ship, designed with more expeditious and direct access to diagnostic, specialty and hospital care, will allow for increased capabilities and health care. Just as the hospital at NSA Bethesda has served as a beacon of hope to those who entered its doorways, USNS Bethesda (EMS 1) will serve as a beacon to those in need around the world.” 

The Bethesda-class expeditionary medical ships are designed as a dedicated medical ship that optimizes hospital-level medical care in support of distributed maritime operations (DMO). The EMS will feature a shallow draft enabling greater reach and allowing direct access to shallow austere ports, while also providing a flight deck that accommodates military helicopters. This design provides a full range of medical capabilities including triage/critical care, three operating rooms, medical laboratory, radiological capability, blood bank, dental, mental health, OB/GYN and primary care, rapid stabilization and follow-on evacuation of multiple casualties and combat search and rescue including recovery at sea. The primary mission of the EMS as a high-speed forward deployed medical ship is to provide rapid responsive sea-based and near-shore hospital level critical care, humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, non-combatant evacuation operations and special operations. The EMS is designed to respond and provide care at a more rapid pace than their predecessors, USNS Mercy and USNS Comfort, sailing at speeds of at least 30 knots with a range of 5,500 nautical miles at 24 knots. 

Release from Fairbanks Morse Defense 

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BELOIT, Wis. – May 9, 2023 – Fairbanks Morse Defense (FMD), a portfolio company of Arcline Investment Management (Arcline), has been awarded a purchase order by Newport News Shipbuilding to supply four davits through Welin Lambie for the Ford Class aircraft carriers CVN 80 and CVN 81 (two davits per vessel). The award follows the supply of davits for CVN 78, which just entered service, and CVN 79, which is currently under construction.   

“This contract reinforces FMD’s position as a critical supplier to its core naval defense customers,” said Jay McFadyen, FMD’s Chief Commercial Officer. “With the introduction of Welin Lambie to the Fairbanks Morse Defense family, we have significantly increased our local service presence and capability to support U.S. Navy davits, ensuring operational availability and providing assurance to our sailors that they can safely carry out their duty to protect the freedom of the seas.”  

Welin Lambie was acquired by Fairbanks Morse Defense in 2021. The company designs and manufactures Safety of Life At-Sea (SOLAS) davits used specifically for the safe launch and recovery of all types of water craft from ships or shore-based installations.  

Davits are life critical equipment that keep the more than 5,000 sailors on the Ford Class carriers safe during their deployment. They require the high quality and through life support to ensure the equipment is always ready to be put into action. Underdeck davits allow Rigid Inflatable Boats (RIBs) to be launched in all sea states (up to Sea State 5) to support security and safety operations at sea.   

Having traditionally been a naval engine supplier, Fairbanks Morse Defense has expanded into a single-source product and service solutions provider for the entire vessel. Over the last 18 months, the defense contractor has been acquiring a number of companies, including Welin Lambie, and currently offers a large array of best-in-class marine technologies, OEM parts and turnkey services for the entire vessel to ensure Navy and Coast Guard fleets are always mission ready.  

Release from the U.S. Department of Defense

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The Navy will commission its newest Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer, USS Lenah Sutcliffe Higbee (DDG 123), during a 10:00 a.m. EDT ceremony on Saturday, May 13, in Key West, Florida. 

Rear Admiral Cynthia Kuehner, Commander, Naval Medical Forces Support Command and Director of the U.S. Navy Nurse Corps, will deliver the commissioning ceremony’s principal address. Remarks will also be provided by the Honorable Donald Norcross, U.S. Representative, New Jersey’s 1st District and member of the House Armed Services Committee;  the Honorable Carlos Del Toro, Secretary of the Navy; Admiral Mike Gilday, Chief of Naval Operations; the Honorable Teri Johnston, mayor of Key West; and Ms. Kari Wilkinson, president of Huntington Ingalls Industries-Ingalls Shipbuilding division. The ship’s sponsors, Ms. Louisa Dixon, Ms. Virginia Munford, and Ms. R. Pickett Wilson, will also be in attendance. 

The ship’s namesake, Lenah Sutcliffe Higbee, served as the second Superintendent of the Navy Nurse Corps in 1911, and was also the first woman recipient of the Navy Cross. When she entered naval service in 1908, she was one of the first 20 women, known as the “Sacred Twenty,” to join the newly established Navy Nurse Corps and contributed her nursing skills to the Navy during the First World War. This is the second ship named after Lenah Sutcliffe Higbee. The first ship, USS Higbee (DD 806), was the first combat warship named after a female member of the U.S. Navy. 

“Lenah Sutcliffe Higbee was ahead of her time, from being one of the first members of the Navy Nurse Corps, to being its second Superintendent, to being the first woman to earn the Navy Cross,” said Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro. “I am confident that the crew who will sail USS Lenah Sutcliffe Higbee will continue to honor and embody her trailblazing legacy.” 

The ship will be the 72nd Arleigh Burke-class destroyer to be commissioned, with 17 additional ships currently under contract for the DDG 51 program. The ship is configured as a Flight IIA destroyer, which enables power projection and delivers quick reaction time, high firepower, and increased electronic countermeasures capability for anti-air warfare. The future USS Lenah Sutcliffe Higbee will be 509.5 feet long and 59 feet wide, with a displacement of 9,496 tons. It will be homeported in San Diego.  

Media may direct queries to the Navy Office of Information at (703) 697-5342. More information on guided-missile destroyer programs can be found at: https://www.navy.mil/Resources/Fact-Files/Display-FactFiles/Article/2169871/destroyers-ddg/ 

The ceremony will be live streamed at: https://www.dvidshub.net/webcast/31425. The link becomes active approximately ten minutes prior to the event (9:50 a.m. EDT). 

Additional information about the namesake of the future USS Lenah Sutcliffe Higbee (DDG 123) can be found at: https://www.history.navy.mil/browse-by-topic/people/namesakes/lenah-higbee.html 

Release from HII 

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PASCAGOULA, Miss., May 12, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — HII’s (NYSE: HII) Ingalls Shipbuilding division hosted a signing day ceremony Thursday for the 2023 graduates of its Shipbuilder Academy program. Successfully completing the Academy’s one-year specialized career technical education program, 23 high school seniors were offered full-time positions at Ingalls Shipbuilding where they will begin their careers after as shipbuilders. 

“Today we celebrate the students who have committed to a technical career at Ingalls Shipbuilding and will build upon our 85-year legacy of building the most mission-ready ships for our country,” Ingalls Shipbuilding Vice President of Operations Donny Dorsey said. “Their decision to pursue hands-on training and technical skills while in high school is a testament to their innovative spirit and we applaud their dedication to learning the critical skills needed to have a rewarding career in their chosen trade.” 

During the ceremony, among parents and special guests, the high school seniors were honored much like high school athletes announcing an intended college. Each student received and signed a contingent offer of employment highlighting their new position at the shipyard. Upon their high school graduation, these students will join the Ingalls workforce as shipbuilders. 

Photos accompanying this release are available at: https://hii.com/news/hii-ingalls-shipbuilding-hosts-shipbuilder-academy-signing-day-2023/ 

The Ingalls Shipbuilder Academy established in 2016 with a mission to provide enrolled students with a strong foundation in the maritime industry and to fill shipbuilding positions at Ingalls. The Jackson County program, now entering its eighth year, expanded to Harrison County in 2019 and is entering into its fifth year. Shipbuilder Academy enrolls students from 13 different high schools along the Gulf Coast including: Biloxi, Gulfport, West Harrison, Long Beach, Pass Christian, Pascagoula, Gautier, Moss Point, East Central, Vancleave, St. Martin, Ocean Springs and Alma Bryant. So far 355 students have successfully completed the program and obtained National Center for Construction Education and Research certifications. 

Employing more than 11,000 people, Ingalls Shipbuilding is the largest manufacturing employer in Mississippi and a major contributor to the economic growth of Alabama. For 85 years, Ingalls Shipbuilding has designed, built and maintained amphibious ships, destroyers, and cutters for the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Coast Guard. Our shipbuilders are honored to build tomorrow’s fleet today. 

For more information about a career at Ingalls Shipbuilding, visit hii.com/careers. 

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ARLINGTON, Va. — The services offered by communities adjacent to shipyards can help attract and retain skilled shipbuilding and repair workers, a Navy admiral in charge of shipbuilding said.  

“One of the things we’ve seen that is very successful is building ecosystems around the shipyards — Congress working with state and local governments to aid in the development of systems around shipyards that really provide opportunity, said Rear Admiral Thomas J. Anderson, Navy Program Executive Officer for Ships, testifying May 11 before the House Oversight and Accountability Subcommittee on National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs.  

“If there is no housing in the area of a shipyard, you’re going to have a hard time having blue-collar labor come in and be interested in a job there,” Anderson said. “Things like health care, day care, [and] housing are really important to have in the vicinity of the yards to attract the talent that we need to build the ships we need in the future.” 

Anderson said that “[o]ne of the real challenges we have in this country is availability of blue-collar labor. We saw that as a challenge as we were in COVID and when we came out of COVID and we continue to struggle to identify talent to come in, people who are interested in the blue-collar trades.  

“So, support of our budget requests that provide funding to develop the work force that comes in two ways: the submarine industrial base, which I mentioned earlier, has targeted funds to help advance the work force,” he said. “Additionally, last year in the NDAA [2023 National Defense Authorization Act], Section 122, provided a requirement for the Navy — when awarding shipbuilding contracts in the future — to fund a percentage of the overall cost of the ship to go toward workforce development items.”  

Anderson noted that supplier industrial base funds are being used “to get people interested in blue-collar labor, get them married up with companies that support that supply chain. The submarine industrial base is where we really need efforts.” 

The admiral said that “somewhere between 80,000 and 100,000 tradespeople [need] to be hired over the next 10 years” for the submarine shipbuilders. 

Anderson touched on a more inspirational aspect of attracting shipyard workers: “Growing the work force, making sure that young people understand that it is an honorable and important profession to build ships or to repair ships for the U.S. Navy, something that not just the Congress but at all levels of our country is something that we can stress and will pay dividends as we expand our capacity.” 

Release from U.S. Naval Forces Central Command Public Affairs

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By U.S. Naval Forces Central Command Public Affairs | | May 11, 2023 

MANAMA, Bahrain — Forces from U.S. 5th Fleet completed a four-day exercise with Israel in the Gulf of Aqaba, May 11, that focused on unmanned systems and artificial intelligence integration into maritime operations. 
 
The exercise, called Digital Shield, included members of U.S. 5th Fleet’s unmanned systems and artificial intelligence task force, Task Force 59, as well as a MANTAS Devil Ray T-38 unmanned surface vessel. U.S. forces trained alongside Israeli counterparts during maritime awareness and vessel boarding drills. 
 
“By working together to advance unmanned systems innovation we can enhance regional security and strengthen our collective ability to address emerging threats,” said Capt. Colin Corridan, Task Force 59’s commander. 
 
NAVCENT established Task Force 59 in September 2021 to integrate new unmanned systems and artificial intelligence into U.S. naval operations across the Middle East. Since its launch, the task force has operated a suite of new unmanned systems from regional hubs in Bahrain and Aqaba, Jordan. 
 
Task Force 59 also conducted a Digital Shield exercise last September with Israeli naval forces. The task force regularly trains and operates with maritime partners in the Middle East to accelerate the integration of cutting-edge unmanned technology into daily operations. 
 
U.S. 5th Fleet’s area of operations encompasses approximately 2.5 million square miles of water area and includes the Arabian Gulf, Gulf of Oman, Red Sea, parts of the Indian Ocean and three critical choke points at the Strait of Hormuz, Suez Canal and Strait of Bab al Mandeb. 

 
https://www.cusnc.navy.mil/Media/News/Display/Article/3392055/us-israel-complete-unmanned-naval-exercise-in-gulf-of-aqaba/

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ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Navy has ordered four additional CMV-22B Osprey carrier-onboard delivery aircraft, according to a March 5 Defense Department contract announcement.   

The Bell Boeing Joint Project Office, Amarillo, Texas, was awarded a $482.3 million contract modification by the Naval Air Systems Command for the four CMV-22Bs, the announcement said. The order follows a Feb. 26 order for four CMV-22Bs.  

The order completes the Navy’s plan to procure 48 CMV-22Bs. The aircraft are scheduled to be delivered by June 26 under the June 2018 multiyear procurement contract.      

The Navy’s CMV-22B replaces the C-2A Greyhound for the Carrier On-Board Delivery (COD) mission. Its mission is to transport personnel, mail, supplies and cargo from shore bases to aircraft carriers at sea.  

The CMV-22B differs from the MV-22B by having a high-frequency radio, extra fuel capacity, improved fuel dump capability, improved lighting for cargo handling and a public address system. The aircraft can carry up to 6,000 pounds up to a range of 1,150 nautical miles. It is capable of internally carrying the F-135 engine power module for the F-35 Lightning II.     

The first CMV-22B squadron, VRM-30, is working up a detachment to deploy on board USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70). VRM-30 detachments have completed two deployments to the Western Pacific.    

Full operational capability of the CMV-22B is scheduled for 2024.

Release from U.S. Naval Central Forces Command Public Affairs  

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MANAMA, Bahrain — A U.S. Coast Guard fast response cutter seized $80 million worth of heroin from a fishing vessel transiting the Gulf of Oman, May 10, during the ship’s second drug bust this week. 

USCGC Glen Harris (WPC 1144) was operating in support of Combined Task Force (CTF) 150 when a boarding team discovered 1,964 kilograms of heroin on a vessel transiting international waters after departing Chah Bahar, Iran. Glen Harris also seized $30 million worth of methamphetamine and heroin two days ago from another fishing vessel that departed the same port. 

“I’m very proud of my crew and all we’ve been able to accomplish as a team this week,” said Lt. Nick Jabs, Glen Harris’s commanding officer. “We’re out here to work with regional partners and disrupt any destabilizing maritime activity at sea. We will continue getting after it.” 

Glen Harris’s previous seizure on May 8 included 580 kilograms of methamphetamine and 35 kilograms of heroin. 

The ship arrived in the Middle East last year as part of a contingent of U.S. Coast Guard cutters that are forward-deployed to the region under Patrol Forces Southwest Asia. 

CTF 150 is one of four task forces that form the world’s largest multinational naval partnership, Combined Maritime Forces. Naval forces supporting CTF 150 have now seized illegal drugs worth a combined estimated U.S. street value of more than $250 million in 2023. These efforts help ensure legitimate commercial shipping transits the region free from non-state threats. 

 
https://www.cusnc.navy.mil/Media/News/Display/Article/3390650/us-seizes-80-million-heroin-shipment-in-gulf-of-oman/

Release from Northrop Grumman 

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LOS ANGELES – May 8, 2023 – Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) announced the fifth consecutive successful flight test of the U.S. Navy’s AGM-88G Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile Extended Range (AARGM-ER). The missile successfully detected, identified, located and engaged an advanced, land-based, emitter target. 

• First firing overland against operationally-representative modern air defense system targets 
• AARGM-ER deliveries will begin later this year to support initial operational capability for the Navy in 2024 
• The missile is being integrated on the Navy F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and EA-18G Growler as well as the Air Force F-35A, Marine Corps F-35B and Navy/Marine Corps F-35C. 

Experts: 

Gordon Turner, vice president, advanced weapons, Northrop Grumman: “AARGM-ER provides the Navy with a demonstrated capability to stay ahead of adversary threats. This successful live fire continues to prove the missile’s extended range, readiness and effectiveness.” 

U.S. Navy CAPT Alex Dutko, Navy program manager for Direct and Time Sensitive Strike (PMA-242): “AARGM-ER once again demonstrated high-speed employment of lethal effects against an air defense system target. This is another successful step in our government-industry team’s effort to deliver this critically needed capability to our warfighters.” 

Details on AARGM-ER: 

AARGM-ER development uses digital modeling and integrated advanced AARGM sensors and electronics in a new high-performance air vehicle with upgraded propulsion and an optimized warhead. The new missile will provide the Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps with a vital counter-air-defense capability that can engage advanced and long-range threats while pilots remain outside of lethal engagement ranges. The AARGM-ER government-industry team recently received the William J. Perry award, recognizing their exceptional contributions to precision strike systems which strengthen national security and shapes the nation’s precision strike combat advantage. 

Release from GE Power Conversion 

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GE Power Conversion reports demand for its electric ship solutions to future-proof the latest generation of naval vessels 

This week, GE Power Conversion convened with the world’s leading navies and industry at IMDEX Asia, to showcase its electric ship power and propulsion solutions.  

IMDEX represents a respected platform within the large Asia Pacific maritime sector in Singapore, where GE Power Conversion showcased electrification technologies that are helping the world’s leading navies to energize their missions. 

GE Power Conversion has an industry-leading, complete range of electric ship technologies, and decades of naval sector experience with 13 different navies around the world. 

Solutions range from full naval-specification, high voltage electric grids for power and propulsion, to cost-effective hybrid electrification options.  

Through integrated electrification, energy management, automation and control, power in the ship’s electric grid can simultaneously supply high-energy defense systems, and propulsion. Energy-efficient electric architectures also serve as an effective way to integrate new, cleaner, energy sources as they emerge, and host digital technologies to implement more autonomous systems.  

GE Power Conversion is reporting increased intensity of customers wanting to engage to understand how they can best use energy across their fleets to create a capability advantage. The business says there is a growing recognition that electrification is critical to new generations of networked mission systems and the right architecture to ‘plug-in’ new energy sources. 

Shaopeng Ji, Commercial Operations Leader- Asia Pacific, at GE Power Conversion explains: “In an emerging new naval era, fleets need to be more mission configurable, highly capable for military advantage, adaptable for technology insertion and affordable. Increasing power demands on vessels means that more customers are seeking help in future-proofing their ships for higher energy needs, partnered by a roadmap to emissions reduction.” 

GE Power Conversion brings capability from having extensive electric and hybrid naval ship system references, leading in applications from the largest, complex warships to the latest support ships.  Expert services offerings and full scale land based test and emulation facilities are structured to provide a complete life cycle solution, reducing risk, increasing reliability and helping to optimize operation of assets. 

With three decades of expertise of providing power and propulsion capability for the world’s navies’ largest combat vessels (GE’s technology powers more than 90% of the UK Royal Navy large vessel fleet, including Queen Elizabeth Class, Type 45 and Type 26 vessels), GE Power Conversion is now seeing an increased customer demand for smaller combat vessel solutions. By combining extensive commercial electric drive ship expertise with deep domain naval and coast guard experience, GE Power Conversion provides cost-effective electrification solutions for light combat corvettes and offshore patrol ships, undertaking reconnaissance and submarine deflection missions. 

Shaopeng Ji continued: “The Ship’s Electric Grid is hugely versatile, and electric drive ships are just as suited to smaller, lower voltage, more commercial-spec ships in naval and coastguard fleets as to the biggest, higher voltage combat ships. Both are able to combine power for propulsion and on-board equipment in one system. Electric and hybrid power systems are viable choices for modern, multi-role ships seeing increased mission system power demand but needing sustainable, energy-efficient performance for patrol duties.”