ARLINGTON, Va. — The use of towed sensors provides a measure of survivability for small unmanned surface vessels but presents other problems such that the Navy is looking to move away from towed sensors in favor of onboard sensors, a Navy official said. 

The Navy is soon to award a production award for the Textron-built Mine Countermeasures USV, equipped with the Unmanned Influence Sweep System, a towed sensor, said George Saroch, director for unmanned surface vessels at Naval Sea Systems Command, speaking Feb. 1 during a panel discussion at the Technology, Systems and Ships Symposium conducted by the American Society of Naval Engineers. 

In 2017, Saroch said, the Navy recognized the versatility of the MCM USV and decided to build the boat to handle various payloads, which soon would include the AQS-20 mine-hunting towed sonar and eventually the Barracuda mine-neutralization munition. He sees these as building blocks to a single-sortie detect-to-engage mine countermeasures system. 

“So, fundamentally, it’s focused on building a boat, and then we have separate contracts for the payloads,” he said. 

The UISS has been through operational testing and shock testing, he said. The MCM USV with the mine-hunting AQS-20C system will be going through developmental and operational test this spring and summer.  

Saroch stressed the importance of automatic target recognition as necessary to avoid the expenditure of neutralization charges on objects other than mines. 

However, Saroch said the Navy is “very interested in getting away from towing things. You can snag a lot of things when you tow systems, a lesson from the [MH-53E MCM helicopter] community” which often snags objects while towing MCM systems through the water. 

“We’re learning that lesson over again about snagging things,” he said, noting that the Navy is trying to move sensors back aboard the boat, “which brings some other operational capabilities.” 

ARLINGTON, Va. — The Navy’s newest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), will operate all over the North Atlantic this year when it completes its current shipyard availability, a Navy admiral said, and will operate under the auspices of the U.S. 2nd Fleet. 

“Ford is doing amazingly well, coming out of the shipyard her for initial employment,” said Rear Adm. John F. Meier, commander, Naval Air Force Atlantic, speaking Feb. 1 during a panel discussion at the Technology, Systems and Ships Symposium conducted by the American Society of Naval Engineers. 

“I think it’s a great opportunity for us to demonstrate the new technology,” Meier said. “We’re going to do that as a service-retained employment, so not part of the normal global force deployment schedule, but we will be working with partners, we’ll be working all over the place as 2nd Fleet takes charge of that carrier and operates with a wide variety of operations up and down the coast, across the Atlantic [and] down in the Caribbean.” 

Meier said the Ford’s upcoming operations would be “a really great opportunity to show off that aircraft carriers are in fact extremely maneuverable, upwards of 700 [nautical] miles a day. And robust — most especially robust when you think about the refueled range of the aircraft that fly from them.”  

The Ford currently is in a planned incremental availability at Newport News Shipbuilding. All 11 weapon elevators have been certified as of December. Since it began flight operations, it has completed 8,100 catapult launches and the same number of arrested landings, said Rear Adm. Jim Downey, program executive officer for aircraft carriers, also speaking at the event. 

WASHINGTON — The future USS Fort Lauderdale (LPD 28), the Navy’s 12th San Antonio class-amphibious transport dock ship, completed acceptance trials Jan. 31, Team Ships Public Affairs said in a release. 

Acceptance trials consist of integrated testing to demonstrate the capability of the platform and installed systems across all mission areas to effectively meet its requirements. These demonstrations are used to validate the quality of construction and compliance with Navy specifications and requirements prior to delivering the craft to the Navy. LPD 28 will now prepare for delivery in a few weeks. 

“With the completion of both builder’s and acceptance trials, we are confident that LPD 28 has proven the operational readiness of the vessel and the capabilities it will soon bring to the fleet,” said Capt. Cedric McNeal, program manager, Amphibious Warfare Program Office, Program Executive Office Ships. “The collaboration between the Navy and our industry partners ensures that we’ll have a capable and ready ship for our Sailors.” 

The San Antonio-class is designed to support embarking, transporting, and landing Marines and their equipment by conventional or air-cushioned landing craft. The ship’s capabilities are further enhanced by its flight deck and hangar, enabling the ship to operate a variety of Marine Corps helicopters and the Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft. Because of the ships inherent capabilities, they are able to support a variety of amphibious assault, special operations, expeditionary warfare, or disaster relief missions, operating independently or as part of amphibious ready groups, expeditionary strike groups, or joint task forces. 

In addition to LPD 28, Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Ingalls Shipbuilding Division is currently in production of the future USS Richard S. McCool (LPD 29) and the future USS Harrisburg (LPD 30), with LPD 31 planned for start of fabrication later this spring. LPD 28 and 29 will serve as transition ships to LPD 30 – the first LPD 17 Flight II ship. 

LPD 28 and LPD 29 will incorporate design innovations and cost-reduction strategies based upon lessons learned and improved technologies.  The ships will have a more traditional mast in place of the two Advanced Enclosed Mast/Sensors and an updated deckhouse and boat valley design. 

ARLINGTON, Va. — The Navy plans to begin a formal Analysis of Alternatives for its next generation nuclear-powered attack submarine, or SSN(X), a senior program official said. 

“We are looking at starting an AoA here probably within the next year said Lisa Radocha, executive director of the Navy’s Program Executive Office – Attack Submarines, speaking Jan. 31 on a panel at the Technology, Systems and Ships Symposium conducted by the American Society of Naval Engineers. 

Radocha said the Initial Capabilities Document for the SSN(X) is now under development. Research and development funds for the SSN(X) program are in the fiscal 2022 budget. 

She said the SSN(X) design will feature increased speed, an increased horizontal payload, improved acoustic superiority, and higher operational availability. 

Radocha pointed out that the period between the delivery of the first Virginia-class SSN and the planned delivery of the first SSN(X) will be four decades. She said one of her concerns is holding onto the engineering and design expertise in the shipbuilding industrial base for the SSN(X) program. 

The Virginia-class SSN program will total 48 boats. The technological improvements over the seven blocks of the Virginia SSN will help to reduce risk for the SSN(X) program. 

Radocha said her focus is creating an “on-ramp” for the SSN(X) program over the next two fiscal years.  

Last August, during the Navy League’s Sea-Air-Space Expo, Rear Adm. (now Vice Adm.) Bill Houston, then-director, Undersea Warfare, Division, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations and now commander, Submarine Forces, labeled the SSN(X) as “the ultimate apex predator for the maritime domain.” 

Houston said the SSN(X) has “got to be faster, carry a significant punch, a bigger payload, a larger salvo rate. It’s got to have acoustic superiority and simultaneously we’re going to work on operational availability with respect to maintenance and life of the ship.” 

The admiral explained that the SSN(X) is timed to capitalize on the ‘very robust” design team for the Columbia-class SSBN when that program is ramping down amid production of the SSBNs. 

ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Navy has updated guidance to commanders for keeping COVID-19 infections off ships, and what to do if prevention measures fail.

The latest Standardized Operation Guidance (5.0), issued by Vice Adm. William Merz, deputy chief of Naval Operations for Operations, Plans and Strategy, makes changes to how long Sailors testing positive for the coronavirus must be isolated based on the latest recommendations by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The guidance, issued Jan. 15, includes information for commanders on restriction of movement, when to test and quarantine Sailors. It also streamlines health protection measures for ships.

After the massive COVID outbreak on the USS Theodore Roosevelt in 2020 that sidelined the carrier in Guam for months, Navy leadership  determined “that our guidance to our commanding officers was insufficient, that we really needed to be much more detailed, that we had to consult with scientists and environmental experts” on how to operate effectively in a contained environment during a pandemic, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michael Gilday told the Surface Navy Association symposium Jan. 11,

“It is my responsibility to deliver the most capable force and this guidance helps us maximize mission readiness,” Merz said in an Aug. 26 statement about the new guidance. “Vaccinations, vaccine boosters, command engagement, and personal accountability are the foundation of our success in fighting COVID.”

The announcement came the same day the Navy revealed it had dismissed another 23 Sailors for refusing vaccination, bringing the total to 45 kicked out since the vaccination deadline expired in late 2021.

The Navy’s new guidance, which applies to all uniformed Navy personnel “at home and deployed,” cuts isolation time for Sailors testing positive for COVID but showing no, or greatly improving, symptoms — such as no fever for 24 hours — to five days, although they must wear masks for another five days to minimize the risk of infecting others.

The CDC said the change “is motivated by science demonstrating that the majority of SARS-CoV-2 transmission occurs early in the course of illness, generally in the 1-2 days prior to onset of symptoms and the 2-3 days after.” While vaccine booster shots are not yet required, the Navy guidance recommended them “because all studies are converging on the need for a vaccine booster to ensure enduring protection.” The booster  “has essentially become the next-shot in a series and will likely become mandatory in the near future,” according to the guidance.

However, the guidance asserted that Navy Surgeon General Rear Adm. Bruce Gillingham is the authority for Navy COVID-19 measures. Changes in CDC guidance on virus behavior should first be evaluated by Gillingham “prior to fleet implementation.”

ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Navy’s MQ-8C Fire Scout unmanned helicopter reached initial operational capability more than 2.5 years ago but made its first operational deployment only last month. The reason, the Navy’s program manager explained, centered on the integration of a radar into the new Fire Scout version. 

Navy Capt. Eric Soderberg, the Navy’s Fire Scout program manager, speaking to reporters Jan. 25, explained the MQ-8C as a platform reached initial operational capability in June 2019, but the service decided to wait until it could complete integration of the Leonardo ZPY-8 surface search radar on the MQ-8C, which has now been accomplished. The radar already was integrated on the older MQ-8B version, which the MQ-8C is scheduled to replace. 

Soderberg said that “the fleet made a decision that a radar-equipped Bravo [MQ-8B] was more suitable to deploy than a non-radar-equipped Charlie [MQ-8C]. Now that we have that radar on the Charlie, it becomes a pretty clear answer that the Charlie is the superior platform, and that’s why we’re accelerating the transition from the 8B to the 8C.”  

An MQ-8C, built by Northrop Grumman, was deployed operationally on Dec. 14 on board the Freedom-class littoral combat ship USS Milwaukee (LCS 5), which is deployed in the U.S. 4th Fleet’s area of operations in support of Joint Interagency Task Force South’s mission, which includes counter-illicit drug trafficking missions in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific, according to the caption.   

Soderberg said the MQ-8C was “performing up to expectations” on the deployment. 

The Leonardo ZPY-8 on the Fire Scout gives the host ship a far greater ability to detect and track surface contacts and maintain over-the-horizon situational awareness.  

The MQ-8C’s larger airframe and greater fuel load gives it an endurance is 10 to 12 hours, far greater than the four to five hours of the MQ-8B. 

The improved software on the MQ-8C system eases the workload on the controllers. The software integrates the radar, electro-optical sensor, and Automatic Information System in the MQ-8C. 

The MQ-8C on the Milwaukee is teamed with an MH-60S Seahawk helicopter, which is not equipped with a radar. Both aircraft are operated by the “Sea Knights” of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 22, Detachment 5.  

Soderberg said although the detachment’s officers all can control the Fire Scout, one officer is assigned as the main specialist for the system. The Navy also is qualifying MQ-8B and MQ-8C operators separately now, as opposed to personnel operating both types. 

The program manager also said a data link designed to allow the MQ-8C to share sensor data with multiple platforms is being introduced, but some budget uncertainty is slowing that process.  

He said there is a well-defined need for a mine-countermeasures sensor with both littoral surf zone and deeper water capabilities. The COBRA II sensor, equipped with lidar, is considered suitable.   

A passive electronic warfare sensor for the platform is under discussion. Soderberg also said there is a “technical way forward” to arm the MQ-8C with weapons such as rockets, but there are “no funded efforts to implement” a weapons  

He also said the MQ-8C is ready if needed for on the Lewis B. Puller-class expeditionary sea base ship. The mobile mission-control station is ready and certified for the ship.  

ARLINGTON, Va. — Northrop Grumman has successfully delivered the 51st E-2D Advanced Hawkeye for the U.S. Navy. The aircraft is the final one of a Multi-Year Procurement-1, the company said Jan. 21. 

The E-2D, numbered AA-52 in company production, is equipped with the Delta System/Software Configuration Build 3, which provides an additional leap in operational effectiveness and technology for the E-2D with the incorporation of aerial refueling and a dwell-based tracker, the release said. 

MYP-1, awarded in June 2014, called for the production of 25 E-2Ds, later increased to 26. 

The E-2D now equips six of the Navy’s nine fleet airborne command and control squadrons and eventually will replace the E-2C in the remaining three squadrons.  

Northrop will begin deliveries this year of E-2Ds through MYP-2, which was awarded in April 2019 for 24 E-2Ds. 

The Navy’s program of record is for 86 E-2Ds. Japan has ordered 13 E-2Ds, and France has ordered four. 

ARLINGTON, Va. — The Navy has deployed the MQ-8C version of its Fire Scout unmanned helicopter for the first time but waited five weeks to make the announcement. 

An MQ-8C, built by Northrop Grumman, was deployed operationally on Dec. 14 on board the Freedom-class littoral combat ship USS Milwaukee (LCS 5), the Navy and Northrop Grumman announced in Jan. 24 releases. 

The deployment was apparent before Jan. 24 in a series Navy photographs taken Jan. 6 while the MQ-8C was operating from the USS Milwaukee in the Caribbean Sea. The ship was deployed in the U.S. 4th Fleet’s area of operations in support of Joint Interagency Task Force South’s mission, which includes counter-illicit drug trafficking missions in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific, according to the caption.  

The Milwaukee had departed Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, on Jan. 3 after two weeks in port following an outbreak of the COVID-19 virus in the crew.   

The MQ-8C was being operated by the “Sea Knights” of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 22, Detachment 5. The squadron also operates the MH-60S Seahawk manned helicopter and is using both aircraft in counter-narcotics operations.  

The Fire Scout “will identify targets of interest and refine surveillance data of existing targets of interest, allowing for enhanced capabilities for counter illicit drug trafficking missions,” the Navy said in a release.    

“This is a significant milestone in the MQ-8C Fire Scout program,” said Navy Capt. Eric Soderberg, the Navy’s Fire Scout program manager. “The transition from the MQ-8B to the MQ-8C Fire Scout has brought improved sensors and more than doubles the on-station endurance. Advances in Fire Scout’s capabilities further our successful integration of unmanned platforms at sea and the Navy and Marine Corps unmanned campaign plan.” 

“Our partnership with the U.S. Navy has been critical in developing Fire Scout’s multi-mission autonomous capabilities which provide greater situational awareness to the joint force,” said Lance Eischeid, director, Fire Scout program, Northrop Grumman. “With the ability to operate from a range of surface ships, MQ-8C Fire Scout is a powerful platform that allows the U.S. Navy to increase the detection and tracking of targets through its onboard sensors and integration with manned assets.” 

“Fire Scout is a force multiplier, not only in our current mission, but in every mission the U.S. Navy conducts,” said Cmdr. Brian Forster, commanding officer of Milwaukee. “I am very excited of the team I have onboard which has already, and will continue to, demonstrate how manned and unmanned assets can work together to effectively achieve the mission.” 

In December, an MQ-8C was photographed on the deck of Independence-class littoral combat ship USS Jackson (LCS 6) while in port in Apra Harbor, Guam. The caption stated the Jackson was part of Destroyer Squadron Seven “on a rotational deployment in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operation to enhance interoperability with partners and serve as a ready-response force in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific region.”  

The MQ-8C in the Guam photograph was going through pre-deployment functional ground checks for a detachment of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 23 — based at Naval Air Station North Island, California — that will operate the MQ-8C from the USS Jackson.   

The MQ-8C, which achieved initial operational capability in June 2019, is an upgrade to the Fire Scout System mainly in that it uses a Bell 407 airframe, which is larger than the earlier-design MQ-8B’s airframe and equipped with more powerful engines, thus having a greater speed, payload and endurance, up to 10+ hours of endurance on station and a range of more than 1,000 nautical miles.  

The MQ-8C is equipped with the Leonardo ZPY-8 Osprey search radar or an electro-optical/infrared sensor and uses the same ground control station and the MQ-8B. The Navy plans to add more capability in the form of Link 16 data link, passive targeting, and a mine-countermeasures payload.  

Northrop Grumman was under contract to deliver 38 MQ-8Cs, all of which have been delivered and will replace the earlier MQ-8B version, of which 30 have been delivered to the fleet. 

ARLINGTON, Va. — An F-35C Lightning II suffered a landing mishap Jan. 24 on the flight deck of USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) while the carrier was conducting routine flight operations in the South China Sea, the U.S Pacific Fleet said Jan. 24. 

The pilot safely ejected from the aircraft and was recovered by U.S. military helicopter, according to a release.  

“The pilot is in stable condition,” the release said. “There were seven total Sailors injured; three Sailors required medevac to a medical treatment facility in Manila, Philippines, and four were treated by on-board medical personnel.” 

All three medevacs were in stable condition and of the four Sailors treated by on-board medical, three have been released. Additional details and the cause of the inflight mishap is under investigation. 

The F-35C was assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron 147 (VFA-147), a unit of Carrier Air Wing Two. VFA-147 is the first F-35C squadron to deploy overseas on an aircraft carrier, having deployed Aug. 2, 2021. A second F-35C squadron, Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 314, is deployed a unit of Carrier Air Wing Nine on board USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72). 

MANAMA, Bahrain – On Jan. 18, U.S. 5th Fleet ships interdicted a stateless fishing vessel in the Gulf of Oman that was caught smuggling illicit weapons off the coast of Somalia last year, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command / U.S. 5th Fleet said Jan. 23. 

Guided-missile destroyer USS Cole (DDG 67) and patrol coastal ship USS Chinook (PC 9) interdicted the stateless vessel transiting from Iran in waters outside of any state’s territorial sea along a route historically used to traffic weapons to the Houthis in Yemen. 

During a flag verification boarding and subsequent search, U.S. forces discovered 40 tons of urea fertilizer, a chemical compound with agricultural applications that is also known to be used as an explosive precursor. 

The vessel was the same stateless dhow interdicted in February 2021 off the coast of Somalia by guided-missile destroyer USS Winston S. Churchill (DDG 81) and discovered to be carrying weapons. Among the cache of weapons seized during the February 2021 interdiction were thousands of AK-47 assault rifles, light machine guns, heavy sniper rifles, rocket-propelled grenade launchers and crew served weapons. The inventory also included barrels, stocks, optical scopes and weapon systems. 

Following the Jan. 18 interdiction, the U.S. Navy transferred the vessel, cargo and five Yemeni crewmembers to Yemen coast guard officials Jan. 21. 

U.S. naval forces regularly perform maritime security operations in the Middle East to ensure the free flow of legitimate trade and to disrupt the transport of illicit cargo that often funds terrorism and other unlawful activity. 

The U.S. 5th Fleet 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.