SAN DIEGO — General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS) has been approved as an Alteration Installation Team (AIT), a qualification that enables the Navy to contract with GA-EMS subject-matter experts capable of independently performing alterations and system installations onboard U.S. Navy ships during maintenance availability periods, the company said in a Sept. 9 release.   

“AIT qualification is recognition of the outstanding work our teams have performed over the years installing and maintaining first-of-kind electromagnetic aircraft catapult launch and recovery systems on land-based sites and onboard Ford-class carriers,” said Scott Forney, president of GA-EMS. “The AIT designation provides ease of access for the Navy to contract GA-EMS’ integrated team of experts. Our team’s depth of knowledge and ‘hands-on’ skillsets building and maintaining these critical systems enables them to work independently to complete shipboard modification and installation tasks to help ready ships for redeployment within the allotted maintenance period.”   

GA-EMS has made significant investments in developing its facilities, workforce, quality management, and ISO 9001-compliant processes to support a broad range of critical naval programs. GA-EMS will manage the AIT effort from its newly expanded Hampton, Virginia, facility, which provides close proximity to the Newport News shipyard where Ford-class carriers are under construction, and where the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) is undergoing a Planned Incremental Availability maintenance period. In addition, GA-EMS’ office in Patuxent River, Maryland, will serve as a customer engagement center supporting maritime and naval aviation programs, including delivery of the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) and Advanced Arresting Gear (AAG) to the Naval Air Systems Command for Ford-class aircraft carriers.   

“The Navy regularly experiences the challenge of sourcing a qualified workforce when shipyards must simultaneously manage new ship construction and maintenance tasks for ships already in the inventory,” said James Donnelly, GA-EMS director of Maritime Program Operations. “Our decades of experience managing large, complex programs, and our expertise in the design, manufacture, installation and maintenance of next generation system technologies such as EMALS and AAG have equipped GA-EMS to provide best-value support to meet the challenge. This expertise is applicable not only for Ford-class carriers, but for other ship classes in the U.S. Navy’s inventory as well.”    

ARLINGTON, Va. — Getting the right mix of unmanned air, surface and undersea vehicles in the U.S. Navy’s future fleet is so critical, the Chief of Naval Operations is creating an unmanned systems task force to sort out nagging issues like scalability, reliability, command, and control.

In a virtual appearance Sept. 8 at the Defense News online conference, Adm. Michael Gilday said he was unsatisfied with the Navy’s pace of unmanned development, citing reservations about the reliability of unmanned vessels for long range, long duration missions, as well as command and control issues.

“Over the next few months, we’ll be standing up an unmanned task force,” similar in terms of scope and  purpose to Project Overmatch, Gilday said. A group of technical experts, along with operators, will focus on problems “to move forward in all three domains, at speed, to make unmanned a reality by the end of this decade.”

Gilday likened the new unmanned task force to Project Overmatch, the Navy’s plan to develop a new fleet architecture using artificial intelligence (AI) and manned/unmanned teaming to enable distributed maritime operations. Highly mobile and widely distributed Navy and Marine Corps element are a basic game plan for dealing with near-peer adversaries like China in contested areas of the vast Indo-Pacific region.

As the Navy plans future fleet battle problems, “One of the things I’ll be looking for is how we utilize unmanned [systems] at scale into the fleet, because we know that in the future. They’re going to be a significant part of distributed maritime operations,” Gilday said.

Gilday said the task force will include both Sailors and Navy civilians. “We have a lot of technical expertise in the Navy today that we can leverage,” including warfighting labs and systems commands, he said. Still in the early stages of planning, Gilday said he would be able to share more details about the task force “by early 2022.”

Gilday, and some key lawmakers, have expressed concern about the reliability of unmanned surface and undersea vessels deployed at sea for extended periods of time with little or no maintenance. The CNO said he’s seen progress in that area this year, noting three successful missions by unmanned surface vessels transiting more than 4,000 miles from the Gulf Coast, through the Panama Canal to California, while operating autonomously 98% of the time. However, “we’re not yet satisfied where we need to be with respect to reliability but we are quickly moving in that direction” although it’s still a few years before the Navy can go to the Pentagon and Congress with a plan to produce unmanned vessels at scale.

Concerns about command and control over unmanned systems was the genesis for Project Overmatch, Gilday said. With an initial plan to have a third of the fleet unmanned or minimally unmanned “we knew we couldn’t command and control, let’s say well over 100 vessels, without changing the way we were networked,” the CNO said.

“I do think as we look at AI applications for unmanned, it’s going to be a journey for us before we talk about an autonomous, unmanned fleet,” Gilday said. Initially, such platforms will be minimally manned or teamed with manned vessels. “The man in the loop is going to be an important piece for a while,” he said.

The U.S. Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT) also will establish a new task force to accelerate integration of unmanned systems of all domains and artificial intelligence, the NAVCENT commander said recently. 

Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, commander, U.S. Fifth Fleet and commander, U.S. Naval Forces U.S. Central Command, speaking Sept. 8 to reporters by phone conference, said Task Force 59 (TF59) would be established on Sept. 9 in Manama, Bahrain.  

SOUTH CHINA SEA — The Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group (VINCSG) is operating in the South China Sea for the first time during the group’s 2021 deployment, said Ens. Charina Camacho, a spokesperson for the Carl Vinson. 

While in the South China Sea, the strike group is conducting maritime security operations, which include flight operations with fixed and rotary wing aircraft, maritime strike exercises, and coordinated tactical training between surface and air units. Carrier operations in the South China Sea are part of the U.S. Navy’s routine presence in the Indo-Pacific.  

“The freedom of all nations to navigate in international waters is important, and especially vital in the South China Sea, where nearly a third of global maritime trade transits each year,” said Rear Adm. Dan Martin, commander, Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group. “As we’ve transited the Pacific from San Diego to the South China Sea, we have had the privilege and pleasure to work alongside our allies, partners, and joint service teammates in training, exercises, engagements and operations – all with a common goal to ensure peace and stability throughout the region. It is in all of our interest that the international community plays an active role in preserving the rules-based international order.” 

The carrier strike group is led by Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 1 and includes aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70); embarked Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 2; embarked staffs of CSG 1 and Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 1; Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Lake Champlain (CG 57); Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Chafee (DDG 90); and Independence variant littoral combat ship USS Tulsa (LCS 16).    

In the month prior to entering the South China Sea, the VINCSG participated in Large Scale Exercise 2021, conducted interoperability flights with U.K. Carrier Strike Group (CSG-21), and conducted a bilateral exercise with Joint Maritime Self Defense Forces units.  

The strike group is committed to upholding a rules-based international order with regional allies and partners, demonstrating the capability of forward-deployed naval forces to quickly respond across the region.  

The Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group is deployed to the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific region. U.S. 7th Fleet conducts forward-deployed naval operations in support of U.S. national interests in the Indo-Pacific area of operations. As the U.S. Navy’s largest forward-deployed fleet, 7th Fleet interacts with other maritime nations to build partnerships that foster maritime security, promote stability, and prevent conflict. 

GREENLAWN, N.Y. — The U.S. Navy has awarded BAE Systems a $26 million contract for Identification Friend-or-Foe (IFF) spares for the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye aircraft, the company said in a Sept.9 release. Under the contract, BAE Systems will provide Beamforming Networks (BFNs), an integral part of antenna control for the AN/APX-122A IFF Interrogator system, onboard the carrier-capable tactical aircraft. 

“These sets will provide situational awareness and early warning for U.S. Navy sailors and warfighters,” said Donna Linke-Klein, director of Tactical Systems at BAE Systems. “The Advanced Hawkeye is essential for battle management command and control, and our interrogator systems enable operators to identify friendly forces and make informed decisions in a variety of threat environments.” 

The AN/APX-122A IFF Interrogator system provides positive identification of friendly aircraft, giving E-2D Advanced Hawkeye operators the situational awareness they need to safely complete their missions. These missions include command and control, border security, search and rescue, and missile defense. The AN/APX-122A IFF Interrogator system is produced exclusively for the E-2D, due to the extraordinary requirements for this aircraft. 

ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT) will establish a new task force to accelerate integration of unmanned systems of all domains and artificial intelligence, the NAVCENT commander said. 

Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, commander, U.S. Fifth Fleet and commander, U.S. Naval Forces U.S. Central Command, speaking Sept. 8 to reporters by phone conference, said Task Force 59 (TF59) would be established on Sept. 9 in Manama, Bahrain.  

The first commodore of TF59 will be Capt. Michael Brasseur, who also spoke in the conference.  

Cooper said TF59 “is designed to integrate unmanned systems and AI. Task Force 59 is the first U.S. Navy task force of its kind … taking efforts from across the Navy, concentrating them here in a forward operating environment — a forward fleet — to gradually move toward development and integration.” 

Cooper pointed out the testimony last spring before Congress of Vice Adm. Jim Kilby, then-deputy chief of naval operations for Warfighting Requirements and Capabilities, who said the Navy needed to get unmanned systems out to the fleet and into the hands of operators. Cooper said TF59 is standing up to work out the systems and assess tactics, techniques and procedures in an operational environment. 

“The bottom line on why we’re doing this is so that we can develop and integrate unmanned systems and AI as a means to do two things: enhance our maritime domain awareness and increase our deterrence,” he said. 

“On the unmanned side, we anticipate putting more systems in the maritime domain above, on and below the sea,” he said. “We want more eyes on what’s happening out there in addition to where we see and generate through our manned platforms that continue to patrol the region today. It’s not enough to simply increase the amount of information, the raw data coming in. We’ve got to process and sort in real time to determine what’s relevant to the mission.” 

The admiral said the allied and partner navies in his region have great interest in using unmanned systems, noting the launch of TF59 “really invigorates our partnerships around this particular region as we expand our common operating picture. The waterways here are ripe for real-world evaluation. It’s a very maritime region [with] 5,000 miles of coastline [and] three critical chokepoints,” the Straits of Hormuz, the Bab-el-Mandeb and the Suez Canal. 

“Our belief is if the new systems can work here, they can probably work anywhere else and we can field them across other fleets,” he said. 

“We’ve assembled quite an impressive team to get after this opportunity,” said Brasseur, speaking of his task force. Brasseur is the former skipper of a coastal patrol ship and a littoral combat ship. “I’m really looking forward to launching the task force tomorrow and getting these systems in the water and in the hands of the operator.”  

Cooper said some systems used earlier this year in Integrated Battle Problem 21 “will be used in an operational context” by TF59 during IMX-22 exercise in January 2022, which will be focused on unmanned systems. 

Cooper affirmed in the future the 5th Fleet could be augmented by unmanned underwater vehicles from UUV Squadron One.   

NORFOLK, Va. — Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC) awarded a $63-million construction project Aug. 30 for improvements to the Dry Dock 2 complex at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine, the command said in a Sept. 3 release.

The two-year project, part of the Navy’s comprehensive Shipyard Infrastructure Optimization Program (SIOP), adds enclosures and other facilities to the existing dry dock in order to increase the shipyard’s capacity to maintain, modernize, and repair the Navy’s attack submarines and return them to the fleet on time.

The enclosures include two towers, storage areas, railcar access, and bay work areas, as well as three bridge cranes and movable roofs.

“Our naval shipyards’ mission to deliver ships and submarines on time to combatant commanders around the world is critical to U.S. national security.” said Capt. Warren LeBeau, SIOP program manager. “This project will improve fleet readiness through improved facilities and infrastructure.”

SIOP is a joint effort between Naval Sea Systems Command, NAVFAC, and commander, Navy Installations Command (CNIC) to recapitalize and modernize the infrastructure at the Navy’s four public shipyards, including repairing and modernizing dry docks, restoring shipyard facilities and optimizing their placement, and replacing aging and deteriorating capital equipment.

“NAVFAC is the engine behind the Navy’s SIOP efforts, swiftly and strategically providing the facilities engineering and construction support to our NAVSEA and CNIC partners,” said Rear Adm. Lore Aguayo, commander, NAVFAC Atlantic. “The award of this contract is critical to meeting our nation’s urgent strategic infrastructure needs, ensuring our Navy meets its readiness and lethality for generations to come.”

Methuen Construction based in Plaistow, New Hampshire, was awarded the firm-fixed-price contract under a competitive process via the www.SAM.Gov website.The contract also contains six unexercised options which, if exercised, would increase the cumulative contract value to more than $93 million.

SAN DIEGO — The U.S. Navy has declared the five missing crewmembers of an MH-60S helicopter crash deceased. U.S. 3rd Fleet has shifted from search and rescue efforts to recovery operations as of Sept. 4, the U.S. 3rd Fleet said in a release. 
 
Assigned to Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 8, the helicopter was conducting routine flight operations from USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) when it crashed into the sea approximately 60 nautical miles off the coast of San Diego at 4:30 p.m. (PST), Aug. 31. One Sailor was recovered.
 
The transition from search and rescue efforts to recovery operations comes after more than 72 hours of coordinated rescue efforts encompassing 34 search and rescue flights, over 170 hours of flight time, with five search helicopters and constant surface vessel search. 
 
Units involved in the effort included assets from Coast Guard District 11, Abraham Lincoln, USS Cincinnati (LCS 20), and helicopter squadrons from the U.S. Pacific Fleet Helicopter Sea Combat Wing and Helicopter Maritime Strike Wing. 

On Sept. 5, the U.S. Navy released the names of the five Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 8 crewmembers who died, Aug. 31.  

Names of the deceased are:  

Lt. Bradley A. Foster, 29, a pilot from Oakhurst, California; Lt. Paul R. Fridley, 28, a pilot from Annandale, Virginia; Naval Air Crewman (Helicopter) 2nd Class James P. Buriak, 31, from Salem, Virginia; Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Sarah F. Burns, 31, from Severna Park, Maryland; and Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Bailey J. Tucker, 21, from St. Louis, Missouri.

“We are deeply saddened by the loss of five Sailors and those injured following the MH-60S helicopter tragedy off the coast of Southern California. We stand alongside their families, loved ones, and shipmates who grieve,” said Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michael Gilday. 

An investigation into the incident is underway.  

ARLINGTON, Va. — The secretary of the Navy and chief of naval operations announced on Sept. 3 the following assignments: 

Rear Adm. Eugene A. Burcher will be assigned as vice commander, U.S. Fleet Forces Command, Norfolk, Virginia. Burcher most recently served as deputy chief of staff, Submarines, Maritime Command Headquarters, Northwood, Great Britain; and commander, Submarines, NATO, United Kingdom. 

Rear Adm. (lower half) William L. Angermann will be assigned as reserve vice commander, U.S. Second Fleet, Norfolk, Virginia. Angermann is currently serving as reserve deputy commander, Naval Air Force Atlantic, Norfolk, Virginia. 

Rear Adm. (lower half) Kenneth R. Blackmon will be assigned as reserve director for Maritime Operations, U.S. Fleet Forces Command, Norfolk, Virginia. Blackmon is currently serving as deputy commander, Third Fleet, San Diego, California. 

Rear Adm. (lower half) Gregory K. Emery will be assigned as commander, Navy Information Force Reserve, Fort Worth, Texas. Emery is currently serving as deputy director, Warfare Integration Directorate, N2N6, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Washington, D.C. 

Rear Adm. (lower half) Jacquelyn McClelland will be assigned as vice director, Navy Staff, Washington, D.C. McClelland is currently serving as commander, Navy Expeditionary Logistics Support Group, Norfolk, Virginia. 

Rear Adm. (lower half) Robert C. Nowakowski will be assigned as reserve vice commander, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, U.S. Fifth Fleet, Manama, Bahrain. Nowakowski is currently serving as deputy commander, Navy Recruiting Command, with additional duties as deputy commander, Naval Education and Training Command Force Development, Millington, Tennessee. 

Rear Adm. (lower half) Ryan B. Scholl will be assigned as deputy director, Defense Threat Reduction Agency, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisitions and Sustainment, Washington, D.C. Scholl is currently serving as commander, Carrier Strike Group Eight, Norfolk, Virginia. 

Rear Adm. (lower half) Larry D. Watkins will be assigned as reserve vice commander, U.S. Third Fleet, San Diego, California. Watkins is currently serving as director, Network Engagement Team, U.S. Southern Command, Doral, Florida. 

Capt. Bradley D. Dunham, selected for promotion to rear admiral (lower half), will be assigned as reserve deputy commander, Naval Air Force Atlantic, Norfolk, Virginia. Dunham is currently serving as chief of staff, Navy Reserve, U.S. Fleet Forces Command, Norfolk, Virginia. 

Capt. Dennis E. Collins, selected for promotion to rear admiral (lower half), will be assigned as commander, Navy Expeditionary Logistics Support Group, Norfolk, Virginia. Collins is currently serving as commanding officer, Navy Reserve, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command Detachment 401, Camp H. M. Smith, Hawaii. 

Capt. Mark F. Haigis, selected for promotion to rear admiral (lower half), will be assigned as deputy commander, Naval Expeditionary Combat Command, Norfolk, Virginia. Haigis is currently serving as deputy chief staff officer, Operations and Plans, Navy Reserve Chief of Naval Operations for Operations and Plans, Washington, D.C. 

Capt. Scott W. Ruston, selected for promotion to rear admiral (lower half), will be assigned as deputy commander, Naval Education and Training Command Force Development, Pensacola, Florida. Ruston is currently serving as deputy commander, Navy Reserve, Navy Region Southwest Reserve Component Command, San Diego, California. 

Capt. Douglas W. Sasse III, selected for promotion to rear admiral (lower half), will be assigned as reserve vice commander, U.S. Fourth Fleet, Jacksonville, Florida. Sasse is currently serving as reserve chief of staff, Commander, Naval Surface Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet, San Diego, California. 

Capt. Michael J. Schwerin, selected for promotion to rear admiral (lower half), will be assigned as deputy commander, Navy Personnel Command, Millington, Tennessee. Schwerin is currently serving as commanding officer, Navy Reserve, Officer Training Command, Newport, Rhode Island. 

Capt. David R. Storr, selected for promotion to rear admiral (lower half), will be assigned as reserve deputy commander, Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland. Storr is currently serving as Manager Navy Reserve Rapid Research and Development Detachment, Patuxent River, Maryland. 

PACIFIC OCEAN — Fifth- and fourth-generation aircraft assigned to Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group (VINCSG), with embarked Carrier Air Wing Two (CVW-2), and U.K. Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 21 conducted joint interoperability flights in the U.S. Navy’s 7th Fleet, Aug. 26, USS Carl Vinson Public Affairs said in a Sept. 1 release. 

During the joint interoperability flights, the aircraft conducted missions to validate joint integration techniques, tactics, and procedures; including mid-air refueling. This is the first time that VINCSG and CSG-21 have operated together. 

“In a very short amount of time, we were able to seamlessly combine the collective 5th generation capabilities of joint strike fighter aircraft from two services and a partner nation together with the rest of the advanced capabilities of our entire air wing,” said Capt. Tommy Locke, commander, CVW-2. “Our strike group and air wing arrived in the Indo-Pacific ready to demonstrate the value of having agile 5th generation maritime power in the region — and make no doubt, we are ready to win.” 

Participating aircraft from CVW-2 include: four F-35C Lightning IIs from Strike Fight Squadron (VFA) 147; five F/A-18E/F Super Hornets, assigned to Strike Fighter Squadrons (VFA) 2 and 192; two EA-18G Growlers, from Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 136; and one E-2D Advanced Hawkeye, from Airborne Command and Control Squadron (VAW) 113. 
 
Participating CSG-21 aircraft include: two U.S. F-35Bs from Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 211; and two F-35Bs from United Kingdom’s No. 617 Squadron. 

WASHINGTON – The future USS Lyndon B. Johnson (DDG 1002) recently conducted builder’s trials, the Team Ships Public Affairs office said in a Sept. 1 release. 

Builder’s trials consist of a series of in-port and at-sea demonstrations that allow the shipbuilder, General Dynamics Bath Iron Works and the U.S. Navy to assess the ship’s systems. 

“Trials provide an opportunity for the Navy and industry team to test the capability and readiness of the ship,” said Capt. Matthew Schroeder, DDG 1000 program manager, Program Executive Ships. “DDG 1002 is a warship that is going to equip our fleet with next-generation capability and capacity for the high-end fight.” 

After completing builder’s trials and fully proving out the hull, mechanical, and electrical systems, the ship will complete combat systems installation and activation. 

The future USS Lyndon B. Johnson is the third and final ship in the Zumwalt-class of guided missile destroyers and will provide multi-mission offensive and defensive capabilities to the fleet.