SAN DIEGO — A U.S. Navy MH-60S Seahawk helicopter crashed into the Pacific Ocean while conducting flight operations approximately 60 nautical miles off the coast of San Diego, the U.S. 3rd Fleet public affairs said in a release. 

Six personnel were on the helicopter when it crashed. One was rescued and transported ashore. He was said to be in stable condition. Search efforts continue by ships Navy and Coast Guard aircraft for the five additional aircrew members. 

The helicopter crashed at 4:30 p.m. PST, Aug. 31, while embarked aboard USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72). The carrier was conducting carrier qualifications for aircraft at the time. 

The MH-60S was “operating on deck before crashing into the sea,” the Navy said. “Five additional Sailors aboard Abraham Lincoln suffered injuries in the incident and are in stable condition. Two of the five Abraham Lincoln Sailors were transported ashore for treatment, while three of the five Abraham Lincoln Sailors had minimal injuries and remain aboard the ship.” 

The MH-60S was assigned to Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 8, based at Naval Air Station North Island, California. 

The crash marked the second loss of an MH-60S this year. On July 16 an MH-60S assigned to NAS Fallon, Nevada, crashed on a rescue mission near Mount Hogue, California. No injuries occurred in that mishap. 

An investigation into the cause of the incident is underway. 

MANAMA, Bahrain — Ships from the Israeli navy and U.S. Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT) conducted a combined maritime security patrol in the Red Sea, Aug. 30-31, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command said in an Aug. 31 release. 

 Four Israeli and U.S. Navy ships sailed together in the Gulf of Aqaba as the U.S. Department of Defense shifted Israel from U.S. European Command to U.S. Central Command’s area of responsibility. 
 
“Our navies are ushering in a new era of expanded cooperation and capacity building,” said Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of NAVCENT, U.S. 5th Fleet and Combined Maritime Forces. “We are partnering in new ways, which is essential for preserving security in today’s dynamic maritime environment.” 

 
Guided-missile cruiser USS Monterey (CG 61) sailed alongside an Israeli navy corvette and two patrol boats as a U.S. Navy P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft flew overhead. The units conducted air defense, high value unit defense, small boat operations and tactical maneuver training.    
 
“Combined patrols like these help maintain regional maritime security and stability,” said Capt. Robert Francis, commodore for NAVCENT’s Task Force 55 which controls U.S. Navy surface assets in the Middle East. “The collaboration has been tremendous. We share a common understanding with our international counterparts that there is strength in unity.” 
 
In January, the United States announced moving Israel from U.S. European Command to U.S. Central Command’s area of responsibility effective Sept. 1. The change offers new opportunities for cooperation among regional navies in the Middle East. 
 
The U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations encompasses nearly 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, the Suez Canal and the Strait of Bab-al-Mandeb. With Israel’s addition, the region is now comprised of 21 countries. 

ARLINGTON, Va. — A strong partnership between the Navy and the defense industry, including small and medium businesses, is essential to building and maintaining a strong fleet to counter potential adversaries such as China and Russia, the Navy’s new civilian leader said.  

“I know what it takes to build a warship and the teamwork that’s involved with both large companies and small companies, the government, the supervisor of shipbuilding,” said Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro, speaking Aug. 30 in a webinar of Southeast New England Defense Industry Alliance(SENEDIA). I was really impressed with the work that was going on at Electric Boat [in Groton, Connecticut] … and Quonset Point [Rhode Island].”

On Aug. 28, Del Toro was in Groton to attend the administrative commissioning of the Virginia-class attack submarine USS Vermont. 

“I spent three years of my own life in a shipyard building the [Arleigh Burke-class destroyer] USS Bulkeley,” Del Toro said. “About a year and a half was actual construction and a year and a half was sailing the ship on sea trials. I have tremendous respect for our shipyard workers and the work they do and all of the small businesses that come together to build a surface ship or a submarine.  

“It’s an example of how America’s best can come together to build these tremendous platforms and protect not just our national security, quite frankly but our economic security in every possible way,” he said. 

Del Toro praised SENEDIA for “doing a great job training the next generation of submarine workers through your OTA [Other Transaction Authority] partnership with the many apprenticeship programs.”    

The SECNAV said that the defense industry was critical to keeping pace with the threat of China’s expansion and Russia’s growing and increasingly capable submarine force. 

“China is my No. 1 priority as a more pacing threat to the United States,” he said. “We must do everything we can to prevent China from continuing its malevolent behavior toward the United States, toward other nations, to prevent them from what they potentially want to do [such as take over Taiwan] in some form or fashion.”   

Del Toro pointed out that China “has threatened our shipping lanes, she has demonstrated far greater regional aggression, [with] her expanding her presence, not just in the Pacific but around the entire world.  

“Russia also shows continued aggression in the Arctic and the Mediterranean and right up to our Atlantic shores as well,” he said. “She continues to build first-class submarines. That’s why organizations like SENEDIA working together with the United States Navy are so critically important to us to continue to stay ahead of technology in every possible way … and build the best possible platforms than we can.” 

The SECNAV said the world’s “rules-based order remains under siege in every possible way. We must be present, we must be persistent, and we must be postured for anything that comes our way.”

Navy Vice Adm. Roy Kitchener, commander, Naval Surface Force, said readiness, training, manpower and new technology, such as simulators, are sharpening the surface fleet’s competitive edge.

The “SWO Boss” spoke Aug. 26 on the closing day of the Surface Navy Association’s annual Waterfront Symposium at Naval Station San Diego, a hybrid live and virtual event with in-person speakers and attendees as well as virtual participants.

Kitchener cited progress in training and certifying ship crews and individual watchstanders and the value of virtual training capabilities and simulators.

“We continue our integration of the live, virtual and constructive capability, which is integral to the future of training as it emulates threats at the scale we will encounter and injects them into our training scenarios,” he said. 

“Junior officers are becoming highly proficient at shiphandling and navigation thanks to an array of new trainers and simulators,” Kitchener said. “It’s amazing technology, being led by Surface Warfare and bringing increased training capacity and warfare capability to our fleet, worldwide.”

The weapons tactics instructors (WTIs) being developed by the Surface and Mine Warfare Development Center are now joining commands around the fleet in significant numbers, and they’re paying dividends, he said. 

“We will always need talented people developing and introducing warfighting tactics on the waterfront — to do that, we need to certify more WTIs. We will continue to invest in SMWDC and strengthen it as the centerpiece of Surface Force warfighting.”

According to Kitchener, getting WTIs into the fleet seven years ago shifted the conversation back to warfighting.

“Now we need to take it even further. We are validating the required number of WTIs to meet our goals over the next few years, but we know that with the growing size and complexity of our SWATT [surface warfare advanced tactical training] program and our goal to put a WTI on every ship, we need a better path to get these officers certified and out to the fleet.”

The myriad of readiness, training, manpower and technology initiatives together will retain the surface force’s “competitive edge,” he said. “Competitive edge is leading the world in warfighting technology. Competitive edge is denying our adversaries battle space and freedom of maneuver every day in peacetime. Competitive edge is not only knowing we can defeat the enemy, but the enemy knowing it too. It’s about combat readiness, but more importantly, it’s about combat action, and winning that action.”

Retired Vice Adm. Rick Hunt, president of SNA, thanked the speakers representing operations, personnel, training and support leadership, as well as the in-person and virtual audience for attending. He expressed his gratitude to the active duty and reserve attendees, as well as industry partners, for their contributions to the surface force and national defense.

“Where but the Navy, and the surface Navy in particular, do you have the opportunity to learn every day; to continue to grow; address new and challenging opportunities every day; to make a difference, not only to yourself, but to your shipmates every day; and to be able to deliver directly to our national defense?” he said. “What higher purpose can there be than to do be able to do this kind of very personally and professionally satisfying work — and to do it in a most powerful way?”

GROTON, Conn. – The Navy celebrated the commissioning of USS Vermont (SSN 792), the first Block IV Virginia-class submarine to enter service, Saturday, Aug. 28, at Naval Submarine Base New London, Submarine Readiness Squadron 32 said in a release. 

“Vermonters have served with valor from the highest mountains to the depths of the ocean,” said Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro, who served as the event’s keynote speaker and was attending his first ship ceremony as secretary. 

“This vessel has already proven itself in service, not only because it was designed the right way, but because of the exemplary work of the men aboard,” he said. 

Vermont was administratively commissioned on April 18, 2020, but due to restrictions on large gatherings because of the COVID-19 pandemic at the time, no traditional commissioning ceremony was held. To ensure the health and safety of the crew and all those in attendance during the ceremony Saturday, attendance was limited and no public or media tours were held. Masks were required in all indoor spaces and encouraged in outdoor spaces. 

Since its administrative commissioning, USS Vermont has been an active submarine in the U.S. Navy, including participation in anti-submarine warfare exercises alongside the Brazilian navy in the U.S. 4th Fleet area of operations in December of 2020. 

In addition to Del Toro, Rear Adm. Douglas Perry, director of undersea warfare on the chief of naval operations’ staff and a Vermont native, was among those who spoke at the Saturday ceremony. 

Perry spoke of the legacies of previous Navy ships with Vermont ties and military heroes from the state’s past, like Ethan Allen during the Revolutionary War and 19th Century Admiral of the Navy George Dewey. 

“The Green Mountain State’s legacy of naval service runs deep,” Perry said. “You join a rich history of honorable service.” 

This is the third U.S. Navy ship to bear the name Vermont, but first in a century. The first was one of nine 74-gun warships authorized by Congress in 1816. The second, Battleship No. 20, was commissioned in 1907 and first deployed in December of that year as part of the “Great White Fleet.” The battleship Vermont was decommissioned June 30, 1920. 

The submarine Vermont was christened in a traditional ceremony at General Dynamics’ Electric Boat shipyard in Groton, Connecticut, on Oct. 20, 2018. 

“She was built by the best, for the best, and is the best of the best,” said Gloria Valdez, the ship sponsor and a former deputy assistant secretary of the Navy overseeing shipbuilding and modernization. “She is the most technologically advanced submarine in the world.” 

USS Vermont is 377 feet long, has a 34-foot beam and will be able to dive to depths greater than 800 feet and operate at speeds in excess of 25 knots submerged. She has a crew of more than 130 Navy personnel. 

“We get to finally say, ‘The ship’s in commission, thank you so much to everyone who supported us,’” said Cmdr. Charles Phillips, the commanding officer of USS Vermont. “This represents the people of Vermont. We want to make them proud and let them justify their confidence in us as we defend our country.” 

Fast-attack submarines are multi-mission platforms enabling five of the six Navy maritime strategy core capabilities — sea control, power projection, forward presence, maritime security and deterrence. They are designed to excel in anti-submarine warfare, anti-ship warfare, strike warfare, special operations, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, irregular warfare and mine warfare. Fast-attack submarines project power ashore with special operations forces and Tomahawk cruise missiles in the prevention or preparation of regional crises. 

Block IV Virginia-class submarines incorporate design changes focused on reduced total ownership cost. By making these smaller-scale design changes to increase the component-level lifecycle of the submarine, the Navy will increase the periods between depot maintenance availabilities and increase the number of deployments. 

Blocks I-III Virginia-class submarines are planned to undergo four depot maintenance availabilities and conduct 14 deployments. Block IV design changes are intended to reduce planned availabilities by one to three and increase deployments to 15. 

Also speaking at the ceremony Saturday were members of the Vermont and Connecticut congressional delegations: U.S. Rep. Peter Welch of Vermont, U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney of Connecticut and U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut. 

PASCAGOULA, Miss. — Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Ingalls Shipbuilding division successfully completed builder’s trials for guided missile destroyer Frank E. Petersen Jr. (DDG 121), the company announced in an Aug. 27, 2021, release. The Arleigh Burke-class destroyer spent three days in the Gulf of Mexico testing the ship’s combat system, which included firing a missile.  

“Ingalls, Navy AEGIS Test Team, the Navy ship’s force, the program office, numerous combat systems participating acquisition managers, and supervisor of Shipbuilding, Conversion and Repair worked together to ensure a successful builder’s trial,” said John Fillmore, Ingalls’ DDG 51 program manager. “A successful builder’s trial sets us up for a final trial prior to delivery. We are proud of the work our shipbuilders have accomplished so far and look forward to finishing strong.”

DDG 121 is named for Frank E. Petersen Jr., who was the U.S. Marine Corps’ first African American aviator and general officer. After entering the Naval Aviation Cadet Program in 1950, Petersen would go on to fly more than 350 combat missions during the Korean and Vietnam wars.

Ingalls has delivered 32 destroyers to the Navy and currently has four more under construction including Lenah Sutcliffe Higbee (DDG 123), Jack H. Lucas (DDG 125), Ted Stevens (DDG 128) and Jeremiah Denton (DDG 129).Arleigh Burke-class destroyers are highly capable, multi-mission ships and can conduct a variety of operations, from peacetime presence and crisis management, to sea control and power projection — all in support of the United States military strategy. The guided missile destroyers are capable of simultaneously fighting air, surface and subsurface battles. The ship contains a myriad of offensive and defensive weapons designed to support maritime defense well into the 21st century.

PATUXENT RIVER, Md. — The Navy’s Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile – Extended Range (AARGM-ER) received Milestone C (MS-C) approval Aug. 23, allowing the program to move into its first phase of production, the Naval Air Systems Command said in an Aug. 25 release.

The Navy plans to award the first two low-rate initial production lots over the next several months.

“The combined government/industry team has worked tirelessly over the last few years to reach this milestone,” said Capt. Alex Dutko, Direct and Time Sensitive Strike (PMA-242) program manager. “We look forward to getting this new weapon with its increased capability and lethality out to the fleet as soon as possible.”

The MS-C decision comes just over two years after the Navy awarded the Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) contract to its prime contractor, Northrop Grumman. The team conducted the first live-fire event in July to verify system integration and rocket motor performance, as well as initiate modeling and simulation validation.

Captive and live fire flight testing is planned to continue through 2022 and initial operational capability is planned for 2023.

The Navy is integrating AARGM-ER on the F/A-18E/F and EA-18G, and it will be compatible for integration on the F-35.  By leveraging the U.S. Navy’s AARGM program, the AARGM-ER with a new rocket motor and warhead will provide advanced capability to detect and engage enemy air defense systems.

NORFOLK, Va. — USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) departed Aug. 26 for sea trials, marking completion of one of the largest and most complex aircraft carrier availabilities conducted at Norfolk Naval Shipyard (NNSY), NNSY Public Affairs and USS George H.W. Bush Public Affairs said in a joint Aug. 26 release.

The Drydocking Planned Incremental Availability (DPIA), which began in February 2019, marked Bush’s first time out of the water since 2006. The shipyard workforce contributed 762,500 workdays of the 1.3 million workday availability, with the ship’s crew, Alteration Installation Teams and contractors comprising the rest.

The DPIA included a number of complicated planned efforts including a complete shaft and propeller overhaul, rudder refurbishment, catwalk and tank preservation, and modernization and upgrades to electronic and combat systems, catapults, and hotel services.

“At the beginning of this challenging availability I shared with the project team this would be a marathon event due to the large work package and the length of time it would take to return George H.W. Bush to the Fleet,” said Project Superintendent Jeff Burchett. “At that time, we had no idea what we would face with the COVID 19 pandemic and the additional challenges it brought to the team to overcome such a major obstacle on top of the planned work. The team stepped up and worked through it.”

The ship’s commanding officer Capt. Robert “Aggs” Aguilar was complimentary of the collaboration between NNSY and the crew.

“The end of this maintenance period marks the beginning of our team’s ability to execute our primary mission which is to provide combat capability to Fleet and Joint Force commanders whenever and wherever it is needed,” said Aguilar. “We remain grateful for the teamwork with Norfolk Naval Shipyard to get us back to sea. Now the crew of George Herbert Walker Bush will bring the ship to life and return her to full operational capability.”

NNSY implemented process improvement and innovations in several areas of the availability, including the U.S. Navy’s first organic cold spray repairs at any of the four public shipyards to repair components on Bush. Laser scanning was used to facilitate installation of sponsons onboard, supporting first time quality. Additionally, the shipyard’s special emphasis group developed unique weight handling equipment using electric winches for servicing components while in dry dock.

“The team has been all-in with either fixing or elevating any issues as they occurred, with non-stop execution in mind to ensure USS George H.W. Bush was returned to the Fleet,” said Shipyard Commander Capt. Dianna Wolfson. “With such an extensive and challenging availability, it took a daily commitment from our team members in delivering technical excellence and skilled craftsmanship on Bush so it could be ready to excel in its mission and demonstrate Freedom at Work.”

The ship will now complete sea trials and multiple certifications before beginning a pre-deployment training cycle.

“It’s been a unique privilege leading the project team of this availability throughout its entire duration at Norfolk Naval Shipyard,” said Burchett. “When starting the project, we adopted a quote from George H.W. Bush himself: ‘This is my mission and I will complete it.’ It’s taken a lot of teamwork and perseverance, on top of working through unexpected challenges, but today we can say the mission is complete and USS George H.W. Bush—and the Navy—is all the better for it.”

WASHINGTON — Navy Strategic Systems Programs successfully conducted a test of the Second Stage Solid Rocket Motor (SRM) Aug. 25 in Promontory, Utah, as part of the development of the Navy’s Conventional Prompt Strike offensive hypersonic strike capability and the Army’s Long Range Hypersonic Weapon, Navy SSP public affairs said in an Aug. 26 release. 

This was the initial live-fire test of the second stage SRM and follows a successful test of the first stage SRM on May 27. This test marked the successful testing of both stages of the newly developed missile booster, as well as a thrust vector control system on the SRM. These tests are a vital step in the development of a Navy-designed common hypersonic missile that will be fielded by both the Navy and Army.  

The second stage SRM will be part of a new missile booster for the services and will be combined with a Common Hypersonic Glide Body (CHGB) to create the common hypersonic missile.  Each service will use the common hypersonic missile, while developing individual weapon systems and launchers tailored for launch from sea or land. This successful SRM test represents a critical milestone leading up to the next series of Navy and Army joint flight tests and will lead to the fielding of the CPS and LRHW weapon systems. 

The Department of Defense successfully tested the CHGB on March 20, 2020. The services are working closely with government national laboratories and industry to continue development and production of the CHGB. The Navy is the lead designer of the CHGB, and the Army leads production of the CHGB. 

Information gathered from this and future tests will further inform the services offensive hypersonic technology development. The Department of Defense is working in collaboration with industry, government national laboratories, and academia to field hypersonic warfighting capability in the early-to mid-2020s. 

Hypersonic weapons, capable of flying at speeds greater than five times the speed of sound, or Mach 5, are highly maneuverable and operate at varying altitudes. In a matter of minutes, Navy and Army warfighters can defeat high-value targets hundreds or even thousands of miles away. Delivering hypersonic weapons is one of the DoD’s highest priorities. 

The common hypersonic missile design for sea and land-based applications provides economies of scale for future production and relies upon a growing U.S. hypersonics industrial base. 

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — PteroDynamics, an aircraft design and manufacturing company that develops innovative vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft, has secured a contract with Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) to deliver three VTOL prototypes for the Blue Water Maritime Logistics UAS program, the company said in an Aug. 23 release. 

In 2018, Military Sealift Command and Fleet Forces Command identified a need for the United States Navy to develop a capability to autonomously deliver cargo with unmanned aircraft to and from ships at sea. Their analysis found that 90% of critical repair cargo delivered at sea by helicopters and V-22 aircraft weighed less than 50 pounds. A VTOL UAS can fill this critical need and free the manned aircraft to perform other higher priority missions. 

“We are honored to be selected for this important project,” said Matthew Graczyk, PteroDynamics’ CEO. “This contract is the start of an important partnership, and we look forward to delivering the prototypes to NAWCAD.” 

“This is an exciting milestone for our distinctive VTOL aircraft,” added Val Petrov, PteroDynamics’ founder and chief technology officer. “Our design is well suited for operations on ships where windy conditions and tight spaces challenge other VTOL aircraft during takeoffs and landings.” 

“Using unmanned, autonomous aircraft for delivery of these critical payloads is an important capability for the Navy to have,” said Blue Water’s project lead, Bill Macchione. “The innovative design of PteroDynamics offers significant potential for both military and civilian missions.”