ARLINGTON, Va. — The Department of the Navy (DoN) is producing an after-action review of the U.S. Pacific Fleet-led Unmanned Integrated Battle Problem 21 (IBP21), an exercise held April 19-26 in San Diego, California, the Office of Naval Research said in a June 17 release. 

“Advancements in technology have created the opportunity to provide our military with an operational advantage by developing improved manned/unmanned command and control capabilities,” said Dorothy Engelhardt, director of unmanned systems for the deputy assistant secretary of the Navy for Ships. “This enables our military to be more agile, lethal and decisive.” 

During IBP21, numerous multi-domain unmanned platforms — including unmanned aerial, surface and underwater vehicles (UAVs, USVs and UUVs, respectively) — were put into real-world, “blue-water” environments, working in sync with manned platforms in actual combat drills designed to support Pacific Fleet objectives in the Indo-Pacific region. 

“Large-scale exercises such as IBP21 are critical for the Navy and Marine Corps to make the transition to a hybrid manned-unmanned force in the future,” said Chief of Naval Research Rear Adm. Lorin C. Selby. “These demonstrations ensure what works in theory will work in the fleet—in an environment that is messier, dirtier and wetter than a lab. They also allow us to get valuable feedback from the Sailors and Marines themselves.” 

Many of the platforms tested in IBP21 were supported by the Naval Research Enterprise (NRE), which Selby commands. Comprising the Office of Naval Research (ONR), ONR Global (the command’s international arm) and the Naval Research Laboratory, the NRE is tasked with providing the capabilities and long-term vision ensuring U.S. naval dominance today and into the future.  

The purpose of IBP21 was to explore a variety of questions about how unmanned systems can be incorporated into fleet operations. For example: How can unmanned and manned systems work together effectively in diverse warfighting scenarios? How can you integrate unmanned systems seamlessly into existing platforms? What is the best way to train Sailors and Marines to use such complex, evolving technologies? 

So far, major takeaways from IBP21 include: Unmanned systems are resilient, enable better beyond-line-of-sight targeting, and improve battlespace awareness and command and control. They also provide significant advantages in ISR (intelligence, survival, reconnaissance) and Targeting and Fires capabilities, without creating additional risks to the mission or warfighters. The result—more effective offensive and defensive postures. 

The testing of new unmanned technologies reflects the Navy and Marine Corps’ commitment to rethinking concepts of operations, as noted in the widely publicized naval document “Unmanned Campaign Framework,” which was recently released by the DoN.  

The Unmanned Campaign Framework notes autonomy will complement, not replace, manned assets, and will provide warfighters far more options in combat. 

Since the completion of IBP21, naval leaders, scientists and engineers have assessed what worked, what didn’t and future actions for accelerating unmanned capabilities to the fleet and force. 

These future steps include: 

Continuing to leverage fleet experimentation exercises to execute the DoN Unmanned Campaign Plan

Creating a more iterative experimentation process to tighten the “test fast, operate, learn fast” concept 

Improving industry partnerships and participation in fleet experiments and exercises 

Improving the integration of secure communication networks to maximize effectiveness of manned-unmanned teaming 

Developing concepts of operation and employment to quickly operationalize unmanned systems. 

ARLINGTON, Va. — On Friday, June 18, the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) successfully completed the first scheduled explosive event as part of Full Ship Shock Trials (FSST), the Navy said in a release. The first-in-class aircraft carrier was designed using advanced computer modeling methods, testing, and analysis to ensure the ship is hardened to withstand battle conditions, and these shock trials provide data used in validating the shock hardness of the ship. 

The U.S. Navy has conducted FSSTs over several decades, most recently for the littoral combat ships USS Jackson (LCS 6) and USS Milwaukee (LCS 5) in 2016; as well as for the San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock USS Mesa Verde (LPD 19) in 2008, the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp (LHD 1) in 1990, and the guided missile cruiser USS Mobile Bay (CG 53) in 1987. The last aircraft carrier to execute FSST was USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) in 1987. 

The Navy is conducting the shock trial testing in accordance with Office of the Chief of Naval Operations Instruction 9072.2, and as mandated by the National Defense Authorization Act of 2016. 

Ford’s shock trials are being conducted off the East Coast of the United States, within a narrow schedule that complies with environmental mitigation requirements, respecting known migration patterns of marine life in the test area. The Navy also has employed extensive protocols throughout FSST to ensure the safety of military and civilian personnel participating in the testing evolution. 

Ford is the newest and most advanced aircraft carrier in the U.S. Navy. The ship closed out a successful 18-month Post Delivery Test & Trials period in April, during which the crew completed all required testing, accomplished planned improvements and maintenance ahead of schedule, and learned valuable lessons to increase the reliability of Ford-Class systems. At the same time, the ship also served as the sole East Coast platform for conducting carrier qualifications. 

Upon completion of FSST later this summer, Ford will enter a Planned Incremental Availability for six months of modernization, maintenance, and repairs prior to its operational employment. 

ARLINGON, Va.— A senior Navy admiral defended the 2022 budget proposal to decommission seven guided-missile cruisers (CGs) and noted their missile cells numerically could be replaced by those on the future Large Unmanned Surface Vessel (LUSV).  

The Navy is proposing to retire seven Ticonderoga-class CGs during fiscal 2022, including two — USS Hue City and USS Anzio — which were not previously planned for retirement. The material condition of the cruisers’ hull and mechanical systems has attracted considerable concern while the cost of keeping the cruisers in service has risen.  

Vice Adm. Jim Kilby, deputy chief of naval operations for Warfighting Requirements and Capabilities, testified June 17 before the Seapower and Projection Forces subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee. He recounted that when he was a carrier strike group commander in 2017, his air-and missile-defense ship, USS Lake Champlain, missed one third of its deployment because of maintenance issues such as tank-top cracking. He also cited USS Vela Gulf, which missed a month of its previous deployment and 2.5 months of its current deployment. 

“All of that in my mind has to go into the mix when we factor the availability and reliability of those ships,” Kilby said. “Those missile tubes will only count if they’re underway alongside the carrier.” 

“The seven cruisers alone have more missile capacity than the entire British fleet,” said Rep. Rob Wittman, R-Virginia, the ranking member of the subcommittee, in his opening statement. “We’ve already spent hundreds of millions of dollars on ensuring these cruisers are returned to the fleet. Yet now we find that we’re going to retire them. While this administration is fiddling, the administration indicates they cannot afford a second destroyer [in the 2022 budget], a critical platform to deter maritime conflict. While we’re retiring other surface combatants, we’re saying we’re going to exacerbate that by now not building an additional destroyer.”  

The seven cruisers deploy a total of 910 missile cells. The Navy plans to use LUSVs as missile arsenals, with each carrying 64 cells, Kilby said. A total of 14 LUSVs would be required to match the missile load of the seven cruisers.  

“I don’t want to dismiss the value of 122 missile cells [on a CG] or an Aegis cruiser,” Kilby said. “[The] average age of our cruisers in 32 years. They were built for 30 years. Four of four [CGs] are over 34 years. So, I’m really trying to look at the most valuable ship that we can fund, the most valuable program within our budget, to make our force equal across all functions — air, surface and subsurface — to align to the threats as we see them.” 

Kilby said retaining the seven CGs would cost roughly $5 billion across the Future Years Defense Plan. Retaining the ships for two years would cost more than $2.87 billion. He said the cost to modernize Hue City and Anzio alone would cost approximately $1.5 billion. 

Extending the service lives of the cruisers “is costing more than we thought it would be,” he said. “Initially it was $2.4 billion, but we’re adding a lot of money to do that.”  

Kilby said the Flight III Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers (DDGs) will replace the CGs as platforms for the strike group’s air- and missile-defense commanders and will be commanded by skippers with the rank of captain. The Flight IIA and earlier DDGs are commanded by officers with the rank of commander.  

KITTERY, Maine — Portsmouth Naval Shipyard delivered Virginia-class attack submarine USS California (SSN 781) back to the fleet June 15 as the fastest availability of its kind since the Navy adjusted the Virginia-class maintenance cycle, said Bianca Mireles of the shipyard’s public affairs office. 

Virginia-class submarines currently undergo an extended docking selected restricted availability (EDSRA) at the six-year mark. Prior to 2015, the maintenance cycle was just four years. 

Completion of California’s maintenance availability displayed tremendous schedule acceleration following the initial impact of the pandemic, resulting in a record setting delivery. 

California and her crew of 15 officers and more than 115 enlisted personnel arrived at PNS in May 2019. California Project Superintendent Dave Simoneau applauded his team and the ship’s crew for their accomplishment.  

“The workforce at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard and the crew of California have proven what teamwork, respect, and ownership can accomplish,” said Simoneau. “The success achieved in maintaining the EDSRA schedule is the direct result of these men and women leaning in and owning it every day! They are the reason we are able to win the ‘race to combat readiness’ and return California to the fleet in record time to help protect our nation.” 

Throughout the availability, the team upheld Portsmouth’s legacy of first-time quality. Shipyard Commander Capt. Daniel Ettlich commented on the team’s commitment to excellence. 

“There is immense pride in knowing PNS bought back time for fleet-readiness. It is a monumental accomplishment to return California to the seas, combat-ready and modernized, to support our national security despite the once-in-a-century obstacles brought forth by COVID-19. Our people took ownership to weather the storm and delivered on our commitment to support America’s Navy,” said Ettlich. 

California is the seventh Navy ship, and first submarine, to be named after the Golden State. It is the eighth Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarine built to excel in anti-submarine warfare; anti-ship warfare; strike warfare; special operations; intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance; irregular warfare; and mine warfare missions. California was commissioned Oct. 29, 2011. California’s motto is silentium est aureum (silence is golden), which pays tribute to both the submarine force’s motto, the silent service, and California’s state motto, the golden state. 

Portsmouth Naval Shipyard is the Navy’s center of excellence for fast attack submarine maintenance, modernization, and repair. The on-time or early completion of submarine maintenance availabilities is critical to maintaining warfighter readiness. As a field activity of NAVSEA, PNS is committed to maximizing fleet readiness by safely delivering first-time quality, on time, and on budget. 

ARLINGTON, Va. — Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Harker says he is not planning to scrap the Nuclear Sea-Launched Cruise Missile (SLCM-N) despite a memo that appears to indicate otherwise.

“The program is in our FY22 (fiscal year 2022) budget,” Harker told a House Armed Services Committee hearing June 15. Some Republican lawmakers were outraged after news outlets reported earlier this month that Harker directed the Navy in a June 4 memo to “defund” the sea-launched cruise missile in fiscal 2023.

The memo surfaced after the Pentagon released the fiscal 2022 defense budget but before the start of a Nuclear Posture Review (NPR), a statement by the senior Republicans on the House and Senate armed services committees noted. The NPR is an appraisal of U.S. nuclear policy conducted when a new administration takes office.

The statement, issued by Rep. Mike Rogers of Alabama and Sen. Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma, called Harker’s move “bewildering and short-sighted. The Biden administration has decided to project weakness ahead of a summit with Vladimir Putin — another gift to our adversaries.”

In the process of determining within the Navy Department which items to put in the 2023 budget request, Harker told the HASC “my initial guidance was based on the fact that the overall posture review and the [updated] National Defense Strategy have not been completed, so I didn’t want anyone to assume that [SLCM-N] would be in until we had further guidance from the Nuclear Posture Review.”

Under questioning by Rep. Michael Turner, R-Ohio, Harker conceded his background and experience was in accounting and finance, not making strategic nuclear weapons decisions. He also said he had not consulted anyone else in the Pentagon, including Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday, before writing his memo. Turner accused Harker’s action of undermining “President Biden and the United States” by indicating a nuclear weapon “is going to be unilaterally defunded without any negotiations or without receiving any concessions from Russia.” 

Harker asserted “Sir, it was a preliminary, internal document.” Sounding skeptical of Harker’s claim he was the only decision maker in the matter, Turner asked the acting secretary to deliver to the committee “all communications concerning the deliberations, advice, review, directions and analyses” undertaken to write the memo. Harker said he would.

The HASC chairman, Rep. Adam Smith, D-Washington, has stated his opposition to the low-yield warhead and SLCM-N as being destabilizing to the nuclear balance. During the presidential election campaign, Biden said he wanted to reduce U.S. reliance on nuclear weapons.

ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Navy’s 2022 budget includes funds for a cruise missile that will be new to the Navy but has been in production for the U.S. Air Force.  

The 2022 budget proposes a procurement of 25 AGM-158B Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile Extended Range (JASSM-ER) cruise missiles. 

“The Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile Extended Range (JASSM-ER)/AGM-158B will initially deploy on the F/A-18E/F. It will eventually be integrated on F-35C and future Navy strike fighter aircraft,” said Lt. Cmdr. Stephanie Turo, a Navy spokeswoman. 

The Navy’s budget overview book said the JASSM-ER is being procured “to enhance long-range strike and offensive anti-surface warfare (OASuW) capability. In FY 2022 the JASSM program will award the 20th production lot in which the U.S. Navy, along with the U.S Air Force, will procure 25 assets for the first time.” 

The Navy, along with the Air Force, both already operate the AGM-158C Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM), which is a derivative of the JASSM. The Navy’s F/A-18E/F Super Hornet strike fighter is armed with the LRASM, which also is programmed to be deployed on the Navy’s P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol reconnaissance aircraft. In April, the Navy awarded Boeing a contract to integrate the LRASM on the P-8A. 

Both the JASSM-ER and LRASM are built by Lockheed Martin. 

SOUTH CHINA SEA — The Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group is operating in the South China Sea for the first time during its 2021 deployment, June 14, commander, Task Force 70 public affairs said in a release. 

 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 carrier strike group includes the Navy’s forward-deployed aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76), embarked Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 5, and embarked staffs of Task Force 70 and Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 15, the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Shiloh (CG 67), and the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Halsey (DDG 97).  
 
“The South China Sea is pivotal to the free flow of commerce that fuels the economies of those nations committed to international law and rules based order,” said Rear Adm. Will Pennington, commander, Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group. “It is both a privilege and a pleasure to work alongside our allies, partners, and joint service teammates to provide full spectrum support to key maritime commons and ensure all nations continue to benefit from a free and open Indo-Pacific region.” 
 
Most recently, the guided missile destroyer USS Curtis Wilbur (DDG 54) operated with Royal Australian Navy (RAN) Anzac-class frigate HMAS Ballarat (FFH 155) in the South China Sea, June 6-11. Wilbur and Ballarat demonstrated the Navy’s commitment to work with like-minded allies and partners to preserve international order in the South China Sea.  
 
“In my 23 years in the Navy I’ve had the pleasure of working with the allied and partner forces from around the world,” said Senior Chief Operations Specialist Michael Ojeda, Assistant Operations, DESRON 15. “Integrating with other countries to conduct surface and undersea surveillance in support of our strike group operations serves to highlight that our allies reinforce our strategy in the Indo-Pacific region and around the world.” 
 
The strike group is committed to upholding U.S. security agreements with regional allies and partners, as well as demonstrating the capability of forward-deployed naval forces to quickly respond to any contingency across the region.  
 
Upholding freedom of the seas in the South China Sea is vitally important where nearly a third of global maritime trade, roughly $3.5 trillion, a third of global crude oil, and half of global liquefied natural gas passes through the sea each year.  
 
The Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group is forward-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 35 other maritime nations to build partnerships that foster maritime security, promote stability, and prevent conflict. 

SAN DIEGO, California — BAE Systems has received a $90.2 million contract from the U.S. Navy for the maintenance and modernization of the amphibious transport dock USS San Diego (LPD 22), the company said in a June 14 release. The value of the competitively awarded contract could reach $104.8 million if all options are exercised. 

Under the docking selected restricted availability (DSRA) contract awarded, BAE Systems will dry-dock the 684-foot-long ship, perform work on the underwater hull, repair its system of ballast tanks, preserve its amphibious well deck area, and refurbish the living spaces for as many as 800 sailors and Marines that can be carried aboard. The work is expected to begin in September 2021 at the company’s San Diego shipyard and take more than a year to complete.  

“The upcoming USS San Diego project is a major event in the service life of the ship, expanding its capability to execute a wide range of naval missions for many years to come,” said David M. Thomas Jr., vice president and general manager of BAE Systems San Diego Ship Repair. “Our team of employees, subcontractors and Navy personnel look forward to ushering USS San Diego into its next phase of fleet readiness. We also recognize the unique and special opportunity to work aboard a ship named for our hometown.”  

USS San Diego is the sixth ship of the San Antonio class and was commissioned in May 2012. The ship is the fourth U.S. Navy vessel named after the southern California city.  

BAE Systems is a leading provider of ship repair, maintenance, modernization, conversion, and overhaul services for the Navy, other government agencies, and select commercial customers. The company’s San Diego shipyard has approximately 1,100 employees and works with the Navy and several subcontractor companies to accomplish its ship sustainment work. 

The U.S. Navy’s unique 355-foot Floating Instrument Platform, or FLIP, used by researchers to gather persistent oceanic and atmospheric observations and conduct acoustic research for more than 50 years, is now inactive.

There isn’t enough funded research to put FLIP through another refit so she has been removed from service. Rob Sparrock, the program officer overseeing ONR’s research vessel program, thinks FLIP deserves to retire with dignity, and wants to find a fitting forever home where her accomplishments can be remembered and appreciated.

The U.S. Navy’s Office of Naval Research (ONR) built the 355-foot to conduct acoustic research. The unpowered FLIP looked like a baseball bat. It was towed to a location in the ocean where it was going to work, and the 300-foot tank section was filled with seawater so that part sank, leaving the remaining 55-foot section to stand upright. It could be anchored to the bottom, but more often it was left to drift with the wind and currents.

When at sea, she carried a crew of five when at sea along with a research party of up to 11 scientists. FLIP could make its own electricity and water and carry supplies for about 35 days. Once a research mission was complete, high-pressure air stored in bottles in the ballast tanks was released into the tanks to force the seawater out return FLIP to the horizontal, and she would be towed back to port. 

FLIP was designed by the naval architecture firm Glosten Associates; built by Gunderson Bros. Engineering Corporation; and entered service in 1962 under the auspices of the Marine Physical Laboratory of Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego.

Over its illustrious career, FLIP permitted researchers to study sound waves at various depths in the ocean without the interference of ambient noise from a ship’s propulsion system, but it also provided a platform to study wave height and air-sea interaction; water temperature and density; marine mammals; and gather meteorological data. FLIP has been used to examine ocean circulation, storm wave formation, and how thermal energy is transferred between the ocean and the atmosphere. 

While FLIP’s unique qualities made it the idea platform for many science missions, some of the research that used to require a platform like FLIP can now be conducted using other means, such as unmanned systems like floats and unmanned vehicles. As funding and therefor demand for FLIP from some of FLIPs regular customers was reduced, the business case for maintaining and upgrading FLIP changed.

“It would cost about $8 million to make FLIP useable for another five or 10 years, but that funding could be better used elsewhere,” said Sparrock. “We came up with lots of creative ideas, but there wasn’t enough inertia or funding to keep it going.”

While funding has fallen, nobody wants FLIP to just fade away. 

“I’d like to see a naval base or maritime museum adopt FLIP, and install the 55-foot section in the upright position so people can see it and actually go on it,” Sparrock said. “The other 300 feet can be sunk as a reef for divers.”

So, Sparrock continues his efforts to find FLIP a fitting location for her forever home. “FLIP is so historic; it just doesn’t seem right to scrap her.”

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden has nominated a retired Navy officer to become the next secretary of the Navy. 

The nominee, Carlos Del Toro, was the first commanding officer of the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Bulkeley. If confirmed by the Senate, he would assume office as the nation’s 78th secretary of the Navy. 

Below is the June 11 White House release of the nomination: 

“Carlos Del Toro is a retired Commander in the U.S. Navy with nearly 40 years’ experience in national security and naval operations, budgeting, and acquisition. Over the course of a 22-year career in the U.S. Navy, Del Toro held a series of critical appointments — including Senior Executive Assistant to the Director for Program Analysis and Evaluation in the Office of the Secretary of Defense; First Commanding Officer of the guided missile destroyer USS Bulkeley; and Special Assistant to the Director and Deputy Director of the Office of Management and Budget — before founding SBG Technology Solutions Inc. He has served as CEO and President of SBG Technology Solutions for the last 17 years. As CEO and President of SBG Technology Solutions, Del Toro has supported defense programs across a host of immediate and long-term Navy issue areas, including shipbuilding, AI, cybersecurity, acquisition programs, space systems, health, and training. Having earned a Masters in National Security Studies from the Naval War College and a Masters in Legislative Affairs from George Washington University, Del Toro has also supported military programs addressing policy and strategic studies. 
 
“Born in Havana, Cuba, Carlos Del Toro immigrated to the U.S. with his family as refugees in 1962. Raised in the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood of New York City, he attended public schools and received an appointment to the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, where he earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Electrical Engineering. He was the first Hispanic President of the White House Fellows Foundation and Alumni association and serves on the Board of Directors of the Stimson Center. He was recently appointed to the U.S. Naval Academy Alumni Association’s Special Commission on Culture, Diversity, and Inclusion. Del Toro is married to Betty Del Toro, with whom they have four children and a granddaughter.” 

Rep. Adam Smith, D-Washington, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, praised the nomination in a June 11 statement: 

“Mr. Del Toro is a proven leader who is well equipped to lead our Navy. His story is uniquely American, as is his service to our nation, which include multiple deployments during the Cold War and Operation Desert Shield and Storm and culminated in his selection for the rank of Captain and Major Command at Sea. After retiring from the Navy, Del Toro continued to lead in the private sector as the CEO and President of an engineering and IT services company. As recently as 2020 the company was recognized by the Small Business Administration as an SBA success story — another testament to Del Toro’s leadership.  
   
“With decades of experience, both in and out of uniform, Del Toro is an excellent pick to lead the Navy and I look forward to working with him once confirmed by the Senate.”