The U.S. Navy conducted and announced two high-profile ship movements in recent days, both intended to send messages to international rivals.

In the latest, the USS John McCain (DDG 56) “asserted navigational rights and freedoms in the Spratly Islands, consistent with international law,” 7^th Fleet public affairs announced Dec. 22.

One day earlier, the nuclear-power Ohio-class guided-missile submarine USS Georgia (SSGN 729), along with the guided-missile cruisers USS Port Royal (CG 73) and USS Philippine Sea (CG 58), transited the Strait of Hormuz entering the Arabian Gulf on Dec. 21, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command announced.

The Navy said the USS John McCain exercise was aimed at “challenging restrictions on innocent passage imposed by China, Vietnam and Taiwan” in the South China Sea.

“Unlawful and sweeping maritime claims in the South China Sea pose a serious threat to the freedom of the seas, including the freedoms of navigation and overflight, free trade and unimpeded commerce, and freedom of economic opportunity for South China Sea littoral nations,” the 7^th Fleet said in a press release.

China, Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia, Brunei, and the Philippines claim sovereignty over some or all of the Spratly Islands. Of those, China, Vietnam, and Taiwan require either permission or advance notification before a foreign military vessel engages in “innocent passage” through the territorial sea, the 7^th Fleet noted.

“Under international law as reflected in the Law of the Sea Convention, the ships of all States – including their warships – enjoy the right of innocent passage through the territorial sea. The unilateral imposition of any authorization or advance-notification requirement for innocent passage is not permitted by international law, so the United States challenged these requirements. By engaging in innocent passage without giving prior notification to or asking permission from any of the claimants, the United States challenged the unlawful restrictions imposed by China, Taiwan, and Vietnam. The United States demonstrated that innocent passage may not be subject to such restrictions.”

In what was widely seen as a show of capability to Iran, the Dec. 21 voyage of a heavily armed submarine and cruisers through the Strait of Hormuz, part of the U.S. 5^th Fleet area of operations, “demonstrates the U.S. Navy’s ability to sail and operate wherever international law allows,” U.S. Naval Forces Central Command said in a press release.

“As an inherently flexible maneuver force, capable of supporting routine and contingency operations, Georgia’s presence demonstrates the United States’ commitment to regional partners and maritime security with a full spectrum of capabilities to remain ready to defend against any threat at any time.”

SSGNS are equipped with superior communications capabilities, carry up to 154 Tomahawk land-attack cruise missiles and can also be configured to host up to 66 Special Operations Forces.

The 5th Fleet area of operations encompasses about 2.5 million square miles of water area and includes the Arabian Gulf, Gulf of Oman, Red Sea and parts of the Indian Ocean. The expanse is comprised of 20 countries and includes three chokepoints, which the Navy says are critical to the free flow of global commerce.

BATH, Maine — The future USS Daniel Inouye (DDG 118) successfully completed builder’s trials Dec. 19 after spending four days at sea off the coast of Bath, Maine, Naval Sea Systems Command said in a Dec. 21 release.

Builder’s trials consist of a series of in-port and at-sea demonstrations that allow the shipbuilder, General Dynamics Bath Iron Works (BIW), and the Navy to assess the ship’s systems and its readiness for delivery. 

“The successful completion of these trials is a critical step to ensuring full combat-readiness of the ship,” said Capt. Seth Miller, DDG 51 class program manager, Program Executive Office (PEO) Ships. “The Navy and industry team is dedicated to adding DDG 118’s critical warfighting capabilities to the fleet and strengthening the Navy’s readiness.”  

Daniel Inouye is a Flight IIA destroyer, equipped with the Aegis Baseline 9 Combat System, which includes integrated air and missile defense capability and enhanced ballistic missile defense capabilities. This system delivers quick reaction time, high firepower, and increased electronic countermeasures capability against a variety of threats.

The future USS Daniel Inouye will return to sea to conduct acceptance trials with the Navy’s Board of Inspection and Survey early next year.  During acceptance trials, all systems will be inspected and evaluated to ensure quality and operational readiness prior to the Navy accepting delivery.

BIW is also in production on the future Arleigh Burke-class destroyers Carl M. Levin (DDG 120), John Basilone (DDG 122), Harvey C. Barnum (DDG 124), Patrick Gallagher (DDG 127), and their first Flight III ship, Louis H. Wilson, Jr. (DDG 126), as well as the future Zumwalt-class destroyer, Lyndon B. Johnson (DDG 1002).

As one of the Defense Department’s largest acquisition organizations, PEO Ships is responsible for executing the development and procurement of all destroyers, amphibious ships, special mission and support ships, and special warfare craft.

ARLINGTON, Va. — The new tri-service maritime strategy released Dec. 17 by the chiefs of the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard pivots toward the great power competition that has been building up in recent years, and aspects of the strategy bear substantial resemblance to the Maritime Strategy of the 1980s put in place by the Navy at the height of the Cold War, a Navy admiral said. 

The new strategy, Advantage at Sea, “places particular focus on China and Russia due to their increasing maritime aggressiveness, demonstrated intent to dominate key international waters and clear desire to remake the international order in their favor,” the three service chiefs, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michael M. Gilday, Marine Corps Commandant Gen. David H. Berger, and Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Karl L. Schultz, wrote in the strategy’s forward. 

“China’s and Russia’s revisionist approaches in the maritime environment threaten U.S. interests, undermine alliances and partnerships, and degrade the free and open international order,” the service chiefs said. “Moreover, China’s and Russia’s aggressive naval growth and modernization are eroding U.S. military advantages.” 

With nearly 20 years of U.S. active combat in counter-insurgency warfare – mostly on and overland in Southwest Asia – apparently winding down, the U.S. military is now focusing on the growing military prowess of China and increasing activity by Russia. China’s navy, plus a large coast guard and a naval militia, have grown in size and capability and are increasingly assertive, particularly in the waters adjacent to China, the East and South China Seas. China and Russia have developed and continue to develop missiles that threaten U.S. and allied naval forces in the Western Pacific and Indian Ocean and island bases such as those in Guam and Okinawa. 

One of the five major aspects of the new strategy is “focusing on controlling the seas — which is returning to our past,” said Rear Adm. James Bynum, acting deputy chief of naval operations for Warfare Development, speaking to reporters during a Dec. 17 teleconference on the new strategy. 

Asked by Seapower to compare the new strategy to the Maritime Strategy put in place in 1987 by then-Navy Secretary John Lehman, Bynum said “They compare very well, better than [they] contrast.” 

Lehman’s Maritime Strategy emphasized maritime power as a key counter to the Soviet Union during the Cold War. With Soviet military power focused on a potential land campaign in Europe, Lehman proposed using the Navy to be ready to strike the Soviet homeland from the peripheral seas, greatly complicating and widening — encircling — the Soviet Union’s defense of its territory. With Soviet naval might also growing, Lehman also began a build-up of a 600-ship navy, a growth that was nearly achieved in full — 594 ships — before the fleet began to decline in number of ships after the end of the Cold War.  

One of the key tenets here is the return to the thought process of control of the seas,” Bynum said. “We were just coming out of the Vietnam era where we had free, unfettered access to support operations in land-based warfare. We’re coming off of a similar though much more prolonged set of time in the Middle East. As we look away from that and acknowledge there are global comprehensive actors out there where we no longer enjoy assured access in the sea, and assured access to the sea today because of those places where we need to go to confront those malign actors.  

“I think that compares greatly with secretary Lehman’s thought processes and, frankly, some of that mindset shifted after what [then-Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Elmo] Zumwalt endured at the tail end of the Vietnam era as he had to reshape the forces,” Bynum said. “So, I think you will see in a lot of those strains that the power of the naval services is to provide access to the joint force.”     

ARLINGTON, Va. — Planning for the unplanned before a crisis like COVID-19 helped the U.S. Navy continue ship maintenance and acquisition at a rapid pace despite the coronavirus pandemic, the service’s top procurement official says.

“It has been fairly remarkable that we have not slowed down, in fact our operations are at an all-time high. We’ve never shut down a shipyard – private or public – for a day during COVID,”  James “Hondo” Geurts, the assistant secretary of the Navy for research, development and acquisition, told an Atlantic Council webinar on leadership Dec. 16.

Much of that success stemmed from the resiliency of individual Sailors, shipbuilders and Marines. Geurts said, adding that having a resilient organization was also key. “You can plan for the unplanned,” he said, “you can get in sets and reps and start building while you have the time to absorb the inefficiency of that learning.”

When he came to the Navy from U.S. Special Operations Command three years ago, “we didn’t have a good wartime plan on the acquisition side. We were very focused on being hyper-efficient in a peacetime mode,” Geurts said.

The Navy was able to pivot quickly when COVID-19 struck, Geurts said, not because the service had been rehearsing for a pandemic, but because it had ramped up teams, procedures and tools to be more efficient in wartime and adapted the improvements to the coronavirus challenge. 

Geurts doesn’t want to see things roll back once the coronavirus crisis is over. The pandemic showed new ways to handle old problems and make ships more self-reliant, he said adding:  “Success for us is not going back to where we were a year ago. That’s failure.”

Instead, “our focus now is taking all the hard lessons we’ve learned from the terrible challenges of COVID, how we continued to operate through that,” and apply them to the future he said, adding “I think we are a stronger force than we were nine months ago.”

DAVENPORT, Iowa — Cobham Mission Systems’ underwing mounted refueling buddy store was carried for the first time during a successful test flight of Boeing’s MQ-25 test asset, known as T1, Cobham said in a Dec. 16 release. The test helped to validate the unmanned aircraft’s aerodynamics when carrying existing refueling equipment. The flight marks a significant milestone in the development of MQ-25, the first operational, carrier-based unmanned aerial refueler for the U.S. Navy. The Navy’s F/A-18 fleet currently operates the same Cobham 31-301 buddy store, when fulfilling this key aerial refueling role. 

“This marks a significant milestone for the development of unmanned aerial refueling and we are proud that Boeing’s MQ-25 test aircraft carried Cobham’s underwing mounted equipment on this test flight,” said Jason Apelquist, senior vice president for business development and strategy for Cobham Mission Systems. “It is encouraging to see how proven solutions are being leveraged to further new mission capability. We look forward to supporting next-generation technology and continue to work with our customers as a key partner to deliver the aerial refueling solution of the future.” 

The 2.5-hour flight was conducted by Boeing test pilots operating from a ground control station at MidAmerica St. Louis Airport in Mascoutah, Illinois, on December 9, 2020. Future flights will continue to test the aerodynamics of the aircraft and the 31-301 Series Buddy Store at various points of the flight envelope. Insights from the tests will inform the eventual progression to the extension and retraction of the hose and drogue used in refueling. 

AT SEA — The Independence-class littoral combat ship USS Gabrielle Giffords (LCS 10) with embarked U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Law Enforcement Detachment (LEDET) 407 seized an estimated 2,810 kilograms of suspected cocaine, Dec. 5, the U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command/U.S. 4th Fleet Public Affairs Office said in a Dec. 11 release. 

While on routine patrol, Gabrielle Giffords was diverted to intercept a low-profile vessel (LPV). Gabrielle Giffords deployed one of her helicopters, assigned to the “Wildcards” of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 23, to provide over watch and ensure compliance while the embarked LEDET and small boats were deployed to achieve positive control and begin boarding of the LPV. 

Gabrielle Giffords and the embarked LEDET searched the vessel and recovered approximately 134 bales, for an estimated 2,810 kilograms of suspected cocaine worth over an estimated wholesale value of $106 million. Three suspected drug traffickers were also detained. 

“Interdiction evolutions, no matter how often you conduct them, are different every time,” said Chief Boatswains Mate Daniel Pike, of Gabrielle Giffords. “Our team is dedicated to exemplifying the qualities of safe, professional mariners during these operations from start to finish.” 

Gabrielle Giffords is deployed to the U.S. 4th Fleet area of operations to support Joint Interagency Task Force South’s mission, which includes counter illicit drug trafficking in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific. 

MARINETTE, Wis., Dec. 14, 2020 — Littoral Combat Ship (LCS 23), the future USS Cooperstown, completed acceptance trials in Lake Michigan, Lockheed Martin said in a Dec. 14 release. Trials included a full-power run, maneuverability testing, and surface and air detect-to-engage demonstrations of the ship’s combat system. Major systems and features were demonstrated, including aviation support, small boat launch handling and recovery and machinery control and automation.  

Now that trials are complete, the ship will undergo final outfitting and fine-tuning before delivery to the U.S. Navy next year. LCS 23 is the 12th Freedom-variant LCS designed and built by the Lockheed Martin-led industry team. 

“LCS 23, like other Freedom-variant Littoral Combat Ships, delivers unique flexibility and capability to the U.S. Navy,” said Joe DePietro, Lockheed Martin vice president and general manager, Small Combatants and Ship Systems. “Freedom-variant LCS are inherently capable, and they offer 40% reconfigurable hull space to evolve to future U.S. Navy missions. During acceptance trials, LCS 23 proved its maneuverability, automation and core combat capability.”  

Unique among combat ships, the focused-mission LCS is designed to support mine countermeasures, anti-submarine and surface warfare missions and is easily adapted to serve future and evolving missions. The Freedom-variant LCS is: 

• Flexible — Forty percent of the hull is easily reconfigurable, able to integrate Longbow Hellfire Missiles, 30 mm guns, and manned and unmanned vehicles designed to meet today’s and tomorrow’s missions. 
• Lethal — LCS is standard equipped with Rolling Airframe Missiles (RAM) and a Mark 110 gun, capable of firing 220 rounds per minute. 
• Powerful — LCS has gas turbines, diesel engines and water jets that together generate 114,000 horsepower making LCS capable of speeds in excess of 40 knots. 
• Automated — LCS has the most efficient staffing of any combat ship. 

“I would like to commend the entire Freedom Team on the successful acceptance trials of LCS 23,” said Jan Allman, CEO of Fincantieri Marinette Marine. “I’m continuously proud of the dedication and perseverance shown by the entire team to provide our customer, the U.S. Navy, with the most agile, capable warship.” 

MOBILE, Ala. – The Navy accepted delivery of the future USS Mobile (LCS 26) during a ceremony at Austal USA on Dec. 9, the service said in a Dec. 11 release. 

Mobile is the 23rd littoral combat ship (LCS) and the 13th of the Independence variant to join the fleet. Delivery marks the official transfer of the ship from the shipbuilder, Austal USA, to the Navy. It is the final milestone prior to commissioning, which is planned for spring 2021. 

“This is a day of celebration for both the Navy and our country with the delivery of the future USS Mobile,” said LCS program manager Capt. Mike Taylor. “This ship, and her crew, are foundational to our nation’s security.” 

Four additional Independence-variant ships – Savannah (LCS 28), Canberra (LCS 30), Santa Barbara (LCS 32), and Augusta (LCS 34) – are in various stages of construction at Austal USA, and two more are awaiting the start of construction following LCS 34. 

The future USS Mobile is the fifth ship named in honor of the port city on Alabama’s Gulf Coast. The first Mobile was a side-wheel steamer that operated as a Confederate government-operated blockade runner. It was captured by U.S. forces at New Orleans in April 1862, commissioned as Tennessee and later renamed Mobile. The second Mobile was a passenger liner operated by Hamburg Amerika Lines between Germany and the United States until the outbreak of World War I. It was taken over by the Allied Maritime Council and assigned to the United States after the Armistice and commissioned March 1919. The third Mobile (CL 63), a cruiser, was commissioned March 24, 1943. It participated in numerous campaigns in the Pacific Theater during World War II and received 11 battle stars for her service by the time she was decommissioned May 1947. The fourth Mobile (LKA 115) was an amphibious cargo ship that served from September 1969 until decommissioning in February 1994. 

The LCS is a fast, agile, mission-focused platform designed to operate in near-shore environments, while capable of open-ocean tasking and winning against 21st-century coastal threats such as submarines, mines, and swarming small craft. The LCS is capable of supporting forward presence, maritime security, sea control and deterrence. 

The LCS class consists of the Independence variant, built by Austal USA, and the Freedom variant, being built at Fincantieri Marinette Marine Corp. in Marinette, Wisconsin. 

The future USS Mobile is the fourth LCS of both variants delivered to the Navy in 2020. St. Louis (LCS 19) was delivered on Feb. 6, Kansas City (LCS 22) was delivered on Feb. 12, and Oakland (LCS 24) was delivered on June 26. Five more — Minneapolis-St. Paul (LCS 21), Cooperstown (LCS 23), Marinette (LCS 25), Savannah (LCS 28), and Canberra (LCS 30) — are planned for delivery in 2021. 

ARLINGTON, Va. — The Navy’s 30-year shipbuilding plan, released Dec. 10, announced the names of 48 ships scheduled to be decommissioned or, in the case of Military Sealift Command Ships, placed out of service, during the fiscal years 2022 through 2026.  

Of note, the planned retirements include the first Nimitz-class aircraft carrier, the first two Ohio-class guided-missile submarines, and the first Victorious-class ocean surveillance ship. The list also includes 11 Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruisers and 11 Los Angeles-class attack submarines. 

The retirements are listed by fiscal year below:  

In 2022: 

• Six Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruisers will be placed in reserve: San Jacinto (CG 56), Monterey (CG 61), Hue City (CG 66), Anzio (CG 68) Vella Gulf (CG 72) and Port Royal (CG 73).  
• One Whidbey Island-class dock landing ship will be placed in reserve: Whidbey Island (LSD 41). 
• Two Los Angeles-class attack submarines will be recycled: Providence (SSN 719) and Oklahoma City (SSN 723). 
• One Powhatan-class fleet ocean tug will be disposed: Apache (T-ATF 172). 

In 2023:  

• Two Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruisers will be placed in reserve: Bunker Hill (CG 52) and Mobile Bay (CG 53). 
• Four Whidbey Island-class dock landing ships will be placed in reserve: Germantown (LSD 42), Gunston Hall (LSD 44), and Ashland (LSD 48). 
• One Harpers Ferry-class dock landing ship will be placed in reserve: Carter Hall (LSD 50). 
• Two Henry J. Kaiser-class fleet replenishment oilers will be disposed: John Lenthall (T-AO 189). 
• One Powhatan-class fleet ocean tug will be disposed: Catawba (T-ATF 168). 
• One Safeguard-class rescue and salvage ship will be disposed: Grasp (T-ARS 51) 

In 2024: 

• Two Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruisers will be placed in reserve: Antietam (CG 54) and Shiloh (CG 67). 
• One Whidbey Island-class dock landing ship will be placed in reserve: Rushmore (LSD 47). 
• Two Harpers Ferry-class dock landing ships will be placed in reserve: Harpers Ferry (LSD 49) and Pearl Harbor (LSD 52). 
• Four Los Angeles-class attack submarines will be recycled: Chicago (SSN 721), Key West (SSN 722) San Juan (SSN 751) and Topeka (SSN 754). 
• Four Avenger-class mine countermeasures ships will be disposed: Sentry (MCM 3), Devastator (MCM 6), Gladiator (MCM 11) and Dextrous (MCM 13). 
• One Safeguard-class rescue and salvage ship will be disposed: Salvor (T-ARS 52). 

In 2025: 

• One Nimitz-class aircraft carrier will be recycled: Nimitz (CVN 68). 
• One Harpers Ferry-class dock landing ship will be placed in reserve: Oak Hill (LSD 51). 
• Two Los Angeles-class attack submarines will be recycled: Helena (SSN 725) and Pasadena (SSN 752).  
• One Henry J. Kaiser-class fleet replenishment oiler will be disposed: Joshua Humphreys (T-AO 188) 

In 2026: 

• One Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser will be placed in reserve: Chancellorsville (CG 62). 
• One Whidbey Island-class dock landing ship will be placed in reserve: Comstock (LSD 45). 
• Two Ohio-class guided-missile submarines will be recycled: Ohio (SSGN 726) and Florida (SSGN 728). 
• Three Los Angeles-class attack submarines will be recycled: Newport News (SSN 750), Scranton (SSN 756) and Alexandria (SSN 757).  
• One Henry J. Kaiser-class fleet replenishment oiler will be disposed: Pecos (T-AO 197). 
• One Victorious-class ocean surveillance ship: Victorious (T-AGOS 19). 

ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Navy’s 30-year shipbuilding plan, released Dec. 10, shows the planned battle force reaching a congressionally mandated level of 355 ships in the 2031-2033 time frame, including increasing numbers of smaller warships and a growing number of unmanned vessels.  

The plan, contained in the Department of the Navy’s Report to Congress on the Annual Long-Range Plan for Construction of Naval Vessels — prepared by the deputy chief of naval operations for Warfighting Requirements and Capabilities — shows the future fleet architecture to reach 406 battle force ships by 2045, plus 119 unmanned surface vessels (USVs) and 24 unmanned undersea vessels (UUVs). These numbers are within the ranges of the categories determined as needed by the Future Naval Force Study (FNFS) conducted by the Department of the Navy.   

The 2022-2051 shipbuilding plan affirms the Defense Department’s and the Navy’s top priority of strategic deterrence with the continued plan to build the Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine. The plan also shows investment in increased “lethality/modernization with the greatest potential to deliver non-linear warfighting advantages against China and Russia in mid-to-far-term,” the report said.  

The Future Years Defense Plan (FYDP), which looks ahead five years from the current fiscal year, plans for 12 Large USVs, one Medium USV, and eight Extra-Large UUVs over the period.  

Traditional ships to be funded over the FYDP include advanced funding for CVN 82; two Columbia-class ballistic-missile submarines; 12 Virginia-class attack submarines (SSNs); 10 Flight III Arleigh Burke-class destroyers (DDGs); 15 Constellation-class frigates; one America-class amphibious assault ship; two Flight II San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ships; nine John Lewis-class fleet replenishment oilers, six Spearhead-class expeditionary fast transports; and two Navajo-class towing, rescue and salvage ships. New-designs to replace legacy ships include two AS(X) submarine tenders; five new-design T-AGOS(X) ocean surveillance ships; and two T-ARC(X) cable-repair ships. 

New types of manned ships in the FYDP include 10 light amphibious warships (LAWs) beginning in 2022, and, beginning in 2023, and six new generation logistic ships (NGLSs). These ships are to enable more distributed amphibious operations for the Marine Corps, especially for its new Marine littoral regiments.  

The FYDP continues the multi-year procurement of 10 Block V Virginia-class SSNs and plans for a multi-year procurement for 12 Block VI Virginia-class SSNs. The Navy plans to invest $1.2 billion into submarine construction facilities to increase annual production to three SSNs.    

The FYDP also reflects a Navy decision to cancel plans for a class of new-construction strategic sealift ships and instead procure 16 used vessels for conversion into sealift ships. 

The Navy plans to sustain 11 nuclear-powered aircraft carriers out to 2039 with minor variations, but its carrier force requirement could change, the report said, as the Navy studies options for light aircraft carriers.  

The 30-year plan recognizes the funding challenges of such a large naval build-up “with the “procurement of the Columbia-class SSBN – and the imperative to invest in readiness recovery, improved lethality, and a larger great power competition fleet,” the report said. “This shipbuilding plan reflects the necessary increased funding for both shipbuilding and ship sustainment funding. A combination of topline increases and major internal efficiency savings are used to procure, modernize, man, train, equip and sustain the fleet that the NDS [National Defense Strategy] and great power competition require.” 

“The plan calls for a larger fleet of both manned and unmanned vessels prepared to face greater challenges on, above, or under the sea by accelerating submarine construction, modernizing aircraft, extending the service life of cruisers, and increasing the number of destroyers,” said David L. Norquist, deputy secretary of Defense, in a statement. “Although we reach 355 ships by the early 2030s, the plan is about more than numbers of ships. It is about equipping our future force for the enduring defense of our nation.” 

The shipbuilding plan can be found here: https://media.defense.gov/2020/Dec/10/2002549918/-1/-1/0/SHIPBUILDING%20PLAN%20DEC%2020_NAVY_OSD_OMB_FINAL.PDF/SHIPBUILDING%20PLAN%20DEC%2020_NAVY_OSD_OMB_FINAL.PDF