SAN DIEGO, Calif. — General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS) announced Oct. 7 that a milestone of 4,492 catapult launches and landing arrestments using the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) and Advanced Arresting Gear (AAG) system has been successfully and safely achieved aboard the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78).  

“CVN 78 passed the half-way mark of its PDT&T, and we are well underway toward achieving the cats and traps milestones by the end of this rigorous testing phase,” stated Scott Forney, president of GA-EMS. “In addition to the demanding system shakedown testing, the ship, and EMALS and AAG, are providing valuable capacity to meet the Navy’s certification and training requirements for today, with an eye toward the future as the next Ford class carriers begin to enter the fleet. We are extremely proud of our dedicated team supporting the ship’s crew as they continue to qualify naval aviators as well as demonstrate the systems capabilities under combat operations tempo.” 

During CVN 78’s at sea periods, which involve night and day, all weather, and various sea state operations, EMALS and AAG successfully launch and recover a range of aircraft, including F/A-18E/F Super Hornets, E-2C/D Hawkeyes and Advanced Hawkeyes, C-2A Greyhounds, EA-18G Growlers, and T-45C Goshawks. In addition to CVN 78, GA-EMS is delivering EMALS and AAG for the future USS John F. Kennedy (CVN 79) and USS Enterprise (CVN 80). EMALS and AAG will provide greater flexibility over legacy systems to not only accommodate aircraft in the current air wing, but also future aircraft, including unmanned aerial vehicles.  

BALTIMORE – Secretary of the Navy Kenneth J. Braithwaite announced USS Constellation (FFG 62) as the name for the first ship in the new Guided Missile Frigate (FFG(X)) class of ships Oct. 7 while aboard the museum ship Constellation in Baltimore Inner Harbor, the Navy said in a release. 

The name was selected in honor of the first U.S. Navy ships authorized by Congress in 1794 — heavy frigates named United States, Constellation, Constitution, Chesapeake, Congress, and President. These ships established the Continental Navy as an agile, lethal and ready force for the 19th century. This will be the fifth U.S. Navy ship to bear the name Constellation. 

“As the first in her class, these ships will now be known as the Constellation Class frigates, linking them directly to the original six frigates of our Navy, carrying on the traditions of our great service which have been passed down from generation to generation of Sailors,” said Braithwaite. “While providing an unmatched capability and survivability for the 21st Century, Constellation Class Frigates will honor our Navy’s historic beginnings as we continue to operate around the world in today’s era of Great Power Competition.” 

As the next generation of small surface combatants will contribute to meeting the goal of 355 battle force ships. With the ability to operate independently or as part of a strike group, it will deliver an Enterprise Air Surveillance Radar (EASR), Mk 41 Vertical Launching System, and Baseline 10 (BL 10) Aegis Combat System capabilities. The ships’ lethality, survivability, and improved capability will provide Fleet Commanders multiple options while supporting the National Defense Strategy across the full range of military operations. 

Constellation is a historic name with a long Naval history. The original name was submitted to President Washington in 1795 to represent the ‘new constellation of stars’ on the United States flag.  The first Constellation was a 38-gun frigate with a crew of 340 personnel. The ship was built in Baltimore in 1797 and remained in service until 1853. 

The second Constellation was a sloop-of-war launched in 1854 and was the last sail-only warship designed and built by the U.S. Navy. The ship currently stands as a museum in Baltimore. 

The keel for a third ship named Constellation was laid, but the ship was never completed in the peace years following WWI. 

The most prominent Constellation is the Kitty Hawk-class conventional aircraft carrier that commissioned in 1961. It had a storied history to include overcoming several catastrophic fires on board, supporting operations during the Vietnam War, the first Persian Gulf War, and Operations Enduring and Iraqi Freedom before decommissioning in 2003. 

Constellation-class Frigates will be built at Marinette Marine Corporation in Marinette, Wisconsin, with the first ship scheduled for delivery in 2026. 

NORWICH, Conn. — Rep. Joe Courtney, D-Connecticut, chairman of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces, issued on Oct. 6 the following statement regarding Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper’s Oct. 6 comments on submarine shipbuilding during a preview of future Navy Force Structure Plan. 
 
“Today, Secretary Esper previewed a long-overdue force structure plan that begs for more detail and explanation,” Courtney said. “Notably, the Secretary shared the predictable outcome of these months of review and study — that we need a bigger and more capable submarine force. After four long years of stonewalling Congress’s commitment to enlarging our nation’s submarine fleet — including submitting a budget this year that proposed a 19% cut to the submarine budget and eliminated a planned Virginia class submarine — the Trump administration today acknowledged what has long been blindingly obvious: Our undersea fleet is dangerously small. 
 
“If Secretary Esper is serious about boosting production, he could direct his department to support the House-passed authorization and funding levels for a second Virginia-class submarine in 2021 that reverses the Administration’s anemic shipbuilding budget in the House-Senate conference process happening right now,” Courtney added. 

WASHINGTON — Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Adm. Mike Gilday conducted a video teleconference Oct. 6, with Rear Adm. Aaron Beng Yao Cheng, Republic of Singapore Chief of Navy, the CNO’s public affairs office said in a release. 

The two leaders discussed engagement between the two navies this past year, which included RIMPAC 2020, as well as ways to further deepen cooperation between the two navies going forward. 

“I am grateful to Republic of Singapore for their partnership and friendship – and we greatly value the contributions their Navy brings to the maritime domain,” Gilday said. “I am excited to work closely with Rear Adm. Beng and the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) for years to come to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific.” 

Gilday also thanked Beng for continuing to host commander, Logistics Group Western Pacific in Sembawang and supporting the forward-deployment of Destroyer Squadron 7 and littoral combat ships, like USS Gabrielle Giffords (LCS 10). 

Beng said the Republic of Singapore Navy and the United States Navy share a unique and long- standing relationship underpinned by mutual trust and shared values. 

“We have maintained a steady cadence of professional interactions over the last few months, which further underscores the strength of this partnership,” Beng said. “Our navies conducted a passage exercise in May, the RSN frigate RSS Supreme (73) deployed to RIMPAC 2020, and ships from both navies will conduct a bilateral CARAT exercise in December. We will continue to seek opportunities to strengthen cooperation, including resuming face-to-face interactions when the situation allows.” 

The U.S. and Singaporean navies recently exercised bilateral interoperability in the South China Sea and jointly participated in a virtual Southeast Asia Cooperation and Training (SEACAT) symposium. The two navies operate together during exercises like Pacific Griffin 2019, the most advanced naval training between the two nations to date. 

This VTC was the first between the two leaders since Beng took office in March 2020.  

WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Mark Esper said the U.S. Navy needs a fleet of more than 500 manned and unmanned ships, including more attack submarines. 

“ We need to build more attack submarines,” Esper said, speaking Oct. 6 at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Analysis, a Washington think tank, announcing that the Defense Department is in the process of releasing the Future Naval Force Study for Battle Force 2045 and the 30-year shipbuilding plan. 

Battle Force 2045 is a plan to build an affordable, lethal, aware fleet of more than 500 manned and unmanned ships, able to maintain maritime superiority over the growing naval power of near-peer competitors China and Russia. 

He said the Navy is on a path to reach its previous goal of 355 ships by 2035 in an anticipated era of budget austerity.  

Esper said Battle Force 2045 would feature: 

• A larger, more capable force of 70 to 80 submarines, which would be increased up by building three attack submarines (SSNs) annually; pursuing the next-generation SSN; and refueling seven Los Angeles-class SSNs. The Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine program would proceed as planned. 
• A force of 8 to 11 aircraft carriers for the high-end fight — equipped with the carrier air wing of the future. The Navy will study the possibility of building up to six light carriers — equipped with short takeoff/vertical landing strike aircraft — to free up the super carriers for the high-end fight. 
• A force of 140 to 240 unmanned or optionally manned surface and subsurface vessels, for missions such as missile strikes and mining. 
• A force of more and smaller future surface combatants, about 60 to 70, including the new guided-missile frigate, able to “deliver long-range precision fires in volume.” 
• A combat logistic force of 70 to 90 ships to sustain fleet. 
• Sufficient sealift ships to transport ground forces to theaters of conflict. 
• Ship-based unmanned aircraft of all types. 
• An amphibious warfare force of 50 to 60 ships, including the types needed to support the Future Force vision of Marine Corps Commandant Gen. David H. Berger. 

Esper said Battle Force 2045 would require additional shipbuilding funds, for which Congressional support would be needed, that would rival the Reagan build-up of the fleet in the 1980s. He also said he would request statutory authority to divert unexpended funds from the Navy at the end of each fiscal year to invest into shipbuilding. He also stressed the need to divest some legacy systems to free up funds for modernization. 

He also said the Navy would need increased shipyard capacity — in the Navy’s four shipyards and in the shipbuilding industry’s yards — to build and maintain the 500+ ships of Battle Force 2045. 

SAN DIEGO – Guided-missile destroyer USS Pinckney (DDG 91) returned to its homeport, Naval Station San Diego, following a nine-month deployment to U.S. 7th Fleet and U.S. 4th Fleet areas of operations, Oct. 5, U.S. Third Fleet Public Affairs said in an Oct. 6 release. 

Pinckney, along with a detachment from Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 75, deployed in January with the Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group to the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations. Pinckney arrived in the U.S. 4th Fleet area of operations in April to participate in U.S. Southern Command and Joint Interagency Task Force South’s enhanced counter-narcotics operations in the Caribbean Sea and Eastern Pacific Ocean. 

“The Sailors of Pinckney have helped make the United States a safer place to live,” said Cmdr. Andrew Roy, Pinckney’s commanding officer. “I thank all Pinckney Sailors and U.S. Coast Guardsmen who overcame many obstacles to make sure illicit narcotics will never make it into our homes, schools, or communities.” 

During their deployment, Pinckney, with its embarked U.S. Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment (LEDET), recovered an estimated 9,800 kilograms (21,605 pounds) of suspected cocaine and an estimated 2,800 pounds of marijuana worth an estimated wholesale value of more than $720 million. In addition, Pinckney also conducted freedom of navigation operations and participated in a passing exercise (PASSEX) with the Guatemalan navy. 

“A lengthy deployment is always challenging, even more so in the midst of a global pandemic that kept us all on the ship for the past six months,” said Cmdr. Ryan Conole, Pinckney’s executive officer. “Our team was able stay focused and on mission, and we could not have done that without the support of our families and friends back home who were also dealing with an incredibly challenging environment on the homefront.” 

Pinckney joined other U.S. Navy warships, numerous U.S. agencies from the Departments of Defense, Justice and Homeland Security cooperating in the effort to combat transnational organized crime. The Coast Guard, U.S. Navy, Customs and Border Protection, FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, along with allied and international partner agencies, are all playing a role in counterdrug operations. 

GROTON, Conn. — General Dynamics Electric Boat, a business unit of General Dynamics, was awarded two U.S. Navy contracts this week with a total value of $251 million, the company said in an Oct. 1 release.  

The first contract is a $215.7 million modification to a previously awarded contract, the cumulative value of which, if all options are exercised, could be more than $1 billion. Electric Boat will provide planning yard, design agent, engineering services and technical support for in-service submarines and submersible systems. The second contract is a $35.3 million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for Reactor Plant Planning Yard services for the submarine fleet and Support Yard services for the Navy’s Moored Training Ships.   

“The shipbuilders of Electric Boat are proud to be a partner to the U.S. Navy, and continue to execute our mission to provide our sailors with the advantage that helps protect our Navy and our nation,” said Kevin Graney, president of General Dynamics Electric Boat.  “We continue to work to hire, train and develop future generations of shipbuilders as we continue to deliver the Virginia class of fast attack submarines and move toward full-scale construction of the Columbia class of ballistic missile submarines.”   

BOSTON — Sea Machines Robotics, a Boston-based developer of autonomous command and control systems for surface vessels, has been awarded a multi-year Other Transaction agreement by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD)’s Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), the company announced in an Oct. 5 release. 

The primary purpose of the agreement is to initiate a prototype that will enable commercial ocean-service barges as autonomous Forward Arming and Refueling Point (FARP) units for an Amphibious Maritime Projection Platform (AMPP).  
 
Under this OT agreement, Sea Machines will engineer, build and demonstrate ready-to-deploy system kits that enable autonomous, self-propelled operation of opportunistically available barges to land and replenish military aircraft. The kits will include Sea Machines’ SM300 autonomous-command and control systems, barge propulsion, sensing, positioning, communications and refueling equipment, as well as items required for global deployment. Each modular kit will meet U.S. Navy criteria and will be in compliance with classifications and regulations from the DoD’s aviation bodies.  
 
The contract includes a concept demonstration phase, with an option for following phases to deploy SM300 Operational Kits. The live concept demonstration is scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2020, in Washington state, for which Sea Machines has teamed with FOSS Maritime, a leading maritime transportation and logistics provider based in Seattle. FOSS will provide naval architecture, support engineering and operations management to outfit a remotely commanded deck barge to land helicopters and host a scaled fueling station for aircraft, surface vessels and shore replenishment. Using the SM300, shoreside operators will have remote situational awareness and will be able to demonstrate the capabilities of remote command and control of the vessel, her operating systems and flight deck. 
 
Sea Machines is the prime contractor for the multi-year contract and is working closely alongside FOSS Maritime and other significant industry leaders, including Huntington Ingalls, America’s largest military shipbuilding company and a provider of professional services, based in Newport News, Virginia, and Bell Flight, a producer of commercial and military, vertical-lift aircraft, based in Fort Worth, Texas, to ensure a successful demonstration. 
 
“The AMPP autonomous replenishment systems will solve critical logistics challenges of expeditionary missions. We are pleased to enable this innovative capability, which will increase the effectiveness and flexibility for the U.S. military,” said Sea Machines’ Phil Bourque, director, sales. “With Sea Machines systems already working off the waters of four continents, this project is well suited for us and one that we look forward to delivering on for the U.S. government.” 
 
“Foss is excited about this new opportunity with Sea Machines.This contract has led to discussions with Sea Machines in a number of other areas where their expertise can help Foss, including bringing more technology to our tug fleet. What they are doing in automation is very interesting and that technology could help our mariners and our vessels safety,” said FOSS’s Will Roberts, chief operating officer. 
 
DIU’s work is part of the DoD’s Resilient Expeditionary Agile Littoral Logistics (REALL) Joint Capability Technology Demonstration (JCTD) project. Funded by the Office of the Secretary of Defense Research & Engineering, the JCTD Program addresses Combatant Command and Joint warfighting gaps through prototyping and demonstration of innovative and game-changing technologies. 

The following offices are involved with defining performance requirements and developing capabilities for REALL: U.S. Central Command, U.S. Transportation Command, U.S. Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory, Naval Facilities Engineering and Expeditionary Warfare Center, Army Engineer Research and Development Center, and the Naval Aviation Warfare Center – Lakehurst. 
 

BALTIMORE — Northrop Grumman Corp. was awarded a follow-on production contract for AN/SLQ-32(V)7 Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Program (SEWIP) Block 3 electronic warfare systems by the U.S. Navy on Sept. 30, the company said in an Oct. 2 release. The system is employed on surface combatants to defeat legacy and emerging anti-ship threats using non-kinetic/electronic attack methodologies.  

Northrop Grumman’s approach to this system is centered on a “software defined, hardware enabled” open architecture that quickly integrates with other combat systems while adopting the latest electronic attack capabilities to ensure the system remains ahead of the threat and supports the U.S. Navy’s Distributed Maritime Operations (DMO) concepts of operations. 

The $100.7 million base contract is for the first follow on production lot of AN/SLQ-32(V)7 SEWIP Block 3 systems. The contract has a maximum value of $1.16 billion. The system will be installed initially on Arleigh-Burke class destroyers and is scalable to other ship classes. 

SEWIP Block 3 is the third in a series of incremental upgrades that adds an electronic attack capability to the AN/SLQ-32 electronic warfare (EW) system to defend ships against anti-ship missiles. The program is managed by the U.S. Navy Program Executive Office – Integrated Warfare Systems (PEO IWS). 

“With this follow-on production award, Northrop Grumman will continue to provide game-changing maritime EW capability that will underpin future Fleet Electromagnetic Maneuver Warfare operations” said Ingrid Vaughan, vice president and general manager, maritime/land systems and sensors, Northrop Grumman. “We are writing a new chapter in the evolution of the AN/SLQ-32 that will fundamentally change how the Fleet will win the fight for years to come.” 

NAVAL SUPPORT ACTIVITY SOUDA BAY, Greece – The Expeditionary Sea Base USS Hershel “Woody” Williams (ESB 4), shifted its homeport from Norfolk, Va., to Souda Bay, Greece, effective Oct. 1, 2020, the U.S. Sixth Fleet Public Affairs said in an Oct. 2 release. 

Hershel ‘Woody’ Williams conducts U.S. Africa Command missions in the Mediterranean, and the waters around East, South and West Africa, to include the Gulf of Guinea operating with regional partners. 

“Hershel ‘Woody’ Williams provides a new capability in the theater, which enhances our interoperability with our partners across the spectrum of maritime operations,” said Vice Adm. Gene Black, commander, U.S. Sixth Fleet. “The unique design of the ship fosters inter-service operations with our U.S. Marine Corps and Special Operations communities, which improves our ability to ensure maritime security and stability.”     

Due to the ship’s extended overseas assignment, Military Sealift Command (MSC) will conduct her routine maintenance in existing facilities at NSA Souda Bay and other overseas ports. 

“The ship truly demonstrates the U.S. Navy’s incomparable maritime flexibility and professionalism,” said Capt. David Gray, Hershel “Woody” Williams’ commanding officer, blue crew. “We operate with a crew of Sailors and civilians who, since our arrival in Sixth Fleet have supported U.S. Marine Corps and Special Operations training, as well as partner nation missions from the Eastern Mediterranean to the Gulf of Guinea.”  

The ship’s two-fold mission provides the U.S. a forward deployed naval presence in Africa, as well as increased naval power through Navy and Marine Corps integrated operations, including Marine aviation and support to amphibious operations. Other operations and training capabilities the ship performs include support to special operations, command and control, and staging of equipment. 

NSA Souda Bay serves as a naval logistics hub for U.S. 6th Fleet, providing support to U.S. warships and logistics ships in the region. 

U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa and U.S. 6th Fleet, headquartered in Naples, Italy, conduct the full spectrum of joint and naval operations, often in concert with allied and interagency partners, in order to advance U.S. national interests and security and stability in Europe and Africa.