ARLINGTON, Va. — The Defense Department is taking more actions to shore up the shipbuilding industrial base, among other industrial sectors, the department said in a June 18 release.  

The actions, made under the Defense Production Act Title III, are designed to “help sustain and strengthen essential domestic industrial base capabilities and defense-critical workforce in shipbuilding, aircraft manufacturing, and clothing and textiles,” said Lt. Col. Mike Andrews, Defense Department spokesman, in the release. “These actions will help to retain critical workforce capabilities throughout the disruption caused by COVID-19 and to restore some jobs lost because of the pandemic.” 

DoD made a $50 million agreement with Austal USA, a shipbuilder in Mobile, Alabama, “to maintain, protect, and expand critical domestic shipbuilding and maintenance capacity. These investments will have long-term benefits for U.S. Navy shipbuilding while accelerating pandemic recovery efforts in the Gulf Coast region,” the release said. 

Austal is the builder of the Navy’s Independence-class littoral combat ships and Spearheard-class expeditionary fast transport ships. 

In addition, DoD entered into a $55 million agreement with W International, based in Goose Creek, South Carolina, “to maintain, protect and expand critical domestic industrial base capability for the U.S. Navy nuclear shipbuilding industry. These investments will have long-term benefits for Navy shipbuilding while accelerating pandemic recovery efforts in the South East region of the United States,” the release said. 

W international is a fabrication corporation “that provides manufacturing, custom fabrication, project management, tooling and engineering services to clients in the aerospace, defense, automotive, energy and commercial industries,” according to the company’s website. 

In both cases, the DoD actions are being taken to “ensure critical capabilities are retained in support of U.S. Navy operational readiness,” Andrews said. 

ARLINGTON, Va. — The crash of a Navy F/A-18F Super Hornet strike fighter on June 18 was only the second loss of a Navy aircraft so far in 2020 — or in fiscal 2020 as well — according to an unofficial count.  

The F/A-18F lost on June 18 crashed into the Philippine Sea during a sortie from the USS Theodore Roosevelt. The aircraft’s pilot and weapon system operator were rescued by an MH-60S helicopter from Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron Eight (HSC-8), according to a release from the aircraft carrier. 

The F/A-18F was assigned to Fighter Squadron 154 (VF-154), according to a source.  

“The incident occurred as the F/A-18F Super Hornet assigned to Carrier Air Wing 11 was conducting routine pilot proficiency training. The incident is currently under investigation,” the carrier said in its release. “Both aviators were assessed by the medical team on board Theodore Roosevelt and are in good condition.” 

The other loss in 2020 so far was an MH-60S operating from the 7th Fleet command ship USS Blue Ridge on Jan. 25. The helicopter crashed into the Philippine Sea and all five personnel on board were rescued. 

ARLINGTON, Va. — Capt. Brett Crozier, the embattled former skipper of the first U.S. Navy warship to suffer a novel coronavirus outbreak at sea, will not be restored to command of the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt, top Navy leaders announced June 19.

Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday and Navy Secretary Kenneth J. Braithwaite announced the decision at a Pentagon press briefing on the results of the USS Theodore Roosevelt Command Investigation, begun April 2, the day Crozier was fired. The investigation was conducted by Vice Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Robert Burke.

Gilday said he would not reassign Crozier as the commanding officer of the ship known as the TR, “nor will he be eligible for future command. Capt. Crozier will be reassigned.” Gilday also said the promotion of Crozier’s immediate superior, Rear Adm. Stuart Baker, the Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group commander, to a second star was being put on hold “pending further review.”

Braithwaite, who was sworn into office just three weeks ago, said he fully supported the report’s findings and recommendations and “I am satisfied that it was conducted in an extremely thorough and fair.”

Gilday conceded that he previously believed that Crozier should be reinstated after conducting an initial investigation following Crozier’s removal, but a wider investigation had a much deeper scope.

“It is my belief that both Admiral Baker and Capt. Crozier fell well short of what we expect of those  in command,” he said. “Had I known then what I know today, I would not have made that recommendation to reinstate Capt. Crozier. Moreover, if Capt. Crozier were still in command today, I would be relieving him,” Gilday added.

Crozier was relieved of command April 2 by then acting Navy Secretary Thomas B. Modly after a March 30 letter that Crozier wrote to top Navy officers and fellow naval aviators, pleading for faster intervention from his superiors to assist his crew, was leaked to a San Francisco newspaper.

In the letter, which was sent, unencrypted, via email, Crozier expressed alarm over the slow pace of disembarking his crew at Naval Base Guam while the coronavirus spread rapidly on the ship, also known as the TR. Publication of the letter in the San Francisco Chronicle sparked an outcry and worldwide media attention over Crozier’s actions and the fate of the carrier’s crew.

Eventually, 1,100 of the TR’s nearly 5,000 crewmembers, including Crozier himself, tested positive for COVID-19. Only a fraction required hospitalization, but one Sailor, Aviation Ordnanceman CPO Charles Thacker Jr., succumbed to the virus.

Crozier was hailed as a hero by his crew — who were seen on video cheering for him as he departed the ship in Guam — while others criticized him for circumventing the Navy’s chain of command. Modly said Crozier was not fired in retaliation for his letter but because the secretary had lost confidence in the captain’s leadership. Crozier, he said, had allowed the complexity of the COVID-19 challenge “to overwhelm his ability to act professionally, when acting professionally was what was needed.”

However, Modly complicated matters by flying to Guam, to defend his actions in an April 6 profanity laced address to the TR’s crew. Modly called Crozier “too naive or too stupid to be the commanding officer of a ship like this,” according transcripts of recordings of Modly’s remarks made by several of the carrier’s crew.

Less than 24 hours after the speech, Modly issued an apology to Crozier, the Roosevelt’s crew and the Navy, and offered his resignation to Defense Secretary Mark Esper, who accepted it.

Gilday directed Burke, the vice CNO, to investigate the circumstances and climate of the entire Pacific Fleet affecting the chain of command. Previously, Gilday spoke of “a potential comms breakdown, wherever it occurred,” adding “we’re not looking to shoot the messenger here, we want to get this right.”

The completed report was delivered April 24 to Modly’s replacement, acting Navy Secretary James McPherson, who directed Gilday to conduct a second investigation, saying he had “unanswered questions that the preliminary inquiry has identified and that can only be answered by a deeper review.”  

COVID-19 was detected on board the aircraft carrier in late March, 15 days after the TR made a port call to Da Nang, Vietnam, the Navy announced March 24. Stopping at Guam for a scheduled visit on March 27, Crozier began disembarking crewmembers as the number of Sailors testing positive continued to rise. Finding suitable accommodations for thousands of personnel on the island was a slow process.

In his letter, Crozier said the carrier had inadequate space to isolate or quarantine Sailors. “We are not at war. Sailors do not need to die,” Crozier wrote. “If we do not act now, we are failing to properly take care of our most trusted asset — our Sailors.”

Testing the entire crew for COVID-19 was completed in mid-May and they began returning to the carrier in waves after 14-days’ isolation and twice testing negative for the virus. Despite those efforts, at least 14 returning Sailors tested positive again for COVID-19. Following a bow-to-stern deep-cleaning process by about 700 crew members, and recertifying aviation activities for its Carrier Air Wing 11, the TR left Guam and resumed it mission on June 4.

ARLINGTON, Va. — Boeing has delivered the first two Block III Super Hornet strike fighters to the U.S. Navy. The aircraft, an F/A-18E and two-seat F/A-18F, will go through comprehensive testing by Navy air test and evaluation (VX) squadrons over the next year.  

VX-23 at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, will receive the F/A-18F (the 287th built) aircraft for “shore-based carrier testing” and will be used for testing of hardware and aeromechanical aspects, the Program Executive Office-Tactical Aircraft (PEO(T)) said in a June 17 release. 

Once that testing is completed, the F/A-18F will go to VX-31 at Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, California, to complete Bock III testing. The F/A-18E (the 323rd built) will go to VX-31 for software functionality and network architecture testing. 

The Block III Super Hornet features several major structural and mission system improvements over the Block II, Jennifer Tebo, Boeing’s director of development for F/A-18E/F & EA-18G Programs, said in a June 17 teleconference with media.  

The Advanced Cockpit System includes replacement of a set of displays with a single large touch-screen display for improved user interface and display of the Common Tactical Picture, the PEO said. 

The Advanced Network Infrastructure will have 17 times the computing power of the mission computer of the Block II through the Distributed Targeting Processor Network and Tactical Targeting Network Technology (TTNT). 

Tebo described the TTNT as a “big data pipe — low latency, high-data” for better situational awareness. The infrastructure will be open to accept third-party applications for “speed to the fleet with urgent needs,” she said. 

The Block III Super Hornets will feature an improved radar cross section for better survivability. 

The most distinguishable characteristic of the Block III is the addition of streamlined, low-drag conformal fuel tanks to the upper wing and fuselage junctions. These will be optional for use and will enable the Super Hornet to carry 3,500 pounds more fuel, reducing the need for underwing external fuel tanks and freeing up the pylons to carry more weapons. 

When delivered, each Block III will have a service life of 10,000 flight hours, far more than the 6,000 hours of a Block II strike fighter. 

“In addition to the Block III delivery, Boeing will also perform service life modification (SLM) to hundreds of Block II Super Hornets, to extend their service life and integrate Block III capabilities,” the PEO said. “SLM is key to building the capacity and capability to ensure the Navy has jets ready to fight into the mid-2040s.” 

Tebo said the SLM will extend the life of Block IIs to 10,000 hours and that deliveries of Block IIIs converted from Block IIs will begin in 2023 and continue into the mid-2030s. 

Tebo said the Block III Super Hornet made its first flight on May 14. Delivery of 78 full-up production Block IIIs is planned to begin in mid-2021 at a rate of two per month through early 2024. 

“The first squadron deployment of Block III Super Hornet is anticipated in mid-2023, with a plan in place to have two Block III squadrons, composed of new production and Block IIs that have undergone SLM, accompanying each carrier air wing by 2027,” the PEO said in the release. 

“Now it’s up to our test squadrons and our integration team to verify requirements are met and ensure the engineering behind the Block III is validated prior to full-scale production and delivery of the Block III to the fleet,” Capt. Mike Burks, F/A-18 E/F deputy program manager, said in the release. 

“These new capabilities are essential for ensuring we maintain the tactical advantage in the Great Power Competition,” Capt. Jason Denney, the Navy’s F/A-18 & EA-1G Program Manager, said in the release. “Block III production and SLM for our Block IIs also demonstrate contracting efficiency and solid partnerships with industry — an all-around win for the Navy, for Boeing, and for the warfighter.”

ARLINGTON, Va. — Defense Secretary Mark Esper announced on June 16 that the president has made these nominations of U.S. Navy rear admirals to the rank of vice admiral: 

• Rear Adm. William J. Galinis for appointment to the rank of vice admiral and assignment as commander of Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C.  Galinis served as program executive officer for ships, Washington, D.C. 
• Rear Adm. Samuel J. Paparo Jr. for appointment to the rank of vice admiral and assignment as commander, U.S. Naval Forces, U.S. Central Command; commander, U.S. 5th Fleet; and commander, Combined Maritime Forces, Manama, Bahrain. Paparo is serving as director of operations, J3, U.S. Central Command, Tampa, Florida.  
• Rear Adm. Jeffrey E. Trussler for appointment to the rank of vice admiral and assignment as deputy chief of naval operations for information warfare, N2/N6, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, and director of naval intelligence, Washington, D.C. Trussler served as director, future plans, N55, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Washington, D.C. 

The Navy secretary and chief of naval operations announced the following assignments: 

• Rear Adm. Michael D. Bernacchi Jr. will be assigned as director, plans and policy, J5, U.S. Space Command, Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado. Bernacchi served as commander, Submarine Group 10, Kings Bay, Georgia. 
• Rear Adm. Yvette M. Davids will be assigned as chief of staff, U.S. Southern Command, Doral, Florida. Davids served as commander, Carrier Strike Group 11, Everett, Washington.  
• Rear Adm. Michael P. Holland will be assigned as chief of staff, U.S. Northern Command/North American Aerospace Defense Command, Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado.  Holland is currently serving as director, programming division, N80, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Washington, D.C. 
• Rear Adm. William W. Wheeler III will be assigned as chief of staff, U.S. Strategic Command, Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska. Wheeler is serving as director, plans and policy, J5, U.S. Cyber Command, Fort Meade, Maryland. 
• Rear Adm. (lower half) Anne M. Swap, selected for promotion to rear admiral, will be assigned as director, National Capital Medical Directorate, Defense Health Agency, Washington, D.C. Swap is serving as commander, Naval Medical Forces Atlantic, Portsmouth, Virginia. 
• Rear Adm. (lower half) Joseph A. DiGuardo Jr. will be assigned as commander, Navy Expeditionary Combat Command (NECC), Virginia Beach, Virginia, with additional duties as commander, NECC Pacific. DiGuardo is serving as deputy director of plans and policy for countering weapons of mass destruction, U.S. Special Operations Command, Fort Belvoir, Virginia.  
• Rear Adm. (lower half) Kevin M. Jones will be assigned as director, Logistics Directorate, J-4, U.S. Africa Command, Stuttgart, Germany.  Jones is currently serving as commander, Defense Logistics Agency Distribution, New Cumberland, Pennsylvania. 
• Rear Adm. (lower half) Pamela C. Miller will be assigned as fleet surgeon, U.S. Pacific Fleet, and command surgeon, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, Camp H.M. Smith, Hawaii. Miller is serving as reserve fleet surgeon, U.S. Fleet Forces Command, Norfolk, Virginia. 
• Rear Adm. (lower half) Douglas C. Verissimo is serving as commander, Carrier Strike Group 9, San Diego. Verissimo served as deputy director for operations, National Joint Operations Intelligence Center, Operations Team Two, J3, Joint Staff, Washington, D.C. 
• Rear Adm. (lower half) Michael J. Vernazza will be assigned as commander, Naval Information Warfighting Development Center, Norfolk, Virginia. Vernazza is serving as deputy commander, 10th Fleet, Fort Meade, Maryland. 
• Rear Adm. (lower half) Darin K. Via will be assigned as commander, Naval Medical Forces Atlantic, Portsmouth, Virginia. Via is serving as director, medical systems integration and combat survivability, N44, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Washington, D.C. 

TUCSON, Ariz. — Raytheon’s Missiles & Defense business recently carried out the first guided release of a GBU-53/B StormBreaker smart weapon from an F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, which will become the second fighter to utilize the weapon when the program reaches initial operational capability later this year, the company said.  

“StormBreaker is the only weapon that enables pilots to hit moving targets during bad weather or if dust and smoke are in the area,” said Cristy Stagg, the StormBreaker program director for Raytheon. “Super Hornet pilots will be able to use poor visibility to their advantage when StormBreaker integration is complete.” 

During the U.S. Navy flight test, StormBreaker safely separated from the fighter and received guidance data from the plane, enabling it to be directed to its target while in flight. 

StormBreaker, formerly known as Small-Diameter Bomb II, features a tri-mode seeker that uses imaging infrared and millimeter wave radar in its normal mode. The weapon can also deploy its semi-active laser or GPS guidance to hit targets. 

The smart weapon gives operators the ability in combat to hit moving targets in some of the worst weather conditions. The winged munition autonomously detects and classifies moving targets in poor visibility situations caused by darkness, bad weather, smoke or dust kicked up by helicopters. 

The weapon’s seeker works in three modes: 

• Millimeter wave radar detects and tracks targets through weather. 
• Imaging infrared provides enhanced target discrimination.  
• Semi-active laser enables the weapon to track an airborne laser designator or one on the ground.  

The tri-mode seeker shares targeting information among all three modes, enabling StormBreaker to engage fixed or moving targets at any time of day and in all weather conditions. 

StormBreaker’s small size enables the use of fewer aircraft to take out the same number of targets as larger weapons that require multiple jets. The weapon can also fly more than 45 miles to strike mobile targets, reducing the amount of time that aircrews spend in harm’s way. 

The F-15E Eagle is the first platform to add StormBreaker; it’s also being integrated on the F-35 joint strike fighter.

PASCAGOULA, Miss. — The guided-missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald departed Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Ingalls Shipbuilding shipyard on June 13 to return to its homeport in San Diego, Naval Sea Systems Command said in a release. 

The sail away reflects more than two years of effort in restoring and modernizing one of the Navy’s most capable warships after it was damaged during a collision in 2017 that claimed the lives of seven Sailors. 

“Today the ‘Fighting Fitz’ is returning to the Pacific Fleet as one of our nation’s most capable warfighting platforms, marking a significant step in her return to warfighting readiness,” said Rear Adm. Eric Ver Hage, director of surface ship maintenance and modernization and commander of the Navy Regional Maintenance Center. “The Fitzgerald sailors, our Navy project teams, and the men and women of Ingalls put forth a tremendous effort to restore the ship to fighting shape and did so on schedule.” 

To restore the impacted spaces to full operations and functionality, various hull, mechanical and electrical, combat system and command, control, communications, computers and intelligence repairs and upgrades were completed. This work ranged from partial to complete refurbishment of impacted spaces to replacement of equipment such as the radar and electronic warfare suite. 

Due to the extent and complexity of the restoration, both repair and new construction procedures were used to accomplish the restoration and modernization efforts. Throughout this restoration, the U.S. Navy made it a priority to ensure the Fitzgerald returned to a peak state of warfighting readiness to contribute to an agile and dynamic fleet. 

The Fitzgerald’s crew completed multiple training and certification events, such as navigation assessment and light off assessment (LOA), to ensure the crew was at peak readiness to operate the ship as it returns to homeport. 

“Completing repairs and upgrades to Fitzgerald was only possible because of the outstanding teamwork between the government and industry teams over the last 2 1/2 years,” said Cmdr. Scott Wilbur, commanding officer of the Fitzgerald. “My thanks go out to everyone involved in making sure the ship is ready, and I’m especially proud of my crew’s hard work ensuring we are trained and prepared to take our ship back to sea.”  

Prior to departing Pascagoula for San Diego, the Fitzgerald’s crew began a pre-movement sequester on May 23 in accordance with U.S. Navy pre-deployment guidelines — compliance with Navy and CDC guidance is critical to minimize the spread of COVID-19. 

The Fitzgerald is assigned to Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 1 and upon return to her homeport in San Diego, crew training and certifications will commence in support of basic phase training. 

ARLINGTON, Va. — The Senate Armed Services Committee has marked up its version of the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to require a plan to increase the number of Navy destroyers based in Rota, Spain. 

The mark-up, released June 11, “[r]equires the Chief of Naval Operations and Commander of U.S. European Command to submit a detailed plan to base two additional destroyers at our base in Rota, Spain, as soon as practicable.” 

As part of the NDAA bill, the requirement must be approved by the full Senate, the House of Representatives and the president before it becomes policy. 

The Navy currently bases four Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers (DDGs) at Naval Station Rota as units of the U.S. 6th Fleet. One of the primary roles of the ships is to conduct ballistic-missile defense patrols in the Mediterranean Sea in support of European Command. 

The Navy is in the process of replacing the four DDGs originally forward-deployed in Rota with more modern versions of the Arleigh Burke class. The USS Roosevelt, a Flight IIA DDG, arrived in Rota on May 16 to replace the USS Carney, a Flight I ship. Other newer DDGs eventually will arrive to replace the USS Ross, USS Donald Cook and USS Porter in Rota. 

The Roosevelt is a Flight IIA DDG that brings the Aegis Baseline 9/Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) 5.1 Advanced Capability Build upgrade to the Aegis Combat System. The system “integrates its weapons and sensors to include Cooperative Engagement Capability; Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile; Mk15 Close-In Weapons System Block 1B; and the Mk41 Vertical Launching System, capable of supporting Standard Missile (SM) 3 and newer variants. These capabilities vastly increase the sea-based BMD force structure and contribute to NATO’s robust integrated air and missile defense (IAMD) architecture,” the release said.  

The Roosevelt and the future replacement DDGs will operate MH-60R helicopters. The Navy plans to station a full MH-60R squadron in Rota by the time the three remaining Flight I/II DDGs are replaced in 2022. 

ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Navy’s new organization for warfighting development (N7) is now fully organized for its role in developing strategy and warfighters, its director said, and has joined with the U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Coast Guard to develop a new maritime strategy.  

The deputy chief of naval operations (DCNO) for warfighting development, Vice Adm. Stuart Munsch, said that N7 is making progress in fulfilling its roles and is hitting its stride and, in conjunction with the Marine Corps and Coast Guard, expects to field the new maritime strategy by late summer or early fall.  

“Our North Star is warfighting advantage,” Munsch said during a June 5 teleconference with reporters, noting the Navy’s focus on the current climate of Great Power Competition and the need to outpace increasingly sophisticated adversaries, renewing a focus on sea control.  

The Navy directive addressing the organizational changes defined the role of N7 “with ensuring the Navy’s warfighting advantage in order to deter, dissuade and deny or defeat adversaries by engaging in three broad, interrelated lines of effort: warfighter development, warfare development and warfighter corps development. It further established that CNO N7’s mission and functions will be supported by a digital platform to enhance its ability to achieve a warfighting edge for the Navy.”    

The N7 now has four divisions: director, warfighter development; director, warfare development; director, strategic warfighting innovation cell; and director, warfare integration.  

N7 is responsible for developing the strategic framework for the Navy, looking forward at longer range than N3/5, the DCNO for operations, plans and strategy, which focuses on the short term. N7 has now absorbed the functions and billets of the now disestablished Strategy Division, Naval Strategy Panel, and some billets from the Naval Warfare Group from N3/5. The Naval Analytics Office also now is aligned within N7.  

Munsch said that N7 is to identify the key operational problems facing the Navy and to develop solutions.  

N7 also is responsible for force employment and force development, working with the Joint Chiefs of Staff to develop the Joint Warfighting Concept and an influencing the DCNO for warfare systems (N9) with the characteristics of the capabilities needed to implement strategy.  

Munsch also said his office has the role of adapting the Navy to changing circumstances, instilling adaptability into the institutional behavior of the Navy, and instilling a lifelong habit of learning to enable that adaptability.  

To enhance that learning, Munsch said that the Naval War College, Naval Postgraduate School and U.S. Naval Academy are now under the N7 umbrella, having been shifted from the chief of naval personnel (N1) organization.  

Also now aligned within N7 are certain billets from the Resource Management Division and Total Force Manpower, Training, and Education Requirements Division from the N1 organization.  

The admiral said that N7 will craft a wargaming schedule for the War College that will be the “most advanced and significant war gaming we’ve done since the 1930s.”  

He was referring to the innovative wargaming by the Navy in the inter-war period in which the Navy developed many of the concepts that enabled the Navy to achieve victory in World War II.  

Vice Adm. Lisa M. Franchetti, commander of the U.S. 6th Fleet, has been confirmed to succeed Munsch as the head of N7 this summer. 

EVENDALE, Ohio — GE Marine has delivered its first new lightweight LM2500 composite gas turbine module to Austal USA for the future USS Santa Barbara, the company said in a release. 

This new module, which was fully certified by the U.S. Navy last year after receiving MIL-S-901D shock qualification, provides a 5,500-pound weight savings (50% wall weight reduction) and 60% quieter enclosure.  

Austal USA recognized the attributes of this new composite module design by bestowing GE Marine with its 2018 Supplier Innovation Award. 

GE is supplying 38 LM2500 gas turbines to Austal USA for Independence-class variants of littoral combat ships up to LCS 38. Like all Austal USA-built littoral ships, the Santa Barbara will be powered by two GE LM2500 gas turbines arranged in a combined diesel and gas turbine configuration with two diesel engines. 

The Module Modernization Program was a four-year collaborative effort with the Navy, Bath Iron Works of Bath, Maine, and GE. GE’s strategic partners in this effort included: RL Industries of Fairfield, Ohio, for help in developing and qualifying the carbon fiber enclosure; and DRS Power Technology of Fitchburg, Massachusetts, which helped satisfy all first article inspection quality requirements and package assembly.  

Changes to the LM2500 system include the composite module, components, and fewer shock mounts for weight reduction, all while leveraging the experience and loadings from previous LM2500 shock tests with running units. Components such as sensors, transducers, ice and flame detectors and the heater also were updated.