ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Navy has given its E-2 Hawkeye squadrons a new designation to more accurately reflect the aircraft’s expanded capabilities and missions. 

The service has changed the name from Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron to Airborne Command and Control Squadron, effective Jan. 1, said Lt. Travis Callaghan, a spokesman for commander, Naval Air Forces, in response to a query from Seapower. 

The E-2 was fielded in 1965 during the Vietnam War as a radar early warning aircraft that was able to detect and track airborne targets and provide radio voice commands and data link tracks to enable fighters to intercept enemy aircraft or cruise missiles. Over the succeeding decades and as the sophistication of the E-2’s radar increased and other sensors were added, the aircraft added to its portfolio battle management, strike control, land force support, rescue coordination, drug-interdiction operations and other tasks that went beyond simple early warning. 

The current version in production, the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye, built by Northrop Grumman and equipped with Lockheed Martin’s APY-9 radar, includes modern capabilities such as Cooperative Engagement Capability and Navy Integrated Fire Control, which enhance its role as the Navy’s “quarterback in the sky.”  

Each of the Navy’s nine carrier air wings is equipped with one E-2C or E-2D squadron. Four squadrons are based at Naval Air Station Point Mugu, California, and one is based at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, while five are stationed at Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia, one being a replacement training squadron. 

The airborne command and control squadrons will retain the VAW acronym that has been in use since the 1950s. 

PASCAGOULA, Miss. — The future guided-missile destroyer USS Delbert D. Black successfully completed builder’s trials on Feb. 22 after spending three days underway in the Gulf of Mexico, according to the Navy’s Program Executive Office (PEO)-Ships. The trials were conducted by the shipbuilder, Huntington Ingalls Industries, Ingalls Shipbuilding Division. 

The ship was previously underway for Alpha trials in December and will be underway again in March for acceptance trials, which will be conducted by the U.S. Navy’s Board of Inspection and Survey. 

“The Navy and our dedicated shipbuilders have continued to make strides towards delivering this exceptional capability to the fleet and performed well during builder’s trials,” said Capt. Seth Miller, DDG 51 class program manager, PEO-Ships. “This ship continues the proud Aegis shipbuilding legacy and will provide the Navy with a 21st-century fighting edge.”  

Delbert D. Black is configured as a Flight IIA destroyer, which enables power projection, forward presence and escort operations at sea in support of low intensity conflict/coastal and littoral offshore sarfare as well as open ocean conflict. DDG 119 will be equipped with the Navy’s Aegis Combat System.  

HII’s Pascagoula shipyard also is producing the future destroyers Frank E. Petersen Jr (DDG 121), Lenah H. Sutcliffe Higbee (DDG 123) and Jack H. Lucas (DDG 125), the first ship to be built in the Flight III configuration. 

ARLINGTON, Va. — A Virginia-class attack submarine heads the U.S. Navy’s fiscal 2021 unfunded priorities list, according to Feb. 19 letter to Congress from Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michael Gilday. Three types of aircraft and one logistics proof-of-concept ship round out the top five unfunded priorities. 

Every year the services provide to congressional defense committees a list of procurement, operations and base infrastructure requirements that they would like Congress to fund should it wish to allocate more funds or to fund different priorities than some of those in the budget submission. 

A Virginia SSN order at $2.8 billion would be in addition to the one funded in the budget and enable the Navy to build a total of 10 Virginia SSNs under the Block V multiyear contract. 

The Navy also would like to add five F-35C Lightning II strike fighters to the 11 requested in the 2021 budget. Including spare parts, the addition would cost $525.5 million. 

The service also would like to procure an additional two E-2D Advanced Hawkeye command-and-control aircraft, upping the buy from six to eight for $357 million. The Navy has program of record of 77 — up from 75 — and has an objective of procuring a total of 86 E-2Ds. 

The Navy also would like to add two CMV-22B Osprey carrier-onboard-delivery aircraft to the six in the budget, which would require $211.4 million, including spare parts and spare engines. This also would increase the number of CMV-22Bs in the program to 46. 

As the Navy defines its requirements for a Small Auxiliary Logistics Platform for distributed maritime operations, it would like to fund — for $12 million — the lease of an additional offshore support vessel to support demonstrations “to evaluate potential solutions for refuel, re-supply and re-arm logistics mission requirements,”  the letter said. 

The Navy also would like to double the number of Next-Generation Jammer shipsets to six; procure 20 additional Naval Strike Missiles (NSMs), along with installation of an NSM launcher on an amphibious transport dock ship; procure two Surface Mission Modules for littoral combat ships; and purchase 100 more AIM-9X Block II air-to-air missiles; procure 6,392 sonobuoys to make up for unplanned operational expenditures; and upgrades to the Dual Band Radar on USS Gerald R. Ford and the Multifunction Radar on the Zumwalt-class destroyers. 

MOBILE, Ala. — The U.S. Navy’s 12th expeditionary fast transport (EPF), the future USNS Newport (EPF 12), was launched at Austal USA’s shipyard on Feb. 20, according to the Navy’s Program Executive Office-Ships said.  

The launching of an EPF is a multistep process. The ship modules are constructed in Austal’s manufacturing facility, then transported to the assembly bay. When ready for launch, the ship is translated by heavy-lift machinery to a docking barge in the Mobile River and further translated onto a floating dry dock. From there, the dry dock is submerged and the ship is launched. The translation and launch takes place over the course of two days. 

“We are excited to get Newport in the water, so we can shift focus to final outfitting and trials,” said Tim Roberts, strategic and theater sealift program manager, PEO-Ships. “EPFs increase our reach, improving our ability to sustain our Navy and Marine Corps forces around the globe.” 

EPFs are versatile, noncombatant transport ships that are being used for high-speed transportation of troops, military vehicles and equipment. They support a variety of missions including overseas contingency operations, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, support of special operations forces, theater security cooperation activities and emerging joint sea-basing concepts.   

EPFs can transport 600 short tons 1,200 nautical miles at an average speed of 35 knots. Each vessel includes a flight deck to support day and night aircraft launch and recovery operations. The ships are capable of interfacing with roll-on/roll-off discharge facilities, as well as on/off-loading vehicles such as a fully combat-loaded Abrams tank. 

The Newport is on track to be delivered later this year. Austal USA has also started construction of the future USNS Apalachicola (EPF 13) and is under contract to build the future USNS Cody (EPF 14). 

WASHINGTON — Digital modernization of U.S. Navy back-office
operations is a largely overlooked activity that can improve readiness, cut
costs and deliver educational content and training to personnel, acting Navy Secretary
Thomas B. Modly said on Feb. 21.

Participating in a panel discussion with U.S. Army Secretary
Ryan McCarthy and U.S. Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett at the Center for
Strategic and International Studies, Modly and the others were asked what
technologies were underappreciated or promised unexpected benefits.

The Army secretary cited long-range precision fires. The Air
Force secretary mentioned GPS and the other existing technologies in space that
she noted were “ubiquitous but invisible.” Modly singled out digitalization for
opening up “huge opportunities to improve our networks and how we do business
through better use of technology.”

The Department of the Navy is at least 15 years behind the
private sector in the ability “to understand where things are in our inventory
system,” Modly said. As an example, he cited an audit conducted in 2019 that
found a warehouse in Florida containing aircraft parts worth $150 million.

“We didn’t know we had the parts. We didn’t know we had the
warehouse,” he said. A week after the parts were input into the Navy’s
inventory system, there were $20 million in requisitions for those parts “for
aircraft that were down for [lack of] parts we didn’t know we had,” Modly said.

During discussion of other topics, Modly said he didn’t
think the Navy Department budget top line — or the Defense Department’s — was
likely to grow much soon. To contend with the pressures of increasing the size
of the surface force to 355 ships and improving readiness, Modly said leaders
will need to look internally to find savings “in the way we traditionally do
things” to fund the priorities outlined in the National Defense Strategy.

He said some “North Stars” point the way in the recently completed Integrated Naval Force Structure Assessment, which has not been made public. Additionally, Modly has ordered a stem-to-stern review to find savings to fill the budget gap. If 5% to 6% of the $207 billion Navy budget can be freed up, he said, “we can start moving down the path” to a 355-ship-plus Navy in the next 10 years. All three secretaries said they were cooperating with each other and industry on the development of hypersonic weapons.

However, Modly noted that moving such new technology to production is a “big, big leap.” He added that the military needs to send strong signals to industry about where it is headed. “But a lot of this technology is really new, so we have to make sure it works before we jump too far.”

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Navy recently installed the first Optical Dazzling Interdictor, Navy (ODIN), a laser weapon system that allows its ships to counter enemy unmanned aerial systems (UAS), Naval Sea Systems Command said. 

The first system was installed on the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Dewey during the ship’s recently completed dry-docking. 

ODIN’s development, testing and production was done by Navy experts at Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) Dahlgren Division in Dahlgren, Virginia, in support of Program Executive Office Integrated Warfare Systems. Their work on the laser weapon system known as LaWS positioned them to be the design and production agent for ODIN. 

During his recent visit to the Dewey, James F. Geurts, assistant secretary of the Navy for research development and acquisition, said he was impressed by the rapid progress made by the team. 

Geurts said: “This is a great example of our organic talent at the warfare centers all working together with ship’s company to deliver a system which will provide game-changing capability. Bravo Zulu to the entire ODIN team on being mission-focused and delivering lethal capability to the warfighter.” 

Going from an approved idea to installation in two and a half years, ODIN’s installation on Dewey is the first operational employment of the stand-alone system that functions as a dazzler to combat threats from enemy UAS. 

Adversaries’ UAS production and employment has increased significantly, and ODIN was developed to counter these threats. 

“The Pacific Fleet commander identified this urgent counter-intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance need, and the chief of naval operations directed us to fill it as quickly as possible,” said Cmdr. David Wolfe, Program Executive Office Integrated Warfare Systems Directed Energy office. 

“The NSWC Dahlgren Division team did an amazing job addressing challenges and keeping our accelerated schedule on track and moving forward to deliver this capability.” 

Within the next couple of years, the ODIN program will have all units operational within the fleet. Lessons learned from ODIN’s installation on Dewey will inform installation on other vessels and further development and implementation of surface Navy laser weapon systems.

HOUMA, La. — A keel-laying ceremony was held Feb. 12 for the future USNS Cherokee Nation (T-ATS 7), the second ship of the Navy’s Navajo class of towing, salvage and rescue vessels. The ceremony was held near Gulf Island Shipyard at the Houma Terrebonne Civic Center. 

The ceremony formally marks the start of a ship’s life and the joining of the ship’s modular components. The keel serves as the symbolic backbone of the ship. 

In attendance to authenticate the keel was Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation, Chuck Hoskin Jr., and the ship’s sponsor and deputy speaker of the Cherokee Nation Tribal Council, Victoria Mitchell Vazquez. 

During the ceremony, the keel authenticators etched their initials into the keel plate and declared it to be “truly and fairly laid.” 

“We are honored to have so many representatives of the Cherokee Nation in attendance to celebrate this early milestone,” said Mike Kosar, support ships, boats and craft program manager, Program Executive Office Ships. “The ship is critical to the operations of our fleet and will soon sail with the pride and determination of the Cherokee people, which it is named to honor.” 

The Navajo-class will provide ocean-going tug, salvage and rescue capabilities to support fleet operations. The current capabilities are provided by three T-ATF 166 and two T-ARS 50 class ships, several of which will reach the end of their expected service lives later this year. 

Navajo-class ships will be capable of towing U.S. Navy ships and will have 6,000 square feet of deck space for embarked systems. The platform will be 263 feet long, have a beam of 59 feet and can carry a load of nearly 2,000 tons. 

In addition to the future USNS Cherokee Nation (T-ATS 7), Gulf Island Shipyard is building the future USNS Navajo (T-ATS 6) and is under contract for the detail design and construction of the future USNS Saginaw Ojibwe Anishinabek (T-ATS 8).

The USS Normandy, while conducting maritime security operations in the U.S. Central Command area of operations, boarded a dhow in the Arabian Sea on Feb. 9 in accordance with international law and discovered a large cache of weapons, according to a Feb. 13 U.S. Central Command release. 

The weapons seized include 150 “Dehlavieh” anti-tank guided missiles (ATGM), which are Iranian-manufactured copies of Russian Kornet ATGMs. Other weapons components seized aboard the dhow were of Iranian design and manufacture and included three Iranian surface-to-air missiles, Iranian thermal imaging weapon scopes and Iranian components for unmanned aerial and surface vessels as well as other munitions and advanced weapons parts. 

Many of these weapons systems are identical to the advanced weapons and weapon components seized by guided-missile destroyer USS Forrest Sherman in the Arabian Sea in November. Those weapons were determined to be of Iranian origin and assessed to be destined for the Houthis in Yemen, which would be in violation of a U.N. Security Council resolution that prohibits the direct or indirect supply, sale or transfer of weapons to the Houthis.  

The seized weapons are in U.S. custody awaiting final disposition. The assessment of the material will be an interagency and international effort. International partner nations and organizations have also been invited to inspect the cache. The operation is ongoing, according to Central Command. 

SAN DIEGO — General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS) announced that the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) and Advanced Arresting Gear (AAG) have been cleared for shipboard launch and recovery of all currently deployed naval aircraft types aboard USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78). 

The Navy issued Aircraft Launch Bulletins (ALB) and Aircraft Recovery Bulletins (ARB) that identify the weights and engaging speeds authorized for shipboard aircraft launch and recovery, and signal EMALS and AAG are operationally safe for use aboard the Ford. On Jan. 31, the carrier completed at-sea aircraft compatibility testing (ACT) utilizing a range of aircraft, including F/A-18E/F, E-2D, C-2A, EA-18G, and T-45C, to prove EMALS and AAG can accommodate the air wing aircraft. 

“EMALS and AAG can launch and recover the current air wing and any future aircraft, to provide greater flexibility than the legacy systems aboard Nimitz-class carriers,” said Scott Forney, president of GA-EMS. 

“The Navy is expecting flight-deck certification to take place in the coming months and will conduct a steady stream of cats and traps this year — we’re talking in the thousands — to move the ship closer to full mission capability and capacity.” 

GA-EMS is delivering EMALS and AAG for the future USS John F. Kennedy and USS Enterprise. Significant cost savings are being realized through multiple ship production contracts, which minimize gaps in production while maximizing planning, scheduling and delivery to support all three Ford-class carriers. 

“The next few months are really where all the hard work comes together to intensely exercise these systems to meet [Gerald R. Ford] operational objectives,” stated Rolf Ziesing, vice president of programs at GA-EMS. “This is a very exciting time for us, generating a great deal of team pride as EMALS and AAG successfully performs. We remain laser-focused on our support of the Ford and ensuring that same success comes to fruition on the future CVN 79 and CVN 80.” 

ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S Navy’s 2021 budget seeks funding for only eight battle force ships, financed by $19.9 billion of a $207.1 billion Department of the Navy budget that is only slightly larger than the $205.2 billion budget enacted for fiscal 2020. The Future Years Defense Plan also forecasts some accelerated retirements or reductions in some ship and aircraft types.  

The $207.1 billion includes a base budget of $194.1 billion; a set-aside for Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) for Base of $4.3 billion; and OCO funding of $8.7 billion. Of the $207.1 billion, $161 billion is for the Navy and $46 billion is allotted to the U.S. Marine Corps. 

The budget shaves Marine funding and end strength. See story here.

The relatively flat budget includes $70.6 billion for operations and maintenance; $57.2 billion for procurement; $55.2 billion for personnel; $21.5 billion for research and development; and $2.6 billion for infrastructure. 

The Navy says the 2021 budget is focused on all-domain dominance — sea, air, land, cyber, space, assured command and control, battlespace awareness and an integrated force. The service is making a priority of “capable capacity over less-capable legacy platforms to pace a rapidly changing threat.” 

The investments in the 2021 budget also are designed to enable distributed maritime operations with lethality capable enough to impose cost on competitors. 

Nuclear deterrence remains the Navy’s top priority as it recapitalizes the ballistic-missile submarine (SSBN) fleet to ensure on-time delivery of the Columbia SSBN. 

The 2021 budget also advances development of new capabilities in the form of long-range hypersonic strike weapons such as Conventional Prompt Strike capability, with research funded at $1 billion aiming for an initial operational capability in 2028. The Standard Missile-6 Block 1B also is funded as well as the Navy Laser Family of Systems at $68.2 million. Other funded technological advances include additive manufacturing and applied artificial intelligence.    

The 2021 shipbuilding budget of $19.9 billion — compared with $24 billion enacted for 2020 — will fund the construction of the first Columbia-class ballistic-missile submarine. Other ships funded are one Virginia-class attack submarine; three Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers; the first FFG(X) next-generation guided-missile frigate; one Flight II San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ship; and two Navajo-class towing, salvage and rescue ships. 

The five-year Future Years Defense Plan includes plans for an amphibious assault ship in 2023; a replacement submarine tender in 2024; a new ocean surveillance ship in 2022; and a new cable-laying ship and a new sealift ship in 2023.  

The shipbuilding budget also includes funds for five LCU 1700-class utility landing craft. Two large unmanned surface vessels (LUSVs) are funded by research and development funds, with the seven LUSVs in the future to be built using shipbuilding funds. The shipbuilding request also restores the refueling and complex overhaul of the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman, which last year the Navy wanted to retire to instead fund modernization and new technologies.   

Two large unmanned surface vessels (LUSVs) are requested with $239 million in R&D funds, with the seven LUSVs in the future to be built using shipbuilding funds. R&D funds include $288 million for unmanned undersea vehicles (UUVs), including $116 million for the Orca Extra-Large UUV program and $78 million for the Snakehead large-diameter UUV. 

The Navy plans for the early retirement of four littoral combat ships (LCSs) and one dock landing ship (LSD) in 2021 as part of an effort to garner $1.4 billion in savings to help fund modernization. The four LCSs are the first four commissioned — Freedom, Independence, Fort Worth and Coronado — and are considered test and training ships. The LSD being retired in 2021 will be one of three — Germantown, Fort McHenry and Gunston Hall — that will be retired early over the next few years. 

The service also announced plans to decommission its four least modern Ticonderoga-class cruisers that have ballistic-missile defense (BMD) capability — Monterey, Shiloh, Vela Gulf and Port Royal — although no timetable was announced in budget documents. The BMD capabilities of these ships will be assumed by new Arleigh Burke-class DDGs. 

The Navy also plans to decommission its 12 Cyclone-class coastal patrol ships, but no timetable has been announced yet. 

R&D funds will be invested in 2021 for two new intra-theater lift vessels designed to support expeditionary advance-base operations and littoral operations in a contested environment. These investments will inform development of next-generation medium amphibious and logistics ships.   

If enacted as planned, this budget would bring the ship count of the battle force to 306 at the end of 2021, up from the current 293.   

The Navy plans to fund 121 aircraft with $17.2 billion in 2021, compared with $19.7 billion enacted in 2020. These include 24 F/A-18E/F Super Hornet strike fighters; 10 F-35B and 10 F-35C Lightning II strike fighters for the Marine Corps and 11 F-35Cs for the Navy; four E-2D Advanced Hawkeye early warning aircraft; six CMV-22B Osprey tilt-rotor carrier onboard delivery aircraft; three MV-22B Osprey transports; five KC-130J Super Hercules tanker/transports; seven CH-53K King Stallion transport helicopters; 36 TH-73A training helicopters; and five VH-92A presidential transport helicopters. 

Fiscal 2021 will fund the last batch of Super Hornets for the Navy. The 2021 budget does not fund any more P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft, although with the production line open for foreign procurement the Navy could order more if Congress funds them in the next few years.  

The large quantity of TH-73As being procured in 2021 will allow the Navy to accelerate retirement of the TH-57B/C training helicopter fleet and allow the Navy to cancel further depot-level overhauls of the TH-57. 

The budget funds research and development of the MQ-25A Stingray unmanned aerial refueling aircraft for initial production in 2023 and initial operational capability in 2024. 

The plans to accelerate retirement of the MH-53 Sea Dragon mine-sweeping helicopter to begin in 2022. The Navy also plans to start retiring the MQ-8B version of the Fire Scout UAV in 2024, with 14 of the 23 being retired initially until the MQ-8C version reaches initial operational capability with a mine-countermeasures capability — projected to be 2028 — when the last MQ-8Bs will be retired. 

Procurement of the MQ-4C Triton UAV is being gapped for 2021-2022 to allow time to mature the UAV’s signals intelligence suite. The RQ-4A Global Hawk Broad-Area Maritime Demonstration UAV will be retired beginning in 2023, freeing up funds for MQ-4C sustainment. The MQ-4C will replace the EP-3E electronic reconnaissance aircraft in 2022. 

The Navy Reserve plans in 2022 to deactivate Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 85, a unit that supports special operations forces with its MH-60S helicopters. The Air Force and Army field will retain a robust SOF support capability and the Navy’s general-purpose MH-60S squadrons also are trained to provide similar capability.  

For ship depot-level maintenance, $10 billion is provided for 2021, the same as in 2020, and aircraft depot-level maintenance increases to $1.7 billion, up from 2020’s $1.4 billion. The budget is focused on improved predictability and optimized performance of shipyard maintenance.  

If enacted, the budget would increase Navy military end-strength to 347,800 Sailors, up from 340,500 enacted in 2020. The Navy Reserve would remain stable at 58,800 Sailors.