As the last commanding officer of the USS Pittsburgh said
Jan. 17, “the old must be replaced by the new.” And with that salutation, the
crew of the Los Angeles fast-attack submarine, past commanding officers, Navy
League members and supporters bid farewell to the boat during its inactivation
ceremony at the U.S. Naval Undersea Museum in Keyport, Washington.

The USS Pittsburgh Relief Crew under the auspices of the
Pittsburgh Council has provided significant support to the submarine over its
35 years of active service. Though the boat, named for the city in
Pennsylvania, has been deactivated, a scholarship sponsored by the council for
current or past crew members and dependents of the sub will live indefinitely
at the Pittsburgh Foundation, a Pittsburgh metropolitan area philanthropy
organization.

The ceremony was the crew’s final event before their ship
is decommissioned and stored at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton,
Washington.

“The backbone of any crew, of any service member, is the
family that supports them at home,” said Jason Deichler, the 14th and final
commanding officer of the USS Pittsburgh, who himself is a Pittsburgh native.

“To the families of current and crewmembers here today,
thank you. The power of your faces, smiles, family grams, small tokens and love
enable the strength required for the impossible tasks we ask the crew to
perform. It is what sets us apart in many ways from the armed services of other
nations. We know the faces of our family, and we work to truly honor them.”

Carol H. Sawyer, a professor of organizational leadership
at University of La Verne, California, also spoke of what it’s meant for her to
have been the submarine’s sponsor and a part of the Pittsburgh family since the
ship’s commissioning in December 1984.

“It means that every day for 35 years, I have embodied
the gratitude of the American people. In my very person, in who I am, I have
literally lived our gratitude for the commitment, the service, the
professionalism, the sacrifice and the patriotism that I have witnessed,”
Sawyer said.

Rear Adm. Douglas Perry, commander of Submarine Group 9,
and a prior crew member aboard Pittsburgh, served as the ceremony’s guest
speaker.

Pittsburgh completed its
last deployment on Feb. 25, 2019. Then the boat and her crew made their first
arctic transit for a final homeport change from Groton, Connecticut, to
Bremerton, arriving on May 28 to begin the inactivation and decommissioning
process. Pittsburgh is the fourth U.S. Navy vessel to be named for the city of
Pittsburgh.

ARLINGTON, Va. – Naval ordnance experts will be testing heavy weapons precision ammunition, that could hit enemy drones “like a shotgun blast,” offering a counter-unmanned aircraft system (C-UAS) shield for littoral combat ships (LCS).

Rogue civilian drones and enemy attack and surveillance UAS are a growing concern across the military, especially after swarms of drones attacked Saudi Arabian oil facilities last September. Two months earlier, a Marine Corps anti-drone system downed an Iranian UAS that got within 1,000 yards of a Navy ship in the Strait of Hormuz.

“There’s a lot of interest in the Navy now for a counter
drone system,” said Kevin Knowles of Northrop Grumman Mission Systems. “How do
you shoot down these quadcopters? Trying to hit them with a round is not that
easy,” he added.

Northrop Grumman, which makes mission modules for the LCS,
is exploring something called precision air burst munition for the twin 30 mm
guns in one of the Surface Warfare Mission Modules. A laser range finder on the
gun determines the range.

“There’s a modification that would need to be made to the
gun to fire the round,” Knowles explained Jan. 16 at the Surface Navy
Association convention. “It actually programs the round to fly out a certain
distance. And then it blows up almost like a shotgun blast,” he said, noting
the point-and- shoot proximity round can actually detect the target and gets
about a certain distance away before exploding.

The Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division (NSWCDD) is slated to run tests on the proximity rounds in the Spring, he said.

“And so, assuming that test goes well, then we’ll start putting those rounds in the magazines” of the 33 mm guns on both the Freedom and Independence variants of the LCS. Because the 30 mm gun has a dual ammunition feed, the high explosive rounds the guns now fire could be loaded in one feed while the precision air burst proximity rounds could be fed into the other. “That will give the LCS a counter UAS capability,” Knowles said.

McLEAN, Virginia — The U.S. Navy has awarded BAE Systems a prime position on a five-year, $34.9 million indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract to provide life cycle sustainment and technical support for the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division’s (NAWCAD) Special Communications Mission Solutions Division, the company said in a Jan. 23 release. The contract was awarded through the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division Contracting Office.  

“For more than 40 years, BAE Systems has been the contractor of choice for life cycle sustainment and technical support for NAWCAD’s Special Communications Mission Solutions Division,” said Mark Keeler, vice president and general manager of BAE Systems’ Integrated Defense Solutions business. “As a leading systems integrator, we understand the need for quick-reaction field support to ensure our military customers are mission ready and maintain a tactical edge.”  

Through this award, BAE Systems will support and sustain variety of C5ISR (command, control, computers, communications, cyber, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance) systems embedded within vehicles, watercraft and specialized communications platforms in the NAWCAD inventory. The company’s C5ISR efforts will include maintaining and upgrading command, control, communications, computers, cyber, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance systems, integrated and networked to improve the situational awareness of military operators and decision makers. Work on this program will be performed in forward deployed mission locations include Central Command and Africa Command Areas of Responsibility. 

ARLINGTON,
Va. — The development of unmanned watercraft for expeditionary warfare has been
progressing rapidly, said the program manager of U.S. Navy Unmanned Maritime
Systems.

“We made a tremendous
amount of progress in the expeditionary warfare area in 2019,” Capt. Pete Small,
PMS 406, said Jan. 16 during a briefing at the Surface Navy Association symposium
here. That progress included successful testing of three Mine Countermeasures
USVs (MCM USV) on three different platforms.

The Navy is
using Textron’s Common Unmanned Surface Vehicle for the MCM USV program, one of
the mission modules for littoral combat ships. The long endurance, semi-autonomous,
diesel-powered boat has been tested with Raytheon’s AQS-20 and Northrop
Grumman’s AQS-24 mine-hunting sonars.

“We have three
vehicles operational in the water,” Small said. In 2019, all three were
operated with three different payloads — a suite payload and the two different
towed sonars. Testing was done in different locations on the East, West and
Gulf coasts, sometimes simultaneously in multiple locations. “We have accrued
just shy of 900 hours of on-water operational time deploying this payload in
2019,” Small said.

Additionally,
PMS 406 conducted integration tests with the LCS and two different vessels of
opportunity — a U.S. expeditionary sea base and a British amphibious platform.

Small said formal
developmental testing and operational assessment of the suite variant of the MCM
USV was completed in late November. “That was a major milestone for us, and we
are rapidly nearing a milestone C decision and the award of low rate production,”
Small said.

Progress also continued with the Knifefish Unmanned Undersea Vehicle (UUV), another counter-mine package for the LCS, completed formal testing and operational assessment in August. “We’ll continue low rate production of that throughout [fiscal 2020],” Small said, adding the Navy will continue additional development and testing of the General Dynamics-made, medium class UUV to demonstrate the full capability of the mine counter measures mission package.

PMS 406 — a unit of Program Executive Office Unmanned and Small Combatants, which oversees the littoral combat ship and its mission modules and related systems — also develops unmanned maritime vehicles, both surface and undersea, for three different warfare domains: unmanned expeditionary, unmanned undersea and unmanned surface, “our most rapidly growing warfare domain,” Small said.

ST. LOUIS — For the first time, Boeing and the U.S. Navy flew an F/A-18 Super Hornet equipped with an Infrared Search & Track (IRST) Block II pod in late 2019, the company said in a release.  

IRST Block II is a critical component of the Block III Super Hornet. The Block III conversion includes enhanced network capability, longer range with conformal fuel tanks, an advanced cockpit system, signature improvements and an enhanced communication system. The updates are expected to keep the F/A-18 in active service for decades to come. 

IRST is a passive, long-range sensor incorporating infrared and other sensor technologies for highly accurate targeting. 

“The IRST Block II gives the F/A-18 improved optics and processing power, significantly improving pilot situational awareness of the entire battle space,” said Jennifer Tebo, Boeing’s director of F/A-18 development. 

Currently in the risk reduction phase of development, IRST Block II flights on the Super Hornet allow Boeing and the Navy to collect valuable data on the system before deployment to the fleet. The Block II variant will be delivered to the Navy in 2021, reaching initial operational capability shortly thereafter. 

“The IRST Block II sensor gives Navy fighters extended range and increasing survivability. This technology will help the Navy maintain its advantage over potential adversaries for many years,” said Kenen Nelson, Lockheed Martin director of fixed wing programs, supplier of the IRST sensor. 

ARLINGTON,
Va. — The U.S. Navy’s newest aircraft carrier will go through a rigorous period
of tests and trials over the rest of fiscal 2020, a Navy official said.

Speaking Jan.
16 at the Surface Navy Association gathering here, Capt. Ron Rutan, the Navy’s
program manager for the USS Gerald R. Ford, lead ship of its class, said the
ship gets underway “11 times over 220 days” starting Jan. 16, continuing 18
months of post-delivery testing and trials, which will run into through the
second quarter of fiscal 2021.

Rutan said the ship will have contractor personnel on board continuing work while the ship is at sea. The Navy plans to complete work on the seven Advanced Weapon Elevators that have not yet been certified. He said that four others already have been certified and they have been put through more than 5,000 cycles, including runs while the carrier has been put through high-speed turns that simulated Sea State 5.

One of the 11
events this quarter of the fiscal year will be used to certify the ship’s
flight deck.

The carrier
is scheduled for full-ship shock trials during the third or fourth quarters of
fiscal 2021.

ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Navy’s program
manager for the next three aircraft carriers said the sea service is
considering the business case for a single-phased delivery of the future USS
John F. Kennedy (CVN 79).

Speaking Jan. 16 at the Surface Navy Association’s symposium here, Capt. Philip Malone, the program manager for CVN 79, CVN 80 and CVN 81, said the Navy is looking at the possibility of delivering JFK with a single-phased approach. The current plan with a dual-phased approach includes delivering with some navigation and aviation capability followed by a second phase in which combat systems would be installed. 

One advantage of a two-phased delivery is
that the most recent mission systems can be installed before final delivery,
avoiding an obsolescence that can occur in the long timeline of a carrier’s
construction. An advantage of the traditional practice of a single-phased
delivery is having a completed ship at commissioning.

Malone said he is working with the Navy
secretariat to determine the effects of a single-phased delivery on cost and
build time.

James F. Geurts, assistant Navy secretary for
research, development and acquisition, told reporters Jan. 17 that the
discussion of a single-phased construction included “looking at a new version
of a radar, combat systems, the people and making sure we have the right
balance. Delivering an integrated ship with all its functions is an
attractive model to look at hard.”

Geurts said the decision on the single-phased
delivery would be made “in the next 30 to 45 days.”

“Mr. Geurts is aggressively pursuing
integrating lessons learned on CVN 78 to improve efficiencies and affordability
for the rest of the Ford class,” said Capt. Danny Hernandez, Navy acquisition
spokesman. “Delivery approach is one of the items that Mr. Geurts has the team
looking at.”

A major difference between CVN 78, the
USS Gerald R. Ford, and CVN 79 is that the dual-band radar on CVN 78 will be
replaced on CVN 79 by the SPY-6(V)3 Enterprise Air Search Radar.

CVNs 79, 80 and 81 are scheduled for
delivery in 2024, 2028 and 2032, respectively. The Navy expects the total
ownership cost savings of $4 billion for each ship over their 50-year service
lives, as compared to the Nimitz class.

Malone said the construction of USS John
F. Kennedy is incorporating more than 60,000 lessons learned from the
construction of the Gerald R. Ford.

He also said JFK will
receive modifications to operate the F-35C strike fighter after its
post-shakedown availability. The modification involves changes in the squadron
ready room and the flight deck’s jet-blast deflectors, among others. He said
his office is evaluating the impact of the installations on the carrier’s
schedule.

ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Navy is proceeding with studies and concept development for three special-mission ships to replace existing ships in the Military Sealift Command.

Speaking Jan. 15 at the Surface Navy Association symposium here, Matt Sermon, the executive director for Amphibious, Auxiliary and Sealift Office, Program Executive Office-Ships, said the Navy plans to build new ocean surveillance ships (T-AGOS), a new cable-laying ship (T-ARC) and a new oceanographic survey ship (T-AGS).

The Navy expects to issue during the second quarter of fiscal 2020 a request for proposal for industry studies for the new T-AGOS, which will be a SWATH (small waterplane, twin-hull) ship, as are the current T-AGOSs. A contract award for the Industries Studies Request for Proposals is expected in the third quarter of the year.

A new T-ARC is needed to replace the USNS Zeus, a one-of-a-kind cable laying ship, which has been in service since 1984. The 2020 budget has authorized research, development, test and evaluation funds for the program. T-AGS-67 will be a follow-on Pathfinder-class ship that will be similar to T-AGS-66, the USNS Maury, which introduced a “moon pool” for launch and recovery of unmanned underwater vehicles.

ARLINGTON,
Va. — Lockheed Martin is on tap to deliver the latest version of the Ship
Self-Defense System (SSDS) to four Navy ships this summer, a company official
said.

Lockheed
Martin was confirmed as the Combat Systems Engineering Agent (CSEA) for the
SSDS program on Dec. 13 when a protest to the selection by the previous CSEA
was denied, Jim Sheridan, Lockheed’s vice president for naval combat and missile
defense systems, said in a Jan. 14 briefing to reporters at the Surface Navy
Association convention here. The initial bid was made in August 2017.

Sheridan said
the major challenge since the resolution of the protest was the tight timeline
to make the deliveries by July.

The SSDS
Advanced Capability Build 20 (ACB 20) will be delivered to the aircraft USS
George Washington (CVN 73), the amphibious assault ship USS Boxer (LHD 4) and
the amphibious platform dock ships USS San Antonio (LPD 17) and USS Fort
Lauderdale (LPD 28).

SSDS ACB 20 is
a combat system that will integrate such systems as the Evolved SeaSparrow
Missile Block II system, the SLQ-32 Surface Electronic Warfare Program III
system and the Enterprise Air-Search Radar. The upgrade features cybersecurity
enhancements and fire-control loop modernization. It also will integrate the
Advanced Training Domain.

In addition,
the SSDS ACB 10 will be migrated from Hardware Technology Insertion (HTI) 12 to
HTI 16 infrastructure.   

Sheridan said
the selection of the Lockheed Martin as CSEA for the SSDS makes the company the
CSEA for aircraft carriers and most surface combatants, the major exception
being the Zumwalt-class guided-missile destroyers. The company plans to bid to
become the CSEA for the new FFG(X) guided-missile frigate.

Lockheed Martin is adding
the SSDS ACB 20 software to its Common Source Library, also inhabited by its
Aegis Combat System software.

ARLINGTON, Va. — The admiral in charge of the Navy’s surface warships praised the Zumwalt-class guided-missile destroyers (DDGs) and predicted that they will be fearsome warships. 

“I’m very excited about getting the Zumwalt-class destroyers out there,” Vice Adm. Rich Brown, commander of Naval Surface Forces, said during a Jan. 6 media teleconference embargoed until Jan. 13. “Incredibly capable ships. When the ships deploy, they will bring the fear of God to our adversaries. I wish we were building more of them. They are great ships.” 

The USS Zumwalt (DDG 1000), still in its build phase under a split-phase delivery, has been going through installation of its combat systems installed in San Diego since its commissioning in Baltimore and its transit through the Panama Canal to San Diego. The installations included the SPY-3 radar, the testing of the radar and the combat systems, the testing of the integrated power system, the testing of the hull form in light and heavy weather. 

“We still have a little bit of work on the installation of the aviation facilities,” Brown said, noting that the ship will be going through combat system qualification trials and full employment of the weapon system. 

Zumwalt “is tracking right on the timeline … and it’s looking like [fiscal 2021] will be FOC [full operational capability],” he said. 

The second ship of the class, USS Michael Monsoor (DDG 1001), is deep into its combat systems installation, Brown said. “It’s not taking near as along as Zumwalt — Zumwalt was the first, a lot of lessons learned from BAE [Systems] on that installation, and Michael Monsoor’s installation is tracking right along.  

The admiral said that the Zumwalt will deploy in fiscal 2021. 

The third ship of the class, Lyndon B. Johnson (DDG 1002), is being built at the Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine. 

“We’re looking at various options to keep her on track,” Brown said. “Right now, there is a little bit of slippage in schedule, but there are a lots of things that the contractor and the Navy are going to do keep her delivering when we want her to with a full combat system. There are some options we can do that I can’t really talk about right now.”