WASHINGTON — Textron Airborne
Solutions, a business unit of Textron Inc., announced on May 1 that its
Airborne Tactical Advantage Company subsidiary (ATAC) has been selected as a
provider of contracted air services under the U.S. Navy’s Terminal Attack
Controller Trainer (TACT) program.

Training provided under the IDIQ contract
will be led by ATAC and includes a team made up of Textron Aviation Defense and
the Valkyrie Defense family of companies. They will deliver contracted live-air
training to forward air controllers, joint terminal attack controllers (JTACs)
and forward air controllers (Airborne) on ATAC’s L-39 Albatros, Textron
Aviation Defense’s Beechcraft AT-6 Wolverine light attack and armed
reconnaissance aircraft and Valkyrie’s A-27 Tucanos.

“TACT is a marked increase in both the
quality and quantity of JTAC training services demanded by the U.S. Navy and
Marine Corps. ATAC’s world-class team is pleased to provide the most
mission-representative JTAC training solutions available,” said Russ Bartlett,
CEO of Textron Airborne Solutions.

“Textron Aviation Defense is proud to be on
this air services contract to equip the TACT community with the Beechcraft AT-6
Wolverine’s cost-effective, high-performance close air support capability,”
said Brett Pierson, vice president of Light Attack Aircraft and Scorpion. “The
Navy and Marine Corps flew the AT-6 during the U.S. Air Force Light Attack
experiments and are well-acquainted with its unparalleled mission capability
and optimized battlespace networking capability.”

“Everyone at Valkyrie Defense’s family of
companies is excited to be working with ATAC in providing the best contracted
close air support and JTAC training available. We look forward to fulfilling
the needs of the U.S. warfighter for years to come with our fleet of aircraft,”
said Charlie Keebaugh, CEO of Valkyrie Aero.

ATAC has a fleet of more than 90 aircraft,
having pioneered much of what are now contracted air services industry
standards with 20 years of operating experience and 57,000 flight hours. For
the past 15 years, ATAC has provided a wide range of contracted close air
support capabilities to U.S. Department of Defense JTAC communities across
Europe, continental U.S., Hawaii and the western Pacific region. The only
contractor that has operated supersonic fighter aircraft for the DoD, ATAC has
helped train crews from the Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps and regularly
operates out of as many as 25 different bases per year.

Textron Airborne Solutions
focuses on live military air-to-air, air-to-ship and air-to-ground training and
support services. Within Textron Airborne Solutions is Airborne Tactical
Advantage Company (ATAC), a business that provides tactical flight training and
adversary aggressor services for Navy, Marine and Air Force pilots.

The director of the nation’s premier government innovation
organization is excited about the U.S. Navy’s aggressive use of an unmanned
surface vessel to experiment with the military applications of advanced
automation and artificial intelligence.

“The most exciting thing I’m really happy with the Navy right now
is what they’re doing with the Sea Hunter, which is an autonomous 132-foot
surface ship that DARPA demonstrated a couple years ago,” Steven H. Walker,
director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, told a Defense
Writers breakfast on May 1.  “The Navy
has really taken that and is using it and experimenting with it.”

Walker cited Sea Hunter’s voyage last fall from San Diego to
Hawaii and back with no humans on board to control it, “which I think
demonstrates the autonomous capability we put into that program.”

“They’re really interested in how that helps them with their
distributed lethality program,” and using Sea Hunter as “the basis for their
medium-size and large-size unmanned surface vessels. I’m really excited about
where they’re taking that system.”

The Navy is projecting unmanned vessels as a key element of its
future combat fleet and has proposed buying 10 “large” unmanned ships over the
next five years. It has not defined the size and capabilities of those vessels.

Although the Navy has not indicated whether it plans to test
weapons on Sea Hunter, the likelihood that some of its future unmanned vessels
will be armed raises the controversial issue of what control humans will have
over weapon employment by autonomous platforms.

DARPA, which is pursuing advances in artificial intelligence (AI),
studies the ethical issue of weaponized unmanned systems.

“I think it’s still important to have that lethal decision rest
with the human,” Walker said. But, he noted, “Sea Hunter has a lot of potential
uses that don’t involve weaponizing it,” such as mine countermeasures and as a
sensor.

“The key to autonomy, particularly in the ocean, is getting out
and experimenting, testing how these things work,” which was why he was so
pleased with the Navy’s use of Sea Hunter.

Much of Walker’s discussion with defense reporters focused on
DARPA’s work on AI, which it has been doing for 50 years.

“We’re pretty excited, not only by the latest advances in machine
learning, but moving into what we call the third wave [of AI] — how humans and
machines become partners. Not just using machines as tools but as partners,” he
said. “If we actually can build this team, you can think about all sorts of
things that warfighters could do more effectively in a time of war.”

Walker also discussed DARPA’s work developing more powerful lasers
in smaller packages and in moving hypersonic technology into useable weapon
systems.

Having demonstrated solid state lasers, which while fairly
powerful were “still pretty big,” DARPA is focusing now on fiber lasers, which
have the promise of even greater power in much smaller packages. Walker said he
expected to fully demonstrate a high-powered fiber laser by the end of the
year.

He said the first military application for those more powerful
lasers “comes in ships and ground vehicles, where weight and size are not as
big an issue. I think we’re still a ways away from putting these things on
airplanes.”

One of DARPA’s highest priorities is advancing hypersonic
technology, which Walker said the United States led the world, but which “some
of our adversaries” have turned into capabilities. Hypersonic generally is described
as Mach 5 or faster. China and Russia have demonstrated different forms of
hypersonic aircraft.

DARPA is working on two applications of hypersonic — a boost-glide
missile, which is rocket-propelled to a high altitude then glides at hypersonic
speeds to a target, and a propelled system that may use a rocket to get to
hypersonic velocity then maintains that speed with some form of air-breathing
engine, such as a scramjet.

He expected to fly each of those systems late this year or early
in 2020.

“The advantage of
hypersonics is not only the speed but the range and maneuverability,” Walker
said.

ARLINGTON,
Va. — The builder of the F-35 Lightning II joint strike fighter has designed a
new weapons rack to enable the aircraft to carry two more missiles internally.

The new rack,
called Sidekick, enables each of the two weapons bays of the Air Force F-35A
and Navy carrier-capable F-35C to carry three AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range
Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) instead of the current two, for a total of six internally
carried AMRAAMs.

Speaking May
1 to reporters at a Lockheed Martin media briefing, a company F-35 test pilot,
Tony ‘Brick’ Wilson, said the rack was developed entirely with company internal
research and development funds.

The rack is
not compatible with the vertical lift Marine Corps F-35B version, which has
smaller weapons bay.

The F-35 can
carry more AMRAAMs on external pylons, but Wilson pointed out that carrying two
more internally preserves the stealth characteristics of the F-35. 

“The extra
missiles add a little weight but are not adding extra drag,” Wilson said.

Wilson also said the F-35 has the external structural capacity for hypersonic weapons should that be required in the future.

He also said
the company, working with the Air Force Research Lab, has developed and installed
on the F-35A — six years ahead of schedule — the Auto Ground Collision
Avoidance System (AGCAS).

The AGCAS has
“saved eight pilots’ lives,” Wilson said.

He
said the AGCAS will be installed later on the F-35B and on the F-35C in 2021.

U.S. Navy leaders will meet with industry officials in May
to examine how they can improve the increasingly challenged submarine
production program and try adding more space in the tight schedule to build the
first of the Columbia-class ballistic missile submarines, Navy Secretary
Richard V. Spencer said April 30.

The Navy would like to increase the production of its
Virginia-class attack submarines from two a year to three to stop the decline
in the already inadequate number of attack boats. But that pace is hampered by
the fact that the two shipyards building those boats also are responsible for
getting the Columbia class into service by 2031, when the Navy’s Ohio-class
boomers will be unable to continue their crucial strategic deterrence patrols,
Spencer said.

“We do have concerns,” Spencer told the House Appropriations
Defense Subcommittee. To address those issues, the Navy will sit down with
industry leaders May 16 to assess the sub construction yards and the supply
chain and seek to “build in margin where we can” for the Columbia-class
schedule.

“If we do not, it will run off the rails,” Spencer said in
response to questions from the panel responsible for providing the money the
Navy Department will need for all its programs.

In addition to the questions the appropriators had about the
Columbia class, the Navy’s self-declared No. 1 procurement priority, the
subcommittee’s chairman, Rep. Pete Visclosky (D-Indiana), hounded the Navy
leaders on the chronic problems in submarine maintenance and acceptance of new
warships with multiple material problems.

Visclosky pointed out that three of the older Los Angeles
class attack submarines — Boise, Columbus and Hartford — are no longer
certified to submerge because they have not received maintenance that is
overdue. He emphasized that Boise was scheduled to go into the repair yard in
2013 but still is waiting for an opening.

And Visclosky was particularly troubled by the Navy failing
to request funds to repair the three inoperable submarines in its regular
fiscal 2020 budget request but added them to the unfunded requirements list.

Spencer and Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John M.
Richardson conceded they were having trouble getting submarines into required
maintenance, which was aggravating the inability to meet combatant commanders’
requests for the attack boats, with some reports putting the shortfall as high
as 50 percent.

The two Navy leaders argued that the submarine maintenance
problem stemmed from the sharp reduction in funding during the years when the
Budget Control Act forced sequestration.

But Visclosky replied that “sequestration happened some time
ago” and Congress “provided a lot of money” the last two years.

Spencer said the shipyards cut their skilled work force
during the lean years and are now working to replace those workers and improve
their aged facilities. He and Richardson emphasized the Navy’s program to
modernize the government-owned shipyards and to incentivize the private yards
to also update and expand.

Visclosky also demanded the Navy provide details on the
problem highlighted in a recent Government Accountability Office report showing
a long list of new ships the Navy has accepted from the builders with a range
of deficiencies. He stressed the aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78), the
first in its class of aircraft carriers, is not expected to be operational
until 2023, nearly five years later than expected because of numerous
construction deficiencies.

The chairman wanted to know how the cost of correcting those
flaws was divided between the Navy and its contractors, noting that GAO
indicated the government has been paying 96 percent. Spencer promised to
provide the data.

CANBERRA, Australia —The Australian government has agreed to purchase a second MQ-4C Triton, Northrop Grumman Corp., manufacturer of the aircraft, said in a release.

Australia’s 2016 Defence White Paper identified the requirement for seven high-altitude, long-endurance Triton unmanned aircraft. Northrop Grumman will deliver the Triton through a cooperative program with the U.S. Navy.

“Northrop Grumman is excited to develop this unrivaled capability for the Royal Australian Air Force,” said Doug Shaffer, vice president and program manager for the Triton at the company. “Triton will provide the Australian Defence Force a high-altitude, long-endurance system for intelligence, reconnaissance and broad-area surveillance missions to enhance the security of Australia’s borders.”

Defence Minister Christopher Pyne identified “people smuggling and the exploitation of our natural resources” as threats that Triton’s capabilities can help to address.

Minister for Defence Industry Linda Reynolds identified the opportunities this program will create for Australian industry and said that “there will be significant opportunity for Australian industry to share in billions of dollars of system maintenance and network management functions.”

Northrop Grumman is committed to developing a sovereign defense capability for Australia through industrial partnership and participation, direct investment and technology transfer, the company said.

With the return of the “Great Power Competition,” the U.S. Navy’s top officer on April 29 emphasized the need to strengthen ties with allies and partner nations and to condition commanders to avoid turning at-sea incidents into major battles while giving them training that prepares them to fight those battles if necessary.

The Navy also must ensure it acquires new technologies that will win a future war, rather than preserving current capabilities, and that it conducts futuristic training to build a flexible and resilient force that can cope with the unexpected challenges of the future, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John M. Richardson told the Future Security Forum in Washington, D.C.

“One thing that characterizes our view of success is how we move forward,” Richardson said. The worst thing the Navy could do is remain static, he said.

“What is more relevant for the future? Is it the Harry S. Truman or something else,” he said, noting that revolutionary technologies “are just around the corner.”

The CNO was responding to a question about the Navy’s fiscal 2020 proposal to retire the aircraft carrier Truman at midlife — rather than refueling her — to free up funds to develop the future technologies. That proposal is opposed by key leaders in Congress.

Asked how the Navy was preparing for the return of the “Great Power Competition” with an increasingly antagonistic Russia and rapidly modernizing China, Richardson said it was important to think of tensions in the Black Sea and the western Pacific as regional, not bilateral issues and to help “make all our allies and partners more resilient to this. … How do we reply as an alliance, a team.”

He also stressed the need to be able to respond faster to the competitors’ actions and “to anticipate what the adversary is going to do, and not be reactive.”

Richardson said the Navy also spends a lot of time focusing on things that can happen at sea and doing everything it can “to mitigate the risk” of those contacts with Russian or Chinese ship escalating into a clash. That includes the protocols they have with China “on what to do when we meet at sea,” to communicate and not overreact.

He said he makes that point in his frequent contacts with his peers in the Chinese navy.

“If we don’t consider each other as enemies, don’t act as enemies” when meeting at sea, he said.

Asked if he was concerned that the Navy has not had to fight a major blue water battle since World War II, Richardson said “it’s a real challenge.” He said that he had a discussion of that issue during a recent visit to the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island, and during a dinner with a group of future ship commanders.

“It’s about training. How to make it as challenging, as demanding as possible,” and addressing the challenge of training commanders “to exercise the full scope of their authority.”

He also emphasized the need to use simulation and virtual reality to make training more realistic and to better train Sailors to prepare for the challenges of the future.

SASEBO, Japan — The Navy announced that the amphibious assault ship USS America (LHA 6) and landing platform dock USS New Orleans (LPD 18) will become part of the U.S. 7th Fleet forward-deployed forces in Sasebo, Japan, the commander, Naval Forces Japan Public Affairs, said in a release.

The guided-missile destroyer USS Stethem (DDG 63) will shift its homeport to San Diego for its midlife modernization and the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp (LHD 1) will shift its homeport to Norfolk, Virginia, to undergo scheduled maintenance.

America is capable of supporting the F-35B Lightning II, the Marine Corps vertical-lift variant of the Joint Strike Fighter, as part of an embarked U.S. Marine Corps Air Combat Element.

The United States values Japan’s contributions to the peace, security and stability of the Indo-Pacific and its long-term commitment and hospitality in hosting U.S. forces forward deployed there. These forces, along with their counterparts in the Japan Self-Defense Forces, make up the core capabilities needed by the alliance to meet our common strategic objectives.

The security environment in the Indo-Pacific requires that the Navy station the most capable ships forward. This posture allows the most rapid response times possible for maritime and joint forces and brings our most capable ships with the greatest amount of striking power and operational capability to bear in the timeliest manner.

Maintaining a forward-deployed force capability supports the U.S. commitment to the defense of Japan and the security and stability of the vital Indo-Pacific region.

America will provide the Marine Corps with a means of combat operations utilizing the F-35B fighter. New Orleans is capable of ship-to-shore movement by tilt-rotor and helicopter. In addition to combat operations, both ships can conduct humanitarian-assistance operations.

NORFOLK, Virginia — L3 Integrated Maritime Systems has been awarded a $76 million contract to support U.S. Navy shipboard integrated training systems and provide instruction, engineering, systems integration and life-cycle support for the Battle Force Tactical Trainer (BFTT) family of training devices.

BFTT allows coordinated stimulation and simulation of shipboard combat systems to facilitate Navy team training. This training helps Sailors conduct realistic joint warfare drills across the spectrum of armed conflict and enables unit-level team training and battle group fleet synthetic exercises.

“We are pleased to continue to support the U.S. Navy’s combat systems training to maintain proficiency and mission readiness,” said Bill Toti, president of L3 Integrated. “We are dedicated to providing the best training and program support to the Navy’s afloat training groups and our country’s frontline warfighters.”

BFTT delivers training to sailors while aboard their ships in the environment in which they will fight. It assists fleet commanding officers in generating exercises to prepare for expected missions and provides playback of their crew’s performance for continuous improvement. L3 provides instruction and training support at all major Navy ports around the world and Aegis ashore locations.

OKINAWA, Japan — A U.S. Navy salvage team embarked a contracted vessel and departed Okinawa on April 24 to aid Japanese-led search-and-recovery operations for a downed Japan Air Self Defense Force (JASDF) F-35A Lightning II jet fighter, the U.S. 7th Fleet Public Affairs said in a release.

DSCV Van Gogh is a multipurpose diving support and construction vessel equipped with Navy remotely operated vehicles and a Navy towed-pinger locator (TPL-25) system.

The F-35A aircraft went missing about 85 miles east of Misawa Air Base on April 9.

From April 9 to April 17, the U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer USS Stethem (DDG 63) and P-8A Poseidon aircraft joined JASDF forces, searching about 5,000 square nautical miles. Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft flew 182 hours.

The missing Japanese F-35A was not located.

WASHINGTON — The Navy will christen its newest high-speed transport vessel, the future USNS Guam (T-HST 1), during a 10 a.m. Japan Standard Time ceremony Saturday, April 27, in Okinawa, Japan, the Navy’s Office of Information said in a release.

USNS Guam is named to honor the long-standing historical and military relationship between Guam and the United States. She will be the fourth ship to bear the name Guam.

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Korea Harry B. Harris Jr. will be the principal speaker, and Bruni Bradley, a 25-year Navy veteran and wife of Harris, will serve as the ship’s sponsor. In a time-honored Navy tradition, she will christen the ship by breaking a bottle of sparkling wine across the bow.

“This ship honors the island of Guam and the important contributions Guamanians have made to our nation and our Navy and Marine Corps team,” Navy Secretary Richard V. Spencer said. “For decades to come, USNS Guam and its crew will carry on the Guamanian tradition of service by providing our commanders with much needed high-speed sealift mobility and agility.”

Long before Guam joined the U.S. as a territory, the island had a military relationship with the United States. The long-standing historical and military relationship began in 1898, when the U.S. acquired the island from Spain as a result of the Treaty of Paris that ended the Spanish-American War. Shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Japanese captured Guam, and they occupied it until U.S. troops retook the island July 21, 1944, commemorated in Guam every year as “Liberation Day.” Guam continues to host many critical U.S. military installations.

USNS Guam is an aluminum catamaran designed to be fast, flexible and maneuverable, even in austere port conditions, making the vessel ideal for transporting troops and equipment quickly. USNS Guam’s 25,000-square-foot mission-bay areas can be quickly reconfigured for any cargo requirement, from supporting disaster relief to transporting troops and equipment.

The ship is preceded in service by the patrol gunboat USS Guam (PG 43), which was renamed Wake in 1941 and captured by the Japanese later that year, the Alaska-class large cruiser USS Guam (CB 2) in service 1944-1947, and the Iwo Jima-class amphibious assault ship USS Guam (LPH 9) in service 1965-1998.