WASHINGTON — Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday hosted Commander of the Royal Netherlands Navy Vice Adm. Rob Kramer and his relief Rear Adm. René Tas at the Pentagon June 17 to discuss maritime security issues and reaffirm their commitment to continued cooperation between the two navies, the Navy said in a June 17 release. 

This meeting marked the second in-person discussion between the two heads of navy. 
 
“Our bilateral relationship with the Royal Netherlands Navy is one of our oldest,” said Gilday. “The Dutch are an important ally and play a vital role in global maritime security. I look forward to working alongside Vice Adm. Kramer and Rear Adm. Tas to enhance our navies’ cooperation far into the future.” 
 
Kramer echoed Gilday’s sentiments. 
 
“Our deep friendship enables an inclusive and very valuable collaboration on both global maritime security issues and illicit trafficking in the Caribbean region,” said Kramer. 

From operations in the Middle East to the Caribbean, and from the Atlantic to counter piracy operations off Africa, the U.S. Navy and Royal Netherlands Navy operate regularly together around the globe.  

Most recently, both navies participated in the recent NATO exercise Steadfast Defender and At-Sea Demo/Formidable Shield, where USS Paul Ignatius (DDG 117) and the Royal Netherlands Navy’s frigate HNLMS De Zeven Provinciën (F802) engaged a live medium-range ballistic target using a Standard Missile-3 together. 

In the groundbreaking engagement, HNLMS De Zeven Provincien employed its advanced combat system suite to provide an early warning ballistic track to the maritime task group. Upon receipt of the track information, Paul Ignatius calculated a firing solution to launch an SM-3 Blk IA. 

Both navies also have ships that are operating as part of the HMS Queen Elizabeth Carrier Strike Group, USS The Sullivans (DDG-68) and HNLMS Evertsen (F805). 

Whether operating in the Euro-Atlantic or Indo-Pacific theaters, U.S. naval forces and their allies and partners must confront constrictions in operations — in both peacetime and crisis — generated by adversaries attempting to apply anti-access or area denial strategies, known as A2/AD.

Such strategies are designed to deny access for U.S. and other forces to key waters and coastal regions by inflat­ing A2/AD “bubbles” around, for example, critical choke points at sea or entry points ashore.

In the Euro-Atlantic theater, areas like the Greenland-Iceland-U.K. (GIUK) gap region in the North Atlantic, the Kattegat and Skagerrak Straits that connect the North and Baltic seas, and the Eastern Mediterranean and Black Sea region, especially around the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits, are examples of strategic areas adversaries could attempt to “bubble” by using mines, anti-ship missiles, submarines or strike aircraft. The East China Sea and the southern reaches of the South China Sea are areas of po­tential A2/AD actions in the Indo-Pacific region.

In any Western naval efforts to deter, defend against or deploy through A2/AD efforts, amphibious forces would play a critical role. Deployed at sea to deliver effect ashore, amphibious task groups and the marine forces they insert provide a capability that is critical to popping any A2/AD bubbles.

“Amphibious capability is a strategic capability — the threat of joint forcible entry remains a strategic capabil­ity,” Lt. Gen. Brian Beaudreault, commanding general of the U.S. Marine Corps’ II Marine Expeditionary Force (II MEF), told Seapower. “We’re still going to need an ability in the future to come from an unexpected direction, seize and hold ground, take something of value, and/or destroy something. Whether it’s a light raiding force or a distributed element of a larger whole, amphibious force remains a threat the adversary is going to have to honor.”

The U.S Marine Corps is the United States’ amphibious force. In the Euro-Atlantic theater, the responsibility of generating amphibious presence at sea and delivering amphibious effects ashore rests with II MEF, based on at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.

The Marine Corps delivers its amphibious effect in part­nership with the U.S. Navy. For II MEF, this partnership is based around its increasingly integrated relationships with U.S. 2nd Fleet, based in Norfolk, Virginia, and U.S. 6th Fleet, based in Naples, Italy.

In the Indo-Pacific region, III MEF, based in Okinawa, Japan, provides the amphibious force, supported by U.S. 3rd Fleet, based in San Diego, and U.S. 7th Fleet, based in Yokosuka, Japan.

Integrated Scale

The Marines have always been tasked with exploiting the sea as a maneuver space to deliver amphibious effect across the littoral region. However, with returning great power competition and the naval rivalry it brings rais­ing the risk of more significant security crises, Western navies are increasingly focused on delivering integrated effect at scale. For the U.S. naval force, integration be­tween the Navy and Marine Corps components — known as Blue-Green teaming — is increasingly important in generating and delivering force at scale, whether for simple presence at sea or for inserting forces across the littoral seam between sea and shore.

Another key element in how the Blue-Green team enables force generation and delivery is forward de­ployment. Situated at sea in amphibious ready groups or expeditionary strike groups, Marine Corps forces will often find themselves forward deployed within striking reach of an A2/AD bubble, or even inside one.

Adversary efforts to restrict movement and access at sea is not a new development in naval strategy or warfare. What has perhaps changed is adversary joint forces are creating a layered A2/AD capability threat. In Marine Corps assess­ments of adversaries’ A2/AD strategies and how to counter them, amphibious force plays a certain role.

“What we realized when we studied A2/AD is that we are the inside force,” Beaudreault said. “So, while many others [ask] ‘How do you attack from the outside in?,’ it’s our view — and it’s certainly true in III MEF, day-to-day — that we’re already operating inside the weapons engagement zone. The nature of the problem is not ‘How do you fight your way into it?’ It’s ‘How do you survive and thrive within it?’”

The Marine Corps is addressing this question in several ways. For example, it is developing new concepts of op­erations such as distributed maritime operations (DMO) or expeditionary advanced base operations (EABO).

“The best method of ensuring your survival and effective­ness is to distribute in smaller forces, relying on capabili­ties that are low probability of intercept that still support a kill-chain with massed effects,” Beaudreault said.

The Marines are focused on how the service can enable naval maneuvers at sea through land-based opera­tions, Beaudreault said. This can be done through DMO or EABO, or through using a large continental force. In all such contexts, II MEF and the Corps more widely are assessing how improved Marine Corps sensing and long-range fires capability in particular can help the Navy achieve sea denial and sea control.

Here, the Navy-Marine Corps Blue-Green team will make a significant capability and operational contribution. The F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter provides a step-up in sensing capability and will deploy this capability from expeditionary advanced bases ashore and from carrier strike groups and amphibious ready groups at sea. The U.S. naval long-range precision strike inventory includes several systems bringing different capabilities, although the Kongsberg-Raytheon Naval Strike Missile is becom­ing an increasingly prominent arrow in the quiver.

The Naval Strike Missile is deployed currently on three Navy Independence-class littoral combat ships. Navy spokesman Alan Baribeau told Seapower the service is continuing to install strike missiles on Indepen­dence-class hulls, prioritizing fits based on availability schedules and operational commitments. The Naval Strike Missile is also slated for future fits to the Free­dom-class littoral combat ships and is a candidate sys­tem for future frigates and amphibious ships.

“I think the broader recognition is that the change now from before in the A2/AD [context] is that we’re going to be in there, and there are a lot of systems,” Beaudreault said. “When we look at ranges and sensing capability in the adversary, how do we deny theirs and still thrive within? That is the art of where we’re trying to go.”

In terms of building integrated Blue-Green capability, he said the two services have looked at a range of issues including ship survivability and what amphibious capa­bilities any future platforms will provide. In amphibious capability terms, Beaudreault highlighted the Corps’ integrated role with the Navy in addressing tradition­al naval warfare tasks such as antisubmarine and an­ti-surface warfare, and underlined the importance of capabilities like long-range precision fires and of dealing with threats such as coastal-defense cruise missiles and hypersonic missiles.

Aviation Integration

In terms of integrated capabilities that meet the “survive and thrive” requirement in the A2/AD context, assets like the F-35 provide significant increase in effect as individ­ual platforms.

“Those F-35s can hold any target at risk essentially, and that is a huge capability for us when we’re aboard amphibious ships, being able to not just survive but again thrive as that inside force,” Beaudreault said.

Integrated airwings can provide value for operational commanders, and not just for individual operations or for Blue-Green teams, but for the U.S. Air Force, allies and partners.

Beaudreault said Marine Corps experience in recent exercises, such as the MEFEX 21.1 simulated training activity held at command-and-control hubs across the East Coast in November 2020, highlighted the benefits for combatant commanders in having a more integrated maritime airwing.

“It is the efficiencies to be gained by developing perhaps a maritime aviation command element and looking at how we better merge carrier-based aviation with the Marine Aircraft Wings,” he said.

Joint and combined integration of aviation and other force elements can provide wider capabilities, for exam­ple in contributing to integrated air and missile defense, Beaudreault said.

“Ballistic missile defense and air defense remain my No. 1 concern in a European scenario. That is by far the top of the list,” he said. “After we’ve gone through the deploy­ment phases and we’re operating ashore, depending on what the combined force air component commander has or hasn’t been able to achieve, you still want to be able to know that I’m tucked up under a Patriot umbrella from the Army or an Aegis-capable ship from the Navy, and within their coverage.”

ARLINGTON, Va. — Five sealift ships are now in various stages of recycling now that they have been retired from the Ready Reserve Force (RRF), which provides sealift ships when mobilized in support of the Navy’s Military Sealift Command, a component of U.S. Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM). 

The RRF, administered by the Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD), now keeps 41 ships — down from 46 — in a reduced operating status available for activation within five days for national emergencies or other mission assignments.  

“Five ships have been removed from the RRF, following a determination from DoD/USTRANSCOM/Navy that there no longer existed a requirement for these ships,” said a DoT Spokesperson. “This is a fairly common occurrence. For example, in 1993 we had 102 ships in the RRF, today there are 41. As to the vessel disposition, they will all eventually be relocated to one of MARAD’s reserve fleet sites and later recycled. 

Two auxiliary crane ships — SS Flickertail State on the East Coast and SS Grand Canyon State on the West Coast — have been withdrawn from service, leaving two crane ships available on each coast. 

The RRF’s only two heavy lift ships — SS Cape May on the East Coast and SS Cape Mohican on the West Coast — have been retired. 

Also retired on the West Coast was the SS Petersburg, an offshore petroleum distribution system tanker. 

ARLINGTON, Va.— Lockheed Martin celebrated the keel-laying of the future littoral combat ship (LCS) USS Cleveland in June 17 ceremonies at the Fincantieri Marinete Marine shipyard in Wisconsin. 

A welder authenticated the keel of LCS 31, the future USS Cleveland, by welding the initials of the ship’s sponsor, Robyn Modly, wife of Thomas B. Modly, a Clevelander and former U.S. Navy secretary. 

“I am humbled and honored to be the sponsor of a ship that bears the name of the great city of Cleveland, with its rich and storied history of support to our armed services,” Modly said. “I look forward to a lifelong relationship with the ship and her crew as they proudly serve the Navy and our nation.” 

The laying of the keel celebrates an important milestone in the life of the future USS Cleveland (LCS 31) and marks a significant event for the construction of the nation’s 31st LCS. The USS Cleveland will be the fourth commissioned ship in naval service, since World War I, named after Cleveland, the second-largest city in Ohio and home to countless Navy and Marine Corps veterans. With the city’s deep ties to maritime service since the turn of the 20th century, LCS 31 will honor Cleveland’s longstanding naval history. 

“We are proud to build another proven warship that allows our Navy to carry out missions around the world,” said Steve Allen, Lockheed Martin Vice President of Small Combatants and Ship Systems. “All of us at Lockheed Martin, including our hardworking team in Marinette, Wisconsin, look forward to working with the U.S. Navy to continue delivering highly capable and adaptable Freedom-variant littoral combat ships to the fleet.”  

“Our team at Fincantieri Marinette Marine is proud to celebrate the keel laying of the LCS 31 with the gracious citizens of Cleveland,” said Jan Allman, CEO of Fincantieri Marinette Marine. “This milestone is a testament to the power of cooperation and forward thinking by the entire Freedom team and our customer, the United States Navy. It also bears witness to all the dedicated craftsmen and women working in our FMG system of shipyards.” 

ARLINGTON, Va. — The Department of the Navy (DoN) is producing an after-action review of the U.S. Pacific Fleet-led Unmanned Integrated Battle Problem 21 (IBP21), an exercise held April 19-26 in San Diego, California, the Office of Naval Research said in a June 17 release. 

“Advancements in technology have created the opportunity to provide our military with an operational advantage by developing improved manned/unmanned command and control capabilities,” said Dorothy Engelhardt, director of unmanned systems for the deputy assistant secretary of the Navy for Ships. “This enables our military to be more agile, lethal and decisive.” 

During IBP21, numerous multi-domain unmanned platforms — including unmanned aerial, surface and underwater vehicles (UAVs, USVs and UUVs, respectively) — were put into real-world, “blue-water” environments, working in sync with manned platforms in actual combat drills designed to support Pacific Fleet objectives in the Indo-Pacific region. 

“Large-scale exercises such as IBP21 are critical for the Navy and Marine Corps to make the transition to a hybrid manned-unmanned force in the future,” said Chief of Naval Research Rear Adm. Lorin C. Selby. “These demonstrations ensure what works in theory will work in the fleet—in an environment that is messier, dirtier and wetter than a lab. They also allow us to get valuable feedback from the Sailors and Marines themselves.” 

Many of the platforms tested in IBP21 were supported by the Naval Research Enterprise (NRE), which Selby commands. Comprising the Office of Naval Research (ONR), ONR Global (the command’s international arm) and the Naval Research Laboratory, the NRE is tasked with providing the capabilities and long-term vision ensuring U.S. naval dominance today and into the future.  

The purpose of IBP21 was to explore a variety of questions about how unmanned systems can be incorporated into fleet operations. For example: How can unmanned and manned systems work together effectively in diverse warfighting scenarios? How can you integrate unmanned systems seamlessly into existing platforms? What is the best way to train Sailors and Marines to use such complex, evolving technologies? 

So far, major takeaways from IBP21 include: Unmanned systems are resilient, enable better beyond-line-of-sight targeting, and improve battlespace awareness and command and control. They also provide significant advantages in ISR (intelligence, survival, reconnaissance) and Targeting and Fires capabilities, without creating additional risks to the mission or warfighters. The result—more effective offensive and defensive postures. 

The testing of new unmanned technologies reflects the Navy and Marine Corps’ commitment to rethinking concepts of operations, as noted in the widely publicized naval document “Unmanned Campaign Framework,” which was recently released by the DoN.  

The Unmanned Campaign Framework notes autonomy will complement, not replace, manned assets, and will provide warfighters far more options in combat. 

Since the completion of IBP21, naval leaders, scientists and engineers have assessed what worked, what didn’t and future actions for accelerating unmanned capabilities to the fleet and force. 

These future steps include: 

Continuing to leverage fleet experimentation exercises to execute the DoN Unmanned Campaign Plan

Creating a more iterative experimentation process to tighten the “test fast, operate, learn fast” concept 

Improving industry partnerships and participation in fleet experiments and exercises 

Improving the integration of secure communication networks to maximize effectiveness of manned-unmanned teaming 

Developing concepts of operation and employment to quickly operationalize unmanned systems. 

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — The Royal New Zealand Navy has placed the first international order for four REMUS 300 unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs), Huntington Ingalls Industries announced in a June 21 release. 

“We are pleased New Zealand is upgrading their fleet with new REMUS 300 UUVs,” said Duane Fotheringham, president of the Unmanned Systems business group in HII’s Technical Solutions division. “Technology has progressed significantly over the past few years, and the REMUS 300 represents one of the most advanced man-portable UUVs on the market today. We look forward to continuing our long-standing relationship with the Royal New Zealand Navy.” 

New Zealand has a fleet of six REMUS 100 UUVs that are used for mine countermeasures and underwater survey operations. The Royal New Zealand Navy has also used its REMUS vehicles for search and recovery, including locating the wreck of the Princess Ashika ferry in 2009 and assisting with the White Island volcano search effort in 2019. 

“We have a fleet of six REMUS 100 UUVs we have been using consistently for the past 14 years,” said Captain Garin Golding, Royal New Zealand Navy. “The flexibility and modularity of the REMUS 300 will allow us to tailor the vehicles to specific missions, further augmenting our capabilities.” 

Designed for modularity and portability, the REMUS 300 can be reconfigured with a range of sensors and payloads to meet mission requirements. In addition to the four vehicles, New Zealand acquired high-definition camera modules and additional swappable battery modules. The sale was facilitated through New Zealand Ocean Technology, HII’s REMUS sales and in-country support partner. Delivery of the four REMUS 300s is expected by summer 2022. 

CHANTILLY, Va. — VTG, a provider of force modernization and digital transformation solutions, has won a $27 million, full and open, single-award, prime contract to support the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) in overseeing and executing its Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer programs, and assisting in the expedient transition of SBIR and STTR technologies, products and services to the fleet, the company said in a June 16 release. 

“We are honored to support NAVSEA in harnessing the creativity, agility and entrepreneurial spirit of small businesses to deliver the highest-priority technology needs of the Navy,” said John Hassoun, VTG president and CEO. “We look forward to leveraging our expertise across the defense and intelligence sectors to increase small business participation in federally funded research and development, foster collaboration between small firms and nonprofit research institutions, and stimulate the exciting technological innovations that will transform our nation’s sea power and benefit our national economy.” 

Under the five-year contract, VTG will provide program and project support services to the NAVSEA SBIR/STTR programs by defining focus areas, developing topics and identifying small business proposals and contractors to participate in the program. The company will also be responsible for supplying expertise and knowledge to assist the program manager in developing strategies and plans, as well as policies, processes and procedures to increase the quality, efficiency and effectiveness of the SBIR/STTR programs. The work will primarily be performed at the Washington Navy Yard. 

The SBIR program originated in 1982 as the government’s primary mechanism for engaging small technology businesses in R&D. It was designed to spur technological innovation, help meet federal R&D needs, increase private sector commercialization of innovations resulting from federally funded investments and encourage participation by minority and disadvantaged persons. The Navy has taken part in the SBIR program since its inception and has developed the highest commercialization success rate in the Defense Department. Last September, NAVSEA SBIR/STTR received the prestigious DoD Vanguard award for recognition of its outstanding work in supporting the Navy’s goal to “rapidly and adaptively procure innovative technologies from small businesses.” 

ARLINGTON, Va. — Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III announced June 17 that the President has made the following nominations:  

Vice Adm. William R. Merz, U.S. Navy, has been nominated for reappointment to the rank of vice admiral and assignment as deputy chief of Naval Operations for Operations, Plans and Strategy, N3/N5, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Washington, D.C. Merz is currently serving as commander, Seventh Fleet, Yokosuka, Japan.   

Rear Adm. Francis D. Morley, U.S. Navy, has been nominated for appointment to the rank of vice admiral and assignment as principal military deputy assistant secretary of the Navy (Research, Development, and Acquisition), Washington, D.C. Morley is currently serving as director, Navy International Programs Office, Office of the Secretary of the Navy, Washington, D.C.  

Rear Adm. Darse E. Crandall, Judge Advocate General Corps, U.S. Navy, for appointment to the rank of vice admiral and assignment as Judge Advocate General of the Navy, Washington, D.C. Crandall is currently serving as deputy Judge Advocate General of the Navy/commander, Naval Legal Service Command, Washington, D.C.  
    
Capt. Max G. McCoy, Jr., has been nominated for appointment to the rank of rear admiral (lower half). McCoy is currently serving as commander, Naval Aviation Warfighting Development Center, Fallon, Nevada.  

WASHINGTON – Adm. Charles W. Ray was relieved as vice commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard by Adm. Linda L. Fagan during a military change-of-command ceremony held June 18 at U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters, the service said in a release. 

Ray served as the vice commandant since May of 2018 and led the Service’s recapitalization of its legacy fleet of ships and aircraft while ensuring the Coast Guard’s 81,000 active duty, reserve, civilian, and auxiliary members were “Always Ready” to answer the nation’s call. Ray retired from the Coast Guard after 40 years of service and received the Department of Homeland Security Distinguished Service Medal from the Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas. 

“I am extremely proud of the dedication and resiliency I have seen throughout our service and throughout my career,” said Ray. “It has been an honor to serve with the men and women of the Coast Guard and it is my privilege to pass the reigns of vice commandant to Adm. Fagan, a true trailblazer and inspiration to so many.” 

Adm. Fagan most recently served as the commander of the Coast Guard Pacific Area, overseeing all Coast Guard operations in the Pacific, covering more than 74 million square miles of ocean, from the U.S. Western States to Asia, and from the Arctic to Antarctica. 

“Thank you, Adm. Ray for your service and your extraordinary leadership. You have made a tremendous, and long-lasting impact on our great service and we will strive to build upon your extraordinary work,” said Adm. Karl L. Schultz, commandant, U.S. Coast Guard. “Adm. Fagan, it is an honor to welcome you as the first woman to serve as a four-star admiral in the U.S. Coast Guard, and I congratulate you as you assume the duties as our 33^rd vice commandant. I am proud to be part of this historic moment and look forward to leading the Coast Guard alongside of you.” 

A change-of-command is a time-honored ceremony that signifies the absolute transfer of responsibility, authority, and accountability from one person to another.

ARLINGTON, Va. — On Friday, June 18, the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) successfully completed the first scheduled explosive event as part of Full Ship Shock Trials (FSST), the Navy said in a release. The first-in-class aircraft carrier was designed using advanced computer modeling methods, testing, and analysis to ensure the ship is hardened to withstand battle conditions, and these shock trials provide data used in validating the shock hardness of the ship. 

The U.S. Navy has conducted FSSTs over several decades, most recently for the littoral combat ships USS Jackson (LCS 6) and USS Milwaukee (LCS 5) in 2016; as well as for the San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock USS Mesa Verde (LPD 19) in 2008, the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp (LHD 1) in 1990, and the guided missile cruiser USS Mobile Bay (CG 53) in 1987. The last aircraft carrier to execute FSST was USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) in 1987. 

The Navy is conducting the shock trial testing in accordance with Office of the Chief of Naval Operations Instruction 9072.2, and as mandated by the National Defense Authorization Act of 2016. 

Ford’s shock trials are being conducted off the East Coast of the United States, within a narrow schedule that complies with environmental mitigation requirements, respecting known migration patterns of marine life in the test area. The Navy also has employed extensive protocols throughout FSST to ensure the safety of military and civilian personnel participating in the testing evolution. 

Ford is the newest and most advanced aircraft carrier in the U.S. Navy. The ship closed out a successful 18-month Post Delivery Test & Trials period in April, during which the crew completed all required testing, accomplished planned improvements and maintenance ahead of schedule, and learned valuable lessons to increase the reliability of Ford-Class systems. At the same time, the ship also served as the sole East Coast platform for conducting carrier qualifications. 

Upon completion of FSST later this summer, Ford will enter a Planned Incremental Availability for six months of modernization, maintenance, and repairs prior to its operational employment.