JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Boeing has delivered the first Super Hornet test aircraft for the U.S. Navy’s Blue Angel flight demonstration squadron, the company said in a June 3 release. 

The unpainted aircraft now enters the flight test and evaluation phase at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland. Boeing expects to deliver a total of 11 aircraft for the squadron this year. 

“The Super Hornet is an iconic representation of excellence in naval aviation,” said retired Adm. Pat Walsh, vice president of U.S. Navy & Marine Corps Services for Boeing. Walsh flew with the Blue Angels from 1985 to 1987 as the Left Wingman (No. 3) and Slot Pilot (No. 4). “As Boeing continues to support the operational fleet of Navy Super Hornets, we are excited to see this platform enter a critical phase of its journey to joining the team.” 

The flight demonstration squadron has flown Boeing or Boeing-heritage aircraft for more than 50 years, starting with the F-4J Phantom II in 1969, and then moving to the A-4F Skyhawk. The team operates the F/A-18A-D Hornet today. 

Boeing converts F/A-18 Hornets and Super Hornets into Blue Angels at the company’s Cecil Field facility in Jacksonville, Florida. 

Major modifications include the addition of an oil tank for the smoke-generation system, fuel systems that enable the aircraft to fly inverted for extended periods of time, civilian-compatible navigation equipment, cameras and adjustments for the aircraft’s center of gravity. 

ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Navy’s Advanced Aerial Sensor (AAS) has been deployed to the western Pacific, according to a release from the squadron that deployed the AAS on its P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol reconnaissance aircraft. 

Patrol Squadron 45 (VP-45), based out of Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Florida, returned May 29 from an eight-month deployment to the western Pacific in support of the U.S. 7th Fleet. In a June 2 release announcing the return, the squadron noted its role in deploying the new radar system. 

“VP-45 had the task of being the Navy’s first global force-managed squadron to deploy the [AAS] aircraft for theater [anti-submarine warfare],” the release said. 

“Aircrew and maintenance accelerated the timeline on AAS’ role in the theater, helping operational planners prepare future deployments,” VP-45 Cmdr. Paul Nickell said in the release. “VP-45 maintainers executed over 13,000 man hours, ensuring every mission succeeded.” 

The APS-154 AAS is a development of the P-3C’s APS-149 Littoral Surveillance Radar System for the P-8A Poseidon. The AAS is solid-state, wide-aperture, active electronically scanned array radar housed in a long pod under the fuselage. The sensor is designed to provide standoff detection and tracking of moving targets and high-resolution ground mapping. Flight tests on the first P-8A test aircraft began in April 2014. 

During its deployment, VP-45 conducted maritime intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance (ISR), theater security cooperation and anti-submarine warfare missions. The squadron flew more than 5,000 flight hours during more than 875 sorties. The squadron operated from Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean to northern Japan, down to southern Australia and across several Asia-pacific nations, the release said. 

The squadron also received aerial refueling on some flights, including on one that allowed for the first long-range, persistent ASW event that spanned half the 7th Fleet’s area of operations.

LONDON — Babcock International has been awarded a multimillion-pound contract extension to manufacture a further 18 tactical Missile Tube Assemblies (MTAs) for General Dynamics Electric Boat (GDEB), Babcock said in a June 2 release. 

It is part of the Common Missile Compartment (CMC) project for the U.K. Dreadnought-class and U.S Columbia class-submarine programs and will support more than 200 advanced manufacturing jobs at Babcock’s Rosyth and Bristol facilities in the U.K. 

This highly specialized, internationally significant work reinforces Babcock’s position as a critical supplier of MTAs, utilizing its digital manufacturing skills and expertise to support the future deterrent sub programs for both the U.K. Royal Navy and the U.S. Navy. 

“This is a prime example of the capability of our defence industry to deliver specialized and complex manufacturing in support of an internationally significant program,” U.K. Defence Minister Jeremy Quin said. “The contract extension will support 200 highly-skilled jobs in Bristol and Rosyth, building next-generation technology for our vital nuclear deterrent.” 

Since 2014, Babcock has secured competitive contracts with GDEB to manufacture 57 MTAs. The latest of these contracts included an option to supply an additional 18 MTAs, resulting in the recent contract extension. 

This brings the total number of tactical MTAs that will be manufactured by Babcock for Electric Boat to 75 and will see Babcock’s work transition from the U.K. Dreadnought to the U.S. Columbia SSBN program. 

RESTON, Va. — The U.S. Navy awarded SAIC Corp. a contract worth about $60 million to continue providing mission engineering support by testing heavyweight and lightweight torpedoes for Naval Sea Systems Command, SAIC said in a release. 

In support of the Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Newport (NUWC), SAIC will handle testing and data collection for Mk48 heavyweight torpedoes, and Mk54 and Mk46 lightweight torpedoes. 

“For more than 13 years, SAIC has supported the testing of approximately 150 torpedoes as part of the engineering, technical, and management services we provide to the NUWC’s Propulsion Test Facility in Newport, Rhode Island,” said Jim Scanlon, executive vice president and general manager of the Defense Systems Group of SAIC. “We look forward to continuing to support NUWC with testing of torpedoes and torpedo components over the next five years.” 

As part of the single-award contract, SAIC will prepare the test facility and test torpedoes, interface the test torpedo, execute the test, and collect and process test data. Additionally, SAIC will support preparing torpedoes for testing at off-site test ranges and locations. SAIC will also provide maintenance, upgrades, and operational support for test torpedo assembly and turnaround, system and subsystem testing, data reduction, test equipment operation, and data and configuration management. 

The cost-plus-fixed-fee and firm-fixed-price contract has a one-year base period of performance with four option years. 

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — A Coast Guard cutter in mid-May seized about 1,090 pounds of suspected cocaine with an estimated value of $18.7 million from a go-fast vessel in international waters of the Pacific Ocean off Central America, the Coast Guard 7th District said in a June 2 release. 

A maritime patrol aircraft spotted a suspected smuggling vessel and diverted the crew aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Confidence to the go-fast vessel’s position.  

Once on scene, Confidence’s crew initiated a pursuit of the suspected smugglers who began throwing contraband overboard. Once the suspected smugglers complied with orders to stop their boat, the Coast Guard crew boarded the vessel and discovered the cocaine. Three suspected smugglers were detained.  

On April 1, U.S. Southern Command began enhanced counter-narcotics operations in the Western Hemisphere to disrupt the flow of drugs in support of Presidential National Security Objectives. Numerous U.S. agencies from the Departments of Defense, Justice, and Homeland Security cooperated in the effort to combat transnational organized crime. The Coast Guard, Navy, Customs and Border Protection, FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, along with allied and international partner agencies, play a role in counter-drug operations.  

The law enforcement phase of counter-smuggling operations in the eastern Pacific is conducted under the authority of the 11th Coast Guard District, headquartered in Alameda. The interdictions, including the actual boardings, are led and conducted by members of the U.S. Coast Guard.  

The Confidence is homeported out of Cape Canaveral and was commissioned in 1966.

ARLINGTON, Va. — The Navy secretary and chief of naval operations on June 2 announced these assignments: 

Rear Adm. James S. Bynum is serving as director, warfare development, N72, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Washington, D.C. Bynum was director, Assessment Division, N81, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Washington, D.C.  

Rear Adm. Charles B. Cooper II will be assigned as commander, Naval Surface Force Atlantic, Norfolk, Virginia. Copper served as chief of legislative affairs, Washington, D.C. 

Rear Adm. Marc H. Dalton is serving as director, Assessment Division, N81, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Washington, D.C. Dalton was director, maritime operations (DMOC/N04), U.S. Pacific Fleet, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. 

Rear Adm. Roy I. Kitchener will be assigned as commander, Naval Surface Forces, and as commander, Naval Surface Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet, San Diego. Kitchener is serving as commander, Naval Surface Force Atlantic, Norfolk, Virginia. 

Rear Adm. John F. Meier is serving as commander, Naval Air Force Atlantic, Norfolk, Virginia. Meier served as commander, Navy Warfare Development Command, Norfolk, Virginia. 

Rear Adm. Lorin C. Selby is serving as chief of naval research, Arlington, Virginia. Selby served as deputy commander for ship design, integration, and naval engineering, SEA-05, Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C. 

Rear Adm. John B. Skillman will be assigned as director, Programming Division, N80, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Washington, D.C. Skillman is serving as director, enterprise support, N1, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Arlington, Virginia. 

Rear Adm. (lower half) Daniel W. Dwyer, selected for promotion to rear admiral, will be assigned as director, plans and policy, J5, U.S. Cyber Command, Fort Meade, Maryland. Dwyer is serving as chief of naval air training, Corpus Christi, Texas. 

Rear Adm. (lower half) Peter A. Garvin, selected for promotion to rear admiral, will be assigned as commander, Naval Education and Training Command, Pensacola, Florida. Garvin is assigned as commander, Patrol and Reconnaissance Group, Norfolk, Virginia.  

Rear Adm. (lower half) Fred I. Pyle, selected for promotion to rear admiral, is serving as commander, Navy Warfare Development Command, Norfolk, Virginia. Pyle previously served as commander, Carrier Strike Group 3, Bremerton, Washington. 

Rear Adm. (lower half) James A. Aiken is serving as commander, Carrier Strike Group 3, Bremerton, Washington. Aiken served as deputy director for resources and acquisition, J8, Joint Staff, Washington, D.C. 

Rear Adm. (lower half) Thomas J. Anderson will be assigned as program executive officer for ships, Washington, D.C. Anderson served as commander, Regional Maintenance Center, Washington, D.C.  

Rear Adm. (lower half) Michael E. Boyle will be assigned as director, maritime operations (DMOC/N04), U.S. Pacific Fleet, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Boyle served as commander, Carrier Strike Group 12, Norfolk, Virginia. 

Rear Adm. (lower half) Richard J. Cheeseman Jr., is serving as commander, Carrier Strike Group 2, Norfolk, Virginia. Cheeseman served as assistant commander for career management, PERS-4, Navy Personnel Command, Millington, Tennessee. 

Rear Adm. (lower half) Craig A. Clapperton is serving as commander, Carrier Strike Group 12, Norfolk, Virginia. Clapperton served as deputy director, operations, J3, U.S. Cyber Command, Fort Meade, Maryland. 

Rear Adm. (lower half) Kristen B. Fabry will be assigned as commander, Defense Logistics Agency-Land and Maritime, Columbus, Ohio. Fabry is serving as director, logistics, fleet supply and ordnance, N4, U.S. Pacific Fleet, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. 

Rear Adm. (lower half) Sara A. Joyner is serving as chief of legislative affairs, Washington, D.C. Joyner previously served as commander, Carrier Strike Group 2, Norfolk, Virginia. 

Rear Adm. (lower half) Robert D. Katz is serving as commander, Expeditionary Strike Group 2, Virginia Beach, Virginia. Katz served as director, joint/fleet operations, U.S. Fleet Forces Command, Norfolk, Virginia. 

Rear Adm. (lower half) James A. Kirk is serving as commander, Carrier Strike Group 11, Everett, Washington. Kirk served as deputy commander/chief of staff, Joint Warfare Center, Allied Command Transformation, Stavanger, Norway. 

Rear Adm. (lower half) Timothy J. Kott will be assigned as commander, Carrier Strike Group 1, San Diego. Kott is serving as assistant chief of staff, operations, Allied Joint Forces Command, Naples, Italy.  

Rear Adm. (lower half) Frederick R. Luchtman is serving as commander, Naval Safety Center, and lead for the Physiological Episodes (PE) Effort, Norfolk, Virginia. Luchtman served as lead for the PE Effort, Arlington, Virginia.  

Rear Adm. (lower half) Lance G. Scott will be assigned as commander, Patrol and Reconnaissance Group, Norfolk, Virginia. Scott is serving as chief, Global Operations Center, U.S. Transportation Command, Scott Air Force Base, Illinois. 

Rear Adm. (lower half) John D. Spencer will be assigned as commander, Submarine Group Ten, Kings Bay, Georgia. Spencer is serving as director, Nuclear Support Directorate, Defense Threat Reduction Agency, Fort Belvoir, Virginia.  

Rear Adm. (lower half) Eric H. Ver Hage is serving as commander, Regional Maintenance Center, Washington, D.C. Ver Hage served as commander, Naval Surface Warfare Center, and as commander, Naval Undersea Warfare Center, Washington, D.C. 

ANDOVER, Mass. — Raytheon’s Missiles & Defense unit has finished near-field range testing of the first AN/SPY-6(V)1 radar array, signaling its readiness to be packed and shipped for installation on a future U.S. Navy Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, the USS Jack H. Lucas, the company said in a release. 

The 14-foot by 14-foot modular array will deliver integrated air and missile defense and air-defense capabilities to Flight III guided missile destroyers and a total of seven types of Navy ships. 

“The goal of near-field range testing is to increase integration speed, drive out risk and ensure SPY-6 is primed for installation,” said Scott Spence, senior director of Naval Radar Systems. “When SPY-6 radar arrays leave our radar development facility, they are ready to defend the surface fleet.” 

Before leaving the development facility, all SPY-6 arrays undergo extensive testing that includes: 

• Operational health evaluation of more than 5,000 transmit and receive radiating elements. 
• Alignment and calibration of nearly 150 subarray channels and 5,000 radar elements. 
• Collection and validation of over 42,000 “golden database” parameters that allows automatic recalibration of the array during at-sea maintenance. 
• Collection, analysis and verification of over 300 transmit and receive array beam patterns. 

Raytheon Missiles & Defense has invested more than $500 million in infrastructure and capacity enhancements, including advanced automation technology, for SPY-6 since the program’s inception. Additional construction on expanded production areas dedicated to transmit/receive integrated microwave modules and radio frequency heads — key radar components — will be completed this year.

BAE Systems announced June 2 that it had completed test shots of its APKWS laser-guided rockets from a tactical configuration ground-based weapon system for the first time. The proof-of-concept testing demonstrated the APKWS rockets’ ability to deliver standoff precision-strike capabilities for ground forces, providing a solution for warfighters engaging targets with greater range than small arms fire and without the need for air support.

BAE Systems tested the APKWS rockets at the U.S. Army’s Yuma Proving Ground, in collaboration with the U.S. Navy and Arnold Defense, a manufacturer of rocket launchers. The team used Arnold’s Fletcher 2.75-inch/70 mm Weapon System concept – a purpose-built laser-guided rocket launcher for ground vehicles – to fire several shots.

“Our customers see the value in low-cost, precision-strike capabilities that reduce the risk of collateral damage, and they want the flexibility to deliver them from the platform of their choice,” said Greg Procopio, director of Precision Guidance and Sensing Solutions at BAE Systems. “Demand is growing for ground-to-ground precision munitions that provide a safe standoff distance for small ground units. We’re working closely with our customer and partners to deliver that capability.”

Ground-launched APKWS rockets could provide mounted and dismounted units with a unique way to engage soft and lightly armored targets from a variety of platforms, according to the company. The low size, weight and power requirements of ground-launched APKWS rockets make them useful for tactical lightweight vehicles, remote weapon stations, non-standard tactical vehicles and stationary platforms.

“We designed Fletcher specifically as a ground launcher for precision-guided 70 mm rockets,” said Jim Hager, president and CEO at Arnold Defense. “Fletcher-launched APKWS rockets enable our military customers to engage targets from more than just airborne platforms. We envision Fletcher being used on everything from trucks and tracked vehicles to marine platforms in the future.”

APKWS laser-guided rockets are the only U.S. government program of record for precision-guided 70 mm rockets. All four U.S. armed forces use APKWS rockets, and it is available to U.S. allies via foreign military sales.

ARLINGTON, Va. — The carrier air wing assigned to the USS Gerald R. Ford is working up on its flight deck and conducting air operations with inert ordnance, the wing commander said. 

Speaking June 1 to reporters by teleconference while operating off the Virginia Capes, Capt. Joshua Sager said his seven squadrons assigned to Carrier Air Wing 8 (CVW-8) are on board the carrier for the first time, beginning a lengthy training cycle of catapult launches and arrested landings and working up to ordnance loads and dropping inert ordnance on targets. 

The Ford’s commanding officer, Capt. J.J. Cummings, also speaking in the teleconference, said the ship has unloaded 40,000 pounds of inert ordnance for CVW-8 to expend during its training. He said the newly operational aft lower Advanced Weapons Elevator (AWE) is getting a workout servicing the air wing. 

Sager said the AWE “gives us a lot of flexibility to access what is normally deeper in the magazine” — especially to make changes to ordnance loads in real time, as the mission set might change before aircraft are launched. 

“We’re actually testing that out while we’re out here,” he said. “We’re actually taking the carrier qualification mission to a mission that focuses on combat operations and executing that capability. It’s been an absolute an honor to be a part of that trajectory that we’re on.”      

The Ford has achieved 167 arrested landings in one day so far with the Advanced Arresting Gear, and Sager plans to show that the ship/air wing team can beat that number. 

Cummings said the reliability of the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System is climbing.  

James F. Geurts, assistant secretary of the Navy for research, development and acquisition, also in the teleconference, said the Ford’s current at-sea period is serving to “exercise the equipment hard.”  

Sager said the air wing would not need recovery tanking during this at-sea period because of the availability of divert airfields within easy range. Mission tanking would be conducted for practice strikes into North Carolina. 

With more than 1,000 air wing personnel embarked, the ship’s galleys all are fully operating, Cummings said. The ship and air wing are free of any cases of COVID-19 among the personnel embarked, he said. 

CVW-8 includes four strike fighter squadrons flying F/A-18E/F Super Hornets, one carrier airborne early warning squadron flying E-2 Hawkeyes, one helicopter maritime strike squadron operating MH-60R Seahawks and one helicopter sea combat squadron flying MH-60S Seahawks. 

Sager declined to comment on plans for an electronic attack (VAQ) squadron flying EA-18G Growlers to join the air wing in the future. The VAQ squadron formerly assigned to the wing is assigned an expeditionary role.

MARIETTA, Ga. — Lockheed Martin recently delivered the first KC-130J Super Hercules tanker assigned to VMGR-452, the Marine Forces Reserve squadron at Stewart Air National Guard Base, New York, the company announced. 

A U.S. Marine Corps crew ferried the aircraft from Lockheed’s facility in Marietta on May 28 to the aircraft’s new home. 

VMGR-452 is the second Marine Reserve squadron to operate KC-130Js and this delivery signifies the recapitalization of the squadron’s existing KC-130T fleet. VMGR-452 — the “Yankees” — has operated Hercules tankers for more than 30 years, flying KC-130s in support of Operations Desert Storm, Enduring Freedom, and Iraqi Freedom. 

“The KC-130 Hercules tanker has been a pivotal part of Marine Corps aviation operations since 1960, a relationship that began with the KC-130F and R-models, transitioned to the KC-130T, and continues now with the KC-130J Super Hercules,” said Rod McLean, vice president and general manager of Lockheed Martin’s Air Mobility and Maritime Missions line of business. 

“Our C-130 team knows this delivery is significant and represents increased capability for VMGR-452. We are proud to support our Marine aviation partners as they continue to be ‘first to fight.’” 

KC-130s are operated in support of the Marine Air-Ground Task Force commander by providing tactical in-flight refueling for fixed-wing, rotary-wing, and tilt-rotor aircraft; aviation-delivered ground refueling of aircraft or tactical vehicles; assault air transport or air-landed or aerial-delivered (parachute) personnel and equipment; pathfinder support, battlefield illumination; tactical aeromedical evacuation; and tactical recovery of aircraft and personnel support. 

The KC-130J delivers increased speed and fuel efficiency, improved payload/range capabilities, an integrated defensive suite, automated maintenance fault reporting, high-altitude ramp and door hydraulics, and unmatched situational awareness with its digital avionics and dual head-up displays. 

The KC-130J is one of nine production variants of the C-130J Super Hercules, the current production model of the legendary C-130 Hercules. With 460-plus aircraft delivered, the C-130J is the airlifter of choice for 20 nations. 

The U.S. Marine Corps operates the largest KC-130J Super Hercules fleet in the world. This delivery continues the U.S. government’s transition to the C-130J as the common platform across the Marine Corps, U.S. Air Force and U.S. Coast Guard.