MCMURDO STATION, Antarctica — The 159
crewmembers of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star (WAGB 10) arrived Jan. 22
at McMurdo Station, following a 58-day transit from the United States, the Coast
Guard Pacific Area said in a Jan. 22 release. The cutter departed its homeport
of Seattle on Nov. 26.

This year marks the Polar Star’s 23rd
journey to Antarctica in support of Operation Deep Freeze, an annual joint
military service mission to resupply the United States Antarctic stations, in
support of the National Science Foundation, the lead agency for the United
States Antarctic Program.

The 399-foot, 13,000-ton Polar Star
arrived after creating a 23-mile channel through the ice to McMurdo Sound, which
will enable the offload of over 19.5 million pounds of dry cargo and 7.6
million gallons of fuel from three logistic vessels. Together these three ships
carry enough fuel and critical supplies to sustain NSF operations throughout
the year until Polar Star returns in 2021.

Each year, the Polar Star crew creates a
navigable channel through seasonal and multi-year ice, sometimes as much as 21 feet
thick, to allow refuel and resupply ships to reach McMurdo Station.

“I am immensely proud of all the hard work
and dedication the men and women of the Polar Star demonstrate each and every
day,” said Greg Stanclik, commanding officer of the Polar Star. “Maintaining
and operating a 44-year-old ship in the harshest of environments takes months
of planning and preparation; long workdays; and missed holidays, birthdays and
anniversaries with loved ones. The Polar Star crew truly embodies the ethos of
the Antarctic explorers who came before us — courage, sacrifice and devotion.”

Commissioned in 1976, the Polar Star is the
United States’ only operational heavy icebreaker. Reserved for Operation Deep
Freeze each year, the ship spends the winter breaking ice near Antarctica, and
when the mission is complete, returns to dry dock in order to conduct critical
maintenance and repairs in preparation for the next Operation Deep Freeze
mission.

If a catastrophic event, such as getting
stuck in the ice, were to happen to the Coast Guard Cutter Healy (WAGB 20) in
the Arctic or to the Polar Star near Antarctica, the U.S. Coast Guard is left
without a self-rescue capability.

By contrast, Russia currently operates
more than 50 icebreakers several of which are nuclear powered.

The Coast Guard has been the sole
provider of the nation’s polar icebreaking capability since 1965 and is seeking
to increase its icebreaking fleet with six new polar security cutters to ensure
continued national presence and access to the Polar Regions.

In April, the Coast Guard awarded VT
Halter Marine Inc. of Pascagoula, Mississippi, a contract for the design and
construction of the Coast Guard’s lead polar security cutter, which will be
homeported in Seattle. The contract also includes options for the construction
of two additional PSCs.

“Replacing the Coast Guard’s
icebreaker fleet is paramount,” said Vice Adm. Linda Fagan, commander of
the Coast Guard’s Pacific Area. “Our ability to clear a channel and allow
for the resupply of the United States’ Antarctic stations is essential for
continued national presence and influence on the continent.”

MARINE CORPS BASE QUANTICO, Va. — Marine Corps Systems Command (MCSC) on Jan. 16 awarded a contract to MAC LLC — a Mississippi-based small business — for about $10 million for polymer ammunition to be used in the M2 machine gun. 

The ammo is significantly lighter and easier to haul than traditional brass casings. 

“Polymer ammunition meets the same specifications for effectiveness as the brass ammo,” said Lt. Col. Bill Lanham, MCSC’s deputy program manager for ammunition. 

Polymer is a class of plastic-like material that weighs less than brass and other metals commonly used in weapon systems. 

The Corps intends to replace brass ammunition with polymer ammo, steel cans with polymer cans and traditional metal links with nylon links used to hold ammunition. The transition from brass to polymer enables them to carry more ammo. 

Lightening the load of ammunition ultimately will increase efficiency on the battlefield, Lanham said. 

“When we go to war, we need more ammo to defeat our adversaries,” he said. “Polymer ammo gives Marines the opportunity to carry more ammunition or make trades with what gear is important to carry during combat.” 

In addition to the weight advantage, polymer has myriad other benefits over brass. For example, a machine gun often heats up when Marines rapidly fire brass ammo. Over time, the weapon’s high temperature can soften the material and accelerate erosion. Parts can also break more easily. 

However, polymer ammo absorbs heat expelled from the casing, preventing the machine gun from warming. This means Marines can fire for longer periods of time with less problems, said John Carpenter, assistant program manager for engineering with PM Ammunition. 

Carpenter also noted how the polymer ammo will provide logistical benefits. Before Marines access the ammunition on the battlefield, it must be transported across the ocean during a process that requires much fuel, manpower and money. Lighter ammo can mitigate this burden. 

“Everything goes on a boat, ship or plane,” Carpenter said. “But when we reduce the weight of ammunition, we also reduce the number of vehicles in a convoy, amount of funding and the number of Marines we put in harm’s way.” 

The Marine Corps isn’t the only service pursuing polymer ammo. The U.S. Army is exploring the 7.62 lightweight small-caliber ammunition with the same polymer technology, while the Navy is pursuing an effort to develop small caliber lightweight cartridges and links that exceed the ballistic requirements of traditional cartridges. 

The Navy will partner with the Marine Corps to further advance their lightweight case and link development for a solution. Per the contract with MAC Technology, MCSC will receive a small quantity of polymer ammunition in the fourth quarter of fiscal years 2020 and 2021. Marines will assess the ammo to increase familiarity and validate the polymer rounds during an operational validation scheduled for the third quarter of fiscal year 2021. 

The program office estimates fielding will begin in fiscal year 2022. Lanham and Carpenter said the Corps is excited for the potential that polymer ammunition will have in winning the future fight. 

“What you’re seeing is not a quick surge of new technology, but the work of engineers, project officers and logisticians for the past decade,” Carpenter said. “The goal is to provide innovative and effective technology for the Marine Corps.” 

AMARILLO, Texas — The first CMV-22B Osprey, built by Boeing and Bell Textron Inc., completed first flight operations at Bell’s Amarillo Assembly Center, Boeing said in a Jan. 21 release. The CMV-22B is the latest variant of the tilt-rotor fleet, joining the MV-22 and CV-22 used by the U.S. Marine Corps and Air Force. 

The U.S. Navy will use the CMV-22B to replace the C-2A Greyhound for transporting personnel, mail, supplies and high-priority cargo from shore bases to aircraft carriers at sea. Bell Boeing designed the Navy variant specifically for carrier fleet operations by providing increased fuel capacity for the extended range requirement. The mission flexibility of the Osprey will increase operational capabilities and readiness, in addition to ferrying major components of the F-35 engine. 

“With the ability to travel up to 1,150 nautical miles, the CMV-22B will be a lifeline for our servicemen and women out at sea,” said Kristin Houston, vice president of Boeing’s tilt-rotor programs and director of Bell Boeing’s V-22 program. “The quality and safety built into this aircraft will revolutionize the way the U.S. Navy fulfills its critical carrier onboard delivery mission.” 

Bell Boeing will deliver the first CMV-22B to Air Test and Evaluation Squadron (HX) 21 in early 2020 for developmental testing.

ARLINGTON, Va. – The U.S. Coast Guard has a unique role in
the growing global rivalry with Russia and China, the service’s second-ranking
leader says.

In addition to Department of Homeland Security, law
enforcement and maritime rescue missions, Coast Guard assets are deployed with
the Navy in the Middle East, seizing illegal narcotics shipments in South
American and Caribbean waters and traveling the increasingly tense Indo-Pacific
region, said Adm. Charles W. Ray, the Coast Guard’s vice commandant.

In addition to interoperability with the Navy overseas, the
Coast Guard forms “a unique element of the joint force with the smaller
countries and navies of the world” because it is both a military and law
enforcement organization, Ray told the annual Surface Navy Association convention
here Jan. 15. “There’s something unique about a white ship with a racing
stripe,” he said, adding the Coast Guard operates at “the level below lethal
level.”

That role has become more significant because the “Great
Power Competition” has reached the High North, where “the Coast Guard is
the nation’s presence,” he said.

The Arctic region makes demands not seen in a long time.
When the medium icebreaker U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy sailed above the
Arctic Circle last summer, “she was literally off the grid for almost a month,”
Ray said.

“There’s not a lot of there, there, when it comes to comms
and navigation,” the deputy commandant added, noting the issue isn’t just
communications but domain awareness. As Arctic sea ice melts, previously
impassable sea lanes are opening during the summer to commercial maritime
traffic and naval vessels. “We’ve got to be aware of who else is up there,” Ray
said.

Designed to break 4.5 feet of ice continuously and operate
in temperatures as low as 50 degrees below zero, the Healy is out of service
for maintenance work until June. The nation’s only operational heavy
icebreaker, the much larger but aging Polar Star, can break ice 21 feet thick. Commissioned
in 1976, Polar Star is on its seventh tour of icebreaking duties in Antarctica.
Both vessels are homeported in Seattle, far from Arctic waters.

The Coast Guard wants to increase its icebreaking fleet with
six new polar security cutters. Congress appropriated $655 million in fiscal
2019 to begin construction of the first, with another $20 million appropriated
for long-lead-time materials to build a second icebreaker. 

While the Coast Guard has gotten funding to build five
classes of new cutters including icebreakers, Ray expressed concern about where
they all will be homeported and maintained in the future. “We’ve got about $2
billion in shore infrastructure backlog,” the admiral said.

WASHINGTON — Acting Navy Secretary Thomas B. Modly on Jan. 20 named a future aircraft carrier the USS Doris Miller (CVN 81) during a Martin Luther King Jr. Day ceremony in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, honoring black Americans of the Greatest Generation. 

The day’s ceremony also paid homage to the beginning and end of America’s role in World War II and the scene where Doris Miller’s heroic actions cemented him into America’s history books.  

“It’s an honor to join you today on the birthday celebration of one of our nation’s — and the world’s — greatest spiritual, intellectual and moral leaders,” Modly said. “Seventy-five years ago, our nation bound together to secure victory against an existential threat, but also to secure opportunities for broader liberty and justice for the entire world.” 

“But we were not perfect in our own pursuits of these values here at home,” Modly continued. “That contradiction is an undeniable part of our history, one that cannot be glossed over or forgotten.” 

Doris “Dorie” Miller manned anti-aircraft guns during the attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, for which he had no training, and he tended to the wounded. He was recognized by the Navy for his actions and awarded the Navy Cross — the first black man to ever receive the honor. 

U.S. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas) delivered an emotional speech about the influence of Miller’s legacy on her own life. 

“All of my life, I’ve heard about how great Doris Miller was,” Johnson said. “[He] was my childhood hero. It was the spirit of Dorie Miller that made me appreciate being an American more than anything else because, in the days of real segregation, a black man from my hometown had stepped up to help save America. Dorie Miller started the civil rights movement and perhaps even gave Martin Luther King Jr. the spirit to lead us into the era of which he did.” 

Modly noted that throughout U.S. history, the finest of every generation have stepped forward to serve the cause of freedom around the world even if they were denied those same freedoms at home simply because of the color of their skin.  

On Dec. 7, 1941, Doris Miller did not let the prejudice of others define him, the Navy secretary said. Johnson said naming CVN 81 in honor of Doris Miller has done so much to recognize and highlight that no matter the color of a person’s skin, they can achieve anything. 

U.S. Rep. Bill Flores (R-Texas), which includes Miller’s hometown of Waco, said it was an honor to pay tribute to one of America’s heroes from the Greatest Generation.  

“[Miller] was a man who exemplified the hearts of our Sailors and the spirit of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., who we also recognize today,” Flores said. “Dr. King once said, ‘The time is always right to do something right’ and that is what Petty Officer Miller did. His story of bravery is a testament to his courage and commitment to serve both his fellow Sailors and his country.” 

For the members of Miller’s family present at the ceremony, it was a moment to reflect on the legacy their family lives to honor with every generation. 

“When Uncle Doris decided that he was going to step up to the machine gun and shoot, it was a ‘why not me?’ moment,” said Henrietta Blednose Miller, a niece of Miller’s. “As we go through life, we’re all going to be confronted with ‘why not me?’ moments whether they are small or big, but with each one, you will be affecting someone if you take an action at that moment.” 

CVN 81 will be the second ship named in honor of Miller and the first carrier ever named for a black American. The Doris Miller will also be the first aircraft carrier to be named in honor of a Sailor for actions while serving in the enlisted ranks.

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.

ARLINGTON,
Va. — The U.S. Coast Guard is so bullish on the Insitu-built ScanEagle unmanned
aerial vehicle (UAV) that it is moving up the schedule of installing it on its Legend-class
national security cutters (NSCs).

The Coast
Guard awarded Insitu an ISR (intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance)
services contract to Insitu in 2016 to deploy the ScanEagle onboard one NSC,
the Stratton. Two years ago, the Coast Guard awarded Insitu a contract to
operate the ScanEagle on board all NSCs.

“Over the
past year and a half, we have begun integration on board all national security
cutters,” said Ron Tremain, vice president of Insitu Defense, a Boeing company,
who spoke to Seapower on Jan. 15 at the Surface Navy Association’s gathering
here.

“We had a notional
timeline to integrate over a five-year period and [Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Karl
Schultz] stated in his speech last year that he wanted to integrate it on board
all national security cutters by the end of 2020.”

“So that
expedited the program,” Tremain added. “We’ve installed it on five national
security cutters to date, and it will be installed on all national security
cutters currently built by the end of 2020.”

Insitu
installs the UAVs and their launch-and-recovery equipment and ground-control
stations on board the ships, he said. Insitu sends four-person teams to deploy
with each ship. They operate the entire system once on board. The teams are
fully embedded with their ship’s crew.

“The
ground-control station is fully integrated into the command-and-control
structure of the ship,” Tremain said. “The launch-and-recovery equipment is
roll-on/roll-off.”

A standard
pack-out for a deployment is three ScanEagle UAVs, he said. The sensor systems
include and electro-optical/infrared camera, a laser pointer, a communication
relay, an Automatic Identification System interrogator and Vidar (visual
detection and ranging, a surface search capability).

Retired Coast
Vice Adm. John P. Currier, head of JP Currier Consulting LLC and former head on
Coast Guard acquisition, told Seapower that the sensor data product from
the ScanEagle is provided to the cutter for analysis and action.

Currier said
that before deployment of the ScanEagle the NSC had a scan of 35 miles either
side of the ship with its organic sensors.

“With
ScanEagle on board, for good parts of the day, you’re up to 75 miles either
side of the ship as you’re moving through the sea space,” he said. “ScanEagle
is a game-changer.”

“We’ve
effectively doubled the search area of a national security cutter,” Tremain
said. “We’re he only company flying with Vidar, and we’re surveilling up to 1,000
square miles of open ocean per flight hour, and we’re identifying greater than
90% of the targets.”

Deployments
under the current contract have been made by cutters Monroe, James and Stratton.
Four were made on Stratton on the 2016 contract.

Tremain said
the ScanEagle teams have been credited with assisting in the interception on
nearly $3 billion worth of narcotics to date.

The current
$118 million ISR services contract is a one-year contract with seven options
for one-year extensions. Tremain said that with the expedition of the
installations the value of the contract will go up exponentially.

He said that
Insitu is integrating ScanEagle on a number of ships of other navies around the
world.

The Coast Guard also plans
to integrate the ScanEagle on the forthcoming Heritage-class offshore patrol
cutters.

WASHINGTON — Raytheon Co. has delivered its 10th AN/AQS-20C
mine-hunting sonar system to the U.S. Navy, the company said in a Jan. 15
release.

The sonar-towed body was officially transferred to the Naval
Surface Warfare Center, Panama City Division. The system — which is the program
of record for the Navy’s Littoral Combat Ship mine countermeasure mission
package — is now fully qualified and will move toward initial operating capability.

The AN/AQS-20C is made up of five
distinct sonars, including a synthetic aperture sonar that provides the highest
possible resolution for acoustic identification. The system detects,
classifies, localizes and identifies mines on the seabed, near-bottom moored
mines, volume mines and near-surface mines.

“AQS-20C is capable of enabling true single-pass, mine-hunting when paired with the Barracuda mine neutralizer,” said Wade Knudson, senior director of Raytheon’s Undersea Warfare Systems business area. “Delivery of the 10th towed body brings this critical autonomous technology one step closer to IOC.”

The AQS-20C system is platform agnostic and can be integrated onto various tow vehicles. It is a key element in single sortie detect-to-engage capability, which combines the search-detect-identify and neutralize elements of a mine countermeasures (MCM) mission on a single platform.

The program completed developmental testing last February and will undergo further integration on the MCM Unmanned Surface Vehicle early this year and ultimately aboard the littoral combat ship.

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 fielding of the RQ-21A Blackjack unmanned aerial system achieved full
operational capability in 2019, Navy’s program manager said.

Col. John
Neville, the Blackjack’s program manager for the Program Executive Office-Unmanned
and Strike Weapons, told Seapower at the Surface Navy Association gathering
here that all 21 systems for the Marine Corps and 10 for the Navy have been delivered
to fleet and training units.

The
Blackjack, built by Boeing’s Insitu, is a twin-boom, single-engine, small
tactical unmanned aerial vehicle that carries modular payloads mostly for
surveillance. It is pneumatically launched and is recovered using a skyhook
arrestment system. A single Blackjack system includes five UAVs, two ground
control stations, various payloads and a set of launch and recovery systems.

The Blackjack
now equips four Marine UAV squadrons plus a fleet replacement detachment. The
Marine Corps deploys the Blackjack with its Marine expeditionary units onboard
amphibious warfare ships. The 10 systems for the Navy have been delivered to
Navy Special Warfare Command and made two deployments in 2019.

Neville said
the Blackjack has demonstrated “great reliability.”

He said that
with fielding complete, his office is concentrating on sustainment of the
Blackjack and also on Foreign Military Sales. Two nations, Canada and Poland,
have procured the Blackjack and Neville said there are more possible sales “on
the horizon.”

Foreign sales will help to
bring down the cost of the Blackjack, he said.