PARIS — The
U.S. Navy successfully completed a series of guided flight tests for Raytheon
Co.’s Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) Block 2A short-range, surface-to-air
missile, the company said in a release.

Testing
occurred at Naval Air Warfare Center in China Lake, California, and from the
Navy’s self-defense test ship off the coast of Southern California.

RAM is the world’s
most modern ship self-defense weapon and protects ships of all sizes. It is
deployed on more than 165 ships in 11 countries, ranging from 500-ton fast
attack craft to 95,000-ton aircraft carriers. The latest software upgrade
enhances guidance and the missile’s capability to defeat threats.

Raytheon
expects to deliver the RAM Block 2A missile to the Navy by the end of the year.

RAM is an international
cooperative program between the United States and Germany. Raytheon and the
German company RAMSYS share development, production and maintenance costs.

ARLINGTON, Va. — The Defense Department’s plans to provide
additional security cooperation aid to Ukraine includes unspecified support for
Ukraine’s navy and naval infantry, the Pentagon said in a release.

DoD said it would provide $250 million in security
cooperation funds to Ukraine “for additional training, equipment and advisory
efforts to build the capacity of Ukraine’s armed forces.”

The security assistance funds will bring the total given to
Ukraine to $1.5 billion since 2014.

“The new funds will provide equipment to support ongoing
training programs and operational needs, including capabilities to enhance:
maritime situational awareness and operations as part of ongoing U.S. efforts
to increase support for Ukraine’s navy and naval infantry; the defensive
capacity and survivability of Ukraine’s land and special operations forces
through the provision of sniper rifles, rocket-propelled grenade launchers, and
counter-artillery radars; command and control; electronic warfare detection and
secure communications; military mobility; night vision; and, military medical
treatment,” according to the June 18 release.

DoD said the funding “is made possible by Ukraine’s continued progress on the adoption of key defense institutional reforms to align Ukraine’s national security architecture with Euro-Atlantic principles.

“The United States remains committed to helping Ukraine implement provisions of Ukraine’s 2018 Law on National Security to strengthen democratic civilian control of the military, promote command and control reforms, enhance transparency and accountability in acquisition and budgeting, and advance defense industry reforms. These reforms will bolster Ukraine’s ability to defend its territorial integrity in support of a secure, prosperous, democratic and free Ukraine.”

MARINETTE,
Wis. — The Lockheed Martin-led shipbuilding team launched Littoral Combat Ship 21,
the future USS Minneapolis-Saint Paul, into the Menominee River at the
Fincantieri Marinette Marine Shipyard on June 15.

Ship sponsor
Jodi J. Greene, deputy U.S. Navy undersecretary for policy, christened LCS 21
just prior to launch, according to a Lockheed press release. “LCS 21 is going
to bring the name ‘Minneapolis-Saint Paul’ all around the globe,” said Greene, who
is native of the Twin Cities.

“LCS is the
second largest ship class in the U.S. Navy, and Lockheed Martin is proud to
deliver capability and added force projection with each additional hull,” said
Joe DePietro, vice president and general manager of small combatants and ship systems
for Lockheed.

Littoral
combat ships are designed to complete close-to-shore missions and are a growing
part of the Navy’s fleet. With 40 percent of its hull easily reconfigurable, an
LCS can be modified to integrate capabilities such as over-the-horizon
missiles, advanced electronic warfare systems and decoys and, in the future,
vertical launching systems or laser weapon systems.

An LCS is fast,
as it is capable of speeds in excess of 40 knots. The ships are lethal as well,
as all are equipped with Rolling Airframe Missiles (RAM) and a Mark 110 gun, which
is capable of firing 220 rounds per minute.

Lockheed
Martin is in full-rate production and has delivered eight LCS to the U.S. Navy.
There are eight others in various stages of production and testing. This year,
Lockheed and Fincantieri Marinette Marine will begin construction on two ships,
deliver two ships, complete sea trials for two ships and see three ships
commissioned (LCS 13, 15 and 17).

WASHINGTON —
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD)
announced $19.6 million in grants to support capital improvements at 28 U.S.
small shipyards as a part of its Small Shipyard Grant program, MARAD said in a release.

Provided
through MARAD’s Small Shipyard Grant program, the funding supports employee
training and related improvements that foster increased efficiency and economic
growth, the release said.

“These grants
help create jobs in America’s small shipyards, which play a significant role in
our country’s maritime sector,” Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao said.

In 2013, U.S.
shipbuilders produced $37.3 billion in gross domestic product. Usually
family-owned and employing less than 1,200 workers, small shipyards play a
critical role in contributing to our nation’s economy. Supporting more than
400,000 jobs, they create employment opportunities for working families and
small communities.

“Small
shipyards are an irreplaceable aspect of America’s shipbuilding industry,” Maritime
Administrator Mark. H. Buzby said. “They are a key component to national
security and our economic viability as a whole, providing good jobs for
hardworking Americans.”

Since 2008,
MARAD’s Small Shipyard Grant Program has awarded more than $226 million for a
total of 216 grants. These grants help fund upgrades and expansions that often
lead to more competitive operations, quality ship construction and improved
employee skill.

Having
produced some of the most innovative vessels in the world, U.S. small shipyards
have become economic backbones throughout the country. Small shipyard grants leverage
the skills and expertise of the shipyard community, according to the release.

MCLEAN, Va. — Alion Science and Technology has been
awarded a task order totaling $75 million to support Naval Information Warfare
Center (NIWC) Pacific, the company announced in a release.

The contract supports a technical focus of Combat Vehicle
Command, Control, Communication, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance, and
Reconnaissance (C4ISR) On-the-Move (OTM) Systems for the Joint Warfighter.

The Alion team will support the U.S. Marine Corps and
Army programs for C4ISR-OTM at NIWC Pacific to ensure interoperability and
commonality of functions between systems and upgrades. This includes the
advancement of joint and coalition force capabilities by helping to provide OTM
satellite communications technology that gives weapon system platforms on the
battlefield reliable, worldwide connectivity to the Joint Information
Environment.

Alion will provide technical expertise to develop
operational concepts for OTM satellite communications across multiple weapon
system platforms, to include tactical vehicles. Focus will be on systems
engineering and providing the technology expertise required to evaluate, design
and test and implement advanced hardware and software components for the
C4ISR-OTM.

“Alion has supported this customer since 2009. Being able
to provide continued access to the team that built the NOTM [Networking
On-the-Move] system and the OEMs for the individual components allows for
uninterrupted advancement of C4ISR technologies,” said Tim Lawrence, Alion senior
vice president.

TODENDORF, Germany — German, Norwegian, Danish and U.S. Navy Sailors from the Baltic Operations (BALTOPS) exercise Mine Warfare Task Group came together to clear three World War II-era air-laid mines in the Baltic Sea on June 14, the Naval Surface and Mine Warfighting Development Center said in a release.

During complex mine warfare training to increase combined
force integration and maritime capability among 11 nations, the task group
identified three historical mines on the sea floor. The team detonated the
mines after receiving approval from German authorities to increase safety and
reduce risk to mariners operating in German territorial waters.

“This is an excellent example of the valuable training we
gain from exercises like BALTOPS,” said U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Scott Robertson,
commander of the BALTOPS 2019 Mine Warfare Task Group and commander of Naval
Surface and Mine Warfighting Development Center.

“Working together with our professional partners from
Denmark and Norway to clear these undetonated, historical mines provides
hands-on training and increases safety to mariners in the region by clearing
hazardous material from the Baltic Sea. There is a good chance we will find
more of these mines as the exercise continues, and it’s reassuring to know our
international task group has the training and expertise necessary to safely
dispose of them,” Robertson emphasized.

A team of mine warfare professionals aboard the Norwegian
Alta-class MS HMNoS Otra (M351) detected and classified two mines, which were
reacquired and identified by a team of Danish divers. Members of a Norwegian
dive team discovered the third mine in another Mine Warfare Task Group’s
training area off the coast of the Bundeswehr Military Training Area in
Todendorf, Germany.

“German authorities willingly support the reduction of
threat to navigation and shipping,” said Bundeswehr Personnel Exchange Program
Officer Fregattenkapitaen Stefan Oeggl, who is assigned to the U.S. Navy’s Mine
Countermeasures Division 31 and serves as a liaison for the Mine Warfare Task Group
and Germany.

“Even after 75 years, explosives like these are dangerous,
and we are happy to have the mines cleared as part of the exercise.”

Each of the cleared mines were World War II-era British
air-laid, bottom mines (A Mk I–VI), each roughly 1,000 pounds.

“This has been a tremendous opportunity to continue to work
with partner and allied forces that we frequently engage with throughout the
region,” said U.S. Navy Cmdr. Jeff Demarco, commanding officer of Explosive
Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit 8 based in Rota, Spain, which serves as the
Undersea Mine Countermeasures Commander within the BALTOPS Mine Warfare Task
Group.

“Working with the Norwegian, Danish and Belgium clearance
diving and AUV teams during training exercises is critical to our ability to maintain
sea control in a complex theater.”

Nations participating in the BALTOPS 2019 Mine Warfare Task
Group include Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Denmark, Belgium, Germany, the
Netherlands, Norway, the United Kingdom, France and the United States.

Nations participating in BALTOPS 2019 include Belgium,
Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands,
Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, the United Kingdom
and the United States.

BALTOPS is an opportunity to promote partnerships, presence,
and professionalism through an unambiguous display of strength in the Baltic
region.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Coast Guard announced that Seattle will be the home of the service’s new polar security cutters.

“The Pacific Northwest has
been the home of our icebreaking fleet since 1976, and I am confident that the
Seattle area will continue to provide the support we need to carry out our
critical operations in the polar regions,” Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Karl L.
Schultz said.

The Coast Guard is the
nation’s lead agency responsible for providing assured surface access in the
polar regions. The addition of the polar security cutters in Seattle will
support the United States’ ability to conduct national missions, respond to
critical events and project American presence in the high latitudes.

The Coast Guard conducted a
detailed analysis to identify locations that could accommodate the polar security
cutter. Based on operational and logistical needs, Seattle was determined to be
the appropriate homeport for the first three PSCs.

In April 2019, VT Halter
Marine Inc. of Pascagoula, Mississippi, was awarded a contract for the detail
design and construction of the PSC class.

Sporting spectacles such as the Pro Bowl and Boston Marathon
draw big crowds. Now they are also drawing swarms of U.S. Navy recruiters.

Recruiters have always gravitated to where the potential
applicants may be, to talk about Navy opportunities. Navy Recruiting Command
initiated “swarming” in December 2018, to bring extra recruiters and resources
together for high-profile events.

“This concept will give us the ability to support bigger
events with heightened visibility while bolstering prospecting, increasing Navy
awareness and closing leads,” said Rear Adm. Brendan McLane, commander of Navy
Recruiting Command.

“We focus on big events and bring in our top recruiters from
around the country to take advantage of the increased attention which those events
have. We ran a pilot right before Christmas in Miami for two back-to-back Miami
Heat NBA games,” McLane said.

The Miami swarm included 55 recruiting personnel who visited
12 high schools, three community outreach events and attended two Miami Heat-Houston
Rockets basketball games Dec. 17-22.

“It was very successful, and we followed that with the Pro
Bowl in January, which also coincided with a military expo focused on high
school kids in Orlando. We did the Mobile Navy Week in Alabama at the end of
February. And then in March, we were at the Minnesota Ice Hockey State
Championship in Minneapolis and the Boston Marathon in April,” McLane said. “We
bring in our best instructors from the Recruiting Academy, and the recruiters of
the year from the other districts, as a way of recognizing them, and we swarm.
We visit the high schools in much larger groups than we usually do.”

McLane said groups of recruiters visit a number of high
schools to make presentations in the classrooms, particularly about STEM
subjects, to drive recruitment for the nuclear field and other advanced career
fields. “We also invest in local media about 14 days before the event.”

According to Interior Communications Electrician 1st Class
Hilary A. Martin, assigned to Navy Recruiting District, Raleigh, and a
participant in the Miami swarm, the Navy can offer young people an education,
health care and travel, a chance to serve their country and a career.  “I’m a communications electrician, and I work
with some of the most advanced systems and equipment, which not only is
exciting but helps prepare me for other jobs when I eventually get out of the
Navy.”

The swarm includes one of CNRC’s two virtual reality trucks,
which offers young people the chance to put on a 360-degree virtual reality
headset with amazing graphics and become immersed in a tactical scenario. “You
get a dog tag that has your info on it and then you become a special boat
driver who has to go into a hot extraction point to get the SEALs out, and
drive them back down the river,” McLane said. “After your mission, you get your
debrief, and you can see if you performed as well as your friends.”

“The centennial generation have grown up with the internet
and technology, so we appeal to them with things like virtual reality goggles
where they get to see a 360-degree view on a carrier flight deck and more,”
said Capt. Matthew Boren, Navy Recruiting Command’s chief marketing officer.
“They want to see it, and we have the virtual reality truck where they can go
on a virtual mission to extract a SEAL team. We are a technical Navy with some
of the most high-tech combat systems in the world, so we need really
well-trained and smart operators that have the skills to run those systems.”

“All these things combined drive the number of contacts up,
which leads to higher numbers of interviews, which leads to greater numbers of contracts,”
McLane said.  “That leads to recruits
graduating and going on to [initial job training] “A” schools so they can fill;
vital billets in the fleet.”

McLane said the plan is ensure that there are an equal
number of swarms in both the east and west recruiting regions.  “You can count on swarming events occurring
every month throughout the nation.”

Edward Lundquist traveled to Navy Recruiting Command’s headquarters in Millington, Tennessee, to report this story.

ST. JOHN’S,
Newfoundland — Kraken Robotic Systems Inc. has been chosen by the Pentagon to test
and integrate its AquaPix MINSAS sensor into a U.S. Navy man-portable autonomous
underwater vehicle (AUV), the company said in a release.

Foreign
Comparative Testing (FCT) is designed to allow U.S. military operators to test foreign
technologies, with a view toward future procurement. The Kraken FCT will be managed
by Naval Sea Systems Command, EOD Program Office. The contract value is $900,000.

Man-portable AUVs make up the largest deployment of all AUV classes worldwide. The Navy and its allies continue to invest in man-portable AUVs, which utilize a range of sonar technologies.

Kraken’s AquaPix MINSAS synthetic aperture sonar sensor is offered in the MINSAS 60, 120, 180 and 240 configurations and has been traditionally integrated to medium- and large-size AUVs and towfish. As part of Kraken’s FCT contract, the company will optimize the MINSAS 60 sensor, making it better suited for small man-portable AUVs while offering a significant increase in capability and performance for the platforms.

“The competition for FCT awards is fierce and only a few projects each year that meet the strict criteria are selected,” said Karl Kenny, Kraken’s president and CEO. “An acceptable FCT project must have a high technology readiness level, which means that research and testing must have already been completed and the capability has already been proven in a setting similar to what will be encountered in real-world operations.”

NASHUA, N.H.
— BAE Systems has been awarded contracts by Boeing Co. to supply the Vehicle
Management Control System (VMCS) and Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) System
for the MQ-25 unmanned aerial vehicle, BAE said in a release.

“BAE
Systems leads the industry in high-integrity fly-by-wire and mission-critical
IFF technologies,” said Corin Beck, director of military aircraft systems at
BAE Systems. “Our relationship with Boeing started more than four decades ago and
has resulted in aircraft that have some of the most advanced avionics and
reduced size transponders in the world.”

The VMCS
will control all flight surfaces and perform overall vehicle management duties
for the MQ-25. The IFF product ensures operation in contested environments by
reliably identifying both coalition and enemy vehicles.

The MQ-25 will be the U.S. Navy’s first operational carrier-based unmanned aircraft and is designed to provide a much-needed refueling capability. The contract supports Boeing’s engineering and manufacturing development program to provide four MQ-25 aircraft to the Navy for Initial Operational Capability by 2024.

“The MQ-25 program is vital because it will help the U.S. Navy extend the range of the carrier air wing, and Boeing and our industry team is all-in on delivering this capability,” said Dave Bujold, Boeing’s MQ-25 program director. “The work we’re doing is also foundational for the future of Boeing — where we’re building autonomous systems from seabed to space.”