NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — The Arctic continues to present operational and logistical challenges for the agencies that operate there, but studies are providing a clearer picture of how they should be adjusting to climate change, service leaders said during a panel presentation at the Navy League’s annual Sea-Air-Space exposition here.

“We are working on how to better understand the Arctic,” said
Rear Adm. John Okon, commander, Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command, and
oceanographer and navigator of the Navy.

Noting that climate change is happening — and there are
undeniable changes in sea ice over the last decade— Okon said the use of
unmanned systems could be a force multiplier for missions in the Arctic.

“We know we are going to have to operate [in the Arctic] and
protect the homeland,” he said.

Vice Adm. Daniel Abel, the U.S. Coast Guard’s deputy
commandant for operations, said the risks presented in the polar region are
growing each year. 

“It is undeniable conditions are changing up there … the
change has happened, and the change is happening,” Abel said.

[climate

The Coast Guard’s annual Operation Artic Shield will once
again take place this summer. Arctic Shield’s goal is to increase knowledge of
operating in the region, as the service sends additional personnel and
resources to the area to see how they react.

The Coast Guard has no full-time base in the Arctic, as the
service operates there seasonally. Over the last several years, as sea ice has
melted sooner and shipping lanes have been opened for longer periods of time as
a result, the requirements for the Department of Homeland Security agency have
been more plentiful in the polar region.

Communicating with the Defense Department and allied nations
through automatic identification systems and other means has presented unique
challenges for the Coast Guard, given the harsh climate conditions.

“We are making sure that our requirements work with U.S.
Northern Command, and we have the abilities to communicate at the highest
latitudes,” Abel said.

Jeffrey Hutchinson, commissioner of the Canadian coast
guard, said he hopes the service continues to work closely with its counterpart
agency in the United States.

“We want to strengthen our partnership role,” he said.

Echoing comments from fellow panelist, Hutchinson said
climate change is an issue for the Arctic, and Canada needs to communicate to
get support from allies along with improving its relationship with other
nations that have a stake in the region.

U.S. Air Force Gen. Terrence O’Shaughnessy, commander, U.S.
Northern Command, said the department is working on a unified approach among
all agencies that operate in the polar region.

Noting that they all face common challenges, he said new
technology is important in the Arctic and that continuing to better study the
region will be a focal point going forward.

“The
[Arctic] is a critically important topic,” he said.

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — The Coast Guard’s foreign military sales program is fostering good relations with partner nations, increasing maritime governance and saving money, according to the program’s director, Tod Reinert.

Speaking before a show floor audience on May 6 during Sea-Air-Space 2019 at National Harbor, Maryland, Reinert also described how foreign sales of aging Coast Guard vessels is keeping U.S. vendors busy with replenishment and refurbishment contracts — all necessary to ensure that the new owners have hale platforms with which to pursue their missions.

The foreign
military sales program is “extending production lines, sharing overhead costs
and [sustaining] a robust vendor base,” Reinert said. 

The Coast Guard
has delivered more than 540 “assets,” worth more than $1 billion, to 75 partner
nations during the past 20 years. The list of benefactors is long. Bangladesh,
Vietnam, Yemen and Saudi Arabia got response boats. The Philippines received
riverine boats, and Tunisia got near-shore patrol boats. U.S. Central Command
stands to take possession of retired medium-response boats as well.

Recipient nations
stand to take ownership of decommissioned high-endurance cutters, Island-class
patrol boats, medium-endurance cutters and patrol boats — in a time frame
generally beginning sometime next year and spanning into 2024, Reinert
said. 

These countries
must rely upon their acquisitions to conduct search-and-rescue, maritime
safety, law enforcement and national defense missions akin to those the Coast
Guard performs every day — the cornerstones of its mission to protect the
nation’s 95,000 nautical miles of coastline, Reinert said.

NATIONAL
HARBOR, Md. — The Navy expects to reach a Milestone C decision in late May for
the VH-92A presidential transport helicopter. Such a decision would mark
approval for the helicopter to enter low-rate initial production.

Speaking to
an audience at the Navy League’s Sea-Air-Space Expo in National Harbor,
Maryland, Marine Maj. Gen Greg Masiello, the Navy’s program executive officer
for Air, ASW, Assault and Special Mission PEO (A), said the program team has
three VH-92As, two of which it is running through Developmental Test, with the
two alternating flights every other day.

Program
officials have a meeting scheduled May 30 with James F. Geurts, assistant
secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition, who has the milestone
decisional authority.

The Navy is
developing the Lockheed Martin/Sikorsky VH-92A as a replacement for the VH-3D
and VH-60N helicopters flown in support of the president and other high-level
government officials by Marine Helicopter Squadron One.

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — Like every other entity that relies upon technology to do its job, the Navy has to constantly contend with systems that fail or become outdated. When such systems are situated on ships that could be situated anywhere in the world, the challenge potentially becomes even more acute.

Andover, Massachusetts-based Mercury Systems thinks they have the answer to the conundrum. Building on the company’s years of experience working with numerous Navy programs, most notably the Aegis Combat System, they believe that a modular approach offers the best method of ensuring seamless functionality. With that, Mercury Systems introduced its second-generation Intel Xeon scalable processors at Sea-Air-Space 2019.

“Commercial
products go obsolete, and technology changes too fast,” said Rick Studley,
chief of technologies for Mercury Systems Trusted Missions Solutions in
Chantilly, Virginia, during a Monday interview.

Mercury Systems
provides hardware on nearly every surface combatant big-deck ship and submarine
in the Navy. With its modular approach, the company’s products allow for
switching out old or broken components for new ones in complex systems without
changing shock isolation, power or cooling already in place. 

“We can abstract
applications from underlining hardware, making the technology insertion much
easier,” Studley said. 

Moreover, with the
presence of multiple virtual machines, systems can run on smaller sets of
hardware — saving valuable shipboard space. This is done by running “virtual
twin” systems in parallel with existing ones, for example, on a system like
Aegis. The “twin” systems can take passive taps from the actual system — data
from sensors, with the weapon system’s actual code. In simplistic terms, the
“twin” can integrate with the actual server. Over time, tactical servers, which
are bare-metal and redundant, would evolve into fully virtualized systems,
Studley said. 

“The goal is to move away from redundancy and toward resiliency, so that no single element in the system is so important that you can’t afford to lose it [and still function],” he said.

[and still function]

“It’s totally
modularized and virtualized. You accept that failures are going to happen, but
your machine keeps working,” Studley said. “The system heals itself around
these failures.” 

The process allows
for greater sharing of technology across platforms, applications and systems,
Studley said. The Navy would save money by having an infrastructure that is
easily upgraded, managed and deployed, he added. 

NATIONAL
HARBOR, Md. — The Navy will retire is last HH-60H Seahawk special operations
support helicopters this year, an official said.

Speaking to
an audience at the Navy League’s Sea-Air-Space expo in National Harbor,
Maryland, Marine Maj. Gen Greg Masiello, the Navy’s program executive officer
for Air, ASW, Assault and Special Mission PEO (A), said the last seven of the
HH-60Hs in the inventory would be retired and replaced by the next-generation
Seahawk, the MH-60S.

The HH-60H is
flown by reserve Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 85 and deploys in support of
Navy special warfare forces and other forces.

MH-60S
helicopters for the squadron will be modified with the 7.62 mm GAU-17 six-barrel
rotary machine gun used for fire suppression.

The HH-60H is
the last of three Seahawk versions from the H-60’s initial naval service: the
SH-60B, SH-60F, and HH-60H. The MH-60R and MH-60S are the latest versions in
the Navy.

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — The sudden order to send the Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group to the U.S. Central Command theater in response to threats from Iran is a great example of the value of the Navy’s dynamic deployment concept, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John M. Richardson said at the Navy League’s Sea-Air-Space 2019 exposition.

Although the
Lincoln’s deployment into the Mediterranean had been planned, “this is a great
demonstration of what we’ve been working on, dynamic deployment,” Richardson
said May 6. Naval maneuver forces are “dynamic by design,” but Richardson said
he found it encouraging that if the national command authority needed the
Lincoln strike group to go to the Middle East it can do so immediately.

At the opening
session of the Navy League’s annual Sea-Air-Space exposition, Richardson
responded to a question about National Security Advisor John Bolton’s
announcement that the administration had ordered the Lincoln and its escorts to
cut short its planned Mediterranean exercise and sail to the Persian Gulf
region after warnings that Iran may be planning attacks on U.S. forces. Bolton
said an Air Force bomber unit also was being sent to the region.

Asked how the
Navy would respond to President Donald Trump’s decision to reverse the 2020
budget proposal to skip the mid-life refueling of the aircraft carrier Harry S.
Truman, Richardson noted that he had told Congress, which has opposed the
decision, that the Truman’s early retirement was reversable. “Now we will have
to find the resources going forward,” to invest in the new technologies, such
as unmanned systems, that were to be funded with money saved from retiring
Truman.

Appearing on the
same panel, Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Robert B. Neller agreed with
Richardson that the challenge of effective leaders was to anticipate the need
to change their organizations and policies, rather than waiting to respond to a
disaster. Neller cited the changes the Marines are making to respond to the
growing threats of cyber and electronic warfare attacks from peer competitors
as an example. The first shot of a major conflict would be against the networks
and the U.S. forces must prepare to operate without the assured communications
they have become accustomed to, Neller said.

Also on the
panel, Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Karl Schultz said his service was engaging
in more national security operations, such as the recent freedom of navigation
transit of the Taiwan Straits, in addition to its heavy load of maritime
security and safety missions. Schultz said the Coast Guard was looking forward
to getting its first new Arctic icebreaker and hoped to get initial funding for
a second one in the fiscal 2021 budget.

Retired Rear Adm.
Mark Busby, administrator of the Maritime Administration, said the materiel
readiness of his 46 sealift vessels, which have an average age of 44 years, had
gotten a bit worse since his warnings last year. Busby was hopeful Congress
would fund the three-part program MARAD and the Navy have urged to modernize
his fleet by updating some ships, buying some newer commercial ships and
building a small number of vessels. Asked about the threat to global
shipbuilding industry from China’s rapidly growing ship production
capabilities, Busby said U.S. shipbuilding survived only due to Navy production
and commercial ships for the Jones Act, which required U.S. built ships for
commerce between U.S. ports.

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — An analysis of alternatives (AOA) is underway in the Office of the Secretary of Defense for a replacement for the Navy’s E-6B Mercury strategic communications aircraft.

Speaking to
an audience at the Navy League’s Sea-Air-Space conference here, Marine Maj. Gen
Greg Masiello, the Navy’s program executive officer for Air, ASW, Assault and
Special Mission PEO (A), said that his office is supporting the AOA. PEO(A)‘s
portfolio includes the E-6B aircraft.

The E-6B is
the legacy platform that relays strategic communications to and from the Navy’s
ballistic-missile submarines and national command authority, a program called
TACAMO (Take Charge and Move Out). The E-6B also serves in the airborne command
post (ABNCP) role for U.S. Strategic Command, flying with a battle staff
onboard.

The AOA is for the NEAT
program, which is a simplification of the terms NAOC (National Airborne Operations
Center)/EA (ABNCP/TACAMO). The AOC mission is performed by the Air Force E-4B
aircraft.

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — If the U.S. Navy hopes to thwart cyber attackers, the sea service will need industry’s help. Capt. Ann Casey intends to garner as much of this outside help as possible.

“We want the ability to do a more advanced hunt,” Casey said May 6 during an interview at the Navy League’s Sea-Air-Space conference.

As director of information and capability at the Fort Meade, Maryland-based
Fleet Cyber Command, Casey intends to find experts attending the show that
would help “look inside our own networks at a more advanced level than we
currently do.”

Industry hopefully can provide assistance in fostering advances in
artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), Casey said.

The processes involve “getting a machine to do some computations
that can assist users,” Casey said. “Our sensors get a large amount of data. We
want machines to parse that data and tell us what’s important.”

Casey’s role is an integral part of a U.S. Defense Department-wide
effort, spearheaded by the newly created Joint Artificial Information Center. The
effort entails seeking protections for all the Navy’s cyberspace operations,
including communications systems. The process involves a bit more than merely
stopping hackers, she said.

“If you’re using McAfee or Symantec [on a personal computer], you
don’t care who’s hacking you — you just want it to stop,” Casey said.

The Navy, on the other hand, cannot take such a simplistic
approach.

“We care about tactics, techniques and procedures — in other
words, who’s hacking us,” Casey said. “We’re looking for ways in the future to
prevent it.”

Casey’s shop also is part of the effort to conduct offensive cyber
operations, should it be ordered to do so.

“The best dialogue I
can have would be if somebody from industry is presenting a new approach,
particularly in cybersecurity,” Casey said. “After having a conversation, I
would go back and engage our entire community. On an as-needed basis, we could
invite the contractor to come back and speak to us — sometimes in a classified
arena.”

NASHUA, New Hampshire — BAE Systems worked
closely with Lockheed Martin to deliver Long-Range Anti-Ship Missiles (LRASM)
to the U.S. Air Force, achieving Early Operational Capability (EOC) for the B-1B
bomber ahead of schedule, BAE said in a May 6 release. The Air Force accepted
delivery of production LRASM units following successful simulation,
integration, and flight tests that demonstrated the missile’s mission
readiness.

“We’re quickly delivering critical capabilities to
warfighters to meet their urgent operational needs,” said Bruce Konigsberg,
Radio Frequency (RF) Sensors product area director at BAE Systems. “Our sensor
systems provide U.S. warfighters with a strike capability that lets them engage
protected, high-value maritime targets from safe distances. The missile
provides a critical advantage to U.S. warfighters.”

BAE Systems’ long-range sensor and targeting technology
enables LRASM to detect and engage protected ships in all weather conditions,
day or night, without relying on external intelligence and navigation data.

BAE Systems and Lockheed Martin are working closely together
to further mature the LRASM technology. The companies recently signed a
contract for the production of more than 50 additional sensors and are working
to achieve EOC on the U.S. Navy’s F/A-18E/F Super Hornet in 2019.

The advanced LRASM sensor technology builds on BAE Systems’ knowledge in electronic warfare (EW), signal processing and targeting technologies, and demonstrates the company’s ability to apply its world-class EW technology to small platforms. The successful LRASM sensor program demonstrates the company’s ability to quickly deliver advanced EW technology to warfighters.

As part of the company’s electronic warfare capacity expansion initiatives, it locates key programs where they will be optimally staffed to quickly transition from design to production, accelerate deliveries, and improve product affordability. The company’s work on the LRASM program is conducted at state-of-the-art facilities in Wayne, New Jersey and Nashua, New Hampshire.

ARLINGTON, Virginia
— China’s first home-built aircraft carrier is likely to join the People’s
Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) fleet this year, a highlight of China’s effort to
modernize its fleet with modern, farther-ranging platforms and weapons.

Construction
began on a second aircraft carrier in 2018, said a new report to Congress from
the Defense Department, “Military and Security Developments Involving the
People’s Republic of China 2019.” This carrier, which should reach the PLAN fleet
in 2022, is likely to be fitted with a catapult aircraft launch system,
according to the report.

A coastal
defense navy during the Cold War, the PLAN is continuing a two-decade build-up
with numerous blue-water platforms

“The PLAN is
rapidly replacing obsolescent, generally single-purpose platforms in favor of
larger, multirole combatants featuring advanced anti-ship, anti-air and
anti-submarine weapons and sensors,” the report said. “This modernization
aligns with China’s growing emphasis on the maritime domain and increasing
demands on the PLAN to conduct operational tasks at expanding distances from
the Chinese mainland using multimission, long-range, sustainable naval
platforms possessing robust self-defense capabilities.”

“Modernization
of China’s submarine force remains a high priority for the PLAN,” the report
said. “The PLAN currently operates four nuclear-powered ballistic missile
submarines (SSBN), six nuclear-powered attack submarines (SSN) and 50
conventionally powered attack submarines (SS). The speed of growth of the
submarine force has slowed and will likely grow to between 65 and 70 submarines
by 2020.”

The PLAN also
continues to modernize its surface warship fleet.

China has
built new guided-missile cruisers (CGs), guided-missile destroyers (DDGs) and
guided-missile frigates (FFGs) that “will significantly upgrade the PLAN’s air
defense, anti-ship, and anti-submarine capabilities. These assets will be
critical as the PLAN expands operations into distant seas beyond the range of
shore-based air defense systems” the report said.

China has
built four Renhai-class CGs over the last two years and has several more under
construction. The lead CG is scheduled to join the fleet in 2019. At least
three Luyang-class DDGs joined the PLAN fleet in 2018, bringing the total to
nine with at least four more under construction. A larger variant forthcoming,
Luyang III, will be equipped with a vertical launcher system.

China also
emphasizes small surface combatants, with 27 or more Jiangkai II FFGs and more
than 40 Jiangdao-class corvettes, with more of both types under construction.

All new
attack submarines and surface combatants are being armed with modern anti-ship missiles.

“The PLAN
recognizes that long-range ASCMs require a robust, over-the-horizon targeting
capability to realize their full potential,” the new Pentagon report said. “China
is investing in reconnaissance, surveillance, command, control and
communications systems at the strategic, operational and tactical levels to
provide high-fidelity targeting information to surface and subsurface launch
platforms.”

China also is
building a fleet of amphibious warfare ships, adding three to the current five
Yuzhao-class amphibious transport dock ships.

China also is expanding the
PLAN marine corps from two brigades and 10,000 marines to seven brigades and
30,000 marines by 2020. The Chinese marine corps also now has its own commander
and a new central headquarters.