ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Coast Guard is requesting $13.1 billion for fiscal 2022, according to the service’s budget documents, just $38 million more than enacted in the 2021 budget. 

The cutter procurement portion of the Coast Guard budget includes $1 billion for cutter construction and long-lead materials. The procurement includes: 

• $170.0 million for program management for construction of Polar Security Cutter (PSC) hulls #1 and #2 and for long-lead materials for PSC #3
• $597.0 million for construction of Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC) #4, detailed design for the re-compete contract for the OPC, and long-lead materials for OPC #5  
• $67.0 million for the detail and design and construction of the Waterways Commerce Cutter 
• $87.8 million for sustainment of numerous in-service cutters  
• $78.0 million for post-delivery activities for National Security Cutters #10 and #11 
• $20 million for program management of the Fast Response Cutter (FRC) program 
• $15 million for the multi-year service-life extension of the USCGC Polar Star, the services only operational heavy icebreaker. 

The Coast Guard also requested $221.8 million for aircraft procurement and modification:  

• $102.8 million to continue life extension of the MH-60T helicopter fleet to serve into the 2030s and initial funding to expand the size of the fleet beyond 48 aircraft (through conversion of ex-Navy H-60 airframes)   
• $66.5 million for continued missionization of C-27J medium-endurance surveillance aircraft into HC-27J versions 
• $20.0 million for long-lead materials for HC-130J long-range surveillance aircraft in preparation of the transition of Air Station Barbers Point, Hawaii, from the legacy HC-130H versions 
• $32 million for modernization and sustainment of the MH-65 helicopters to extend their service life into the 2030s 
• $0.5 million to continue funding installation of small unmanned aerial system capability into the National Security Cutters. 

The Operations and Maintenance portion of the budget includes $92.5 million, which includes funding for: 

• Crew and shore side support for the homeporting of the 10th NSC in Charleston, South Carolina 
• Crews and support for six FRCs for Manama, Bahrain; St. Petersburg, Florida; Ketchikan, Alaska; and Boston, Massachusetts 
• Crew, support, and facilities for OPCs at San Pedro, California 
• Crew and support for three HC-130J aircraft at Air Station Barbers Point 
• Support for a new C-27 long-range command-and-control aircraft in Washington, D.C. 
• Support for a new air station in Ventura County, California 
• Support for home-porting a medium-endurance cutter at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek, Virginia 
• Support for the transition of Air Station New Orleans, Louisiana, from the MH-65 to the MH-60T helicopter 
• Crew and support for the 49th MH-60T helicopter 
• A third Cyber Protection Team. 

The 2022 budget also plans for retiring five HC-130H aircraft (four at Barbers Pint and one in depot maintenance); decommissioning five 110-foot Island-class patrol boats; and decommissioning five 87-foot Marine Protector-class coastal patrol boats. 

The 10 patrol boats are being replaced by FRCs. 

ARLINGTON, Va. — The Navy Department’s fiscal 2022 budget requests totals $211.7 billion, a $3.8 billion increase over the enacted 2021 budget. The request includes funds for eight battle force ships and 107 aircraft. 

The Navy Department’s $211.7 billion request is part of the Defense Department’s $715 billion request. Defense programs in the Department of Energy total $37.9 billion. 

The department’s request includes $71.2 billion for operations and maintenance; $56.6 billion for personnel; $58.2 billion for procurement; $22.6 billion for research, development, test and evaluation; $150 million for revolving and management funds. 

SHIPS 

The procurement budget requests $22.6 billion for shipbuilding, a 3% reduction from the 2021 amount of $23.3 billion. The administration is planning incremental funding for the Columbia-class ballistic-missile submarine (SSBN) as well as the fifth increment of the detailed design and construction of the third Ford-class aircraft carrier, the future USS Enterprise and the fourth increment for the fourth Ford-class CVN, the future Dorie Miller. 

The Navy is planning on procuring two Block V Virginia-class attack submarines (SSNs), each with the Virginia Payload Module and funding advance procurement of the Block VI Virginia version; one Flight III Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer; one Constellation-class guided-missile frigate (FFG); one John Lewis-class fleet replenishment oiler (T-AO); two Navajo-class towing, salvage and rescue ships (T-ATS); and one T-AGOS(X) ocean-surveillance ship. 

The shipbuilding procurement request also includes two LCAC 100-class ship-to-shore connectors, four LCU 1700-class utility landing craft and five used commercial logistics ships for conversion to sealift ships. Two older LCACs will be given service-life extensions.  

The shipbuilding budget also requests funds toward one America-class amphibious assault ship and an additional increment of funding for the future USS Pittsburgh, a Block II San Antonio-class amphibious platform dock ship.  

RDT&E funds for ships are planned for the Columbia SSBN, Ford-Class CVN, Virginia-class SSN, Future Attack Submarine (SSN(X)), Constellation-class FFG, Future Large Surface Combatant ((DDG(X)), Next-Generation Logistics Ship (NGLS), Large USV, Orca UUV, Snakehead UUV and Mk18 UUV.  

The Navy anticipates delivery of 17 ships in fiscal 2022 and retirement of 15 ships. Deliveries include three Virginia-class SSNs, three Arleigh Burke-class DDGs, one Zumwalt-class DDG, one expeditionary staging base ship (ESB), one Spearhead-class expeditionary fast transport ship, one John-Lewis-class T-AO and one Navajo-class T-ATS.  

Ships planned for retirement include four littoral combat ships (LCS 3, 4, 7 and 9), two Los Angeles-class SSNs, seven Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruisers (including two not previously planned for retirement — USS Hue City and USS Anzio), one Whidbey Island-class dock landing ship (LSD) and one Powhatan-class fleet ocean tug. Also planned for divestment are the Navy’s 12 Mark VI patrol boats.  

The Navy is decommissioning LCS 1 and 2 in 2021. The service moved the planned retirement of LCS 3 and 4 to 2022. These four ships, currently serving as training and research ships, no longer meet the desired capabilities for the class. LCS 7 and 9 are more modern. The reason LCS 5 was not selected for retirement is that it is preparing for deployment and that it made more sense to select LCS 7 and 9 for budget reasons, according to Rear Adm. John Gumbleton, deputy assistant secretary of the Navy for budget, briefing reporters May 28. 

AIRCRAFT 

Funding of aircraft procurement for 2022 totals $16.5 billion, a 15.6% decrease from 2021’s $19.5 billion. Navy aircraft requested for 2022 include 20 F-35C Lightning II strike fighters, five E-2D Advanced Hawkeye battle management aircraft, three CMV-22B Osprey carrier-onboard-delivery aircraft and 36 TH-73A training helicopters. For the Marine Corps, the request includes funds for 17 F-35Bs, six KC-130J Super Hercules tanker/transport aircraft, nine CH-53K King Stallion heavy-lift helicopters, five MV-22B Osprey assault transport tiltrotor aircraft and six MQ-9 extended-range Reaper medium-altitude surveillance unmanned aerial vehicles. 

Notably, the budget contains no further funding for the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet strike fighter, P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol reconnaissance aircraft, the VH-92A presidential transport helicopter or the training version of the E-6B Mercury strategic communications aircraft. Procurement of these types has been completed, assuming no additions by the Congress. There is no 2022 request for funding for the MQ-4C Triton high-altitude, long-endurance UAV in that there is a pause in procurement while the UAV’s Integrated Functional Capability 4 is matured. 

RDT&E funds are programed for the F-35, CH-53E, VH-92A, Next-Generation Jammer, F/A-18E/F Advanced Infrared Search and Track (IRST), and MQ-25 Stingray UAV. 

The 2022 budget plan calls for accelerated divestment of legacy F/A-18A-D Hornet strike fighters, moving up the divestment of the 55 on strength from 2024 to 2022 and replacing them in the adversary role with F-16s transferred from the Air Force. Divestment of the RQ-4A Global Hawk Broad-Area Maritime Surveillance-Demonstrator UAV is planned for acceleration from 2023 to 2022, with the savings invested in higher priorities. 

WEAPONS 

Weapons procurement is slightly less that that of 2021, with $4.2 billion requested for 2022 to purchase 1,092 missiles and torpedoes, compared with $4.5 billion for 2,095 weapons in 2021. One missile type being added to the inventory for the first time is the AGGM-158B Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JAASM), which has up until now has been an Air Force-only weapon. 

RDT&E funds are programmed for the Conventional Prompt Strike hypersonic weapon and the Navy Family of Laser Systems. 

PERSONNEL 

The 2022 budget calls for a reduction of active-component Sailors by 1,600 to a level of 346,200 Sailors. Part of the decrease is a planned result of some ship decommissionings. The reserve component is planned for a decrease of 200 personnel to 58,600 Sailors. 

SAN DIEGO — Northrop Grumman’s autonomous high-altitude, long-endurance (HALE) Broad Area Maritime Surveillance-Demonstrator (BAMS-D) system surpassed 40,000 flight hours during a routine mission in the U.S. Central Command (USCENTCOM) area of operations April 13, the company said in a May 27 release.

“This milestone in the BAMS-D program demonstrates Northrop Grumman’s commitment to delivering critical capabilities to our customers that provide an advantage to U.S. and coalition partners in theater,” said Doug Shaffer, vice president and program manager, Triton programs, Northrop Grumman. “BAMS-D providing operational support well beyond its intended demonstration period highlights the unrivaled strategic value of autonomous maritime HALE while the Navy integrates the MQ-4C Triton into its vital maritime patrol mission.”

BAMS-D entered operational service for the U.S. Navy in 2009. Originally intended to be a six-month demonstration deployment, BAMS-D has supported U.S. Navy intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) missions in USCENTCOM for more than 12 years.

“BAMS-D sustainment is truly a Northrop Grumman cross-enterprise effort and is a testament to our unwavering commitment to mission readiness,” continued Shaffer.

“This is a significant milestone for any aircraft, but especially remarkable for an originally planned six-month demonstration system,” said Capt. James P. Johnston, commander, Task Force 57. “The persistence and dependability of the BAMS-D system and the resilience of the personnel who operate the platform here in 5th Fleet, are essential in sustaining maritime security and freedom of navigation throughout the region.”

While BAMS-D remains in operational service, its replacement, the MQ-4C Triton, completed its first year of an early operating capability deployment in the U.S. Indo-Pacific area of responsibility. The Triton system is currently progressing toward a multi-intelligence configuration and will ultimately support five operational orbits for the Navy with 68 operational aircraft. Australia is set to receive their first Triton in 2023 as part of a cooperative development program that will enable intelligence sharing between the U.S. and Australia.

Northrop Grumman’s family of autonomous high-altitude, long-endurance systems perform critical wide-area ISR collection. Today, autonomous HALE systems operate across the globe, with 24-plus hour endurance, collecting essential ISR data over land and sea to enable rapid, informed decision-making. In the future, these systems will connect the joint force, implementing advanced autonomy and AI and machine learning while delivering indispensable capabilities with fewer people to provide information at the speed of relevance.

Ron Tremain hails from Sherwood, Oregon, and is the vice president of Maritime Domain Awareness for Saildrone Inc. Prior to coming aboard Saildrone, Tremain led the maritime business development team at Insitu and consulted on avia­tion programs at Boeing.

Tremain’s history of maritime operational success is demon­strated by his 23-year career as one of the first elite U.S. Coast Guard rescue swimmers and by his strong track record of building some of the largest and most successful autonomous maritime programs, as evidenced by the highly successful U.S. Coast Guard ScanEagle program and his work protecting national security and battling illegal, unreported and unreg­ulated fishing; piracy; and transnational organized crime in the U.S. government and international arenas. 

Tremain responded to questions from Senior Editor Richard R. Burgess.

What is Saildrone?

TREMAIN: Saildrone is a company building and operat­ing unmanned surface vehicles [USVs] that are powered primarily by solar energy, with wind being the primary propellent for the craft. Our founder, Richard Jenkins, has set a number of world records in the sailing industry be­fore coming to the autonomy world, and he brought his technologies and his experience into creating a vehicle that has the capability to operate at long range and long endurance with primarily solar and wind power.

We have three difference sizes of platforms: Our small­est is the 23-foot-long Explorer. Our medium size is the 33-foot-long Voyager. Our largest size is the 72-foot-long Surveyor. The carbon-fiber sail on each is more like a wing than a sail but is a sail that can be controlled mechanically and with the wind. Depending on which di­rection we want it to sail, the operator can make adjust­ments to increase the speed, decrease the speed, change course direction as needed. The largest USV, Surveyor, also has a diesel engine installed to augment the genera­tor and to drive an underwater propeller as needed.

The speed of the Saildrones depends on the wind and on the size of the vessel. Surveyor can do at more than 9 knots, Voyager can do 7 knots plus and Explorer typically does up to 4 knots, but it can do 4 knots plus.

What kind of sensors equip Saildrones?

TREMAIN: For sensors, the USVs are fitted with an ad­vanced sensor suite of atmospheric and oceanograph­ic sensors, combined with MDA sensors such as AIS [Automatic Identification Systems], radar. Depending on the configuration, we have either four to 16 cameras that are pointing in a variety of directions but overlap 360-degree cameras to give a complete picture of the vehicle’s surroundings. The USVs also can be fitted with towed arrays.

How is the data transmitted to the user?

TREMAIN: All data coming off a Saildrone is real-time and is on a secure network, so it is mission hardened ready for military applications. The data will be linked directly into systems like Minotaur, which is the mesh network for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and other services. The advantage of that means that they don’t have to have a standalone data feed for Saildrone. The data goes right into the existing architecture.

What are some of Saildrone’s operations?

TREMAIN: It’s important to note all three vessels are equipped to be at sea for six months or longer. So it’s a real force multiplier and a game-changer to current op­erations, because it allows an autonomous vehicle to be at sea for extended periods of time and at extreme rang­es. To put it into perspective, not long ago we launched USVs from our site base in Alameda, California, and they currently are conducting fisheries operations in the Bering Sea, tracking and surveying tagged king crabs for a fisheries consortium. We’ve done the same with other fisheries and government agencies. The government and fisheries can do a comparative analysis and determine the best recommendations for a particular fishery.

With respect to the Coast Guard, Voyager fits very well for their mission of countering illegal, unreported and un­regulated fishing [IUU], which has overtaken piracy as a maritime law enforcement problem. In addition to coun­tering IUU fishing, USVs could conduct long-duration intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions to enable narcotics interdictions.

Last year, we conducted an operational demonstration for the Coast Guard’s District 14 in Hawaii, a very good showing of the capabilities and how we can inject into current operations. We also learned that there were some shortcomings, so we went back to the drawing board and created our middle-sized vessel, Voyager, our flagship for maritime domain operations. Our larger platform, Surveyor, was built for the mission of ba­thymetry, surveying the ocean floor. But all three USVs are basically utility vessels and can be configured as appropriate to customer needs based on space-weight-power requirements.

Saildrones have conducted the first eastbound and west­bound crossings of the Atlantic Ocean. They have tracked fish in the North Sea, surveyed ocean eddies off Africa and air-sea heat transfer over the Gulf of Mexico and discovered a shipwreck in the gulf. They have sailed up to and into bands of Arctic sea ice.

Explorer has done several missions worldwide to include circumnavigating Antarctica and then returning to Ala­meda, a journey of over 12,000 miles and 196 days. It has been used for many years now to conduct fishery surveys, bathymetry, NOAA [National Oceanic and Atmospher­ic Administration] operations, and other science and oceanographic operations. It’s been quite successful.

Saildrones have been used by NOAA and a university to study great white sharks between California and Hawaii, resulting in a lot of new knowledge about them. We’re also conducting a lot of weather operations, providing real-time weather data feeds from every hour from each vessel to NOAA and to the National Weather Service. Most weather patterns develop over the ocean and are tracked by satellite, but lacking are data on water salinity and temperature, etc. Now, we’re able to provide real-time, accurate reports of weather conditions wherever Sail­drones are deployed.

What business model does Saildrone use?

TREMAIN: A customer could either make an acquisi­tion outright or lease services. COCO [contractor owned, contractor operated] services has been our primary source of revenue. We provide the service and maintain the equipment thereby affording government agencies. As with UAVs, the services model is working quite well for the government because they can avoid the high cost of hiring additional personnel or pose additional risk to personnel at sea.

Customers typically pay by the day for USV services, because we provide 24/7 surveillance and a 24/7 data feed from the Saildrone. That’s a real advantage compared with UAVs where customers pay for so many hours per day.

Can you deploy Saildrones to launch from remote sites?

TREMAIN: It depends on the geographic location, the operation, its duration and what is most cost effective. We can transport out to the location, but for many oper­ations, we launch from Alameda, sail to the destination, conduct operations and recover back. We’ll repair on site as needed and continue the operation. With the current king crab mission, we deemed it appropriate to launch from Alameda and sail them north. For other missions in Alaska, it made best sense to transport them to Dutch Harbor for launch.

How many Saildrones do you have in inventory now? Does your company build or procure them?

TREMAIN: We have about a hundred, based in a hangar at the former Naval Air Station Alameda, which also is the location of our data center. Incoming data arriving via satellite can also be shared to government networks, for example the Customs and Border Protection [CBP] Ca­ribbean Air Marine Operations Center in San Juan, Puerto Rico, or the Air and Marine Operations Center in River­side, California. That allows CBP and all DHS agencies to take that information, inject it into their architecture and then make an educated decision on where, when and how to operate.

We currently manufacture all of our platforms. We did have some assistance on building Surveyor. But the com­pany has gotten to the size where the number of plat­forms deploying is so great that we most likely will have to outsource some of the keels and such to shipbuilders. It’s a good problem to have.

Where do you see Saildrone potentially fitting in Coast Guard operations?

TREMAIN: The Coast Guard is planning for the next 20 years on how to bring autonomy into their operations. Their ScanEagle program is up and running and doing a great job. The Coast Guard stood up a UxS program office last year to build their long-term unmanned system and autonomy strategy for the next 20-25 years.

The Coast Guard always has been a little budget-chal­lenged, priding itself with doing more with less. Provid­ing capabilities like Saildrone allows them to do more with less. It’s a cost-effective solution that provides critical data so they can better make decisions and can better prosecute the missions and more effectively use their personnel. We look forward to doing more work with the Coast Guard and the other branches of the mili­tary going forward. I think the Coast Guard is really going to cross-pollinate their autonomous capabilities — their surface assets with their air assets.

An example: Saildrones conducting surveillance in a particular area can find friendly and unfriendly targets and provide that real-time data back to the Coast Guard. An aircraft like a Volansi vertical takeoff and landing UAV may be conducting a shore based coastal patrol, may be able to intercept and surveil the target of interest, while ScanEagle UAVs continue conducting ship-launched patrols. In theory, the USV and UAV will have the capa­bility to talk to each other, forming a mesh network that expands the search horizon thereby allowing the UAV to track that target well after the Saildrone picked it up as a hot target. Being able to do that and other autonomous operations, I think is going to really increase the effec­tiveness of the Coast Guard.

For search and rescue, if Saildrones track a ship that is in a particular area and then that vessel sinks, having a patrolling Volansi UAV drop a small raft or a data marker buoy to the survivors then ascend to provide safe over­watch while the Coast Guard helicopter or cutter comes out to make the rescue.

ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Navy has been heralded for the significant progress in increasing the mission-capable rates of its F/A-18E/F Super Hornet strike fighter fleet, but the initiatives that made it possible are not being limited to strike fighters, the admiral in charge of the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) said.   

“It was never meant to be just for Super Hornets,” said Vice Adm. Dean Peters, commander, Naval Air Systems Command, speaking May 24 at a webinar preview — sponsored by SAIC and Government Matters — of the Navy League’s upcoming 2021 Sea-Air-Space Exposition. “The plan all along was we were going to replicate those across all of our aircraft, so that’s every shop within every shop within every depot, all of our intermediate-level maintenance sites, and all of our organizational-level sites at the squadron level.” 

The admiral said that one of the key elements of the Super Hornet’s readiness recovery was the establishment of a Super Hornet maintenance operations center in Norfolk, Virginia, which was able to manage all of the maintenance and resources for the Super Hornet enterprise.      

The same effort is being established for the EA-18G Growler electronic combat aircraft, P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol reconnaissance aircraft, the H-60Seahawk helicopter and the V-22 Osprey tiltrotor transport aircraft, he said. 

“Over the last couple of years — from about October 2018, that’s when we had broad efficacy for a number of these sustainment initiatives — we have been able to increase our mission-capable rates by 14%,” Peters said. “That’s 330 additional mission-capable aircraft for our aircrews to train in. So, I see this absolutely trending in the right direction. The readiness is always going to be a concern. Once you get to those readiness levels, you want to be able to sustain it.”    

Peters said there were two key aspects of the success.  

“The first is establishing the supported and supporting alignment that’s required,” he said. “The air boss at the time, [commander, Naval Air Forces Vice Adm. Dewolfe Miller III], [had a] requirement of 341 Super Hornets,” which Peters said was the metric that mattered and all else was to support that.  

Peters also said he “elevated the role of the program managers to be the quarterbacks of the sustainment effort and that’s something we had not done in the past. And the program executive officers are also stepping up to be the sustainment leads for those platforms that are under their purview. 

The second key was the use of commercial best practices, Peters said.  

“For the last 20 years we missed out on all of the improvements that were going on in commercial aviation,” he said, noting the focus on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. “Now we have the chance to incorporate some of these associated with how we do maintenance. It’s all about the workflow, the work content and velocity.” 

NAVAIR has established the Reliability Control Board, Peters said, “an all-encompassing effort that identifies improvements in reliability [and] in the maintenance plan, so that’s continually being revised. What we need going forward is just to continue to prioritize. If we can do that, then we will not only sustain readiness levels that we have achieved, but we will also continue to make incremental improvements. We’ll continue to improve lethality and survivability in addition to just the basic mission capability.” 

ARLINGTON, Va. —The third Sealion combatant craft being configured for the Navy’s SEALs is scheduled for delivery this summer, which will bring the craft up to Full Operational Capability, a U.S. Special Operations Command official (SOCOM) said. 

Known formally as the Combatant Craft – Heavy (CCH), the low-profile Sealion is designed to provide long-range insertion and extraction capabilities for special operations forces. The approximately 80-foot-long Sealion has retractable masts for sensors and communications. Jet Skis, inflatable rubber raiding craft and diving equipment can be carried and launched out the stern. The craft can be carried inside a C-17 transport. 

Capt. Randy Slaff, program executive officer – Maritime for SOCOM, speaking May 19 in a webinar of the annual National Defense Industrial Association Special Operations Forces Industry Conference, said the third Sealion — Sealion III — has been built and will be delivered to SOCOM during the next two months after factory delivery trials. It was the first CCH built from the keel up for SOCOM under a $17 million contract awarded in 2017.  

Slaff said the first two CCHs, Sealion I and Sealion II, which were transferred to SOCOM by the Navy and were tailored to meet Navy Special Warfare needs, “are still going strong.” 

Sealion I has been serving SOCOM since 2014. 

A fourth CCH is planned for procurement to replace Sealion I, Slaff said. 

The Sealion III was built by Vigor Industrial’s Oregon Iron Works.   

ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) will be putting the new Dry Combat Submersible (DCS) Block 1 through testing in preparation for delivery this fall, a senior SOCOM official said, and is laying the groundwork for a DCS-Next version.  

James Smith, acquisition executive for SOCOM, speaking with reporters May 17 in a roundtable of the National Defense Industrial Association’s Special Operations Industry Conference, said the first submersible, DCS1, is finishing up Developmental Test and will begin Operational Test this summer.  

The 30-ton DCS provides a fully enclosed environment to transport SEAL teams to and from objectives without being exposed to cold and fatigue. The submersible is designed to be operated by a crew of two and to carry eight SEALs. The hull features two topside hatches as well as a lockout chamber. The DCS Block 1 is to operate from surface ships only and not from submarines. DCS1 was delivered in 2019 to begin sea trials. 

In July 2016, Lockheed Martin was awarded a $166 million contract to build up to three lithium battery-powered DCSs over five years. The first vessel, DCS1, was delivered in 2019 to begin sea trials. 

Smith also said SOCOM is working on “pre-program activities” for DCS-Next, which is planned as a DCS that will be able to operate from submarines, is scheduled for program start in fiscal 2024, but that SOCOM is “working right now to pull that left into ’23.”  

Smith also noted that the prototype approach — three prototypes (one leased and two procured) — for DCS Block I would be too expensive for DCS Block II, but that using digital design and engineering would make the program affordable. 

ARLINGTON, Va. — Two U.S. Navy training jets collided in mid-air over Texas on May 17, but all four crew members survived. 

Two T-45C Goshawk training jets assigned to Training Air Wing Two, collided over Ricardo, Texas, at approximately 11:00 am. Central Time, the chief of naval air training (CNATRA) said in a Facebook post. The pilots are assigned to Training Squadron 22, one of two T-45C squadrons based at Naval Air Station Kingsville, Texas. 

“One aircraft was able to safely land at Naval Air Station Kingsville, Texas, and the other aircraft’s instructor and student pilot safely ejected about nine miles south of Kingsville in Ricardo, Texas,” CNATRA said. “One pilot was taken to CHRISTUS Spohn Hospital Kleberg for minor injuries. The incident is currently under investigation and the U.S. Navy is cooperating fully with local authorities.” 

The T-45Cs were part of a three-plane formation flight. 

According to an unofficial count, a total of 31 T-45s of 222 built have been lost in mishaps since the type began service in 1991, an average of one per year. 

ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Navy’s top officer said reaching a production rate of three Virginia-class nuclear-powered attack submarines a year will be a challenge for a number of reasons. 

“I do think that three a year is a challenge,” said Adm. Michael Gilday, chief of naval operations (CNO), speaking May 13 at the McAleese FY2022 Defense Programs Conference. “I think that industry recognizes that three a year is a challenge.  

“I do think that the analysis that was done highlighted the fact that, look, we believe we have an advantage right now under the sea,” Gilday said. “We need to maintain that advantage. [The attack submarine is] our most survivable strike platform. It performs a heavy lift for us across the world right now. We need to double down on it, if you will.” 

The Navy has too few attack submarines (SSNs) to meet more than half of the requirements of the regional combatant commanders, according to testimony before Congress in recent years. The Navy is facing a shortage in attack submarines that will become more severe during the mid-2020s because submarine production is too low to replace the Los Angeles-class SSNs that are being decommissioned. The Navy plans to extend the service lives of several Los Angeles-class boats to partially mitigate the shortfall. Accelerating procurement of the Virginia class from two to three boats per year, a move supported by key members of Congress, also would help alleviate the shortfall.  

Production now is underway on the first Columbia-class nuclear-powered ballistic-missile submarine (SSBN), which is the Navy’s top procurement priority in that the strategic deterrence is the Navy’s No. 1 mission. The cost of the Columbia class is putting the Navy budget planning under heavy pressure, making the affordability of three Virginia SSNs per year a budget challenge. The capacity of the two submarine builders — General Dynamic’s Electric Boat and Huntington Ingalls’ Newport News Shipbuilding — in terms of available infrastructure and skilled workers also raises questions about the ability to squeeze and other SSN in a given year. The addition of the Virginia Payload Module, which adds expense to the Block 5 of the Virginia class, also pressurizes the shipbuilding budget. 

“So, it’s really a challenge to industry,” Gilday said. “Can we get to a place where we produce three a year? I do think that is a challenge. Right now, the answer is we can’t produce three a year. We hope we get to a place where we could, but it’s also going to come down to affordability with respect to what the [budget] topline is, and how much money we have left for affordable growth with respect to capacity.” 

ARLINGTON, Va. — The Navy is finding the modernization of its Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruisers (CGs) its primary challenge in surface ship sustainment, a senior admiral said. 

“The cruisers across the force are 30 to 35 years old,” said Vice Adm. William Galinis, commander, Naval Sea Systems Command, speaking May 12 as the McAleese Associates FY2022 Defense Programs Conference webinars. “What we’re seeing is the ships’ infrastructure — the hull systems, the piping — that we’re having the biggest challenges with.” 

The cruisers “are — hands down — probably our toughest class of ship to maintain, followed by the LSD class [dock landing ships],” he said. 

In 2015, Congress approved the CG Phased Modernization Plan for seven cruisers, which, like the Cruiser Modernization (CG Mod) program, introduces new warfighting capabilities, improves material condition and readiness, replaces obsolete equipment, and reduces total ownership costs through technology insertion. Cowpens and Gettysburg were inducted into the program in 2015, Vicksburg and Chosin in 2016, Anzio and Cape St. George in 2017 and Hue City in 2019.    

Galinis said currently there are five CGs going through modernization, four of which are well into what he termed the “big modernization availability,” the third of three availabilities each cruiser is to go through in its path to modernization, the first being “removal of equipment and the start of structural repairs” and the second focused on structural repairs. The third availability got into the modernization piece. 

“I’ll be honest with you: we’re having our challenges with the first three ships,” Galinis said. “We’ve got two on the East Coast, one in San Diego, and the fourth ship is up in Seattle.” 

He said a fifth cruiser is soon to be inducted into the third phase later in 2021. 

The admiral noted that the CG in Seattle “frankly is doing fairly well.” 

He said there were a “lot of lessons learned from the first to the second to the third ship and then the fourth ship.”