WASHINGTON — The U.S. Coast Guard is establishing an Officer Recruiting Corps, the service said in a Dec. 15 internal message released by Coast Guard headquarters. 

The Coast Guard expects to commission approximately 500 officers over the next five years, including the graduates of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. Slightly more than half of the new officers will be accessed from sources other than the Academy.   

“To better access the richness of American society to recruit a world-class workforce, the Coast Guard is stablishing a dedicated Officer Recruiting Corps,” said the message, released by Rear Adm. J. M. Nunan, assistant commandant for Human Resources. “This team will focus on the sustained outreach necessary to attract the best of America’s diverse population that reflects the people we serve. As noted in the Coast Guard’s Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan and in alignment with the Coast Guard Strategic Plan, having the world’s most diverse and inclusive Coast Guard is critical to our ability to succeed in an increasingly complex maritime environment.” 

The message said that being prepared for a more complex future “requires us to establish a culture that supports accelerated innovation and inclusion. The full-time Officer Recruiting Corps will be well-suited to share unique perspectives on officer careers and forge the personal connections critical to attracting potential applicants. This team is an initial step towards developing a comprehensive outreach strategy to recruit a more diverse workface per the Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan and establishes a persistent and dedicated presence focused on officer recruiting.” 

The new corps will recruit for all non-Academy officer accession officer programs including Officer Candidate School and Direct Commission Officer Programs, “with a special emphasis on supporting the College Student Pre-Commissioning Initiative at minority-serving institutions.” 

The Officer Recruiting Corps initially will be staffed by one commander and four lieutenants. 

ARLINGTON, Va. — The Navy’s 30-year shipbuilding plan, released Dec. 10, announced the names of 48 ships scheduled to be decommissioned or, in the case of Military Sealift Command Ships, placed out of service, during the fiscal years 2022 through 2026.  

Of note, the planned retirements include the first Nimitz-class aircraft carrier, the first two Ohio-class guided-missile submarines, and the first Victorious-class ocean surveillance ship. The list also includes 11 Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruisers and 11 Los Angeles-class attack submarines. 

The retirements are listed by fiscal year below:  

In 2022: 

• Six Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruisers will be placed in reserve: San Jacinto (CG 56), Monterey (CG 61), Hue City (CG 66), Anzio (CG 68) Vella Gulf (CG 72) and Port Royal (CG 73).  
• One Whidbey Island-class dock landing ship will be placed in reserve: Whidbey Island (LSD 41). 
• Two Los Angeles-class attack submarines will be recycled: Providence (SSN 719) and Oklahoma City (SSN 723). 
• One Powhatan-class fleet ocean tug will be disposed: Apache (T-ATF 172). 

In 2023:  

• Two Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruisers will be placed in reserve: Bunker Hill (CG 52) and Mobile Bay (CG 53). 
• Four Whidbey Island-class dock landing ships will be placed in reserve: Germantown (LSD 42), Gunston Hall (LSD 44), and Ashland (LSD 48). 
• One Harpers Ferry-class dock landing ship will be placed in reserve: Carter Hall (LSD 50). 
• Two Henry J. Kaiser-class fleet replenishment oilers will be disposed: John Lenthall (T-AO 189). 
• One Powhatan-class fleet ocean tug will be disposed: Catawba (T-ATF 168). 
• One Safeguard-class rescue and salvage ship will be disposed: Grasp (T-ARS 51) 

In 2024: 

• Two Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruisers will be placed in reserve: Antietam (CG 54) and Shiloh (CG 67). 
• One Whidbey Island-class dock landing ship will be placed in reserve: Rushmore (LSD 47). 
• Two Harpers Ferry-class dock landing ships will be placed in reserve: Harpers Ferry (LSD 49) and Pearl Harbor (LSD 52). 
• Four Los Angeles-class attack submarines will be recycled: Chicago (SSN 721), Key West (SSN 722) San Juan (SSN 751) and Topeka (SSN 754). 
• Four Avenger-class mine countermeasures ships will be disposed: Sentry (MCM 3), Devastator (MCM 6), Gladiator (MCM 11) and Dextrous (MCM 13). 
• One Safeguard-class rescue and salvage ship will be disposed: Salvor (T-ARS 52). 

In 2025: 

• One Nimitz-class aircraft carrier will be recycled: Nimitz (CVN 68). 
• One Harpers Ferry-class dock landing ship will be placed in reserve: Oak Hill (LSD 51). 
• Two Los Angeles-class attack submarines will be recycled: Helena (SSN 725) and Pasadena (SSN 752).  
• One Henry J. Kaiser-class fleet replenishment oiler will be disposed: Joshua Humphreys (T-AO 188) 

In 2026: 

• One Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser will be placed in reserve: Chancellorsville (CG 62). 
• One Whidbey Island-class dock landing ship will be placed in reserve: Comstock (LSD 45). 
• Two Ohio-class guided-missile submarines will be recycled: Ohio (SSGN 726) and Florida (SSGN 728). 
• Three Los Angeles-class attack submarines will be recycled: Newport News (SSN 750), Scranton (SSN 756) and Alexandria (SSN 757).  
• One Henry J. Kaiser-class fleet replenishment oiler will be disposed: Pecos (T-AO 197). 
• One Victorious-class ocean surveillance ship: Victorious (T-AGOS 19). 

ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Navy’s 30-year shipbuilding plan, released Dec. 10, shows the planned battle force reaching a congressionally mandated level of 355 ships in the 2031-2033 time frame, including increasing numbers of smaller warships and a growing number of unmanned vessels.  

The plan, contained in the Department of the Navy’s Report to Congress on the Annual Long-Range Plan for Construction of Naval Vessels — prepared by the deputy chief of naval operations for Warfighting Requirements and Capabilities — shows the future fleet architecture to reach 406 battle force ships by 2045, plus 119 unmanned surface vessels (USVs) and 24 unmanned undersea vessels (UUVs). These numbers are within the ranges of the categories determined as needed by the Future Naval Force Study (FNFS) conducted by the Department of the Navy.   

The 2022-2051 shipbuilding plan affirms the Defense Department’s and the Navy’s top priority of strategic deterrence with the continued plan to build the Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine. The plan also shows investment in increased “lethality/modernization with the greatest potential to deliver non-linear warfighting advantages against China and Russia in mid-to-far-term,” the report said.  

The Future Years Defense Plan (FYDP), which looks ahead five years from the current fiscal year, plans for 12 Large USVs, one Medium USV, and eight Extra-Large UUVs over the period.  

Traditional ships to be funded over the FYDP include advanced funding for CVN 82; two Columbia-class ballistic-missile submarines; 12 Virginia-class attack submarines (SSNs); 10 Flight III Arleigh Burke-class destroyers (DDGs); 15 Constellation-class frigates; one America-class amphibious assault ship; two Flight II San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ships; nine John Lewis-class fleet replenishment oilers, six Spearhead-class expeditionary fast transports; and two Navajo-class towing, rescue and salvage ships. New-designs to replace legacy ships include two AS(X) submarine tenders; five new-design T-AGOS(X) ocean surveillance ships; and two T-ARC(X) cable-repair ships. 

New types of manned ships in the FYDP include 10 light amphibious warships (LAWs) beginning in 2022, and, beginning in 2023, and six new generation logistic ships (NGLSs). These ships are to enable more distributed amphibious operations for the Marine Corps, especially for its new Marine littoral regiments.  

The FYDP continues the multi-year procurement of 10 Block V Virginia-class SSNs and plans for a multi-year procurement for 12 Block VI Virginia-class SSNs. The Navy plans to invest $1.2 billion into submarine construction facilities to increase annual production to three SSNs.    

The FYDP also reflects a Navy decision to cancel plans for a class of new-construction strategic sealift ships and instead procure 16 used vessels for conversion into sealift ships. 

The Navy plans to sustain 11 nuclear-powered aircraft carriers out to 2039 with minor variations, but its carrier force requirement could change, the report said, as the Navy studies options for light aircraft carriers.  

The 30-year plan recognizes the funding challenges of such a large naval build-up “with the “procurement of the Columbia-class SSBN – and the imperative to invest in readiness recovery, improved lethality, and a larger great power competition fleet,” the report said. “This shipbuilding plan reflects the necessary increased funding for both shipbuilding and ship sustainment funding. A combination of topline increases and major internal efficiency savings are used to procure, modernize, man, train, equip and sustain the fleet that the NDS [National Defense Strategy] and great power competition require.” 

“The plan calls for a larger fleet of both manned and unmanned vessels prepared to face greater challenges on, above, or under the sea by accelerating submarine construction, modernizing aircraft, extending the service life of cruisers, and increasing the number of destroyers,” said David L. Norquist, deputy secretary of Defense, in a statement. “Although we reach 355 ships by the early 2030s, the plan is about more than numbers of ships. It is about equipping our future force for the enduring defense of our nation.” 

The shipbuilding plan can be found here: https://media.defense.gov/2020/Dec/10/2002549918/-1/-1/0/SHIPBUILDING%20PLAN%20DEC%2020_NAVY_OSD_OMB_FINAL.PDF/SHIPBUILDING%20PLAN%20DEC%2020_NAVY_OSD_OMB_FINAL.PDF 

ARLINGTON, Va. — The Navy as exercised an option to order 48 more BQM-177A subsonic aerial targets, following a $29.2 million order in September for 35 in the first Full-Rate Production contract. 

The Naval Air Systems Command awarded Kratos Unmanned Aerial Systems Inc. of Sacramento, California, a $38.7 million contract modification “to procure 48 BQM-177A subsonic aerial targets for the Navy as well as associated technical and administrative data in support of Full-Rate Production Lot Two deliveries,” according to a Dec. 9 Defense Department contract announcement. The deliveries will include replacement of one target expended by Australia.  

The BQM-177A is the U.S. Navy’s newest subsonic aerial target. It can be used to simulate hostile aircraft or highly dynamic, high-subsonic, sea-skimming anti-ship cruise missiles. The target is capable of speeds in excess of 0.95 Mach and a sea-skimming altitude as low as 6.6 feet, according to the Kratos website.  

The BQM-177A can carry “a wide array of internal and external payloads, including proximity scoring, identification friend or foe, passive and active radiofrequency augmentation, electronic countermeasures, infrared augmentation (plume pods), chaff and flare dispensers, and towed targets,” the website said. 

ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Navy has ordered an additional CMV-22B Osprey carrier-onboard delivery aircraft, according to a Dec. 9 Defense Department contract announcement. 

The Bell Boeing Joint Project Office, Amarillo, Texas, was awarded a $170.4 contract modification by the Naval Air Systems Command for the CMV-22B and for the exercise of options the for V-22 Common Configuration Readiness and Modernization (CC-RAM) Lot 4 requirements and for planned maintenance interval inspections, repairs, shipping and storage containers and tooling in support of the V-22 CC-RAM program,” the announcement said. 

The Navy’s CMV-22B replaces the C-2A Greyhound for the Carrier On-Board Delivery (COD) mission. Its mission is to transport personnel, mail, supplies and cargo from shore bases to aircraft carriers at sea. Forty-four of the 48 Navy program of record aircraft will be delivered under the June 2018 multiyear procurement contract.    

The CMV-22B differs from the MV-22B by having a high-frequency radio, extra fuel capacity, improved fuel dump capability, improved lighting for cargo handling and a public address system. The aircraft can carry up to 6,000 pounds up to a range of 1,150 nautical miles. It is capable of internally carrying the F-135 engine power module for the F-35 Lightning II.   

The CMV-22B made its maiden flight on Dec. 19, 2019 at Bell Flight’s Amarillo, Texas assembly facility and later flew to Naval Air Station Patuxent River to continue flight testing in February 2020.   As of November 2020, seven CMV-22Bs have been delivered to the Navy.  

Operational Test and initial operation capability are scheduled for 2021; full operational capability is scheduled for 2024.   

ARLINGTON, Va. — Northrop Grumman plans to compete in the Navy’s Very Light-Weight Torpedo Program next year, company officials said.  

Dave Allan, the company’s director of Strategic Growth for Undersea Systems, told Seapower in a Dec. 8 teleconference the company expects the Navy to issue in January 2021 a Request for Proposals for the taking the non-production-designed VLWT prototype — designed by Penn State Applied Physics Lab (APL) — into a production design. and develop it over three years as an All-Up Round it to be suitable for manufacturing. Other Transactional Authority will be used to deploy the torpedo to the fleet.    

Allan said the company would be bidding to develop for production the Compact Rapid Attack Weapon (CRAW), the offensive version of the Counter Anti-torpedo Torpedo (CAT), a defensive weapon developed by Penn State APL for use by aircraft carriers to defeat incoming submarine-launched anti-ship torpedoes. Five aircraft carriers were fitted with CAT launchers. 

The hardware-enabled, software-defined VLWT would be equipped with advanced electronics and processing power, with the software enabling the same weapon to serve in an offensive or defensive role. 

The nine-foot-long VWLT is one third of the size of the Mk54 — the Navy’s most advanced light-weight torpedo — and weighs just over 200 pounds, compared with the 608-pound Mk54. With this weight advantage, a platform can carry more torpedoes or carry the same number at longer ranges and give the platform more endurance. The VLWT could be carried by surface, airborne, and undersea platforms, manned and unmanned.   

David Portner, Northrop Grumman’s program manager for Undersea Weapons, said the VLWT could be carried by such anti-submarine aircraft as P-8A maritime patrol aircraft, MH-60R helicopters and MQ-8 Fire Scout unmanned aerial vehicles.  

During an Advanced Naval Technology Exercise two years ago, Northrop Grumman demonstrated the deployment of a VLWT from a surrogate helicopter simulating a Fire Scout. 

The torpedo is fitted with a parachute to reduce the shock of impact with the water. The VLWT also could be fitted with a glide wing kit similar to the one on Boeing’s HAAWC (High-Altitude Anti-submarine Weapon Concept), which is in development to extend the launch range and altitude as well as precision guidance for the Mk54 torpedo.   

The VLWT also could be deployed from a vessel such as a littoral combat ship by way of an unmanned surface vehicle (USV). Fortner said a USV could carry VLWTs away from the ship and put them close to the target. 

Portner said the Navy already has demonstrated that the legacy Surface Vessel Torpedo Tubes that fire Mk46 and Mk54 light-weight torpedoes could be fitted with internal sleeves to accommodate the smaller-diameter VLWT, but a new launcher could be developed to house a larger number of VLWTs. 

He said one or more VLWTs could be fitted to an ASROC (Anti-Submarine Rocket) in place of a MK54 torpedo if the Navy decided to do proceed with that. 

ARLINGTON, Va.— With the Navy and Marine Corps aircraft readiness in much better shape than recently of note, the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) is changing focus to improving the warfighting capabilities of its aircraft for a high-end fight.  

“We’re shifting that to lethality,” said Vice Adm. Dean Peters, speaking Dec. 3 in a Defense Forum 2020 webinar sponsored by the U.S. Naval Institute. “We want to build on that. We want to make sure getting after all of those mission systems that are critical to the high-end fight. That’s a deliberate focus of the Air Boss [Vice Adm. Kenneth Whitesell, commander, Naval Air Forces] and of DCA [Deputy Commandant for Aviation Lt. Gen. Mark R. Wise]: lethality, survivability, all of those things we need for the high-end fight.” 

Peters said that NAVAIR has been restructured to a mission-aligned organization from a functionally aligned organization. 

“A lot of things that you do in a functionally aligned organization are institutional, and you are very focused on maintaining the sanctity of your technical responsibilities,” he said, “But that doesn’t necessarily translate into being able to maneuver quickly to attack problems. 

“We’ve had a very significant and a very deliberate pivot towards readiness,” he said. We lost focus as resources did become constrained and we had to re-cultivate this sense of health of naval aviation. We’ve done that over the last couple of years and we’re not where we need to be by any measure. We do have some challenges but, starting at the beginning of the fiscal year ’19 and ending at the end of fiscal year ’20, we really increased the mission capability of our platforms dramatically.”   

The Navy and Marine Corps have 300 more aircraft that are mission-capable today than they did at the start of fiscal 2018, after then-Defense Secretary James Mattis ordered the services to bring their strike fighter fleet to an 80% mission-capable rate. 

Peters said the Naval Aviation Enterprise is “maturing those cutting-edge technologies at our warfare centers. All of this enabled by the structural changes that we made, but it’s more than that. It’s our work force, really dedicated and talented.” 

ARLINGTON, Va. — The Navy’s experience with fielding new warships in the last two decades has shown that an evolutionary approach to ship design is more likely to succeed than a revolutionary approach, the commander of Naval Sea Systems Command design said.   

“As we go forward and look at future platforms, [consider an] evolutionary approach versus a revolutionary approach,” said Vice Adm. William Galinis, speaking Dec. 3 in a Defense Forum 2020 webinar sponsored by the U.S. Naval Institute. “Where we have done that [evolutionary approach], frankly we’ve been pretty successful.” 

Galinis pointed to the evolution from the Spruance-class destroyer to the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser to the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer (DDG 51) as an example of evolutionary design success. 

“The design margin, the robustness of the DDG 51 design continues to prove [itself] even today even as the first three Flight III ships [are] under construction, which right now are state-of-the-art capability going to the fleet,” he said.  

“Where we’ve taken that more revolutionary approach, we have in fact struggled,” he said. “With DDG 1000 [USS Zumwalt], just the number of new elements of that design that came into play — everything from the hull form to the propulsion plant to the deckhouse to the sensor suite to the network—as we did that, quite frankly, the mission requirements changed for that platform and we’re coming through that. In the end, the Navy and the country are going to get a good ship but it’s going to come at a cost.” 

Galinis said that taking the evolutionary approach instead of a revolutionary approach is a key element to bring on a good, reliable platform once you get through the design and construction phase. 

Because of the capital-intensive character of ship design and construction, prototyping is difficult, but Galinis said the Navy is doing more prototyping of ship to reduce risk. He pointed to the land-based prototypes of the Columbia-class ballistic-missile submarine’s power plant and drive train and of the SPY-6 Air and Missile Defense Radar on the DDG Flight III with the ship’s electrical system. Prototyping also is proceeding with the Navy’s unmanned surface and underwater vehicles.       

ARLINGTON, Va. — The Coast Guard plans to deploy one of its Bertholf-class national security cutters (NSCs) to the U.S. Fifth Fleet area of responsibility to escort some new fast response cutters for basing in the Persian Gulf, the Coast Guard Commandant said. 

Speaking Dec. 3 in a Navy League Special Topic Breakfast webinar, Adm. Karl Schultz, commandant of the Coast Guard, said the NSC will deploy in 2021 through the Mediterranean Sea and Red Sea to the Persian Gulf while escorting two new Sentinel-class fast response cutters (FRCs) for duty in the Gulf. 

The FRCS will be the first of six to be forward deployed to the Coast Guard’s Patrol Force Southwest Asia, where they will participate in maritime security operations under the auspices of the Navy’s U.S. Fifth Fleet. The 154-foot-long FRCs will replace six 110-foot-long Island-class patrol boats in the Gulf. 

Schultz praised the capabilities of the service’s FRCs, 41 of which have been delivered by Bollinger Shipyards. The FRCs already have been extending the Coast Guard’s reach into the South Pacific from Hawaii and now Guam, with two of three FRCs for Guam already in place. 

The Coast Guard has made three deployments to the Western Pacific with NSC. Bertholf and Stratton deployed there in 2019 and performed such missions as enforcing sanctions against North Korea and engaging with allied and partner nations. While the Navy destroyers USS John McCain and USS Fitzgerald were going through repairs from collisions, the two NSCs were able to assume missions and free up destroyers and cruisers for the ballistic-missile defense role in the Sea of Japan.  

The Waesche deployed to the Western Pacific in 2020 but suffered a fire and is in Japan for repair. In addition, the Kimball deployed to the South Pacific for fisheries patrols near Fiji. The Bertholf was diverted from a counter-drug patrol in 2020 and sent to the Galapagos Archipelago where it used its ScanEagle unmanned aerial vehicles to observe possible Chinese fishing fleet violations of the Ecuadorian Exclusive Economic Zone. 

Schultz also said the service’s newest NSC, the Stone, would be deployed on its shakedown cruise in 2021 off the Atlantic coast of South America to, among several missions, counter illegal and unreported fishing violations. 

ARLINGTON, Va. — The secretary of the Navy has announced that the U.S Fleet Forces Command would be re-designated the U.S. Atlantic Fleet in acknowledgement of the realities of great power competition, particularly with Russia.  

Navy Secretary Kenneth J. Braithwaite, testifying Dec. 2 before the Readiness and Management Support subcommittee of the Senate Armed Services Committee, took the opportunity to announce the forthcoming change, noting that the changing world requires that the Navy must evolve to meet the threat.  

“Our existing structure operates on the premise that we still live in a post-9-11 state, where NATO’s flanks are secure, the Russian Fleet is tied to the pier, and terrorism is our biggest problem,” Braithwaite said. “That is not the world of today. As the world changes, we must be bold, evolved, and change with it. Instead of perpetuating a structure designed to support Joint Forces Command, we are aligning to today’s threat. 

“To meet the maritime challenges of the Atlantic Theater, we will rename Fleet Forces Command as the U.S. Atlantic Fleet and will refocus our naval forces in this important region on their original mission, to controlling the maritime approaches to the United States and those of our allies,” he said. “The Atlantic Fleet will confront the reassertive Russian Navy, which has been deploying closer and closer to our East Coast with a tailored maritime presence, capability and lethality.” 

The U.S. Atlantic Fleet commander will have two numbered fleets assigned, U.S. Second Fleet, headquartered in Norfolk, Virginia, and U.S. Fourth Fleet, headquartered in Mayport, Florida. The U.S Second Fleet was reestablished in August 2018 to confront the increasing Russian activity.   

The original commander, U.S. Atlantic Fleet staff, has a long pedigree that began in 1906, when the North Atlantic Squadron and South Atlantic Squadron were combined. The fleet existed in various forms until 2006, when the chief of naval operations renamed Commander, U.S. Atlantic Fleet, to Commander, U.S. Fleet Forces Command, which assumed the duties of the former fleet plus the mission of the former Commander, Fleet Forces Command, which was “to serve as the primary advocate for fleet personnel, training, requirements, maintenance and operations issues,” according to the Fleet Forces Command website. 

For a detailed history of the commander, U.S. Atlantic Fleet and Fleet Forces command staff, see https://www.usff.navy.mil/About-Us/History/ .