ARLINGTON,
Va. — The U.S. Navy has awarded a contract for 34 ScanEagle unmanned aerial
vehicles for four partner nations adjacent to the South China Sea.

The Naval Air
Systems Command awarded a $47.9 million contract on May 31 to Boeing’s Insitu
in Bingen, Washington, for the UAVs as well as “spare payloads, spare and
repair parts, support equipment, tools, training, technical services and field
service representatives,” according to a Defense Department announcement.

The UAVs will
be built for the governments of Malaysia (12 UAVs), Indonesia (8), the
Philippines (8) and Vietnam (6).

The ScanEagle
is a small Group 2 UAV that can be launched from a pneumatic rail launcher
ashore or from ship and recovered by a line that intercepts a hook on the wing
of the UAV. It can carry sensor payloads such as electro-optical imaging,
infrared imaging and millimeter wave radar. The UAV can stay aloft for 18
hours.

Deliveries are expected to
be completed by March 2022.

ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Navy has awarded a contract to General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. (GA-ASI) to provide intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) services though use of Group 5 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

According to a May 30 Defense Department
contract announcement, Naval Air Systems Command awarded GA-ASI a $36.5 million
contract modification to provide ISR services with
contractor-owned/contractor-operated MQ-9 Reaper UAVs, the same UAV used by the
U.S. Air Force.

The Marine Corps extensively has used contractor
ISR services in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria, with the smaller Insitu ScanEagle,
and has employed its new service-owned Boeing Insitu RQ-21A Blackjack UAV in
the same roles. The use of the larger Reaper is filling a gap in ISR coverage
for the Marine Corps.

The Corps has developed a requirement for
its own Reapers and has requested two in the fiscal 2020 defense budget.

The current contract modification is for nine
months of Reaper services, scheduled to run through February 2020 at overseas
locations and at Yuma, Arizona.

NORFOLK,
Va. — The U.S. 2nd Fleet declared the command has achieved initial operational
capability (IOC) May 29, less than one year after being established by senior
military leaders, U.S. 2nd Fleet Public Affairs said in a May 29 release.

Vice Adm.
Andrew “Woody” Lewis, commander, U.S. 2nd Fleet, made the announcement onboard
Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia, the waterfront homeport of many 2nd Fleet
maritime assets.

“The North
Atlantic has some of the world’s busiest shipping lanes, and with the opening
of waterways in the Arctic, this traffic will only grow,” Lewis said. “This is
a fact acknowledged by both our allies and competitors, and as such, it is
critically important U.S. 2nd Fleet reinvigorates the way our forces are
employed in this influential theater.”

In
achieving IOC, the command has reached the capability to command and control
forces assigned, as is expected of a numbered fleet, utilizing the functions
and processes of the Maritime Operations Center and Maritime Headquarters.

“The North Atlantic has some of the world’s busiest shipping lanes, and with the opening of waterways in the Arctic, this traffic will only grow,” Lewis said. “This is a fact acknowledged by both our allies and competitors, and as such, it is critically important U.S. 2nd Fleet reinvigorates the way our forces are employed in this influential theater.”

Vice Adm. Andrew “Woody” Lewis

By
focusing on the high-end training and employment of assigned assets, the new
2nd Fleet will be postured to support the employment of forces, whether that is
on the Western side of the Atlantic, the Eastern side of the Atlantic, or up
into the Arctic.

A few days
after achieving IOC, the new fleet will lead Exercise Baltic Operations
(BALTOPS), marking the first time the fleet will operate in the European
theater, and leveraging increased lethality, interoperability and integrated
warfighting capability with allies and partners in the region.

“BALTOPS
2019 is our collective opportunity to promote peace and security through
cooperation, collaboration, interoperability, and an unambiguous display of
strength in the Baltic region,” Lewis said. “As an alliance, increasing our
capabilities across all-domains as well as building a command-wide network will
give us the ability to deter aggression and project stability.”

U.S. 2nd
Fleet exercises operational and administrative authorities over assigned ships,
aircraft and landing forces on the East Coast and the North Atlantic.
Additionally, it plans and conducts maritime, joint and combined operations as
well as trains and recommends certification of combat ready naval forces for
maritime employment and operations around the globe.

ARLINGTON, Va. — The Navy has allocated
funds for long-lead components for the next production lot of the MQ-4C Triton
high-altitude, long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicles, including one for Royal
Australian Air Force (RAAF), according to a May 30 Defense Department contract
announcement.

The Naval Air Systems Command has awarded
to Northrop Grumman Systems Corp. a not-to-exceed $65 million advance
acquisition contract toward the Lot 5 low-rate initial production of three
Tritons, two for the U.S. Navy and one for the RAAF. The contract also provides
for three ground stations, two for the U.S. Navy and one for the RAAF.

As of last month, Northrop Grumman had
delivered three production MQ-4Cs to the U.S. Navy.

The Australian government has identified a
requirement for seven Tritons for the maritime surveillance role. Two have been
ordered to date.

The U.S. Navy’s Unmanned Patrol Squadron 19,
the first Triton squadron, is on track to deploy the Triton for an Early
Operational Capability deployment to Guam later this year. It will take two
MQ-4Cs to Andersen Air Force Base in Guam to support the U.S. 7th Fleet.

Rear Adm. Brian Corey, program executive
officer for Unmanned Aviation and Strike Weapons, speaking May 6 at the Navy
League’s Sea-Air-Space expo in National Harbor, Maryland, said the two Tritons
making the first deployment will be in the aircraft’s baseline configuration.

The baseline configuration, Integrated
Functional Capability 3 (IFC 3) includes the Northrop Grumman AN/ZPY-3
Multi-Function Active Sensor (MFAS) maritime radar, Raytheon MTS-B electro-optical/infrared
sensor turret, Automatic Identification System receiver and an electronic
support measures system.

Corey said the current priority of the
Triton program is to “put forward the IFC 4 [Integrated Functional Capability
4] capability [in the Triton] to do much of the EP-3E mission.”

The MQ-4C is scheduled to replace the EP-3E
electronic reconnaissance aircraft when the UAV’s IFC 4 multi-intelligence
capability is installed and certified for operations.

ARLINGTON, Va. — Ceremonies and a flyaway May 23 at Eglin Air
Force Base, Florida, marked the deactivation of the Navy’s first F-35C fleet
replacement squadron and its consolidation with the second F-35C FRS as the
service moves to conduct all F-35C flight training at one base.

Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 101, the “Grim Reapers,” officially
will be deactivated on July 1, but the deactivation ceremonies were held May
23. The squadron flew out its last F-35Cs on that date to Naval Air Station Lemoore,
California, the home of VFA-125, the FRS that is training future F-35C pilots
and conducting transition training of VFA squadrons to the F-35C.

Reactivated in 2012 at Eglin AFB, VFA-101 has been training
instructor and test pilots to fly the F-35C Lightning II strike fighter. The
Navy decided to reactivate VFA-125 at NAS Lemoore to become an F-35C FRS.
VF-125 conducted the transition of the first fleet F-35C squadron, VFA-147,
which took the F-35C to Initial Operational Capability in February. VFA-147 is
scheduled to deploy on board USS Carl Vinson in 2021.

Although it is not of the lineage of World War II’s Fighter
Squadron 10 (VF-10), VFA-101 adopted the Grim Reaper traditions of the famous
squadron. VF-10 flew the F4F Wildcat and later F6F-3 Hellcat off USS Enterprise
(CV-6) in the Pacific during WWII. The squadron later deployed twice into
combat on board USS Intrepid (CV-11) in 1945, first with F4U-1D and later F4U-4
Corsair fighters. VF-10 was deactivated in 1945.

VF-101 was activated in 1952 at NAS Cecil Field, Florida, and took
on the nickname and traditions of VF-10 “Grim Reapers.” VF-101 flew F4U-4 Corsairs
in the Korean War and went on to operate the F2H Banshee, F4D Skyray, F3H
Demon, F-4 Phantom II and the F-14 Tomcat. VF-101 was deactivated in September
2005.

The squadron was reactivated in May 2012 as the F-35C FRS.
According to a May 23 release from the Joint Strike Fighter Wing, VFA-101 trained
more than 75 Navy and Marine Corps F-35C pilots, accepted more than 30
aircraft, trained more than 1,200 F-35C maintainers and flew nearly 11,000
flight hours.

“The contributions that VFA-101 has made to the F-35C community
will not diminish as this program grows,” VFA-101’s commanding officer, Cmdr.
Adan Covarrubias, said in the release. “The original cadre of maintainers and
pilots have left a legacy that is evidenced in all aspects of this community. Their
influence will continue long after the squadron’s doors are closed.”

ARLINGTON,
Va. — The Navy established a new unit at Naval Base San Diego on May 22 that
will serve as a fount of experimentation for the surface warfare community to
accelerate the lethality and combat readiness of the Navy’s surface warships.

In a May
20 teleconference with reporters, Vice Adm. Richard Brown, commander, Naval
Surface Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet, said that he was establishing Surface
Development Squadron One (SURFDEVRON ONE) to:

• Execute operational testing and evaluation of new and emerging surface warfighting capabilities.
• Develop material and technical solutions to tactical challenges.
• Coordinate doctrine, organization, training, material, logistics, personnel and facilities requirements for unmanned surface systems.

“We want
to rapidly be able to experiment and move at a faster pace,” Brown said, noting
that the new squadron is modeled in part after the Navy’s submarine development
squadron and unmanned underwater vehicle squadron.

Brown said
the new squadron was a renaming and a repurposing of the “Z-RON”—the squadron
for the two, soon to be three, Zumwalt-class guided-missile destroyers.

Brown said
the Zumwalt class DDGs would still deploy with carrier strike groups in
accordance with the Optimized Fleet Response Plan despite their assignment to
the development squadron.

He said
the Zumwalt DDGs were ideal for the squadron because if their advanced
capabilities and potential.

“There is
no reason why a Zumwalt could not control USVs,” Brown said.

He also
said he is working to get the Navy’s Sea Hunter medium-displacement unmanned
surface vehicle (USV) transferred to the squadron from the Office of Naval
Research. The Navy is experimenting with the Sea Hunter in the eastern Pacific
to develop navigation capabilities, concepts of operation and sensor
configurations for USVs. He also plans to assign the second Sea Hunter now
under construction to the squadron.

Brown
expects that the Large USVs (LUSVs) and Medium USVs (MUSVs) that are envisioned
for the fleet in the 2020s will be assigned to the development squadron as
well. The concept of operations of these USVs include the possibilities of
being controlled by another ship, a strike group commander or a fleet
commander.

“The
possibilities are endless,” he said. “We need an organization that is doing
that.”

The growth
of Surface Development Squadron One will be in phases. Phase 1, the name change
from Z-RON and the leveraging of the Zumwalt-class DDGs, will be complete by
the end of fiscal 2019.

Phase 2 will
be about building capacity, Brown said, including the absorption of the two Sea
Hunter USVs.

Phase 3,
expected to begin in 2024, will involve addition of the new LUSV and MUSV.

Brown said
the Navy’s first four littoral combat ships (LCS) — Freedom, Independence, Fort
Worth and Coronado — would be transferred to the development squadron at the
end of Phase 2 or Phase 3. These LCS are currently considered nondeploying test
ships to support development of the fleet of successor LCS and their mission
packages.

Capt. Hank
Adams is the first commanding officer of Surface Development Squadron One. He
will report directly to Brown.

ARLINGTON,
Va. — With the U.S. Navy resuming manufacture of Mk48 torpedoes for its
submarines after a two-decade hiatus, the engineering effort to restore the industrial
capability to build the torpedo has required some resourcefulness on the part
of defense contractors.

SAIC won a competitive contract to build the torpedo’s aft section, consisting of the propulsion section and the propeller, said Stephen Rigdon, SAIC vice president for programs in the Defense Systems Customer Group, speaking to Seapower on May 6 at the Navy League’s Sea-Air-Space exposition in National Harbor, Maryland.

The guidance-and-control
section is being built by Lockheed Martin. Rigdon said the warheads and fuel
tanks in the middle section of the torpedo are on hand in the Navy’s inventory.

“This is a
build-from-scratch program,” Rigdon said. “They haven’t been built since the
mid-90s. The biggest challenge we faced is reinvigorating the supply chain, finding
suppliers that can provide the assemblies that go inside this torpedo.”

He said there
was no new technology in the propulsion sections, dating to the late 1980s and
early 1990s. The Mk48 originally was built by Gould.

“We’re
building this from a government print,” he said. “What we’re finding out in
some cases is that if you build it to the print it doesn’t necessarily work
perfectly. If you go back to the ‘90s, there was a guy that worked for the
company that knew how to do that. That person is retired now. So, it’s been an
engineering challenge to figure those things out.”

“The Navy has programs underway to look at improved engines and things like that,” he said.

SAIC is under
contract to build 95 propulsion sections for the Mk48, with two more options on
the contract.

“The Navy may
buy up to 199 more,” Rigdon said.

SAIC is
building the torpedo assemblies at its facility in Bedford, Indiana.

ARLINGTON, Va. — An AV-8B Harrier II based at Marine Corps Air
Station Cherry Point, North Carolina, crashed May 20 near Cherry Branch, according
to May 20 and May 21 releases from 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing Strategic
Communications. The pilot ejected safely.

The Harrier II pilot was transported to Carolina East Medical
Center in New Bern for evaluation and was released with no injuries, the May 21
release said. There are no reports of civilian casualties or property damage.
Personnel from 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing responded to the scene and assisted
local authorities, who had responded first.

The pilot was assigned to Marine Attack Squadron 542, a unit of
the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing. Cherry Point is home of three Marine attack
squadrons and one Marine attack training squadron, all of which fly the Harrier
II.

The
aircraft is cordoned off at the crash site and an emergency reclamation team is
onsite and beginning recovery operations.

The
Marines of VMA-542 “are working closely with the Marines of Aircraft Rescue and
Fire Fighting, Explosive Ordnance Disposal and both military and local
authorities,” the May 21 release said. “The scene has been deemed safe and
secure by all parties involved, but recovery personnel are still implementing
environmental and personal protective measures.”

“I
would like to start by thanking the Craven County sheriff’s office and the
community for their ongoing support,” said Maj. Gen. Karsten Heckl, commanding general
of 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing.

“On
days like this, our dedication to duty is reaffirmed, and we are reminded how
proud we are to call Havelock our home. Thankfully, there were no serious
injuries. The safety of our Marines and the local community is of the utmost
importance to us, and we are extremely grateful that everyone who was involved
is OK.”

The
cause of the incident is still under investigation.

According to one
source, the Marine Corps AV-8B fleet has lost 104 aircraft (36%) of its
aircraft in mishaps over the service life of the jet. An additional 13 were
combat losses — either shot down, destroyed in a ground attack or damaged by
enemy fire and not repaired. The Marine Corps plans to keep the Harrier II in
service until 2028.

ARLINGTON,
Va. — Boeing is in the wrap-up stages of a trade study and architecture
assessment of an upgrade — called Block II — to the Navy’s EA-18G Growler
electronic attack aircraft. The upgrade is an effort to enable the EA-18G to
keep up with the dynamic electronic warfare threats.

“It makes
sense that we would take something that was designed in the ‘90s and now
enhance it to be relevant for decades to come,” said Jennifer Tebo, Boeing’s
director of development for the F/A-18 and EA-18G, speaking to reporters May 7
at the Navy League’s Sea-Air-Space exposition.

“The current
thinking on that is that it is a retrofit program,” Tebo said. “There is no
official new-build Growler Block II. We will continue to work with the Navy to
determine what those needs are, how we might incorporate them into a new build.
We’re thinking of a retrofit program that would deliver capability in the 2025 timeframe.
We’ve already starting work in earnest and early this year got initial funding
from the Navy to start moving to the [System Functional Requirements] phase by the
end of this year to deliver that capability on time.”

Tebo said
that the Growler Block II enhancements will include some of the upgrades of the
Super Hornet Block III program, plus “enhanced sensitivity through the
modernization of the sensors on the platform. … It’s about adaptive and
distributive processing, having big computers to process and be able to react
to the threats that are out there today and into the future.”

“It’s also
about enhancing the crew-vehicle interface,” Tebo added. “As the Growler crews
get more and more information into the cockpit, they’re going to need a way to
reduce the workload to be able to digest and use it effectively. All of that is
accomplished through software-defined radios that are enabled through a
flexible and adaptable hardware architecture.”

Tebo said the
infrastructure and the architecture will “allow us to continually evolve
capability as the threat dynamic changes. The life of the Growler is very, very
long. We’re setting this up for the Navy to be able to continue add capability
rapidly to the Growler.

“It’s been a joint
effort and it will evolve as we pin down the requirements,” she said.

She confirmed
that the Next-Generation Jammer and the mid-band and low-band jammers “are
considered part of the future of the Growler and Growler Block II.”

Boeing’s
concept of Block II includes the conformal fuel tanks being included in the
Super Hornet Block III, but “the Navy will have to decide,” she said.

Also to be
decided is whether the Growler will go through a service life-extension
program. The Super Hornet fleet is going through a service-life extension from
6,000 flight hours to 10,000 hours.

“That is to be decided,”
Tebo said. “The Growler has a 7,500-hour service life compared to 6,000-hour
life of the Super Hornet. [The Growler] has not finished its service-life
assessment program yet.”

ARLINGTON,
Va. — The Navy is installing a co-axial 7.62 mm machine gun on the mounts of
its Mk38 chain gun systems, a Northrop Grumman official said.

The Mk52 7.62
mm is gas-operated and uses recoil to eject spent cartridges and advance to the
next round. A misfired round is safely ejected forward of the barrel as well, Jarrod
Krull, communications manager for Northrop Grumman Armament Systems, said in an
interview with Seapower.

The Mk38 Mod
2 gun mount includes an 25mm M242 Bushmaster rapid-fire cannon that fires an
explosive round. The mount is automatic, gyro-stabilized and remotely operated,
but retains the optional manual firing of the Mk38 Mod 1. The system has day
and night sensors and a laser rangefinder.

The Mk52 7.62
mm is designed as a defense against small boats, aircraft and unmanned aerial
vehicles for most U.S. surface warships and as a general-purpose gun for the
Cyclone-class coastal patrol ships and Mk VI patrol boats.

Krull said
the addition of the co-axial Mk52 machine gun gives the gunner another
“right-sized” option for countering a small target, such as pirates or
terrorists on jet skis.

The Mk52 is
very durable, reliable and accurate,” according to a Navy briefing slide.

Northrop
Grumman is installing the Mk52 guns in the Mk38 under an indefinite
delivery/indefinite quantity contract.

The company
also is offering the Navy another upgrade of the Mk38 by switching out the M242
Bushmaster cannon for a larger caliber weapon, the Mk44 30mm cannon, the same
gun used as a close-in weapon on the San Antonio-class amphibious transport
dock ship, the littoral combat ship’s surface warfare module and the
Zumwalt-class guided-missile destroyer. Another option is the stretch version
of the Mk44, which would allow use of programmable ammunition, such has
air-burst ammunition.

Krull said
the Mk38 could even be up-gunned to a 40mm cannon.