Release from BAE Systems 

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BAE delivers 1,000th F-35 Lightning II fuselage to Lockheed Martin in major milestone for the world’s largest defense programme 

7 Feb 2023 

BAE Systems has delivered the 1,000th rear fuselage to Lockheed Martin for the F-35, the world’s most advanced and capable fifth generation fighter. 

More than 1,500 employees at the Company’s facilities in Samlesbury, Lancashire, produce the rear fuselage for every F-35 in the global fleet. The first fuselage was delivered to Lockheed Martin in 2005. 

Speech marks at an event today celebrating the 1000th delivery, Cliff Robson, Group Managing Director, BAE Systems Air, said: 
“This is a significant moment for everyone involved in the programme and a testament to the highly-skilled workforce we have in the North West of England. 

“Our role on the F-35 programme is another example of how we make a substantial contribution to the local and national UK economy and help to deliver capability which is critical for national security.” 

Speech marks Bridget Lauderdale, Lockheed Martin Vice President and General Manager of the F-35 programme, said: 

“The F-35 programme powers economic growth and prosperity for the UK injecting approximately £41billion* into the UK economy and supporting more than 20,000 jobs in the UK supply chain, many of those based in the North West. 

“With more than 500 companies in our UK supply chain, we’re proud of the role that our partnership with BAE Systems has in delivering the world’s most advanced aircraft for the UK and 17 other allied nations.” 

F-35 aircraft inside hangar BAE Systems has been involved in the F-35 programme since its inception and plays key roles across the development, manufacture and sustainment of the aircraft, which is operated by the Royal Air Force, Royal Navy and air forces across the world. 

The F-35s global programme of record amounts to more than 3,000 F-35s amongst the programme’s 17 customers. Work on the programme will continue at BAE Systems’ advanced manufacturing hub at Samlesbury for many years to come. 

Speech marks Susan Addison, Senior Vice President for US Programmes at BAE Systems Air, said: 

 
“This is an important milestone for our business and demonstrates both the expertise of our people and their commitment to delivering for the F-35 programme. 

“The roles we play today are underpinned by a world-class manufacturing pedigree and industrial know-how in the UK, which has been developed through decades of cutting edge experience in combat air programmes. We are proud of what we do for our customers and the air forces who help keep us safe.” 

Release from BAE Systems 

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NORFOLK, Va. — Feb. 7, 2023 — For the second year in a row, BAE Systems, Inc.’s Ship Repair business has been recognized by Signal Mutual as a top company for safety. The prestigious Signal Mutual Industry Safety Leadership award was presented to BAE Systems, one of only five companies to receive it, during the industry group’s annual conference in Salt Lake City this week.  

In presenting the award, Signal Mutual noted that, in 2022, BAE Systems had a noteworthy safety culture because of the leadership’s clear visibility and engagement of with employees. Signal Mutual also noted that BAE Systems’ focus on safety in its shipyards resulted in a low frequency rate of claims compared to industry standards, no excessive loss cases, and no fatalities for more than two years.  

“Shipyards can be hazardous. However, our leaders’ commitment to empowering all employees to declare a ‘Stop Work’ when they see something out of order is critical to ensuring that our teammates complete their work and return home safely every day,” said Paul Smith, vice president and general manager of BAE Systems Ship Repair. “This award instills pride within us as industry leaders, and it inspires us to continue protecting each other and setting high standards for those who work alongside us.” 

BAE Systems employs nearly 3,000 people across three shipyards in California, Florida, and Virginia who work alongside thousands of U.S. Navy personnel, commercial vessel owners, subcontractors and vendors who are also based at the sites.  

“Everyone in the team is empowered and trusted to be a safety, health, and environmental leader,” said Noushin Sprossel, Safety, Health and Environment (SHE) director for BAE Systems Ship Repair. ”Our tremendous progress towards achieving SHE excellence and recognition for our performance reflects our commitment to make the safety and health of our workforce a priority.” 

Signal Mutual is an organization that provides workers’ compensation services to about 300 high-performing organizations in the maritime industry, including nearly 100 shipyard companies.

Release from the Naval Air Systems Command 

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Published: 

Feb 7, 2023 

NAVAL AIR SYSTEMS COMMAND, Patuxent River, Md. 

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The U.S. Navy, in partnership with Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) representatives, awarded an $8.6 million foreign military sale in December 2022 to Raytheon Intelligence & Space for the procurement and delivery of a Joint Precision Approach and Landing System (JPALS) unit. 

The Naval Air Traffic Management Systems Program Office (PMA-213) worked closely with the vendor and the international customer to leverage existing contract options to bring this cutting-edge technology to the JMSDF.  

“The urgency with which this contract was completed is a testament to our commitment to closely collaborate with our JMSDF partners, which is critical to the 2022 National Defense Strategy call to bolster robust deterrence in the INDO-PACOM [Indo-Pacific Command].” said Cmdr. Charles Steele, PMA-213 JPALS deputy program manager (DPM). 

JPALS, which is a software-based, high-integrity differential GPS navigation and precision landing system, ensures enhanced safety and increased operational capability to equipped aircraft. JPALS enables aircraft to approach and land on ships at sea while operating in all-weather conditions and is integrated on the F-35. 

PMA-213 International Programs DPM, Casey Edinger said, “JPALS is a critical enabler of enhanced F-35B Joint Strike Fighter landing capabilities for coalition partners. Japan’s acquisition of JPALS significantly enhances and furthers their modernization goals, operational readiness, force projection, and PACOM [Pacific Command] interoperability operations. In addition, the execution of this Japanese foreign military sale (FMS) case and the subsequent award to Raytheon demonstrates U.S. Navy and Raytheon’s dedication to supporting Japan’s commitment to joint coalition force operations and interoperability.” 

JPALS is currently being deployed on all U.S. Navy aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships. Japan joins the United Kingdom and Italy to procure JPALS, which is currently deployed on the U.K. Royal Navy’s HMS Queen Elizabeth, and the Italian Navy’s ITS Cavour. JPALS is scheduled to be deployed on the JMSDF’s JS Izumo in 2024. 

JPALS has been supporting F-35B deployments on U.S. Navy LH-class amphibious assault ships since 2016 and F-35C deployments on U.S. Navy aircraft carriers since 2021. 

“Leveraging existing production capabilities and historical cost/technical data optimized the use of diminishing supply sources, prevented significant price increases, and avoided any deployment schedule impacts,” said John Britt, PMA-213 procuring contracting officer.

Release from Commander, Naval Surface Forces

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By Petty Officer 2nd Class Maci Sternod

02 February 2023 

SAN DIEGO, CA, UNITED STATES –  

Amphibious assault carrier USS Tripoli (LHA 7) worked with the United States Army’s 16th Combat Aviation Brigade based out of Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, and the United States Air Force’s 66th Rescue Squadron, based out of Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas, to land both UH-60M Black Hawk, HH-60 Pave Hawk and AH-64 Apache helicopters on Tripoli’s flight deck, Jan. 22-26. 
 

“Tripoli helped the Army pilots by giving them the hours of practice landing on a ship so that they could complete their deck landing qualification,” said U.S. Marine Corps Maj. Keith Hibbert, Tripoli’s air operations officer. 
 

As a result of these joint operations, Tripoli was able to cross train with the U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force. 
 

“It was extremely rewarding being able to work with the Air Force and Army during this evolution because it’s not something you get to do every day,” said Lt. Jon Kokot, Tripoli’s mini boss. 
 

The qualification tested not only the pilots, but Tripoli’s flight deck crew as well. 
Air Force, Army, and Navy pilots use different terminology and procedures, presenting a unique challenge for Tripoli’s crew. The U.S. Army’s aircraft also require a different procedure to secure them to the flight deck. 
 

“The Apache helicopter has different tie down points for the chains that we’ve never seen before,” said Kokot. “We had to have one of their guys come out and show us how to tie the helicopter down.” 
 

The experience gave Tripoli’s crew a chance to prepare for similar evolutions in the future and expand the ship’s capabilities. The landing qualifications demonstrated that Tripoli has the ability to conduct flight operations with other military branches. 
 

Tripoli is underway conducting routine operations in U.S. 3rd Fleet. 

Release from Naval Sea Systems Command 

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NEWS | Feb. 3, 2023 

Navy and Industry Partners Complete Production Mk 18 Unmanned Underwater Vehicle Systems 

By PEO Unmanned and Small Combatants Public Affairs 

Washington – The Navy announced today a significant milestone in the delivery of unmanned undersea warfighting capability to the fleet.  Production of the MK 18 Mod 2 Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (UUV) program of record has completed. 

Managed by the Expeditionary Missions program office under the Program Executive Office for Unmanned and Small Combatants (PEO USC), the MK 18 Mod 2 UUV program began production in 2012 through competitively awarded contracts with Hydroid, Inc. in Pocasset, Massachusetts (now owned by Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII)).  Since the initial production lot, more than 90 MK 18 Mod 2 UUV vehicles have been provided to the fleet.  

“The Department’s long-standing partnership with HII and their subcontractors demonstrates how mature technologies coupled with innovative acquisition approaches can speed the delivery of critical mission-enabling capabilities to our warfighting forces,” said Capt. Jon Haase, program manager of the Expeditionary Missions program office (PMS 408). 

The MK 18 Mod 2 UUVs form a critical component in the Navy’s suite of Expeditionary Mine Countermeasures (ExMCM) Company’s mission capabilities.  ExMCM forces provide a rapid, world-wide mine countermeasure response capability that supports Joint Force maneuver in various maritime mission areas.  In July 2022, the Navy awarded the Medium Unmanned Undersea Vehicle (MUUV) contract to Leidos to design, test, and manufacture the next generation ExMCM MUUV, known as Viperfish. Viperfish will improve upon the current MK18 Mod 2 UUVs by providing increased ExMCM capabilities. 

Release from Naval Sea Systems Command 

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By Program Executive Office Unmanned and Small Combatants (PEO USC) Public Affairs 

WASHINGTON — The Navy accepted delivery of the future USS Marinette (LCS 25) from Lockheed Martin this week at the Fincantieri Marinette Marine shipyard in Marinette, Wisconsin. 
 
“Today marks a significant milestone in the life of the future USS Marinette,” said Capt. Andy Gold, LCS program manager. “I look forward to the commissioning of Marinette later this year and recognizing the contribution of her namesake town and the great shipbuilders who bring these warships to life, ensuring they are ready to accomplish mission tasking in support of our nation’s maritime strategy.” 
 
The ship successfully completed her acceptance trial in November 2022, which is the last milestone before the ship is delivered to the Navy. During the trial, the Navy conducted comprehensive tests of LCS 25’s systems, which spanned multiple functional areas essential to a ship being able to perform at sea — including main propulsion and auxiliaries and electrical systems. The ship also performed demonstrations of its operational capabilities, including a full power demonstration, steering and quick reversal, anchor drop test, and combat system detect-to-engage sequence. As a result of these successful trials, the Navy accepted delivery and will continue post-delivery certifications and qualifications to ready her for Fleet operations. 
 
LCS 25 is outfitted with the combining gear correction that will allow for unrestricted operations. The correction addresses a class-wide flaw that was identified as the Fleet deployed these ships in greater numbers. 
 
After her commissioning, planned for June 2023, Marinette will be homeported in Mayport, Florida. 
 
Three more Freedom-variant ships are under construction at the Fincantieri Marinette Marine shipyard in Marinette, Wisconsin. The future USS Nantucket (LCS 27) is scheduled for delivery in the summer of 2023. Additional ships in various stages of construction include the future ships USS Beloit (LCS 29) and USS Cleveland (LCS 31). LCS 31 will be the final Freedom-variant LCS. 
 
The LCS class is now the second-largest surface ship class in production. LCS is a highly maneuverable, lethal, and adaptable ship designed to support focused mine countermeasures and surface warfare missions. The Freedom and Independence-variant LCS integrate new technologies and capabilities to support current and future operational missions, from deep water to the littorals. 

Release from V-22 Joint Program Office 

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Published: 

Feb 4, 2023 

NAVAL AIR SYSTEMS COMMAND – 

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Based on the recommendation from the V-22 Joint Program Office, the U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command and U.S. Navy issued a time limit, via fleet bulletin, on the V-22 Input Quill Assembly, effective Feb. 3, 2023. 

The imposed time limit will restrict flight on a subset of V-22s until the Input Quill Assembly is replaced. The Input Quill Assembly is an element of the proprotor gearbox, which houses the aircraft clutch. 

This recommendation is based on a progressive increase in Hard Clutch Engagement events and ongoing engineering analysis. 

A Hard Clutch Engagement event occurs when the clutch, driven by the engine, releases from the rotor system and suddenly reengages, sending an impulse through the drive train, potentially causing damage. 

In order to ensure the continued safety of the aircrew, the services took decisive action to implement the bulletin. 

The fleet bulletin identifies aircraft with Input Quill Assemblies above a predetermined flight-hour threshold and the requirement to replace that component. Once replaced, the aircraft will return to flight status. 

The services previously implemented in-flight and ground training mitigations. Examples include: 

• Supplying interim flight guidance to the fleet designed to minimize exposure to a hard clutch engagement, highlighting existing emergency procedures 
• Modified Hard Clutch Engagement scenarios were added during simulator training 

Due to operational security concerns, the specific Input Quill Assembly flight-hour threshold and number of aircraft affected will not be released. 

The joint program office is exploring 24 initiatives, such as data mining, laboratory and flight testing and hardware redesign, that fall along 4 lines of effort (analyze, identify, mitigate, eliminate). These efforts provide the information required to inform short-, mid- and long-term solutions. It was a result of these efforts that we identified and implemented the time limit for the Input Quill Assembly. We will use relevant findings to continually improve the safety of the V-22.

Release from U.S. Central Command Public Affairs

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By U.S. Central Command Public Affairs | February 02, 2023 

TAMPA, Fla. — 

U.S. Central Command supported a maritime interdiction earlier this month that resulted in the seizure by partner naval forces of weapons that originated in Iran and were bound for Yemen. 

The interdiction took place in the Gulf of Oman on Jan. 15, along routes historically used to traffic weapons unlawfully from Iran to Yemen. More than 3,000 assault rifles, 578,000 rounds of ammunition and 23 advanced anti-tank guided missiles were recovered. 

CENTCOM and partner naval forces regularly conduct regional maritime security operations. The seizure is one of four significant illicit cargo interdictions over the past two months that have prevented more than 5,000 weapons and 1.6 million rounds of ammunition from reaching Yemen. 

CENTCOM forces previously intercepted a fishing vessel Jan. 6 in the Gulf of Oman and discovered it smuggling more than 2,100 assault rifles along a maritime route from Iran to Yemen. 

In 2021, CENTCOM prevented 9,000 illegal weapons from reaching Yemen, representing a 200% increase in the number of weapons seized over the previous year. In 2022, CENTCOM Maritime assets and partner forces seized weapons components for the same type of cruise missiles launched in attacks against Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates earlier in the year. In December 2022, U.S. naval forces also seized explosive precursor materials that included 140 tons of urea fertilizer, 70 tons of ammonium perchlorate, and 50 tons of ammunition rounds, fuses, and propellants for rockets. 

Release from Military Sealift Command 

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By Sarah Cannon, MSC Pacific

31 January 2023 

PORT HUENEME, Calif. –  

Military Sealift Command-chartered container ship MV Ocean Giant is currently conducting cargo offloads in one of the most remote and challenging environments on the planet; McMurdo Station, Antarctica. The operation is part of MSC’s annual resupply mission in support of Operation Deep Freeze, the Joint Task Force Support for Antarctica mission to resupply the remote scientific outpost. 
 
Seabees from Navy Cargo Handling Battalion ONE (NCHB -1) and NCHB 5 are working around-the-clock offloading the cargo which consists of 443 pieces of cargo, which include containers filled with mechanical parts, vehicles, construction materials, office supplies and electronics equipment and vehicles. The supplies will provide nearly 80 percent of the items needed for survival over the severe arctic winter over period when the station is cutoff from the rest of the world. The Cargo Handlers work with Ocean Giant’s crew, and the MSC representative, to execute a safe and efficient offload and backload of a variety of cargo, as well as with the Antarctic Support Contract logistics team who manage the loads and stow plans for United States Antarctic Program, as well as the New Zealand Defense Force who assist with rigging and transporting loads from the pier to designated laydown areas. 
 
Ocean Giant’s mission began in late December in Port Hueneme, Calif., where the ship was loaded with cargo. From Port Hueneme, the ship sailed to Lyttelton, New Zealand where they took on additional cargo and then transited to Antarctica. 
 
In years past, Ocean Giant would have arrived at the ice-pier at McMurdo Station; a structure made up of rebar and frozen seawater, where cargo offloads were conducted. Due sever damage, the ice-pier was unavailable this year, so Ocean Giant delivered a Marine Causeway System. The 65-ton pier consists of ten, 24-foot, pre-assembled pieces. Six string units were assembled on deck placed into the water and then and joined into two sections. These sections were attached to the others to form the final pier. 
 
Upon completion of their cargo offload, Ocean Giant will load containers of retrograde as well as ice-core samples for scientific study, and return to Port Hueneme. 
 
Operation Deep Freeze is a joint service, on-going Defense Support to Civilian Authorities activity in support of the National Science Foundation (NSF), lead agency for the United States Antarctic Program. Mission support consists of active duty, Guard and Reserve personnel from the U.S. Air Force, Navy, Army, and Coast Guard as well as Department of Defense civilians and attached non-DOD civilians. ODF operates from two primary locations situated at Christchurch, New Zealand and McMurdo Station, Antarctica. An MSC-chartered cargo ship and tanker have made the challenging voyage to Antarctica every year since the station and its resupply missions were established in 1955. 

Release from Naval Sea Systems Command  

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By NAVSEA Office of Corporate Communications 

WASHINGTON — In accordance with the Fiscal 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) established a new position, Deputy Commander for the Supervision of Shipbuilding, Conversion, and Repair (SUPSHIP). 

Acting Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development, and Acquisition, Frederick J. Stefany, designated that the Senior Executive Service (SES) member who serves as the NAVSEA’s Executive Director for Industrial Operations (NAVSEA 04B) will also serve as the Deputy Commander for SUPSHIPs. Ms. Karen M. Davis now serves as the first dual-hatted Deputy Commander for SUPSHIPs and NAVSEA 04 Executive Director. 

“This new position elevates supervisor of shipbuilding by having an SES serve as the conduit between the supervisors and the NAVSEA Commander,” said Vice Adm. Bill Galinis, NAVSEA commander. “This change helps ensure NAVSEA is better focused on delivering ships to the Fleet on time.” 

The responsibilities of the new deputy commander will include oversight of the independent administration and management of the execution of the Department of Defense contracts awarded to commercial entities for shipbuilding, conversion, and repair at the facilities of such entities; oversight of the designated contract administration office of the department responsible for performing contract administration services for such contracts; and enforcement of requirements of such contracts to ensure satisfaction of all contractual obligations.  

To learn more about NAVSEA, please visit us at https://www.navsea.navy.mil/ and stay connected with us on social media at http://www.facebook.com/NAVSEA; http://twitter.com/NAVSEA; and http://www.linkedin.com/company/NAVSEA.