NORWICH, Conn. — Rep. Joe Courtney, D-Connecticut, chairman of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces, issued on Oct. 6 the following statement regarding Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper’s Oct. 6 comments on submarine shipbuilding during a preview of future Navy Force Structure Plan. 
 
“Today, Secretary Esper previewed a long-overdue force structure plan that begs for more detail and explanation,” Courtney said. “Notably, the Secretary shared the predictable outcome of these months of review and study — that we need a bigger and more capable submarine force. After four long years of stonewalling Congress’s commitment to enlarging our nation’s submarine fleet — including submitting a budget this year that proposed a 19% cut to the submarine budget and eliminated a planned Virginia class submarine — the Trump administration today acknowledged what has long been blindingly obvious: Our undersea fleet is dangerously small. 
 
“If Secretary Esper is serious about boosting production, he could direct his department to support the House-passed authorization and funding levels for a second Virginia-class submarine in 2021 that reverses the Administration’s anemic shipbuilding budget in the House-Senate conference process happening right now,” Courtney added. 

WASHINGTON — Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Adm. Mike Gilday conducted a video teleconference Oct. 6, with Rear Adm. Aaron Beng Yao Cheng, Republic of Singapore Chief of Navy, the CNO’s public affairs office said in a release. 

The two leaders discussed engagement between the two navies this past year, which included RIMPAC 2020, as well as ways to further deepen cooperation between the two navies going forward. 

“I am grateful to Republic of Singapore for their partnership and friendship – and we greatly value the contributions their Navy brings to the maritime domain,” Gilday said. “I am excited to work closely with Rear Adm. Beng and the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) for years to come to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific.” 

Gilday also thanked Beng for continuing to host commander, Logistics Group Western Pacific in Sembawang and supporting the forward-deployment of Destroyer Squadron 7 and littoral combat ships, like USS Gabrielle Giffords (LCS 10). 

Beng said the Republic of Singapore Navy and the United States Navy share a unique and long- standing relationship underpinned by mutual trust and shared values. 

“We have maintained a steady cadence of professional interactions over the last few months, which further underscores the strength of this partnership,” Beng said. “Our navies conducted a passage exercise in May, the RSN frigate RSS Supreme (73) deployed to RIMPAC 2020, and ships from both navies will conduct a bilateral CARAT exercise in December. We will continue to seek opportunities to strengthen cooperation, including resuming face-to-face interactions when the situation allows.” 

The U.S. and Singaporean navies recently exercised bilateral interoperability in the South China Sea and jointly participated in a virtual Southeast Asia Cooperation and Training (SEACAT) symposium. The two navies operate together during exercises like Pacific Griffin 2019, the most advanced naval training between the two nations to date. 

This VTC was the first between the two leaders since Beng took office in March 2020.  

SAN DIEGO – Guided-missile destroyer USS Pinckney (DDG 91) returned to its homeport, Naval Station San Diego, following a nine-month deployment to U.S. 7th Fleet and U.S. 4th Fleet areas of operations, Oct. 5, U.S. Third Fleet Public Affairs said in an Oct. 6 release. 

Pinckney, along with a detachment from Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 75, deployed in January with the Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group to the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations. Pinckney arrived in the U.S. 4th Fleet area of operations in April to participate in U.S. Southern Command and Joint Interagency Task Force South’s enhanced counter-narcotics operations in the Caribbean Sea and Eastern Pacific Ocean. 

“The Sailors of Pinckney have helped make the United States a safer place to live,” said Cmdr. Andrew Roy, Pinckney’s commanding officer. “I thank all Pinckney Sailors and U.S. Coast Guardsmen who overcame many obstacles to make sure illicit narcotics will never make it into our homes, schools, or communities.” 

During their deployment, Pinckney, with its embarked U.S. Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment (LEDET), recovered an estimated 9,800 kilograms (21,605 pounds) of suspected cocaine and an estimated 2,800 pounds of marijuana worth an estimated wholesale value of more than $720 million. In addition, Pinckney also conducted freedom of navigation operations and participated in a passing exercise (PASSEX) with the Guatemalan navy. 

“A lengthy deployment is always challenging, even more so in the midst of a global pandemic that kept us all on the ship for the past six months,” said Cmdr. Ryan Conole, Pinckney’s executive officer. “Our team was able stay focused and on mission, and we could not have done that without the support of our families and friends back home who were also dealing with an incredibly challenging environment on the homefront.” 

Pinckney joined other U.S. Navy warships, numerous U.S. agencies from the Departments of Defense, Justice and Homeland Security cooperating in the effort to combat transnational organized crime. The Coast Guard, U.S. Navy, Customs and Border Protection, FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, along with allied and international partner agencies, are all playing a role in counterdrug operations. 

GROTON, Conn. — General Dynamics Electric Boat, a business unit of General Dynamics, was awarded two U.S. Navy contracts this week with a total value of $251 million, the company said in an Oct. 1 release.  

The first contract is a $215.7 million modification to a previously awarded contract, the cumulative value of which, if all options are exercised, could be more than $1 billion. Electric Boat will provide planning yard, design agent, engineering services and technical support for in-service submarines and submersible systems. The second contract is a $35.3 million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for Reactor Plant Planning Yard services for the submarine fleet and Support Yard services for the Navy’s Moored Training Ships.   

“The shipbuilders of Electric Boat are proud to be a partner to the U.S. Navy, and continue to execute our mission to provide our sailors with the advantage that helps protect our Navy and our nation,” said Kevin Graney, president of General Dynamics Electric Boat.  “We continue to work to hire, train and develop future generations of shipbuilders as we continue to deliver the Virginia class of fast attack submarines and move toward full-scale construction of the Columbia class of ballistic missile submarines.”   

EVENDALE, Ohio — GE Marine has signed a contract with STM (Savunma Teknolojileri Mühendislik Ve Ticaret A.Ş.), Ankara, Turkey, to provide LM2500 marine gas turbines to power the Pakistan Navy’s new MILGEM multipurpose corvettes, GE announced in an Oct. 6 release. STM is the main propulsion system integrator for the MILGEM newbuilds.  

In July 2018, the Pakistan Navy contracted for four MILGEM corvettes with ASFAT (Askeri Fabrika ve Tersane İşletme A.Ş.), two of them to be built in Turkey and the other two in Pakistan. Recent milestones for the Pakistan Navy’s MILGEM program include the keel laying of the first ship in Istanbul, Turkey, and the steel cutting ceremony for the second corvette in Karachi, Pakistan.  

“We are delighted to provide the Pakistan Navy with our proven LM2500 gas turbine to power these new MILGEM corvettes,” said Kris Shepherd, vice president, Marine Operations, GE Marine, Evendale, Ohio. “Our LM2500 gas turbines are reliably logging operating hours onboard the Turkish Navy’s four MILGEM corvettes, the first of which was commissioned in 2011,” he added. 

The propulsion system for all the MILGEM ships consist of one LM2500 gas turbine in a combined diesel and gas turbine configuration with two diesel engines; total propulsion power is 31,600 kilowatts. Additionally, 24 LM2500s operate aboard the Turkish Navy’s Barbaros and Gabya class frigates. Worldwide, there are over 1,200 marine LM2500 gas turbines providing reliable power for 39 international navies and in countless industrial applications.  

The LM2500 gas turbines for the Pakistan Navy’s MILGEM program will be manufactured at GE’s facility in Evendale, Ohio.

BOSTON — Sea Machines Robotics, a Boston-based developer of autonomous command and control systems for surface vessels, has been awarded a multi-year Other Transaction agreement by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD)’s Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), the company announced in an Oct. 5 release. 

The primary purpose of the agreement is to initiate a prototype that will enable commercial ocean-service barges as autonomous Forward Arming and Refueling Point (FARP) units for an Amphibious Maritime Projection Platform (AMPP).  
 
Under this OT agreement, Sea Machines will engineer, build and demonstrate ready-to-deploy system kits that enable autonomous, self-propelled operation of opportunistically available barges to land and replenish military aircraft. The kits will include Sea Machines’ SM300 autonomous-command and control systems, barge propulsion, sensing, positioning, communications and refueling equipment, as well as items required for global deployment. Each modular kit will meet U.S. Navy criteria and will be in compliance with classifications and regulations from the DoD’s aviation bodies.  
 
The contract includes a concept demonstration phase, with an option for following phases to deploy SM300 Operational Kits. The live concept demonstration is scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2020, in Washington state, for which Sea Machines has teamed with FOSS Maritime, a leading maritime transportation and logistics provider based in Seattle. FOSS will provide naval architecture, support engineering and operations management to outfit a remotely commanded deck barge to land helicopters and host a scaled fueling station for aircraft, surface vessels and shore replenishment. Using the SM300, shoreside operators will have remote situational awareness and will be able to demonstrate the capabilities of remote command and control of the vessel, her operating systems and flight deck. 
 
Sea Machines is the prime contractor for the multi-year contract and is working closely alongside FOSS Maritime and other significant industry leaders, including Huntington Ingalls, America’s largest military shipbuilding company and a provider of professional services, based in Newport News, Virginia, and Bell Flight, a producer of commercial and military, vertical-lift aircraft, based in Fort Worth, Texas, to ensure a successful demonstration. 
 
“The AMPP autonomous replenishment systems will solve critical logistics challenges of expeditionary missions. We are pleased to enable this innovative capability, which will increase the effectiveness and flexibility for the U.S. military,” said Sea Machines’ Phil Bourque, director, sales. “With Sea Machines systems already working off the waters of four continents, this project is well suited for us and one that we look forward to delivering on for the U.S. government.” 
 
“Foss is excited about this new opportunity with Sea Machines.This contract has led to discussions with Sea Machines in a number of other areas where their expertise can help Foss, including bringing more technology to our tug fleet. What they are doing in automation is very interesting and that technology could help our mariners and our vessels safety,” said FOSS’s Will Roberts, chief operating officer. 
 
DIU’s work is part of the DoD’s Resilient Expeditionary Agile Littoral Logistics (REALL) Joint Capability Technology Demonstration (JCTD) project. Funded by the Office of the Secretary of Defense Research & Engineering, the JCTD Program addresses Combatant Command and Joint warfighting gaps through prototyping and demonstration of innovative and game-changing technologies. 

The following offices are involved with defining performance requirements and developing capabilities for REALL: U.S. Central Command, U.S. Transportation Command, U.S. Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory, Naval Facilities Engineering and Expeditionary Warfare Center, Army Engineer Research and Development Center, and the Naval Aviation Warfare Center – Lakehurst. 
 

SAN DIEGO — The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Steadfast (WMEC-623) offloaded approximately 3,905 pounds of suspected cocaine in San Diego, Oct. 1, the Coast 11th District said in a release. 

The drugs, worth an estimated $67 million, were seized in international waters of the Eastern Pacific Ocean and represent two suspected drug smuggling vessel interdictions off the coasts of Mexico, Central and South America in early September by the Steadfast crew. 

On April 1, U.S. Southern Command began enhanced counter-narcotics operations in the Western Hemisphere to disrupt the flow of drugs in support of Presidential National Security Objectives. Numerous U.S. agencies from the Departments of Defense, Justice and Homeland Security cooperate in the effort to combat transnational organized crime. The Coast Guard, Navy, Customs and Border Protection, FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, along with allied and international partner agencies, play a role in counter-drug operations.  

The fight against drug cartels in the Eastern Pacific Ocean requires unity of effort in all phases from detection, monitoring and interdictions, to criminal prosecutions by international partners and U.S. Attorneys’ Offices in districts across the nation. The law enforcement phase of counter-smuggling operations in the Eastern Pacific Ocean is conducted under the authority of the 11th Coast Guard District, headquartered in Alameda. The interdictions, including the actual boardings, are led and conducted by members of the U.S. Coast Guard. 

The Steadfast is a 210-foot medium-endurance cutter that was commissioned in 1968 and is homeported in Astoria, Oregon. 

PASCAGOULA, Miss. — Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Ingalls Shipbuilding division successfully completed acceptance sea trials for the U.S. Coast Guard’s newest national security cutter, Stone (WMSL 758), the company said in an Oct. 2 release. During seal trials, the ship spent two days in the Gulf of Mexico proving its systems. 

“I am very proud of the Ingalls team that conducted another outstanding acceptance trial on our ninth national security cutter Stone. This ship, like all of the national security cutters we have delivered, will be capable of undertaking the most challenging Coast Guard missions with great capability and endurance,” Ingalls Shipbuilding President Brian Cuccias said. “We are proud of our shipbuilders and the state-of-the-art design and construction of Stone, and we look forward to the ship’s upcoming delivery.” 

Ingalls has delivered eight Legend-class NSCs with two more under construction and one additional under contract. Stone is scheduled to deliver later this year and will be homeported in Charleston, South Carolina.  

NSC 9 was named to honor Coast Guard officer Commander Elmer “Archie” Fowler Stone, Coast Guard aviator number one, who made history in 1919 for being one of two Coast Guard pilots in the four man air crew who completed the first transatlantic flight in a Navy seaplane. 

The Legend-class NSC is the most technologically advanced ship in the Coast Guard’s fleet, which enables it to meet the high demands required for maritime and homeland security, law enforcement, marine safety, environmental protection and national defense missions. NSCs are 418 feet long with a top speed of 28 knots, a range of 12,000 miles, an endurance of 60 days and a crew of 120. 

ALAMEDA, Calif. — The crew aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Bertholf (WMSL 750) returned home to Alameda, California, Oct. 3 following a three-month, 15,000-mile, multi-mission patrol, the Coast Guard Pacific Area said in a release. 
 
Bertholf’s crew spent more than 50 days patrolling the Eastern Pacific Ocean conducting a counter-narcotics mission, resulting in the apprehension of 6,700 pounds of cocaine with an estimated wholesale value of more than $115 million. 
 
The crew also patrolled over 3,000 square nautical miles of Ecuadorian and international waters conducting a joint patrol with the Ecuadorian navy to detect and deter potential Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) fishing in the vicinity of the Galapagos Islands. Bertholf and the Ecuadorian naval vessel LAE Isla San Cristobal (LG-30), provided persistent presence and surveillance of fishing activity throughout the region during the week-long mission. 
 
The joint operation highlights a significant Coast Guard partnership with a South American country to detect, deter and ensure adherence to international maritime norms for fishing. 
 
“It was a unique opportunity to sail together with the Ecuadorian navy, and we were impressed by their professionalism and dedication to the fight against illegal fishing,” said Capt. Brian Anderson, Bertholf’s commanding officer. “This joint operation demonstrates the effectiveness and importance of our international partnerships.” 
 
Following the two month multi-mission Eastern Pacific patrol, Bertholf offloaded more than 26,000 pounds of cocaine Sept. 10 in San Diego; an accumulation from multiple U.S. ships conducting counter narcotic operations in the Eastern Pacific. 
 
Bertholf’s crew entered a three-week long Tailored Ship Training Assessment (TSTA) in San Diego following their patrol. TSTA is a comprehensive evaluation on the crew’s capabilities to respond to a wide-range of scenarios from rescuing a man overboard to battling a fire on the ship. 
 
“I’m extremely proud of the hard work and dedication displayed by the men and women of the Coast Guard Cutter Bertholf, especially in this current environment,” said Anderson. “The crew adapted and implemented new protocols in response to the added risk of COVID-19 exposure in the course of operations. They remained focused on what they needed to do to keep each other safe and effectively accomplish the mission of keeping these drugs off our streets, which will save countless lives.” 
 
To ensure the safety of Bertholf’s crew deploying during the COVID-19 global pandemic, the crew conducted pre-deployment COVID-19 testing, followed by a 14-day quarantine and a second round of testing. The crew maintained social distancing until the results of the second test came back negative. Throughout their patrol, Bertholf’s crew maintained strict health precautions during all interactions with the public and during boardings, including wearing N95 respirators and undergoing intensive decontamination procedures following the completion of each boarding. 
 
Commissioned in 2008, Bertholf was the Coast Guard’s first 418-foot Legend-class national security cutters built, and one of four homeported in Alameda. National security cutters have a crew of more than 150 and are among the largest and most technologically sophisticated vessels in the Coast Guard’s fleet. The cutters can operate globally in the most demanding open ocean environments, from the North Pacific’s hazardous fishing grounds to the Eastern Pacific’s vast approaches, where its crews battle transnational organized crime networks. 

BALTIMORE — Northrop Grumman Corp. was awarded a follow-on production contract for AN/SLQ-32(V)7 Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Program (SEWIP) Block 3 electronic warfare systems by the U.S. Navy on Sept. 30, the company said in an Oct. 2 release. The system is employed on surface combatants to defeat legacy and emerging anti-ship threats using non-kinetic/electronic attack methodologies.  

Northrop Grumman’s approach to this system is centered on a “software defined, hardware enabled” open architecture that quickly integrates with other combat systems while adopting the latest electronic attack capabilities to ensure the system remains ahead of the threat and supports the U.S. Navy’s Distributed Maritime Operations (DMO) concepts of operations. 

The $100.7 million base contract is for the first follow on production lot of AN/SLQ-32(V)7 SEWIP Block 3 systems. The contract has a maximum value of $1.16 billion. The system will be installed initially on Arleigh-Burke class destroyers and is scalable to other ship classes. 

SEWIP Block 3 is the third in a series of incremental upgrades that adds an electronic attack capability to the AN/SLQ-32 electronic warfare (EW) system to defend ships against anti-ship missiles. The program is managed by the U.S. Navy Program Executive Office – Integrated Warfare Systems (PEO IWS). 

“With this follow-on production award, Northrop Grumman will continue to provide game-changing maritime EW capability that will underpin future Fleet Electromagnetic Maneuver Warfare operations” said Ingrid Vaughan, vice president and general manager, maritime/land systems and sensors, Northrop Grumman. “We are writing a new chapter in the evolution of the AN/SLQ-32 that will fundamentally change how the Fleet will win the fight for years to come.”