PORTSMOUTH, Va. — The crew of the Coast Guard cutter Tampa returned to their homeport in Portsmouth, Virginia, after a 55-day counter-drug patrol in the eastern Pacific Ocean on July 26, the Coast Guard 5th District said in a release.

The crew of the Tampa interdicted more than 5,200 pounds of cocaine, of which 1,950 pounds was successfully recovered, and 3,600 pounds of marijuana worth a total of $96 million dollars. The crew also detained eight suspected drug smugglers who were transferred to the Department of Justice officials in Port Everglades, Florida, for prosecution.

The Tampa crew executed the counter-narcotics mission in the eastern Pacific, interdicting two low profile vessels as well as contraband jettisoned by a third vessel.

Prior to entering the primary patrol area, the crew conducted a joint operation with the Honduran navy as part of Operation Dominion. The operation involved exercising communications with the Honduras Joint Information Operations Center, operations with a Honduran patrol boat, and providing a law enforcement presence in Honduran territorial seas.

The crew conducted a training assessment with subject matter experts from Afloat Training Organization Norfolk, Virginia, and completed over 55 drills in less than a week to assess the crew’s mission readiness.

To protect the public and service members and preserve operational readiness during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Coast Guard has implemented strict safety measures. All service members are required to follow enhanced sanitation and spacing procedures and wear proper personal protective equipment. Prior to deployment in theater, all Coast Guard cutters conduct a 14-day at-sea quarantine, during which the crew is medically evaluated.

“I am exceptionally proud of what our crew was able to accomplish during this challenging patrol,” said Capt. Michael Cilenti, Tampa’s commanding officer. “Executing a counter-narcotics patrol in the eastern Pacific always comes with a set of unique challenges, and this patrol, in a COVID environment, was no exception. The men and women of the Tampa took these unique difficulties head-on, exceeding all expectations by keeping themselves and each other healthy while rigorously executing the assigned mission. Of course, the exceptional resilience our crew displayed would not be possible without the continued support of our loved ones back home. Their devotion and sacrifices form the foundation for our success, and we could not be more thankful.”

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — U.S. Coast Guard rescue crews ended a four-day search on July 25 night for survivors of a reported sunken migrant boat in the Mona Passage, the Coast Guard’s 7th District said in a July 26 release.

Twelve migrants reportedly remain missing after search efforts revealed no signs of persons in the water nor of a debris field indicative of capsized or sunken vessel.

One survivor, a Dominican man who was rescued by the Coast Guard in Mona Passage waters on July 23, claimed to be traveling with 12 others aboard a migrant boat that was transiting from the Dominican Republic to Puerto Rico when their vessel sank after becoming disabled and taking on water.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the families, friends and loved ones of those who may have been taking part in this reported migrant voyage,” said Cmdr. Beau Powers, Sector San Juan chief of response.

“To anyone in the Dominican Republic thinking about taking part or who may know of someone, do not take to the sea! The lives of the people who entrust ruthless smugglers, who are looking to only make profit, are in great danger. These voyages mostly take part in grossly overloaded and unseaworthy boats, that are constantly taking on water and have little or no lifesaving equipment aboard.”

Coast Guard watchstanders at Sector San Juan were contacted via a VHF Channel 16 radio transmission at about 7 p.m. on July 22 from the motor tanker Coral Energy, requesting search-and-rescue assistance in the area after the crew reported hearing voices coming from the water, while the tanker was transiting approximately 10 miles north of Mona Island, Puerto Rico.

A Coast Guard cutter, Joseph Doyle, diverted to the area and arrived on scene with the tanker, where the rescued man was located by the crew of the Coral Energy. The crew used a spotlight to vector-in the cutter Joseph Doyle to the survivor’s position. The Joseph Doyle came alongside and safely recovered the survivor.

The survivor stated he was able to stay afloat while holding on to two gasoline containers, which caused him to receive chemical burns on his body.

Since July 23, cutter rescue crews conducted 17 air and eight surface searches covering 7,117 square nautical miles within the search area, an area twice the size of Puerto Rico.

Rescue assets participating in the search were: cutter Winslow Griesser; cutter Joseph Doyle; MH-65 Dolphin helicopters from Air Station Borinquen; MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew from Air Station Clearwater, Florida; an HC-144 Ocean Sentry from Air Station Miami; an HH-C-130 Hercules from Air Station Clearwater, Florida; Customs and Border Protection maritime patrol aircraft.

MARINETTE, Wis. — Lockheed Martin and Fincantieri Marinette Marine marked the beginning of construction on Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) 29, the future USS Beloit, with a ceremony in Marinette. As part of a shipbuilding tradition dating back centuries, a shipyard worker welded into the ship’s keel plate the initials of retired Army Maj. Gen. Marcia M. Anderson, USS Beloit ship sponsor and a Beloit, Wisconsin, native. This plate will be affixed to the ship and travel with Beloit throughout its commissioned life.  

LCS 29 will be the 15th Freedom-variant LCS and will join a class of more than 30 ships. To date, four Freedom-variant LCS have deployed to support U.S. Navy presence and peacekeeping missions. In May, LCS 7 (USS Detroit) partnered with a U.S. Navy destroyer and Coast Guard teams to serve interdiction missions in the U.S. Southern Command area of responsibility. 

“With two deployments so far this year, Freedom-variant LCS have proven that they are capable and can serve a unique role in the U.S. Navy’s fleet,” said Joe DePietro, vice president and general manager of Small Combatants and Ship Systems. “LCS’ speed, maneuverability and flexibility allows the ship to serve a multitude of missions by quickly integrating equipment and deploying manned and unmanned aerial, surface or sub-surface vehicles.”  

In total, there are more than 500,000 nautical miles under the keel of Freedom-variant LCS. The ship delivers advanced capability in antisubmarine, surface and mine countermeasure missions, and was designed to evolve with the changing security environment. As near-peer competition from large nation states increases, Lockheed Martin is partnering with the Navy to evolve LCS to meet these threats. Targeted upgrades are already underway with naval strike missiles being installed in support of upcoming deployments. Future installs of improved electronic warfare and decoy launching systems are under development. 

LCS 29 is the first Navy ship to be named after Beloit, Wisconsin, and the ship’s sponsor has personal ties to Beloit. During a long career with the U.S. military, Anderson became the first African American woman to obtain the rank of major general in the U.S. Army and U.S. Army Reserve. As a citizen-soldier, Anderson was employed for 28 years by the United States Courts, where she served as the clerk of the Bankruptcy Court, Western District of Wisconsin, located in Madison, Wisconsin, until her retirement in late 2019. 

“The construction of the Navy’s newest Littoral Combat Ship and naming it after the city of Beloit, with its rich and storied history of supporting our nation’s national security, is more than fitting,” said Anderson. “When completed, the USS Beloit’s voyages will be part of the tradition of small cities and towns in America sharing our story around the world.”   

Beloit is one of six LCSs in various stages of construction and test at the Fincantieri Marinette Marine shipyard.  

“We are proud to celebrate the future USS Beloit today,” said Jan Allman, CEO of Fincantieri Marinette Marine. “The Fincantieri Marinette Marine shipyard is honored to build this capable warship, named for another city from the wonderful state of Wisconsin. I think this is a true testament to the hard work and patriotism of Midwesterners, and we look forward to working with the city of Beloit as we continue building LCS 29 for our U.S. Navy partner.” 

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — The crew of the Coast Guard Heriberto Hernandez (WPC-1114) offloaded approximately 1,375 kilograms of cocaine at Sector San Juan on July 22, following the disruption of a drug smuggling go-fast in the Caribbean Sea, the Coast Guard 7th District said in a release. 

The seized drug shipment is estimated to have a wholesale value of more than $38.5 million. 

The interdiction was the result of multi-agency efforts in support of U.S. Southern Command’s enhanced counter-narcotics operations in the Western Hemisphere and during Operation CASTNET II, in coordination with Joint Task Force East. 

“I’m extremely proud of my crew as well as the performance and reliability of the Coast Guard fast response cutter,” said Lt. Russo, cutter Heriberto Hernandez commanding officer.  “The crew’s proficiency in using all of the cutter’s systems and capabilities throughout our patrol gave us the ability to effectively operate deep inside the Caribbean Sea, which led to this successful outcome and prevented over a ton of cocaine from ever reaching the streets.” 

The disruption and seizure occurred during a patrol the afternoon of July 16, 2020, when the crew of the cutter Heriberto Hernandez came upon a suspect go-fast vessel.  

As the cutter Heriberto Hernandez closed in to interdict the go-fast, the smugglers detected the cutter’s presence and began to jettison multiple bales of suspected contraband while fleeing the area at high speed. The crew of the Heriberto Hernandez conducted a thorough sweep of the area where the jettison occurred, and they were able to recover 55 bales of suspected contraband. The recovered bales tested positive for cocaine. 

The cutter Heriberto Hernandez transported the seized contraband to Sector San Juan, where it was received by awaiting federal law enforcement agents in San Juan, Puerto Rico. 

Cutter Heriberto Hernandez is a 154-foot fast response cutter homeported in San Juan. 

JOINT EXPEDITIONARY BASE LITTLE CREEK, Va. ─ Naval Facilities (NAVFAC) Engineering and Expeditionary Warfare Center (EXWC), U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, U.S. Central Command, and the U.S. Transportation Command successfully completed a proof-of-concept vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) demonstration on July 13, 2020, the NAVFAC EXWC said in a July 20 release. 

With NAVFAC EXWC at the helm as the demonstration lead, the joint capability demonstration included U.S. Central Command, U.S. Transportation Command and the U.S. Marine Corps Warfighting Lab serving as the operational leads for the daylong demonstration, providing operational and development inputs. 

The VTOL demonstration determined whether a VTOL aircraft can land on a forward-deployed barge with fuel stored on deck. The demonstration also supported the Resilient Expeditionary Agile Littoral Logistics, or REALL, objective to provide a low-cost logistics solution for the Department of Defense, as an alternative to placing high-value logistics supply platforms in contested environments. 

The most recent demonstration marks the first of numerous planned technology and operational demonstrations aimed to transition the REALL capability technology to the warfighter. 

“This demonstration is another example of what the great people of NAVFAC EXWC provides for our American warfighters,” said Kail Macias, NAVFAC EXWC technical director. “Speed and agility enable our forces to win the fight. The success of REALL is a tribute to the hard work and collaboration across [the Defense Department].” 

The VTOL demonstration consisted of one MH-60M Blackhawk helicopter — provided by the U.S. Special Operations Aviation Command, Systems Integration Management Office — that landed on the Improved Navy Lighterage System (INLS). The INLS is outfitted to simulate a refueling evolution; INLS systems were provided by Amphibious Construction Battalion Two. 

“The INLS roll-on/roll-off discharge facility is a modular system and is traditionally designed to facilitate movement of rolling stock from ship to shore platforms,” said Lt. Cmdr. Robert Leftwich, Bravo Company commander, Amphibious Construction Battalion 2. “It is a robust and highly capable platform suitable for other uses. Incorporating this legacy system into emergent needs enables more resiliency and responsiveness.” 

The successful VTOL demonstration further advances the National Defense Strategy’s modernization priority on forward force maneuver and posture resilience. 

“As the lead combatant command sponsor and warfighter representative for the REALL project, USCENTCOM’s goal was to demonstrate a littoral logistics sustainment capability for fuel distribution and logistics nodes in support of emerging operational concepts,” Said Thomas Smith, CENTCOM J8-ST chief science advisor for Advanced Concepts.

Looking onward, REALL will be further vetted, with the end goal of providing fuel, water, food and other supplies to vertical takeoff and landing aircraft and seaborne vessels for logistics operations required by the Naval Concept of Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations. 

ANDOVER, Mass. — Mercury Systems Inc. has received $11.7 million in orders against its previously announced $152 million five-year sole-source basic ordering agreement to deliver advanced Digital RF Memory (DRFM) jammers to the U.S. Navy, the company said in a July 22 release. The orders were received in the fourth quarter of the company’s fiscal 2020 year and are expected to be delivered over the next several quarters. 
         
Mercury DRFM jammers are size-, weight- and power-optimized to meet the electronic protection requirements of airborne pod-based solutions and incorporate decades of DRFM technology development, validated electronic attack techniques and custom RF components purpose-built to support advanced electronic warfare test and training capabilities, according to the release. 
         
“Our advanced DRFM systems are a critical tool for providing realistic electronic threats for naval testing, evaluation and training,” said Mark Bruington, vice president of Mercury’s Processing division. “It’s part of our commitment to developing and producing a simultaneous multiple-threat processing system with a flexible architecture that can evolve to keep pace with emerging threats, delivering ‘Innovation That Matters’ to our service men and women in the field.” 

ANDOVER, Mass. — Raytheon Missiles & Defense, a Raytheon Technologies business, delivered the first AN/SPY-6(V)1 radar array for installation on the future USS Jack H. Lucas (DDG 125), the U.S. Navy’s first Flight III guided-missile destroyer. The SPY-6 family of radars performs simultaneous air, missile and surface defense on seven types of U.S. Navy ships. 

“SPY-6 will change how the Navy conducts surface fleet operations,” said Capt. Jason Hall, program manager for Above-Water Sensors for the U.S. Navy’s Program Executive Office for Integrated Warfare Systems. “Our ships will be able to see farther, react quicker and defend against threats in a way we couldn’t before.” 

The 14-foot-by-14-foot modular array was transported by truck from the company’s automated 30,000-square-foot Radar Development Facility in Andover, Massachusetts, to Huntington Ingalls Industries shipyard in Pascagoula, Mississippi. 

“This is the start of what will be a steady stream of SPY-6 array deliveries to the shipyard,” said Kim Ernzen, vice president of Naval Power at Raytheon Missiles & Defense. “Threats to Navy ships are getting smaller and faster. SPY-6 will extend the Navy’s reach against dangers like drones, ballistic missiles, aircraft and unmanned ships.” 

The SPY-6(V) family of radars delivers significantly greater range, increased accuracy, greater resistance to environmental and man-made electronic clutter, advanced electronic protection, and higher reliability than currently deployed radars. 

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Technical Solutions division announced today that it has completed a strategic equity investment in Sea Machines Robotics Inc., a Boston-based autonomous technology company that specializes in advanced software for unmanned surface vessels (USVs). 

“This investment represents our commitment to advanced innovation and competencies across the unmanned systems market,” said Andy Green, HII executive vice president and president of Technical Solutions. “Sea Machines is making significant strides in the USV industry. We want to invest in their growth and continue to form complementary partnerships across this key domain.” 

Sea Machines was founded in 2015 and is an autonomous technology company that specializes in advanced control technology for workboats and other commercial surface vessels. They have installed their innovative autonomy software on vessels worldwide and support customers in the commercial, recreational and government market sectors. Their commercial, off-the-shelf technology can support remote controlled or fully autonomous command of vessels. 

“Our partnership with Sea Machines gives us immediate access to state-of-the art solutions for U.S government work in the USV space,” said Duane Fotheringham, president of Technical Solutions’ Unmanned Systems. “Sea Machines’ products align well with our existing autonomy capabilities, and we look forward to collaborating with their team on USV pursuits.” 

HII continues to expand in the rapidly growing autonomous and unmanned maritime systems industry. Earlier this year they added additional unmanned underwater vehicle capabilities — with REMUS and Seaglider product lines through the March acquisition of Hydroid. While the company has worked on USVs in the past, this investment represents another milestone in their commitment to strengthen their leadership in unmanned systems. 

MIAMI — Coast Guard and Customs and Border Patrol teams halted an illegal voyage, Thursday, about 8 miles east of Delray Beach, Florida, the Coast Guard 7th District said in a July 20 release.  

Coast Guard Station Lake Worth Inlet, Coast Guard Cutter Ibis and CBP law enforcement teams stopped the 25-foot boat. The cutter crew safely embarked 23 Haitian migrants, two who were medically transported for symptoms of severe dehydration.  

The interdicted migrants were turned over to Bahamian authorities for repatriation back to Haiti. 

“These illegal ventures attempting to immigrate to the United States are extremely dangerous because weather and sea conditions can dramatically change and the vessels are not equipped with the required safety equipment for passenger operations putting lives at higher risk of being lost at sea,” said Lt. j.g. Karolina Del Hierro Vega, 7th Seventh District, Enforcement. “Migrants caught attempting to gain access into the U.S. through these illegal voyages will be repatriated to their country in accordance with existing U.S. immigration policy.” 

The Coast Guard and CBP have interdicted approximately 2,500 Haitian migrants who have attempted to illegally enter the U.S via the maritime environment in fiscal year 2020, which began Oct. 1, 2019, compared to 3,499 Haitian migrants in fiscal year 2019. These numbers represent the total number of at-sea interdictions, landings and disruptions in the Florida Straits, the Caribbean and Atlantic Ocean. 

Once aboard a Coast Guard cutter, all migrants receive food, water, shelter and basic medical attention. Throughout the interdiction Coast Guard crewmembers were equipped with personal protective equipment to minimize potential exposure to any possible case of COVID-19. 

POINT MUGU, Calif. — Demonstrating that Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) remains open for business despite the pandemic, Navy leaders and private contractors have broken ground at Naval Base Ventura County’s Point Mugu for what will become the fleet’s only dedicated facility to test, fire and evaluate complete laser weapon systems in a maritime environment, the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Port Hueneme Division (NSWC PHD) said in a release.  

The nearly 18,500-square-foot Directed Energy Systems Integration Laboratory (DESIL) will open in roughly a year along the Point Mugu Sea Range, enabling NSWC PHD to help accelerate delivery of laser lethality to the warfighter at sea, according to the release.

“Thank you to our partners who were able to join us today for this momentous occasion,” said Capt. Ray Acevedo, NSWC PHD’s commanding officer, at the small groundbreaking ceremony. “This lab is a great win for the Navy, and it further affirms that even during a crisis, the Navy and NAVSEA have been, and continue to be, open for business, executing our mission.” 

“The combination of capabilities will be unlike that of any other facility, and will provide customers with a versatile venue for technology maturation and weapon system integration and test. This is a game-changer for the Navy, and will ensure this new technology is well-supported as it becomes a mainstay on naval combatants.” — Robert Harriman, DESIL systems engineer with NSWC PHD

Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division, Naval Air Systems Command operates the 36,000-square-mile sea range, one of the reasons why NBVC was chosen for DESIL, said Thomas Dowd, director of the command’s Range Department, during the ceremony. 

“The value of the Point Mugu Sea Range is that you can put a facility of this nature right on the coastline, and it can operate in the sea range and take advantage of that testing capability,” Dowd said. “The decision to build it here is a recognition of the value of the partnership we have between location, geography, maritime environment and engineering talent at the two centers.” 

Once operating, the facility recreates as realistically as possible how high-energy laser (HEL) weapons behave on a Navy ship platform — customers/users will test how HEL beams perform in sea conditions such as moisture, humidity, salt, fog, differing air densities and temperature changes will affect laser performance; how ships’ systems will power and cool the energy-intense weapons; and will test them by shooting at targets on the sea range and in the air over the sea range. Directed energy (DE) team members will support HEL weapons once installed on ships. DESIL will also serve as a laboratory for integrating, testing and evaluating developers’ new DE and HEL weapon prototypes. 

Also attending the groundbreaking were Jeff Harper, owner and president of Harper Construction Co. Inc. of San Diego, which will build DESIL through a military construction contract, and Cmdr. Andrew Olson with Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC), DESIL design manager.  

NAVFAC prepared DESIL’s request for proposal based on NSWC PHD’s requirements, awarded the design/build contract to Harper and will monitor the construction. The lab’s estimated cost is roughly $23 million. 

Navy In-Service Engineering Agents (ISEA) for ship-based combat and laser systems, will operate DESIL, enabling the lasers to support the fleet as crucial components of the Navy’s maritime superiority strategy. 

“[At DESIL,] the ISEA engineers will recreate issues and investigate [engineering] issues for deployed DE-installed ships and use the lab as a test range asset,” said Marcos Gonzalez, NSWC PHD project lead for DESIL. “It [DESIL] could [also] bring in industry-developed versions of lasers, and developers could perform firing exercises on the test range. We [also] want to make it open to others in the DE world, such as university researchers, because of its unique location, adjacent to the sea range.” 

During the ceremony, NSWC PHD Technical Director Paul Mann discussed DE’s “enormous capability” for all warfighters across all military branches, and that DESIL’s ability to enable weapon systems integration is essential to the Navy’s delivery of that capability. 

“Systems integration is going to allow government, military and industry professionals to come to this facility at Point Mugu and do extraordinary things for our United States and its citizens,” Mann said. “The amazing success that’s going to be hatched and inspired and born at this facility is something we haven’t yet totally imagined. When we are at our most lethal, we deter at our best, so this is an investment in the protection of our United States’ citizens.” 

DESIL has also been designed to handle increasingly more powerful lasers. 

The lab will include space to collaborate with Department of Defense, private industry and academia DE experts; a conference room; offices; and an area for high-velocity learning to potentially train Sailors. 

“The combination of capabilities will be unlike that of any other facility, and will provide customers with a versatile venue for technology maturation and weapon system integration and test,” said Robert Harriman, DESIL systems engineer with NSWC PHD. “This is a game-changer for the Navy, and will ensure this new technology is well-supported as it becomes a mainstay on naval combatants.”