NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) has entered into an agreement to acquire Hydroid Inc., a provider of advanced marine robotics to the defense and maritime markets and a U.S.-based indirect subsidiary, wholly owned by Kongsberg Maritime, HII announced. 

In conjunction with the transaction, HII and Kongsberg Maritime are also establishing a strategic alliance to jointly market naval and maritime products and services to the U.S. government market and, potentially, to global markets. 

Hydroid, which is based in Pocasset, Massachusetts, will become part of HII’s Technical Solutions division. The acquisition of Hydroid expands HII capabilities in the autonomous and unmanned maritime systems market. 

The transaction is subject to regulatory review and customary closing conditions and is expected to close in the first quarter of 2020. The value of the transaction is $350 million, which will be effectively reduced by tax benefits that are preliminarily valued over $50 million, to be received by HII. 

“We are very excited about bringing Hydroid into the HII family and establishing a strategic alliance with Kongsberg Maritime,” said Mike Petters, HII’s president and CEO. 

“Hydroid’s advanced capabilities and reputation for excellence in autonomous and unmanned maritime systems provide the perfect complement to our existing unmanned operations, including Proteus in Panama City and our partnership with Boeing to produce the Orca XLUUV. This transaction, along with the strategic alliance with Kongsberg Maritime, demonstrates our long-term commitment to the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Coast Guard and our national security customers and allies globally.” 

The strategic alliance between HII and Kongsberg Maritime leverages the companies’ combined capabilities and resources to enhance their respective services and product offerings to the Navy, Coast Guard and other national security customers. The companies will also explore opportunities to market each other’s products to customers on a global scale and to collaborate to create innovative solutions and additional opportunities for growth. 

Kongsberg Maritime is a wholly owned subsidiary of Kongsberg, which is headquartered in Norway. The group delivers advanced technology systems and solutions to clients within the defense and aerospace market and commercial maritime market. 

Since 2001, Hydroid’s REMUS line of unmanned underwater vehicles (UUV) has provided rapidly deployable solutions for use in defense, marine research and commercial applications. Hydroid specializes in UUV design, engineering, production and support. 

Huntington Ingalls Industries is America’s largest military shipbuilding company and a provider of professional services to partners in government and industry. For more than a century, HII’s Newport News and Ingalls shipbuilding divisions in Virginia and Mississippi, respectively, have built more ships in more ship classes than any other U.S. naval shipbuilder.

HENDERSON, Western Australia — Austal Limited’s shipyards and service centers in Australia have been approved to bid for and provide support services, including ship repairs, maintenance and sustainment activity for U.S. Navy and Military Sealift Command ships, according to the company. 

With the agreement of boat repair (ABR) now in place, Austal’s Australian operations may now bid to provide emergent repair services to deployed U.S. ships, including the Austal designed and constructed Independence-class littoral combat ships. The ABR also allows Austal to bid for maintenance and repair of MSC ships deployed to the region, to include the Austal designed and constructed Spearhead-class expeditionary fast transport (EPF) vessels. 

Austal CEO David Singleton said the approval from the U.S. Navy demonstrates Austal’s global capability to provide OEM support to major naval fleets. 

“With this approval, Austal can provide a range of vessel repairs, maintenance and in-service support to U.S. Navy and MSC ships operating throughout South East Asia,” Singleton said. 

“As the designer and builder, no one knows the Independence-class LCS or Spearhead-class EPF better than us, and we’re naturally very pleased and proud to now have the opportunity to provide local support for these vessels to the U.S. Navy, as opportunities arise,” he said. 

The approval from the U.S. Navy allows Austal to bid for work on U.S. naval vessels that may visit Australia, including Cairns in Queensland, Darwin in the Northern Territory or Fremantle (Henderson) in western Australia. 

Austal has delivered 10 Independence-class LCS to the U.S. Navy since 2010 and continues to construct six vessels at the Austal USA shipyard in Mobile, Alabama. A total of 19 Independence-class LCS have been contracted, along with 14 Spearhead-class EPF’s, 11 of which have been delivered to the American Navy. 

PASCAGOULA, Miss. — The guided-missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald is underway to conduct comprehensive at-sea testing, marking a significant step in its return to warfighting readiness, Naval Sea Systems Command said Feb. 3. 

The ship departed Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Ingalls Shipbuilding’s Pascagoula shipyard to conduct a series of demonstrations to evaluate that the ship’s onboard systems meet or exceed Navy performance specifications. Among the systems that will be tested are navigation, damage control, mechanical and electrical systems, combat systems, communications and propulsion. 

The underway reflects nearly two years of effort in restoring and modernizing one of the Navy’s most capable warships after it was damaged during a collision in 2017 that claimed the lives of seven Sailors. 

“Since we launched the ship this past April, our efforts have focused on restoring ship systems, conducting pierside tests and readying the ship for sea,” said Rear Adm. Tom Anderson, NAVSEA director of surface ship maintenance and modernization, and commander of the Navy Regional Maintenance Center. 

“The government and industry team has been working hand-in-hand on this exceptionally complex effort, with a common purpose of returning Fitzgerald to sea and ultimately back to the Fleet.” 

When Fitzgerald returns to the shipyard, crew training and certifications will start as final work items are completed in support of the ship’s sail away later this spring. 

“We are excited to take the next step to get Fitzgerald back out to sea where the ship belongs. My crew is looking forward to moving onboard the ship and continuing our training to ensure we are ready to return to the fleet,” said Cmdr. Scott Wilbur, Fitzgerald’s commanding officer. 

After receiving its full complement of basic and advanced phased training, as well as crew and ship certifications, the USS Fitzgerald will return to the Fleet mission-ready with the improved capability and lethality required to successfully support high-end operations. 

MCLEAN, Va. — The U.S. Navy’s Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) has awarded BAE Systems Inc. a prime position on a $212 million contract to integrate and sustain its critical communication systems, the company said in a release. 

The company will design, acquire, integrate and test radio systems for newly constructed guided-missile destroyers (DDGs) and other Navy and U.S. Coast Guard ships.  

Additionally, the company was awarded a separate $104.7 million contract by NAWCAD to provide engineering and technical services to support production, lifetime-support and in-service engineering for the radio communications C5ISR (command, control, communications, computers, combat systems, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance) systems aboard Navy surface combatants and at shore sites. The work will be focused primarily on the CG 47-class and DDG 51-class Aegis ships. 

“Maintaining reliable lines of communication and situational awareness for those at the forefront of national security is a mission-critical priority for BAE Systems and our customers,” said Mark Keeler, vice president and general manager of BAE’s Integrated Defense Solutions business. 

“We’re proud to continue supporting the integration of combat systems and solutions for the U.S. Navy as they defend against advanced air, surface and subsurface threats.”

Middletown, R.I. — Rite-Solutions has been awarded a new contract by the Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Newport with a potential value of $71.5 million over the next five years, the company said in a release. 

The company will provide engineering and technical services to the Undersea Warfare Electro Magnetic Systems Department, including systems engineering, integration and test, fleet support, and lab support for the Navy’s imaging and electronic warfare systems.  

“This is the largest single award contract in Rite-Solutions’ 20-year history,” said Joe Marino, chairman of the company’s board of directors and a Rite-Solutions founders.   

“This award is a game-changer for Rite-Solutions and will expand our ability to provide critical engineering expertise to the Navy,” said Dennis McLaughlin, president and CEO. “Further, this adds to our impressive string of contract awards over the past three years.”   

The contract will be performed in the Newport, Rhode Island, area as well as at critical facilities and Naval bases worldwide supporting both development and fleet response requirements in areas where the Navy has indicated a significant need. 

Ken Haner, Rite-Solutions’ senior vice president and director of engineering services, and Mike Coffey, executive vice president and general manager, who teamed up to lead the contract capture, emphasized its importance to the company. 

The submarine force has been working to increase its capabilities in the electronic warfare domain. This contract award allows Rite-Solutions to support those efforts and solidifies its role as a leading provider of undersea warfare systems and software engineering to the Navy. 

BOSTON — U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Seneca returned home to Boston on Jan. 28 after a 57-day deployment to the Caribbean Sea, the Coast Guard 1st District said. 

During the patrol, Seneca rescued 187 Haitian Migrants, conducted countless hours of training exercises with Coast Guard Air Stations Jacksonville and Clearwater and spent several weeks as a law enforcement presence in the southern Caribbean aided by Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron Jacksonville. 

In late December, the Seneca crew intercepted an overloaded Haitian sail freighter. Coordinating a joint response with the Turks and Cacaos Royal Police, the two agencies rescued all 187 Haitian nationals from the vessel. 

“I am exceptionally proud of this crew and their success and achievements,” said Cmdr. John Christensen, commanding officer of the Seneca. 

“Over the course of the last two months, they persevered through the challenges of conducting operations at sea, put aside their personal sacrifices, particularly throughout the holiday season, and displayed an unwavering commitment to serving the United States and our partner nations throughout the Caribbean Sea.” 

Coast Guard Cutter Seneca is a 270-foot medium-endurance cutter with a crew of 100. Seneca missions include counter-narcotics, migrant interdiction, search and rescue and living marine resource operations from the Gulf of Maine to the Pacific Ocean. The cutter was commissioned in 1987.

McLean, Va. — The U.S. Navy’s Naval Information Warfare Center (NIWC Pacific), in partnership with the U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC), has awarded Booz Allen Hamilton a $178 million contract to provide technical engineering services toward the modernization of advanced GPS systems, the company said in a release.  

The NIWC Pacific Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) Division is the Navy’s principal research and development center for navigation sensors and systems. SMC is the center of technical excellence for developing, acquiring, fielding and sustaining resilient and affordable military space systems. 

By executing this contract, Booz Allen will continue to serve as a key mission partner for NIWC Pacific and SMC on the important endeavor of modernizing PNT systems for U.S. and allied warfighters. 

Booz Allen will provide a range of essential services, including system definition, requirements synchronization, capability improvement, cybersecurity engineering, platform integration and testing and acquisition program management. Specifically, Booz Allen’s work will aid in the development and modernization of GPS systems through major programs such as Military GPS User Equipment, GPS III and Next Generation Operational Control System. 

“Booz Allen’s robust track record of work in both systems engineering and cybersecurity continues to inspire trust from our clients,” Vice President Brian Zimmermann said. “Our deep bench of leaders and technical experts reassures our clients that no project is too big or too complex. It’s our privilege to help the Navy and Air Force modernize GPS systems that are so vital to the security of our nation.” 

SAN DIEGO — The U.S. Coast Guard and Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego launched the Blue Technology Center of Expertise on the Scripps Oceanography campus with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and expo on Jan. 24, the Coast Guard 11th District said in a release. 

Rep. John Garamendi (D-Calif.); Rep. Scott Peters (D-Calif.); Rep. Mike Levin (D-Calif.); UCSD Chancellor Pradeep Khosla; Port of San Diego Commissioner Marshall Merrifield; and Coast Guard Deputy Commandant for Mission Support Vice Adm. Michael F. McAllister spoke at the event to celebrate the partnership between Scripps Institution of Oceanography and the Coast Guard.  

“The Blue Technology Center of Expertise will better connect the Coast Guard with the tremendous government, academic and industry innovation ecosystem in the San Diego area,” McAllister said. “It will create a unique pipeline for the rapid identification and implementation of new maritime technologies into critical Coast Guard operations around the globe.” 

Blue technology is any technology, system or platform designed for use above, on or below the surface of the ocean that can support or facilitate Coast Guard maritime domain awareness, search and rescue, emergency response, maritime law enforcement, marine inspections and investigations. The Coast Guard was authorized to establish the Blue Technology COE by the 2018 Save Our Seas Act. 

A COE is a group of people from different disciplines who work together to increase performance and efficiency in certain areas. The Blue Technology COE will enable sharing of information between the Coast Guard and the private sector, other federal agencies, academia and nonprofit organizations. 

Scripps Institution of Oceanography is a leading center for marine research and education, with an emphasis on innovation dating back to World War II. The institution is home to significant programs such as the Coastal Data Information Program, an extensive network for monitoring waves and beaches along the U.S. coastlines, and HF-Radar Network, a near real-time ocean surface current measurement network of shore-based radar systems.

As the last commanding officer of the USS Pittsburgh said
Jan. 17, “the old must be replaced by the new.” And with that salutation, the
crew of the Los Angeles fast-attack submarine, past commanding officers, Navy
League members and supporters bid farewell to the boat during its inactivation
ceremony at the U.S. Naval Undersea Museum in Keyport, Washington.

The USS Pittsburgh Relief Crew under the auspices of the
Pittsburgh Council has provided significant support to the submarine over its
35 years of active service. Though the boat, named for the city in
Pennsylvania, has been deactivated, a scholarship sponsored by the council for
current or past crew members and dependents of the sub will live indefinitely
at the Pittsburgh Foundation, a Pittsburgh metropolitan area philanthropy
organization.

The ceremony was the crew’s final event before their ship
is decommissioned and stored at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton,
Washington.

“The backbone of any crew, of any service member, is the
family that supports them at home,” said Jason Deichler, the 14th and final
commanding officer of the USS Pittsburgh, who himself is a Pittsburgh native.

“To the families of current and crewmembers here today,
thank you. The power of your faces, smiles, family grams, small tokens and love
enable the strength required for the impossible tasks we ask the crew to
perform. It is what sets us apart in many ways from the armed services of other
nations. We know the faces of our family, and we work to truly honor them.”

Carol H. Sawyer, a professor of organizational leadership
at University of La Verne, California, also spoke of what it’s meant for her to
have been the submarine’s sponsor and a part of the Pittsburgh family since the
ship’s commissioning in December 1984.

“It means that every day for 35 years, I have embodied
the gratitude of the American people. In my very person, in who I am, I have
literally lived our gratitude for the commitment, the service, the
professionalism, the sacrifice and the patriotism that I have witnessed,”
Sawyer said.

Rear Adm. Douglas Perry, commander of Submarine Group 9,
and a prior crew member aboard Pittsburgh, served as the ceremony’s guest
speaker.

Pittsburgh completed its
last deployment on Feb. 25, 2019. Then the boat and her crew made their first
arctic transit for a final homeport change from Groton, Connecticut, to
Bremerton, arriving on May 28 to begin the inactivation and decommissioning
process. Pittsburgh is the fourth U.S. Navy vessel to be named for the city of
Pittsburgh.

McLEAN, Virginia — The U.S. Navy has awarded BAE Systems a prime position on a five-year, $34.9 million indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract to provide life cycle sustainment and technical support for the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division’s (NAWCAD) Special Communications Mission Solutions Division, the company said in a Jan. 23 release. The contract was awarded through the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division Contracting Office.  

“For more than 40 years, BAE Systems has been the contractor of choice for life cycle sustainment and technical support for NAWCAD’s Special Communications Mission Solutions Division,” said Mark Keeler, vice president and general manager of BAE Systems’ Integrated Defense Solutions business. “As a leading systems integrator, we understand the need for quick-reaction field support to ensure our military customers are mission ready and maintain a tactical edge.”  

Through this award, BAE Systems will support and sustain variety of C5ISR (command, control, computers, communications, cyber, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance) systems embedded within vehicles, watercraft and specialized communications platforms in the NAWCAD inventory. The company’s C5ISR efforts will include maintaining and upgrading command, control, communications, computers, cyber, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance systems, integrated and networked to improve the situational awareness of military operators and decision makers. Work on this program will be performed in forward deployed mission locations include Central Command and Africa Command Areas of Responsibility.