SAN PEDRO,
Calif. — The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Robert Ward (WPC-1130) returned Aug.
29 from their first patrol of the drug transit zones of the eastern Pacific
Ocean with about 2,800 pounds of seized cocaine, the Coast Guard 11th District
said in a release.

The
cocaine, worth an estimated $38.5 million, was seized by the crews of the
Robert Ward and another Coast Guard cutter patrolling the region. An additional
estimated 3,000 pounds of cocaine, seized by the crew of the Robert Ward in
mid-July in the cutter’s first-ever drug bust, was transferred to the Coast
Guard Cutter Steadfast (WMEC-623) and brought ashore in San Diego last month as
part of a 13-ton bulk offload.

“The
Cutter Robert Ward and three other newly commissioned cutters based in San
Pedro are strengthening the Coast Guard’s safety, security and
counter-smuggling efforts along our coast and in the shipping zones off Central
and South America,” said Rear Adm. Peter W. Gautier, the 11th District’s commander.
“I’m proud of the Ward’s crew and applaud their actions to disrupt the cartels
that profit from crime, addiction and ruin American lives.”

The Robert
Ward, commissioned in March, is one of four newly commissioned fast-response cutters
(FRCs) homeported in San Pedro as part of the Coast Guard’s efforts to
strengthen forces in the region and increase safety, security and emergency
response capabilities. 

“This was
a fantastic patrol,” said Lt. Benjamin Davne, Robert Ward’s commanding officer.
“We helped stem the flow of illegal drugs by seizing and disrupting more than
three tons of cocaine. We saved lives by keeping these drugs off the streets.
Our crew is in friendly competition with other fast-response cutter crews
stationed in other parts of the nation and on our first patrol we are already
credited with the second largest cocaine seizure and disruption rate for any
Coast Guard ship in our class.”

The fight
against drug cartels in the eastern Pacific requires unity of effort in all
phases from detection, monitoring and interdictions, to criminal prosecutions
by U.S. Attorneys in districts across the nation.

The Coast
Guard increased U.S. and allied presence in the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean
Basin, which are known drug transit zones off Central and South America, as
part of its Western Hemisphere Strategy.

During at-sea
interdictions, a suspect vessel is detected and monitored by allied, military
or law enforcement personnel coordinated by Joint Interagency Task Force-South
based in Key West, Florida. The law enforcement phase of counter-smuggling
operations in the eastern Pacific is conducted under the authority of the 11th
Coast Guard District, headquartered in Alameda.

TUCSON,
Ariz. — The U.S. Navy awarded Raytheon Co. a $190 million low-rate initial
production contract for Block 2 versions of the Evolved SeaSparrow Missile, the
company said in a release. ESSM Block 2 missiles feature a new guidance system
with a dual mode active and semi-active radar.

This award
follows the Navy’s decision to shift from development to production on the
enhanced intermediate-range, surface-to-air missile, placing the Block 2
variant on track for initial operating capability next year.

The ESSM
missile is the primary ship self-defense missile aboard Navy aircraft carriers
and large-deck amphibious assault ships. It is an integral component of the
Navy’s layered area and ship self-defense capability for cruisers and
destroyers.

“ESSM
plays a critical role in protecting navy sailors worldwide and our
international partners share our commitment to evolve this missile,” said Mitch
Stevison, Raytheon Strategic and Naval Systems’ vice president.

ESSM is
the foundation of several allied navies’ anti-ship missile defense efforts and
is operational on almost 200 naval platforms worldwide.

The ESSM program is a
cooperative effort managed by a NATO-led consortium made up of 12 nations:
Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Greece, The Netherlands, Norway,
Portugal, Spain, Turkey and the United States.

MOBILE,
Ala. — USNS Puerto Rico successfully completed the first integrated sea trials
for an expeditionary fast transport ship on Aug. 22, the Program Executive
Office Ships said in a release. The ship returned to the Austal USA shipyard
following two days underway in the Gulf of Mexico.

Integrated trials combine builder’s and acceptance trials, allowing for theshipyard to demonstrate to the Navy’s Board of Inspection and Survey the operational capability and mission readiness of all the ship’s systems during a single underway period. During trials, the shipbuilder conducted comprehensive tests to demonstrate the performance of the ship’s major systems.

“The
EPF program continues to be an example of stable and successful serial ship
production,” said Capt. Scot Searles, Strategic and Theater Sealift program
manager, Program Executive Office Ships. “I look forward to seeing EPF 11
deliver in the fall and expand the operational flexibility available to our
combatant commanders.” 

Expeditionary
fast transport ships are noncombatant vessels designed to operate in shallow-draft
ports and waterways, increasing operational flexibility for a wide range of
activities such as maneuver and sustainment, relief operations in small or
damaged ports, flexible logistics support or as the key enabler for rapid
transport. The ships are capable of interfacing with roll-on/roll-off discharge
facilities as well as on/off-loading vehicles such as a fully combat-loaded
Abrams main battle tank.

EPFs
support a variety of missions including the overseas contingency operations, conducting
humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, supporting special operations
forces, and supporting emerging joint sea-basing concepts.

In addition to Puerto Rico,
Austal USA is also currently in production on the future USNS Newport (EPF 12)
and is under contract to build the future USNS Apalachicola (EPF 13) and EPF
14.

THOUSAND
OAKS, Calif. — Teledyne Technologies Inc.’ s subsidiary, Teledyne Instruments
Inc., has been awarded an indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract by
the U.S. Naval Undersea Warfare Center to supply autonomous underwater vehicles
(AUVs) and related monitoring and communications acoustic systems, the company
said in a Aug. 19 release.

The initial
2019 value of the contract is about $5.4 million. The award has a maximum value
of $22.2 million through December 2024, if all contract options are exercised.

Autonomous underwater vehicles can carrying out complex survey missions for commercial, scientific and defense applications. Teledyne AUVs’ modular architecture enables sensors to be easily integrated and battery packs to be exchanged in the field. In addition to powered, self-propelled AUVs, Teledyne provides a wide range of autonomous profiling floats, variable-buoyancy autonomous gliding vehicles, unmanned surface vehicles and inspection-class remotely operating vehicles.

“For more than a decade, Teledyne has been the leading provider of autonomous underwater gliding vehicles to the U.S. government,” said Al Pichelli, president and CEO. “We are exceptionally pleased now to have received our first significant order from the U.S. Navy for Teledyne’s self-propelled autonomous underwater vehicles.”

EDGEWOOD, N.Y. — CPI Aerostructures Inc.’s Welding
Metallurgy Inc. subsidiary (WMI) has been awarded $1.23 million in new requirements
for aerial refueling probe assemblies from Northrop Grumman for new E-2D
Advanced Hawkeye aircraft, CPI said in an Aug. 26 release.

The probe assembly is a long, welded tube assembly that
enables a Navy or U.S. Air Force tanker to provide fuel to the E-2D while in
flight. WMI manufactured several probe assemblies during the system test phase,
and the refuellable version of the E-2D flew for the first time in December
2016 with a probe assembly manufactured by WMI.  

“The E-2D’s refueling capability is transformational, allowing the aircraft to effectively double the time it can stay in the air conducting surveillance and performing its battle management command and control mission,” said Douglas McCrosson, president and CEO of CPI Aero.

“We are pleased to have the opportunity to continue manufacturing this critical component of the E-2D inflight refueling system and bringing WMI’s superior technical and unique production capabilities to bear in support of Northrop Grumman’s commitment to providing the E-2D with increased operational capability.”

SAN DIEGO —
General Dynamics NASSCO, a subsidiary of General Dynamics, was awarded a
contract by the U.S. Navy worth up to $1.6 billion for the construction of the
sixth and seventh ships of the Expeditionary Sea Base (ESB) program as well as
an option for ESB 8, the company said in a release.

“We are
pleased to be building ESB 6 and 7 for our Navy,” said Kevin Graney, president
of General Dynamics NASSCO. “ESBs have proven to be affordable and flexible,
and as the fleet has gained experience with the platform, we have worked with
the Navy and Marines to develop even more capabilities and mission sets.”

The
contract, announced by the Defense Department on Aug. 23, provides $1.08
billion as a fixed-price-incentive modification to a previous contract for the
design and construction of the two ships, with an option for the third that, if
exercised, would bring the total cumulative value to $1.63 billion.

Named
after famous names or places of historical significance to U.S. Marines, ESBs
serve as a flexible platform and a key element in the Navy’s airborne mine
countermeasures mission, with accommodations for up to 250 personnel and a
large helicopter flight deck. The ship’s configuration supports special warfare
and Marine Corps task-organized units.

Work on the two new ships of the ESB program is scheduled to begin in the first quarter of 2020 and will continue to the second quarter of 2023, providing the opportunity to sustain and grow the workforce along San Diego’s working waterfront. NASSCO’s location along the historic San Diego Bay provides shipbuilders and skilled tradespeople with access to the nation’s leading maritime support businesses, and highly trained employees allow NASSCO to build and repair ships in the most efficient manner possible.

In 2011, the Navy awarded NASSCO with a contract to design and build the first two ships in the newly created MLP program, the USNS Montford Point and USNS John Glenn. The program expanded with three more vessels, the USS Lewis B. Puller, USNS Hershel “Woody” Williams and the Miguel Keith, configured as ESBs. Following the delivery of the first four ships to the U.S. Navy, the fifth ship, the Miguel Keith, is scheduled for delivery in the fourth quarter of 2019.

HONOLULU —
The U.S Coast Guard’s two newest national security cutters were commissioned
Aug. 24 during a ceremony presided over by Commandant Adm. Karl Schultz, the
Coast Guard Pacific area said in a release. 

The Coast
Guard Cutter Kimball (WMSL 756) and the Coast Guard Cutter Midgett (WMSL 757)
were “brought to life” at the rare dual-commissioning ceremony in Honolulu,
where the two cutters homeport. Three fast-response cutters also homeport
there. Kimball and Midgett are the seventh and eighth Legend-class national
security cutters in the fleet.

“These
national security cutters will continue our 150 years of partnership and
commitment to the Pacific region — since September 1849, when Revenue Cutter
Lawrence sailed into Honolulu Harbor escorted by Native Hawaiians in outrigger
canoes,” Schultz said. “In today’s complex geostrategic environment with rising
great power competition, the importance and demand for a strong Coast Guard
presence in the Pacific has never been greater.”

Advanced
command-and-control capabilities and a combination of range, speed and ability
to operate in extreme weather enable these ships to confront national security
threats, strengthen maritime governance, support economic prosperity and
promote individual sovereignty.

From the
Bering Sea and the Arctic to patrolling known drug trafficking zones off
Central and South America to working to strengthen the capabilities of our
partners across the Indo-Pacific, national security cutters deploy globally to
conduct essential Coast Guard missions.

Known as the
Legend-class, national security cutters can execute the most challenging
national security missions, including support to U.S. combatant commanders.
They are 418 feet in length, 54 feet in beam and 4,600 long tons in
displacement. They have a top speed of more than 28 knots, a range of 12,000
nautical miles, an endurance of up to 90 days and can hold a crew of up to 150.
These new cutters are replacing the high-endurance Hamilton-class cutters (378
feet) that have been in service since the 1960s.

The Midgett’s
transit to Hawaii was punctuated by two interdictions of suspected low-profile
go-fast vessels in the eastern Pacific Ocean, the first July 25 and a second
July 31. The boardings resulted in a combined seizure of more than 6,700 pounds
of cocaine, estimated to be worth over $89 million.

National
security cutters are responsible for 40% of the 460,000 pounds of cocaine
interdicted by the Coast Guard in the fiscal year 2018. NSC crews have
interdicted more than 92,000 pounds of cocaine to date in the fiscal year 2019.

Midgett is
named to honor all members of the Midgett family who served in the Coast Guard
and its predecessor services. At least 10 members of the family earned high
honors for their heroic lifesaving efforts. Among them, the Coast Guard awarded
various family members seven gold lifesaving medals, the service’s highest
award for saving a life, and three silver lifesaving medals.

The Kimball is the third ship to bear that name, in honor of Sumner Kimball, who served as superintendent of the Revenue Marine and as general superintendent of the Life-Saving Service from 1878 until the two organizations merged in 1915 to become the modern-day U.S. Coast Guard.

“As you take to the seas, you will write the next chapters of the Kimball and Midgett legacies,” Schultz said, addressing the commands and crews of the two cutters on Aug. 24. “I charge you with carrying out the operations of these ships in such a manner as to be worthy of the traditions of self-sacrifice, inspirational leadership and unwavering dedication to duty — traits exemplified by these cutters’ distinguished and storied namesakes.”

NASHUA, New Hampshire — BAE Systems has received a Block 4 modernization
contract award from Lockheed Martin to enhance the offensive and defensive
electronic warfare capabilities of the F-35 Lightning II fighter, BAE said in a
release.

Under the contract, BAE Systems will modernize its AN/ASQ-239 Electronic Warfare/Countermeasures (EW/CM) system to address emerging threats.

“The F-35 will be in service for decades, and we’re
committed to providing our pilots with an AN/ASQ-239 capability that affords a
decisive and sustained EW operational advantage,” said Deborah
Norton, vice president of F-35 Solutions at BAE Systems. “Our robust, modular
architecture enables us to efficiently insert new capabilities, supporting the
next wave of technical innovation while proactively addressing total product
lifecycle sustainability.”

BAE Systems has been the EW supplier for the F-35 program for the past 14 years, designing and developing the Block 1, Block 2 and Block 3 configurations, and delivering production units for each of the Low-Rate Initial Production (LRIP) Lots 1-11. The Block 4 program is a multiyear, multicontract design and development effort that will add 11 new capabilities to the EW system.

BAE Systems has delivered more than 500 F-35 AN/ASQ-239 EW/CM shipsets to date and is matching aircraft production with continual on-time delivery as the program ramps to full-rate production.

WALLOPS
ISLAND TEST FACILITY, Va. — Raytheon Co. and the U.S. Navy completed the first
system-level tests of SPY-6(V)2, the Enterprise Air Surveillance Radar (EASR),
at the Surface Combat System Center at Wallops Island, Virginia, Raytheon said
in a statement.

In the
first test the radar searched for, detected, identified and tracked numerous
targets — including commercial aircraft. In a second exercise, the maturity of
EASR integration enabled the radar to track multiple targets continuously for
several hours during a test involving another system.

EASR, the
newest sensor in the Navy’s SPY-6 family of radars, provides simultaneous
anti-air and anti-surface warfare, electronic protection and air traffic
control for aircraft carriers and amphibious warfare ships.

“Moving
quickly from radar installation at Wallops Island to ‘tracks on glass’ in less
than three months is a major accomplishment,” said Navy Capt. Jason Hall, program
manager for above water sensors, Program Executive Office Integrated Warfare
Systems. “The EASR program is progressing extremely well. We are now one step
closer to production and delivering the radar’s unmatched capability to the
surface fleet.”

Two
variants of EASR are being built: a single-face rotating array designated
AN/SPY-6(V)2 for amphibious assault ships and Nimitz-class carriers and a three
fixed-face array designated AN/SPY-6(V)3 for Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft
carriers and the future FFG(X) guided missile frigates.

Both versions of EASR are built on scalable Radar Modular Assembly, or RMA, technology as well as a software baseline that has been matured through development and test successes of AN/SPY-6(V)1, the Navy’s program of record for the DDG 51 Flight III destroyers. These individual radars can integrate to form arrays of various sizes to address any mission on any ship. EASR also adds air traffic control and weather capabilities to the mature SPY-6 software baseline.

Upon completion of system-level testing in the fourth quarter of 2019, EASR will shift from the engineering and manufacturing development phase to the production phase. The first delivery of AN/SPY-6(V)2 will be to LHA 8, the third America-class amphibious assault ship.

JUNEAU, Alaska — The crew of Coast Guard Cutter Mellon
(WHEC-717) continues their North Pacific patrol in support of Operation North
Pacific Guard (NPG) 2019, protecting living marine resources, enforcing
international fisheries agreements and conducting global security missions, the
Coast Guard 17th District said in a statement.

Since June, Mellon’s crew has conducted 40 boardings and
issued 61 violations. A total of 25 were serious violations because of their
potential to severely impact fisheries and/or blatant disregard for
conservation and management measures. Their most frequent violations were
improper vessel marking (9), illegal shark finning (4) and improper use of or
intentional tampering with the vessel monitoring system (2).

“These fisheries patrols are vital to demonstrating the
U.S. commitment to our regional partnerships while strengthening regional
maritime governance and promoting sustainability of living marine resources,”
said Capt. Jonathan Musman, commanding officer of Mellon.

“I’m extremely proud of the work we’ve done this patrol,
and it’s a direct result of the hard work of this crew as well as the continued
support of our international partners. Together, we’ve put in a lot of hours
and a lot of work, and we’ve seen impressive results because of it.”

Mellon’s deployment is in support of U.S. goals for the
conservation and management of high seas fisheries resources to eliminate
illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing activity from the North
Pacific.

NPG 2019 showcases a multimission effort between the
Coast Guard, NOAA, Alaska Department of Fish and Game, five Pacific Rim
countries and three regional fisheries management organizations. Unlike
previous years’ operations, Mellon has conducted high-seas boardings and
inspections on the North Pacific Fisheries Commission fishing vessels, while
continuing to conduct Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission
boardings.

“We’ve seen a 344% increase in boardings and 867% increase
in violations compared to last year’s operation,” said Lt. Cdr. Kristen
Caldwell, living marine resource program manager for the Pacific Area. “This
increase highlights the significance of employing differing authorities, all
aimed at mitigation of IUU fishing, capitalizing on a highly capable resource
to maximize time on scene and the targeting of IUU vessels.”

NPG 2019 was designed to conduct law-enforcement
operations in support of RFMO in the North Pacific Ocean. Through the North
Pacific Coast Guard Forum and North Pacific Anadromous Fish Commission’s
enforcement coordination process, each partner nation contributes to this
at-sea enforcement effort by providing surface patrols and/or air surveillance.

This operation is in direct support of the National
Security Strategy as it aligns with the tenant of “achieving better outcomes in
multilateral forums” as well as by addressing the risks to sovereignty of
developing nations by China identified in the Indo-Pacific Region. The 2018
National Defense Strategy (NDS) also has identified China as a “strategic
competitor using predatory economics to intimidate its neighbors while
militarizing features in the South China Sea.” A goal of the NDS is to “support
U.S. interagency approaches and work by, with, and through our allies and
partners to secure U.S. interests and counteract this coercion.”

Due to the increasing threat, complexity and diversity of
tactics in IUU fishing, it is critical to ensure oversight and enforcement in
regions in which the United States has jurisdiction and authority to mitigate
the rapidly developing influence of specified fleets known to engage in IUU
fishing. Efforts to increase the ability of the United States to check the
threat of IUU fishing in the Pacific Ocean have been continuous, with the
recent success of the adoption of high-seas boarding inspections (HSBI) for the
Northern Pacific Fisheries Commission and continued efforts in the Western and
Central Pacific Fisheries Commission and North Pacific Anadromous Fish
Commission’s Convention Areas.

During NPG 2019, Mellon embarked two Canadian shipriders
from the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans as well as two aircrews
from Coast Guard Air Station North Bend.

Mellon, a 378-foot high-endurance
cutter with a crew of 150, is homeported in Seattle and routinely deploys in
support of counter-drug and alien migrant interdiction, living marine resources
and search-and-rescue missions.