ARLINGTON, Va. — The Marine Corps has decided to cease deploying AAV7 assault amphibious vehicles as well as operating them in water during exercises, the Corps said in a release. 

The decision is a consequence of a fatal mishap on July 30, 2020, with the sinking of an AAV7 off California, resulting in the deaths of eight Marines and a Navy corpsman.  

The AAV7, which entered service in 1972, is the prime amphibious vehicle of the Marine Corps. It has gone through upgrades since. It is being replaced by the Amphibious Combat Vehicle.    

The following statement was released by Maj. Jim Stenger, a Marine Corps spokesman: 

“The Marine Corps stands by the efficacy of the recommendations that came from the multiple investigations into the AAV mishap from the summer of 2020, and with those recommendations implemented and sustained, the AAV is a safe and effective vehicle for amphibious operations.   

“That said, given the current state of the amphibious vehicle program [the program that manages both AAVs and ACVs], the commandant of the Marine Corps has decided the AAV will no longer serve as part of regularly scheduled deployments or train in the water during military exercises; AAVs will only return to operating in the water if needed for crisis response. This decision was made in the interest of the long-term health of the amphibious vehicle programs and future capabilities. The AAV will continue to operate on land; 76% of its tasks are land-based. In doing so, we reserve the capability to reverse this decision should the need arise. 

“The Marine Corps will continue deployments with myriad lethal capabilities which currently exist, and we remain committed to fielding the Amphibious Combat Vehicle. 

“ACVs were temporarily suspended from open-ocean waterborne operations as we worked to solve an issue that was identified with the towing mechanism. We expect that issue to be resolved soon and for ACVs to return to the water early in the New Year.” 

SAN DIEGO — Austal USA has finalized a deal to establish a repair facility in the Port of San Diego, the company said Dec. 15.  

The deal includes a long-term lease of a waterfront site in National City adjacent to Naval Base San Diego. Austal USA’s 15-acre site will focus on ship repair for U.S. Navy, Military Sealift Command and U.S. Coast Guard ships. The site will be centered on a newly built dry dock designed to efficiently dock small surface combatants and similar sized ships.    

“This agreement marks a major milestone in the continued growth of Austal USA’s services business. When the dry dock is delivered, we will be able to provide the Navy a highly capable full-service repair facility located in the homeport of San Diego,” Austal USA President Rusty Murdaugh said. “We know how valuable this additional repair facility is to our customers, the Navy, Coast Guard, and Military Sealift Command, and we are ready to meet the growing demand. We are also looking forward to working closely with the National City community as we expand our presence in the area.” 

Austal USA will establish a full-service ship repair capability providing maintenance and modernization for small surface combatants, unmanned and autonomous vessels, and other ships. The site will include a dry dock optimized to execute availabilities on littoral combat ships and other small surface combatants. Services will include technical and material support, topside work, and drydocking availabilities. The new facility will enable more availabilities to be completed in their home port of San Diego reducing the strain on the fleet and Sailors.   

This lease agreement follows a string of maintenance contract awards for Austal USA. In August, the Navy awarded Austal SEC East and West contracts positioning the company to service all Littoral Combat Ships. In November, Austal received a contract to provide services and support for LCS deployed to the Western Pacific and Indian Ocean. These contracts are the result of the company’s significant investment in and continued focus on growing its service business and centers in Mobile, San Diego and Singapore. 

MIAMI — Coast Guard, U.S Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations and U.S. Border Patrol officers stopped three human smuggling attempts and detained 100 people between Dec. 12 and Dec. 14, the Coast Guard 7th District said in a release.

Coast Guard and CBP AMO officers detained 43 people at sea, and one suspected smuggler was transferred to Homeland Security Investigation officers for further investigation, Sunday, off the coast of Jupiter, Florida. Additionally, 26 people were apprehended by Border Patrol officers after a maritime smuggling event landed in the vicinity of Ocean Blvd.

Coast Guard and CBP AMO officers detained 28 people of various nationalities at sea, and the case is under investigation by Homeland Security Investigation officers, Dec. 14, off Pompano’s coast.

Additionally, two landings happened off Pompano Beach, Dec. 12 and Dec. 14, and approximately 26 people were not apprehended.

“Human smuggling is dangerous and illegal,” said Rear Adm. Brendan McPherson, commander of Coast Guard 7th District and director of Homeland Security Task Force-Southeast. “Smugglers exploit vulnerable people for profit with no regard for their safety. We work hard, along with our dedicated local law enforcement and fellow DHS partners, to protect all lives on and offshore.”

“Air and Marine Operations has the duty to patrol the waters around the Florida Straits, and along with our partners, we work every day to defeat the efforts of smugglers who have little regard for the human suffering they cause,” said Gerald Burgess, spokesman for Air and Marine Operations, Southeast Region. “Together with DHS partners, we work to keep the waters safe and secure.”

Those intercepted at sea are transferred or repatriated to their country of origin.

Homeland Security Task Force-Southeast is a standing task force that provides the organizational framework to detect a mass migration event or other contingency operation, facilitate the assignment of roles to participating agencies, and establishes processes for intra-departmental and inter-departmental collaboration. Partners within HSTF-SE routinely conduct a broad range of readiness activities, including periodic surge operations and exercises.

ARLINGTON, Va. — Marine Corps Stand-In Forces are needed in the contested sea lanes and littorals of the Western Pacific as the leading edge of a maritime defense-in-depth that can disrupt the plans of potential adversaries, according to the Corps’ commandant.

The Marine Corps recently released A Concept for Stand-in Forces, which maintains that small but lethal, resilient, forward-postured forces, operating in contested areas — capable of transitioning rapidly from competition to crisis to conflict and back again — can extend the reach of the fleet and joint force.

Depending solely on a stand-off force of large vessels 1,000 miles away from China “works right into their strategy,” Gen. David Berger told a Dec. 14 virtual “fireside chat” with the Center for New American Security, a Washington think tank. “They’ll be exactly where they want to be five years from now.”

The People’s Liberation Army Navy likes to build a bubble or shield within a contested area, Berger said, and “push it way, way out and then operate without being seen. That’s perfect for them. That’s what happened in the South China Sea.”

That’s why a stand-in force of small, highly mobile Marine expeditionary units, dispersed in contested areas by numerous smaller, cheaper, low signature surface vessels is necessary, Berger said. “How are you going to sense what’s in front of us every day? How are we going to assure  our partners and allies? We have to be there, up close and forward”. The concept paper said Stand-In Forces would be supplied by expeditionary advanced bases.

Berger was asked how such forward-deployed units, even armed with long-range precision fires, could avoid a fate like the advanced naval and air base at Wake Island, which fell to the Japanese 80 years ago.

“Wake Island only happened because we couldn’t see it coming early enough. We have to be forward as a Stand-In Force. We have to be the eyes and ears of the joint force,” Berger said.

Wake Island, an uninhabited atoll in the Central Pacific, more than 2,000 miles west of Hawaii, was home to a half completed aircraft and submarine base in early December 1941, as war with Japan threatened. Wake was defended by an understrength battalion of 449 Marines, a handful of Navy and Army personnel and a dozen Marine Corps Grumman F4F Wildcats, all but four of them destroyed in a Japanese air raid just hours after Pearl Harbor was attacked. The base had no radar equipment.

Marine shore batteries and the remaining Wildcats repulsed a Japanese naval assault on Dec. 11. Two Japanese destroyers and a submarine were sunk, 21 aircraft shot down and several other Japanese vessels were damaged. However, Wake Island’s defenders were overrun by a second naval assault and surrendered on Dec. 23, 1941. Before the surrender, a Navy task force sent as relief mission to Wake was recalled under still controversial circumstances.

“The chance of a 21^st century Wake Island goes up if we do not have the ability to do sensing forward, the ability to strip away an adversary’s eyes and ears,” Berger said, calling for reconnaissance measures that would also counter Chinese surveillance efforts. “The balance of sensors has to be from the satellite all the way down to terrestrial. All of it, so that nothing happens in front of us without us knowing it, without us understanding it.”

“The Stand-In Force that we’re working on isn’t just Marines,” the commandant said. It could also include the Coast Guard and Special Operations, he said. “It could be the subsurface fleet, allies and partners — all of them forward — and Wake Island doesn’t happen.”

ARLINGTON, Va. — The Navy’s down-select of a company to manufacture the Compact Rapid Attack Weapon is expected in February 2022, a defense industry official said. 

David Portner, Northrop Grumman’s senior program manager for undersea weapons, said during a Dec. 15 interview with Seapower he expects the contract for building the CRAW will be awarded in March 2022 after the down-select decision. Northrop Grumman in competing for the production contract.  

The CRAW is an offensive version of the Very Lightweight Torpedo developed by Penn State Applied Physics Lab. The defensive version is known as the Counter Anti-torpedo Torpedo, which differs from the CRAW only in its software. 

Northrop Grumman submitted its response to the October request for proposals at the end of November. At issue is the selection of the company with the best readiness and capability to build the CRAW in production quantities, taking the non-production-designed VLWT prototype — designed by Penn State Applied Physics Lab — into a production design and developing it as an All-Up Round CRAW suitable for manufacturing. Other Transactional Authority will be used to deploy the torpedo to the fleet.  

The nine-foot-long VLWT is one third of the size of the Mk54 — the Navy’s most advanced light-weight torpedo — and weighs just over 200 pounds, compared with the 608-pound Mk54. With this weight advantage, a platform can carry more torpedoes or carry the same number at longer ranges and give the platform more endurance. The VLWT could be carried by surface, airborne, and undersea platforms, manned and unmanned.  

Portner said in an earlier interview the VLWT could be carried by such anti-submarine aircraft as P-8A maritime patrol aircraft, MH-60R helicopters and MQ-8 Fire Scout unmanned aerial vehicles. During an Advanced Naval Technology Exercise in 2018, Northrop Grumman demonstrated the deployment of a VLWT from a surrogate helicopter simulating a Fire Scout.  

The torpedo is fitted with a parachute to reduce the shock of impact with the water. The VLWT also could be fitted with a glide wing kit similar to the one on Boeing’s HAAWC (High-Altitude Anti-submarine Weapon Concept), which is in development to extend the launch range and altitude as well as precision guidance for the Mk54 torpedo.  

Portner said the VLWT also could be deployed from a vessel such as a littoral combat ship by way of an unmanned surface vehicle or unmanned underwater vehicle. He said the light weight of the CRAW, compared with the MK54, would enable a platform to carry more weapons the same distance or the same number of weapons to a greater range or endurance.  

If selected, Northrop Grumman would build the CRAW components in Salt Lake City, Utah, with a key supplier in Colorado. Final integration would be accomplished in Annapolis. Maryland, Portner said.  

NAVAL BASE VENTURA COUNTY, Calif. — The Navy conducted a joint ground-breaking and ribbon-cutting ceremony Dec. 8 for the first purpose-built and co-located facilities for unmanned maritime vehicle testing, Program Executive Office Unmanned and Small Combatants Public Affairs said in a Dec. 14 release. 

Located on Naval Surface Warfare Center Port Hueneme Division, at Naval Base Ventura County, the facilities will accommodate testing, evaluation, and technology demonstration for Extra-Large Unmanned Undersea Vehicle and Unmanned Surface Vessel prototypes. 

“These facilities will be the focal point of Navy learning and experimentation on the capabilities, operations and sustainment of Unmanned Maritime Vehicle prototypes to inform future programs,” said Capt. Pete Small, Program Manager, Unmanned Maritime Systems (PMS 406). 

PMS 406, within the Program Executive Office Unmanned and Small Combatants (PEO USC), oversees the XLUUV, Large USV, Medium USV programs and their advanced technology capabilities. 

The ribbon-cutting recognized completion of modifications to the existing Littoral Combat Ship Mission Package Support Facility (Building 1392) that will house the XLUUV prototypes, and personnel who will perform test and evaluation and training on the vehicles, which are in fabrication under a contract with Boeing. The ground-breaking recognized the start of construction of the modular administrative building for the newly established Unmanned Surface Vessel Division One and Unmanned Undersea Vehicles Squadron One personnel who will operate and maintain the unmanned vehicle prototypes. 

In addition to five Orca XLUUV prototypes, the NBVC Port Hueneme site will eventually accommodate one MUSV, two Sea Hunter USV and four Overlord USV prototypes. NBVC is ideally suited for these facilities with ready access to open-water instrumented ranges, multimodal expeditionary transportation capabilities, proximity to Navy and industry hubs, and synergies with other tenant commands. 

NASHUA, N.H. — BAE Systems has received a $493 million contract modification from Lockheed Martin to significantly upgrade and modernize the electronic warfare system for the F-35 Lightning II, enabling the fifth-generation fighter to quickly detect and address evolving electromagnetic threats in contested battlespaces, BAE Systems said Dec. 15. 

Under the contract, BAE Systems will deliver enhanced and highly capable core hardware for the F-35’s high-performance EW mission system, known as AN/ASQ-239, and will provide engineering support services and test infrastructure. The upgraded system will improve superior situational awareness and electromagnetic attack and countermeasure capabilities with new sensors and more powerful signal processing. 

“The capabilities we will deliver in this contract are foundational and will be leveraged to other platforms to ensure all warfighters have the most advanced EW capability at the ready,” said Lisa Aucoin, vice president of F-35 Solutions at BAE Systems. “The highly adaptable mission system will allow our warfighters to outpace evolving threats and defend democracy around the globe.” 

The enhanced electronic warfare system’s robust design will enable rapid future upgrades, aligning with the U.S. Department of Defense’s strategy for continuous capability development. The system’s modular architecture will also allow for efficient hardware upgrades that reduce lifecycle and retrofit costs, and support faster software updates across the global F-35 fleet. The system also includes the Non-Intrusive Electronic Warfare Test Solution fault isolation and diagnostics capability, which enables precise troubleshooting that further reduces maintenance costs. 

BAE Systems is a major global partner to Lockheed Martin on the F-35 program. In addition to delivering world-class EW systems, the company also manufactures the aft fuselage, active inceptor control system, and vehicle management computer for each F-35 at state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities in the United Kingdom, Australia, and U.S. The company also provides sustainability, technical support, and training services to keep the F-35s mission-ready. 

ARLINGTON, Va. — The most challenging aspect of designing large unmanned surface vessels for the Navy is building reliability of its systems, a senior defense industry official said. 

“We can solve the autonomy challenge,” said Kevin Knowles, senior manager of strategic growth and USV team lead for Northrop Grumman Mission Systems, in a Dec. 14 interview with Seapower, discussing the company’s participation in the concept designs for the Navy’s Large USV and Medium USV. “How do we improve reliability, to put a ship to sea without a crew.” 

Knowles noted an Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer has a crew of about 300, with a third of those devoted to keeping the ship running. Without a crew preforming the routine preventative maintenance and repairs, reliability of systems in a USV becomes even more paramount, he said. Even when optionally manned, most of the personnel on board would oversee force protection.  

The Navy is planning on adding to its fleet the LUSV and MUSV. The LUSV essentially will be a missile shooter, with banks of vertical launch systems. The smaller MUSV is intended for a reconnaissance and surveillance role, with an array of sensors, many of them in containers that can be switched out. 

Northrop Grumman is teamed with two of the design teams awarded concept design contracts for the LUSV. Not a shipbuilder, its contributions would be most notable in mission systems and payloads. The team lead primes are Austal USA, Huntington Ingalls, Lockheed Martin, Fincantieri, Bollinger and Gibbs & Cox.  

Knowles said a second challenge is the deliberate pace at which the Navy is proceeding with the programs, keeping the defense industry pressed to keep up. He noted some in Congress think the Navy is moving too fast, encouraging it to prove the technology before production. 

He said the Navy will use a land-based test site at the Naval Surface Warfare Center Philadelphia Division to integrate and test the propulsion and other systems planned for the LUSV. 

Developments in aviation also are being factored in as solutions to design challenges. Knowles said components of systems developed for the F-35 Lightning II strike fighter can be adapted to the USVs, offering the advantages of light weight and low energy usage. 

The LUSV and MUSV likely will emerge with a common control system, he said, possible with many aspects of the Common Control System in work for the Navy’s unmanned aerial systems. 

Another challenge for LUSVs and MUSVs is repair at sea. Such concepts as fly-away teams dispatched to the vessel could be considered.  

Knowles praised the Navy’s program office, PMS-406, for keeping the prime contractors informed with the latest data and requirements needed for their designs. 

WASHINGTON — The State Department approved a possible Foreign Military Sale to Greece of Multi-Mission Surface Combatant ships and related equipment for an estimated $6.9 billion, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said Dec. 10. 

Greece has asked to buy four MMSC ships and associated systems and equipment including combat management systems, sensors, communications equipment, weapons, weapon launchers, munitions and boats.  

The sale also would include “software delivery and support, facilities and construction support, publications and technical documentation, personnel training and training equipment, U.S. government and contractor engineering, technical and logistics support services, test and trials support, studies and surveys and other related elements of logistical and program support,” the announcement said.   

“This proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States by helping to improve the security of a NATO ally, which is an important partner for political stability and economic progress in Europe,” the announcement said. “The proposed sale will improve Greece’s capability to meet current and future threats by providing an effective combatant deterrent capability to protect maritime interests and infrastructure in support of its strategic location on NATO’s southern flank. This acquisition, which will be awarded to the winner of an international competition for Hellenic Navy frigate modernization, will enhance stability and maritime security in the Eastern Mediterranean region and contribute to security and strategic objectives of NATO and the United States. Greece contributes to NATO operations in Kosovo, as well as to counterterrorism and counter-piracy maritime efforts. Greece will have no difficulty absorbing these articles and services into its armed forces. 

“Implementation of this proposed sale will require the assignment of approximately eight additional U.S. government and 22 U.S. contractor representatives to Greece to support engineering and logistics support for the production and integration of Hellenic Future Frigates into the Hellenic Navy fleet,” the DSCA said. 

The principal contractor will be Lockheed Martin of Bethesda, Maryland. Lockheed Martin is the prime contractor for the Saudi Multi-Mission Surface Combatant program.   

GULF OF AQABA — U.S. Naval Forces Central Command began operationally testing a new unmanned surface vessel in the Gulf of Aqaba Dec. 12 as part of an initiative to integrate new unmanned systems and artificial intelligence into U.S. 5th Fleet operations, the fleet’s public affairs office said Dec. 13. 

NAVCENT commenced exercise Digital Horizon while launching a Saildrone Explorer USV into the water for the first time from the Royal Jordanian naval base in Aqaba, Jordan. Last month, U.S. and Jordanian naval leaders announced the base would become a joint hub for Saildrone operations in the Red Sea. 
 
“These are exciting times for Task Force 59 as we team with the Royal Jordanian Navy to establish our hub for Red Sea operations in Aqaba and deploy some of our new maritime robotics,” said Capt. Michael Brasseur, commander of NAVCENT’s new task force for unmanned systems and artificial intelligence. 
 
The Saildrone Explorer is a 23-foot-long, 16-foot-tall USV reliant on wind power for propulsion. The vessel houses a package of sensors powered through solar energy for building a shared picture of the surrounding seas. 
 
“Our Saildrones leverage machine learning and artificial intelligence to enhance maritime domain awareness, extending the digital horizon with a sustainable, zero-carbon solution,” said Brasseur. 
 
After establishing Task Force 59 in September, NAVCENT is in the early stages of integrating unmanned systems and artificial intelligence into the U.S. 5th Fleet operational environment. 
 
In October, the task force integrated and evaluated new MANTAS T-12 USVs alongside crewed ships in the Arabian Gulf during exercise New Horizon. On Dec. 4, the task force initiated at-sea operational tests for a MANTAS T-38 USV off the coast of Bahrain. 
 
Ongoing evaluations of new unmanned systems in U.S. 5th Fleet help drive discovery, innovation and fleet integration. The U.S. Navy is learning important lessons that will inform future operational employment. 
 
The Middle East region’s unique geography, climate, and strategic importance offer an ideal environment for unmanned innovation through multilateral collaboration. The area includes the world’s largest standing maritime partnership, Arabian Gulf, Red Sea, Gulf of Oman and parts of the Indian Ocean.