MOBILE, Ala. — The U.S. Navy commissioned its newest Independence-variant littoral combat ship USS Mobile (LCS 26) during a ceremony in Mobile, Alabama, May 22, said commander, Littoral Combat Ship Squadron One. 

Due to COVID-19 limitations, 400 guests attended the socially distanced ceremony for the littoral combat ship named in honor of the city in which it was built. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Alabama), delivered the ceremony’s principal address. 
 
“The United States has been the greatest source of good in the history of the world and we will continue to be a force for good because of the brave men and women that we have here today,” said Tuberville. 
 
Guest speakers for the event also included Kay Ivey, governor of Alabama, Sandy Stimpson, mayor of Mobile, and James Geurts, performing the duties of the Undersecretary of the Navy. 

“The ships that this city has built are literally sailing on every ocean right now,” said Geurts, referencing ship manufacturer Austal USA, based in Mobile, Alabama. 
 
Rebecca Byrne, president and CEO of The Community Foundation of South Alabama and wife of former Alabama U.S. Representative Bradley Byrne, provided remarks as the ship’s sponsor. 
 
“We have the distinction of the USS Mobile being built and commissioned in its namesake city here in the historic port of Mobile,” said Byrne. “We welcome the ship to the United States fleet that bears our great name and comes on great Navy tradition.” 
 
During the ceremony, Mobile’s commanding officer, Cmdr. Christopher W. Wolff, reported the ship ready and Byrne gave the traditional order to “man our ship and bring her to life!
 
“The commissioning of the fleet’s newest warship is an awesome occasion and with it comes the equally awesome responsibility to prepare ourselves to go forward and conduct our nation’s business,” said Wolff. 
 
The ceremony completed a weeklong series of events celebrating the ship and its namesake city. USS Mobile is the fifth ship named in honor of the port city on Alabama’s Gulf Coast. 
 
Mobile will be homeported in San Diego with sister ships USS Independence (LCS 2), USS Coronado (LCS 4), USS Jackson (LCS 6), USS Montgomery (LCS 8), USS Gabrielle Giffords (LCS 10), USS Omaha (LCS 12), USS Manchester (LCS 14), USS Tulsa (LCS 16), USS Charleston (LCS 18), USS Cincinnati (LCS 20), USS Kansas City (LCS 22), and USS Oakland (LCS 24). 
 
The LCS is a fast, agile, mission-focused platform designed to operate in near-shore environments while capable of open-ocean tasking. The LCS can support forward presence, maritime security, sea control, and deterrence. 

SAN DIEGO – More than 5,000 Sailors and Marines of the Makin Island Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) returned to their San Diego homeport over the weekend, concluding a seven-month deployment to the U.S. 3rd, 5th, 6th, and 7th Fleet areas of operation, the Makin Island ARG Public Affairs/15th MEU Communication Strategy and Operations said. 

Marines with the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), embarked aboard the ships of the ready group, arrived off the coast of Southern California, May 21, to disembark at Camp Pendleton, California. USS Makin Island (LHD 8), USS San Diego (LPD 22) and USS Somerset (LPD 25) will return to port at Naval Base San Diego following the offload. A contingent of 15th MEU personnel will remain aboard ARG shipping for the pier side arrival. 

“I am so proud of the resilience and strength of character our Sailors and Marines displayed while serving our nation across four different fleets,” said Capt. Henry Kim, Makin Island ARG commander. “Despite the additional challenges of protecting a COVID-free bubble within the ARG, our Blue-Green Team determinedly exemplified the mottos of all three ships, ‘Gung Ho!’ ‘Stay Classy!’ and ‘Let’s Roll!’”

The Makin Island ARG is comprised of the amphibious assault ship USS Makin Island, and amphibious transport dock ships USS San Diego and USS Somerset, and led by Commander, Amphibious Squadron Three. The 15th MEU consists of the Command Element; the Aviation Combat Element, Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron (VMM) 164 (Reinforced); the Ground Combat Element, Battalion Landing Team 1/4; and the Logistics Combat Element, Combat Logistics Battalion 15. 
 
The ARG-MEU team departed Nov. 10, after completing a pre-deployment sequester and back-to-back at-sea exercises in October. 
 
“The 15th MEU and Makin Island ARG deployed during an unprecedented pandemic and demonstrated the ability of the Navy and Marine Corps team to successfully and safely execute operations in a COVID-19 environment,” said Col. Fridrik Fridriksson, 15th MEU commanding officer. “I am so incredibly proud of the professionalism, toughness and mental resiliency demonstrated by our Marines and Sailors. They have accomplished great things during this deployment.” 
 
During the deployment, Sailors and Marines supported Operation Octave Quartz (OOQ) in Somalia, Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR) in Iraq and Syria, Theater Amphibious Combat Rehearsals in Kuwait and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and Exercise Northern Edge 2021 in Alaska. 
 
Less than two months into deployment, the ARG-MEU team, operated under U.S. Naval Forces Africa, and supported repositioning efforts in the U.S. Africa Command area of responsibility (AOR). From Dec. 20, 2020 to Jan. 31, 2021, the Makin Island ARG and 15th MEU conducted operations in Somalia and off the coast, as part of the Joint Force Maritime Component Command to Joint Task Force-Quartz, to provide support to OOQ in relocating Department of Defense forces in Somalia to other East Africa operating locations while maintaining pressure on violent extremists and supporting partner forces. 
 
“From aboard the Makin Island ARG, the 15th MEU provided contingency response forces on a 24-hour alert status and security forces to facilitate the safe and expedient repositioning of troops from within Somalia,” said Lt. Col. George Flynn, commanding officer of BLT 1/4, 15th MEU. “Operation Octave Quartz demonstrated the 15th MEU’s ability to flex the entire Marine Air-Ground Task Force to meet combatant commander requirements.” 
 
In U.S. 5th Fleet, from February to March 2021, the ARG-MEU team operated in the Gulf of Aden, Arabian Gulf and the Red Sea, and conducted Theater Amphibious Combat Rehearsals in Kuwait, Ras Al-Khair and Tabuk in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to enhance proficiency and readiness while maintaining a tiered crisis response posture in the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) AOR. Ships of the ARG also participated in Group Arabian Sea Warfare Exercise (GASWEX) 21 with the French Marine Nationale’s Charles de Gaulle carrier strike group. GASWEX 21 was a multilateral maritime exercise in the Arabian Sea and Gulf of Oman with France, Belgium, and Japan, which allowed participating naval forces to effectively develop the necessary skills in maritime security, anti-air, anti-surface, and anti-submarine warfare to address threats to regional security, freedom of navigation and the free flow of commerce. 
 
Additionally, Marine Corps F-35B Lightning II joint strike fighters with Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron (VMM) 164 (Reinforced), 15th MEU, conducted nine OIR missions as part of broader counterterrorism operations. 
 
While operating in U.S. 7th Fleet supporting U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, VMM 164 conducted bilateral operations with the Republic of Singapore Air Force in international waters near Singapore. Somerset participated in La Perouse, a multinational exercise conducted with ships from the Royal Australian Navy, French Navy, and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force. The exercise was designed to strengthen interoperability and enhance cooperation in maritime surveillance, maritime interdiction operations, and air operations amongst all participating nations. 
 
The ARG conducted Expeditionary Strike Force (ESF) operations with the Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group and the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Port Royal (CG 73) in the South China Sea. ESF operations demonstrate U.S. capability to quickly aggregate an integrated naval force to operate all-domain warfare anywhere international law allows. 
 
After returning to U.S. 3rd Fleet, the ARG-MEU team supported Northern Edge 2021 (NE21) from May 3 to 14. Approximately 15,000 U.S. service members participated in a joint training exercise hosted by U.S. Pacific Air Forces on and above the Joint Pacific Alaska Range Complex, the Gulf of Alaska, and temporary maritime activities area. NE21 was one in a series of military exercises designed to sharpen the joint forces’ skills; to practice tactics, techniques, and procedures; to improve command, control and communication relationships; and to develop cooperative plans and programs. 
 
Makin Island, flagship of the ARG, supported every unit’s operations and hosted five embarked units in addition to the MEU, while supporting a broad cross-section of mission areas. 
 
“This deployment has been operationally diverse – from operating in the heat during Operation Octave Quartz to the cold weather for Northern Edge,” said Capt. Tom Ulmer, Makin Island commanding officer. “We have sailed independently as well as formed expeditionary strike forces with partners, allies, and other U.S. forces including the French carrier, Charles De Galle and USS Theodore Roosevelt strike groups. We have conducted operations in all warfare areas, while building a strong Makin Island / 15th MEU team — Team Raider — that excelled in all of our challenges — including overcoming COVID. I am very proud of all our Sailors and Marines for their hard work and dedication. We are excited to be home to reunite with family and friends.” 
 
The ARG-MEU conducted more than 10,000 hours of flight operations, 6,800 launch and recoveries, and traveled more than 135,000 nautical miles of open ocean and restricted water transits.  
 
The Makin Island ARG and 15th MEU provided numbered fleet and combatant commanders with a responsive, flexible and forward-deployed asset capable of maritime power projection, contingency operations and crisis response. Their capabilities enabled the shaping the operational environment to protect the United States and allied interests in any threat environment. 

SAN DIEGO – Construction on the USNS Robert F. Kennedy (T-AO 208) began at the General Dynamics – National Steel and Shipbuilding Company (GD-NASSCO) shipyard, May 21, the Navy’s Program Executive Office – Ships said in a release. 

T-AO 208 will be operated by the Navy’s Military Sealift Command and is the first ship named after the Navy veteran, former U.S. Attorney General and U.S. senator from New York. 
 
“USNS Robert F. Kennedy will provide significant contributions to the fleet, serving as the primary fuel pipeline to refuel ships at sea. The building of the John Lewis-class ships marks an important milestone in enhancing our Navy’s fleet capabilities and providing critical support to our Sailors,” said John Lighthammer, Support Ships, Boats and Craft acting program manager, Program Executive Office, Ships. 
 
The ships are based on commercial design standards and will recapitalize the current T-AO 187 Class Fleet Replenishment Oilers to provide underway replenishment of fuel to U.S. Navy ships and jet fuel for aircraft assigned to aircraft carriers. These ships are part of the Navy’s Combat Logistics Force and will become the backbone of the fuel delivery system. 
 
GD-NASSCO is also currently in production on USNS John Lewis (T-AO 205) USNS Harvey Milk (T-AO 206). USNS Lucy Stone (T-AO 209) and USNS Sojourner Truth (T-AO 210) are under contract. 

A report from the National Academies of Sciences has recommended the U.S. Coast Guard “take a more strategic and accelerated approach to exploit the capabilities of existing and future unmanned systems,” and the Coast Guard agrees.

The report, “Leveraging Unmanned Systems for Coast Guard Missions,” has called on the Coast Guard to engage more with unmanned systems (UxS) and the capabilities they bring to Coast Guard missions. The report acknowledges the service is currently investigating how to use UxS for its 11 statutory mission areas and to introduce their capabilities into the fleet and force structure. 

“As other military services and other operational agencies of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) integrate UxSs into their force structures, the Coast Guard will be impelled to do the same, because it engages in joint and combined operations and missions with these partners,” the document said. “Abundant evidence in this report points to both a compelling need and burgeoning opportunities for the Coast Guard to proceed more aggressively, albeit strategically and deliberately, in leveraging UxS advancements. Indeed, the study committee concludes that to remain responsive and fully relevant to its many missions, it is imperative that the Coast Guard take a more strategic and accelerated approach to exploit the capabilities of existing and future unmanned systems.”

In fact, the report’s authors were “struck by the magnitude and breadth of opportunity that lies ahead for the Coast Guard to pursue UxSs across its multiple operational domains and missions.” However, the report said “those initiatives have been characterized by limited funding spread over many years and the absence of a formal means, or a pacing mechanism, for proactively identifying, investigating, and integrating promising systems.”

The report found that, although the Coast Guard has multiple ongoing UxS initiatives, an opportunity for improvement exists by developing a formal means for identifying, investigating, and integrating promising systems. The report recommended the creation of a high-level UxS strategy.

The service has taken that advice seriously, and responded enthusiastically by establishing an Unmanned Systems Cross Functional Working Group on Dec. 21, 2020, to create a strategic vision for leveraging UxS across Coast Guard missions.

In his 2021 State of the Coast Guard address, Commandant of the Coast Guard Adm. Karl Schultz said the key to spotlighting bad behavior is maritime domain awareness.

“Last fall, our Research and Development Center tested the ability of unmanned surface vessels to augment traditional ship and aviation capabilities for operations in the far reaches of the Pacific Ocean. We learned that the future of our unmanned systems strategy will most likely rely on more diverse systems and effective integration of machine-learning to unlock actionable data for Coast Guard operators,” he said. “These are valuable lessons as we stand up an unmanned system element within our Coast Guard Requirements Shop to consider how unmanned technology can augment our future fleet.”

The UxS Cross Functional Working Group is currently developing the Coast Guard’s strategy for UxS. By leveraging and adapting these technologies, the service envisions achieving increased efficiencies, enhanced personnel safety, and improved mission performance across Coast Guard operations.

The Coast Guard Research and Development Center and the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Science and Technology, through partnerships with the Department of Defense, have been evaluating UxS technologies for several years.

“These research-focused initiatives complement the service’s requirements generation and evaluation, industry engagement, and robust acquisitions processes to ensure multi-mission operational requirements are met by the best-suited capability, including manned, unmanned, and hybrid solutions,” said a Coast Guard spokesperson. “The UxS Working Group is responsible for aligning strategic efforts ranging from the identification and evaluation of emerging technologies to their operational deployment and related doctrine.”

According to Lisa Kirkpatrick, Deputy Assistant Commandant for Capability (CG-7D, the cross-programmatic working group), under the direction of the Assistant Commandant for Capability (CG-7), is comprised of subject matter experts from across the Coast Guard including representatives from the Coast Guard Coast Guard Research, Development, Test & Evaluation and Innovation Program, the Office of Aviation Forces’ Unmanned Aircraft Systems Division, the Office of Requirements and Analysis, the Office of Shore Forces, the Office of Cybersecurity Program Management, and the Directorate for Response Policy.

“The UxS Working Group follows a proven integrated product and process development approach, and will directly inform the service’s next steps to incorporate unmanned systems to increase safety and enhance mission effectiveness across Coast Guard operations,” Haring said.

The Working Group’s accomplishments and lessons learned will inform the potential establishment of a permanent UxS office, and help apply a holistic approach towards UxS across the range of Coast Guard multi-mission operations.

The Royal Navy’s new Type 31 frigates will be an inspiration. According to First Sea Lord, Adm. Tony Radakin, who released the names of the first five ships, the frigates will be known as the Inspiration class.

“Each of the names has been chosen for evoking those values we strive for: cutting-edge technology, audacity and global operations,” Radakin said. “They represent the best of Britain’s world-class shipbuilding heritage and will fly the flag for decades to come.”

According to the Royal Navy statement, the names, which were approved by Queen Elizabeth II herself, will be HMS Active, HMS Bulldog, HMS Campbeltown, HMS Formidable and HMS Venturer.

Each of the names were inspired by noteworthy warships and submarines in Royal Navy service.

• HMS Active: Named after the Type 21 frigate HMS Active which served the Royal Navy from the late 1970s until the mid-1990s. As well as taking part in the operation to liberate the Falklands, supporting the final battles for Port Stanley, Active spent her career deployed in support of Britain’s Overseas Territories and global interests, from tackling drug traffickers to enforcing UN embargos and providing humanitarian aid in the aftermath of natural disasters.

• HMS Bulldog: Named after the destroyer which helped turn the tables in the Battle of the Atlantic thanks to the bravery of her boarding party. They searched stricken U-boat U110 in May 1941 and recovered the Germans’ “unbreakable” coding machine, Enigma, plus codebooks. It gave Britain a vital intelligence lead at a key stage in the struggle to keep its Atlantic lifelines open.

• HMS Campbeltown: Named after the wartime destroyer which led the commando raid at St. Nazaire in France. In March 1942, the ship rammed the dock gates and hidden explosives aboard blew up, wreaking havoc in the port and denying its use to major German warships for the rest of World War II. The action epitomizes the raiding ethos driving the Royal Marines’ Future Commando Force.

• HMS Formidable: Named after the WW II carrier which epitomized carrier strike operations from Norway, through the Mediterranean to the Pacific. She survived kamikaze strikes and took the war to the Japanese mainland with Lt. Cmdr. Robert Hampton Gray earning the last naval VC of the war for his daring sinking of a Japanese destroyer just six days before Tokyo surrendered.

• HMS Venturer: Named after the WW II submarine which sank German U-boat U864 northwest of Bergen, Norway, on Feb. 9, 1945, while both vessels were submerged. Venturer enjoyed a technological and intelligence advantage over her foe thanks to decoded messages indicating the enemy’s location and a superbly trained crew who located and destroyed the U-boat. It was the first time one submarine had deliberately sunk another while submerged.

The names also represent the Royal Navy’s future vision, the statement said. “HMS Active signifies the forward deployment of Royal Navy ships to protect U.K. values and interests, whilst HMS Bulldog is focused on operational advantage in the North Atlantic. HMS Campbeltown symbolizes the ‘raiding from the sea’ focus of the Royal Marines’ Future Commando Force, HMS Formidable recognizes the history of aircraft carrier strike operations and HMS Venturer promotes the navy’s technology and innovation forward-look.”

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) announced on May 21 the availability of $10.8 million in grant funding for the America’s Marine Highway Program (AMHP). The AMHP’s purpose is to encourage the use of America’s 25,000 miles of navigable waterways. It provides an efficient, sustainable and cost-effective transportation system — alleviating road congestion, reducing carbon dioxide, and supporting job employment within local communities. 

“The America’s Marine Highway Program increases the use of environmentally sustainable practices to move freight across our transportation system.” said U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg. “These investments help local communities reduce congestion and create more economic opportunities.” 

The AMHP supports the increased use of our inland waterways to relieve landside congestion, provide new and efficient transportation options and increase the productivity of the surface transportation system.  

Marine highways are all-water routes, often running alongside or near major highways. The AMHP helps to further integrate coastal and inland waterways into our transportation system, providing alternate options to traditional shipping methods. The increased movement of freight by water is also essential to achieving greenhouse gas reductions, as it requires less energy and releases fewer emissions than other options. 

“The America’s Marine Highway Program provides essential funding to support the expanded movement of freight by water, while also supporting port communities on our coasts and inland waterways,” said Acting Maritime Administrator Lucinda Lessley. “By investing in these services, we are able to bolster local communities and generate American jobs.” 

Since its inception, the AMHP has designated 45 marine highway projects, 21 of which are currently operating. Creating new Marine Highway “container on barge” services on commercially navigable waterways helps create American jobs in U.S. ports, vessels, shipyards and surrounding areas. 

For example, since 2010, the Port of Virginia’s 64 Express service, connecting Hampton Roads and Richmond, Virginia via the James River, has removed more than 221,000 cargo containers that would otherwise be carried by trucks along the heavily congested I-64 corridor. This one marine highway service has saved approximately $5.9 million in road maintenance and more than 17.5 thousand tons of carbon dioxide emissions while also supporting 1,100 direct and indirect jobs. 

 Through previous MARAD awards, an investment of over $4 million in federal funding leveraged $436 million in private investment in an economically distressed area near the Virginia Port Authority’s Richmond Marine Terminal. 

Only Marine Highway Projects previously designated by the secretary of transportation are eligible to receive funding under the AMHP.  

Applications for the grants are due by 5:00 P.M. EDT on June 4, 2021. Additional information is available in the Federal Register here or by contacting Fred Jones, Office of Ports and Waterways Planning, 1200 New Jersey Ave., SE, Washington, DC 20590, 202-366-1123 or [email protected].   

It’s a tank! It’s a boat! It’s “Tank Boat!”

The Indonesian Ministry of Defense has ordered a prototype of a new kind of maritime weapons system, the X18 “Tank Boat,” from a consortium composed of Indonesian companies and a European partner.

Patrolling and protecting the Indonesia’s maritime domain is a challenge. Indonesia is a large and populous country, but is spread out among 17,000 islands — many of them sparsely settled or uninhabited — stretching more than 3,100 miles from West Papua in the east and Aceh in the west. Many critical sea lanes pass through Indonesian waters. 

The X-18 prototype has been ordered for the Indonesian Army under what is being called the Antanesa program, but more commonly referred to as Tank Boat. The consortium that built it includes the Indonesian defense and industrial equipment manufacturer PT Pindad, PT Lundin’s North Sea Boats, PT Len Industri, and engineering and electronics firm PT Hariff, as well as the European arms manufacturer maker John Cockerill, which makes turrets for light and medium-weight armored vehicles.

The X18 Tank Boat is a catamaran design for coastal, riverine and inshore operations. Officials believe the well-armed X-18 and can meet a number of maritime patrol, search and rescue, expeditionary and special operations missions with its ability operate in shallow water and land on a beach to offload or pick up troops. Tank Boat has a range of about 600 nautical miles, which allows it to move between Indonesia’s many coastal military bases.

The design isn’t new — North Sea Boats has been working on it for 10 years. The Initial concept of Tank Boat features a 105mm gun, but the current prototype will be equipped with a remotely operated Cockerill Protected Weapon Station (CPWS) turret with a 30mm automatic cannon.

North Sea Boats has experience making composite vessels such as catamarans and landing craft, including an all-composite trimaran fast attack boat built for the Indonesian navy that was destroyed by fire in 2012 before it was commissioned. The company then embarked on construction of a second trimaran that was subsequently halted.

An APC 60 variant will carry up to 60 soldiers and will be armed with a CPWS equipped with a 25- or 30-mm. gun and an EO/IR sensor.

The X-18 is diesel powered and employs waterjets. It has a crew of crew of four or five and will embark a RHIB for boardings or SEAL insertion, and features multi-mission deck for unmanned aircraft, containerized cargo or modular weapons. Designed with a shallow draft, X-18 can operate in swamps, coastal and riverine environments as well in blue water, and can land on a beach to discharge personnel and supplies onto dry land.

The composite catamaran was launched last month at the North Sea Boats facility in Banyuwangi on the eastern tip of Java. Launched on April 28, the first X-18 will undergo builder’s trials and acceptance testing, as well as weapons firing evaluations.

ARLINGTON, Va. — The Navy will commission its newest Independence-variant littoral combat ship, the future USS Mobile (LCS 26), at 10:00 a.m. CDT, Saturday, May 22 in Mobile, Alabama, the Defense Department said in a May 21 release. 

Due to public health and safety concerns related to COVID-19, the commissioning ceremony is private with a limited audience. 

Mr. James “Hondo” Geurts, performing the duties of under secretary of the Navy, and Vice Adm. John Mustin, chief of Naval Reserve, will provide remarks. Rebecca Byrne, president and CEO of The Community Foundation of South Alabama and wife of former Alabama U.S. Representative Bradley Byrne, is the ship’s sponsor. The ceremony will observe a time-honored Navy tradition when Byrne gives the order to “man our ship and bring her to life!” 

U.S. Sen.Tommy Tuberville of Alabama will deliver the commissioning ceremony’s principal address. 

Cmdr. Christopher W. Wolff, a third-generation naval officer, is the ship’s commanding officer and leads a crew of 70 officers and enlisted Sailors. 

“It has been an amazing experience to get to know our namesake city so well, while having the opportunity to live, work, and commission the ship right here in Mobile, where she was built,” said Wolff. “We have definitely felt welcomed into the community and have created a strong connection to the area that I am confident will last. Mobile bills itself as a city that is born to celebrate and the crew has really adopted that philosophy as we celebrate our shipmates every day.” 

The ship is 421 feet in length, has a beam of 103 feet, and a navigational draft of 15 feet. It is powered by two gas turbine engines, two main propulsion diesel engines, and four waterjets to speeds up to 40-plus knots. 

Built by Austal USA in Mobile, Alabama, Mobile was christened Dec. 7, 2019, and delivered to the Navy on Dec. 9, 2020. 

Mobile, the fifth ship to bear the name, is a fast, agile, mission-focused platform designed to operate in near-shore environments while capable of open-ocean tasking and winning against 21st-century coastal threats such as submarines, mines, and swarming small craft. LCS are are capable of supporting forward presence, maritime security, sea control, and deterrence. 

USS Mobile will be homeported at Naval Base San Diego, California. 

The event will be live streamed at https://allhands.navy.mil/Media/Live-Stream/ to offer viewing by the general public. The link becomes active approximately 10 minutes prior to the event (9:50 a.m. CDT). 

Zycraft of Singapore is developing a high-speed unmanned surface vessel (HSUSV) capable of sustained speeds of 35 knots in Sea State 4 carrying a 1,100-pound payload (not including fuel).

The HSUSV has both civil and military applications, from rapid rescue, surveillance of marine accidents, or interdiction of hostile targets. The vessel can be launched from shore or a host platform at sea.

James Soon, Zycraft’s CEO and former commander of the Singaporean navy fleet, said the HSUSV has a number of commercial applications such as responding to ship collisions, hijacking, pollution incidents, air crashes at sea, and search and rescue (SAR). “The HSUSV can provide rapid surveillance in maritime incidents such as for salvage companies that need to get early surveillance and situational awareness to better determine the subsequent response.”

The HSUSV can be used as rapid rescue platform in man overboard situations or other SAR cases by carrying a life saving device or medical evacuation package. Examples of paramilitary applications include surveillance of naval groups, and possibly attack using a weapon, he said.

The vessel is remotely controlled from Zycraft’s operations center in Singapore, but could be controlled from virtually anywhere with satellite connectivity, including a host ship platform.

Sea conditions is a determining factor regarding how fast manned assets can get to the scene. “Currently available high-speed boats use planning hulls, and leap out and slam on the water and therefore cannot go really fast in high waves,” said Soon. 

When manually driven, the driver has to constantly adjust the throttles when meeting large waves. This slows the boat down. Controlling such a boat in an unmanned configuration is problematic because it’s difficult to sense and respond to the waves autonomously.

The Zycraft HSUSV is based on proven wave-piercing racing boat design with a single engine. The hullform can use a waterjet or propeller. The Zycraft HSUSV is currently planned to have a single propeller.

A very slender wave-piercing hull can avoid slamming by cutting through waves instead of travelling over them. “A wave piercing HSUSV is expected to be able to overcome bad sea conditions and reach the scene several times faster than manned assets,” he said. 

“The wave piercing concept has been used by a number of manned boats for a long time, but this is the first time it is being adapted for unmanned. With manned boats, the sudden acceleration and deceleration experienced as the boat pushes through a wave and emerges won’t be felt by an unmanned boat. That is why wave piercing manned boats are not popular,” Soon said. “Imagine being jerked around for days.”

The Zycraft HSUSV has an endurance of at least two weeks at a loitering speed of 5 knots. Soon said the HSUSV is designed to be as small as possible — 11 meters or less — to keep costs down and enable it to be carried by mothership when needed. He said it will have a single point lift for launch and recovery, and will have its own launch and recovery bay for small drones or tethered UAVs to carry cameras or other sensors.

WASHINGTON — The Navy awarded a contract option to Fincantieri Marinette Marine to build its second Constellation Class Guided Missile Frigate, the Program Executive Office Unmanned and Small Combatants (PEO USC) Public Affairs said in a May 20 release. 

“The Navy Program Office is pleased to award the option for the USS Congress (FFG 63) to our industry partner Fincantieri Marinette Marine,” said Capt. Kevin Smith, major program manager for Constellation-Class Frigate (PMS 515). “As the second ship of the Constellation-Class Frigate Program, the USS Congress will provide a highly capable, next-generation surface combatant that our Navy and Nation needs.” 

The future USS Congress (FFG 63) will be built at FMM’s shipyard in Marinette, Wisc. where preparations are being made to begin construction on lead ship USS Constellation (FFG 62). Like its sister ship, FFG 63 will have multi-mission capability to conduct air warfare, anti-submarine warfare, surface warfare, electronic warfare, and information operations. Shipboard systems will include an Enterprise Air Surveillance Radar (EASR) radar, Baseline Ten (BL10) AEGIS Combat System, a Mk41 Vertical Launch System (VLS), communications systems, MK110 57mm Gun Weapon System (GWS) and added capability in the Electronic Warfare/Information Operations area with design flexibility for future growth. 

The Constellation-Class Frigate will be an important part of the Navy’s future Fleet. It represents the evolution of the Navy’s small surface combatant force with increased lethality, survivability, and improved capability to support the National Defense Strategy across the full range of military operations. It will help conduct distributed maritime operations more effectively and improve the Navy’s ability to fight both in contested blue-water and littoral environments. 

The acquisition process for the Navy’s Constellation Class Frigate began in 2017. Since then, the Navy has worked closely with industry to balance cost and capability.