SAN DIEGO — General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. (GA‑ASI) concluded a set of maritime test flights over the sea-lanes off the coast of Southern California on Sept. 11, using the MQ-9B SeaGuardian Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS), the company said in a Sept. 14 release. 

This was the first MQ-9B configured for surveillance operations over open-water and served to demonstrate MQ-9B capabilities in the maritime environment. 

“The SeaGuardian’s debut demonstrated persistent situational awareness in the maritime domain for our customers,” said Linden Blue, CEO of GA-ASI. SeaGuardian is an MQ-9B SkyGuardian configured for maritime ISR (intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance) mission. 

The Southern California test flight demonstrated how SeaGuardian can be used for a variety of maritime missions, including surface search, subsurface search, littoral surveillance, anti-piracy and search and rescue. MQ-9B is all-weather capable, and compliant with STANAG 4671 (NATO Airworthiness type-certification standard for UAS). This feature, along with its operationally proven collision-avoidance radar, enables flexible operations in civil (including ICAO) airspace. 

The aircraft onboard sensors included the GA-ASI Lynx Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), a Raytheon Intelligence & Space SeaVue Expanded Mission Capability radar, a Raytheon Intelligence & Space Multi-Spectral Targeting System, a Leonardo Electronic Support Measure/Electronic Intelligence SAGE 750, a Shine Micro Automatic Identification System (AIS), an Ultra sonobuoy receiver and a General Dynamics Mission Systems–Canada sonobuoy processor. 

INDIAN HEAD, Md. — Naval Surface Warfare Center Indian Head Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technology Division (NSWC IHEODTD) announces its new name, Naval Surface Warfare Center Indian Head Division (NSWC IHD). The name change reflects not only an alignment with its other warfare center counterparts, but also better represents the broader scope of activities at the command. 

The command is the only warfare center that included a function in its title, a result of the 2013 merger of then two separate Warfare Center Divisions (Indian Head and EOD Technology). Each of the other nine warfare centers are named only after their geographic location. 

“An unforeseen consequence of our old ‘merged’ name was that it gave a limited impression that the only activity at the command is EOD. While our name was obviously inclusive to that mission, it excluded many of the other capabilities at the command such as cartridge actuated devices and propellant actuated devices; chemical, biological and radiological defense; energetics systems engineering; research, development, test, and evaluation; and production,” said NSWC IHD Technical Director Ashley Johnson. 

“This name change does not change our staffing or dedication to our critical EOD Department mission. It does not change who we are as a command. We are still the Navy’s premier facility for ordnance, energetics and EOD solutions. What does change is the streamlining of our name to align with the rest of our NAVSEA family, and an expansion of the perception to external entities of our command as a whole,” said Capt. Scott Kraft, NSWC IHD commanding officer and deputy executive manager for DoD EOD Technology. 

The command has the largest workforce in the DoD dedicated to EOD and energetics and is home to more than 2,000 employees, approximately 70 of which hold doctorates. NSWC IHD also has eight detachments including sites in Picatinny, N.J.; Rock Island, Ill.; McAlester, Okla; Ogden, Utah and employees stationed throughout the world. The command’s unique synergy and balanced capabilities address all aspects of the energetic technical discipline to include basic research, applied technology and technology demonstration, and prototyping. 

NSWC IHD — a field activity of the Naval Sea Systems Command and part of the Navy’s Science and Engineering Establishment — is the leader in ordnance, energetics, and EOD solutions. The Division focuses on energetics research, development, testing, evaluation, in-service support, and disposal; and provides warfighters solutions to detect, locate, access, identify render safe, recover, exploit, and dispose of explosive ordnance threats. 

ARLINGTON, Va. — The Navy has laid out the planned configuration of its carrier air wings of the future in a presentation to a convention of active and retired naval aviation personnel.  

Speaking Sept. 11 at the Virtual Hook convention webinar of the Tailhook Association, Rear Adm. Gregory N. Harris, director of Air Warfare in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, addressed the future and specified to some degree the numbers and types of aircraft in the future air wing envisioned by the end of the 2020s.  

As illustrated in a PowerPoint slide, the future wing would still include 44 strike fighters as it does now, but the mix of Block 4 F-35C Lightning II fighters and Block III F/A-18E/F Super Hornet fighters changes from 10 and 34, respectively, to 16 and 28. The strike fighters would equip one 16-aircraft F-35C squadron and three F/A-18E/F squadrons totalling 28 Super Hornets.   

The other aircraft in the wing would include five-to-seven EA-18G Growler electronic combat aircraft, five E-2D Advanced Hawkeye command-and-control aircraft, six-to-ten MH-60 Seahawk helicopters, three CMV-22B Osprey carrier-onboard delivery aircraft, and five-to-nine MQ-25 Stingray aerial tanker unmanned aircraft.   

Next year, USS Carl Vinson will deploy, taking a 10-aircraft F-35C squadron (Strike Fighter Squadron 147) on the aircraft’s first carrier deployment. The ship also will carry two 10-aircraft F/A-18E squadrons and one 14-aircraft F/A-18F squadron, according to a source.  

The deployment also will mark the first for the CMV-22B.   

The second carrier deployment of the F-35C is scheduled in 2022 by Marine Fighter Attack 314.   

NEW LONDON, Conn. — The U.S. Coast Guard Academy continues to be featured as one of the nation’s top institutions of higher learning this year in prominent college rankings, the academy said in a Sept.14 release. 

The U.S. News & World Report and Princeton Review annual college rankings are a comprehensive look at how accredited four-year colleges and universities in the U.S. compare in a set of widely accepted indicators of excellence in higher education. 

This year the Academy ranked #1 in the overall Regional Colleges North and in the Top Public Schools Regional Colleges North categories in the 2021 U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges magazine. The academy was also ranked 2nd in the Most Innovative Schools, 4th in Best Undergraduate Teaching and 11th in the Best in Undergraduate Engineering Programs categories in the same publication. 

The Princeton Review also ranked the academy in their annual Best 382 Colleges publication, a listing of the top 15% of colleges and universities in America. The U.S. Coast Guard Academy offers a quality higher education experience that emphasizes leadership, physical fitness and professional development leading to a guaranteed job upon graduation as an officer in the United States Coast Guard. 

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — The Coast Guard Cutter Winslow Griesser (WPC-1116) repatriated 30 of 31 migrants to a Dominican Republic Navy vessel Sept. 11, following the interdiction of two illegal migrant voyages Monday and Thursday in the Mona Passage west of Puerto Rico, the Coast Guard 7th District said in release. 

The two migrant groups claimed to be Dominican Republic nationals. One of the migrants interdicted Monday remains in U.S. custody facing criminal immigration charges in Puerto Rico. 

The interdictions are the result of ongoing multiagency efforts in support of Operation Caribbean Guard and the Caribbean Border Interagency Group CBIG. 

“The crew of the Robert Yered performed exceptionally well during the interdiction of two illegal migrant ventures totaling 31 people,” said Lt. Harrison Carter, cutter Robert Yered commanding officer. “These dangerously overloaded and unseaworthy vessels with no lifesaving equipment onboard were only found and interdicted through the hard work and effective collaboration between the Coast Guard and partner agency crews involved in these cases.” 

The first interdiction occurred during a routine patrol Monday morning, when the crew of a Coast Guard Clearwater HC-130 aircraft detected an illegal migrant voyage, approximately five nautical miles west of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico. 

The migrant group was traveling aboard a 20-foot makeshift boat that was transporting 10 men and two women. The crew of cutter Robert Yered safely embarked the migrants for safety of life at sea concerns. 

The crew of a Puerto Rico Police Joint Forces of Rapid Action marine unit interdicted a second illegal voyage Wednesday night, approximately seven nautical miles offshore from Isabela, Puerto Rico. The migrant group was traveling aboard a 28-foot makeshift boat with 19 men aboard. 

After embarking the migrants in each case, the crew conducted biometrics processing, which revealed the criminal history for the migrant who is facing federal prosecution.     

Once aboard a Coast Guard cutter, all migrants received food, water, shelter and basic medical attention. Throughout the interdiction, Coast Guard crewmembers were equipped with personal protective equipment to minimize potential exposure to any possible case of COVID-19. There were no migrants in these cases reported to have any COVID-19 related symptoms. 

Cutter Robert Yered rendezvoused with and transferred the migrants to the cutter Winslow Griesser for their transport to Dominican Republic territorial waters off Punta Cana, Dominican Republic for their repatriation. 

Cutters Robert Yered and Winslow Griesser are 154-foot fast response cutters homeported in Miami and San Juan, Puerto Rico, respectively. 

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — In its first ceremony celebrating the U.S. Navy’s newest fast-attack submarine in front of a virtual audience, Huntington Ingalls christened pre-commissioning unit Montana (SSN 794) Sept. 12 at the company’s Newport News Shipbuilding division, the company said in a release. 

Due to COVID-19 restrictions on the size of public gatherings, the christening ceremony was hosted virtually at Newport News’ Module Outfitting Facility. 

“Yes, we are disappointed we couldn’t host the normal pomp and circumstance today, and that our shipbuilders and their families couldn’t be here in person to witness history. But as shipbuilders, we know the show must go on,” said Jennifer Boykin, president of Newport News Shipbuilding. “Our work doesn’t stop for a pandemic, just as the Navy’s mission never ends. It is our honor, our duty and our calling to keep the wheels of shipbuilding turning, and in doing so, bring Montana one step closer to her ultimate mission of defending the United States of America.” 

Boykin also applauded the work and craftsmanship of more than 10,000 shipbuilders from Newport News and its partner, General Dynamics Electric Boat who continue to assemble Montana. She also acknowledged the support of the supplier base — more than 5,000 companies in all 50 states — that provided parts and materials critical to Montana’s construction. 

Former Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell, the ship’s sponsor, smashed a bottle of sparkling wine across the bow to mark the christening of the submarine that honors the state of Montana. 

“I am grateful to the shipbuilders and dedicated Navy officers and crew for building and readying Montana for service to our nation and the world,” Jewell said. “It is a privilege to bless and christen this incredible submarine, and to join the current and future submariners as their shipmates for life.”  

The virtual event included pre-taped segments where maid of honor Mariah Gladstone, of the Blackfeet Nation in Montana, recited a Native American blessing and members of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, of Flathead Indian Reservation, performed a traditional Native American honor song. Rep. Robert C. Scott, of Virginia; members of the Montana congressional delegation including Sens. Jon Tester and Steve Daines, as well as Rep. Greg Gianforte; and General Dynamics Electric Boat President Kevin Graney also offered pre-recorded remarks celebrating the ship’s milestone. 

Vice Adm. Richard P. Snyder, the Navy’s inspector general, also was in attendance. 

In his keynote address, Acting Undersecretary of the Navy Gregory J. Slavonic said: “Montana will enhance our fleet with next generation stealth, surveillance and special warfare capabilities. This powerful platform is proof of an ironclad relationship between the Navy and industrial partners who form the backbone of our maritime strength. While this submarine has the capacity to project power on the surface and undersea, it’s important to recognize the people in every stage of bringing this ship to life because our people make a difference. Montana is proof of what teamwork of all the people – civilian, contractor and military – can accomplish together.” 

PCU Montana is the second Navy warship bearing the state’s name. The first USS Montana (ACR 13) was an armored cruiser built at Newport News Shipbuilding and launched in 1906. During the ceremony, a replica of the bell that sailed on the first Montana was rung. The bell will be formally presented to the crew at the ship’s commissioning and will be part of the submarine for its entire service life. 

“Today is an exciting day for the Navy and the crew as our sponsor christened the Navy’s newest Virginia-class submarine, the Montana,” said Capt. Mike Delaney, commanding officer of the pre-commissioning unit. “While the coronavirus precluded most of the crew’s participation in this ceremony, it in no way diminishes the great accomplishment. I couldn’t be prouder of the way the crew of Montana alongside our shipbuilding partners have adapted to the new normal and focused on responsibly living up to our mission. This is not all too surprising given the innate resiliency and toughness I’ve seen my whole career in the submarine force. This submarine, like all the individuals who have contributed to getting it to this major milestone, will stand as a reflection of strength through adversity.” 

Three of Montana’s crew members hail from the state of Montana. 

Construction of Montana began in 2015 under a teaming agreement with Electric Boat. The submarine achieved pressure hull complete earlier this year and is about 85% complete. Montana is scheduled for delivery to the Navy in late 2021. 

NASHUA, New Hampshire — BAE Systems has been awarded a contract from Lockheed Martin for the production and delivery of additional electronic warfare (EW) systems for Lot 15, Lot 16 long lead, sustainment spares and retro fit kits for the 5th Generation F-35 Lightning II, providing advanced situational awareness and threat response capabilities that support critical missions in contested airspace, the company said in a Sept. 14 release. 

“Our goal is to deliver capabilities that provide warfighters with a distinct advantage on the battlefield,” said Deborah Norton, vice president of F-35 Solutions at BAE Systems. “This contract underscores our partnership with Lockheed Martin and our collective commitment to deliver affordable, sustainable, and world-class electronic warfare systems to combat evolving threats.” 

The contract follows BAE Systems’ production and delivery of more than 500 EW systems for the F-35 as a key system partner, matching Lockheed Martin’s airframe production. BAE Systems supports all stages of the product’s lifecycle, from development and production to sustainment. The company is actively designing and developing new capabilities to enhance the system’s offensive and defensive capabilities and maintains its readiness for warfighters under a performance-based logistics sustainability contract. 

BAE Systems is committed to delivering affordable EW systems to its customers with speed and agility. The company has strategically invested in state-of-the-art manufacturing, workforce development, and supply chain excellence to ensure that advanced systems are delivered to meet urgent customer needs. 

BAE Systems’ engineers have a deep understanding of the electronic warfare environment and the challenging conditions our customers face. The company continues to build on decades of experience designing, qualifying, delivering, and sustaining systems for the most advanced aircraft in the world to dominate the future EW battlespace. 

ARLINGTON, Va. — Despite rapid advances in artificial intelligence (AI), including the recent defeat of a  human fighter pilot in a virtual dogfight, AI won’t replace combat pilots, but team up with them in the future, a top U.S. Defense Department research and engineering official says.

An AI algorithm developed by Heron Systems, operating an F-16 simulator defeated an experienced F-16 fighter pilot in all five rounds of virtual air combat Aug. 20. The Alpha Dogfight Trials were the culmination of a year-long competition originally involving eight teams, as part of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Air Combat Evolution program.

“I don’t see human fighter pilots being phased out. I see their effectiveness being enhanced by cooperation with artificial intelligence systems,” Dr. Mark J. Lewis, the Acting Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, DUSD(R&E), said Sept. 10 at the virtual Defense News Conference.

While the simulation’s conditions were not a completely realistic version of aerial combat — the Heron system did maneuvers and took shots no human pilot would – its 5-0 score in five matches was an impressive step in research on automation in air combat and developing trust in AI systems.

 “The key takeaway was the artificial intelligence system did so well because it wasn’t so concerned about self-preservation.  It was willing to do things that a human pilot wouldn’t do and that’s the advantage of artificial intelligence,” said Lewis, who as acting deputy undersecretary oversees DARPA activities. “And so, I think the real answer is teaming AI with the human for the combination of both. I’m pretty confident we’re going to have human pilots into the future,” said Lewis, who is also Director of Defense Research and Engineering for Modernization.  

A day earlier, at the opening of the Pentagon’s Artificial Intelligence Symposium, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said the AI-controlled competitor’s victories was “an example of the tectonic impact of machine learning on the future of warfighting.” Esper said DARPA’s simulations will continue in a “real-world competition” with full-scale tactical aircraft operated by human pilots versus AI in 2024.

Rather than replacing humans, “we see AI as a tool to free up resources, time, and manpower so our people can focus on higher priority tasks, and arrive at the decision point, whether in a lab or on the battlefield, faster and more precise than the competition,” Esper said.

Acting DARPA Director Dr. Peter Highnam sounded a similar note Sept. 9, at the Unmanned Systems Defense, Protection, Security virtual conference hosted by the Association of Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI).  The agency’s original vision for AI, he said, was “to turn a room full of metal teletypes, spinning tapes and computers into that wingman, that trusted partner.” 

SAN DIEGO — The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Bertholf (WMSL-750) offloaded more than 26,000 pounds of seized cocaine and marijuana in San Diego, Sept. 10, the Coast Guard 11th District said in a release. 

The drugs, worth an estimated $390 million, were seized in international waters of the Eastern Pacific Ocean. They represent 13 suspected drug smuggling vessel interdictions off the coasts of Mexico, Central and South America between late May and late August by the following Coast Guard and Navy ships: 

• The Coast Guard Cutter Bertholf (WMSL-750) crew was responsible for two interdictions seizing approximately 6,700 pounds of cocaine. 
• The Coast Guard Cutter Stratton (WMSL-752) crew was responsible for three interdictions seizing approximately 6,000 pounds of cocaine. 
• The Coast Guard Cutter Confidence (WMEC-619) crew was responsible for two interdictions seizing approximately 50 pounds of cocaine. 
• The Coast Guard Cutter Decisive (WMEC-629) crew was responsible for one interdiction seizing approximately 1,900 pounds of cocaine. 
• The Coast Guard Cutter Venturous (WMEC-625) crew was responsible for one interdiction seizing approximately 1,100 pounds of cocaine. 
• The Coast Guard Cutter Tampa (WMEC-902) crew was responsible for two interdictions seizing approximately 1,600 pounds of cocaine and 3,650 pounds of marijuana. 
• The USS Kidd (DDG-100) with embarked Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment (LEDET) was responsible for one interdiction seizing approximately 500 pounds of cocaine. 
• The USS Preble (DDG-88) with embarked Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment (LEDET) was responsible for one interdiction seizing approximately 4,400 pounds of cocaine. 

Speakers at the Bertholf drug-offloading event included Director Jim Carroll, Office of National Drug Control Policy, Mr. Robert Brewer, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of California, Adm. Karl Schultz, commandant of the United States Coast Guard, and Capt. Brian Anderson, Coast Guard Cutter Bertholf commanding officer. 

The offload from the Bertholf follows the August 27, 2020, offload of more than 11,500 pounds of seized suspected cocaine and 17,000 pounds of marijuana from the Coast Guard Cutter Hamilton (WMSL-753) in Port Everglades representing 10 interdictions in the same region. So far in fiscal year 2020, the Coast Guard has made more than 171 interdictions, seized more than 282,000 pounds of cocaine, 57,000 pounds of marijuana, and detained more than 391 suspected smugglers in drug transit zones of the Eastern Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. 

“I’m extremely proud of the hard work and dedication displayed by the men and women of the Coast Guard Cutter Bertholf, especially in this current environment,” said Anderson. “The crew adapted and implemented new protocols in response to the added risk of COVID-19 exposure in the course of operations. They remained focused on what they needed to do to keep each other safe and effectively accomplish the mission of keeping these drugs off our streets, which will save countless lives.” 

On April 1, U.S. Southern Command began enhanced counter-narcotics operations in the Western Hemisphere to disrupt the flow of drugs in support of Presidential National Security Objectives. Numerous U.S. agencies from the Departments of Defense, Justice, and Homeland Security cooperated in the effort to combat transnational organized crime. The Coast Guard, Navy, Customs and Border Protection, FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, along with allied and international partner agencies, play a role in counter-drug operations.  

“The routine during this patrol was different than most, but the U.S. Coast Guard rose to the challenge, as they always do,” said Carroll. “These efforts by our U.S. Coast Guard and United States Navy are critical to reducing the availability of illicit drugs in our country. They are absolutely committed to saving lives, and their work that you see here today will result in lives being saved across the United States.” 

The fight against drug cartels in the Eastern Pacific Ocean requires unity of effort in all phases from detection, monitoring and interdictions, to criminal prosecutions by international partners and U.S. Attorneys’ Offices in districts across the nation. The law enforcement phase of counter-smuggling operations in the Eastern Pacific Ocean is conducted under the authority of the 11th Coast Guard District, headquartered in Alameda. The interdictions, including the actual boardings, are led and conducted by members of the U.S. Coast Guard. 

“These results are unity of effort in action,” said Shultz. “Whole of Government, whole of partnerships, this is what it takes to keep illicit drugs off American streets. We take these drugs down at sea, where they’re most vulnerable, where they’re most susceptible to intercept. In doing that, we break the cycle of those drugs landing in Costa Rica, Panama and Mexico and triggering violence and corruption. That’s why this matters.” 

The Bertholf is a 418-foot national security cutter, commissioned in 2008 and homeported in Alameda. 

MOBILE, Ala. – Austal USA has completed the purchase of waterfront land, buildings, and an existing dry dock along the Mobile River previously owned by World Marine of Alabama, an indirect subsidiary of Modern American Recycling and Repair Services (M.A.R.R.S.) of Alabama, Austal said in a Sept. 11 release. The purchase enhances the company’s new construction and service business lines. 

“As we’ve consistently done over the course of our history, we’re adding capability to meet the growing demand from our customers” Austal USA President Craig Perciavalle said. “Our business remains focused on continuing to manufacture highly capable and cost-effective ships while providing world-class global services and support to our customers.” 

The purchase includes the 20,000 ton ‘Pete B’ Panamax-class floating dry dock, 100,000 square feet of covered repair facilities, and 15 acres of waterfront property along the Mobile River and Gulf of Mexico. The move places Austal USA adjacent to M.A.R.R.S. and enables better collaboration with the company on its core recycling efforts. 

The acquisition further increases Austal USA’s growing steel and aluminum business portfolio that includes U.S. Navy multi-ship contracts for the Independence-variant Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) and the Expeditionary Fast Transport (EPF), research and development on unmanned and autonomous surface vessels, and an expanding global services business in San Diego and Singapore. 

Austal USA has delivered 22 new-construction ships since 2012 including 11 EPFs and 11 trimaran LCS. Multiple EPF and LCS have deployed around the world with Austal USA providing valuable support to those deployments wherever and whenever needed.