QUANTICO, Va. — The Marines’ annual appeal to industry is focusing
heavily this year on capabilities that would allow distributed Marine Corps forces
to not just survive but persist within the deadly areas created by the kinds of
high-technology weapons that a peer competitor — such as China — can create.

The priorities at the Modern Day Marine exposition were unmanned
systems, man-machine teaming, long-range precision fires, more secure and
alternative forms of communications to counter the adversaries’ demonstrated
abilities to intercept, jam and distort traditional means, and systems that
better integrate with the U.S. Navy — all directives from Commandant Gen. David
H. Berger.

And it all must be lighter, faster and affordable, Lt. Gen.
Eric Smith, the Corps’ top future capabilities officer, stressed.

“We’re looking for autonomy, man-unmanned teaming, we need
to get lighter. … I’m willing to take risks,” Smith, commanding general of Marine
Combat Development Command, told industry representatives on Sept. 17 at the
opening of Modern Day Marine.

Smith repeated the commandant’s guidance that new systems
should be “good, not exquisite. … It’s not an existential threat to use good
enough for a few years until the budget improves.” But the ultimate need is the
ability “to persist in the weapons-engagement zone. Not survive, persist,” he
said.

Panels of the senior officers and civilian officials in the
Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory (MCWL) and the Combat Development and
Integration division under Smith’s command repeated those views as they
discussed their programs. And all of them emphasized the focus on integrating
with the Navy in ways that would allow the Corps to help naval task forces get
through the anti-access, area-denial capabilities that China — and to a lesser
extent Russia and Iran — can create with long-range missiles, mines and other
weapons.

Col. Tim Barrick, director of wargaming at MCWL, said Berger’s guidance to the Corps emphasized the need for additional wargaming to shape the missions and capabilities they would need to meet the emerging great power competition. To meet that demand, the Marines are planning to create a wargaming center that would go from 22 to more than 200 personnel and serve not just the Marines but the joint forces in the Washington, D.C., region.

Barrick said they were stressing three concepts: distributed operations; littoral operations in a contested environment; and expeditionary advanced based operations. “We’re focused on a naval campaign. How does the Marine Corps support naval operations,” he added.

Many briefers said the level of Marine integration and cooperation with the Navy leadership and senior staffs was the highest they had ever seen. The greatest deficiencies cited by the briefers was a lack of long-range precision fires in the ground forces, the need for command, control and communications systems that are mobile enough to move with small distributed combat units but work in the highly contested information environment, and logistics methods and systems that can sustain those distributed units within the deadly “weapons-engagement zone.”

Unmanned and robotic systems were proposed as possible solutions to some of those capabilities gaps.

ARLINGTON, Va. — When the littoral combat ship (LCS) USS Montgomery (LCS 8) visited Davao City, a port on the Philippine island of Mindanao, earlier this summer, it was the first port call there of a U.S. Navy ship in who knows how long.   

Speaking to reporters Sept. 11 in a media roundtable teleconference, Cmdr. Edward A. Rosso, commanding officer of the ship’s Blue Crew, was making the point that the LCS, with its shallow draft, allows the Navy to make port calls in locations that would not accommodate larger vessels such as destroyers, cruisers and amphibious warfare ships. 

The draft of the aluminum trimaran-hull, Independence-variant Montgomery is 15.1 feet, compared with the 30.5-foot draft of an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer. 

“The U.S. Navy, along with our partners and allies, has long known the importance and value of working together, and from my perspective, that is exactly what Montgomery has done during this deployment,” Rosso said. “We began our time in theater with a historic port visit to Davao City in the Philippines. It perfectly suited to receive our shallow-hull littoral combat ship. This was the first visit by a U.S. warship to that location in recent memory.” 

“It was a great opportunity to build relationships, learn from one another, improve interoperability, and appreciate culture,” he added. “Overall, port visits like this allow us to demonstrate our commitment to maritime security in the region while strengthening relationships with our friends, partners and allies.”  

The Montgomery is the first rotational deployment to the Western Pacific of an LCS in 18 months and is the first of three LCSs the Navy plans to deploy this year. 

The last LCS to deploy, USS Coronado (LCS 4), returned from the western Pacific on Dec. 5, 2017. It had been preceded by the USS Freedom (LCS 1) and its Freedom-class sister ship, USS Fort Worth (LCS 3), in 2015 and 2016, respectively. 

During the deployment, Montgomery participated in the 25th annual CARAT (Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training) exercise and the ASEAN-US Maritime Exercise (AUMX). 

“Co-led by the U.S. and Royal Thai navies, AUMX consisted of pre-sail activities in Thailand, Singapore and Brunei, followed by a sea phase in international waters of Southeast Asia, including the Gulf of Thailand and South China Sea,” a Navy release said. “It concluded in Singapore. Participating nations included Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, United States and Vietnam. AUMX included eight warships and four aircraft from seven countries, and more than one thousand personnel representing all ten ASEAN member states and the United States.”  

The Montgomery deployed with the Surface Warfare Mission Package, including an MH-60S helicopter and an MQ-8B Fire Scout unmanned aerial vehicle. 

Rosso praised the value of the LCS Maintenance Support Team deployed to Singapore to support LCS deployments to the area. The team can stage to various ports in the region to rapidly respond to maintenance needs of a deployed LCS. In one such response, the team made a major repair at Sattahip, Thailand. 

He also praised his crew, of which he said, “The things on this ship wouldn’t have happened without my crew,” whom he called “100 people of excellence.” 

ARLINGTON, Va. — The commodore of a Navy explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) group has praised the performance of the unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) that were used in a recent exercise in the Bering Sea off the Aleutian island chain.  

“The technology that is being incorporated in the Mk18 Mod 1 and 2 and also in our smaller next-generation UUVs [is] incredible,” said Capt. Oscar E. Rojas, commander of EOD Group One and commodore of Combined Task Force 35, speaking Sept. 11 to reporters in a media roundtable teleconference. “The resolution of the images that we are getting back from the topography of the seabed is so amazingly clear that it makes our job in IDing so much easier. That’s why when we say a lane is clear of explosive hazards, we have an almost 100% confidence factor that is a fact because of this technology that has been introduced. It is a true game-changer. 

“The future of warfighting is unmanned systems,” Rojas said. 

The Mk 18 Mod 1 Swordfish, Mk 18 Mod 2 Kingfish and other smaller UUVs were deployed to Adak, an island halfway along the Aleutian chain from the Alaskan mainland, for the Arctic Expeditionary Capabilities Exercise (AECE), the first exercise of its kind. Adak is the site of a former naval air station and deep-water port that were active during the Cold War.  

Rojas stressed that this exercise was the first time that the Navy EOD community had exercised its expeditionary mine countermeasures (MCM) capabilities is such a high latitude. He also noted that after 18 years of becoming experts in clearing improvised explosive devices on land in Afghanistan and Iraq, the EOD expertise is being turned toward maritime mine countermeasures in an era of great power competition, although he declined to identify no specific competitor. 

The scenario of the exercise was the employment of MCM capabilities to prepare the landing zone for amphibious forces of a Marine Corps Special-Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force. 

He said the exercise was intended to increase agility in places where EOD forces have not deployed in a very long time and to test the EOD and MCM technology in cold water. One of the goals was to see how the cold water affected the life of lithium batteries in the UUVs and tethered remotely operated vehicles. Another was to see how the UUVs performed in areas of strong rip currents and widely varying tidal changes, and the effect of 40-knot winds on UUV-deploying boats and communications systems. 

“It is important for us to operate in these conditions,” Rojas said. “The environment [in future conflict] is going to be very much like the one we’re training in now.”  

He said that the exercise was an opportunity to operate unmanned systems that were designed for “a more benign environment” and to see if the systems were “going to break or going to function as designed.”  

The commodore also noted that many of the hydrographic charts of the Aleutian are were outdated, with several shipwrecks found that were not marked on the charts. 

Rojas said he tested five different communications systems and exercised the command-and-control systems in a satellite communications-denied environment, also using High-Frequency radios for communications. 

The EOD group also exercised its scalable units of action. In this exercise, approximately 150 personnel from the EOD forces were involved. The EOD group can deploy in three C-17 transport aircraft or with just a few equipment cases on a commercial airliner. 

NORFOLK, Virginia – An E-2D Advanced Hawkeye capable of aerial refueling landed at Naval Station Norfolk Sept. 9, officially marking the arrival of this upgraded aircraft to the fleet, Commander, Naval Air Force Atlantic Public Affairs said in a Sept. 12 release.     

“This is an important day for naval aviation as we continue to increase our capabilities and maintain our competitive edge in the skies,” said Rear Adm. Roy Kelley, commander of Naval Air Force Atlantic, “This capability will extend the endurance of Hawkeyes, increasing the Navy’s battlespace awareness and integrated fire control – both from the air and the sea.” 

The aerial-refueling-capable E-2D joined the “Greyhawks” of Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron (VAW) 120. 

“Aerial refueling capability is a game-changer for the E-2D community and future operations in the high-end fight,” said Cmdr. Scott Wastak, VAW-120 commanding officer. “We will now begin to train instructor pilots and refuel with several different Navy and Air Force tanker aircraft, including F/A-18s.” 

VAW-120 is only the first step in rolling out this new capability. The Navy will transition two operational fleet squadrons to aerial refueling capable E-2Ds by 2020. 

VAW-120 is a Fleet Replacement Squadron attached to Airborne Command & Control and Logistics Wing commanded by Capt. Matthew Duffy. Its mission it to train naval aviators, naval flight officers, Navy aircrewmen and qualified maintainers to safely and effectively operate E-2 and C-2 aircraft. 

ARLNGTON, Va. — The U.S. Navy and Marine Corps have increased their forces involved in relief and rescue efforts in the Bahamas as recovery efforts continue after Hurricane Dorian devastated some of the islands. 

In a Sept. 9 Pentagon briefing, Jonathan R. Hoffman, assistant to the secretary of defense, said that U.S Northern Command had received 30 relief requirement requests and had deployed 1,200 personnel in support of those requests. 

“Secretary [of Defense Mark T.] Esper authorized NORTHCOM to utilize 30 Army and Navy helicopters to provide transportation logistics and conduct assessments of transportation nodes to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian assistance,” Hoffman said. “We are pursuing options to assist in airspace deconfliction as well.” 

The amphibious assault ship USS Bataan has deployed to the Bahamas and is operating Marine Corps MV-22B Osprey tilt-rotor and CH-53E Super Stallion heavy-lift helicopters in support of the relief efforts. Navy MH-53E Sea Dragon helicopters also have been providing logistics for the relief efforts. 

“Four U.S. Marine Corps MV-22 Ospreys from the USS Bataan transported a U.S. Air Force airfield assessment team to conduct its mission,” Hoffman said. “The airfield assessment team completed its evaluation of Grand Bahama International Airport and reported the field is C-130 and C-17 capable.” 

The Coast Guard continues its rescue-and-recovery efforts in the Bahamas with five MH-60T helicopters and five cutters. As of Sept. 9, the service had rescued 383 people.

ARLINGTON, Va. — The Coast Guard is continuing rescue-and-recovery operations in the Bahamas in the wake of Hurricane Dorian. 

As of 9 a.m. on Sept. 8, Coast Guard forces had rescued 308 people in the Bahamas, the Coast Guard 7th District said in a release. 

The Coast Guard has five MH-60T Jayhawk helicopters conducting missions in the area, including search and rescue, logistics and for assessments. The helicopters are staged out of Andros Island, site of the Atlantic Undersea Test and Evaluation Center, where the U.S. Navy stages helicopters for antisubmarine training such as torpedo drops.  

The Coast Guard also has five cutters providing support in the disaster recovery operations.  

Navy MH-53E Sea Dragon helicopters from Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia, also are participating in the relief efforts under the auspices of U.S. Northern Command. 

The 7th District said that all ports have been re-opened.

SAN DIEGO —
The U.S. Navy conducted four scheduled missile test flights of unarmed Trident
II (D5) missiles from USS Nebraska (SSBN 739), an Ohio-class ballistic missile
submarine, off the coast of Southern California, U.S. Navy Strategic Systems
Programs Public Affairs said in a release.

The first
two launches took place Sept. 4, and the last two were Sept. 6. All occurred
before sunrise.

These test
flights were part of a Commander Evaluation Test (CET), whose primary goal was
to validate performance expectations of the life-extended Trident II (D5)
strategic weapon system. These launches mark 176 successful flights of the system.

CETs and
other flight tests are conducted on a recurring, scheduled basis to evaluate
and ensure the continued reliability and accuracy of the system. The missile
tests were not conducted in response to any ongoing world events.

“Our
nation’s sea-based deterrent has been a critical component of our national
security since the 1960s, and this week’s launches continue to demonstrate the
credibility and reliability of our life-extended missiles,” said Vice Adm.
Johnny R. Wolfe, director of the Navy’s Strategic Systems Programs, the command
responsible for the Navy’s strategic weapons.

The
Trident II (D5) strategic weapon system, originally designed with a life span
to 2024, recently underwent a life extension that will keep it operational
through the late 2040s. The life-extended missiles will serve for the remaining
service life of U.S Ohio-class and United Kingdom Vanguard-class SSBNs, and as
the initial loadout for the U.S. Columbia-class and U.K. Dreadnought-class
SSBNs.

The life-extension
program addressed potential aging and obsolescence issues. “The life-extended
missiles are now being deployed to the fleet, but our work is not done,”
Wolfe said.

“The
nuclear deterrence mission is the Department of Defense’s No. 1 priority, and
for the U.S. Navy that means not only maintaining our current capability, but
also developing the next generation of Trident missiles and shipboard strategic
weapon system that will ensure a credible sea-based deterrent for the next 40
years and beyond,” he added.

A
credible, effective nuclear deterrent is essential to our national security and
the security of U.S. allies. Deterrence remains a cornerstone of national
security policy in the 21st century.

Strategic Systems Programs is the Navy command that provides cradle-to-grave lifecycle support for the sea-based leg of the nation’s nuclear triad. This includes training, systems, equipment, facilities and personnel responsible for ensuring the safety, security, and effectiveness of the nation’s Submarine Launched Ballistic Missile (SLBM) Trident II (D5) strategic weapon system. SLBMs are one leg of the nation’s strategic nuclear deterrent triad that also includes the U.S. Air Force’s intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and nuclear-capable bombers.

Each part of the Triad provides unique capabilities and advantages. SLBMs make up about 70 percent of the U.S.’s deployed strategic nuclear deterrent Triad. The SLBM is the most survivable, provides persistent presence and allows flexible concept of operations.

OKINAWA,
Japan — The amphibious assault ship USS Wasp (LHD 1) departed U.S. 7th Fleet
area of operations as part of a scheduled homeport shift on Sept. 4, the ship’s
public affairs office said in a release.

Wasp,
which replaced USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6) in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of
operations in January 2018, operated with U.S. Marine Corps forces from the III
Marine Expeditionary Force and helped expand the relationships the U.S.
military maintains with allies and partners in the region.

“The
performance by the Wasp crew has quite simply been superb,” said Rear Adm. Fred
Kacher, who is commander of Expeditionary Strike Group 7.

“Over the
last two years, no ship in the Navy has been asked to do more than USS Wasp,
and the ship delivered in every way. The officers and crew rose to every
challenge, and we could not have asked for a better flagship to operate in the
most important and dynamic area in the world.”

As part of
the U.S. 7th Fleet’s forward deployed naval forces in Japan, Wasp made history
as the first U.S. Navy ship to deploy with the the F-35B Lightning II strike fighter,
which began operating onboard with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit in March 2018.

“It has
been a profound honor for Wasp and her crew to serve 7th Fleet and its
ancillary commands during this time,” said Wasp’s commanding officer, Capt.
Gregory Baker. “Our Sailors have embraced the experiences and opportunities
available in this part of the world and are more operationally prepared to
continue supporting and executing the missions we are presented with. I
couldn’t have asked for a more dedicated or capable crew.”

President Trump
visited the ship and crew during his tour of Japan, becoming the first U.S.
president to visit the ship, and he extended accolades to the crew for their
accomplishments. Wasp participated in exercise Balikatan with the Philippine
military and exercise Talisman Sabre with the Australian Defence Force and
additional forces from Japan, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The
ship also engaged in partnership missions designed to enhance interoperability
with numerous partners and allies supporting security and stability in the
Indo-Pacific region.

“What our
Wasp Sailors have accomplished here over almost two years, given the
operational tempo, and the nature of our multipronged mission, is overwhelming,
and it’s difficult not to constantly shine with pride,” said Wasp Command
Master Chief Kevin Guy, who also noted that more than half the ship’s company
had been geo-bachelors during the ship’s tenure in Japan.

“When you
consider that we have a large number of Sailors thousands of miles away from
their families and friends — their level of dedication under these
circumstances truly exemplifies the Navy core values of honor, courage and commitment.”

The Navy announced earlier this year that Wasp will be replaced by the amphibious assault ship USS America (LHA 6), which will be accompanied by dock landing ship USS New Orleans (LPD 18). USS America is scheduled to become part of the U.S. 7th Fleet forward-deployed naval forces in Sasebo, Japan, later this year.

The 7th Fleet spans more than 124 million square kilometers, stretching from the international date line to the India/Pakistan border, and form the Kuril Islands in the north to the Antarctic in the south. Encompassing 36 maritime countries, about 50 percent of the world’s population also falls within its area of responsibility.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — In its effort to spread innovation and procurement
agility across the workforce, the U.S. Navy has created regional “tech bridges”
in five areas of the country that will serve as “combustion chambers” of ideas
and encourage collaboration among stakeholders.

The tech bridges, with support from the Office of Naval
Research and the Navy’s Systems Commands, will partner with start-ups,
academia, nonprofits, government entities, small businesses and large
corporations to share ideas, experiences and best practices that can make the
Navy and U.S. Marine Corps faster and more agile at developing and acquiring
problem-solving technologies, according to the Naval Expeditions (NavalX)
agility office.

NavalX was created last February by Assistant Secretary of
the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition James Geurts. The central
idea was to create a workforce “super-connector” that could link people with
ideas to individuals and organizations with needs, across all the sea, air and
space domains. Successes, lessons-learned and subject-matter expertise could be
shared servicewide and eventually across the Defense Department.

“Everything from Marines learning how to 3-D print to
writing software to getting folks who don’t normally interact with the military
to learn from each other,” Geurts told reporters during a media roundtable
Sept. 3 at the NavalX’s temporary offices in Virginia.

The first five tech bridges (more are planned) are in Newport,
Rhode Island; Keyport, Washington; San Diego; Orlando; and Crane, Ind. All the
bridges must have a local Navy Department sponsor willing to dedicate funding,
personnel or programming. For example, Newport is home to the Navy War College
as well as a Naval Undersea Warfare Center, said Navy Cmdr. Sam Gray, the tech bridge
director at NavalX. Additionally, the regional bridges must have non-Navy local
or regional partners providing funding or in-kind services and a sustainable
business plan independent of NavalX support after 12 months.

The tech bridges will operate on a “franchise” model, allowing each region to develop their own way to connect to their unique innovation ecosystem. Geurts stressed that the tech bridges will not create platforms or systems. “This is not the place to invent things, this is the place to share knowledge, so others can invent,” he added.

The idea of tech bridges is to create “a gathering spot, kind of a combustion chamber” for innovative ideas that “close that distance” between the end-user, developer and acquiring agency, Geurts said.

NEWPORT
NEWS, Va. — Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Newport News Shipbuilding division
successfully completed the initial sea trials on the newest Virginia-class
submarine, Delaware (SSN 791), the company said in a release.

The
submarine, in the final stages of construction, spent three days at sea proving
all systems, components and compartments. Delaware submerged for the first time
and performed high-speed maneuvers on the surface and underwater.

“Delaware performed well during sea trials, which is a testament to the skill and craftsmanship of the incredible team of shipbuilders who are working to uphold our high standards of quality,” said Dave Bolcar, Newport News’ vice president of submarine construction. “We look forward to continuing our testing program to deliver the submarine to the U.S. Navy later this year.”

The submarine is scheduled to undergo a round of acceptance trials before it is delivered. More than 10,000 shipbuilders from Newport News and teaming partner General Dynamics Electric Boat and thousands of companies across 48 states have participated in Delaware’s construction since the work began in September 2013.