By Team Ships Public Affairs, May 8, 2024 

PASCAGOULA, (April 12, 2024) – Combatant Command and OSD senior leaders visited SUPSHIP Gulf Coast to tour the USS ZUMWALT (DDG 1000) and receive an update on the Navy’s efforts to integrate the Conventional Prompt Strike weapon system into the DDG 1000 class. Mr. Robert J. Taylor, STRATCOM Director of Capability and Resource Integration, Dr. Martin Lindsey, INDOPACOM Science and Technology Advisor, and Dr. James Weber, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, Principal Director for Hypersonics, joined Navy Program leaders for the visit on April 4, 2024. 

“United States Strategic Command remains committed to ensuring the Conventional Prompt Strike Capability is rapidly integrated on ZUMWALT Class DDGs,” said Mr. Robert J. Taylor.  “My team and I will continue to work across Combatant Commands, Offices of the Secretary of Defense, and the Navy to integrate this highly lethal platform into plans and operations to assure Allies and Partners while sending a strong deterrence message to our adversaries”. 

USS ZUMWALT (DDG 1000) arrived at Huntington Ingalls Industries – Ingalls Shipyard (HII-Ingalls) on August 19, 2023, to enter a modernization period and receive technology upgrades including the integration of the Conventional Prompt Strike (CPS) weapon system. These upgrades, and the integration of the CPS weapon system, will help ensure Zumwalt remains one of the most technologically advanced and lethal ships in the U.S. Navy. 

“The Navy / Industry team is moving with a sense of urgency to integrate CPS capability into USS ZUMWALT” said Rear Adm. Tom Anderson, Program Executive Officer (PEO), Ships. “Many steps have been taken and are on track to get this important player on the field on time.” 

The unique design and advanced capabilities of the Zumwalt-class is well-matched with the CPS weapons system that enables precise and timely strike capability in contested environments. CPS is a non-nuclear hypersonic weapon system being designed and developed by the Navy’s Strategic Systems Programs (SSP) that will provide an intermediate range, prompt, conventional strike capability to the Department of Defense. The missile will be delivered to the Navy onboard ZUMWALT Class DDGs starting in the mid-2020’s and on Block V VIRGINIA Class SSNs starting in the early 2030’s, as well as to the Army as the Long Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW). 

“Conventional Prompt Strike will deliver a cutting-edge capability and strategic options to our Armed Forces, supplementing our existing unparalleled capabilities,” Weber said. “The Navy is accelerating development and transition of this transformational warfighting capability.” 

While unfavorable sea conditions have slowed deployment of two piers meant to deliver humanitarian aid into Gaza, the Defense Department has found a way to use the delay to its advantage and get ahead on the mission once it gets underway.

Earlier this week the Defense Department announced completion of the construction of two floating piers, which will be used to deliver humanitarian aid into Gaza.

Construction of the Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore, or JLOTS, system on the Mediterranean Sea was completed Tuesday. One floating pier will be deployed several miles offshore outside Gaza, while the other, called the Trident pier, or “causeway,” will be pushed onto and attached to the Gazan shore. Together they will be used to move humanitarian aid into Gaza. 

Both of the floating piers, along with the MV Roy P. Benavidez — a large, medium-speed, roll-on, roll-off ship — are off the coast of Israel near the Port of Ashdod, about 18 miles north of Gaza. Unfavorable sea conditions prevent movement of the piers to their final location. 

In the meantime, the MV Sagamore — a commercial cargo ship — has been loaded with humanitarian aid in Cyprus and has made its way to Ashdod. Instead of waiting for the piers to be deployed, humanitarian aid on the Sagamore will be moved to the Benavidez so that the Sagamore can go back to Cyprus to get more aid supplies, said Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Major General Pat Ryder.

“In this period of time that we have before the pier becomes operational, we’re essentially using that time to get ahead,” Ryder said during a briefing today. “Since the Sagamore has been loaded with humanitarian assistance, by transloading that on to the Benavidez, the Benavidez is essentially in position to immediately start loading that onto the floating pier for subsequent shipment to the causeway and delivery to the shore.” 

Because the Benavidez will remain near Gaza when the humanitarian mission begins, Ryder said, the Sagamore is free to go back to Cyprus to get additional aid. 

Once the two floating piers are deployed, ships loaded with humanitarian aid will dock at the floating pier off the coast of Gaza and have their cargo unloaded onto trucks that are onboard Army-owned landing craft utility ships, or LCUs, and logistic support vessels, or LSVs. 

The Army ships will then travel toward Gaza where they will meet up with the Trident pier. There, the trucks onboard the LCUs and LSVs will drive onto the pier and onto the shore of Gaza where the humanitarian aid supplies can then be staged for delivery inside Gaza. Ryder said non-U.S. civilian contractors will be responsible for driving those vehicles. 

It’s expected that initially about 90 truckloads of supplies will transit the causeway each day and make their way into Gaza. When the operation reaches full capacity, as many as 150 trucks will make their way into Gaza daily. 

“This is a complex operation which requires close coordination with many partners,” said Ryder. “The United States is joining an international community-backed effort, led by with support from the United Nations, the World Food Programme, the Republic of Cyprus, other partner nations and the to expand the delivery of humanitarian assistance via a maritime corridor to the people of Gaza.”

CHICAGO — Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Lisa Franchetti traveled to Chicago to meet with high school Navy Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps (NJROTC) students from the Rickover Naval Academy, William Howard Taft High School and Corliss High School, NROTC college students in the Chicago Consortium, and community leaders, May 8-9.

The visit provided the CNO the opportunity to discuss her personal journey in the Navy and share leadership lessons, as well as to open students’ minds to what service in the Navy looks like.

“When I was in your shoes, I could never have imagined that I would be standing here today as the chief of naval operations. Life is not necessarily what we predict, and being open to possibilities that come along the way is really important,” Franchetti shared with an auditorium of nearly 500 NJROTC cadets. Paraphrasing Chester Nimitz, she added, “‘learn all you can, do your best, and don’t worry about the things you can’t control,’ because you never know what opportunities are going to come your way, and if you always take advantage of them, when doors start to open, you’ll be ready to walk through.”

Franchetti also spoke with Rickover Naval Academy faculty and members from the Chicago Board of Education and community leaders to educate them about the mission of the Navy and the value of service to the Navy and the nation.

“Every day about 110 U.S. Navy ships and 70,000 Sailors and Marines are underway — defending our nation, enabling the free flow of commerce and protecting sea lanes of communication,” Franchetti said. “It’s not just our ships, we operate from the seabed to space in cyberspace, and in the information environment.”

She added, “You may not think about it all the time, but freedom of the seas is really important. Ninety percent of our trade goes across the oceans. So when you order something online and it gets to your doorstep, it’s because we have a Navy out there … and it’s those Sailors and Marines that are protecting our way of life, and I couldn’t be more proud of our Navy team.”

CNO concluded her outreach visit at her alma mater of Northwestern University, where she attended a cook-out with Chicago Consortium NROTC students and members of the crew team.

Franchetti told them how a chance encounter with a group of NROTC students at a cookout during her freshman year changed the course of her life. She said she stopped by to say hi and see what they were doing. They said they were NROTC students and she could compete for a scholarship and get $100 a month and free textbooks. She talked to their lieutenant, who told her more about the mission and opportunities in the Navy and decided to sign up on the spot.

“I joined the Navy for free college, but I stayed for our mission,” Franchetti said. “I love being part of the Navy team. I love serving with amazing Sailors, amazing people all over the world, and getting to be that beacon of hope and democracy all around the world– and it has been an amazing journey.”

While visiting Northwestern University, CNO was one of seven alumni who were inducted into the 2024 Medill School of Journalism Hall of Achievement.

This was Franchetti’s first trip to the Chicago region as CNO.

The 2024 Littoral OpTech workshop, an invitation-only event, will be held May 21-22 at the Polish Naval Academy in Gdynia, Poland. Participants will listen to a number of speakers and panels exploring the current trends in operational, economic and geo-political environment in and around the Baltic Sea.

According to retired Swedish Navy Captain Bo Wallander, the event moderator, Littoral OpTech workshops are typically two-day conferences that bring together key partners and advanced technical and operational expertise to explore and identify the technologies that will enable effective littoral operations.

“The workshops expand the growing global community of interest and garner stakeholder support for addressing the technical challenges in the world’s littorals,” Wallander said.

Wallander described the maritime littorals as “a very complex environment with limited space where it is easy to hide and difficult to detect targets. This means very short reaction times. The proximity to islands and shores means a broad spectrum of threats in all domains. The littorals are also characterized as having a great number of non-military actors like merchant ships, fishing and pleasure boats.”

Wallander referred to the Baltic Sea, in particular, as an “extreme littoral.”

“What makes the Baltic Sea special are the short distances in an east-west direction and the large archipelagos in both Finland and Sweden. There are different currents and counter currents; varying sea bottom topography, water salinity and temperatures,” he said.

Wallander said the workshop will focus on both operations, political issues and technologies with an emphasis on Northern Europe and the evolving security concerns in Northern Europe, as well as the importance of the fact that both Sweden and Finland have become NATO allies.

The last Littoral OpTech workshop was held in Helsinki, Finland, and also focused on the Baltic Sea.  Besides the 2022 event in Finland, previous Littoral OpTech seminars, colloquiums and workshops have been held in Monterey, California; Stockholm, Sweden; Tokyo, Japan; Cartagena, Colombia; Halifax, Canada; and Souda Bay, Crete, Greece.

Wallander said the Polish Naval Academy is working together with the Swedish defense company Saab to host the 2024 workshop.   

“The naval academy is located in a very a very significant historical area,” Wallander said. “Gdynia is also an important base for the Polish navy.”

“This area of the world continues to be of great geopolitical, economic and military importance,” Wallander said. “The Baltic Sea is both a very sensitive environment and an important transport link for the Russian Federation. Since the last OpTech event the war in Ukraine has raged on, and both Finland and Sweden have become full-fledged members of NATO.”

Poland is situated on the Baltic Sea, with a 328-mile mostly sandy coastline. The country was under Soviet domination after World War II and was a charter member of the Warsaw Pact from 1955 to 1991.  In 1999, Poland joined Czechia and Hungary to become the first former members of the Warsaw Pact to join NATO.

The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Sweden and Russia, with a coastline of approximately 5,000 miles. Today, all of those countries are part of the NATO Alliance, except Russia. Russia’s Baltic Sea exclave of Kaliningrad is surrounded by Poland to the south and Lithuania to the north and east.

Polish Naval Academy

The Littoral OpTech workshop will be hosted by the Polish Naval Academy, which is named after the “the Heroes of the Westerplatte.” The academy offers both civil and military undergraduate and graduate study programs. The name refers to the 1939 battle at the Westerplatte peninsula when the Polish forces fought off a vastly superior German army. The battle is revered as a symbol of resistance in modern Poland.

The Polish navy was established in 1918. The academy was established soon after, in 1922. It has been in continuous operation, albeit under different names, ever since.  The school is currently under the command of Rector-Commandant Rear Admiral Professor Tomasz Szubrycht.

The undergraduate and graduate courses are taught in Polish and English, and a number of international students attending the school. The military cadets receive commissions in the Polish military upon graduation, mostly in the navy. There are also serving officers working on graduate degrees.

Today, the Polish navy consists of about 12,000 commissioned and enlisted personnel, many of them serving abord the service’s 46 ships.

The Polish Navy’s two largest surface combatants ORP General Kazimierz Pulaski and ORP General Tadeusz Kościuszko, are the former U.S. Navy Oliver Hazard Perry-class guided missile frigates USS Clark (FFG 11) and USS Wadsworth (FFG 9).  The service is ordering new Arrowhead 140 frigates, to be delivered by Polish Armament Group in cooperation with Babcock, U.K.

By Richard R. Burgess, Senior Editor 

ARLINGTON, Va. — SAIC’s counter-unmanned aerial system (CUAS) concepts will be further tested in a June 2024 demonstration, a company official said. The company has two types of CUAS systems deployed and is in competition for two Department of the Navy programs. 

“We’re really excited about the [June] counter-swarm demo that we’ve been selected to participate in,” said Greg Fortier, SAIC’s senior vice president for Army aviation, fires, and C2 in the Army business group, in an interview with Seapower. 

SAIC, which has been developing CUAS systems for more than a decade, already has two CUAS systems fielded with U.S. agencies.  

The company’s Valkyrie CUAS System is “operational in a few parts of our country,” Fortier said, with “[O]perational forces in the U.S. Army right now on a pilot type of effort. The predecessor of our system [the Medusa] is also active across the CENTCOM AOR [U.S. Central Command area of responsibility] in certain capacities, and that’s mostly with the Department of the Air Force.” 

Fortier said that SAIC has “continued to evolve our solutions, continued to understand the different requirements from all of the services — frankly all of the agencies in our nation — and then really have driven for the past couple of years into a modular, 100% open system that is a scalable approach to meeting all the different threats within counter-UAS. That’s not just in the all-domain warfighting imperative but it’s also things like the border of the future as well as the general overall citizen experience for our country. 

“SAIC is pivoting on five national imperatives: all-domain warfighting, undersea dominance, citizen experience, border of the future, and next-gen space. CUAS applies to four of the five across multiple agencies,” he said. “The company has multiple lines of effort with these imperatives. We go at it in terms of four phases: detect, track, identify, and mitigate. There are multiple technologies that apply across the board—kinetic and non-kinetic solutions. Every customer, every requirement is a little bit different.” 

“It’s all about our open architecture that allows us to integrate very quickly to any of the different modalities that support detect, identify, track, and mitigate,” said Jeremy Davidson, SAIC’s counter-UAS lead, also speaking during the interview. “Multi-functional capability within each of those mission domains from detect to mitigate — including all of your different non-kinetic and kinetic modalities as well, including lasers, but also traditional small arms, rockets, ATM [air traffic management], drone interceptors, things like that. 

“We bring all of the sensors that feed into that, from radars, to RF [radio frequency], to EW [electronic warfare], and of course the last one is the eye, which is identify where you  get into your EO/IR [electro-optical/infrared] sensors,” Davidson said. 

“We are a tech-agnostic integrator,” Fortier said. “We feel like we are a world-wide leader in technology agnostic integration. That makes our systems more powerful in that we can take multiple technologies as we’ve already done in the past couple of years, integrate and learn, understand, and then pass that along [and] make that connection among the multiple agencies within the United States.” 

He stresses that the company’s integration of technology is not just with hardware but also with software, and that cost reduction and operational effectiveness are achieved through open architecture. 

“When you have an open system, and you have an obsolete part, you can pull that part off, and if the technology or the threat changes, you can plug and play new technology at pennies on the dollar because you’re not re-integrating or re-configurating an entire system,” Fortier said. 

SAIC continues to participate in multiple demonstrations for the Joint Capabilities Office and for the Department of Homeland Security on the border, he said. 

“There are two offices right now in the Department of the Navy, both of which we are pursuing,” Fortier. “We were down-selected in one of those opportunities to continue in the competition, but that competition is still active.” 

The two Department of the Navy competitions are the MADIS-CES (Marine Air Defense Integrated System-CUAS Engagement System) Lethality Upgrade and Marine Corps Installation CUAS. 

SAIC has 25 partners and integrates more than 45 technologies. Most of its current integration work is performed in Huntsville, Alabama. The company has had discussions with foreign countries in Europe and elsewhere about its integration technology. 

From the Department of Defense, May 8, 2024  

Today, the Department of Defense (DoD) released its annual Freedom of Navigation (FON) Report for Fiscal Year 2023. During the period from October 1, 2022, through September 30, 2023, U.S. forces operationally challenged 29 different excessive maritime claims advanced by 17 different claimants throughout the world. 

Excessive maritime claims are inconsistent with international law as reflected in the Law of the Sea Convention. They include a variety of restrictions on the exercise of navigation and overflight rights and other freedoms and lawful uses of the seas. Unlawful maritime claims pose a threat to global mobility and commerce, as well as the legal foundation of the rules-based international order. If left unchallenged, excessive maritime claims could limit the rights and freedoms enjoyed by every nation. 

DoD’s regular and routine operational challenges complement diplomatic engagements by the U.S. State Department and support the longstanding U.S. national interest in freedom of the seas worldwide. 

Each year, DoD releases an unclassified FON Report summarizing the broad range of excessive maritime claims challenged by U.S. forces. It also includes general geographic information to describe the location of FON assertions. The summarized reports transparently demonstrate U.S. non-acquiescence to excessive maritime claims, while protecting the operational security of U.S. military forces. 

The United States will uphold the rights, freedoms, and lawful uses of the sea for the benefit of all nations — and will stand with like-minded partners doing the same. 

DoD FON Reports are available at http://policy.defense.gov/OUSDPOffices/FON.aspx. 

ARLINGTON, Va. — Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III announced May 9 that the president has made the following nominations: 

Navy Vice Adm. John F. Wade for reappointment to the grade of vice admiral, with assignment as commander, Third Fleet, San Diego, California. Wade most recently served as commander, Task Force Red Hill, Camp H.S. Smith, Hawaii.  

Navy Rear Adm. Michael J. Vernazza for appointment to the grade of vice admiral, with assignment as commander, Naval Information Forces, Suffolk, Virginia. Vernazza is currently serving as commander, Fleet Information Warfare Command Pacific/Information Warfare Task Force (TF-501), Pacific, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii. 

From U.S. Coast Guard Academy, May 9, 2024 

NEW LONDON, Conn. — U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Eagle (WIX 327) is scheduled to depart Fort Trumbull in New London, Saturday, at 2:30 p.m. to begin the training vessel’s annual summer cruise. 

U.S. Coast Guard Academy cadets on board will have the unique and experiential learning opportunity of sailing aboard a tall ship, which provides them with their first introduction to life at sea and is a foundational experience in their leadership development journey toward becoming future officers in the Coast Guard. During the cruise, cadets take classes on numerous subjects that are key to life at sea, including navigation, seamanship, ship and boat maneuvering, line handling, sailing, first aid, weather patterns, damage control, engineering, career development, and more. They will stand their first watch, and assist with setting, dousing, and trimming the sails, often requiring trainees to climb the rigging, and push themselves outside of their comfort zones. 

While the primary mission is training the cadets, the ship also performs a public relations role for the Coast Guard and the United States, making calls at foreign ports as a goodwill ambassador. During this year’s cruise, Eagle will leverage its unique ability to foster international relations with critical partners throughout the Americas. 

During its 2024 deployment, Eagle will sail through the Caribbean Sea, visit South America, and make port of calls in the northern Atlantic Ocean. 

Eagle’s 2024 full summer schedule includes port visits to:         

• May 11: Departs from New London 
• May 25 – May 28: Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic 
• June 4 – June 7: Cartagena, Colombia 
• June 14 – June 17: San Juan, Puerto Rico 
• June 24 – June 27: Bridgetown, Barbados 
• July 7 – July 10: Hamiliton, Bermuda 
• July 18 – July 21: Halifax, Nova Scotia 
• July 26 – July 29: Portsmouth, New Hampshire 
• Aug. 2 – August 5: Rockland, Maine 
• Aug. 9 – August 12: Boston, Massachusetts 
• Aug. 16: Returns to New London 

Eagle is scheduled to return to New London on Aug. 16. 

Known as “America’s Tall Ship,” Eagle is a 295-foot, three-masted barque used as a training vessel for future officers of the United States Coast Guard. It is the largest tall ship flying the Stars and Stripes and the only active square-rigger in U.S. government service. 

For continuous updates about Eagle to include port cities, tour schedules, current events, and photographs of cadets and active duty crew members, you can follow the cutter’s Facebook page here and Instagram feed here. 

For information on how to join the U.S. Coast Guard, visit GoCoastGuard.com to learn about active duty, reserve, officer and enlisted opportunities. Information on how to apply to the U.S. Coast Guard Academy can be found here. 

From Public Affairs Detachment Tampa Bay, March 13, 2024 

CLEARWATER, Fla. — The Coast Guard held a ribbon-cutting ceremony, Wednesday, marking the official opening of the new Coast Guard Station Fort Myers Beach facility.  

Rear Adm. Amy Grable, assistant commandant, Engineering and Logistics, presided over the ceremony. 

Station Fort Myers Beach and Coast Guard Cutter Crocodile crews will utilize the new three-story building.  

The building was set to be completed one year prior, but was delayed due to hurricane damage in 2021 and consists of berthing rooms, a galley, training rooms and a fitness room. 

Station Fort Myers Beach is a multi-mission station capable of conducting search and rescue, law enforcement, maritime security, environmental protection operations and migrant operations from Boca Grande Pass to Rabbit Key.  

The station has a crew size of about 60 members and their assets include two 45-foot Response Boat–Medium and two 29-foot Response Boat–Smalls. 

The cutter Crocodile’s missions include combating drug smuggling, illegal immigration, ports, waterways and coastal security, marine fisheries enforcement and search and rescue support. 

“It is an honor and a privilege to accept this new multi-mission facility on behalf of Coast Guard Station Fort Myers Beach and Coast Guard Cutter Crocodile,” said Chief Warrant Officer Christopher C. Cone, commanding officer, Station Fort Myers Beach. ”This new facility will allow Coast Guard crews to continue mission support and operational excellence throughout the Southwest Florida coastline.” 

From SECNAV Public Affairs, May 7, 2024 

Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro announced that future Virginia-class nuclear-powered attack submarine SSN 811 will be named USS Miami. Secretary Del Toro made the announcement, May 7, during the official kickoff concert of the inaugural Fleet Week Miami, hosted by Blue Star Families. 

The future USS Miami honors the city of Miami and the crews of three previously Navy vessels to bear the name.  

“That shared history is what makes Miami one of the greatest cities on Earth—and emblematic of what makes this country the greatest country in the world,” said Del Toro. “Miami is a shining example of what happens when a city welcomes all who come seeking a better life.”  

Along with the ship’s name, Secretary Del Toro announced that international pop star Gloria Estefan will be the sponsor for the future USS Miami. In her role, Gloria Estefan will represent a lifelong relationship with the ship and crew.   

“We are so thankful as citizens of this great country to have all of you out there protecting and serving all of us,” Gloria Estefan said to the approximately 1,500 Sailors and Marines attending the kickoff concert, produced by entertainment icon Emilio Estefan. 

The city of Miami has been honored with three previous vessels: a gunboat (1862-1865), a light cruiser (1942-1947), and a nuclear-powered submarine (1990-2014).    

In June 1862, the first Miami engaged enemy forces at a rapid fire while Flag Officer David G. Farragut’s ships ran past Confederate shore batteries at Vicksburg, Mississippi.  In 1864, the Gunboat’s crew supported Union troops ashore and battled Confederate ironclad Albemarle at Plymouth, NC..    

At the Battle of Leyte Gulf during World War II, the second Miami (CL 89) fought as part of Admiral William F. Halsey’s Third Fleet, helping to sink Japanese destroyer Nowaki on October 26, 1944.  Two seaplane pilots operating from Miamireceived the Distinguished Flying Cross for rescuing downed airmen in enemy waters. Miamiearned a total of 6 battle stars for operations in the Marianas, Western Caroline Islands, Leyte Gulf, Luzon, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa.    

The third Miami (SSN 755) conducted cruise missile strikes during Operation Desert Fox in 1998 and again during Operation Allied Force in 1999.    

Attack submarines are designed to seek and destroy enemy submarines and surface ships; project power ashore with Tomahawk cruise missiles and Special Operation Forces (SOF); carry out Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) missions; support battle group operations; and engage in mine warfare. 

Miami also has a maritime connection. The greater Miami region was formerly home to a seaplane base (1918-1920), a naval reserve air base (1931-1942), and a naval air station (1940-1958).  United States Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) has been headquartered in Miami-Dade County since 1997. 

More information on attack submarines can be found here. 

Read Secretary Del Toro’s full remarks online.