YOKOSUKA, Japan — The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain (DDG 56) departed Yokosuka, Japan, Sept. 17 as part of a scheduled homeport shift to Naval Station Everett, Washington, said Lt. j.g. Marion Bautista, USS John S McCain Public Affairs, said in a release. 

While forward deployed to Fleet Activities Yokosuka, John S. McCain has operated independently and with carrier strike groups in the region since arriving to U.S. 7th Fleet in the summer of 1997. 

“John S. McCain and her Sailors have proven time and time again our Navy’s resolve to answer the call-in support of our nation and our allies,” said Cmdr. Tin Tran, USS John S McCain’s commanding officer. “After 24 years of faithful overseas service, we are ready to head back home to America, back to Washington state. Our Sailors will forever remember the bonds of friendship and hospitality Japan has shown us.” 

During 24 years of forward-deployed service, John S. McCain operated across the region from the Indian Ocean to the Sea of Japan supporting joint and multinational exercises and operations to strengthen U.S. alliances and partnerships, maritime security, and promote regional stability toward a free and open Indo-Pacific. 

 John S. McCain also participated in several surge deployments to U.S. 5th Fleet in support of the USS Independence battle group in 1998 and USS Kitty Hawk strike group in 2002 and again in 2003 supporting Operations Enduring and Iraqi Freedom. 

During the most recent seven-month deployment, John S. McCain participated in the annual multinational exercise MALABAR alongside the Indian Navy, Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and Royal Australian Navy, focusing on anti-submarine and anti-surface operations. 

In March, 2011, John S. McCain responded in support of Operation Tomodachi to provide humanitarian assistance following the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami.  

“It is definitely a changing of the guard with USS John S. McCain and her crew departing the 7th Fleet after over 24 years in Japan,” said Capt. Chase Sargeant, commander, Task Force 71/Destroyer Squadron 15. “The contributions of the current and all previous crews in defending peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific cannot be overstated, and the entire forward-deployed fleet wishes John S. McCain fair winds as she transfers to her new homeport of Everett, Washington.” 

John S. McCain is scheduled to join U.S. 3rd Fleet, which leads naval forces in the Indo-Pacific and provides the realistic, relevant training necessary for an effective global Navy. U.S. 3rd Fleet works consistently with U.S. 7th Fleet to complement one another and provide commanders capable, ready assets across the spectrum of military operations in the Indo-Pacific. 

ST. LOUIS — Boeing will build the Navy’s newest carrier-based aircraft at a new high-tech facility in Illinois, bringing the benefits of digital aircraft design and production to the Navy and up to 300 advanced manufacturing jobs to the greater St. Louis region, the company said Sept. 17. 

The new 300,000 square-foot facility at MidAmerica St. Louis Airport, scheduled for completion in 2024, initially will employ approximately 150 mechanics, engineers and support staff who will build the MQ-25 Stingray, the Navy’s first operational, carrier-based unmanned aircraft. Employment could reach up to 300 with additional orders. 

“The world’s largest aerospace company is doubling down on Illinois because of our unparalleled assets in the transportation and logistics sector and the world-class talent of our people,” said Gov. J.B. Pritzker. “To prepare our communities for the future, my administration is committed to making continued investments that will modernize our airports, spark new innovation and bring jobs and economic opportunities to our communities from Chicago to St. Clair and beyond. I want to thank the Boeing company for their vote of confidence in Illinois, as well as St. Clair County leadership and the MidAmerica Airport team for giving companies another reason to choose Illinois.” 

Boeing digitally engineered the entire MQ-25 aircraft and its systems, resulting in high-fidelity models that are used to drive quality, efficiency and flexibility throughout the production and sustainment process. The new MQ-25 facility will include state-of-the-art manufacturing processes and tools, including robotic automation and advanced assembly techniques, to improve product quality and employee ergonomics. 

“The team and state-of-the-art technology we’re bringing to the Navy’s MQ-25 program is unprecedented, and we’re incredibly proud to be expanding both as we build the future of autonomous systems in Illinois,” said Kristin Robertson, vice president and general manager of Autonomous Systems, Boeing Defense, Space & Security. “We’ve received great support from MidAmerica Airport and countless dedicated employees, and we’re excited to build the Navy’s first operational, carrier-based unmanned aircraft right here in the Metro East.” 

For two years, Boeing and the Navy have been flight testing the Boeing-owned MQ-25 test asset from MidAmerica Airport, where in recent history-making missions T1 has refueled an F/A-18 Super Hornet, an E-2D Hawkeye and an F-35C Lightning II.  

The U.S. Navy intends to procure more than 70 MQ-25 aircraft to help extend the range of the carrier air wing, and the majority of those will be built in the new facility. Boeing is currently producing the first seven MQ-25 aircraft, plus two ground test articles, at its St. Louis facilities, and they will be transported to MidAmerica for flight test. The MQ-25 program office, including its core engineering team, will remain based in St. Louis. 

The new MQ-25 facility will be in addition to existing manufacturing operations at Boeing St. Clair, which produces components for the CH-47 Chinook, F/A-18 Super Hornet, F-15 and other defense products. 

ARLINGTON, Va. — In a potential future of distributed warfare, Marines on the scene need to be able to have a greater understanding of strategy and operations as well as tactics and technology, the Marine Corps’ training boss said.  

“How do find Marines who are … ready to execute mission-type orders and have strategic level effect with tactical-level decision making?” asked Lt. Gen. Kevin Iiams, commanding general Training and Education Command, speaking Sept. 16 in a Defense One webinar.    

“We need to be very, very deliberate in the way we groom our young Marines looking to the future and ensure that we imbue them with not only the right knowledge moving forward but the right education is important,” Iiams said. “We need to make them much grander thinkers, very good critical thinkers because what we’re going to expect them to do in some of these remote places.” 

The general posited a case of a future young captain “with his MLR [Marine Littoral Regiment] force step off the light amphibious warship on some remote archipelago island. He will start to sense his surroundings, and then he’s going to have to start making decisions, because if he is in a denied, degraded, contested environment where [an enemy] is trying to ensure that he or she does not have all of the communications reach-back that one might need to make decisions, have we trained that individual properly?”

Iiams said “these decisions are going to be carried out in distributed maritime operations and expeditionary advanced base operations [EABO]. We’re just now starting to figure out what these actually mean as we look to the future. What does an EABO look like? How do we run one? How do we protect one?” 

The general said one challenge is breeding a “new generation of Marines that are more tech-savvy,” but on the other hand, more maturity is needed in the traditionally young Marine Corps personnel.  

“We need them to be older to make these mature decisions,” Iiams said, noting that recruiting, training and maturing the needed Marines is likely to be more costly. 

He said the Corps needs to maintain an intellectual overmatch over the nation’s adversaries.   

ARLINGTON, Va. — The United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia have formed a tri-lateral defense partnership, which soon will launch a project to develop and build nuclear-powered submarines for the Royal Australian Navy.  

Australia operates Collins-class diesel-electric submarines and was in the process of procuring 10 submarines in a partnership with France, a deal that is likely to be torpedoed by the new AUKUS partnership. 

At the White House Sept. 15, the presidents of the three nations spoke at the news conference announcing the AUKUS partnership.   

“The first major initiative of AUKUS will be to deliver a nuclear-powered submarine fleet for Australia,” said Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison. “Over the next 18 months, we will work together to seek to determine the best way forward to achieve this.  This will include an intense examination of what we need to do to exercise our nuclear stewardship responsibilities here in Australia. We intend to build these submarines in Adelaide, Australia, in close cooperation with the United Kingdom and the United States. 

The project would represent a major industrial enterprise in a nation with no experience in building and operating nuclear submarines. Australia has built modern surface warships, including high-end anti-air warfare destroyers. 

U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson seconded the partnership. 

“I’m delighted to join President Biden and Prime Minister Morrison to announce that the United Kingdom, Australia, and the United States are creating a new trilateral defense partnership, known as AUKUS, with the aim of working hand in glove to preserve security and stability in the Indo-Pacific,” Johnson said. “We’re opening a new chapter in our friendship, and the first task of this partnership will be to help Australia acquire a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines, emphasizing, of course, that the submarines in question will be powered by nuclear reactors, not armed with nuclear weapons. And our work will be fully in line with our non-proliferation obligations.”  
   
“This will be one of the most complex and technically demanding projects in the world, lasting for decades and requiring the most advanced technology,” Johnson said. “It will draw on the expertise that the U.K. has acquired over generations, dating back to the launch of the Royal Navy’s first nuclear submarine over 60 years ago; and together, with the other opportunities from AUKUS, creating hundreds of highly skilled jobs across the United Kingdom, including in Scotland, the north of England, and the Midlands, taking forward this government’s driving purpose of leveling up across the whole country.” 

“Our governments will now launch an 18-month consultation period to determine every element of this program — from workforce, to training requirements, to production timelines, to safeguards and nonproliferation measures, and to nuclear stewardship and safety — to ensure full compliance with each of our nation’s commitments under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty,” said President Joseph Biden. 
 

AT&T and the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) have entered into an agreement to explore and develop 5G and edge computing-based maritime solutions aimed at benefitting national defense, homeland security, and industries such as shipping, oil and gas, recreational boating and more. 

The NPS and AT&T experiments with 5G and edge computing are expected to result in the identification of advanced technology solutions such as a connected system of unmanned and autonomous vehicles that can improve critical elements of national defense, such as multi-domain situational awareness, command and control, training, logistics, predictive maintenance and data analytics. 

The research includes the use of edge computing, where data is processed locally near a device to speed the completion of computing tasks.  

The parties entered into a three-year Collaborative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA). Under the agreement, super-fast, low latency AT&T 5G networking and edge computing capabilities will support a broad array of 5G-focused experiments on NPS facilities incorporating artificial intelligence, robotics, internet of things, machine learning, data analytics and smart base solutions. 

As part of the CRADA, one initiative is the NPS’ Sea Land Air Military Research (SLAMR) program. SLAMR conducts activity at Camp Roberts in South Monterey County, California, and, to a lesser extent, on the NPS main campus and at SLAMR’s beach lab north of the main campus in Monterey.

The NPS SLAMR program will explore the development of 5G and edge computing-powered sea applications that connect crewed and non-crewed vessels and sensors. Experiments will be conducted within the SLAMR’s multi-domain laboratory. The program is also focused on providing all-domain maritime solutions for a broad array of defense, industry and commercial applications.

The vision guiding the SLAMR program is to eventually have a command and aquatics operations facility with which to perform localized, unmanned aerial, surface, and underwater robotic vehicle activity. It is expected the facility and some of the experimental vehicles will be connected and powered by AT&T networking capabilities, including 5G and edge computing services.

The placement of AT&T’s 5G networking infrastructure is underway at NPS in accordance with a real estate license. It includes a tower and a short-range antenna on a prefabricated pad to be located at the SLAMR beach lab within walking distance from the main NPS campus. A key goal of the equipment placement is ease of access for faculty and students conducting autonomous vehicle research at a former waste-water treatment facility on the site. 

ALAMEDA, Calif. — U.S. Coast Guard members aboard the Alameda-based Coast Guard Cutter Munro (WMSL 755) participated in a cooperative three-day at-sea exercise with the Royal Australian Navy in the South China Sea Sept. 11 to 13, the Coast Guard Pacific Area said in a Sept. 16 release. 

The joint training engagement included joint operations, professional exchanges, and multi-unit maneuvering at sea to strengthen interoperability between the U.S. Coast Guard and Royal Australian Navy. 

“These at-sea engagements with our long-standing partners in the Indo-Pacific region provided an excellent joint training opportunity for the crew,” said Munro’s Commanding Officer Capt. Blake Novak. “Enhancing cooperation and building trust strengthens our relationship with the Royal Australian Navy while expanding our regional security cooperation initiatives.” 

The U.S. Coast Guard has a long history of cooperation with the Royal Australian Navy. The U.S. and Australia, along with New Zealand and France, make up the Pacific Quadrilateral Defense Coordinating Group or P-QUAD. P-QUAD endeavors to enhance maritime security in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean in partnership with the Pacific Island Countries through organizations such as the Fisheries Forum Agency. 

“The United States and Australia have deep and abiding interests throughout the Pacific,” said Vice Adm. Michael F. McAllister, commander, U.S. Coast Guard Pacific Area. “As leaders in maritime safety and security, our forces are dedicated to upholding regional sovereignty, stability and security. Through joint operations with Australia, we strengthen our interoperability with an ally deeply committed to promote international rules and norms within the Indo-Pacific.” 

“The Royal Australian Navy has enjoyed multiple opportunities throughout the year to work with the United States in the Indo-Pacific,” said Capt. David Teitzel, Royal Australian Navy, commander Task Group 635.3. “Being able to operate with a United States Coast Guard cutter like USCGC Munro has strengthened how we interoperate and boosts how we work together in the interest of regional security. I thank Munro for their time in-company and we look forward to sailing with the United States Coast Guard again.” 

Munro, a 418-foot national security cutter, departed its homeport of Alameda in July for a months-long deployment to the Western Pacific. Operating under the tactical control of the U.S. 7th Fleet, the cutter and crew are engaging in professional exchanges and capacity-building exercises with partner nations, patrolling and conducting operations as directed. 

National security cutters like Munro feature advanced command and control capabilities, aviation support facilities, stern cutter boat launch and increased endurance for long-range patrols, enabling the crews to disrupt threats to national security further offshore. 

MOBILE, Ala. – The Austal USA Board of Directors announced the election of Rusty Murdaugh as President of Austal USA effective Sept. 9, the company said in Sept. 15 release. Murdaugh joined Austal USA in 2017 as chief financial officer and has been serving as interim president since February. 

Murdaugh, a long-time veteran of the defense industry, brings sound business acumen and superior fiscal management skills to Austal USA. Before Austal, Murdaugh held leadership positions with Esterline Corporation, Avnet, United Technologies (formerly Goodrich), and Honeywell.   

Austal USA Board Chairman Larry Cavaiola said, “Over the course of the last six months, the company has secured multiple contracts under Rusty’s leadership and is well-positioned for continued growth. Rusty has a clear strategic vision to grow the company’s business and lead Austal USA’s worldwide operations.”  

As interim president, Murdaugh aggressively led the addition of steel shipbuilding to the Austal USA manufacturing operations and led the company’s facility expansion in Mobile by acquiring additional waterfront and services capability on the Mobile River. 

“I am honored to be selected to lead this great company,” Murdaugh stated.  “I am excited about the opportunity to lead the world’s finest shipbuilders, and I’m looking forward to the growth ahead in the coming years as we win new shipbuilding and ship maintenance contracts.” 

The election comes as the company grows its diverse portfolio of new construction, service and support, and autonomous vehicle contracts. The company has submitted a bid to build the U.S. Coast Guard’s Offshore Patrol Cutter and is executing a preliminary design and concept study for the U.S. Navy’s Light Amphibious Warship program. The company also recently secured two services and maintenance contracts, expanding its post-delivery business. 

STUART, Fla. — SeaRobotics Corp. has been awarded a U.S. Navy Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I contract to develop a CRawling Amphibious Breacher (CRAB), an amphibious robotic crawler capable of proofing shoreline assault lanes and neutralizing explosive and non-explosive obstacles to ensure clear landing zones for armed forces personnel, the company said in a Sept. 15 release.  

Phase I of the process (Navy SBIR 20.3) is to further develop an innovative but cost-effective means of demonstrating how SeaRobotics’ proposed CRAB concept could operate in swarm formation to specifically disarm various mine types — buried and submerged — in surf and beach zones. As such, CRABs are required to be rapidly deployable from a surface or subsurface marine asset in coastal waters (up to 400 meters from shore) in depths up 12 meters (or approximately 40 feet.)  

One of the other defined Key Performance Parameters is the capacity to drop GPS markers to accurately identify optimal assault lanes, made visible via a shared operating system that plots landing paths on a driver display aboard a command Amphibious Combat Vehicle (ACV).  

“We are delighted to have been awarded this important SBIR Phase I contract,” said SeaRobotics president Don Darling. “Current advances in marine robotics are redefining what’s possible in terms of tactical explosive ordnance disposal, and the challenge of developing an amphibious crawler capable of operating eight-hour missions above and below the waterline in sand, mud, and shell soil sea floor conditions is a natural extension of our R&D efforts at SeaRobotics to engineer the next generation of autonomous, uncrewed systems for a range of defense applications.” 

Phase II of the Navy SBIR 20.3 process is to manufacture a scaled prototype to demonstrate system performance and test the required range of operational parameters. Results will inform the necessary refinements for a Phase III development plan and ultimately transition the proposed technology to Marine Corps use.  

Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III announced Sept. 14 the president has made the following nomination:

Navy Vice Adm. Colin J. Kilrain for appointment to the rank of vice admiral, and assignment as assistant to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Washington, D.C. Kilrain is currently serving as associate director for military affairs, Central Intelligence Agency, McLean, Virginia.

ARLINGTON, Va. — Many of the Mahanian principles of sea power are as applicable today as ever, the U.S. Navy’s top officer said, noting that navies and coast guards are the guarantors of the world’s commerce and hence the well-being of nations.  

“Providing a safe, secure, and stable maritime system is an imperative to all of mankind … and it is an essential part of what our navies do every day,” said Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Adm. Mike Gilday. “We are not simply the “keeper of the seas” … but the ‘keeper of the global way of life’ as well.”  

Gilday was addressing a gathering of naval leaders from around the world during the Sept. 15 opening day of the 24th International Seapower Symposium, an event normally held every two years at the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island. The event was attended in person or over the internet by 135 delegates from 104 nations. Last year’s planned symposium was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.   

“Like all of you … I believe that robust, resilient, and responsible sea power is an international consortium of like-minded nations,” Gilday said. “We are the primary guarantors of peace, prosperity, and the open flow of goods along the oceans.  
Our navies provide these benefits to the citizens we serve every day … in peacetime and especially during these times of competition … not just in rare moments of conflict.” 
   

The CNO pointed out that the ideas of Capt. Alfred Thayer Mahan bring to mind decisive battles at sea, sea control, and combat credibility.  
 
“I think many of those arguments are still relevant today,” Gilday said. “But over time … Mahan refined the rationale for sea power. Naval combat power became less pronounced, and economics took a more central role. Mahan believed that one of the fundamental applications of naval power was to protect an increasingly globalized world economy. You see, wealth generation comes from commerce … and commerce … floats on seawater. … Our economies, our values, and our cultures are more attached to the sea than any point in history.” 

The CNO noted several facts that illustrate the magnitude of the maritime economy today. The world’s trading fleet today includes more than 60,000 ships. New container ships nearly 400 meters long can carry more than 20,000 containers. There are more than 160 offshore wind farms providing electrical power to millions of homes and businesses. There are 20,000 desalinization plants that provide fresh water to hundreds of millions of people. Ships are engaged in deep-sea mining to extract critical minerals. He also noted the importance of underwater cables that transnational communications traffic.  

In a press conference following the speech, Gilday said “the seas are getting more contested and more congested,” and that “almost 100% of our internet connectivity is connected through trans-oceanic cables.” 
 
Gilday championed the international rules-based order that “preserves the maritime commons for freedom and fairness … for coexistence and for harmony … where the collective goals of all people — regardless of where they call home — can be advanced. 

“Since it is in the political, social, and economic interests of all of us to ensure the freedom of the seas … this is a responsibility with truly global consequences, not just for today, but for our children and their children,” he said. “It cannot be taken for granted … peace does not happen by accident. When the rules prevail, everyone prospers. When the rules are undermined … or worse, broken altogether … the world is a less secure and poorer place for all of us.”  
 
The CNO stressed the importance of the navy-to-navy and coast guard-to-coast guard relationships that “serve as a strong and stable keel for the broader international community. This keel serves as a shock absorber … and in turn … provides the underlying structure for global stability. 

“Every day … our Sailors send a “bow wave” of diplomacy in front of their path … assuring our allies, partners, and friends … and deterring malign behavior that threatens the international order that is so important,” he said.