ARLINGTON, Va. — U.S. Navy Secretary Kenneth J. Braithwaite says he plans to establish a new numbered fleet as a “formidable deterrence” to China, basing it closer to allies and partner nations “at the crossroads between the Indian and Pacific oceans.”

“If we’re really going to have an Indo-Pacom (U.S. Indo-Pacific Command) footprint, we can’t just rely on the 7^th Fleet in Japan,” Braithwaite announced Nov. 17 to webinar participants at the annual symposium of the Naval Submarine League.

“We have to look to our other allies and partners like Singapore, like India and actually put a numbered fleet where it would be extremely relevant if, God forbid, we were to get in any kind of a dust-up,” Braithwaite said. His announcement came just after describing his recent visit with Pacific and Asian partners concerned about China’s aggressive actions in the South China Sea and elsewhere.

Braithwaite said he was alarmed by China’s “aggressiveness around the Globe,” from the Arctic to the Far East. “Not since the War of 1812 has the United States and our sovereignty been under the kind of pressures that we see today,” he said, adding the planned 1^st Fleet, “can provide a formidable deterrence.”

Braithwaite said he had not yet discussed his plan with new acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller, “but I’ve crossed all the T’s and dotted all the other I’s.”

He said the new 1^st Fleet might be based in Singapore, where he recently met with officials to discuss enhanced Naval presence.  If not in Singapore, “we’re going to look to make it more expeditionary oriented and move it across the Pacific until it is where our allies and partners see that it could best assist them as well as assist us,” said Braithwaite.

He added that he wanted to ensure in the time he has left as Navy Secretary “that I opened the door to these nations, recognizing the challenges they have and to offer them the kind of support that we can provide.” Braithwaite also said he was seeking their partnership and alliance with us, because the United States alone will never be able to stand up against the PRC (People’s Republic of China) without having our allies and partners close to us. 

ARLINGTON, Va. — Submarine forces operating in the Arctic will become “more and more important,”  as the polar ice melts, opening up more navigable blue water to commercial and naval vessels, a top U.S. Navy leader says.

The U.S. Submarine Force has traveled under the Arctic ice for decades, and continues to add to the Navy’s understanding of the environment by testing operating systems, conducting valuable scientific research and partnering with allies in exercises like Ice Exercise (ICEX) 2020,  Vice Adm. Phillip Sawyer told webinar participants Nov. 16 at the annual symposium of the Naval Submarine League.

The increasing decline of sea ice in the Arctic has opened potential sea lanes in the summer months, sparking territorial disputes. Russia, Norway, Canada and the United States all have boosted their military presence in the Arctic at a rate not seen for decades. China, calling itself a near-Arctic nation, is eager to use a trans-Arctic route to move its exports and is building its own ice breakers. Russia is placing cruise missiles on its new heavy ice breakers.

“As the polar ice recedes and more of the Arctic becomes a blue Arctic, this will present opportunities and challenges,” said Sawyer, Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Operations, Plans and Strategy. Noting submarines are the Navy’s primary anti-submarine warfare (ASW) platforms, Sawyer added, “the submarine forces working the Arctic will become more and more important.”

ICEX is a biennial submarine exercise to promote interoperability between allies and partners to maintain operational readiness and regional stability in the Arctic. In March, two U.S. attack submarines, the USS Connecticut and the USS Toledo, joined forces from the United Kingdom, Canada, Norway and Japan in the Arctic Sea for ICEX 2020. 

“While the submarine force can go where other naval units can’t, ICEX is but one of several High North exercises the Navy executes with allies and partners.” Sawyer said. In May, the U.S. 6th Fleet conducted a bilateral ASW exercise with the Royal Navy above the Arctic Circle. Four ships, including a U.S. submarine, and a U.S. P-8A maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft worked together in the Norwegian Sea.

PORT HUENEME, Calif.  — Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group (EODGRU) 1 enhanced its ability to operate within the Navy Expeditionary Combat Force (NECF), fleet and Joint Forces by completing a Navy Expeditionary Combat Command (NECC) Integrated Exercise (NIEX) at Naval Base Ventura County-Port Hueneme, Calif., Nov. 13, EODGRU-1 Public Affairs said in a Nov. 17 release. 

The one-week exercise simulated EODGRU-1 commanding a deployed task unit designed to support NECF and Joint Forces conducting security, supply and combat operations.  

“EODGRU-1 is always focused on capability development, which includes war-gaming and assessment. Participating in a NIEX is an example of how we accomplish a Navy EOD strategic objective while building towards our vision of a nation undeterred by explosive threats,” said Capt. Oscar Rojas, EODGRU-1’s commodore.  

NIEX 21-1 tested the staff’s ability to command and control a distributed force in an austere, expeditionary environment, while also challenging them to analyze and solve evolving problem sets under tight time constraints. 

“Navy EOD plays a critical role within the NECF by eliminating explosive threats so the fleet and nation can win whenever, wherever and however it chooses,” said Rojas, who emphasized that the NECF is greater than the sum of its parts. “NIEX 21-1 made us prove our ability to also integrate and command components of Navy EOD, Mobile Diving and Salvage, and the Naval Construction and Maritime Expeditionary Security Forces — a capability that is essential to achieving superiority in a contested maritime environment.” 

A NIEX is designed to ensure NECC major commands, such as EODGRU-1, can integrate with the NECF to support theater commanders in executing the National Defense Strategy. It also serves as the culminating event before a numbered fleet can certify them for major combat operations, which includes deploying as a task force staff. NIEXes are assessed by Expeditionary Warfare Development Center (EXWDC), who train the NECF to plan and execute distributed operations to increase lethality and survivability. 

“EXWDC’s role was to strain EODGRU-1’s capabilities so they can maximize their ability to train subordinate forces to deploy,” said Gregory Gates, a member of NECC’s assessments and certification department. “We wanted to see them properly communicate within their staff, and to subordinate commands and higher headquarters to solve problems and complete mission taskings.” 

“To accomplish this, they needed to come together as a staff and focus on clear, secure, build and protect,” said Gates, referring to the NECF’s specialized skills that enable distributed maritime operations by maintaining open and secure logistic routes, providing the capability to construct and repair critical infrastructure, and the ability to defend critical assets. 

Operating from Naval Amphibious Base Coronado, Calif., EODGRU-1 oversees the manning training and equipping of EOD Mobile Units 1, 3, 5 and 11; Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit 1; EOD Expeditionary Support Unit 1; and EOD Training and Evaluation Unit 1. EODGRU-1 is also capable of deploying as a battalion-level staff to command task forces in theater. 

TUCSON, Ariz. — As part of a historic Missile Defense Agency demonstration and for the first time ever, an intercontinental ballistic missile target was intercepted and destroyed outside Earth’s atmosphere by an advanced SM-3 Block IIA ballistic missile defense interceptor made by Raytheon Missiles & Defense, a Raytheon Technologies business, the company said in a Nov. 17 release. The interceptor was co-developed with Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. 

“This first-of-its-kind test shows that our nation has a viable option for a new layer of defense against long-range threats,” said Bryan Rosselli, vice president of Strategic Missile Defense at Raytheon Missiles & Defense.  

The SM-3 family of ballistic missile defense interceptors has executed more exo-atmospheric intercepts than all other missiles combined and is the only weapon of its kind employed from both ships and land.  

Raytheon Intelligence & Space sensors were also part of the historic test from low-earth orbit. The sensors detected and tracked the target and relayed the data to decision makers in a demonstration of space-based early warning. 

ARLINGTON, Va. — The last Los Angeles-class nuclear-powered attack submarine (SSN) built, USS Cheyenne, will be the first of the class selected to go through a service life-extension program, a senior Navy admiral said.

The Navy is planning to refuel six Los Angeles-class SSNs, said Adm. Frank Caldwell, director of the Navy’s Nuclear Power Program, speaking Nov. 16 in a webinar for the annual symposium of the naval Submarine League.

The Navy is undertaking the effort to shore up the numbers of attack submarines in the fleet as other boats in the Loc Angeles class are decommissioned in order to partially fill in the “trough” in the mid-2020s when the inventory of SSNs declines to 41 boats.

“We will extend these boats for another operating cycle,” Caldwell said. “To get after this, over the last two years, we’ve been making the required investments in cranes, equipment and facilities to support these refuelings at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard [Kittery, Maine]. This is a big effort, and there is a lot of work going on.”

Rear Adm. Ed Anderson, commander, Undersea Warfare, also speaking in the webinar, said the Navy is hoping to squeeze more than a 10-year nominal operational cycle out of each of the six submarines in the life-extension program.

“We’re gathering the data to give the fleet as much time as possible,” he said. Refueling of the Cheyenne will begin in February 2022, Caldwell said.

ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Navy’s submarine force is in high demand worldwide and is in the midst of a very high operations tempo (optempo), a Navy senior admiral said. 

“Navy leaders, fleet commanders, combatant commanders have high expectations for us,” said Adm. Frank Caldwell, director of the Navy’s Nuclear Power Program, speaking Nov. 16 in a webinar for the annual symposium of the naval Submarine League. “They love what we bring to peacetime operations and they are absolutely counting on us and our warfighting capability and our readiness to execute those wartime responsibilities.  

“We are a force that’s in very high demand,” Caldwell said. “In fact, all of the maritime commanders want a lot more of what the submarine force can bring and what we bring to the undersea domain. Our team is out there every single day doing eye-watering work on submarine missions or on patrols. The deployed OpTempo is very high right now and our boats and our crews are stepping up to the challenge. This is true even in the midst of COVID, which has put friction in the entire system, whether it’s from building new-construction submarines, delivering boats from deep maintenance, or simply executing the operational schedule. 

The admiral said there “has been a strain on our families and on our crews. But through it all I have been really impressed with the way our submarine commanders have kept their crews safe and continued to meet deployed operational commitments not only for missions but also for strategic deterrent patrols.”  

In addition to a high optempo, the submarine force also is in a construction boom at a level not seen in two decades, he said.  

“We are building submarines at rates that we have not seen in over 20 years,” Caldwell said. “The new-construction build halls are full and more facilities are under construction. We have modern, high-end fixturing that allows us to hold large components in place and allow high-precision, automated cutting and welding. While submarine construction in the 1980s and 1990s relied on retaining large openings in the hull in order to insert components and equipment, today we are building more and more components on rafts or on modules, long before we slide them together into the hull to complete the submarine.” 

Caldwell said the Navy “strives to keep the individual construction efforts on a steady, uninterrupted drumbeat. We refer to this as continuous build … capitalizing on the work force learning to build more efficiently, to reduce construction timeline, and continue to gain efficiency as we go forward.” 

ARLINGTON, Va. — The commander of the U.S. Navy’s submarine forces said the service’s submarine community is looking at several options for the basis of the next-generation nuclear-powered attack submarine (SSN). 

Vice Adm. Daryl Caudle, commander, Submarine Forces, speaking Nov. 16 in a webinar for the annual symposium of the naval Submarine League, said the service is looking at three options: a development of the Virginia-class SSN; a development of the Columbia-class nuclear-powered ballistic-missile submarine; and a new-from-scratch SSN design. 

“We’re going to get alternatives and make decisions on how to make this new SSN match what we need to stay ahead of our peers,” Caudle said. 

Caudle discussed some characteristics and capabilities that would be desirable in the next SSN. Increased speed is one characteristic he said is a requirement. 

“Speed is basically important to every improve every single joint warfare function,” he said. Speed “plays out so well in all of our wargaming [because] it helps compensate for bad decisions. It also helps us get to the fight faster and helps sustain an all-domain maneuver warfare.”   

The admiral said, “We can never get enough payload capacity, so we do want submarines with large payload capacity.” 

He also said that stealth is important and not limited to acoustic stealth, but across all spectrums. 

“When this new SSN rolls out, we’re going to have peer competitors that are going to be able to detect us not just acoustically but through algorithms that are going to break the water interface.”  

Caudle stressed that the Navy would have to make research and development investments to achieve the characteristics desired in the new SSN.   

ARLINGTON, Va. Acting Secretary of Defense Christopher C. Miller announced Nov. 13 that the president has made the following nomination: 

Rear Adm. Jeffrey W. Hughes for appointment to the rank of vice admiral, and assignment as deputy chief of naval operations for warfighting development, N7, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Washington, D.C.  Hughes is currently serving as commander, Navy Personnel Command; and deputy chief of naval personnel, Millington, Tennessee. 

PUERTO LEMPIRA, Honduras — A Coast Guard Helicopter Tactical Squadron (HITRON) MH-65 Dolphin aircrew forward deployed aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Seneca (WMEC-906) provided humanitarian assistance, Nov. 13, to Honduran villages after Hurricane Eta impacted the country, the Coast Guard 7th District said in a Nov. 15 release.  

The HITRON aircrew and Seneca crew medevaced multiple people and redistributed relief aid across the hurricane impacted area as needed.  

“I am very thankful to have been able to assist in the medevac and rescue efforts following the wake of Hurricane Eta in Honduras,” said Petty Officer 1st Class James Mann, a HITRON flight mechanic. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Honduran people and our fellow service members continuing to help them rebuild. We wish for a speedy recovery to all those affected.”  

“The Seneca is proud to be assigned to CTF-45 and support humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations in Honduras,” said Cmdr. Matthew Rooney, commanding officer of the Coast Guard Cutter Seneca. “Our embarked MH-65 helicopter was well suited to provide medical evacuations, conduct aerial surveys of critical infrastructure and deliver emergency supplies in remote areas. The Seneca’s crew performed magnificently and I am grateful that we could provide assistance after Hurricane Eta made landfall in Honduras.”  

Joint Task Force-Bravo is leading the humanitarian aid disaster relief efforts under the responsibility of U.S. Southern Command. The mission of JTF-Bravo includes being prepared to support disaster relief operations in Central America, South America and the Caribbean, when directed by SOUTHCOM. JTF-B’s training and strategic location allows them to mobilize and respond to an emergency with very short notice, enabling them to rapidly respond to the needs of our partners. 

Coast Guard Seventh District, along with regional partners, are monitoring Hurricane Iota and urges caution to all mariners in the Western Caribbean Sea. The Coast Guard stands ready, relevant and responsive to aid and render assistance when needed.  

The Coast Guard Cutter Seneca is a 270-foot medium-endurance cutter with a crew complement of 100, with missions ranging from counter-narcotics, migrant interdictions, search and rescue to living marine resource operations from the Gulf of Maine to the Pacific Ocean. The cutter was commissioned in 1987 and is homeported in Boston, Massachusetts. 

ARLINGTON, Va. —The admiral who sponsors the resources for the U.S. Navy’s information warfare operations said the modern warfare environment is increasingly governed by the speed of information and its effects on decision-making. 

“It is all about speed for advantage,” said Vice Adm. Jeffrey E. Trussler, deputy chief of naval operations for information warfare and director of naval intelligence, speaking Nov. 13 at a webinar on the website of the Center for Strategic and International Studies. The event was sponsored by the U.S. Naval Institute and Huntington Ingalls Industries. 

“One hundred, 200 years ago it was pretty slow-moving,” Trussler said. “Over the last hundred years that [advantage] has slowly whittled away and become much shorter. Now that we’re in the information age, the information advantage you might hold could be a mere matter of minutes or even seconds. … It’s about understanding the domain as never before” from the seabed to space. 

“Depending on where you are, the time of day, the environmental conditions, you may be offered advantages if you know how to take advantage of them, or the enemy may be subject to some disadvantages if you know how to exploit them.” 

Information warfare has arisen to such importance in naval operations that there is now an Information Warfare Commander assigned to each carrier strike group on par with other composite warfare commanders such as the air warfare, undersea warfare, surface warfare, and strike warfare commanders in the strike group. 

“Those windows of opportunity might be very short,” said the admiral, a submariner. “The ability to take advantage … it’s all about speed, it’s about the precision of information you get. … And the volume that comes in. More importantly, those things also offer vulnerabilities. It also requires the speed of decision. So, it’s not about accumulating a lot of great information. If you don’t act on it in an appropriate amount of time, that decision advantage you may have with the information you have it may just go away.” 

Trussler said the speed of information “requires leaders who are going to take advantage of this. And I hope we’re evolving toward that as the information flows, the opportunity flows, those windows that can be offered into the physical environment or the RF spectrum of slight opportunities, that’s when decisions have to be made and taken advantage of before that advantage of information is lost.”