ARLINGTON, Va. — The admiral in charge of the U.S. Navy’s regional maintenance centers said the Navy, as currently resourced, is not able to keep up with the ship repair demands of the current fleet and would have greater challenges in keeping up in wartime. 

“We don’t have enough capacity for peacetime,” said Rear Adm. Eric Ver Hage, commander, regional maintenance centers, and director of surface ship maintenance and modernization for Naval Sea Systems Command, speaking at an Aug. 25 webinar conducted by the Navy League of the United States and sponsored by L3Harris Corp. and Tri-Tec. 

“We have so much to be proud of, but we’re not as effective or efficient,” Ver Hage said. “We can’t get ships delivered on time with the predictability we need today.” 

“Think about how long it took [the Arleigh Burke-class destroyers] Fitzgerald and McCain to get back in operation,” he said, referring to their respective collisions at sea in 2017. “We’ll see what we do with the [Wasp-class amphibious assault ship] Bonhomme Richard [which was devastated by fire in July], but that would be a massive effort to repair her, if that’s the decision. I’m talking years.” 

The admiral said that developing the workforce needed to repair ships in both the public and private shipyards is critical to the repair industrial base. 

He also stressed more discipline is needed in maintenance planning. He said that 50% to 55% of every ship repair availability should be planned in advance and that port loading projection needs to be scrutinized constantly to optimize the flow of ships in and out of maintenance. A positive development is that the fleets are increasingly cognizant of the importance of level-loading the maintenance ports for the ship availabilities.   

The admiral said that the increased use of distant support in the COVID-19 era has improved the resilience of the ship-repair efforts. 

Ver Hage said that public-private investment is needed to have the industrial base needed to repair ships on time. 

He said his command is trying to buy materials and components more deliberately and proactively.  

The admiral said he is trying to simplify and reduce the diversity of systems, for example, steering and navigation systems, so as to reduce the parts support and repair expertise needed. He also noted that software is increasingly more central to the testing of a component. 

Also speaking in the webinar were Rear Adm. Tom J. Anderson, program executive officer-ships, and John Rhatigan, chairman of the Maritime Machinists Association. Bryan Clark, senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, served as moderator.

ARLINGTON, Va. — The admiral in charge of U.S. Navy shipbuilding said there is no shortage of challenges in building the fleet and keeping it in fighting condition. 

Speaking at an Aug. 25 webinar conducted by the Navy League of the United States and sponsored by L3Harris Corp. and Tri-Tec, Rear Adm. Tom J. Anderson, program executive officer-ships, listed the top challenges the Navy faced in optimizing the procurement and sustainment of ships. 

At the top of his list are the capacity and capability of the industrial base in a time of change.  

“What do we have today, what do we need for tomorrow, and how do we efficiently and effectively transition between the two,” Anderson listed. “It’s not an easy process to change, and we need to do it mindfully.” 

Anderson for one mentioned the supply chain, noting that “any plans we have going forward need to take into account their health and avoid the whipsaw that we do … to provide stable work to the industrial base.”   

Design technology maturity was the second concern that Anderson mentioned during the webinar.  

“We need to use what’s on the shelf and figure how best to apply to the requirements that we have,” he said. “That’s our fastest path to success. Where there is a requirement that can’t be met today, we need to think through how we develop and mature it in a way that allows it to be produced efficiently without the need for going back and making significant changes while we are constructing [a ship].” 

“For ships and ship systems which are a little unique, that can mean some form of land-based testing,” he said. “How do we get the risk out of that platform before going into the production run and we get to that smooth and efficient production that we need?”  

Timing of new starts in ship construction is another consideration, Anderson said, interspersed with stable production lines.  

“We can’t go change the entire force structure at one time,” he said. “We don’t have the capability, so what is our programmatic and production bandwidth for new starts? How much can we do concurrently? We need to take into account the expertise both in the Navy and in industry when it comes to new starts, and at the same time we need to account for transition between the production.”   

Anderson also stressed that stability in the Navy’s shipbuilding plan is important, noting that “uncertainty has multiple negative impacts to cost and schedule.” 

“Significant production runs are more cost-effective in the acquisition of a vessel,” he added. “We need to be looking at what the long game is with regard to when we determine we’re going to build a platform, how long we’re going to build it for. Efficiency comes as a result of repetition.” 

Also speaking in the webinar were Rear Adm. Eric Ver Hage, commander of the Regional Maintenance Centers, and director, surface ship maintenance and modernization, and John Rhatigan, chairman of the Maritime Machinists Association. Bryan Clark, senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, served as moderator.

NEW LONDON, Conn. — The Coast Guard Auxiliary is scheduled to stand up its first unit dedicated to supporting the Coast Guard Research and Development Center on Aug. 26 at the RDC, the center said in an Aug. 24 release. Rear Adm. Tom Allan, commander of the First Coast Guard District, and Commodore William Bowen of Coast Guard Auxiliary District One (Southern Region) will preside. 

The new auxiliary unit will support the RDC mission by coordinating requests for assets and skills in three focus areas: subject matter expertise, field research activities and public affairs. The new auxiliary unit coordinator, Bruce Buckley, will develop a skills bank that matches Coast Guard research priorities to Auxiliary skill sets across the nation. The unit is expected to become a major force multiplier for Coast Guard research. 

The RDC has been executing Coast Guard research priorities in southeastern Connecticut since 1972. RDC reduces the risk and raises the value of introducing new technology into the Coast Guard by evaluating how it can be applied to Coast Guard missions. Its small research staff of military and civilian scientists and engineers has been partnering with operational commanders and research partners to facilitate these evaluations. 

The Coast Guard Auxiliary has a long history of supporting large-scale field testing, through voluntary dedication of their time and personal assets, to improve the performance of Coast Guard aviation and surface assets. 

In the last few years, the auxiliary has become a key RDC partner in the execution of an array of diverse research projects: 

• Worked side-by-side with RDC in field-testing alternatives to pyrotechnic signaling devices that resulted in a new hand-held electronic visual distress signaling device standard. 
• Helped with public prize competition challenges that included serving as technical judges and providing test assets to evaluate person-in-the-water detection technologies. 
• Assisted RDC personnel with constructing a ground control station in Fairbanks, Alaska, for a U.S. Department of Homeland Security-sponsored project on CubeSats. 
• Created a documentary of large-scale oil burn research on Little Sand Island in Mobile Bay, Alabama. 

The RDC will host an outdoor exhibit including an unmanned response boat and other technology to highlight its autonomous technology research in conjunction with the unit stand-up.

ALAMEDA, Calif. — The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy suffered a fire in one of the ship’s main propulsion motors on Aug. 18 while underway for operations in the Arctic, the Coast Guard Pacific Area said in an Aug. 25 release. No injuries were reported. 

The Healy was 60 nautical miles off of Seward, Alaska, en route to the Arctic when an electrical fire was reported at 9:30 p.m. A fire team disconnected the affected motor, and the fire was confirmed extinguished by 9:56 p.m. The cause of the fire is unknown. 

The propulsion motors are critical equipment that use the power generated by the ship’s main diesel engines to spin the shaft and propeller. This design protects the engines from variations in shaft speeds inherent to ice operations. 

Due to the fire, Healy’s starboard propulsion motor and shaft are no longer operational, and the ship is headed back to its homeport in Seattle for further inspection and repairs. 

Prior to the fire, the Healy completed a 26-day patrol in support of Operation Arctic Shield, demonstrating U.S. presence and influence in the Bering Sea, along the U.S.-Russian Maritime Boundary Line, and in the Arctic. 

On Aug. 15, the Healy was in Seward and embarked 11 scientists before departing on Aug. 18 to ensure national security and conduct science operations in the Arctic. As a result of the fire, all Arctic operations have been cancelled. 

“I commend the crew of the Healy for their quick actions to safely combat the fire,” said Vice Adm. Linda Fagan, the Pacific Area commander. “This casualty, however, means that the United States is limited in icebreaking capability until the Healy can be repaired, and it highlights the nation’s critical need for polar security cutters.” 

In April 2019, the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard awarded a contract to VT Halter Marine, of Pascagoula, Mississippi, for the detail design and construction of the polar security cutter. The initial award includes nonrecurring engineering, detail design and construction of the first PSC and has options for the construction of two additional hulls. Construction of the first PSC is scheduled to begin in early 2021 with delivery in 2024. The president’s fiscal year 2021 budget requests full funding for the construction of a second PSC.

BREMERTON, Wash. — The Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson departed Bremerton, Washington, on Aug. 23 to start sea trials as the final phase in completing a 17-month docking planned incremental availability (DPIA) at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility, Lt. Cmdr. Miranda Williams of USS Carl Vinson public affairs said in a release. 

Upon the conclusion of the DPIA, which began Feb. 28, 2019, Vinson returned to the fleet to begin her operational training cycle. 

The DPIA included a complete restoration and system retrofit to accommodate F-35C Lightning II strike fighter mission capabilities as well as upgrades to combat systems, electrical systems and crew living spaces and maintenance on the ship’s hull, rudders and shafts. Vinson has the speed, agility and maneuverability to travel more than 5,000 nautical miles in less than seven days and arrive on station ready to fight.  

“I am proud of all of the hard work and dedication shown by the entire crew throughout the DPIA — and particularly with the added challenges we faced during this pandemic,” said Capt. Matthew Paradise, Vinson’s commanding officer and a native of Tacoma, Washington. “Also, a huge thank you to our family and friends, because our success was, in large part, due to their unwavering support. We just couldn’t have done this without them.” 

Prior to departing Bremerton, Vinson conducted extensive COVID-19 prevention measures to ensure the health and safety of the crew while at sea, and to prevent potential spread to their families and the community upon their return to port. Those measures included: restriction of movement for all personnel for 14 days prior to embarking the ship, mandatory face coverings, continued cleaning and disinfecting throughout common areas, routine COVID-19 testing, and social distancing. 

Upon completion of sea trials and underway training, Vinson will shift its homeport from Bremerton to San Diego.

NORWEGIAN SEA — The Seawolf-class fast-attack submarine USS Seawolf is operating in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations and conducted a brief stop for personnel in the vicinity of Tromso, Norway, on Aug. 21, the fleet’s public affairs office said in a release. 

The Pacific-based submarine is operating in 6th Fleet under the command and control of commander, Submarine Group 8, and commander, Task Force 69, to compliment the undersea warfare capabilities of U.S. Naval Forces Europe.  

“USS Seawolf’s deployment from Bangor, Washington, to the U.S. 6th Fleet demonstrates the submarine force’s global reach and commitment to provide persistent and clandestine undersea forces worldwide to execute our unique missions with unrivaled readiness,” said Vice Adm. Daryl Caudle, submarine forces commander. “Our undersea warriors are the best in the world in submarine warfare and are equipped with unmatched capabilities designed to enhance our Navy and multiply the joint force’s effectiveness in competition and conflict.” 

These subs are exceptionally quiet, fast, well-armed, and equipped with advanced sensors. Though this class of submarines lacks vertical launch systems, it is armed with eight torpedo tubes and can hold up to 50 weapons in its torpedo room. 

“The arrival of Seawolf compliments our already robust undersea warfare capabilities and demonstrates our continued commitment to providing maritime security and deterrence throughout the region,” said Rear Adm. Anthony Carullo, commander, Submarine Group 8. 

Seawolf was commissioned in 1997 and is the lead submarine of its class. The USS Connecticut and USS Jimmy Carter make up the rest of the class. 

Seawolf, which is based out of Naval Base Kitsap in Washington, is conducting maritime operations in the 6th Fleet area of operations in support of U.S. national security interests in Europe and Africa.

MARINETTE, Wis. — Littoral Combat Ship 21, the future USS Minneapolis-Saint Paul, has completed acceptance trials in Lake Michigan, Lockheed Martin said in an Aug. 24 release. 

Trials included a full-power run, maneuverability testing, and surface and air detect-to-engage demonstrations of the ship’s combat system. Major systems and features were demonstrated, including aviation support, small boat launch handling and recovery and machinery control and automation. 

Now that trials are complete, the ship will undergo final outfitting and fine-tuning before delivery to the U.S. Navy. LCS 21 is the 11th Freedom-variant LCS designed and built by the Lockheed-led industry team and is slated for delivery to the Navy early next year. 

“LCS 21 joins a fleet of sister ships delivering unique flexibility and capability to the U.S. Navy,” said Joe DePietro, Lockheed Martin vice president and general manager of small combatants and ship systems. “Freedom-variant LCS are inherently capable to serve freedom of navigation, drug interdiction and humanitarian missions, and with additional capabilities onboarded, they can serve further focused missions. On LCS 21’s acceptance trials, we successfully tested the ship’s maneuverability, automation and core combat capability.” 

The Freedom-variant has completed four successful deployments, including the USS Detroit’s deployment this summer. The Detroit deployed to the U.S. Southern Command supporting the Martillo campaign — a multinational effort targeting illicit trafficking routes in Central American coastal waters. 

Regarding LCS’ capabilities, U.S. Southern Commander Adm. Craig Faller recently stated, “LCS has proven to be an effective and adaptable platform capable of multiple missions in our area of responsibility. It has become an end-game enabler for U.S. Coast Guard law enforcement authorities who disrupt transnational criminal organizations and the smuggling of deadly narcotics. Adding the LCS to our enhanced counter-narcotics operation is helping save lives.” 

Unique among combat ships, the focused-mission LCS is designed to support mine countermeasures, anti-submarine and surface warfare missions and is easily adapted to serve future and evolving missions. 

“I am pleased to see another successful acceptance trials on Lake Michigan,” said Jan Allman, chief executive officer of Fincantieri Marinette Marine. “Together with our partners, Lockheed Martin and the U.S. Navy, our proud shipbuilding team puts in long hours to deliver a proven warship for the fleet.”

SEATTLE — The U.S. Coast Guard decommissioned the cutter Mellon during an Aug. 21 ceremony at Coast Guard Base Seattle that was presided over by Rear Adm. Peter Gautier, the deputy commander of the Coast Guard Pacific Area. 

Mellon was one of the Coast Guard’s two remaining 378-foot Hamilton-class high-endurance cutters. The fleet of high-endurance cutters is being replaced by 418-foot Legend-class national security cutters, which serve as the Coast Guard’s primary long-range asset.  

Commissioned in 1968, the Mellon was the third of 12 high-endurance cutters built for long-range missions, including maritime security roles, drug interdiction, illegal immigrant interception and fisheries patrols. 

“While Mellon’s service to the U.S. Coast Guard now ends, the ship will continue its legacy of good maritime governance after transfer to the Kingdom of Bahrain’s Royal Naval Force,” Gautier said. “I am incredibly confident in the Coast Guard’s future, because in … Mellon’s crew and proud history, I see the attributes that have made our Coast Guard ‘Always Ready’ for more than two centuries.” 

Mellon’s keel was laid on July 25, 1966, at Avondale Shipyards in New Orleans. Mellon was launched Feb. 11, 1967, and commissioned on Jan. 9, 1968. The cutter was named after Andrew W. Mellon, the 49th U.S. Treasury secretary, who served from 1921 to 1932. 

Over the past 52 years of service, Mellon’s crews conducted a wide range of operations in all parts of the world. From 1969 through 1972, Mellon’s crews participated in the Vietnam War, performing several naval gunfire support missions and patrolling Southeast Asian waters to prevent the smuggling of weapons into Vietnam. Mellon’s participation in the Vietnam War earned the ship the Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation.  

In the late-1970s and 1980s, the Mellon responded to numerous major search-and-rescue operations, including their assistance in the rescue of 510 passengers and crew members from the burning luxury liner Prinsendam in 1980.  

In 1985, the Mellon entered the Fleet Renovation and Modernization program, a dry-dock program designed to prolong the high-endurance cutters’ service lives. Mellon was recommissioned on March 3, 1989. 

Living up to the Mellon’s motto “Primus Inter Pares,” meaning first among equals, the cutter established several Coast Guard firsts, including the first of five Hamilton-class cutters to have a Harpoon anti-ship missile system installed. Mellon was also the first — and only — Coast Guard cutter to test fire a Harpoon missile. 

During Bering Sea patrols, Mellon conducted search-and-rescue operations and enforced laws and regulations that preserved vital Alaskan fisheries. In the eastern Pacific, the Mellon’s boarding teams interdicted illegal narcotics trafficked over the high seas.  

During the cutter’s last year of service, 20 officers and 160 enlisted crew members patrolled the Bering Sea and the northern Pacific near Japan for more than a combined 230 days, collectively conducting 100 safety and fisheries boardings of U.S.-, Chinese-, Korean-, Japanese- and Russian-flagged fishing vessels and participating in five search-and-rescue cases.  

“It has truly been an honor to serve as the final commanding officer for Coast Guard Cutter Mellon,” said Capt. Jonathan Musman. “The officers, chiefs and crew for this final year have been truly remarkable and can hold their heads high as they operated Mellon with distinction across the North Pacific on three deployments serving our nation.

“The reliability of the cutter is a product of years and years of properly taking care of this beloved cutter. The legacy of Mellon has been those fantastic memories that have been made and the knowledge that has passed from one shipmate to another. The future generations of cuttermen were here this last deployment learning, teaching and making their shipboard memories, and they are ready to carry on and continue the Coast Guard’s seagoing heritage.”

ARLINGTON, Va. — A subsidiary of Elbit Systems of America has been selected by a Defense Department team of medical professionals and engineers, to support the development and industrialization of ventilator designs — including one by the U.S. Navy — to help combat COVID-19 affliction.

Merrimack, New Hampshire-based KMC Systems Inc. is assessing five designs for low-cost, ready- for-production ventilators, picked by the department’s “Hack-a-Vent Challenge” in June. KMC is assessing the five for simplicity of manufacture and availability of components. KMC was selected for the task by the Defense Health Agency, U.S. Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office and the Wright Brothers Institute, due to its experience designing and manufacturing in a U.S. Food and Drug Administration-regulated environment, the company said in an Aug. 20 statement.

“KMC has specialized in design and manufacturing for some of the leading medical devices and life-sciences companies for the last four decades,” said Raanan Horowitz, president and CEO of Elbit Systems of America, itself a subsidiary of Israeli defense contractor, Elbit Systems Ltd.

Leveraging the U.S. Special Operations Command digital platform, Vulcan, the “Hack-a-Vent Challenge” solicited crowdsourced proposals to build domestically sourced ventilators that would be portable, smaller than a traditional ventilator, and operational for under $500, providing a solution to rural communities and foreign partners. Five were selected out of 172 submissions.

The five prototypes include the CorVent by Coridea, BLU3 Vent by BLU3, iBreather by L3 Harris, FieldVent by Northrop Grumman, and the NAVSEA PRE-Vent by the Navy. The NAVSEA team — made up of U.S. Navy engineering, diving and life support, and biomedical research experts — kept their functional solution’s cost at $300.

The Navy team managed to provide many of the features of an intensive care unit ventilator without the reliance on the established medical supply chain by using sensors from the diving industry and the microcontroller enthusiast community.

The NAVSEA team also used 3-D printing to bridge compatibility gaps between those sensors and all standard aerosol, CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) and BiPAP (Bilevel Positive Airway Pressure) hoses. They also included an uninterruptable power supply with battery backup.

ARLINGTON, Va. — COVID-19-related delays will not slow the planned March 2021 start of full-rate production for Lockheed Martin’s F-35 Lightning II strike fighter, the Defense Department’s top acquisition official says.

“I am confident we are going to meet the March date,” Ellen M. Lord, deputy secretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment, told a Pentagon press briefing on Aug. 20. “We have the entire government/industry team focused on that. I look forward to continued progress.”

Lord told reporters that she and Robert Behler, the Pentagon’s director of operational test and evaluation, plan to visit the Joint Simulation Environment (JSE) that tests the F-35’s capabilities  against dense surface and air threats, at the Naval Air Station Patuxent River, in southern Maryland. That evaluation must be completed before full-rate production of the F-35 can be approved.

“There have been setbacks within the JSE from COVID-19. It is a close working environment,” Lord acknowledged. However, the JSF team moved quickly to follow all Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines to ensure a safe working environment, she said. “We have operations there at least six days a week, if not seven days a week, almost 24 hours,” she added.

While the challenge from the pandemic has been “significant,” Lord said the F-35 team also has been working through the “technical maturation of simulating these threats. It’s an iterative process.” She and Behler were going to Pax River “to understand exactly where we are” in that process and to “make sure they have all the resources they need.”

Under low-rate production, more than 500 F-35s of all three variants — for the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force and eight partner nations — have been fielded so far. The Air Force F-35A and the Marine vertical takeoff and landing F-35B have flown in combat. The F-35C is the Navy carrier-landing variant.