The U.S. Navy is seeking to shave $1.4 billion from the
Marine Corps fiscal year 2021 budget request and to reduce the active-duty
force by 2,100, according to new Defense Department budget documents.

The Marines’ piece of the Navy Department’s $207.1 billion budget request for fiscal 2021 amounts to $46 billion, down from the $47.4 billion the Corps received in the enacted 2020 budget.

See details of the Navy’s proposed fiscal year 2021 budget here.

The National Defense Strategy (NDS) shifted focus from short
conventional wars and protracted counterterrorism operations to “the high-end
fight” and the re-emergence of China and Russia in a ‘great power competition,’
said Deputy Defense Secretary David L. Norquist, explaining the reasons for Pentagon
funding diversions in a flat $705.4 billion topline budget.

“That means we had to make additional tough choices and
major cuts in some areas in order to free up money to continue to invest in
preparing for the high-end fight,” Norquist told reporters at a Pentagon budget
briefing.     

Total Marine Corps end strength dropped 2,100 to 184,100
active-duty officers and enlisted Marines from the 2020 figure of 186,200. Reserve
strength remained the same as 2020 at 38,500 officers and enlisted Marines. The
force reduction is part of “efforts to align and sustain our force, as
described by the NDS,” said Rear Adm. Randy B. Crites, the deputy assistant secretary
of the Navy for budget.

The force cuts don’t target operational units per se, Crite
said, adding that they are “primarily focused on headquarters reductions. They
looked for excess capacity.”

The number of Navy amphibious ships, key to Marine Corps
expeditionary operations, stayed flat at 33 ships, with the addition of one amphibious
transport dock ship and the retirement of one dock landing ship. Most of the
Marines’ $7 billion operation and maintenance funding for 2021 is dedicated to expeditionary
forces.

The Navy’s $17.2 billion aircraft procurement budget includes 10 F-35B short takeoff and vertical landing Lightning II strike fighters to replace Marine AV-8B Harrier jets. Seven CH-53K heavy-lift helicopters, nine MV-22B variants of the V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft and five more VH-92A presidential executive helicopters also are included in the Marine aircraft procurement budget.

The $2.9 billion Marine procurement budget also includes 752 Joint Light Tactical Vehicles, a joint Army-Marine Corps program and the first full-rate production lot, 72, of the Amphibious Combat Vehicle (ACV), which is phasing out Cold War-era Assault Amphibious Vehicles.

ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S Navy’s 2021 budget seeks funding for only eight battle force ships, financed by $19.9 billion of a $207.1 billion Department of the Navy budget that is only slightly larger than the $205.2 billion budget enacted for fiscal 2020. The Future Years Defense Plan also forecasts some accelerated retirements or reductions in some ship and aircraft types.  

The $207.1 billion includes a base budget of $194.1 billion; a set-aside for Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) for Base of $4.3 billion; and OCO funding of $8.7 billion. Of the $207.1 billion, $161 billion is for the Navy and $46 billion is allotted to the U.S. Marine Corps. 

The budget shaves Marine funding and end strength. See story here.

The relatively flat budget includes $70.6 billion for operations and maintenance; $57.2 billion for procurement; $55.2 billion for personnel; $21.5 billion for research and development; and $2.6 billion for infrastructure. 

The Navy says the 2021 budget is focused on all-domain dominance — sea, air, land, cyber, space, assured command and control, battlespace awareness and an integrated force. The service is making a priority of “capable capacity over less-capable legacy platforms to pace a rapidly changing threat.” 

The investments in the 2021 budget also are designed to enable distributed maritime operations with lethality capable enough to impose cost on competitors. 

Nuclear deterrence remains the Navy’s top priority as it recapitalizes the ballistic-missile submarine (SSBN) fleet to ensure on-time delivery of the Columbia SSBN. 

The 2021 budget also advances development of new capabilities in the form of long-range hypersonic strike weapons such as Conventional Prompt Strike capability, with research funded at $1 billion aiming for an initial operational capability in 2028. The Standard Missile-6 Block 1B also is funded as well as the Navy Laser Family of Systems at $68.2 million. Other funded technological advances include additive manufacturing and applied artificial intelligence.    

The 2021 shipbuilding budget of $19.9 billion — compared with $24 billion enacted for 2020 — will fund the construction of the first Columbia-class ballistic-missile submarine. Other ships funded are one Virginia-class attack submarine; three Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers; the first FFG(X) next-generation guided-missile frigate; one Flight II San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ship; and two Navajo-class towing, salvage and rescue ships. 

The five-year Future Years Defense Plan includes plans for an amphibious assault ship in 2023; a replacement submarine tender in 2024; a new ocean surveillance ship in 2022; and a new cable-laying ship and a new sealift ship in 2023.  

The shipbuilding budget also includes funds for five LCU 1700-class utility landing craft. Two large unmanned surface vessels (LUSVs) are funded by research and development funds, with the seven LUSVs in the future to be built using shipbuilding funds. The shipbuilding request also restores the refueling and complex overhaul of the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman, which last year the Navy wanted to retire to instead fund modernization and new technologies.   

Two large unmanned surface vessels (LUSVs) are requested with $239 million in R&D funds, with the seven LUSVs in the future to be built using shipbuilding funds. R&D funds include $288 million for unmanned undersea vehicles (UUVs), including $116 million for the Orca Extra-Large UUV program and $78 million for the Snakehead large-diameter UUV. 

The Navy plans for the early retirement of four littoral combat ships (LCSs) and one dock landing ship (LSD) in 2021 as part of an effort to garner $1.4 billion in savings to help fund modernization. The four LCSs are the first four commissioned — Freedom, Independence, Fort Worth and Coronado — and are considered test and training ships. The LSD being retired in 2021 will be one of three — Germantown, Fort McHenry and Gunston Hall — that will be retired early over the next few years. 

The service also announced plans to decommission its four least modern Ticonderoga-class cruisers that have ballistic-missile defense (BMD) capability — Monterey, Shiloh, Vela Gulf and Port Royal — although no timetable was announced in budget documents. The BMD capabilities of these ships will be assumed by new Arleigh Burke-class DDGs. 

The Navy also plans to decommission its 12 Cyclone-class coastal patrol ships, but no timetable has been announced yet. 

R&D funds will be invested in 2021 for two new intra-theater lift vessels designed to support expeditionary advance-base operations and littoral operations in a contested environment. These investments will inform development of next-generation medium amphibious and logistics ships.   

If enacted as planned, this budget would bring the ship count of the battle force to 306 at the end of 2021, up from the current 293.   

The Navy plans to fund 121 aircraft with $17.2 billion in 2021, compared with $19.7 billion enacted in 2020. These include 24 F/A-18E/F Super Hornet strike fighters; 10 F-35B and 10 F-35C Lightning II strike fighters for the Marine Corps and 11 F-35Cs for the Navy; four E-2D Advanced Hawkeye early warning aircraft; six CMV-22B Osprey tilt-rotor carrier onboard delivery aircraft; three MV-22B Osprey transports; five KC-130J Super Hercules tanker/transports; seven CH-53K King Stallion transport helicopters; 36 TH-73A training helicopters; and five VH-92A presidential transport helicopters. 

Fiscal 2021 will fund the last batch of Super Hornets for the Navy. The 2021 budget does not fund any more P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft, although with the production line open for foreign procurement the Navy could order more if Congress funds them in the next few years.  

The large quantity of TH-73As being procured in 2021 will allow the Navy to accelerate retirement of the TH-57B/C training helicopter fleet and allow the Navy to cancel further depot-level overhauls of the TH-57. 

The budget funds research and development of the MQ-25A Stingray unmanned aerial refueling aircraft for initial production in 2023 and initial operational capability in 2024. 

The plans to accelerate retirement of the MH-53 Sea Dragon mine-sweeping helicopter to begin in 2022. The Navy also plans to start retiring the MQ-8B version of the Fire Scout UAV in 2024, with 14 of the 23 being retired initially until the MQ-8C version reaches initial operational capability with a mine-countermeasures capability — projected to be 2028 — when the last MQ-8Bs will be retired. 

Procurement of the MQ-4C Triton UAV is being gapped for 2021-2022 to allow time to mature the UAV’s signals intelligence suite. The RQ-4A Global Hawk Broad-Area Maritime Demonstration UAV will be retired beginning in 2023, freeing up funds for MQ-4C sustainment. The MQ-4C will replace the EP-3E electronic reconnaissance aircraft in 2022. 

The Navy Reserve plans in 2022 to deactivate Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 85, a unit that supports special operations forces with its MH-60S helicopters. The Air Force and Army field will retain a robust SOF support capability and the Navy’s general-purpose MH-60S squadrons also are trained to provide similar capability.  

For ship depot-level maintenance, $10 billion is provided for 2021, the same as in 2020, and aircraft depot-level maintenance increases to $1.7 billion, up from 2020’s $1.4 billion. The budget is focused on improved predictability and optimized performance of shipyard maintenance.  

If enacted, the budget would increase Navy military end-strength to 347,800 Sailors, up from 340,500 enacted in 2020. The Navy Reserve would remain stable at 58,800 Sailors. 

WASHINGTON —
Stating that command readiness is their top priority, senior U.S. Navy and
Marine Corps leaders told Congress they are improving manning, training and
maintenance procedures in the wake of three fatal sea and air accidents.

In a joint
hearing on Feb. 5, the  House Armed
Services subcommittees on seapower and readiness queried commanders about
progress in eliminating readiness issues in the 7th Fleet area of operations that
were largely blamed for a spate of mishaps that lead to the deaths of 17 Sailors
in 2017 and six Marines in 2018. Subsequent accident investigations by the Navy
and Marine Corps uncovered a dangerous gap between increased operational tempo
in the Asia Pacific region and inadequate training, maintenance and manpower
practices.

“It is
imperative that the Navy and Marine Corps get this right and balance these high
operational desires with requisite systems and needs,” Seapower Subcommittee
Chairman Joe Courtney (D-Conn.) said at the hearing’s start.

“There is
one unified standard for ensuring readiness. Our manning, training and
equipping objectives are unambiguous. We only deploy ships that have the
required manning, are fully certified and have the necessary material readiness
in place,” Vice Adm. Richard A. Brown, commander of Naval Surface Forces and the
U.S. Pacific Fleet, told lawmakers.  

There were several
serious — in two cases, fatal — mishaps involving Navy ships in 2017. In June 2017,
the destroyer USS Fitzgerald collided with a Philippine-flagged containership near
Japan, severely damaging the ship and killing seven crewmen. In August 2017, another
destroyer, the USS McCain, collided with a civilian oil and chemical tanker
near the Strait of Malacca, killing 10 more Sailors.

Investigators
found both accidents were avoidable. The commander of 7th Fleet was relieved as
were several officers and senior enlisted on the two ships. The Pacific Fleet
commander took early retirement.

The hearing
came two days after the USS Fitzgerald returned to sea for testing of onboard
systems following nearly two years of repairs and modernization. An audit
report released Feb. 4 by the Defense Department’s Inspector General found training
deficiencies in as many as nine of 12 Arleigh-Burke class destroyers, to which
both the Fitzgerald and McCain belong, reviewed by the IG office. The report
recommended that U.S. Fleet Forces Command direct destroyers with outstanding
training requirements to complete them immediately or as soon as the mission
allows.

Marine Corps
manning and training practices also came under scrutiny in December 2018 after
a Marine F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter collided with a KC-130J aerial refueling
tanker during a training exercise 50 miles off the coast of Japan. Six Marines
died in that incident. Both aircraft were based at Marine Corps Air Station
Iwakuni, Japan.

Investigators
determined the fighter pilot’s inexperience in conducting nighttime aerial
refueling contributed to the collision, but also cited inadequate oversight of squadron
training and operations and an “unprofessional command climate.” Four Marine
officers and the Super Hornet squadron commander at Iwakuni were relieved.

“My focus
continues to be readiness for combat,” Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Stephen R. Rudder,
deputy commandant for aviation, told the House panel. “We are still modernizing
and, most importantly, we are focusing on the maintainer, those Marines and Sailors
who work on our aircraft.”

The probe isn’t over, he said, noting that Marine leadership appointed “a consolidated disposition authority to further review the findings of the command investigation of this mishap.” The CDA is the independent senior commander who will review the investigation and could order further inquiry and, or, administrative or disciplinary actions.

NAVAL AIR STATION PATUXENT RIVER, Md. — The first U.S. Navy CMV-22B Osprey arrived at Patuxent River on Feb. 2 after completing its ferry flight from Bell’s Amarillo Assembly Center in Texas, Naval Air Systems Command said. 

This is the first of two CMV-22B aircraft assigned to Air Test and Evaluation Squadron (HX) 21, the squadron leading the developmental test efforts for the program. 

“Accepting the first aircraft and ferrying it to Patuxent River to continue developmental testing is a critical step forward for the program,” said U.S. Marine Corps Col. Matthew Kelly, program manager for the V-22 Joint Program Office. “Our government/industry team can be proud of this milestone as we prepare to put the CMV-22B through testing which will ensure it is ready to support the Navy anywhere around the world.” 

HX-21 and Bell conducted the aircraft’s first flight in December prior to transiting cross-country. 

“The developmental test program is designed to validate the capabilities of the aircraft and ensure they meet the Navy’s unique mission,” said Kacie Fleck, PMA-275’s assistant program manager for test and evaluation. “Our integrated test team will complete a variety of ground, flight and avionics test events.” 

The integrated test team, which includes pilots, aircrew, engineers and maintainers from HX-21, Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Boeing and Bell, will conduct developmental test over the next year. 

The first operational squadron, Fleet Logistics Multi-Mission Squadron (VRM) 30, is scheduled to receive the aircraft in summer 2020 and operational testing is slated to begin in early 2021. The CMV-22B is a variant of the MV-22B and is the replacement for the C-2A Greyhound for the Carrier Onboard Delivery (COD) mission. The aircraft will be used to transport personnel, mail, supplies and high-priority cargo from shore bases to aircraft carriers at sea. 

“The CMV-22B will enable the Navy to supply the carrier strike groups with what they need to project sea power, anytime, anyplace,” Kelly said. 

For example, the CMV-22B will be capable of transporting up to 6,000 pounds of cargo and/or personnel over a 1,150 nautical mile range. This expanded range is due to the addition of two new 60-gallon tanks installed in the wing for an additional 120 gallons of fuel and the forward sponson tanks were redesigned for additional capacity. 

The CMV-22B variant has a beyond line-of-sight high frequency radio, a public address system for passengers and an improved lighting system for cargo loading. The aircraft will also be capable of internally transporting the F-35C Lightning II engine power module. 

The CMV-22B is scheduled to achieve initial operational capability in 2021. 

ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Navy has ordered another two MQ-4C Triton high-altitude, long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicles from Northrop Grumman Corp. 

According to a Feb. 6 Defense Department contract announcement, Naval Air Systems Command awarded a $172.4 million contract modification for the two UAVs, with the funding included for a main operation base, trade studies and associated technical and administrative data. 

The two Tritons are authorized and funded by the 2020 budget. 

Last month, the Navy’s Unmanned Patrol Squadron (VUP) 19, the Navy’s first Triton UAS squadron, deployed two MQ-4Cs to Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, to establish an early operational capability in the western Pacific Ocean. 

The Triton eventually will achieve initial operational capability when a total of four MQ-4Cs are deployed to a single site to establish a 24/7 orbit over the western Pacific area of operations. 

YUMA PROVING GROUND, Ariz. — Raytheon’s new Excalibur S precision-guided munition scored direct hits on moving targets in a U.S. Navy test, the company said in a Feb. 5 release. Testing validated the projectile’s ability to survive the shock and stress of a howitzer firing, then transition from GPS to laser guidance and hit a moving target. 

Excalibur S uses the Excalibur Ib variant’s GPS technology and incorporates a semi-active laser seeker to engage mobile land and maritime targets at comparable ranges. Existing Ib projectiles can be upgraded with Excalibur S capabilities. 

“Using artillery to engage moving targets gives soldiers more flexibility,” said Sam Deneke, Raytheon Land Warfare Systems vice president. “Artillery is typically used to hit stationary objects, but Excalibur S expands the capability of artillery on the battlefield.” 

Excalibur is a true precision weapon, impacting at a radial miss distance of less than 2 meters from the target. Widely used by U.S. and international artillery forces, Excalibur has been fired more than 1,400 times in combat. 

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — The U.S. Coast Guard repatriated 64 migrants to the Dominican Republic between Feb. 5 and Feb. 6 following the interdiction of an illegal migrant voyage on Feb. 3 about 51 nautical miles north of Punta Cana, the according to the Coast Guard’s 7th District. 

The interdiction was the result of ongoing efforts in support of Operation Caribbean Guard and the Caribbean Border Interagency Group (CBIG).  

The crew of a Coast Guard HC-144 Ocean Sentry aircraft sighted the illegal migrant voyage about 51 nautical miles north of Punta Cana. Coast Guard watchstanders at Sector San Juan diverted cutter Donald Horsley, which had arrived on scene and interdicted the 30-foot white migrant boat. The makeshift vessel was transporting 63 Dominican males, including a 17-year-old minor, and one Haitian man. 

“In the last 10 days, the U.S. Coast Guard and our Dominican Republic navy partners have worked together to interdict 191 migrants at sea,” said Lt. Michael Lopez, Coast Guard liaison officer in the Dominican Republic. “Our collective efforts help safeguard the maritime borders of both nations and the people who risk their lives when they embark grossly overloaded makeshift vessels to attempt the perilous voyage across the Mona Passage.” 

The crew of the cutter Donald Horsley embarked the migrants and transported them to waters Feb. 5 just off Samaná, Dominican Republic, where the 63 adult migrants were transferred to local authorities aboard a Dominican navy patrol boat. The following day, the Coast Guard Cutter Joseph Tezanos repatriated the 17-year-old minor in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, where he was received by local authorities. 

Once aboard a Coast Guard cutter, all migrants receive food, water, shelter and basic medical attention. Cutters Donald Horsley and Joseph Tezanos are 154-foot fast-response cutters homeported in San Juan. 

CANBERRA, Australia — Northrop Grumman Corp. has started to manufacture components of the AQS-24B towed mine-hunting system with Marand Precision Engineering in Australia, at the company’s Moorabbin, Victoria, facility. 

The AQS-24 mine-hunting system includes an operational high-speed synthetic aperture sonar (HSSAS) and an optical laser line-scan sensor. The system performs high-resolution detection, localization, classification and identification of mine-like objects from helicopter and unmanned surface vessel platforms at speeds of up to 18 knots. A total of 31 systems are deployed worldwide. 

“Northrop Grumman is committed to providing our customers worldwide with a sustainable and affordable mine-hunting system,” said Alan Lytle, vice president of undersea systems at Northrop Grumman. “Our partnership with Australian industry enables us to source key components from local manufacturers.” 

Marand designs and manufactures products for the aerospace, defense, automotive, rail and renewable-energy industries. The towed vehicle shell assemblies and sonar array housings being manufactured in Australia for the AQS-24B will benefit from Marand’s experience on other successful programs such as the F-35 Lightning II strike fighter. Assemblies will be delivered this summer to satisfy existing spares contracts Northrop Grumman has to support fielded and operational AQS-24 systems. 

“We are thrilled to be selected by Northrop Grumman as their partner for the AQS-24B program,” said Steve Mellor, general manager of Marand Defence Partnerships. “Having received our very first order from Northrop Grumman was an important step towards a long-term relationship.” 

Northrop Grumman has also expanded its current partnership with Sydney-based Electrotech Australia Pty Ltd, which performs post-delivery support of Northrop Grumman navigation and radar systems operating in Australia, to include future sustainment of the AQS-24B mine-hunting sensor systems. 

LONDON — The RAF’s new submarine-hunting Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) has touched down for the first time in the United Kingdom, the U.K. Ministry of Defence said in a release. 

The aircraft is the first of a new program, including the purchase of nine state-of-the-art Poseidon jets, which will improve the U.K.’s ability to track hostile targets below and above the waves. 

Poseidon aircraft will protect the U.K.’s continuous at-sea nuclear deterrent and be central to NATO missions across the North Atlantic, co-operating closely with the U.S. and Norwegian Poseidon fleets. 

The U.K.’s purchase of the Poseidon is in response to increased threats such as Russian submarine activity in the Atlantic Ocean returning to Cold War levels, while China is also investing heavily in new Arctic facilities, infrastructure and ice-capable ships.  

“Our Poseidon fleet will soon join an integrated U.K. force of fighter jets, ships, submarines, helicopters and highly-trained Royal Marines, ready to operate in Arctic conditions,” Defence Minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan said. “The U.K. will not stand by if peace in the Arctic region is threatened. 

“RAF Lossiemouth’s strategic northerly location makes it one of the most important air stations in the U.K., already home to half of the U.K.’s Typhoon Force, and now sitting at the heart of our anti-submarine operations,” Trevelyan said. 

The Poseidon is designed to carry out extended surveillance missions at high and low altitudes. The aircraft is equipped with cutting-edge sensors which use high-resolution area mapping to find both submarines and surface vessels. 

Each aircraft carries sonobuoys which are dropped from the aircraft into the sea to search for enemy submarines, surveying the battlespace under the sea and relaying data back to the aircraft. 

The Poseidon will also be armed with Harpoon anti-surface ship missiles and Mk54 torpedoes capable of attacking both surface and sub-surface targets. 

“The Poseidon MRA1 is a game-changing maritime patrol aircraft,” said Air Chief Marshal Mike Wigston, chief of the Air Staff. “I am delighted and proud to see the ‘Pride of Moray’ and her crews returning to maritime patrol flying from Scotland, working alongside the Royal Navy to secure our seas and protect our nation.” 

“The arrival of the first Poseidon marks a significant upgrade in the U.K.’s ability to conduct anti-submarine operations,” said First Sea Lord Adm. Tony Radakin. “This will give the U.K. the ability to conduct long range patrols and integrate seamlessly with our NATO allies to provide a world-leading capability.” 

All nine U.K. Poseidons will be delivered to the RAF by the end of 2021 and achieve full operational capability from RAF Lossiemouth in 2024. The aircraft will be flown initially by 120 Squadron, the leading anti-submarine warfare squadron in World War II, with 201 Squadron joining the program in due course. 

Poseidon will temporarily operate from Kinloss until October 2020 while runway and taxiway resurfacing work is completed at Lossiemouth. Routine Typhoon training also will temporarily relocate from Lossiemouth to Kinloss in June and July while the intersection of the runways there is resurfaced. 

“Seeing the first RAF Poseidon MRA Mk1 landing in the U.K. is an incredibly proud moment for all of the team at DE&S,” said Michelle Sanders, DE&S P-8A delivery team leader. “Close, collaborative working with colleagues in Air Capability, the U.S. Navy and industry has helped us deliver this very capable aircraft.” 

Moray’s RAF Lossiemouth is one of the most important air stations in the U.K. as it’s already home to four RAF Typhoon squadrons — half of the RAF Typhoon Force — and will become the center of operations for the U.K. Poseidon fleet. 

The Ministry of Defence is upgrading RAF Lossiemouth’s infrastructure, including a new strategic facility for the Poseidon fleet, upgraded runways and operating surfaces, a new air traffic control tower, upgraded facilities for IX (Bomber) Squadron, which moved to Scotland in 2019, new personnel accommodation, upgraded drainage and electrical supplies. 

When these developments are complete there will be 550 additional military personnel based at RAF Lossiemouth, bringing the total number of military personnel employed there to 2,532.

BALTIMORE — Northrop Grumman Corp. has received an order from the U.S. Marine Corps for two additional AN/TPS-80 Ground/Air Task-Oriented Radar (G/ATOR) systems as part of the full-rate production Lot 2 award received in December, Northrop Grumman said. This order completes the planned Lot 2 procurement for a total of eight systems for the Marines. 

“We are continuing to provide an advanced, multimission capability that meets the evolving needs of our customers,” said Mike Meaney, vice president of land and maritime sensors for Northrop Grumman. “This order also enables us to keep the G/ATOR production pipeline full in anticipation for a Lot 3 award next year.” 

In June, the Marine Corps awarded Northrop Grumman a $958 million full-rate production contract for 30 of the G/ATOR systems. 

The AN/TPS-80 G/ATOR is an advanced active electronically scanned array (AESA) multimission radar that leverages GaN to provide comprehensive real-time, full-sector, 360-degree situational awareness against a wide array of threats.