MIAMI — The U.S.
Coast Guard interdicted the 37-foot pleasure craft, Bada Bing, with three
Brazilian migrants, one Jamaican migrant and two suspected smugglers on July 30
about 30 miles east of Hollywood, Florida, the Coast Guard 7th District said in
a release.

The Coast
Guard Cutter Paul Clark (WPC-1101) crew located the pleasure craft with six
people aboard during a patrol and safely embarked two Brazilian adult males,
one Brazilian adult female, one Jamaican adult male and two potential
smugglers.

All six
people were transferred to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

“People should never
trust these criminal organizations with their lives,” said Petty Officer
1st Class Nicolas Rodriguez, Coast Guard 7th District operations branch.
“Attempting to smuggle yourself into the country via the maritime
environment is both extremely dangerous and illegal. With the consistent danger
these smuggling ventures present, our crews and partner agencies remain
persistently vigilant to protect lives and enforce federal laws.”

PACIFIC
OCEAN — The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Michael Murphy aided
the U.S. Coast Guard in the interdiction of a drug-smuggling craft, the U.S.
4th Fleet said in a release.

While
conducting routine operations in the U.S. 4th Fleet area of operations, an
MH-60R Sea Hawk, assigned to the “Easyriders” of Helicopter Maritime
Strike Squadron 37, embarked aboard the Michael Murphy, sighted a low-profile
vessel on July 25.

As the
helicopter approached the craft, a hatch opened on the top of the vessel and
three passengers were seen jettisoning objects from the boat. Assisted by
vectoring from helicopter, Michael Murphy’s interceptor boat collected the
jettisoned items and approached alongside the low-profile vessel.

Michael
Murphy was able to communicate with the vessel, informing them to remain in sight,
and remained alongside the suspicious vessel until Coast Guard Cutter Midgett arrived.

The Coast Guard boarding team determined the jettisoned material was cocaine. About 2,100 pounds of the drug — some that was jettisoned and retrieved by Michael Murphy’s crew and some found aboard by the Coast Guard — was seized. The Coast Guard took the three suspected smugglers into custody.

“From our air detachment and interceptor boat team to the men and women aboard the ship, everything came together to conduct the identification, interception and approach,” said Cmdr. Christopher Forch, commanding officer aboard USS Michael Murphy. “The handoff to USCGC Midgett was smooth and successful — a true team effort by two agencies.”

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Navy will commission its newest Freedom-variant littoral combat ship, the future USS Billings (LCS 15), during an Aug. 3 ceremony in Key West, Florida, the Navy’s information office said in a release.

U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, ranking member of
the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, will deliver the commissioning
ceremony’s principal address. Tester’s wife, Sharla, is the ship’s sponsor. The
ceremony will be highlighted by a time-honored Navy tradition when she gives
the first order to “man our ship and bring her to life!”

“The future USS Billings and her crew
will play an important role in the defense of our nation and maritime freedom,”
said Navy Secretary Richard V. Spencer, who is also performing the duties of deputy
secretary of defense. “She stands as proof of what teamwork — from civilian to
contractor to military — can accomplish. This fast, agile platform will deliver
her motto, ‘Big Sky Over Troubled Waters’ worldwide thanks to their efforts.”

The ship is named in honor of Billings,
the largest city in Montana, as well as the people and military veterans of the
state. The future USS Billings will be the first ship of its name in naval
service.

Montana has a heritage of naval
service, with 30 ships named over the years in honor of state places and
people, including the Los Angeles-class fast attack submarine USS Helena (SSN
725) and the Virginia-class fast attack submarine USS Montana (SSN 794), which
is under construction. The state of Montana also has one of the highest per
capita populations of veterans, according to the U.S. Veterans Administration.

The future USS Billings is a platform
designed for operation in near-shore environments yet capable of open-ocean
operation. It is designed to defeat asymmetric “anti-access” threats
such as mines, quiet diesel submarines and fast surface craft. The ship will be
homeported in Mayport, Florida.

The LCS class consists of two variants, the Freedom variant and the Independence variant, designed and built by two industry teams. The Freedom-variant team is led by Lockheed Martin of Marinette, Wisconsin (the odd-numbered hulls) while the Independence-variant team is led by Austal USA of Mobile, Alabama (for LCS 6 and the subsequent even-numbered hulls).

The ceremony, using hashtag #USSBillings, can be viewed here on the Navy live blog starting at 10 a.m. on Aug. 3.

WASHINGTON —
The nominee for the next chief of naval operations said the U.S. Navy is
ultimately to blame for the ongoing problems with the weapons elevators on the
aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford.

“Ultimately,
sir, that’s a Navy responsibility,” Vice Adm. Michael M. Gilday said,
testifying July 31 at his confirmation before the Senate Armed Services Committee
in response to a question from Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), about which entity made
the decision not to test the weapons elevator ashore.

“We own the
risk and the risk-mitigation strategy to keep that ship on time. So ultimately
I would consider that a failure of the Navy.”

“Of the 23
new technologies that we introduced to Ford, [the staff of the secretary of the
Navy] did not consider the [weapons] elevator system to be high-risk, and so it
wasn’t prototyped ashore,” Gilday said.

“I think
money was a factor … but I don’t think it was the overriding factor,” he added.
“I think that as the engineers took a look at the existing design, that they
saw the risk as lower, they saw the risk as acceptable.”

Gilday said
that three of the major new systems introduced on the new carrier — the
Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS), the Advanced Arresting Gear and
the Dual-Band Radar — are demonstrating “significant improvements in the reliability
of the systems” and that the remining major issue with the ship’s systems is
the continuing problem with the weapons elevators.

He said the
reliability of the Dual-Band Radar is now close to 99 percent.

Regarding the
EMALS, “We’ve had almost 800 launches, and for [each of] three successive days,
it’s right at the level we see in the existing Nimitz class,” Gilday said. “We
think we are on a good path with respect to the reliability in sortie-generation
rate.”

However, Senate Armed Services Chairman Sen. James Inhofe (R-Neb.) cited a report from the Operational Test and Evaluation Force saying that about every 75 launch cycles there was a critical failure, noting that the Navy’s own requirement on the EMALS is for a failure of once for every 4,000 launches and for the AAG of once every 10,000 recoveries.

“I want to make sure that we [do not] continue to operate where we have the failures, the premature deployment [of immature systems],” Inhofe said. “I want to make sure that the record is going to reflect beyond just the elevator, and those problems having to do with the arresting gear, having to do with the catapult, and the radar.”

WASHINGTON —
The newest nominee for chief of naval operations listed his top three
technology priorities to the Senate Armed Services Committee during his July 31
confirmation hearing, with artificial intelligence coming in as No. 1.

“On the top
of the list I would put artificial intelligence,” Vice Adm. Michael M. Gilday said
in response to a question from Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa).

MORE FROM THE CNO NOMINEE: Gilday says weapons elevator problems aboard the USS Gerald R. Ford are a “Navy failure.”

“I think that
that there are capabilities resident in industry that we can harness to our
advantage. What I am particularly interested in is how we use data in a more
innovative way to give us a quicker flash to bang, from decision-making to
action. There is a lot of information at our fingertips every single day; it’s
getting the right information to the right people at the right time so you can
make the right decisions faster than your opponent.”

“I think
there is great promise there,” Gilday added. “We are doing some experimenting
now that I’m very excited about.”

Gilday said
that hypersonics — his second technology priority — “is a must that we have to
get after quickly. Industry is our best partner as we work through this.”

His third
technology priority is unmanned systems.

“That is the future,” he said. “We have to look more deeply at how we would operate with unmanned vessels, whether they are on the sea, or under the sea, or in the air.”

Gilday said he “would take a look at wargaming, concept development and with experimentation. We’ve almost doubled the number of exercises we’re doing in the next year from 97 to 171. We’re going to look at these new technologies. If they’re going to fail, they can fail fast. If it’s something we want to invest in, then we put heat on it and field it quickly.”

ASTORIA, Ore.
— The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Steadfast (WMEC-632) returned home July 30
following a 56-day counternarcotic patrol to the eastern Pacific Ocean, the
Coast Guard Pacific Area said in a release.

The crew
interdicted five suspected smuggling vessels, including three pangas, a fishing
vessel and a sailboat, and the crew recovered floating bales of contraband
yielding more than 23,000 pounds of cocaine.

The Steadfast
crew offloaded more than 26,000 pounds of seized cocaine in San Diego on July
26, which was a result of the cutter’s five interdictions, bale recovery and an
interdiction case by the Coast Guard Cutter Robert Ward (WPC-1130).

The cocaine,
worth an estimated $350 million, was seized by the crews while the cutters were
patrolling international waters off the coasts of Mexico and Central and South
America from late June to mid-July.

“This was
26,000 pounds of cocaine that will not make it to the main streets of the USA,
and it also gives us the opportunity to make sure we can continue to combat
transnational criminal organizations who transport this cocaine deep in the
Pacific every single day,” said Rear Adm. Peter Gautier, the 11th Coast Guard
District’s commander. “Because we know that with a supply chain of illegal
narcotics, at every single step there’s violence, instability and despair.”

Steadfast’s
seizure of more than 23,000 pounds of cocaine marks the largest amount of
cocaine seized by crews aboard a 210-foot Reliance-class medium-endurance
cutter during a single counternarcotic deployment in Coast Guard history.

Many of the
medium-endurance cutters in service today are more than 50 years old. The Coast
Guard’s medium-endurance cutters represent 70% of the service’s counter-drug
interdiction fleet. These cutters are approaching the end of their service life.
Replacing this aging fleet with the offshore patrol cutter is one of the Coast
Guard’s top priorities. Even though medium-endurance cutters are still highly
effective, as shown by the narcotics interdictions, the ships can be difficult
and expensive to maintain and operate.

As these
cartels become more advanced in their methods at sea, the Coast Guard is
recapitalizing the fleet with modern assets equipped to detect, interdict and
disrupt the growing flow of illegal drugs, weapons and people in the eastern
Pacific.

The offshore patrol cutter will provide a critical capability bridge between national security cutters like the Coast Guard Cutter Munro (WMSL-755), which offloaded 39,000 pounds of cocaine earlier this month, and fast response cutters like the Robert Ward, which seized more than 3,000 pounds of the cocaine offloaded July 26. The Robert Ward’s interdiction was the first cocaine seizure made by a fast response cutter in the Eastern Pacific.

“There are few closer relationships than those among the members of a ship’s crew performing a dangerous, important mission,” said Cmdr. Dan Ursino, the Steadfast’s commanding officer. “Steadfast’s crew has worked as a remarkable, dedicated team with a strong common goal — protecting their nation from the deadly, destructive effects of illegal drugs.”

WASHINGTON
— The State Department has approved a possible Foreign Military Sale (FMS) to
Egypt of technical support for various Egyptian navy ships for an estimated
cost of $554 million, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said in a release.

Egypt’s government
has requested a possible sale of technical support that provides for material
and labor services in support of Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigates (FFG 7
class ships), fast missile craft, mine hunter coastal ships, coastal mine hunter
ships and 25-meter and 28-meter fast patrol craft.

Egypt
intends to use this technical maintenance and service support to ensure that its
navy is operationally capable of providing coastal defense and security. The
proposed sale will increase the Egyptian navy’s material and operational
readiness.

The prime contractor for engineering
services support will be VSE Corp., and U.S. Government activities will provide
the technical support to Egypt. 

ARLINGTON,
Va. — Falconwood Inc. recently won a contract from the U.S Navy to support the
commander, U.S. Fleet Forces Command’s Fleet Enterprise Support Team (FEST),
the company announced in a release.

The FEST
performs all analytical, technical and customer service functions in support of
USFF commands with about 60,000 seats and more than 100,000 users in the Navy
Marine Corps Intranet (NMCI) Enterprise Network. The contract is valued at $19
million and consists of one base year contract with four one-year option
periods. The contract effective date is Sept. 30.

“Falconwood
has a long-standing commitment to the Department of Defense to provide superior
support, with integrity and agility, to the warfighter,” said Allie Lawaetz, president
of Falconwood. “We are pleased to continue our efforts with the Fleet
Enterprise Support Team.” 

Falconwood
is also the prime contract holder for the $175 million contract supporting the Navy
Program Executive Office for Enterprise Information Systems (PEO-EIS) and its
associated Program Management Offices (PMOs) This contract provides
professional and technical Engineering and Logistics support services. Through
this contract, Falconwood is providing support in areas such as logistics,
asset management, training, cyber, information assurance, engineering and
acquisition.

In
addition, the Falconwood Cloud Integrated Product Team (IPT) provides DoD
customers with a support model consistent with today’s cloud service providers,
allowing the customers with plug and pay access to Cleared Subject Matter
Expertise across IaaS, PaaS and SaaS service models in government, hybrid and commercial
cloud environments. This model helps streamline resources required to support
agile design, deploy, accreditation and support with the right skill as needed
without over staffing.

SAN JUAN,
Puerto Rico — The Coast Guard and Puerto Rico United Forces of Rapid Action
(FURA) interdicted 11 Dominican migrants July 24 about 2 miles west of Puerto
Rico, the Coast Guard 7th District said in a release.

Coast Guard
Sector San Juan watchstanders received a report from FURA stating they
interdicted a 20-foot yola with 11 people aboard about 2 miles west of Puerto
Rico. The Coast Guard Cutter Resolute (WMEC-620) crew safely embarked the
migrants from the Coast Guard Cutter Joseph Doyle (WPC-1133), transferred four
of them to U.S. Customs and Border Protection custody and repatriated the other
seven to their home of origin.

“Attempting
these at-sea migrant voyages is illegal, dangerous and unsafe, putting migrants
at serious risk of potentially losing their lives, and we highly discourage
these voyages from taking place,” said Lt. C. Chaffer, Sector San Juan command
duty officer. “Those who are interdicted at sea attempting to illegally
immigrate will be repatriated to their country in accordance with existing U.S.
immigration policy. We want reinforce that taking to the sea in these
ill-equipped crafts, which are often used for these types of voyages, can end
in disaster, because the maritime domain can be unforgiving with changing
weather and sea conditions.”

A total of 1,531
Dominican migrants have attempted to illegally enter the U.S. via the maritime
environment in fiscal year 2019 compared to 829 Dominican migrants in fiscal 2018.
These numbers represent the total number of at-sea interdictions, landings and
disruptions in the Florida Straits, the Caribbean and Atlantic.

Once aboard a Coast Guard
cutter, all migrants receive food, water, shelter, and basic medical attention.

WASHINGTON
— Navy Secretary Richard V. Spencer has announced that the newest towing, salvage
and rescue ship (T-ATS 8) will be named Saginaw Ojibwe Anishinabek in honor of
the history, service and contributions of the Saginaw Chippewa tribe of
Michigan, Spencer’s public affairs office said July 26.

The
Saginaw Chippewa people are made up of Saginaw, Black River and Swan Creek
bands. Ojibwe is also referred to as Chippewa and Anishinabek means “original
people.”

“I am
deeply honored to announce that the history of the Saginaw Chippewa people will
once again be part of Navy and Marine Corps history,” Spencer said. “The future
USNS Saginaw Ojibwe Anishinabek honors the original people of modern-day
Michigan, with their original name, and will carry the proud Ojibwe legacy for
decades to come.”

This is
the first ship to bear the name Saginaw Ojibwe Anishinabek, and the fifth U.S.
ship to be named in honor of the Saginaw Chippewa people.

“It’s a
great honor to have the name and language of our people on a Navy ship,” said Ronald
Ekdahl, chief of the Saginaw Chippewa tribe of Michigan. “We hold our veterans
in high regard, and we have a proud tradition of having many of our men and
women provide service to our country. ‘Chi Miigwetch’ (thank you) to the U.S.
Navy for recognizing the culture in such a distinct way.”

Gulf
Island Shipyards was awarded a $64.8 million contract option for the detail
design and construction of the new ship, which will be based on existing
commercial towing offshore vessel designs and will replace the current T-ATF
166 and T-ARS 50 class ships in service with the U.S. Military Sealift Command.
The future USNS Cherokee Nation is the second ship in the new class of towing, salvage
and rescue Ships and will be designated T-ATS 7.

The
contract includes options for potentially six additional vessels, and each
additional ship will be named in honor of prominent Native Americans or Native
American tribes.

The T-ATS will serve as
open ocean towing vessels and will support salvage operations and submarine
rescue missions. The ship will be built at the company’s shipyard in Houma,
Louisiana, and is expected to be completed in July 2021.