WASHINGTON — President Trump’s nominee for secretary
of defense said he supports modernization of the nation’s strategic nuclear
deterrent.

“Clearly, modernization of the [strategic nuclear] triad is top priority,” Mark T. Esper said June 16 during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee, listing his top modernization priorities.

Nuclear deterrence “has kept the peace
with regard to deterring nuclear war for 70 years now,” Esper said during his
testimony. “The important part is to ensure that we have a modern, effective,
credible, safe and reliable deterrent.”

Each leg of the triad [bombers,
intercontinental ballistic missiles and submarine-launched ballistic missiles]
“provides certain capabilities to complement one another,” he added. “Continuing
to modernize that triad is important our safety and security.”

Esper said that each leg is in a
different status.

“We need to certainly modernize the GBSD [Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent],” he said. “Obviously, we have plans to recapitalize
the Ohio-class [ballistic-missile] submarines, and there is a program underway to [recapitalize] our long-range stealth bombers.”

recapitalize

Esper said that two parts of deterrence
are “having a capability and the will to use it.”

He stressed that the strategic
deterrent force needed to be cyber-protected.

There was no daylight between the
priorities between Esper and the nominee for the chairman of the Joint Chiefs
of Staff, Army Gen. Mark Milley.

Milley, testifying June 11 in his confirmation
hearing before the same committee, listed the nation’s strategic nuclear
deterrent as his top modernization priority, the others being space
capabilities, artificial intelligence and hypersonic weapons.

He supports modernization of all three legs of the
U.S. strategic deterrent triad.

“The triad has worked,” Milley said. “There are many
reasons why there hasn’t been a great power war since 1945. Clearly one of them
is nuclear deterrence and part of that is the capability of the triad. Each leg
of the triad gives you different capability.”

“I think we need to develop the domain
of space as a warfighting domain,” Esper said. “We need to improve our
capabilities and policies with regard to cyberspace. And then of course there
is a wide range of conventional capabilities we need to improve.”

Space
is no longer “a place from which we support combat operations,” he said. “It is
now a warfighting domain. Not because we made it that way, but because the
Russians and Chinese are making it that way. To make sure we are sufficiently
robust in the space warfighting domain is to have unity of command and unity of
effort.”

WASHINGTON
— Navy Secretary Richard V. Spencer has become acting defense secretary, as the
Senate has received the packet nominating Mark T. Esper to be the confirmed
secretary of defense.

Eric
Chewning, the chief of staff to the defense secretary, said the transition from
Esper to Spencer went smoothly. “There is only one secretary of defense,
and that person is fully capable of defending the country and protecting the
homeland,” Chewning said.

Esper was
named acting defense secretary when Deputy Defense Secretary Patrick M.
Shanahan stepped down from the position last month. President Trump nominated
Esper for the position — a move that requires Senate confirmation. By law,
Esper cannot continue to serve as acting secretary while he is under
consideration for the permanent job. He reverts to his position as secretary of
the Army.

The principals
involved in this program met to discuss how the transition would happen. This
included Esper, Spencer, David L. Norquist, the undersecretary of defense who
continues to perform the duties of the deputy defense secretary, Marine Corps Gen.
Joe Dunford, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Chewning.

When
Spencer became acting secretary, he assumed the full authority and
responsibility of the secretary of defense.

To ensure
continuity, the team supporting the Office of the Secretary of Defense remains
in place.

“We’ve
been working closely with Senate leadership and the Senate Armed Services
Committee, and we thank them for their efforts and commitments to swiftly
consider top DoD leadership,” Chewning said.

DoD does
not assume Esper’s confirmation, and Chewning was quick to point out that it is
the Senate’s prerogative to take as long as it believes is necessary to examine
and confirm the nominee. “Secretary Spencer is prepared to remain in the
role until there is a Senate-confirmed secretary of defense,” he said.

If Esper is confirmed by
the Senate, then Norquist will be formally nominated to be the deputy defense
secretary. In deference to the Senate, he will step out of his role of
performing the duties of the deputy secretary of defense while that nomination
is pending. If this happens, Spencer will then perform the duties of the deputy
secretary.

SEATTLE — The
first Boeing P-8A Poseidon for the United Kingdom Royal Air Force (RAF) took
off from Renton, Washington, at 10 a.m. PT on July 12, marking the first flight
of this inaugural U.K. P-8A.

During the
90-minute flight, key testing took place before the aircraft touched down and
moved to the next phase of preparation before customer delivery, installation
of military systems.

U.K. Ministry
of Defence (MOD) and Royal Air Force personnel, along with Boeing P-8 program
leaders, were on hand to witness the takeoff and landing of the recently
painted aircraft, number ZP801.

“This is a
great milestone in the U.K. P-8A Poseidon’s journey to the U.K., as we are one
step closer to its arrival in Scotland,” said Air Commodore Richard Barrow, the
senior responsible owner for the U.K.’s P-8A program. “The platform will
enhance the UK’s maritime patrol capability with advanced, state-of-the-art
technology.”

The RAF P-8A
Poseidon fleet will support maritime surveillance, anti-submarine warfare and
anti-ship warfare for the United Kingdom and will increase protection of the United
Kingdom’s nuclear deterrent and Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers.

The first of
nine P-8As ordered by the United Kingdom now moves to the P-8 Installation and
Checkout facility in Tukwila, Wash., where mission systems are installed and
further testing happens before final delivery to the customer later this year.
When the aircraft is delivered it will first fly to U.S. Naval Air Station
Jacksonville for additional preparation and training by U.K. personnel before
flying home to the United Kingdom. The RAF will take delivery of ZP801 later
this year and it will move to the United Kingdom in early 2020.

The United Kingdom is one
of six international customers for the P-8A Poseidon. As a direct commercial
sale, India has received eight of the P-8I variant to date with four more in
production. The U.S. Navy is on contract to receive 111 with the potential for
additional quantities based on the fleet’s needs. As a cooperative partner with
the Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance Program Office, Australia began
receiving their P-8A aircraft in 2016 with eight delivered and four more in
production; Norway will begin receiving their five P-8As in 2022; both New
Zealand and South Korea have signed agreements with the U.S. Navy to purchase
four and six aircraft, respectively.

EVENDALE,
Ohio — GE Marine’s LM2500+G4 gas turbine will soon power the Italian Navy’s new
Paolo Thaon di Revel Pattugliatore Polivalente d’Altura (PPA) multipurpose
offshore patrol ship, the company said July 15.

This hybrid-electric
powered ship was launched at a June 15 ceremony at the Fincantieri Shipyard in
Muggiano-La Spezia, Italy, and will be delivered to the Italian navy in 2021.

“A total
of seven PPA ships will be built by Fincantieri by 2026, and GE has a contract
to provide seven LM2500+G4 gas turbines,” said Mike Reale, acting vice president
and general manager at GE Marine.

“The
LM2500+G4, with an ISO rating of 35.3 MW and United States Navy rating of 30.3
MW, has found success in the naval market thanks to its selection to power 20
French and Italian FREMM ships and the seven Italian PPA’s. There is interest
in the U.S. and abroad in propulsion and generator set applications that rely
on the LM2500+G4’s best-in-class power density that is improved with the use of
GE’s new fully-shock-qualified, lightweight composite gas turbine module.”

In
addition, GE’s Power Conversion business provides the hybrid’s electrification
system, including shock-proof MV3000 drives and motors, electrical system
integration, energy-efficient PTO/PTI (power take-off/in) and shore power
connection functionality. Integration of the electric propulsion system is
carried out in support of and in cooperation with Fincantieri. Rounding out the
“GE Store” approach for this Italian navy project, Avio Aero, a GE Aviation
business headquartered in Italy, designed the gas turbine packages.

The PPA
patrol ship will serve multiple functions from patrol with sea rescue capacity
to civil protection operations. It is 133 meters long and can carry 90 crew
members with additional accommodations for up to 171 members. The ship’s
flexible hybrid propulsion plant features small gearbox-mounted motors for low
speed operations, two propulsion diesels for mid-speed service and the
LM2500+G4 gas turbine to reach more than 31 knots.

The PPA
program continues a long tradition of LM2500-powered combatants in the Italian navy
with the selection of the LM2500+G4. Starting in 1977, the Italian navy and
Fincantieri were early adopters of GE’s LM2500 gas turbine for the Lupo-, Maestrale-,
Artigliere- and Horizon-class frigates, the De la Pen-class destroyers, and the
aircraft carriers Garibaldi and Cavour (equipped with GE gears). In 2004, GE’s
LM2500+G4 gas turbine was chosen to power 10 FREMM multipurpose frigates for
the Italian navy.  

The
LM2500+G4 gas turbines for the PPA program will be built in Evendale; Avio Aero
will manufacture the LM2500+G4 turbine control system at its facility in
Brindisi; and GE’s Power Conversion business will manufacture the drives.

ARLINGTON,
Va. — The U.S. State Department has approved the possible sale of MH-60R
helicopters to the Hellenic navy at the request of the Greek government, the
Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said in a July 12 release. The sale,
if ultimately approved, would be made through the Foreign Military Sales
program and could total $600 million.

“The government
of Greece has requested to buy up to seven MH-60Rs Multi-Mission Helicopters,”
the release said.

The sale also
would include aircraft systems and spares, including T700 GE-401 C Engines; APS-l
53(V) radars; Airborne Low Frequency Sonar systems; AAS-44C(V) Multi-Spectral
Targeting Systems; and Embedded Global Positioning System/Inertial Navigation
Systems with Selective Availability/Anti-Spoofing Module.

Also included
in the possible sale are ARC-210 APX-1990A(C) radios; AVS-9 Night Vision
Devices; and APX-123 Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) transponders.

The deal also
would include “spare engine containers; facilities study, design, and
construction; spare and repair parts; support and test equipment; communication
equipment; ferry support; publications and technical documentation; personnel
training and training equipment; U.S. government and contractor engineering,
technical and logistics support services; and other related elements of
logistical and program support,” the release said.

Along with
the helicopters, the sale would include 1,000 SSQ-36/53/62 sonobuoys; two
AGM-114 M36-E9 Captive Air Training Missiles; four AGM-114Q Hellfire Training
Missiles; 100 Advanced Precision Kill Weapons System (APKWS) rockets; 30 Mk54
Torpedoes; 12 M-240 crew-served guns; and 12 GAU-21 crew-served guns. 

“This
proposed sale will support U.S. foreign policy and national security objectives
by helping to improve the security of a NATO ally, which is an important
partner for political stability and economic progress in Europe,” the release
said. “The MH-60R helicopters will bolster the Hellenic navy’s ability to support
NATO and remain interoperable with the U.S. and the NATO alliance.”

In addition to the U.S.
Navy, the MH-60R, built by Lockheed Martin, is operated by the Royal Australian
Navy, the Royal Danish Navy and the Royal Saudi Naval Forces. In April, the
State Department approved the possible sale of 24 MH-60Rs to the Indian navy.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — The Coast Guard
Cutter Richard Dixon (WPC-1113) repatriated 14 Dominican migrants to a
Dominican navy patrol vessel Saturday near Samaná, Dominican Republic,
following the interdiction of an illegal migrant voyage June 11 off the coast
of Añasco, Puerto Rico. 

Two
other Dominican men traveling in the group remain in federal custody facing
possible prosecution by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Puerto
Rico on potential charges of attempted illegal re-entry into a U.S. territory.

The
interdiction is the result of ongoing efforts in support of Operation Unified
Resolve, Operation Caribbean Guard and the Caribbean Border Interagency Group
(CBIG). Since October 2018, the Coast Guard and CBIG partner federal and state
agencies have interdicted over 1,550 migrants at sea near Puerto Rico.

Coast
Guard Sector San Juan Command Center watchstanders were contacted on the
morning of June 11 by Puerto Rico Police, who notified that a Joint Forces of
Rapid Action (FURA) marine unit had just interdicted a 20-foot migrant boat
half a mile off the coast of Añasco.

Coast
Guard watchstanders diverted the Coast Guard Cutter Heriberto Hernandez
(WPC-1114) to the scene. Once there, Heriberto Hernandez crew members
safely embarked all 14 men and two women from the makeshift vessel.

“We
commend our Puerto Rico Police partners who prevented this illegal voyage from
making landfall as well as their close collaboration with the Hernandez crew in
safely removing all the migrants from a dangerous situation,” said Lt. Andrew
Russo, commanding officer of Heriberto Hernandez. “These illegal migrant
voyages are very dangerous, often aboard unsafe and unseaworthy vessels, which
present a life-threatening situation to everyone aboard.” 

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

The
cutter Heriberto Hernandez later transferred the migrants to the cutter Richard
Dixon for their repatriation to the Dominican Republic. The two migrants facing
prosecution are in custody of Ramey Sector Border Patrol agents in Puerto Rico.

The
Heriberto Hernandez and Richard Dixon are 154-foot fast-response cutters
homeported in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

WASHINGTON —
The president’s nominee for chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said that he
supports development and deployment of a low-yield nuclear warhead as part of
the nations’ strategic deterrent.

“I think it
is an important capability to have in our arsenal in order to deal with any
potential adversaries or contingency operations,” Army Gen. Mark Milley said as
he testified June 11 on Capitol Hill at his confirmation hearing before the
Senate Armed Services Committee.

The
deployment of a low-yield warhead, the W76-2, is called for in the 2018 Nuclear
Posture Review. Production of the warhead has begun for the Trident D5LE
submarine-launched ballistic missiles to be deployed on board Ohio-class
ballistic-missile submarines.

The future of
the W76-2 is clouded because of opposition of key Democratic members of the
House of Representatives and is one of the contentious issues of the National
Defense Authorization bill currently in work.

Milley listed
the nation’s strategic nuclear deterrent as his top modernization priority, the
others being space capabilities, artificial intelligence and hypersonic
weapons.

He supports
modernization of all three legs of the U.S. strategic deterrent triad: bombers,
ground-based intercontinental ballistic missiles and submarine-launched
ballistic missiles.

“The triad has worked,”
Milley said. “There are many reasons why there hasn’t been a great power war
since 1945. Clearly one of them is nuclear deterrence and part of that is the
capability of the triad. Each leg of the triad gives you different capability.”

SAN DIEGO
— Vice President Mike Pence attended a U.S. Coast Guard drug offload July 11 in
San Diego, the Coast Guard Pacific Area said in a release.

The crew of
the Coast Guard Cutter Munro offloaded more than 39,000 pounds of cocaine and
933 pounds of marijuana worth a combined $569 million, which was seized in
international waters in the eastern Pacific Ocean.

The drugs
represent 14 separate suspected drug smuggling vessel interdictions and
disruptions off the coasts of Mexico and Central and South America by three
Coast Guard cutters between May and July. This was the Munro’s first deployment
to the region.

Pence,
James W. Carroll, director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, DEA
acting administrator Uttam Dhillon, and Vice Adm. Linda Fagan, commander of
Coast Guard Pacific Area, spent time aboard Munro and talked to the crew and
media.

“Let me
commend you especially for your new deployment to the Eastern Pacific
corridor,” Pence said. “Even though this is a new area of deployment for this
cutter, you’ve already proven yourselves more than up to the task … 14
operations went into this offload, and one of them was of a self-propelled,
semi-submersible vessel (SPPS), which resulted in the largest Coast Guard
removal in four years. The Coast Guard is seizing illegal drugs at a faster
rate than ever before. And you all have been at the tip of the spear, making
that happen.”

Munro
interdicted the SPPS on June 18, in international waters west of South America.
It was carrying more than 17,000 pounds of cocaine. In fiscal year 2019 to date,
the U.S. Coast Guard has interdicted more than 143 metric tons of cocaine,
worth more than $4.2 billion.

These
drugs are smuggled by international cartels, said Fagan, whose actions “which
left unchecked, fuels violence and instability that corrodes our hemisphere’s
social and economic fabric, and directly contributes to historically high
drug-related deaths in neighborhoods across North America.”

While the
Munro, a national security cutter, was commissioned in 2017, 70% of the Coast
Guard’s offshore presence is the service’s aging fleet of medium-endurance
cutters, many of which are more than 50 years old.

“Our Coast
Guard deserves better,” Pence said. “And that’s why we are committed to fully
funding our Coast Guard, including replacing old ships with new ones, just like
the Cutter Munro.”

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — The final piece of the John F. Kennedy’s (CVN-79) flight deck, the upper bow section, was installed July 10 on the future aircraft carrier, Huntington Ingalls Industries announced in a release.

The
addition of the upper bow section at the company’s Newport News Shipbuilding
division is one of the last steel structural units, known as a superlift, to be
placed on Kennedy. It was built using digital technology, such as visual work
instructions to install piping in the upper bow on the final assembly platen
instead of on the ship.

“We are
very pleased with the progress being made on Kennedy as we inch closer to
christening the ship later this year,” said Mike Butler, Newport News Shipbuilding’s
program director for the JFK.

“The upper
bow is the last superlift that completes the ship’s primary hull. This
milestone is testament to the significant build strategy changes we have made —
and to the men and women of Newport News Shipbuilding who do what no one else
in the world can do.”

Weighing
780 tons, the superlift took 18 months to build.

Kennedy is
being built with an improved build strategy that includes the increased use of
digital tools to build superlifts that are much larger and more complete at
ship erect than on prior carriers. Kennedy is on track to be built with
considerably fewer man-hours than the first ship in its class, USS Gerald R.
Ford.

More than 3,200
shipbuilders and 2,000 suppliers from across the country are supporting the
construction of aircraft carrier Kennedy. The ship is in the early stages of
its testing program and is on schedule to launch during the fourth quarter. Christening
is planned for late 2019.

ASTORIA,
Ore. — The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Elm is scheduled to cross the Columbia River
bar and arrive in Astoria, its new homeport, for the first time on July 15 at
10 a.m., the Coast Guard’s 13th District said in a release.

The
Elm, a Juniper Class 225-foot seagoing buoy tender, is operated by the same
crew that operated the Coast Guard Cutter Fir, which left Astoria in June 2018
as part of a Coast Guard-wide hull swap.

The Elm
is coming out of a midlife, dry-dock, major-overhaul period at the Coast Guard
Yard in Baltimore. The major overhaul began in January 2018. 

The
Elm, commissioned in 1998, was previously homeported in Atlantic Beach, North
Carolina, as part of Sector Field Office Macon. It spent the last 20 years
maintaining more than 250 floating aids to navigation from central New Jersey
to the border of North and South Carolina.

The
Elm’s primary mission will continue to be servicing aids to navigation, but its
new area of responsibility stretches along the Pacific coasts of Oregon and
Washington as well as in the Columbia River. Its area extends from the
Oregon/California border north to the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and east in the
Columbia River to Longview, Washington.

The
aids to navigation that its crew will service and maintain are essential to
commercial vessel traffic in shipping ports such as Coos Bay, Newport, Astoria,
Portland, Longview and Seattle.

The
Elm’s crew will be responsible for 114 floating aids. The buoys, which the crew
normally service, range in size from 13 feet tall and 5 feet wide to 35 feet
tall and 9 feet wide and weigh up to 18,000 pounds. The Elm has heavy-lift
capabilities with a crane that can extend to 60 feet and lift up to 40,000
pounds.