ARLINGTON,
Va. — The U.S Navy will christen its newest Arleigh Burke-class guided missile
destroyer, the future USS Daniel Inouye (DDG 118), during a 10 a.m. ceremony June
22, in Bath, Maine, the Defense Department announced.

The future
USS Daniel Inouye is named in honor of Daniel Inouye, who served as a United
States senator for Hawaii from 1963 until his death in 2012.

Inouye
received the Medal of Honor June 21, 2000, for his extraordinary heroism in
action while serving with the 442nd Infantry Regiment Combat Team in Italy
during World War II. During an assault on April 21, 1945, an exploding grenade
shattered his right arm; despite the intense pain, he refused evacuation. He
remained at the head of his platoon until they broke the enemy resistance and
his men deployed in defensive positions, continuing to fight until the
regiment’s position was secured.

U.S. Sen.
Mazie Hirono of Hawaii will deliver the christening ceremony’s principal
address. Irene Hirano Inouye, the late senator’s wife, will serve as the ship’s
sponsor. In a time-honored Navy tradition, Irene Inouye will christen the ship
by breaking a bottle of sparkling wine across her bow.

“The
future USS Daniel Inouye will serve for decades as a reminder of Senator
Inouye’s service to our nation and his unwavering support of a strong Navy and
Marine Corps team,” Navy Secretary Richard V. Spencer said. “This
ship honors not only his service but the service of our shipbuilders who help
make ours the greatest Navy and Marine Corps team in the world.”

The future
USS Daniel Inouye will be the 68th Arleigh Burke-class destroyer and is one of
21 ships under contract for the DDG 51 program. The ship is configured as a
Flight IIA destroyer, which enables power projection and delivers quick
reaction time, high firepower, and increased electronic countermeasures
capability for anti-air warfare. The USS Daniel Inouye will be 509.5 feet long
and 59 feet wide, with a displacement of 9,496 tons. She will be homeported in
Pearl Harbor.

Congress this year is less willing to boost shipbuilding
funding above the Trump administration’s request than in recent years and has
shown some skepticism over the U.S. Navy’s push for rapid adoption of unmanned
systems, the two top congressional analysts on naval issues said June 19.

While still generally supportive of shipbuilding and
unmanned systems, Congress appears to be shifting some money to improved
readiness and isn’t willing to sacrifice conventional capabilities, such as the
aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman, to accelerate the move to unmanned
vessels, analysts Eric Labs and Ronald O’Rourke told an American Society of
Naval Engineers forum.

At the same forum, a panel of senior civilian Navy officials
said the emphasis in designing the future combat fleet was on greater
commonality of systems to improve flexibility, interoperability and lethality
and on acquiring combat systems that could be updated quicker and cheaper. Both
of those priorities would help reduce the sustainment cost of the future fleet,
the officials said.

Labs, the senior naval forces analyst at the Congressional
Budget office, described a “leveling off” of support in Congress for funding
shipbuilding above the requested levels and a willingness to “substitute their
own priorities” for the Navy’s push for new technologies including unmanned
systems. He noted shipbuilding funding in preliminary congressional actions of
about $1 billion less than requested, compared to an average $2 billion
increase in recent years.

O’Rourke, the naval affairs analyst at the Congressional
Research Service, saw similar reduction in shipbuilding funding by the panels
that have acted on the fiscal 2020 budget and a reluctance to fund the third
Virginia class attack submarine. He also cited congressional concern over fleet
readiness following the two fatal at-sea collisions and over the delayed
maintenance of attack submarines.

Responding to questions, the analysts cited congressional
support for funding to bolster the shipbuilding industrial base, opposition to
the Navy’s plan to retire the Truman at midlife to add funds for unmanned
surface vessels and said the effort by the House Armed Services Committee to
prohibit the Navy from accepting the USS John F. Kennedy, the second in the Gerald
R. Ford class of carriers, until it is able to operate the F-35C could add to
the cost of the ship.

The panel of four officials on the Navy staff also expressed
concerns about fleet readiness and rising sustainment costs. That led to the
stress on requiring the maximum possible commonality in future ships and
systems, which can reduce the cost of procuring and sustaining the fleet and
the cost of training sailors to operate them. A key goal was a common combat
system that could be scaled to equip the future frigate, which is close to contract
award, and a future large surface combatant, which still is under review. But
commonality should extend to the hull, mechanical and electrical components of
future ships, they said.

PORTSMOUTH,
Va. — Norfolk Naval Shipyard dedicated its new submarine maintenance facility
on June 14.

The
dedication marked the next crucial step in the NNSY’s realization of a shipyard
infrastructure optimization plan that will enhance the ability of the four
public shipyards to meet the mission of delivering ships back to the fleet on
time and within budget.

The new
facility consolidates submarine maintenance, production and support shops into
a single facility adjacent to NNSY’s submarine drydocks. This two-story
structure features shops, storage and support spaces on the ground level, with
office spaces and conference rooms on the second floor.

“NAVSEA Cmdr.
Vice Adm. Tom Moore has challenged us to build an environment that promotes
increased levels of innovation, collaboration and knowledge sharing,” the shipyard’s
commander, Capt. Kai Torkelson, said at the dedication.

“This will
give our people the space and tools they need to forge high-performing teams
and complete our mission of returning submarines to the fleet with superior
quality and reliable delivery.”

More than
three years in the making, the $10 million project is designed to withstand the
impact of a 500-year flood, and the 24,000-square-foot building should also
hold up against a Category 4 hurricane. The building also follows antiterrorism
protection requirements, featuring blast-proof windows and 18-inch thick
concrete walls. It also features amenities such as a kitchen, break room,
nursing mothers room and showers.

NNSY’s
current submarine projects include conversions of USS La Jolla and USS San
Francisco into moored training ships and the refueling and upgrading of USS
Wyoming for return to the nation’s active submarine fleet.

NNSY submarine
program manager Pat Ensley said the building supports work on Los Angeles-class
submarines and will support work on the future Virginia and Columbia classes of
subs.

“It
improves our abilities by having a permanent facility and place to perform
production work as close to the boat as possible,” he said. Adding that the
building is segmented by mechanical, electrical, nuclear and nonnuclear work
areas, he said: “We’re going to have capability for every shop, with
ergonomically designed work areas as well as giving individuals all the
amenities they would want from starting to ending their work days.”

PARIS — Raytheon
won a four-year $234 million contract from the U.S. Navy to outfit all of its
nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships with 23 Joint
Precision Approach and Landing Systems (JPALS), the company announced in a release.

JPALS is a
GPS-based precision landing system that guides aircraft to precision landings
in all weather and surface conditions.

“The U.S.
Navy understands how JPALS contributes to their mission success and safety of
its people,” said Matt Gilligan, vice president of Raytheon’s intelligence, information
and services business. “Other military services could also benefit from the
system’s ability to safely land both fixed and rotary-wing aircraft in almost
any low-visibility environment.”

Since 2018,
U.S. Marine Corps F-35B Lightning II fighter pilots have used JPALS to guide
them onto the USS Wasp amphibious assault ship during deployed operations in
what Navy Capt. B. Joseph Hornbuckle III, program manager, Naval Air Traffic
Management Systems Program Office, called “the most difficult conditions on
Earth.”

Earlier this
year, F-35B pilots participated in two demonstrations of a new expeditionary
version of the JPALS system that brings the same precision capability from sea
to shore. The proof-of-concept events showed how the GPS-based system could be
reconfigured into a mobile version to support landings in a traditional airport
setting.

Expeditionary
JPALS fits in five transit cases and could be repackaged for a variety of small
transit vehicles transportable by C-130. Once on the ground, the system can be
fully operational in under 90 minutes.

PARIS — The
U.S. Navy successfully completed a series of guided flight tests for Raytheon
Co.’s Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) Block 2A short-range, surface-to-air
missile, the company said in a release.

Testing
occurred at Naval Air Warfare Center in China Lake, California, and from the
Navy’s self-defense test ship off the coast of Southern California.

RAM is the world’s
most modern ship self-defense weapon and protects ships of all sizes. It is
deployed on more than 165 ships in 11 countries, ranging from 500-ton fast
attack craft to 95,000-ton aircraft carriers. The latest software upgrade
enhances guidance and the missile’s capability to defeat threats.

Raytheon
expects to deliver the RAM Block 2A missile to the Navy by the end of the year.

RAM is an international
cooperative program between the United States and Germany. Raytheon and the
German company RAMSYS share development, production and maintenance costs.

ARLINGTON, Va. — The Defense Department’s plans to provide
additional security cooperation aid to Ukraine includes unspecified support for
Ukraine’s navy and naval infantry, the Pentagon said in a release.

DoD said it would provide $250 million in security
cooperation funds to Ukraine “for additional training, equipment and advisory
efforts to build the capacity of Ukraine’s armed forces.”

The security assistance funds will bring the total given to
Ukraine to $1.5 billion since 2014.

“The new funds will provide equipment to support ongoing
training programs and operational needs, including capabilities to enhance:
maritime situational awareness and operations as part of ongoing U.S. efforts
to increase support for Ukraine’s navy and naval infantry; the defensive
capacity and survivability of Ukraine’s land and special operations forces
through the provision of sniper rifles, rocket-propelled grenade launchers, and
counter-artillery radars; command and control; electronic warfare detection and
secure communications; military mobility; night vision; and, military medical
treatment,” according to the June 18 release.

DoD said the funding “is made possible by Ukraine’s continued progress on the adoption of key defense institutional reforms to align Ukraine’s national security architecture with Euro-Atlantic principles.

“The United States remains committed to helping Ukraine implement provisions of Ukraine’s 2018 Law on National Security to strengthen democratic civilian control of the military, promote command and control reforms, enhance transparency and accountability in acquisition and budgeting, and advance defense industry reforms. These reforms will bolster Ukraine’s ability to defend its territorial integrity in support of a secure, prosperous, democratic and free Ukraine.”

MARINETTE,
Wis. — The Lockheed Martin-led shipbuilding team launched Littoral Combat Ship 21,
the future USS Minneapolis-Saint Paul, into the Menominee River at the
Fincantieri Marinette Marine Shipyard on June 15.

Ship sponsor
Jodi J. Greene, deputy U.S. Navy undersecretary for policy, christened LCS 21
just prior to launch, according to a Lockheed press release. “LCS 21 is going
to bring the name ‘Minneapolis-Saint Paul’ all around the globe,” said Greene, who
is native of the Twin Cities.

“LCS is the
second largest ship class in the U.S. Navy, and Lockheed Martin is proud to
deliver capability and added force projection with each additional hull,” said
Joe DePietro, vice president and general manager of small combatants and ship systems
for Lockheed.

Littoral
combat ships are designed to complete close-to-shore missions and are a growing
part of the Navy’s fleet. With 40 percent of its hull easily reconfigurable, an
LCS can be modified to integrate capabilities such as over-the-horizon
missiles, advanced electronic warfare systems and decoys and, in the future,
vertical launching systems or laser weapon systems.

An LCS is fast,
as it is capable of speeds in excess of 40 knots. The ships are lethal as well,
as all are equipped with Rolling Airframe Missiles (RAM) and a Mark 110 gun, which
is capable of firing 220 rounds per minute.

Lockheed
Martin is in full-rate production and has delivered eight LCS to the U.S. Navy.
There are eight others in various stages of production and testing. This year,
Lockheed and Fincantieri Marinette Marine will begin construction on two ships,
deliver two ships, complete sea trials for two ships and see three ships
commissioned (LCS 13, 15 and 17).

WASHINGTON —
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD)
announced $19.6 million in grants to support capital improvements at 28 U.S.
small shipyards as a part of its Small Shipyard Grant program, MARAD said in a release.

Provided
through MARAD’s Small Shipyard Grant program, the funding supports employee
training and related improvements that foster increased efficiency and economic
growth, the release said.

“These grants
help create jobs in America’s small shipyards, which play a significant role in
our country’s maritime sector,” Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao said.

In 2013, U.S.
shipbuilders produced $37.3 billion in gross domestic product. Usually
family-owned and employing less than 1,200 workers, small shipyards play a
critical role in contributing to our nation’s economy. Supporting more than
400,000 jobs, they create employment opportunities for working families and
small communities.

“Small
shipyards are an irreplaceable aspect of America’s shipbuilding industry,” Maritime
Administrator Mark. H. Buzby said. “They are a key component to national
security and our economic viability as a whole, providing good jobs for
hardworking Americans.”

Since 2008,
MARAD’s Small Shipyard Grant Program has awarded more than $226 million for a
total of 216 grants. These grants help fund upgrades and expansions that often
lead to more competitive operations, quality ship construction and improved
employee skill.

Having
produced some of the most innovative vessels in the world, U.S. small shipyards
have become economic backbones throughout the country. Small shipyard grants leverage
the skills and expertise of the shipyard community, according to the release.

MCLEAN, Va. — Alion Science and Technology has been
awarded a task order totaling $75 million to support Naval Information Warfare
Center (NIWC) Pacific, the company announced in a release.

The contract supports a technical focus of Combat Vehicle
Command, Control, Communication, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance, and
Reconnaissance (C4ISR) On-the-Move (OTM) Systems for the Joint Warfighter.

The Alion team will support the U.S. Marine Corps and
Army programs for C4ISR-OTM at NIWC Pacific to ensure interoperability and
commonality of functions between systems and upgrades. This includes the
advancement of joint and coalition force capabilities by helping to provide OTM
satellite communications technology that gives weapon system platforms on the
battlefield reliable, worldwide connectivity to the Joint Information
Environment.

Alion will provide technical expertise to develop
operational concepts for OTM satellite communications across multiple weapon
system platforms, to include tactical vehicles. Focus will be on systems
engineering and providing the technology expertise required to evaluate, design
and test and implement advanced hardware and software components for the
C4ISR-OTM.

“Alion has supported this customer since 2009. Being able
to provide continued access to the team that built the NOTM [Networking
On-the-Move] system and the OEMs for the individual components allows for
uninterrupted advancement of C4ISR technologies,” said Tim Lawrence, Alion senior
vice president.

TODENDORF, Germany — German, Norwegian, Danish and U.S. Navy Sailors from the Baltic Operations (BALTOPS) exercise Mine Warfare Task Group came together to clear three World War II-era air-laid mines in the Baltic Sea on June 14, the Naval Surface and Mine Warfighting Development Center said in a release.

During complex mine warfare training to increase combined
force integration and maritime capability among 11 nations, the task group
identified three historical mines on the sea floor. The team detonated the
mines after receiving approval from German authorities to increase safety and
reduce risk to mariners operating in German territorial waters.

“This is an excellent example of the valuable training we
gain from exercises like BALTOPS,” said U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Scott Robertson,
commander of the BALTOPS 2019 Mine Warfare Task Group and commander of Naval
Surface and Mine Warfighting Development Center.

“Working together with our professional partners from
Denmark and Norway to clear these undetonated, historical mines provides
hands-on training and increases safety to mariners in the region by clearing
hazardous material from the Baltic Sea. There is a good chance we will find
more of these mines as the exercise continues, and it’s reassuring to know our
international task group has the training and expertise necessary to safely
dispose of them,” Robertson emphasized.

A team of mine warfare professionals aboard the Norwegian
Alta-class MS HMNoS Otra (M351) detected and classified two mines, which were
reacquired and identified by a team of Danish divers. Members of a Norwegian
dive team discovered the third mine in another Mine Warfare Task Group’s
training area off the coast of the Bundeswehr Military Training Area in
Todendorf, Germany.

“German authorities willingly support the reduction of
threat to navigation and shipping,” said Bundeswehr Personnel Exchange Program
Officer Fregattenkapitaen Stefan Oeggl, who is assigned to the U.S. Navy’s Mine
Countermeasures Division 31 and serves as a liaison for the Mine Warfare Task Group
and Germany.

“Even after 75 years, explosives like these are dangerous,
and we are happy to have the mines cleared as part of the exercise.”

Each of the cleared mines were World War II-era British
air-laid, bottom mines (A Mk I–VI), each roughly 1,000 pounds.

“This has been a tremendous opportunity to continue to work
with partner and allied forces that we frequently engage with throughout the
region,” said U.S. Navy Cmdr. Jeff Demarco, commanding officer of Explosive
Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit 8 based in Rota, Spain, which serves as the
Undersea Mine Countermeasures Commander within the BALTOPS Mine Warfare Task
Group.

“Working with the Norwegian, Danish and Belgium clearance
diving and AUV teams during training exercises is critical to our ability to maintain
sea control in a complex theater.”

Nations participating in the BALTOPS 2019 Mine Warfare Task
Group include Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Denmark, Belgium, Germany, the
Netherlands, Norway, the United Kingdom, France and the United States.

Nations participating in BALTOPS 2019 include Belgium,
Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands,
Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, the United Kingdom
and the United States.

BALTOPS is an opportunity to promote partnerships, presence,
and professionalism through an unambiguous display of strength in the Baltic
region.