SAN JUAN,
Puerto Rico — The Coast Guard repatriated 12 Dominican migrants to a Dominican
Navy patrol vessel June 2 following the at-sea interdiction of an illegal
migrant voyage May 30 in the Mona Passage, the Coast Guard 7th District said.

Two other
Dominican migrants 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 interdictions
are the result of ongoing efforts in support of Operation Unified Resolve,
Operation Caribbean Guard and the Caribbean Border Interagency Group.

“Migrants
endanger their lives when taking part in an illegal voyage aboard makeshift and
grossly overloaded boats with little or no lifesaving equipment,” said Lt.
Cmdr. Rafael Batlle, commanding officer of the cutter Heriberto Hernandez.

“I’m proud of
my crew and thankful that we were able to arrive in time and rescue all these
persons from a very dangerous situation. Most of them were dehydrated,
disoriented, weakened and even sea sick.”

While on a
routine patrol on the night of May 30, the crew of a Coast Guard HC-144
maritime patrol aircraft detected a migrant vessel that was transiting without navigational
lights. The migrant boat was about 10 nautical miles north Mona Island, Puerto
Rico.

Coast Guard
watchstanders in Sector San Juan diverted the Heriberto Hernandez to interdict
the suspect vessel. Shortly thereafter, the cutter’s crew interdicted the
30-foot makeshift boat and embarked all 14 men from their vessel that was
taking on water and in danger of sinking.

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

The Heriberto
Hernandez transferred custody of the two migrants facing federal prosecution to
Ramey Sector Border Patrol agents in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico. The remaining
migrants were transferred to the Coast Guard cutter Winslow Griesser (WPC-1116),
which transported the migrants to Dominican waters just off Samaná, Dominican
Republic, for their repatriation.

ARLINGTON,
Va. — BAE Systems Inc. has purchased of the key assets of Riptide Autonomous
Solutions, a provider of unmanned underwater vehicle technology and solutions,
BAE Systems said in a June 3 release. Plymouth, Massachusetts-based Riptide specializes
in small UUVs.

“Adding
Riptide’s technological capabilities will position us to provide customers
unmatched flexibility by offering a family of UUVs and integrated payload
solutions capable of supporting a variety of critical missions,” said Terry
Crimmins, president of BAE Systems Electronic Systems.

“Coupling
our extensive expertise in sonar, signal processing, sensor fusion, undersea
communications, electronic warfare, and autonomous systems with Riptide’s
unique UUV platforms will enable us to affordably address rapidly expanding
maritime mission requirements in the global defense, commercial and research
markets.”

“Everyone
at Riptide is excited to be joining BAE Systems, given our shared focus and
strategic vision for the undersea market,” said Jeff Smith, Riptide’s founder
and president.

Riptide employees will join
the BAE Systems Electronic Systems sector, many as part of the FAST Labs
organization.

SAN DIEGO
— Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command has changed its name to Naval
Information Warfare Systems Command (NAVWARSYSCOM), reinforcing its commitment
to outpacing adversaries in information warfare, the command said in a release.

Chief of
Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson announced the name change at the
Information Warfare Senior Leadership Symposium in Washington, D.C., on June 3.
The change is effective immediately.

“We have
been on a steady drumbeat since the issuance of the Design for Maintaining
Maritime Superiority to further normalize information warfare into the way we
do operations and warfighting in the Navy,” Richardson said. “Today, we will
take an important step in that direction as we rename the Space and Naval Warfare
Systems Command to the Naval Information Warfare Systems Command. This new name
more accurately describes the full totality of the mission, supporting naval
warfare — from seabed to space.”

The intent
of the name change is to recognize the power that information warfare brings to
the fight. The change aligns the command name with the command mission to
identify, develop, deliver and sustain information warfare capabilities and
services that enable naval, joint, coalition and other national missions.

“In this era of ‘Great Power Competition,’ information is a fundamental element of warfare, an essential component of the Navy’s strategy, and a warfare area that transcends the traditional domains of air, sea, land and space,” said NAVWARSYSCOM’s commander, Rear Adm. Christian Becker. “This name change underscores the importance of information warfare in providing our fleet with an unfair advantage in today’s complex and increasingly competitive security environment.”

In
addition to more accurately reflecting the focus and core capabilities of the
command, the name change will bring renewed clarity of mission and purpose for
the warfighter, stakeholders across the fleet, industry partners, the broader
information warfare community and the Naval Research and Development
Establishment, according to the release.

“We have
been at the center of incorporating advanced information warfare technologies
that enable new operational concepts for decades,” NAVWARSYSCOM Executive
Director Patrick Sullivan said. “Information warfare has been and will continue
to be our central focus, and now our name accurately reflects this focus.”

In
February 2019, NAVWARSYCOM’s two Echelon III commands, formerly “systems
centers” in Charleston, South Carolina and San Diego changed their names to Naval
Information Warfare Center (NIWC) Atlantic and NIWC Pacific, respectively.
While this move reflects clarity of mission and purpose, it also aligns the
centers’ naming architecture with Naval Air Systems Command’s air warfare
centers and Naval Sea Systems Command’s surface and undersea warfare centers.

The change
to NAVWARSYSCOM is the second name change in the command’s history. In May 1966,
the Department of the Navy established the Naval Electronic Systems Command.
The command was one of five systems commands placed under the Naval Material
Command. In May 1985, the Department of the Navy disestablished the Naval
Material Command, and the Naval Electronic Systems Command became Space and
Naval Warfare Systems Command, an Echelon II command under the CNO.

NAVWARSYSCOM consists of
more than 11,000 active duty military and civil service professionals around
the world and close to the fleet to keep NAVWARSYSCOM at the forefront of research,
engineering and acquisition to provide and sustain information warfare
capabilities to the fleet.

ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Navy has awarded a contract to General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. (GA-ASI) to provide intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) services though use of Group 5 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

According to a May 30 Defense Department
contract announcement, Naval Air Systems Command awarded GA-ASI a $36.5 million
contract modification to provide ISR services with
contractor-owned/contractor-operated MQ-9 Reaper UAVs, the same UAV used by the
U.S. Air Force.

The Marine Corps extensively has used contractor
ISR services in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria, with the smaller Insitu ScanEagle,
and has employed its new service-owned Boeing Insitu RQ-21A Blackjack UAV in
the same roles. The use of the larger Reaper is filling a gap in ISR coverage
for the Marine Corps.

The Corps has developed a requirement for
its own Reapers and has requested two in the fiscal 2020 defense budget.

The current contract modification is for nine
months of Reaper services, scheduled to run through February 2020 at overseas
locations and at Yuma, Arizona.

TOKYO —
Northrop Grumman Corp. completed its first delivery of an E-2D Advanced Hawkeye
to the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) on March 29, the company said in
a release.

In November
2014, the Japan Ministry of Defense competitively selected the Northrop Grumman
E-2D to fulfill an emerging next-generation airborne early warning requirement.

“Northrop
Grumman’s longstanding partnership with Japan is beginning a new chapter with
the delivery of the first Japan E-2D,” said Jane Bishop, vice president and
integrated product team leader, manned airborne surveillance programs at
Northrop Grumman. “This aircraft provides a significant increase in early
warning and surveillance capability to outpace Japan’s evolving security
needs.”

Japan has
operated the Northrop Grumman E-2C Hawkeye since 1983 and is the largest E-2
operator outside the U.S. The E-2D delivers a two-generation leap in radar
technology, allowing the aircraft to track threats at extended range.

The aircraft can also be
used in a humanitarian assistance and disaster relief capacity for civilian
emergency coordination. The E-2D offers interoperability with next-generation
aircraft systems and U.S. Navy allies to support regional security cooperation.
To ensure long-term success of the Japan E-2D fleet, Northrop Grumman is
providing continued support to JASDF in the areas of sustainment and
maintenance, in coordination with several Japanese firms.

BREMERTON, Wash. — The Los
Angeles-class fast-attack submarine USS Pittsburgh (SSN-720) arrived on May 28 at
Naval Base Kitsap-Bremerton, Washington, to start the inactivation and
decommissioning process, commander, Submarine Group 9 said in a release.

Under the command of Cmdr.
Jason Deichler, a Pittsburgh native, the submarine departed Naval Submarine
Base New London in Groton, Connecticut, and made its first arctic transit for
its final homeport change.

“We are the first second
flight 688 to complete an arctic transit from Groton to Bremerton for an
inactivation,” Deichler said. “It was an amazing transit, one that it unique to
submarines. There aren’t too many people in the history of the world, let alone
the submarine force, let alone the Navy, that have done that transit under the
ice.”

Pittsburgh completed its
most recent deployment Feb. 25, 2019. During the deployment, the boat and her
crew steamed more than 39,000 nautical miles and conducted three foreign port
visits.

“All I heard from the crew
during the transit was ‘this is the last,’” Deichler said. “This is the last
meal; this is the last time we are going to eat Pittsburgh steak on Pittsburgh;
this is the last turn; this is the last shut down. So, the pride that they have
in the ship is amazing, the best I have ever seen on any ship I have ever
served.”

The submarine’s ability to
support a multitude of missions, including anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface
ship warfare, strike warfare, surveillance and reconnaissance, made Pittsburgh
one of the most capable submarines in the world.

“It is a bittersweet
feeling to be the last operational commanding officer of Pittsburgh,” Deichler
said. “I am a native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, so the boat has a special
meaning to me. It is bittersweet to see Pittsburgh come for a final mooring
here in Bremerton, but I know it will help the Navy in her future mission as we
bring more Virginia-class submarines out online and we get our technology
upgraded.”

During the inactivation
process, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility will
defuel the submarine, with the hull retained in safe storage until decommissioning.

“The 35 years of USS
Pittsburgh has been an amazing 35 years,” Deichler said. “We have been involved
in two Tomahawk strike exercises and a multitude of missions vital to national
security. What I really hope that the public remembers of our ship and our crew
is the hard working men and women that helped build the submarine, utilizing
materials from Pittsburgh, companies from Pittsburgh, and the support I got
from the citizens of Pittsburgh; and then the crew itself, as they supported
the ship and conducted operations over these 35 years.”

Commissioned Nov. 23, 1985,
Pittsburgh is the fourth U.S. Navy vessel to be named for the city of
Pittsburgh. The boat’s mission is to seek out and destroy enemy ships and
submarines and to protect U.S. national interests. At 360-feet-long and 6,900
tons, Pittsburgh can be armed with sophisticated Mk48 advanced-capability
torpedoes and Tomahawk cruise missiles.

NORFOLK,
Va. — The U.S. 2nd Fleet declared the command has achieved initial operational
capability (IOC) May 29, less than one year after being established by senior
military leaders, U.S. 2nd Fleet Public Affairs said in a May 29 release.

Vice Adm.
Andrew “Woody” Lewis, commander, U.S. 2nd Fleet, made the announcement onboard
Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia, the waterfront homeport of many 2nd Fleet
maritime assets.

“The North
Atlantic has some of the world’s busiest shipping lanes, and with the opening
of waterways in the Arctic, this traffic will only grow,” Lewis said. “This is
a fact acknowledged by both our allies and competitors, and as such, it is
critically important U.S. 2nd Fleet reinvigorates the way our forces are
employed in this influential theater.”

In
achieving IOC, the command has reached the capability to command and control
forces assigned, as is expected of a numbered fleet, utilizing the functions
and processes of the Maritime Operations Center and Maritime Headquarters.

“The North Atlantic has some of the world’s busiest shipping lanes, and with the opening of waterways in the Arctic, this traffic will only grow,” Lewis said. “This is a fact acknowledged by both our allies and competitors, and as such, it is critically important U.S. 2nd Fleet reinvigorates the way our forces are employed in this influential theater.”

Vice Adm. Andrew “Woody” Lewis

By
focusing on the high-end training and employment of assigned assets, the new
2nd Fleet will be postured to support the employment of forces, whether that is
on the Western side of the Atlantic, the Eastern side of the Atlantic, or up
into the Arctic.

A few days
after achieving IOC, the new fleet will lead Exercise Baltic Operations
(BALTOPS), marking the first time the fleet will operate in the European
theater, and leveraging increased lethality, interoperability and integrated
warfighting capability with allies and partners in the region.

“BALTOPS
2019 is our collective opportunity to promote peace and security through
cooperation, collaboration, interoperability, and an unambiguous display of
strength in the Baltic region,” Lewis said. “As an alliance, increasing our
capabilities across all-domains as well as building a command-wide network will
give us the ability to deter aggression and project stability.”

U.S. 2nd
Fleet exercises operational and administrative authorities over assigned ships,
aircraft and landing forces on the East Coast and the North Atlantic.
Additionally, it plans and conducts maritime, joint and combined operations as
well as trains and recommends certification of combat ready naval forces for
maritime employment and operations around the globe.

ARLINGTON, Va. — The Navy has allocated
funds for long-lead components for the next production lot of the MQ-4C Triton
high-altitude, long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicles, including one for Royal
Australian Air Force (RAAF), according to a May 30 Defense Department contract
announcement.

The Naval Air Systems Command has awarded
to Northrop Grumman Systems Corp. a not-to-exceed $65 million advance
acquisition contract toward the Lot 5 low-rate initial production of three
Tritons, two for the U.S. Navy and one for the RAAF. The contract also provides
for three ground stations, two for the U.S. Navy and one for the RAAF.

As of last month, Northrop Grumman had
delivered three production MQ-4Cs to the U.S. Navy.

The Australian government has identified a
requirement for seven Tritons for the maritime surveillance role. Two have been
ordered to date.

The U.S. Navy’s Unmanned Patrol Squadron 19,
the first Triton squadron, is on track to deploy the Triton for an Early
Operational Capability deployment to Guam later this year. It will take two
MQ-4Cs to Andersen Air Force Base in Guam to support the U.S. 7th Fleet.

Rear Adm. Brian Corey, program executive
officer for Unmanned Aviation and Strike Weapons, speaking May 6 at the Navy
League’s Sea-Air-Space expo in National Harbor, Maryland, said the two Tritons
making the first deployment will be in the aircraft’s baseline configuration.

The baseline configuration, Integrated
Functional Capability 3 (IFC 3) includes the Northrop Grumman AN/ZPY-3
Multi-Function Active Sensor (MFAS) maritime radar, Raytheon MTS-B electro-optical/infrared
sensor turret, Automatic Identification System receiver and an electronic
support measures system.

Corey said the current priority of the
Triton program is to “put forward the IFC 4 [Integrated Functional Capability
4] capability [in the Triton] to do much of the EP-3E mission.”

The MQ-4C is scheduled to replace the EP-3E
electronic reconnaissance aircraft when the UAV’s IFC 4 multi-intelligence
capability is installed and certified for operations.

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — Digital technology marked the exact location where Huntington Ingalls Industries landed the island onto the flight deck of the aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy (CVN-79) during a ceremony May 29 at the company’s shipbuilding division, the company said in a release. The event coincided with the birthday of the carrier’s namesake, President John F. Kennedy.

“Landing
the island is a key milestone in preparing the ship for launch in the fall,”
said Jennifer Boykin, president of Newport News Shipbuilding. “Reaching this
milestone on schedule demonstrates the significant lessons learned we are
applying to this ship’s construction as well as the strides we’ve made to use
new technologies to gain efficiencies.”

The 588-ton island, which will serve as the command-and-control center for flight deck operations, is one of the last steel structures, known as a superlift, to be placed onto the ship, signifying that the Kennedy is a step closer to being launched.

The
ship is being built in sections with more outfitted equipment — valves, pipe,
electrical panels, mounting studs, lighting, ventilation and other components —
than any other aircraft carrier built at Newport News. The use of new
technologies, including digital work instructions that provide shipbuilders
digital 3D data versus traditional paper drawings, has increased efficiency and
productivity.

With the island, the Kennedy is more than 90% structurally complete. The island stands 72 feet above the flight deck and is 56 feet long and 33 feet wide.

In
keeping with the Navy tradition, Capt. Todd Marzano, the ship’s commanding
officer, placed his aviator wings underneath the island during the ceremony.
This custom, known as mast-stepping, recognizes an ancient maritime custom of
placing a coin at the base of a mast of a ship under construction to bring good
fortune.

“It’s an absolute honor and privilege to be selected as the first commanding officer of the new aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy, and I’m truly humbled to be joining such an impressive team of highly talented shipbuilders who have worked so hard to make this historic event possible,” Marzano said.

“Landing the island on the flight deck is a significant construction milestone, bringing John F. Kennedy one very important step closer to being commissioned into the fleet, where its value to our nation cannot be overstated.”

Caroline
Kennedy, President Kennedy’s daughter, serves as the ship’s sponsor. She could
not participate in the May 29 event but shared a 1964 silver Kennedy half
dollar that Marzano placed under the island house.

“The
island landing is an important milestone in the life of this ship,” Caroline Kennedy
wrote in a letter. “I know how proud my father would be of the ship that will
bear his name and the patriotism and dedication of all who sail in her.”

Boykin
placed a Newport News Shipbuilding president’s coin, which was designed to
recognize dedication, service and leadership — three qualities that the ship
and its crew will demonstrate when they set sail in our nation’s defense, she
explained.

The
other ceremony participants — James Geurts, assistant secretary of the Navy for
research, development and acquisition; Rear Adm. Roy J. Kelley, commander,
Naval Air Force Atlantic; and Rear Adm. Brian Antonio, program executive officer
for aircraft carriers — also placed coins.

A
time capsule containing all the items placed under the island will be welded
into the ship at a later time.

The Kennedy is scheduled to move from the dry dock to an outfitting berth in the fourth quarter of 2019, three months ahead of schedule. The ship’s christening is planned for later this year.

More than 4,500 shipbuilders and 2,000 suppliers from across the country are supporting the construction of the new aircraft carrier.

After years
and years of waiting, the last variant of the Joint Strike Fighter — the F-35C Lightning
II — is officially operational. But it’s still a couple of years away from
making an impact on the high seas — and some questions about the plane remain.

The U.S. Navy
on Feb. 28 declared that the F-35C, the aircraft carrier-capable variant of the
fifth-generation stealth fighter, had reached initial operational capability
(IOC). The Marine Corps vertical-lift F-35B and the Air Force conventional F-35A
variants already have been declared operational.

The first
F-35C squadron, Strike Fighter Squadron 147, completed carrier qualifications
aboard the USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) as a precursor to IOC. All that remains is
a couple of years of preparations until the first squadron deploys aboard the
Carl Vinson.

However,
issues still surround the aircraft, which was plagued by development and
production delays over its history.

A report
issued in March by nonprofit watchdog Project on Government Oversight declared
that the F-35 was “far from ready to face current or future threats,” citing
data that allegedly shows “unacceptably low” mission-capable rates. The
watchdog group also stated that the F-35 was initially promised at $38 million
per plane but that they now average $158.4 million apiece.

Despite all
the questions that surrounded the program for years, the plane is here. And the
Navy is preparing to introduce its variant into the fleet.

The IOC was a
joint declaration between the Navy and Marine Corps, because the aircraft will
be flown by both services. In the six months before that, the “last couple of
pieces” began coming together for the program — training, crews and the like,
Brian Neunaber, one of two national deputies for the Navy’s F-35 program, said in
an interview with Seapower.

“So we have
airplanes,” Neunaber said. “VFA-147 immediately reported to Carrier Air Wing
Two. It’s involved with unit-level training, and they will commence air-wing
workups, probably in the middle of next year.”

That said,
the F-35C is still a couple years away from actual deployment. Their first ship
— the Carl Vinson — is in drydock at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard for repairs and
modernization after concluding a busy deployment cycle.

“She’ll come
out of the shipyard in the middle of 2020, and shortly thereafter the entire
air wing will start working up with Carl Vinson, and sometime in the middle of
2021,” the first deployment is expected, Neunaber said, noting that the
deployment after that would probably take place six months later, and
eventually all carriers would be flying the F-35C.

The Vinson’s F-35C
squadron will consist of 10 planes. Every air wing in the fleet eventually each
will have a squadron of 10 aircraft before the Navy goes to two squadrons per
carrier, he said. The program of record stands at 340 F-35Cs, Neunaber added.

Doubts, Praise for F-35C

Of the three JSF
variants, the F-35C is the one that is “not in a particularly good place,” said
Richard Aboulafia, Teal Group’s vice president of analysis.

Aboulafia said
he believes that, though the Navy is going ahead with purchasing the aircraft,
the sea service isn’t enthusiastic about the F-35C. He noted that the Navy
wants to keep buying the F-35C’s predecessor, the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, and
that appetite hasn’t seemed to diminish as the F-35C finally reaches IOC.

The Navy has
a lot of reasons to hedge its bets, he argued.

“Why pay the
up-front price at all — rather than wait for someone else to drive down the
cost?” he said, also noting that the Navy “is less convinced themselves that [the
F-35C] has much value at sea. There’s also an institutional preference for
twin-engine fighters.”

Aboulafia also
claimed the F-35C could diminish the Navy’s case for large-deck carriers. “If
the [F35B] works, and Marines deploy Bs and Cs together and the difference isn’t
all that great, then you have a situation where the case for large carriers is
a little undercut,” he said.

In a worst-case
scenario — at least for a sea service that wants to keep operating a fleet of
large aircraft carriers — the Navy could lose support for even a carrier fleet
of 10 ships and see an argument for smaller carriers supplemented by amphibious
ships gain a lot of steam, Aboulafia argued.

Though many
have expressed doubts about the Navy’s enthusiasm about the F-35C, the service
has continued to publicly and emphatically support the fighter. The Navy argues
that the F-35C offers the latest in technology and is perfectly suited to fight
a modern war.

“The F-35C is
ready for operations, ready for combat and ready to win,” the commander of Naval
Air Forces, Vice Adm. DeWolfe Miller, said in a statement following the
declaration of the fighter’s IOC. “We are adding an incredible weapon system
into the arsenal of our carrier strike groups that significantly enhances the
capability of the joint force.”

Capt. Max
McCoy, commodore of the Navy’s Joint Strike Fighter Wing, predicted that the
F-35C would make us “more combat effective than ever before.”

“We will
continue to learn and improve ways to maintain and sustain F-35C as we prepare
for first deployment,” McCoy added in a statement. “The addition of
F-35C to existing carrier air wing capability ensures that we can fight and win
in contested battlespace now and well into the future.”