ARLINGTON, Va. — The Marine Corps’ last squadron flying the EA-6B Prowler electronic attack aircraft is scheduled to return home in early November, marking the last operational deployment for the aircraft.

Marine Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron Two (VMAQ-2) is returning from its final deployment to its home base, Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina, from a base in the Central Command area of responsibility, the Marine Corps said in an Oct. 31 release.

VMAQ-2 is scheduled to be deactivated in March, the last of four VMAQ squadrons to operate the Prowler. The other three squadrons — VMAQ-1, VMAQ-3 and VMAQ-4, two of which were formed from detachments of VMAQ-2 and one of which became a fleet replacement training squadron (VMAQT-1) until it was no longer needed — have been deactivated — one each year — over the past three years.

The VMAQ squadrons have deployed their EA-6Bs to numerous bases and aircraft carriers over their service, providing electronic jamming and attack in support of joint forces, including participation in combat operations in Libya, Kuwait, Iraq, Syria, Bosnia, Serbia, Kosovo and Afghanistan.

The Marine Corps is not fielding a direct replacement for the EA-6B, instead relying on other platforms like the F-35B and the Navy’s electronic attack squadrons.

The Navy retired its last EA-6B squadron in 2015. The service now flies the EA-18G Growler electronic attack aircraft from aircraft carriers and in expeditionary roles from land bases to support joint forces.

NEW YORK — L3 Technologies has been selected for a $36 million demonstration of existing technologies (DET) contract award for the U.S. Navy’s Next-Generation Jammer Low Band program, the company said in an Oct. 30 release. The DET program encompasses a period of performance of 20 months, culminating in a demonstration at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland.

The Next-Generation Jammer will augment, and eventually replace, the ALQ-99 tactical jamming system currently integrated on the EA-18G Growler aircraft.

“Our team is thrilled with the opportunity to participate in this important Navy program,” said Sean J. Stackley, corporate senior vice president and president of Communications & Networked Systems. “As the spectrum converges between communications and electronic warfare, we saw a chance to provide a unique solution that addresses current, advanced and emerging threats.”

Over the past few years, L3 Technologies has conducted successful Navy technology demonstrations that operate cooperatively in electronic attack and electronic sensing. These exercises proved L3’s unique capabilities and technological approach were well-suited for addressing the Navy’s requirements and served as building blocks for the NGJ program.

“We listened closely to our customers,” Stackley said. “We took a nontraditional approach and teamed with small businesses with a strong track record of performance in developing truly innovative capabilities for recent Navy programs. L3 is proud to have earned the privilege to participate in the NGJ program, and we are committed to delivering the performance our Navy customer needs.”

Work on this program will be executed by L3 Broadband Communications in Salt Lake City, Utah.

CENTRAL LAKE, Mich. — Central Lake Armor Express Inc., a leading manufacturer and distributor of high-performance armor solutions, announced Oct. 30 that it has been awarded a multiyear, firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract from the Marine Corps Systems Command.

The contract was competitively procured as a total small business set-aside, with a potential value of $59.4 million. Under the terms of the award, the Company will provide up to 65,469 Plate Carrier Generation III-Soft Armor Inserts and data reports, with production expected to be completed by October 2023.

Jim Henderson, CEO of the holding company that owns both Armor Express and KDH Defense Systems said, “It is our extreme honor to be chosen by the U.S. Marine Corps for this prestigious award, and we thank them for the trust they have placed in us. We also commend ongoing efforts by the U.S. armed forces to develop lighter body armor systems, while improving the modularity and flexibility of plate carriers deployed in the field. It is the servicemen and women who ultimately benefit, and all of us at Armor Express and KDH Defense Systems, stand ready to deliver.”

Henderson added, “With the recent contract extensions KDH received for the Modular Scalable Vest and Blast Pelvic Protection, along with this most recent ballistic protection award for Armor Express, we have secured over $140.0 million of potential business with the U.S. armed forces over the past two months. Working in tandem with our supply chain and technology partners, it remains our goal to provide all customers with the most advanced, lightweight and comfortable protection, supported by unparalleled delivery and service.”

The company intends to leverage the manufacturing capabilities of KDH Defense Systems and will produce the ballistic armor at KDH’s state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Eden, North Carolina.

WASHINGTON — Fairbanks Morse, an EnPro Industries company, has been awarded a contract to build and deliver the four main propulsion diesel engines (MPDE) that will power LPD 30, which will be the U.S. Navy’s first LPD Flight II class ship, the company announced Oct. 30.

The newly designed ship will be based on the San Antonio-class hull, but the LPD Flight II is fitted with a fully capable flight deck and hangar, a well deck, and the vehicle and cargo capacities to support and sustain more than 500 combat-equipped Marines for up to 30 days. Each engine will feature common rail (CR) fuel injection technology.

The engines are scheduled to be delivered in the second and third quarters of 2020 to Huntington Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Mississippi. Fairbanks Morse will then support installation, testing and sea trials for the vessel. The four sequentially turbocharged 16-cylinder FM Colt-Pielstick PC 2.5 diesel engines with CR fuel injection will deliver over 31 megawatts of propulsion power and are among the largest medium-speed diesel engines manufactured in the United States.

“As an American manufacturer of medium speed engines, we take great pride in delivering engines and systems for the U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard. This contract is particularly special as it is for the first LPD Flight II class ship,” said Deepak Navnith, Fairbanks Morse president. “As a company, we place significant value on innovation and it was at the heart of this win. The common rail fuel injection technology on the LPD PC 2.5 engines will lower total lifecycle costs for the Navy by reducing fuel consumption, lowering emissions, and reducing engine maintenance, enabling the Navy to spend more time at sea at a lower cost.”

The common rail system technology uses a common high-pressure fuel header, high-pressure pumps, electronically controlled fuel delivery, electronic governing system and a new control system to deliver a precise amount of fuel throughout all engine operations. The common rail technology will deliver improved specific fuel consumption at all operating points, resulting in millions of dollars saved by the Navy over the operational lifetime of the power systems.

Fairbanks Morse engineers in Beloit, Wisconsin, worked with the MAN Energy Solutions teams in Augsburg, Germany, and St. Nazaire, France, along with the U.S. Navy to apply MAN’s proven commercial technology from the 32/44CR engine onto the FM Colt-Pielstick PC 2.5V STC engine.

Each engine will be built at the Fairbanks Morse manufacturing facility in Beloit, creating numerous jobs for American workers. Fairbanks Morse engines are installed on approximately 80 percent of U.S. Navy ships that have a medium-speed power application.

PLANO, Texas — Boeing will continue its nearly 20-year legacy of F/A-18 modification work under a new $204 million contract award from Naval Air Systems Command, the company said in an Oct. 26 release.

The sole-source contract, which covers inspections, modifications and repair work on U.S. Navy F/A-18E/F Super Hornets and EA-18G Growlers, has a base option of $62 million.

“Our team, many of whom are Navy and Marine Corps veterans, understand the critical need for aircraft readiness and mission availability,” said retired Adm. Pat Walsh, vice president of U.S. Navy & Marine Corps Services for Boeing Global Services. “We look forward to partnering with the Navy, as we have since 1999, on extending the service life of F/A-18s for continued reliable operation.”

Boeing will perform the work at the company’s Cecil Field facility in Jacksonville, Florida. In addition to periodic maintenance inspections and repairs, Boeing performs structural and electrical modifications. About 28 aircraft are expected to be inducted for maintenance and modifications during the first year of the contract.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The crew of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Vise returned Oct. 29 to St. Petersburg after responding to Hurricane Michael and conducting a 16-day port reconstitution and aids-to-navigation (ATON) patrol, the 7th Coast Guard District said in an Oct. 30 release.

During the patrol, the crew of the Vise assisted with the devastation left in the wake of Hurricane Michael. The crew transited over 650 miles and serviced more than 70 ATON in an effort to facilitate safe navigation along the Intracoastal Waterway from St. Marks to Panama City.

“Due to the Coast Guard’s preparation and responsiveness, the crew of the Vise, along with other Coast Guard operational and support elements, were able to reopen the entire ICW [Intracoastal Waterway] and Port of Panama City within days of the devastating storm,” said Chief Warrant Officer Paul Curtis, commanding officer of Vise.

The Vise is a 75-foot inland construction tender that pushes a 68-foot crane barge. The crew of 16 maintains the west coast of Florida’s fixed aid-to-navigation systems that includes approximately 1,600 aids.

“Maritime commerce is the lifeblood of the global economy and the crew of the Vise played a major part during this deployment by ensuring the ports and waterways in the hurricane affected areas were properly marked to ensure all maritime traffic can operate in a safe manner,” said Curtis. “By quickly and efficiently reopening ports, and ensuring safe transit along the waterways, our crew played a key role in the Coast Guard’s Maritime Commerce Strategy.”

MIAMI — The Coast Guard Cutter Thetis crew repatriated 84 Haitian migrants Tuesday to Port-au-Prince, Haiti, the 7th Coast Guard District said in an Oct. 30 release.

While on routine patrol the cutter Thetis crew located an overloaded 42-foot migrant vessel dead in the water Oct. 28 approximately 30 miles southwest of Turks and Caicos Islands, arrived on scene and safely embarked 84 migrants for safety of life at sea concerns.

A Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew forward deployed to Great Inagua, Bahamas, provided overhead support.

“The overloaded vessel we interdicted was dead in the water and lacked basic safety equipment such as life jackets and flotation devices, which could have led to a fatal accident at sea,” said Cmdr. Randall Chong, commanding officer of the cutter Thetis. “I am very proud of my crew on the cutter Thetis for finding, aiding, and ultimately rescuing all persons on board and, we will continue to patrol the Caribbean and Florida Straits to ensure safety of life at sea.”

Once aboard Coast Guard cutters, all migrants receive food, water, shelter and medical attention.

Approximately 132 Haitian migrants have attempted to illegally migrate to the U.S. via the maritime environment since Oct. 1 compared to 2,488 Haitian 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.

Thetis is a 270-foot medium-endurance cutter homeported in Key West, Florida.

ARLINGTON, Va. — KMS Solutions. LLC was awarded a cyber security services contract by the U.S. Navy to support the Naval Undersea Warfare Command Code 25 projects including: assessment and authorization; research, development, test and evaluation; environment maintenance; systems security engineering; posture transition support; in-service engineer agent support; and meeting support.

These services are for the development, evaluation, modernization and sustainment of the U.S. Navy tactical and tactical support systems, the company said in an Oct. 29 release. KMS Solutions is a wholly owned subsidiary of Subsystem Technologies.

“KMS Solutions is pleased to provide Code 25 with these services and will bring a wide range of domain knowledge, mission experience, best practices, and next-generation capabilities to the Navy,” said Michael Martino, KMS Solutions vice president. “Through this contract, we will provide Code 25 with proven, successful cybersecurity services.”

Subsystem Technologies CEO Sam Malhotra said, “We are proud to support Code 25 cybersecurity program and look forward to working closely with our government partners to ensure mission success.”

SAN PEDRO, Calif. — The Coast Guard received the second California-based 154-foot fast response cutter (FRC) in San Pedro, Oct. 31.

Robert Ward, a Sentinel-class fast FRC, arrived at its new homeport at Coast Guard Base Los Angeles-Long Beach, where the crew will begin training to become certified in law enforcement and rescue operations.

Robert Ward is the second of four FRCs to be homeported at Base Los Angeles-Long Beach and is scheduled to be officially commissioned in February.

Two additional FRCs are scheduled to arrive and be commissioned by summer. While these ships will be based in San Pedro, they will operate throughout the 11th Coast Guard District, which includes all of California and international waters off Mexico and Central America.

FRC’s are 154-foot multimission ships designed to conduct: drug and migrant interdictions; ports, waterways and coastal security operations; fisheries and environmental protection patrols; national defense missions; and search and rescue.

Each cutter is designed for a crew of 24, has a range of 2,500 miles and is equipped for patrols up to five days. The FRCs are part of the Coast Guard’s overall fleet modernization initiative.

FRCs feature advanced command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance equipment as well as over-the-horizon response boat deployment capability and improved habitability for the crew. The ships can reach speeds of 28 knots and are equipped to coordinate operations with partner agencies and long-range Coast Guard assets such as the Coast Guard’s National Security Cutters.

FRCs are named in honor of Coast Guard enlisted leaders, trailblazers and heroes. The four California-based FRCs are scheduled to be:
■ Forrest Rednour (WPC 1129) — Rednour aided in the rescue of 133 people during the sinking of the U.S.A.T. Dorchester, Feb. 3, 1943. He was awarded the Purple Heart and Navy and Marine Corps Medal for his actions. Rednour lost his life in the sinking of the Coast Guard Cutter Escanaba in June 1943.
■ Robert Ward (WPC 1130) — Ward operated beach-landing boats during the Normandy invasion. He landed his craft on the Cotentin Peninsula and rescued two stranded boat crews in the face of a heavily fortified enemy assault.
■ Terrell Horne III (WPC 1131) — Horne was murdered by suspected drug smugglers who intentionally rammed the boat he and fellow Coast Guardsmen were aboard during law enforcement operations near Santa Cruz Island off the Southern California coast in December 2012. Horne pushed one of his shipmates out of the way of the oncoming vessel attack and sustained fatal injuries.
■ Benjamin Bottoms (WPC 1132) — Bottoms was part the Coast Guard aircrew that rescued an Army aircrew from a downed B-17 off the west coast of Greenland in 1942. Bottoms and the pilot conducted the first landing of a cutter plane on an icecap and commenced a two-day rescue over a rugged Arctic terrain that required multiple flights. During the second day of rescue operations, radio contact with Bottoms’ plane was lost and he was declared missing in action.

ARLINGTON, Va. — In a keynote speech to attendees of the 2018 Oceans Conference — held Oct. 22-25 in Charleston, South Carolina — Chief of Naval Research Rear Adm. David Hahn discussed the goals of the U.S. Navy’s Task Force Ocean (TFO), a signature program of Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson. TFO is designed to reinvigorate the Navy’s commitment to ocean sciences, advancing its tactical advantage through a better knowledge of the ocean environment and its impact on sensors, weapons and operations.

Hahn, who leads the Office of Naval Research (ONR) and serves as the director of TFO, began his comments by highlighting the critical role of ocean commerce to global prosperity, and the need to provide order and security to that commerce for the good of the nation and the world, according to an Oct. 29 release from ONR.

“Fundamentally, that is the role of your Navy — it’s what we do every day,” Hahn said.

He pointed out, however, that in this era of increasing “great power competition,” the Navy needs to maintain an advantage, and the time to prepare for that is now. Hahn quoted James Forrestal, appointed the first secretary of defense in 1947, who said in a Congressional testimony, “The tempo of modern war has reached the point where this nation will probably never again have the opportunity to arm itself successfully after the start of hostilities.”

That message bolstered the one given at a Tactical Oceanography Symposium held a week earlier at the Undersea Warfighting Development Center in San Diego. Hahn highlighted the importance of furthering ties between the Navy, academia and industry.

“The Navy needs your help,” he told attendees at the three-day symposium, the first in a series designed to highlight Navy ocean science issues. “We need a committed partnership between government, academia and industry to ensure the U.S. remains the world leader in ocean science, especially Navy-relevant science. Our competitors are gaining on us.”

“Our decades-long competitive advantage in the undersea domain is eroding. This is not a Navy problem — it is our nation’s problem,” said Oceanographer of the Navy Rear Adm. John Okon during a presentation at the symposium. “As Task Force Ocean continues to evolve, we must remain focused on advancing ocean science and uniting our nation’s intellectual capital to increase our competitive advantage.”

A recent report prepared by the Consortium for Ocean Leadership, an umbrella organization that includes over 100 public and private ocean research organizations, highlights the mounting pressure on the Navy’s advantage over global competitors.

To accelerate the recovery of that advantage in these critical areas, Hahn announced that ONR will increase research and sponsor an additional 50 graduate students and 50 post-doctorates under TFO, primarily in the areas of physical oceanography and acoustics, in addition to ONR’s ongoing support for academia.

According to Dr. Tom Drake, director of ONR’s Ocean Battlespace Sensing Department, “ONR will revitalize the ‘Scientist-to-Sea’ program, which provides opportunities for selected scientists and engineers to visit submarines and submarine training facilities, undersea warfighting training centers, Navy laboratories and engineering centers to better understand the needs and priorities of the Navy.”

The Navy’s commitment to revitalize its ocean science efforts will have very positive benefits to the national ocean science program, as well as the Navy. “This is a most welcome turn of events for Navy oceanographic research,” said Prof. Arthur Baggeroer, the secretary of the Navy and chief of naval operations Chair for ocean science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.