Release from the U.S. Department of Defense

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The Navy will commission its newest Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer, USS Lenah Sutcliffe Higbee (DDG 123), during a 10:00 a.m. EDT ceremony on Saturday, May 13, in Key West, Florida. 

Rear Admiral Cynthia Kuehner, Commander, Naval Medical Forces Support Command and Director of the U.S. Navy Nurse Corps, will deliver the commissioning ceremony’s principal address. Remarks will also be provided by the Honorable Donald Norcross, U.S. Representative, New Jersey’s 1st District and member of the House Armed Services Committee;  the Honorable Carlos Del Toro, Secretary of the Navy; Admiral Mike Gilday, Chief of Naval Operations; the Honorable Teri Johnston, mayor of Key West; and Ms. Kari Wilkinson, president of Huntington Ingalls Industries-Ingalls Shipbuilding division. The ship’s sponsors, Ms. Louisa Dixon, Ms. Virginia Munford, and Ms. R. Pickett Wilson, will also be in attendance. 

The ship’s namesake, Lenah Sutcliffe Higbee, served as the second Superintendent of the Navy Nurse Corps in 1911, and was also the first woman recipient of the Navy Cross. When she entered naval service in 1908, she was one of the first 20 women, known as the “Sacred Twenty,” to join the newly established Navy Nurse Corps and contributed her nursing skills to the Navy during the First World War. This is the second ship named after Lenah Sutcliffe Higbee. The first ship, USS Higbee (DD 806), was the first combat warship named after a female member of the U.S. Navy. 

“Lenah Sutcliffe Higbee was ahead of her time, from being one of the first members of the Navy Nurse Corps, to being its second Superintendent, to being the first woman to earn the Navy Cross,” said Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro. “I am confident that the crew who will sail USS Lenah Sutcliffe Higbee will continue to honor and embody her trailblazing legacy.” 

The ship will be the 72nd Arleigh Burke-class destroyer to be commissioned, with 17 additional ships currently 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 future USS Lenah Sutcliffe Higbee will be 509.5 feet long and 59 feet wide, with a displacement of 9,496 tons. It will be homeported in San Diego.  

Media may direct queries to the Navy Office of Information at (703) 697-5342. More information on guided-missile destroyer programs can be found at: https://www.navy.mil/Resources/Fact-Files/Display-FactFiles/Article/2169871/destroyers-ddg/ 

The ceremony will be live streamed at: https://www.dvidshub.net/webcast/31425. The link becomes active approximately ten minutes prior to the event (9:50 a.m. EDT). 

Additional information about the namesake of the future USS Lenah Sutcliffe Higbee (DDG 123) can be found at: https://www.history.navy.mil/browse-by-topic/people/namesakes/lenah-higbee.html 

Release from HII 

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PASCAGOULA, Miss., May 12, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — HII’s (NYSE: HII) Ingalls Shipbuilding division hosted a signing day ceremony Thursday for the 2023 graduates of its Shipbuilder Academy program. Successfully completing the Academy’s one-year specialized career technical education program, 23 high school seniors were offered full-time positions at Ingalls Shipbuilding where they will begin their careers after as shipbuilders. 

“Today we celebrate the students who have committed to a technical career at Ingalls Shipbuilding and will build upon our 85-year legacy of building the most mission-ready ships for our country,” Ingalls Shipbuilding Vice President of Operations Donny Dorsey said. “Their decision to pursue hands-on training and technical skills while in high school is a testament to their innovative spirit and we applaud their dedication to learning the critical skills needed to have a rewarding career in their chosen trade.” 

During the ceremony, among parents and special guests, the high school seniors were honored much like high school athletes announcing an intended college. Each student received and signed a contingent offer of employment highlighting their new position at the shipyard. Upon their high school graduation, these students will join the Ingalls workforce as shipbuilders. 

Photos accompanying this release are available at: https://hii.com/news/hii-ingalls-shipbuilding-hosts-shipbuilder-academy-signing-day-2023/ 

The Ingalls Shipbuilder Academy established in 2016 with a mission to provide enrolled students with a strong foundation in the maritime industry and to fill shipbuilding positions at Ingalls. The Jackson County program, now entering its eighth year, expanded to Harrison County in 2019 and is entering into its fifth year. Shipbuilder Academy enrolls students from 13 different high schools along the Gulf Coast including: Biloxi, Gulfport, West Harrison, Long Beach, Pass Christian, Pascagoula, Gautier, Moss Point, East Central, Vancleave, St. Martin, Ocean Springs and Alma Bryant. So far 355 students have successfully completed the program and obtained National Center for Construction Education and Research certifications. 

Employing more than 11,000 people, Ingalls Shipbuilding is the largest manufacturing employer in Mississippi and a major contributor to the economic growth of Alabama. For 85 years, Ingalls Shipbuilding has designed, built and maintained amphibious ships, destroyers, and cutters for the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Coast Guard. Our shipbuilders are honored to build tomorrow’s fleet today. 

For more information about a career at Ingalls Shipbuilding, visit hii.com/careers. 

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ARLINGTON, Va. — The services offered by communities adjacent to shipyards can help attract and retain skilled shipbuilding and repair workers, a Navy admiral in charge of shipbuilding said.  

“One of the things we’ve seen that is very successful is building ecosystems around the shipyards — Congress working with state and local governments to aid in the development of systems around shipyards that really provide opportunity, said Rear Admiral Thomas J. Anderson, Navy Program Executive Officer for Ships, testifying May 11 before the House Oversight and Accountability Subcommittee on National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs.  

“If there is no housing in the area of a shipyard, you’re going to have a hard time having blue-collar labor come in and be interested in a job there,” Anderson said. “Things like health care, day care, [and] housing are really important to have in the vicinity of the yards to attract the talent that we need to build the ships we need in the future.” 

Anderson said that “[o]ne of the real challenges we have in this country is availability of blue-collar labor. We saw that as a challenge as we were in COVID and when we came out of COVID and we continue to struggle to identify talent to come in, people who are interested in the blue-collar trades.  

“So, support of our budget requests that provide funding to develop the work force that comes in two ways: the submarine industrial base, which I mentioned earlier, has targeted funds to help advance the work force,” he said. “Additionally, last year in the NDAA [2023 National Defense Authorization Act], Section 122, provided a requirement for the Navy — when awarding shipbuilding contracts in the future — to fund a percentage of the overall cost of the ship to go toward workforce development items.”  

Anderson noted that supplier industrial base funds are being used “to get people interested in blue-collar labor, get them married up with companies that support that supply chain. The submarine industrial base is where we really need efforts.” 

The admiral said that “somewhere between 80,000 and 100,000 tradespeople [need] to be hired over the next 10 years” for the submarine shipbuilders. 

Anderson touched on a more inspirational aspect of attracting shipyard workers: “Growing the work force, making sure that young people understand that it is an honorable and important profession to build ships or to repair ships for the U.S. Navy, something that not just the Congress but at all levels of our country is something that we can stress and will pay dividends as we expand our capacity.” 

Release from U.S. Naval Forces Central Command Public Affairs

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By U.S. Naval Forces Central Command Public Affairs | | May 11, 2023 

MANAMA, Bahrain — Forces from U.S. 5th Fleet completed a four-day exercise with Israel in the Gulf of Aqaba, May 11, that focused on unmanned systems and artificial intelligence integration into maritime operations. 
 
The exercise, called Digital Shield, included members of U.S. 5th Fleet’s unmanned systems and artificial intelligence task force, Task Force 59, as well as a MANTAS Devil Ray T-38 unmanned surface vessel. U.S. forces trained alongside Israeli counterparts during maritime awareness and vessel boarding drills. 
 
“By working together to advance unmanned systems innovation we can enhance regional security and strengthen our collective ability to address emerging threats,” said Capt. Colin Corridan, Task Force 59’s commander. 
 
NAVCENT established Task Force 59 in September 2021 to integrate new unmanned systems and artificial intelligence into U.S. naval operations across the Middle East. Since its launch, the task force has operated a suite of new unmanned systems from regional hubs in Bahrain and Aqaba, Jordan. 
 
Task Force 59 also conducted a Digital Shield exercise last September with Israeli naval forces. The task force regularly trains and operates with maritime partners in the Middle East to accelerate the integration of cutting-edge unmanned technology into daily operations. 
 
U.S. 5th Fleet’s area of operations encompasses approximately 2.5 million square miles of water area and includes the Arabian Gulf, Gulf of Oman, Red Sea, parts of the Indian Ocean and three critical choke points at the Strait of Hormuz, Suez Canal and Strait of Bab al Mandeb. 

 
https://www.cusnc.navy.mil/Media/News/Display/Article/3392055/us-israel-complete-unmanned-naval-exercise-in-gulf-of-aqaba/

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ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Navy has ordered four additional CMV-22B Osprey carrier-onboard delivery aircraft, according to a March 5 Defense Department contract announcement.   

The Bell Boeing Joint Project Office, Amarillo, Texas, was awarded a $482.3 million contract modification by the Naval Air Systems Command for the four CMV-22Bs, the announcement said. The order follows a Feb. 26 order for four CMV-22Bs.  

The order completes the Navy’s plan to procure 48 CMV-22Bs. The aircraft are scheduled to be delivered by June 26 under the June 2018 multiyear procurement contract.      

The Navy’s CMV-22B replaces the C-2A Greyhound for the Carrier On-Board Delivery (COD) mission. Its mission is to transport personnel, mail, supplies and cargo from shore bases to aircraft carriers at sea.  

The CMV-22B differs from the MV-22B by having a high-frequency radio, extra fuel capacity, improved fuel dump capability, improved lighting for cargo handling and a public address system. The aircraft can carry up to 6,000 pounds up to a range of 1,150 nautical miles. It is capable of internally carrying the F-135 engine power module for the F-35 Lightning II.     

The first CMV-22B squadron, VRM-30, is working up a detachment to deploy on board USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70). VRM-30 detachments have completed two deployments to the Western Pacific.    

Full operational capability of the CMV-22B is scheduled for 2024.

Release from U.S. Naval Central Forces Command Public Affairs  

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MANAMA, Bahrain — A U.S. Coast Guard fast response cutter seized $80 million worth of heroin from a fishing vessel transiting the Gulf of Oman, May 10, during the ship’s second drug bust this week. 

USCGC Glen Harris (WPC 1144) was operating in support of Combined Task Force (CTF) 150 when a boarding team discovered 1,964 kilograms of heroin on a vessel transiting international waters after departing Chah Bahar, Iran. Glen Harris also seized $30 million worth of methamphetamine and heroin two days ago from another fishing vessel that departed the same port. 

“I’m very proud of my crew and all we’ve been able to accomplish as a team this week,” said Lt. Nick Jabs, Glen Harris’s commanding officer. “We’re out here to work with regional partners and disrupt any destabilizing maritime activity at sea. We will continue getting after it.” 

Glen Harris’s previous seizure on May 8 included 580 kilograms of methamphetamine and 35 kilograms of heroin. 

The ship arrived in the Middle East last year as part of a contingent of U.S. Coast Guard cutters that are forward-deployed to the region under Patrol Forces Southwest Asia. 

CTF 150 is one of four task forces that form the world’s largest multinational naval partnership, Combined Maritime Forces. Naval forces supporting CTF 150 have now seized illegal drugs worth a combined estimated U.S. street value of more than $250 million in 2023. These efforts help ensure legitimate commercial shipping transits the region free from non-state threats. 

 
https://www.cusnc.navy.mil/Media/News/Display/Article/3390650/us-seizes-80-million-heroin-shipment-in-gulf-of-oman/

Release from Northrop Grumman 

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LOS ANGELES – May 8, 2023 – Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) announced the fifth consecutive successful flight test of the U.S. Navy’s AGM-88G Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile Extended Range (AARGM-ER). The missile successfully detected, identified, located and engaged an advanced, land-based, emitter target. 

• First firing overland against operationally-representative modern air defense system targets 
• AARGM-ER deliveries will begin later this year to support initial operational capability for the Navy in 2024 
• The missile is being integrated on the Navy F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and EA-18G Growler as well as the Air Force F-35A, Marine Corps F-35B and Navy/Marine Corps F-35C. 

Experts: 

Gordon Turner, vice president, advanced weapons, Northrop Grumman: “AARGM-ER provides the Navy with a demonstrated capability to stay ahead of adversary threats. This successful live fire continues to prove the missile’s extended range, readiness and effectiveness.” 

U.S. Navy CAPT Alex Dutko, Navy program manager for Direct and Time Sensitive Strike (PMA-242): “AARGM-ER once again demonstrated high-speed employment of lethal effects against an air defense system target. This is another successful step in our government-industry team’s effort to deliver this critically needed capability to our warfighters.” 

Details on AARGM-ER: 

AARGM-ER development uses digital modeling and integrated advanced AARGM sensors and electronics in a new high-performance air vehicle with upgraded propulsion and an optimized warhead. The new missile will provide the Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps with a vital counter-air-defense capability that can engage advanced and long-range threats while pilots remain outside of lethal engagement ranges. The AARGM-ER government-industry team recently received the William J. Perry award, recognizing their exceptional contributions to precision strike systems which strengthen national security and shapes the nation’s precision strike combat advantage. 

Release from GE Power Conversion 

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GE Power Conversion reports demand for its electric ship solutions to future-proof the latest generation of naval vessels 

This week, GE Power Conversion convened with the world’s leading navies and industry at IMDEX Asia, to showcase its electric ship power and propulsion solutions.  

IMDEX represents a respected platform within the large Asia Pacific maritime sector in Singapore, where GE Power Conversion showcased electrification technologies that are helping the world’s leading navies to energize their missions. 

GE Power Conversion has an industry-leading, complete range of electric ship technologies, and decades of naval sector experience with 13 different navies around the world. 

Solutions range from full naval-specification, high voltage electric grids for power and propulsion, to cost-effective hybrid electrification options.  

Through integrated electrification, energy management, automation and control, power in the ship’s electric grid can simultaneously supply high-energy defense systems, and propulsion. Energy-efficient electric architectures also serve as an effective way to integrate new, cleaner, energy sources as they emerge, and host digital technologies to implement more autonomous systems.  

GE Power Conversion is reporting increased intensity of customers wanting to engage to understand how they can best use energy across their fleets to create a capability advantage. The business says there is a growing recognition that electrification is critical to new generations of networked mission systems and the right architecture to ‘plug-in’ new energy sources. 

Shaopeng Ji, Commercial Operations Leader- Asia Pacific, at GE Power Conversion explains: “In an emerging new naval era, fleets need to be more mission configurable, highly capable for military advantage, adaptable for technology insertion and affordable. Increasing power demands on vessels means that more customers are seeking help in future-proofing their ships for higher energy needs, partnered by a roadmap to emissions reduction.” 

GE Power Conversion brings capability from having extensive electric and hybrid naval ship system references, leading in applications from the largest, complex warships to the latest support ships.  Expert services offerings and full scale land based test and emulation facilities are structured to provide a complete life cycle solution, reducing risk, increasing reliability and helping to optimize operation of assets. 

With three decades of expertise of providing power and propulsion capability for the world’s navies’ largest combat vessels (GE’s technology powers more than 90% of the UK Royal Navy large vessel fleet, including Queen Elizabeth Class, Type 45 and Type 26 vessels), GE Power Conversion is now seeing an increased customer demand for smaller combat vessel solutions. By combining extensive commercial electric drive ship expertise with deep domain naval and coast guard experience, GE Power Conversion provides cost-effective electrification solutions for light combat corvettes and offshore patrol ships, undertaking reconnaissance and submarine deflection missions. 

Shaopeng Ji continued: “The Ship’s Electric Grid is hugely versatile, and electric drive ships are just as suited to smaller, lower voltage, more commercial-spec ships in naval and coastguard fleets as to the biggest, higher voltage combat ships. Both are able to combine power for propulsion and on-board equipment in one system. Electric and hybrid power systems are viable choices for modern, multi-role ships seeing increased mission system power demand but needing sustainable, energy-efficient performance for patrol duties.” 

Release from HII 

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NEWPORT NEWS, Va., May 06, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — HII (NYSE: HII) today christened the Virginia-class submarine Massachusetts (SSN 798) at the company’s Newport News Shipbuilding division. 

“Shipbuilding is a noble calling, and you can see our pride in the craftsmanship before you,” NNS President Jennifer Boykin said. “When Massachusetts joins the fleet, she will be the latest in innovation and power, forging ahead in defense of our freedom, just like Paul Revere on his famous midnight ride. As SSN 798 supports the Navy’s critical missions around the world, she will carry with her the patriotism of her shipbuilders.” 

Sheryl Sandberg, founder and chair of the Sandberg Goldberg Bernthal Family Foundation, and former chief operating officer of Meta (formerly Facebook), serves as the ship’s sponsor. Sandberg performed the traditional honor of breaking a bottle of American sparkling wine across the submarine’s bow during the ceremony. 

Photos accompanying this release are available at: https://hii.com/news/hii-christens-virginia-class-attack-submarine-massachusetts-ssn-798. 

“I was raised to be deeply grateful for our freedom and all those who risk their lives to defend it,” Sandberg said. “So it was an honor when then Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus asked me to sponsor Massachusetts eight years ago. I couldn’t be more excited to be in Newport News to celebrate this boat with the shipbuilders who have worked so hard to bring her to life. Today is more than just a christening of a vessel. It is also a celebration of progress. This is one of the first submarines intentionally built to allow both men and women to serve and it will make our military stronger. It is an honor to christen Massachusetts and spend the day with service members, shipbuilders and their families. They are a living legacy of all that America represents.” 

The ceremony took place outside of Module Outfitting Facility at NNS and was attended by more than 2,000 guests, including NNS employees who are building Massachusetts, members of the submarine’s crew, Navy personnel and other government officials. 

Under Secretary of the Navy Erik Raven provided the keynote address. 

“From design, to delivery, to employment, each person here is making their vital contribution to maintaining our nation’s maritime dominance and the freedom that we all cherish,” Raven told the crowd. “We are able to deploy exquisite capabilities across the globe in great part to our dedicated shipbuilders. These talented women and men are able to turn raw steel into the world’s most sophisticated undersea capabilities.” 

Massachusetts is the 25th Virginia-class submarine and the 12th to be delivered by NNS. 

“The crew and I are excited to share in this historic event with our sponsor, the shipbuilder, and all our families,” said Cmdr. Mike Siedsma, commanding officer of the pre-commissioning unit. “We look forward to operating Massachusetts in support of our nation’s defense. We are honored to establish the ‘Iron Patriots’ legacy as an enemy to tyrants.” 

NNS is one of only two shipyards capable of designing and building nuclear-powered submarines for the U.S. Navy. The advanced capabilities of Virginia-class submarines increase firepower, maneuverability and stealth. 

A video of the ceremony, along with additional information on Massachusetts, Sandberg and the Virginia-class submarine program, can be found at: www.HII.com/SSN798 

Release from the U.S. Department of Defense 

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Flag Officer Announcements 

MAY 5, 2023 

Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III announced today that the president has made the following nominations: 

Navy Rear Adm. Robert M. Gaucher for appointment to the grade of vice admiral, with assignment as commander, Naval Submarine Forces; commander, Submarine Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet; and commander, Allied Submarine Command, Norfolk, Virginia. Gaucher is currently serving as director, Strategic Integration, N2/N6T, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Washington, D.C. 

Navy Rear Adm. Douglas G. Perry for appointment to the grade of vice admiral, with assignment as commander, Second Fleet; and commander, Joint Forces Command Norfolk, Norfolk, Virginia.  Perry is currently serving as director, Undersea Warfare Division, N97, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Washington, D.C.