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NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — The Navy is conducting an integration study for arming its P-8A maritime patrol aircraft with the AGM-88G Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile – Extended Range (AARGM-ER), a Navy program official said.

Capt. Alex Dutko, program manager for Direct and Time-Sensitive Strike, speaking April 3 to reporters in person and remotely at the Navy League’s Sea-Air-Space Expo in National Harbor, said the integration of AARGM-ER on the P-8A would be for external carriage on the aircraft’s wing stations.

The AARGM-ER, the latest version of the anti-radar missile designed to neutralize or destroy enemy air-defense radar stations, is an upgrade of the AGM-88E AARGM and is designed for internal or external carriage. The ER version integrates the AGM-88E sensors and electronics with a new solid-fuel rocket motor and tail control. The ER has a diameter of 11.5 inches, compared with the baseline’s 10-inch diameter.

The new version is designed to be carried internally in a weapons bay as well as externally. The AARGM-ER will be carried internally on the F-35A and F-35C versions of the Lightning II strike fighter and externally on those aircraft plus the F-35B, F/A-18E/F Super Hornet strike fighter, and the EA-18G electronic attack aircraft.

The AARGM-ER entered Low-Rate Initial Production (LRIP) during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2021 and has completed three of four Developmental Test firings. The fourth is scheduled for April. The second LRIP contract was awarded during the first quarter of fiscal 2022. LRIP 3 currently is in negotiation with Northrop Grumman, Dutko said.

Operational Test of the AARGM-ER is scheduled for completion during fiscal 2024, with Initial Operational Capability slated for the first quarter of that year. Full-Rate Production is expected to begin in fiscal 2025.

The missile will be available for Foreign Military Sales with LRIP 4, with deliveries occurring in fiscal 2026. Dutko said that the Navy is working to expand a cooperative agreement with the Italian Air Force — which carries the AARGM on its Toronado strike fighters — to include the AARGM-ER version. He said that multiple countries have expressed interest in the AARGM-ER.

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ARLINGTON, Va. — The technology to sweep sea mines without endangering Sailors has made another advance with a recent contract award to Textron Systems Corporation for the development of the Magnetic and Acoustic Generation Next Unmanned Superconducting Sweep (MAGNUSS) system for the Mine-Countermeasure Unmanned Surface Vehicle (MCM USV). 

The MAGNUSS system includes a high-temperature superconducting magnetic source with an advanced acoustic generator, designed to defeat magnetic- and acoustic-triggered sea mines by spoofing them. 

The $20.8 million contract award from the Office of Naval Research (ONR)-sponsored Future Naval Capability effort calls for the “development, fabrication, and demonstration” of the MAGNUSS payload, according to the Defense Department contract announcement, which also said that the payload “is expected to transition to the Naval Sea Systems Command program” for the MCM USV.   

Textron earlier developed the Unmanned Influence Sweep System (UISS), a towed cable with a magnetic and acoustic minesweeping system designed to be deployed by an MCM USV. The UISS is a mission module of the Mine Countermeasures Mission Package for the U.S. Navy’s littoral combat ships. 

Minesweeping with Magnets 

David Phillips, Textron Systems’ senior vice president for Sea Systems and Land Systems said in a March 23 interview with Seapower that the MAGNUSS offered, “a different, unique way to sweep mines” with a modular “non-towed, zero-drag system that sits within the unmanned surface vessel and basically spoofs mines through acoustics and magnetics.” 

Phillips said that the UISS towed sensor sweep cable was less effective in shallow water because it can get damaged by or tangled or snagged in underwater obstacles, including such objects as crab traps. These factors affected the life of the tow cable, and hence a concern with the cost of replacing it.  

He also said the UISS magnetic generator was heavily influenced by the salinity of the water, with lower performance in low-salinity water. He noted that these factors would be of no concern with a payload within the hull of a USV that would no longer need to deploy and retrieve a tow cable. 

Applying a magnetic field through water, the salinity affects the level of resistance, said Tim Livelsberger, Textron Systems’ systems engineer for the project, during the interview. “The more salt you have, the easier it is for the power to flow through. The less salt that you have, the more power you need to generate to maintain that magnetic field. 

“This technology simplifies the operations for the Sailors and increases the envelope where they can operate at and what salinity levels [they can operate in],” Livelsberger said.  

Under the contract, Textron will be working to provide a low-risk, advanced development model of the MAGNUSS that will be put through a demonstration for the Navy using a company-owned Common USV like those the company delivered to the Navy for the UISS program. 

Operational Testing 

Phillips said that following the demonstration, options exist for furthering the Technical Readiness Level and the maturity into Engineering Development Models.   

The MAGNUSS high-temperature superconducting magnetic source is built by American Superconductor and the advanced acoustic generator is built by General Dynamics Applied Physical Sciences. 

Livelsberger said that the CUSV has gone through Initial Operational Test and Evaluation of the MCM mission package with the littoral combat ship with the UISS and the AQS-20 mine-hunting system.  

He said the Navy’s requirements for the MAGNUSS were essentially the same as for the UISS. 

Livelsberger said that one of the major challenges with using a super-conducting magnetic system is the interoperability of the MAGNUS with the CUSV, shielding the USV’s instrumentation and electronic systems from the intense magnetic field generated by the source. He said the magnetic source leverages the technology used to degauss large warships. 

Last year, Textron’s CUSV was equipped with anti-submarine warfare identification and tracking systems to participate in the Robotic Experimentation and Prototyping Using Maritime Uncrewed Systems, a multi-national exercise conducted in Portugal. 

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — The littoral combat ship (LCS) commissioned April 1 is the first equipped with the new lightweight gas turbine engine enclosure designed by GE Marine to provide greater safety and more comfortable engineering spaces for Sailors, a GE Marine official said.

Steve Rogers, director of Marketing and Business Development for GE Marine Engines, told Seapower in an April 3 interview at the Navy League’s Sea-Air-Space Expo in National Harbor, said that the Independence-class littoral combat ship USS Santa Barbara (LCS 32) is the first LCS to be fitted with the new lightweight composite-material enclosure for its engines.

“Traditionally what the Navy has used is a is a steel base on which it sits and then an enclosure with steel walls. So … loud, noisy, hot,” Rogers said. “Now it’s a single forward composite piece for the walls and the roof. So, you don’t have rust maintenance and things like that. But more importantly, [there’s] 60% less airborne noise in the engine room.”

Rogers said the temperature of the enclosure walls, “is anywhere from 25 to 50 degrees cooler. So, a lot less heat is being ejected into the engine room and the Sailors have more access, better access to the engine.”

He said the composite enclosure is 2.5 tons lighter than the steel enclosure with the same footprint, providing ship designers with the flexibility to devote more weight capacity to fuel, payloads, or other uses. The new enclosure meets the Navy’s standards for fire protection and toxicity.

The U.S. Navy will be installing the composite enclosures on its Flight III Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers and Constellation-class guided-missile frigates. The enclosure also is being installed on the Finnish Navy’s Pohjanmaa-class corvettes.

Rogers said his company has seen no supply chain issues with producing the composite enclosure, pointing out that composite material is made five miles from the plant where the enclosure is made.

GE Marine Engines is working to improve the efficiency of its gas turbine engines while maintaining the same power output and reliability, Rogers said, also noting that the company is working to meet power requirements for warships to deploy such systems as laser weapons.

He said GE Marine Engines is expanding its global network — maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) facilities and service technicians — to meet the requirements of its far-flung customers. The company maintains MROs in Canada, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, and South Korea.

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ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Navy has placed an order with Raytheon for the third lot of ALQ-249 Next-Generation Jammer-Mid-Band (NGJ-MB) pods.

The Naval Air Systems Command awarded a $650 million fixed-price incentive (firm target) and cost-plus-fixed-fee contract to Raytheon, “for the production and delivery of low-rate initial production (LRIP) Lot III Next Generation Jammer (NGJ) Mid-Band (MB), to include 15 NGJ-MB LRIP ship sets (2 pods per ship set), 11 for the Navy and four for the government of Australia,” a March 30 Defense Department contract announcement said. 

The contract also includes “associated spares, support equipment, non-recurring engineering and associated data.” 

The NGJ-MB is a portion of the overall NGJ program that will replace the legacy ALQ-99 jamming pods on board the EA-18G aircraft. When the NGJ is combined with the EA-18G’s comprehensive suite of radar and communications receivers, electronic warfare officers can detect, analyze and react to current and future threat systems. 

Raytheon delivered two production-representative NGJ-MB pods to the Navy’s Airborne Electronic Attack Systems Program Office (PMA-234) pod shop in July 2022 where they were used for testing.  

Initial operational capability of the NGJ-MB was scheduled for fall 2023, according to information obtained in 2022.   

Release from the Department of the Navy 

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MARCH 31, 2023 

The Navy will commission the future USS Santa Barbara (LCS 32) as the newest Independence- variant littoral combat ship (LCS) during a 10:00 a.m. PST ceremony on Saturday, April 1, in Port Hueneme, Calif., near its namesake city. 

The principal speaker is Admiral Samuel Paparo, Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet. Additional speakers include the Honorable Julia Brownley, U.S. Representative, California’s 26th district; the Honorable Russell Rumbaugh, Assistant Secretary of the Navy, financial management and comptroller; the Honorable Randy Rowse, Mayor of Santa Barbara, Calif; Rear Adm. Casey Moton, program executive officer for unmanned and small combatants; and Mr. Larry Ryder, vice president of business development and external affairs for Austal USA. The ship’s sponsor is Mrs. Lolita Zinke, a Santa Barbara native and wife of the Honorable Ryan Zinke, U.S. Representative, Montana’s first district and former U.S. Interior Secretary. 

“The city of Santa Barbara is rich in history, spanning hundreds of years of change and progress that make Santa Barbara an iconic location and a fitting name for LCS 32,” said Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro. “During the second World War, it was home to a Marine Corps Air Station and a Naval Reserve Center. Today, many Veterans and their families continue to call Santa Barbara ‘home.’ Though our Navy and Marine Corps footprint is smaller than in decades past, the spirit of military service and connection with the city of Santa Barbara remains strong.” 

LCS 32 is the third United States ship to bear the name Santa Barbara. The first Santa Barbara was a single-screw steel freighter built in 1916 by William Cramp and Sons of Philadelphia. Ordered and taken over by the Navy on February 1, 1918 from the Atlantic & Pacific Steamship Co. of New York, it was commissioned there on April 15, 1918. The second Santa Barbara, a Kilauea-class ammunition ship, was laid down on December 30, 1966 by the Bethlehem Steel Corp., Sparrows Point, MD, launched on January 23, 1968, and commissioned on July 11, 1970. 

The LCS class consists of two variants, the Freedom and the Independence, designed and built by two industry teams. Austal USA leads the Independence-variant team in Mobile, Al., for LCS 6 and the subsequent even-numbered hulls, including the future USS Santa Barbara. Lockheed Martin leads the Freedom-variant team, the odd-numbered hulls, in Marinette, Wis. 

Littoral Combat Ships are fast, optimally-manned, mission-tailored surface combatants that operate in near-shore and open-ocean environments, winning against 21st-century coastal threats. LCS integrate with joint, combined, manned and unmanned teams to support forward-presence, maritime security, sea control and deterrence missions around the globe. 

USS Santa Barbara is homeported at Naval Base San Diego. 
  
The ceremony will be live streamed at: www.dvidshub.net/webcast/31155. The link becomes active approximately ten minutes prior to the event (9:50 a.m. EST). 

Media may direct queries to the Navy Office of Information at (703) 697-5342. More information on the Littoral Combat Ship Program can be found at: https://www.navy.mil/Resources/Fact-Files/Display-FactFiles/Article/2171607/littoral-combat-ship-class-lcs/ 

Release from Raytheon Technologies 

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Contract includes the first Flight IIA destroyers to be modernized with an upgraded radar  

TUCSON, Ariz., (March 29, 2023) —Raytheon Technologies was awarded a $619 million contract to continue to produce AN/SPY-6(V) radars for the U.S. Navy. This is the second option exercised from the March 2022 hardware, production and sustainment contract that is valued up to $3 billion over five years. 

“SPY-6 is the most advanced naval radar in the world providing unprecedented integrated air and missile defense capabilities,” said Kim Ernzen, president of Naval Power at Raytheon Missiles & Defense. “Integration into the U.S. fleet is well underway with SPY-6 operating on the Navy’s first, new Flight III destroyer. This contract enables the radar to be added to more ships including the first of existing Flight IIA destroyers that will be modernized.” 

The SPY-6 family of radars can defend against ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, hostile aircraft and surface ships simultaneously. They provide several advantages over legacy radars, including significantly greater detection range, increased sensitivity and more accurate discrimination. Their scalable and modular radar arrays reduce cost and sustainment needs, while meeting the mission requirements of seven classes of ships. 

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WASHINGTON — The delay in the Navy’s award of a contract for the service’s final procurement of 20 F/A-18E/F Super Hornet strike fighters is exacerbating the service’s strike fighter shortage, a congressman said, and is reducing the Navy’s future warfighting capacity. 

Rep. Mike Garcia, R-California, a former Navy F/A-18 pilot and a member of the House Appropriations Committee’s defense subcommittee (HAC-D), questioned Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro about the delay in a March 29 hearing. 

Garcia said the Navy currently is, “effectively two air wings short [of strike fighters] over the next 10 years” which will not be resolved until 2031. 

The congressman noted that the 12 Super Hornets approved in fiscal 2022 and the eight approved in fiscal 2023 are not yet on contract. He noted that there are discussions between the Navy and Boeing, the Super Hornet’s manufacturer regarding the technical data package for the aircraft. 

Data Package Negotiations 

“The Department of the Navy is committed to putting on contract those 20 additional F/A-18E/Fs,” Del Toro said. “In fact, we’ve extended an RFP [Request for Proposal] to the Boeing Corporation. They have told us that they will come back to us with a proposal sometime in the June time frame. In the meantime, what we’re trying to actually do is to ensure that Boeing does deliver to us the data rights are essential for us to be able to in the future maintain and repair those aircraft. 

“And what I’m most concerned about, Congressman, is that if we do actually get into a conflict with China, we’re not going to be able to send those aircraft back to the continental United States to get repaired at a manufacturing plant,” he said. “We’re going to have to repair those things ourselves. Which means the government — we need on behalf of the American people and our service members the data rights — the full data package that we paid for and deserve to have in order to be able to repair and sustain those aircraft in combat. That’s our major concern. […] Our engineers are meeting with their engineers to get the full definition of what the data package actually calls for.” 

Del Toro also said he instructed the respective general counsels to meet to have parallel discussions on the issue. 

Get the Jets Delivered 

Garcia noted his own experience on the warfighting side and the defense contracting side and that he has read Super Hornet contracts specifically. 

“I would submit that I agree with you the Navy has a requirement to maintain and repair and the tech data package to support that, not to manufacturing, and there is a clear bifurcating line there,” he said. “You are calling right now an IP [intellectual property] that is not within the government’s domain. Boeing has been very supportive in the SLM [F/A-18E/F Service-Life Modernization] projects and making sure that the FRCs [Fleet Readiness Centers] — the O-level depot maintenance is actually functional. 

“And I would submit that the IP that you’re calling for right now — the manufacturing know-how, which is not only Boeing but their entire supply chain is not nearly as valuable in closing the strike fighter as the 20 jets,” Garcia said. We have mandate — it’s not formal, but we should — to be ready for something in 2025. Closing the gap in 2023 (sic) would be interesting, but your gap by that point will be significantly higher because our carriers will be schwacked, our air wings will be missing, and our warfighters will be dead. 

“I think this conversation between the lawyers and the contracting officers is screwing the customer,” Garcia said. “The customer is the warfighter, the customer is the taxpayer, and I implore you sir, with all the power and levers at your disposal, to compartmentalize this IP conversation, get these jets so they can get delivered. They’re already going to be late. I don’t know if we’re going to get 20 for the amount of money that we allocated at this point.”  

Release from Naval Air Systems Command 

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Mar 28, 2023 

NAVAL AIR SYSTEMS COMMAND, Patuxent River, Md. — 

The Navy awarded two contracts to Raytheon Missiles and Defense and Lockheed Martin March 27 for the initial development for a carrier suitable long range, high-speed missile designated Hypersonic Air Launched Offensive Anti-Surface (HALO). 

The contracts, valued at a total of $116 million, is the first step to fielding a critical capability over the next decade that will address advanced threats and allow the Navy to operate in and control contested battle space in littoral waters and anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) environments. 

The initial contracts to Raytheon and Lockheed Martin will provide technical maturation and development through preliminary design review of the propulsion system required for a carrier suitable hypersonic weapon system.  The contract period of performance for each award will end in December 2024 with each company’s preliminary design review working towards a prototype flight test. 

HALO will be a carrier-based, high speed, long range air-launched weapon that will provide greater anti-surface warfare capability than what’s available today. 

“As threat capability continues to advance, additional range, warfare capability and capacity is required to address the more demanding threat environment,” said Capt. Richard Gensley, Precision Strike Weapons (PMA-201) program manager.  

The program is part of the Navy’s Long Range Fires investment approach to meet objectives of the National Defense Strategy where hypersonic weapons are a top priority, he said. 

“Our team is leveraging science and technology and rapid prototyping arenas to support aggressive schedule execution,” said Gensley. 

These contracts are the first of potentially additional development and production contracts based on initial designs and supplier performance that will inform Navy leadership on future program decisions. 

HALO’s predecessor, the Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM), is currently fielded on the Navy’s F/A-18 and Air Force B-1B.  To bridge the gap until HALO is operational, the Navy recently funded an upgrade to the existing weapon which will incorporate missile hardware and software improvements to enhance targeting capabilities. 

The Navy plans to pursue a competitive acquisition strategy leveraging LRASM requirements and concept of operations to meet future maritime threats beyond mid-2020s. Initial operational capability for HALO is planned to field late this decade. 

Release from Naval Sea Systems Command 

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By Team Ships Public Affairs 

MOBILE, Ala. – The U.S. Navy’s newest Expeditionary Fast Transport (EPF) vessel, USNS Cody (EPF 14), launched at Austal USA’s shipyard, Mar. 20. 

Capable of transporting 600 tons of personnel and cargo up to 1,200 nautical miles at an average speed of 35 knots, each EPF vessel includes a flight deck to support day and night aircraft launch and recovery operations.  The ships are also capable of interfacing with roll-on/roll-off discharge facilities, and can load and off-load heavy vehicles such as a fully combat-loaded Abrams Main Battle Tank. 

“Today’s launch marks another successful milestone for the EPF 14, and it demonstrates the strength of the Navy-Austal USA partnership,” said Strategic and Theater Sealift Program Manager, Program Executive Office, Ships, Tim Roberts. “EPFs provide capability and capacity for a variety of missions, when and where our fleet needs support.” 

Launching an EPF is a multi-step process, conducted over two full days.  The ship is moved from the Modular Manufacturing Facility where it was constructed to a docking barge, and then transported to a floating dry dock. Submerging the dry dock into the water then launches the ship to float on its own. 

EPFs operate in shallow waterways. These versatile, non-combatant transport ships are used to quickly transport troops, military vehicles, and equipment needed to support: 

• Overseas contingency operations 
• Humanitarian assistance 
• Disaster relief 
• Special operations forces efforts 
• Theater security cooperation activities 

• Emerging joint sea-basing concepts 

As one of the Defense Department’s largest acquisition organizations, Program Executive Office, Ships is responsible for executing the development and procurement of all destroyers, amphibious ships, special mission and support ships, and special warfare craft. 

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ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Navy has decommissioned its last two Cyclone-class patrol coastal ships in March 28 ceremonies at Naval Support Activity, Bahrain, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command Public Affairs said in a release. The USS Monsoon (PC 4) and USS Chinook (PC 9) were the last of the class. They are scheduled to be transferred to the Philippine Navy. 

The event marked the end of service with the 14-ship Cyclone class and the end of the coastal patrol ship — which the Navy called the patrol coastal ship — in the U.S. Navy, at least for the foreseeable future. The ships were designed to support special operations forces in coastal operations. 

In early 2022, the Navy decommissioned and transferred five patrol craft to the Royal Bahrain Naval Force: USS Tempest (PC 2), USS Typhoon (PC 5), USS Squall (PC 7), USS Firebolt (PC 10) and USS Whirlwind (PC 11). Last week, on March 21, the U.S. Navy decommissioned and transferred USS Hurricane (PC 3), USS Sirocco (PC 6) and USS Thunderbolt (PC 12) were decommissioned and transferred to the Egyptian Navy during a formal ceremony in Alexandria, Egypt. 

In February and March 2021, the Navy decommissioned three PCs used for training PC crews based in Mayport, Florida, and deployed to man the 10 deployed PCs: USS Shamal, USS Zephyr, and USS Tornado.  

The lead ship of the class, the former USS Cyclone, was commissioned in August 1993. It was decommissioned on February 28, 2000, and eventually transferred to the Philippine Navy during a time when the U.S. Navy and U.S. Special Operations Command saw little use for the ships. That changed with the terrorist attacks of 9-11. The PCs were tasked with homeland security missions and three were transferred to the U.S. Coast Guard, being returned to the Navy in 2011. Ten of the Navy’s PCs eventually were transferred to the U.S. 5th Fleet in Bahrain for maritime security patrols.   

“I’m honored to be a part of the legacy on this waterfront,” said Lieutenant Commander Dre Johnson, Monsoon’s last commanding officer during the ceremony, according to the Navy release. “PC Sailors are a unique bunch, and only they can understand the amount of work they’ve done and the pride they have in what they’ve accomplished.” 

“With 28 years of crew covering multiple generations, each one was dedicated to the mission, adapting to rapidly changing mission sets, and working together as a team to accomplish whatever obstacle that came their way,” said Lieutenant Commander David Hartmann, Chinook’s commanding officer.