FAIRFAX, Va. — Schiebel Aircraft and Areté Associates successfully showcased the Camcopter S-100 unmanned aircraft system combined with Areté’s Pushbroom Imaging Lidar for Littoral Surveillance (PILLS) sensor to the U.S. Navy’s Office of Naval Research, Schiebel said in an Aug. 9 release. 

In a combined demonstration sponsored by ONR on a commercial vessel off the coast of Pensacola, Florida, Schiebel and Areté demonstrated the combination’s ability to conduct hydrographic mapping of ocean littoral spaces with a low size, weight, and power sensor that easily integrates into the small S-100. PILLS has multiple military and commercial applications.  

“We are proud that we could successfully showcase the outstanding capabilities and data-gathering features of our Camcopter S-100 to the U.S. Navy,” said Hans Georg Schiebel, chairman of the Schiebel Group. “Globally, we operate extensively on land and at sea and we are confident that our unmanned solution is also the right fit for the U.S. Navy.” 

ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Senate has confirmed Carlos Del Toro as the 78th secretary of the Navy, the Defense Department said in an Aug. 7 release. 

Below is a statement from Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III on the confirmation:  

“Carlos Del Toro’s lifelong pursuits and deep experience advancing America’s national security make him well-prepared to serve as the 78th Secretary of the Navy. A student of the U.S. Naval Academy and Naval War College, Carlos rose through the ranks during the Cold War and Operation Desert Shield and Storm to serve as the first commanding officer of the destroyer USS Bulkeley DDG 84, and then later as a trusted aide to Pentagon leadership. He understands firsthand the most pressing challenges and opportunities facing our Navy, from addressing the pacing challenge of China and modernizing our capabilities, to investing in our most valuable asset — our people. As an immigrant who has dedicated his life to public service, Carlos exemplifies the core values of honor, courage, and commitment in defense of our country. 

“We remain the preeminent force in the world because of leaders like Carlos, and I have no doubt our Navy and our nation will be well served. I congratulate him on his confirmation, look forward to working with him and take pleasure in welcoming him back aboard.”

WASHINGTON, D.C.— USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) successfully conducted a third explosive event off the coast of Jacksonville, Florida, on Aug. 8, marking the completion of the ship’s Full Ship Shock Trials (FSST), the Program Executive Office Aircraft Carriers Public Affairs said in an Aug. 8 release.  

Shock Trials validate a ship’s shock hardness and ability to sustain operations in a simulated combat environment using live ordnance. During the four-month testing evolution, the first-in-class aircraft carrier withstood the impact of three 40,000-pound underwater blasts, released at distances progressively closer to the ship. 

“The Navy designed the Ford-class carrier using advanced computer modeling methods, testing, and analysis to ensure the ships are hardened to withstand harsh battle conditions,” said Capt. Brian Metcalf, manager for the Navy’s future aircraft carrier program office, PMS 378. “These shock trials have tested the resiliency of Ford and her crew and provided extensive data used in the process of validating the shock hardness of the ship.” 

Metcalf said that the goal of the tests is to ensure that Ford’s integrated combat systems perform as designed and added “the tests demonstrated — and proved to the crew, fairly dramatically — that the ship will be able to withstand formidable shocks and continue to operate under extreme conditions.” 

CVN 78 is returning to the Tidewater area for a six month Planned Incremental Availability (PIA). As the PIA begins, teams will conduct additional detailed inspections, assess any damage sustained during the shots, and continue modernization and maintenance work in advance of workups for the ship’s deployment in 2022. 

Rear Adm. James P. Downey, program executive officer for aircraft carriers, rode the ship during the first and third shock evolutions, and observed the historic trials, first-hand. “FSST has proven a critical investment in the Ford-class development,” said Downey. “The ship and crew performed exceptionally in these very strenuous conditions and continued their operations throughout the shock events, demonstrating the ship’s ‘fight-through’ capability.” 

“We’re designing and building these aircraft carriers to sail in some of the world’s most contested security environments. So, when you think about the threats to warships posed by non-contact blasts and the number of sea mines in the inventories of navies around the world, the gravity and consequence of these shock trials really come into focus,” he said. “The Navy’s ongoing investment in the design, including this modeling, will help ensure the resiliency of Ford’s integrated, mission critical systems in underway threat environments.” 

Downey added that the trial’s ultimate success hinged on the extraordinary performance of ship’s force, in coordination with crews on several surface and aviation platforms that support FSST. 

“The countdown to the actual shot is choreographed down to the smallest detail, and the coordination between the ship and the other surface and aviation platforms, as well as the on-scene environmental scientists has been impressive.” 

FSSTs are complex evolutions, conducted during a precise operating schedule in compliance with exacting environmental mitigation requirements, respecting known migration patterns of marine life and protected species. Ford’s shock trials required exacting coordination across multiple Navy/Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) organizations and experienced FSST teams. 

Prior to each shot, the FSST team notified mariners to avoid the test area, and implemented extensive protocols to ensure the safety of military and civilian personnel participating in the operation. A team of more than a dozen scientists, biologists, and observers were assigned to Ford, nearby support vessels, and observation aircraft. Observers used high-powered lenses to detect marine life at great distances, through ocean waves and white caps. 

During the sequence of events leading up to each shot, crews operated in a heightened state of watchful readiness in anticipation of the ultimate go/no-go decision, which had to be made between 4:00 and 8:00 a.m. on the day of the scheduled blast. 

Ford’s commanding officer, Capt. Paul Lanzilotta, was the tactical commander that ordered the go/no-go decision, based on the interplay of several crucial variables, such as ship and crew readiness, weather, and sea state, as well as pre-set environmental mitigation measures, designed to protect any marine life spotted within the test area. 

“Safety was always the driving consideration throughout the shock trials,” recalled Lanzilotta. “So, once we were ready and in position, pausing the countdown to the shot could really test our focus and persistence.” 

“In spite of months of detailed preparation, you can’t always count on the weather,” he said. “But the crew hung in there and showed the great tenacity and professionalism reflective of their pride in our Warship.” 

“So many pieces had to fall into place to execute Ford’s FSSTs within the testing window,” Lanzilotta said. “Success required equal measures of technical expertise, trust, and courage — traits you’ll find in great supply on Warship 78 and throughout the entire Ford Shock Trial Team. These shots have only strengthened my confidence in the durability of this ship, and the excellence of the crew who came out here to own it, and absolutely crushed it.” 

The U.S. Navy has conducted FSSTs over several decades, most recently for the Littoral Combat Ships USS Jackson (LCS 6) and USS Milwaukee (LCS 5) in 2016; as well as on the San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock USS Mesa Verde (LPD 19) in 2008, the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp (LHD 1) in 1990, and the guided missile cruiser USS Mobile Bay (CG 53) in 1987. The last aircraft carrier to execute FSST was USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) in 1987. 

The Navy conducted the Gerald R. Ford shock trial testing in accordance with Office of the Chief of Naval Operations Instruction 9072.2, and as mandated by the National Defense Authorization Act of 2016. The first two shots of the FSST sequence occurred on June 18 and July 16. 

USS Gerald R. Ford is the newest and most advanced aircraft carrier in the U.S. Navy. The ship closed out a successful 18-month Post Delivery Test & Trials period in April, during which the crew completed all required testing, accomplished planned improvements and maintenance ahead of schedule, and learned valuable lessons to increase the reliability of Ford-Class systems. At the same time, the ship also served as the sole East Coast platform for conducting carrier qualifications. 

The Gerald R. Ford-class represents the first major design investment in aircraft carriers since the 1960s. CVN 78 is engineered to support new technologies and a modern air wing essential to deterring and defeating near-peer adversaries in a complex maritime environment. 

MELBOURNE, Fla. — The U.S. Navy has awarded L3Harris Technologies a $393 million contract to install increments II and III of the Undersea Warfare Training Range (USWTR), the company said in an Aug. 5 release. 

The award follows nearly 10 years of execution by L3Harris on Increment I and will replace and upgrade the remaining underwater training range sites. 

USWTR Increment I included installing the ocean sensor and shore electronics subsystems instrumenting the approximately 500-square-nautical-mile area near Jacksonville, Florida. Under Increments II and III, L3Harris will upgrade and replace the previously installed systems at the U.S. Navy’s three other range locations near Hawaii, Bahamas and Southern California. 

The USWTRs enable ships, submarines and aircraft to track targets on the surface and subsurface for anti-submarine warfare training. The ranges each include more than 600 miles of undersea cables, several hundred sophisticated acoustic sensors, as well as shore-based control, display and processing facilities. 

“I’m proud of our team for delivering Increment I two years early so we could accelerate this award to support the sailors and provide them with early access to the best undersea range technology available to maintain operational readiness,” said Christopher E. Kubasik, chief executive officer, L3Harris. “For six decades in partnership with both our U.S. and international navy customers, L3Harris has successfully developed, manufactured, installed and supported undersea training range technology. Our capabilities ensure that sailors train in an environment that is as close to their mission environment as possible, giving them a competitive advantage.”  

ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Navy will christen its newest Freedom-variant littoral combat ship (LCS), the future USS Nantucket (LCS 27), during a 10 a.m. CDT ceremony Saturday, Aug. 7, in Marinette, Wisconsin, the Defense Department announced in an Aug. 6 release. 

The principal speaker will be Rep. Mike Gallagher, U.S. Representative for Wisconsin’s 8th District. In a time-honored Navy tradition, the ship’s sponsor, Polly Spencer, will break a bottle of sparkling wine across the bow. 

“The future USS Nantucket will be the third U.S. Navy ship commissioned to honor the maritime history and spirit of Nantucket,” said Acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas Harker. “I have no doubt the Sailors of USS Nantucket (LCS 27) will carry on the proud legacy from generations past in preserving sea lanes, countering instability, and maintaining our maritime superiority.” 

LCS is a fast, agile, mission-focused platform designed to operate in near-shore environments, winning against 21st-century coastal threats. The platform is capable of supporting forward presence, maritime security, sea control, and deterrence. 

The LCS class consists of two variants, the Freedom-variant and the Independence-variant, designed and built by two industry teams. The Freedom-variant team is led by Lockheed Martin in Marinette, Wisconsin (for the odd-numbered hulls). The Independence-variant team is led by Austal USA in Mobile, Alabama, (for LCS 6 and the subsequent even-numbered hulls). 

The first Nantucket, a Passaic-class coastal monitor, commissioned on Feb. 26, 1863. Assigned to the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron, Nantucket participated in the attack on Confederate forts in Charleston Harbor on April 7, 1863. Struck 51 times during the valiant yet unsuccessful assault on the vital Southern port, the single-turreted monitor was repaired at Port Royal and returned to Charleston to support Army operations on Morris Island. The second Nantucket, a wooden light ship built in 1907 for the Lighthouse Service, was transferred to the Navy by executive order on April 11, 1917. During World War I, the ship continued its duties of warning vessels away from Nantucket Shoals and aided in guarding nearby waters against U-boats. 

ARLINGTON, Va. — GE, which provides gas turbine engines to naval ships around the world, is looking to provide engines for the U.S. Navy’s next-generation guided-missile destroyer (DDG(X)), a company official said. 

“We’re in a good position,” said George Awiszus, director, Military Marketing and Business Development for GE Marine, noting the success of his company’s family of marine engines, which company marketing materials point to a 99% reliability and 98% availability of its LM2500 engines. 

Awiszus noted during an Aug. 4 interview with Seapower that the U.S. Navy is looking to making its next-generation destroyer a “full electric ship.”  

He said the current Arleigh Burke-class DDG ‘is maxed out” in terms of electrical power and that more power will be needed for the sensors, weapons and propulsion that likely will be installed in the DDG(X). 

Awiszus praised the Navy’s efforts to get industry, including shipyards and naval architects, involved early in the concept design process. 

GE will be providing LM2500+G4 engines for the new Constellation-class frigate. LM2500 engines already are in use on the Fincantieri FREMM frigate that is the basis for the Constellation class. The Constellation’s engines will feature the Composite Enclosure that provides better noise attenuation, a 5,500-pound weight reduction, costs 50% less than the steel enclosure and keeps the engine room cooler. GE will have delivered 24 engines with the Composite Enclosure by year’s end. 

GE improves its marine engine designs over time as lessons are learned, new materials are provided, and processes are refined. The company now offers electric starting capability as an option along with hydraulic or pneumatic starting methods. 

GE has delivered 1,365 LM2500 and LM6000 gas turbine engines to navies worldwide and 2,585 used for industrial purposes. 

NORFOLK, Va. — Commander, U.S. Fleet Forces Command, U.S. Pacific Fleet, and U.S. Naval Forces Europe commenced Large-Scale Exercise 2021 in the USFF, PACFLT, and NAVEUR areas of responsibility, Aug. 3, Fleet Forces Command said in a release. 

LSE 2021 is a Chief of Naval Operations-directed live, virtual, and constructive, globally integrated exercise that spans multiple fleets. LSE 2021 is designed to refine how we synchronize maritime operations across multiple fleets in support of the joint force. The training is based on a progression of fleet battle problems and scenarios that will assess and refine modern warfare concepts, including distributed maritime operations, expeditionary advanced base operations, and littoral operations in a contested environment. 

“We have shifted focus from the individual Carrier Strike Group to a larger fleet-centric approach, challenging fleet commanders’ abilities to make decisions at a speed and accuracy that outpaces the adversaries,” said Adm. Christopher W. Grady, commander, U.S. Fleet Forces Command. “LSE is more than just training; it is leveraging the integrated fighting power of multiple naval forces to share sensors, weapons, and platforms across all domains in contested environments, globally.” 
   
Evaluating and improving naval integration and the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps’ ability to integrate all domains in a high-end global conflict is a necessary investment in the current and future readiness of our forces. 
   
“LSE 2021 provides our Navy-Marine Corps team the opportunity to plan, direct and establish full spectrum naval operations. We must build naval readiness and advance the art and science of naval warfare to be ready to fight tonight – the stakes could not be higher,” said Adm. Samuel Paparo, commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet.  “The international rules-based order is essential to our nation, and our partners and allies for peace, security and stability.”   
   
Included in the exercise will be evaluations of experimental technology from a variety of warfare areas including unmanned technologies. 

“LSE will test our commanders’ abilities to deliver coordinated effects, from all directions, any time or all the time. It will help us build the necessary muscle memory to do this routinely at the operational to strategic levels of war,” said Adm. Robert P. Burke, commander, U.S. Naval Forces Europe. “By exercising the full weight of our operational fleets, working together in a global mindset, we will truly harness the inherent flexibility of naval forces in controlling the sea and projecting power.”  
   
LSE 2021 is part of an on-going series of exercises that demonstrates the U.S. Navy’s ability to employ precise, lethal, and overwhelming force globally across three naval component commands, five numbered fleets, and 17 time zones. Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michael Gilday discussed the Large-Scale Exercise during Sea-Air-Space 2021 this week.

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — The outbreak of COVID-19 on a forward-deployed U.S. aircraft carrier helped Navy medical personnel learn how to fight the virus at sea and prevent its spread ashore, the Navy Surgeon General says.

“Our wakeup call was the Theodore Roosevelt,” Rear Adm. Bruce Gillingham told a panel discussion on the coronavirus pandemic at the Navy League’s Sea-Air-Space Expo in National Harbor Aug. 4.

After COVID-19 was detected among the crew following a port call at Da Nang, Vietnam, in March 2020, the USS Roosevelt was sidelined at Guam for months.

The data gathered by a deployed medical unit aboard the stricken carrier, where more than one thousand crew members tested positive for COVID-19 in early 2020, and one died, “helped us understand the behavior of the virus,” Gillingham said. “It was from that investigation that we really learned the role of pre- and asymptomatic transmission of COVID and how critically important it was to understand and prevent that.”

More than 76% of the crew who tested positive for COVID were not showing symptoms of the virus when tested, and only 55% later developed any symptoms.

With the experience gleaned from the Roosevelt and a smaller outbreak on the destroyer USS Kidd, “we were able to learn how to diagnose, quarantine and isolate in a shipboard environment, the surgeon general said. That led to a search for ways to create bubbles to manage the risk of COVID for forward deployed personnel, including restriction of movement for 14 days before deployment and testing personnel coming out of quarantine.

Another study by Navy scientists looked at Marine Corps recruits at Parris Island Marine Corps Recruit Depot to assess the response to the virus of healthy young adults in a tightly controlled, congregate setting. “Even in that environment, about one-sixth of recruits still became infected,” Gillingham said.

Both the Parris Island and Roosevelt/Kidd research findings were published in the New England Journal of Medicine. “I’m proud our folks were able to contribute to the national discussion on how to defeat COVID,” he said.

Another panelist, Rear Adm. Dana Thomas, director of Health, Safety & Work-Life at the Coast Guard, said it is also crucial to monitor the mental and emotional health of personnel working under the trying conditions imposed by the pandemic. 

In field communications, “I established, early on, Wellness Wednesdays,” hour-long panel sessions with chaplains, doctors and others to talk about stress and anxiety,“bringing that conversation into the ward room or the workplace,” she said.

“That was one thing we will continue as a best practice,” said Thomas, who is also an admiral in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps.

NATIONAL HARBOR, MD. — That Sea-Air-Space 2021 was able to be held this year shows the power of partnerships, acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas Harker said Aug. 4.

“The fact that we’re able to gather today is a testament to the power of partnership — pharmaceutical companies, scientists, government researchers, military and civilian leaders — all working together to develop the vaccine,” Harker said. “That’s how we must confront all of our adversaries. Together.” 

Future military planning requires a transparent understanding of needs and limitations, Harker said, adding that such an approach will protect the supply chain while strengthening small-business opportunities. 

“Keep challenging the Navy and Marine Corps to innovate and transform,” Harker said. “That’s how we keep the faith with the American taxpayers and our oversight partners on the Hill. Every dollar is a strategic asset that must be maximized.” 

The decision-making process for the coming budget has been tough, Harker said, acknowledging that costs associated with personnel, maintenance and recapitalization efforts have exceeded the rate of inflation. As a result, investment planning by vital industrial-base partners will be affected. 

“We refuse to create a hollow force. We will not leave holes in units and create a force that leaves our Sailors and Marines without proper training,” Harker said, citing the lessons learned from the separate collision incidents involving the destroyers Fitzgerald and McCain. 

The two incidents occurred because Sailors and Marines were asked to do more with less, Harker said. 

“One-time fixes aren’t enough,” Harker said. “We have to make changes, putting controls in place to prevent future events. We’re putting procedures in place to ensure that we don’t return to bad habits of the past.”

The acting secretary highlighted efforts to improve a moribund auditing process, after independent government assessments revealed discrepancies and shortcomings he said must be addressed. 

Harker called for a “get real, get better approach, demanding rigorous self-assessment, strong characterization of current performance, detailed analysis based on accountability and the opportunity to implement needed improvements.”

Citing personal experience, Harker reiterated the Defense Department’s stance that mental-health counseling must be destigmatized and treated equally with any other form of health care treatment. He also reiterated the overall commitment to rid the ranks of sexual harassment and assault.

“Data shows that a command that tolerates harassment and destructive behaviors increases the risk of sexual assault,” Harker said. “We’ve distributed a watch list which has the top five signals of risk for sexual assault, to assist commanders in both the Navy and Marine Corps to identify warning signs and signals so they can take action to improve their command.” 

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — The Navy is making considerable progress in the drive to field a high-energy laser system that can meet the demand for a directed energy system capable of defeating anti-ship cruise missiles called for in Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michael Gilday’s 2021 Navigation Plan, Christopher Lloyd, distinguished scientist for Laser Weapon Lethality at Naval Surface Warfare Center, Dahlgren Division, Dahlgren, Virginia, said Wednesday.

After at-sea trials of a 30-kilowatt laser aboard the USS Ponce in 2014-2017, a “150-kilowatt class” system was tested on the USS Portland, a new amphibious transport dock, including the destruction of an unmanned aerial vehicle target May 16, Lloyd said at a Navy League Sea-Air-Space expo briefing.

“We think we’re getting to the point where we can actually start building these,” Lloyd said. “No one thinks directed energy can solve all problems, but it’s another tool we can use.” A big advantage of a laser weapon, particularly in the key mission of killing anti-ship missiles, is expanding a surface combatant’s magazine and replacing expensive missiles, “which puts us on the right side of the cost curve” against cheap enemy weapons, he said.

Although much of the attention on high-powered lasers is on their role as a weapon, Lloyd said Sailors involved in the tests on Ponce said it was a better sensor than other systems they had.

The laser “enables real-time combat identification and intent determination,” according to a data sheet Lloyd presented. It also provides speed of light delivery, precision engagement and graduated effect. “We want to be able to scale it up,” for different missions and effects, he added. “Bottom line, it addresses mission gaps we have.”

Although Lloyd would not say how powerful the laser tested on Portland was, he said “it looks like we have a glide slope for 300 kilowatts.”

Tests on Ponce and Portland used separate batteries to power the lasers, which requires gaps in firing to allow battery recharging. Dahlgren experts are working, along with others, to develop more powerful and higher capacity batteries to alleviate that problem, but also look to the greater integrated electrical power systems being developed in surface combatants as primary or backup power for the lasers, he said.

Dahlgren also is working on other high-energy systems, including a “dazzler” that can provide non-lethal crowd control, Lloyd said.