ARLINGTON, Va. — The United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia have formed a tri-lateral defense partnership, which soon will launch a project to develop and build nuclear-powered submarines for the Royal Australian Navy.  

Australia operates Collins-class diesel-electric submarines and was in the process of procuring 10 submarines in a partnership with France, a deal that is likely to be torpedoed by the new AUKUS partnership. 

At the White House Sept. 15, the presidents of the three nations spoke at the news conference announcing the AUKUS partnership.   

“The first major initiative of AUKUS will be to deliver a nuclear-powered submarine fleet for Australia,” said Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison. “Over the next 18 months, we will work together to seek to determine the best way forward to achieve this.  This will include an intense examination of what we need to do to exercise our nuclear stewardship responsibilities here in Australia. We intend to build these submarines in Adelaide, Australia, in close cooperation with the United Kingdom and the United States. 

The project would represent a major industrial enterprise in a nation with no experience in building and operating nuclear submarines. Australia has built modern surface warships, including high-end anti-air warfare destroyers. 

U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson seconded the partnership. 

“I’m delighted to join President Biden and Prime Minister Morrison to announce that the United Kingdom, Australia, and the United States are creating a new trilateral defense partnership, known as AUKUS, with the aim of working hand in glove to preserve security and stability in the Indo-Pacific,” Johnson said. “We’re opening a new chapter in our friendship, and the first task of this partnership will be to help Australia acquire a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines, emphasizing, of course, that the submarines in question will be powered by nuclear reactors, not armed with nuclear weapons. And our work will be fully in line with our non-proliferation obligations.”  
   
“This will be one of the most complex and technically demanding projects in the world, lasting for decades and requiring the most advanced technology,” Johnson said. “It will draw on the expertise that the U.K. has acquired over generations, dating back to the launch of the Royal Navy’s first nuclear submarine over 60 years ago; and together, with the other opportunities from AUKUS, creating hundreds of highly skilled jobs across the United Kingdom, including in Scotland, the north of England, and the Midlands, taking forward this government’s driving purpose of leveling up across the whole country.” 

“Our governments will now launch an 18-month consultation period to determine every element of this program — from workforce, to training requirements, to production timelines, to safeguards and nonproliferation measures, and to nuclear stewardship and safety — to ensure full compliance with each of our nation’s commitments under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty,” said President Joseph Biden. 
 

STUART, Fla. — SeaRobotics Corp. has been awarded a U.S. Navy Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I contract to develop a CRawling Amphibious Breacher (CRAB), an amphibious robotic crawler capable of proofing shoreline assault lanes and neutralizing explosive and non-explosive obstacles to ensure clear landing zones for armed forces personnel, the company said in a Sept. 15 release.  

Phase I of the process (Navy SBIR 20.3) is to further develop an innovative but cost-effective means of demonstrating how SeaRobotics’ proposed CRAB concept could operate in swarm formation to specifically disarm various mine types — buried and submerged — in surf and beach zones. As such, CRABs are required to be rapidly deployable from a surface or subsurface marine asset in coastal waters (up to 400 meters from shore) in depths up 12 meters (or approximately 40 feet.)  

One of the other defined Key Performance Parameters is the capacity to drop GPS markers to accurately identify optimal assault lanes, made visible via a shared operating system that plots landing paths on a driver display aboard a command Amphibious Combat Vehicle (ACV).  

“We are delighted to have been awarded this important SBIR Phase I contract,” said SeaRobotics president Don Darling. “Current advances in marine robotics are redefining what’s possible in terms of tactical explosive ordnance disposal, and the challenge of developing an amphibious crawler capable of operating eight-hour missions above and below the waterline in sand, mud, and shell soil sea floor conditions is a natural extension of our R&D efforts at SeaRobotics to engineer the next generation of autonomous, uncrewed systems for a range of defense applications.” 

Phase II of the Navy SBIR 20.3 process is to manufacture a scaled prototype to demonstrate system performance and test the required range of operational parameters. Results will inform the necessary refinements for a Phase III development plan and ultimately transition the proposed technology to Marine Corps use.  

ARLINGTON, Va. — Many of the Mahanian principles of sea power are as applicable today as ever, the U.S. Navy’s top officer said, noting that navies and coast guards are the guarantors of the world’s commerce and hence the well-being of nations.  

“Providing a safe, secure, and stable maritime system is an imperative to all of mankind … and it is an essential part of what our navies do every day,” said Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Adm. Mike Gilday. “We are not simply the “keeper of the seas” … but the ‘keeper of the global way of life’ as well.”  

Gilday was addressing a gathering of naval leaders from around the world during the Sept. 15 opening day of the 24th International Seapower Symposium, an event normally held every two years at the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island. The event was attended in person or over the internet by 135 delegates from 104 nations. Last year’s planned symposium was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.   

“Like all of you … I believe that robust, resilient, and responsible sea power is an international consortium of like-minded nations,” Gilday said. “We are the primary guarantors of peace, prosperity, and the open flow of goods along the oceans.  
Our navies provide these benefits to the citizens we serve every day … in peacetime and especially during these times of competition … not just in rare moments of conflict.” 
   

The CNO pointed out that the ideas of Capt. Alfred Thayer Mahan bring to mind decisive battles at sea, sea control, and combat credibility.  
 
“I think many of those arguments are still relevant today,” Gilday said. “But over time … Mahan refined the rationale for sea power. Naval combat power became less pronounced, and economics took a more central role. Mahan believed that one of the fundamental applications of naval power was to protect an increasingly globalized world economy. You see, wealth generation comes from commerce … and commerce … floats on seawater. … Our economies, our values, and our cultures are more attached to the sea than any point in history.” 

The CNO noted several facts that illustrate the magnitude of the maritime economy today. The world’s trading fleet today includes more than 60,000 ships. New container ships nearly 400 meters long can carry more than 20,000 containers. There are more than 160 offshore wind farms providing electrical power to millions of homes and businesses. There are 20,000 desalinization plants that provide fresh water to hundreds of millions of people. Ships are engaged in deep-sea mining to extract critical minerals. He also noted the importance of underwater cables that transnational communications traffic.  

In a press conference following the speech, Gilday said “the seas are getting more contested and more congested,” and that “almost 100% of our internet connectivity is connected through trans-oceanic cables.” 
 
Gilday championed the international rules-based order that “preserves the maritime commons for freedom and fairness … for coexistence and for harmony … where the collective goals of all people — regardless of where they call home — can be advanced. 

“Since it is in the political, social, and economic interests of all of us to ensure the freedom of the seas … this is a responsibility with truly global consequences, not just for today, but for our children and their children,” he said. “It cannot be taken for granted … peace does not happen by accident. When the rules prevail, everyone prospers. When the rules are undermined … or worse, broken altogether … the world is a less secure and poorer place for all of us.”  
 
The CNO stressed the importance of the navy-to-navy and coast guard-to-coast guard relationships that “serve as a strong and stable keel for the broader international community. This keel serves as a shock absorber … and in turn … provides the underlying structure for global stability. 

“Every day … our Sailors send a “bow wave” of diplomacy in front of their path … assuring our allies, partners, and friends … and deterring malign behavior that threatens the international order that is so important,” he said. 

ARLINGTON, Va. — The Navy has ordered the first lot of Navy’s AMG-88G Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missiles – Extended Range (AARGM-ER) following approval from the Defense Department. 

Naval Air Systems Command Awarded Alliant Techsystems Operations — a wholly owned subsidiary of Northrop Grumman Defense Systems — a $41.2 million firm-fixed-price contract for low-rate initial production lot 1 of the AARGM-ER, according to a Sept. 14 Defense Department contract announcement.  

“This contract provides for the production and delivery of 16 AGM-88G AARGM-ER All Up Rounds, six AGM-88G AARGM-ER Captive Air Training Missiles, four Common Munitions BIT Reprogramming Equipment Plus interface devices, initial spares, and required supplies and support,” the announcement said. 

The AARGM-ER received Milestone C approval on Aug. 23. 

The AGM-84G AARGM-ER, designed to attack hostile emitters, particularly radars that guide surface-to-air missiles, is a development of the AGM-84E AARGM that has been in service since 2012 with the role of destruction of enemy ground-based air defenses. The ER missile is considerably different in planform and appearance than the basic AARGM. The ER version is slightly shorter (160 inches versus 14 inches) than the basic AARGM but has a larger diameter (11.5 inches versus 10 inches) and is controlled by its tailfins rather than fins at the mid-body. The ER features a new rocket motor that takes up more of the length of the missile and is equipped with a new warhead. The aerodynamic characteristics of the ER plus its larger motor give the missile twice the tactical range in the same amount of time.   

The AARGM-ER will be carried on Navy F/A-18E/F Super Hornet strike fighters and EA-18G Growler electronic attack aircraft. The missile also is sized to eventually be carried in the weapons bay of F-35A and F-35C Lightning II strike fighters and on wing stations of the F-35B version.  

The Navy plans to continue captive and live-fire flight testing of the AARGM-ER through 2022. Initial operational capability is planned for 2023. 

ST. LOUIS — The U.S. Navy and Boeing have used the MQ-25 T1 test asset to refuel a U.S. Navy F-35C Lightning II fighter jet for the first time, again demonstrating the aircraft’s ability to achieve its primary aerial refueling mission, the company said Sept. 14. 

This was the third refueling mission for the Boeing-owned test asset in just over three months, advancing the test program for the Navy’s first operational carrier-based unmanned aircraft. T1 refueled an F/A-18 Super Hornet in June and an E-2D Hawkeye in August. 

“Every test flight with another type/model/series aircraft gets us one step closer to rapidly delivering a fully mission-capable MQ-25 to the fleet,” said Capt. Chad Reed, the Navy’s Unmanned Carrier Aviation program manager. “Stingray’s unmatched refueling capability is going to increase the Navy’s power projection and provide operational flexibility to the Carrier Strike Group commanders.” 

During a test flight Sept. 13, an F-35C test pilot from the Navy’s Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 23 (VX-23) conducted a successful wake survey behind T1 to ensure performance and stability before making contact with T1’s aerial refueling drogue and receiving fuel. 

“This flight was yet another physical demonstration of the maturity and stability of the MQ-25 aircraft design,” said Dave Bujold, Boeing’s MQ-25 program director. “Thanks to this latest mission in our accelerated test program, we are confident the MQ-25 aircraft we are building right now will meet the Navy’s primary requirement — delivering fuel safely to the carrier air wing.” 

The T1 flight test program began in September 2019 with the aircraft’s first flight. In the following two years, the test program completed more than 120 flight hours, gathering data on everything from aircraft performance to propulsion dynamics to structural loads and flutter testing for strength and stability. 

MQ-25 is benefitting from the two years of early flight test data, which has been integrated back into its digital models to strengthen the digital thread connecting aircraft design to production to test to operations and sustainment. Boeing is currently manufacturing the first two MQ-25 test aircraft. 

T1 will be used to conduct a deck handling demonstration aboard a U.S. Navy carrier in the coming months to help advance the carrier integration progress. 

PITTSBURGH, Pa. — RE2 Robotics has received a $9.5 million contract from the Office of Naval Research to create an underwater robotic system for the autonomous neutralization of underwater mines for the U.S. Navy, the company said in a Sept. 14 release. 

The program, called Maritime Mine Neutralization System (M2NS), will utilize the RE2 Sapien Sea Class system to precisely place and attach neutralization devices to underwater mines and water-borne improvised explosive devices (WBIEDs).  

RE2 will serve as the systems integrator for this program. In addition to RE2 Sapien Sea Class, the M2NS will use components, including RE2’s advanced computer vision and autonomy software, RE2 Detect and RE2 Intellect, to enable the precise, autonomous, and clandestine neutralization of a target.  

“The detection and neutralization of WBIEDs and other underwater explosives is a critically dangerous task for Navy divers. Consistent with our mission of improving worker safety, the M2NS will enable the Navy to find and autonomously neutralize targets in deep ocean waters, while experienced divers supervise from a safe distance,” said Jorgen Pedersen, president and CEO of RE2 Robotics. 

The M2NS comprises best-in-class technologies such as RE2’s Sapien Sea Class arms and VideoRay’s Defender remotely operated vehicle, which both exhibit unprecedented power density. In particular, RE2 Sapien Sea Class arms, which were originally designed and developed for the ONR, feature a compact, strong, electromechanical design with human-like dexterity (seven functions per arm) that is neutrally buoyant. The fusion of these key technologies provides superior strength and precision while manipulating neutralization devices.  

“The M2NS will use RE2 Detect computer vision software to locate targets underwater, and RE2 Intellect to autonomously and precisely place devices on those targets,” said Amanda Sgroi, director of computer vision and autonomy at RE2. “We also will integrate new sensors to provide situational awareness and aid autonomy, allowing the system to potentially navigate to extended depths in the ocean.”  

In addition to defense tasks, the human-like capability of the M2NS allows it to be used for complex offshore infrastructure and maintenance applications in the oil & gas and renewable wind industries. For example, M2NS can be used for weld inspection of rig piles, ships and FPSO (floating production storage and offloading) systems, mooring inspection and measurement and valve inspection and manipulation.  

ARABIAN SEA – Amphibious assault ship USS Essex (LHD 2), flagship of the Essex Amphibious Ready Group (ESX ARG), along with amphibious transport dock USS Portland (LPD 27), dock landing ship USS Pearl Harbor (LSD 52) and embarked 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), entered the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations, Sept. 12, Petty Officer 2nd Class Brett McMinoway said in a Sept. 14 release. 

While in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations, the ESX ARG and 11th MEU will operate and train alongside regional and coalition partners. 

As an inherently flexible maneuver force, capable of supporting routine and contingency operations, the ARG/MEU’s presence demonstrates the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps commitment to regional partners and maritime security. 

The U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations encompasses about 2.5 million square miles of water and includes the Arabian Gulf, Gulf of Oman, Red Sea and parts of the Indian Ocean. The expanse is comprised of 20 countries and includes three critical choke points at the Strait of Hormuz, the Suez Canal, and the Strait of Bab al Mandeb at the southern tip of Yemen. 

JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii — Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC) awarded a $500-million indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity architecture-engineering contract Sept. 7 for structural and waterfront-related projects at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility (PHNSY & IMF) in Hawaii and Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility (PSNS & IMF) in Washington state, NAVFAC Announced in a Sept. 13 release.  

The five-year contract will mainly support construction, repair, and alteration projects at both shipyards as part of the Navy’s comprehensive Shipyard Infrastructure Optimization Program (SIOP) and will help ensure that both shipyards — originally designed and built in the 19th and 20th centuries — are able to maintain, modernize, and repair Navy ships and submarines and return them to the fleet on time.  

“To create the public shipyards that our nation needs requires investments to improve their capacity and capability,” said Capt. Warren LeBeau, program manager for SIOP. “This contract directly supports the vital roles that Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and Puget Sound Naval Shipyard have in terms of our national defense by executing maintenance and modernization on submarines and aircraft carriers to provide combat-ready ships to the fleet.”  

SIOP is a joint effort between Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA), NAVFAC, and commander, Navy Installations Command (CNIC) to recapitalize and modernize the infrastructure at the Navy’s four public shipyards, including repairing and modernizing dry docks, restoring shipyard facilities and optimizing their placement, and replacing aging and deteriorating capital equipment.  

“SIOP will provide critical infrastructure investments into the shipyards that enable our Navy’s lethality and ability to operate forward in the era of strategic competition,” said Rear Adm. Dean VanderLey, commander, NAVFAC Pacific. “The award of this contract provides NAVFAC with the capacity and capability to plan and execute critical NAVSEA and CNIC projects at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and Puget Sound Naval Shipyard to meet urgent fleet readiness needs.”  

Honolulu, Hawaii-based WSM Pacific SIOP, a joint venture, was awarded the indefinite-delivery/indefinite quantity architect-engineer contract under a competitive process via the www.sam.gov website. 

St. LOUIS — The most advanced Super Hornet in history has completed its first flight, Boeing News Now said Sept. 10. 

Boeing test pilots Ty “Grouch” Frautschi and Sam “Splat” Platt last week lifted off from Boeing’s St. Louis flight ramp and checkout center in the first combat-capable Block III F/A-18 Super Hornet.  

“It was a good day. The jet flew great,” Frautschi said. “It is a real pleasure to fly and I know the Navy is looking forward to getting all this capability that Block III is going to bring to the fleet.” 

The previous 28 F/A-18 Super Hornet deliveries to the U.S. Navy have been fighters for the Kuwait Air Force as outlined by the Foreign Military Sales process. Block III is a return to putting new fighters in U.S. Navy squadrons.    

“It means a lot to me, I was in the Navy for 20 years,” Platt said. “The reason I like to do this job is to bring these airplanes back to the sailors I still care about.”  

F/A-18 Block III capabilities include the advanced cockpit system (ACS) with a 10-inch-by-19-inch touch-screen display, enhanced networking, open mission systems, increased survivability and a 10,000-hour airframe. The ACS is the largest cockpit screen of any fighter in the world, shared with the F-15.  

“It’s like the difference of a dial telephone and your cellphone,” Platt said. “All these integrated displays put on a big piece of glass where you can really get an idea of what the sensors are doing and have a much more tactical display for the operator. It’s a revolutionary increase in capability.”  

Block III capabilities were developed in partnership with the Navy. The flight is the result of years of work and hundreds of Boeing employees — a fact not lost on the test pilots.   

“It’s a team effort. There’s a lot of preparation that goes into not just getting ready for the flight but building it and even earlier than that — the engineering and development,” Fraustchi said. “It is not a short list of activities to get to today, that’s for sure, and we appreciate everything they do to keep us safe.” 

The first production Block III F/A-18F is construction number F288. 

SAN DIEGO — General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS) has been approved as an Alteration Installation Team (AIT), a qualification that enables the Navy to contract with GA-EMS subject-matter experts capable of independently performing alterations and system installations onboard U.S. Navy ships during maintenance availability periods, the company said in a Sept. 9 release.   

“AIT qualification is recognition of the outstanding work our teams have performed over the years installing and maintaining first-of-kind electromagnetic aircraft catapult launch and recovery systems on land-based sites and onboard Ford-class carriers,” said Scott Forney, president of GA-EMS. “The AIT designation provides ease of access for the Navy to contract GA-EMS’ integrated team of experts. Our team’s depth of knowledge and ‘hands-on’ skillsets building and maintaining these critical systems enables them to work independently to complete shipboard modification and installation tasks to help ready ships for redeployment within the allotted maintenance period.”   

GA-EMS has made significant investments in developing its facilities, workforce, quality management, and ISO 9001-compliant processes to support a broad range of critical naval programs. GA-EMS will manage the AIT effort from its newly expanded Hampton, Virginia, facility, which provides close proximity to the Newport News shipyard where Ford-class carriers are under construction, and where the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) is undergoing a Planned Incremental Availability maintenance period. In addition, GA-EMS’ office in Patuxent River, Maryland, will serve as a customer engagement center supporting maritime and naval aviation programs, including delivery of the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) and Advanced Arresting Gear (AAG) to the Naval Air Systems Command for Ford-class aircraft carriers.   

“The Navy regularly experiences the challenge of sourcing a qualified workforce when shipyards must simultaneously manage new ship construction and maintenance tasks for ships already in the inventory,” said James Donnelly, GA-EMS director of Maritime Program Operations. “Our decades of experience managing large, complex programs, and our expertise in the design, manufacture, installation and maintenance of next generation system technologies such as EMALS and AAG have equipped GA-EMS to provide best-value support to meet the challenge. This expertise is applicable not only for Ford-class carriers, but for other ship classes in the U.S. Navy’s inventory as well.”