WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Mark Esper said the U.S. Navy needs a fleet of more than 500 manned and unmanned ships, including more attack submarines. 

“ We need to build more attack submarines,” Esper said, speaking Oct. 6 at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Analysis, a Washington think tank, announcing that the Defense Department is in the process of releasing the Future Naval Force Study for Battle Force 2045 and the 30-year shipbuilding plan. 

Battle Force 2045 is a plan to build an affordable, lethal, aware fleet of more than 500 manned and unmanned ships, able to maintain maritime superiority over the growing naval power of near-peer competitors China and Russia. 

He said the Navy is on a path to reach its previous goal of 355 ships by 2035 in an anticipated era of budget austerity.  

Esper said Battle Force 2045 would feature: 

• A larger, more capable force of 70 to 80 submarines, which would be increased up by building three attack submarines (SSNs) annually; pursuing the next-generation SSN; and refueling seven Los Angeles-class SSNs. The Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine program would proceed as planned. 
• A force of 8 to 11 aircraft carriers for the high-end fight — equipped with the carrier air wing of the future. The Navy will study the possibility of building up to six light carriers — equipped with short takeoff/vertical landing strike aircraft — to free up the super carriers for the high-end fight. 
• A force of 140 to 240 unmanned or optionally manned surface and subsurface vessels, for missions such as missile strikes and mining. 
• A force of more and smaller future surface combatants, about 60 to 70, including the new guided-missile frigate, able to “deliver long-range precision fires in volume.” 
• A combat logistic force of 70 to 90 ships to sustain fleet. 
• Sufficient sealift ships to transport ground forces to theaters of conflict. 
• Ship-based unmanned aircraft of all types. 
• An amphibious warfare force of 50 to 60 ships, including the types needed to support the Future Force vision of Marine Corps Commandant Gen. David H. Berger. 

Esper said Battle Force 2045 would require additional shipbuilding funds, for which Congressional support would be needed, that would rival the Reagan build-up of the fleet in the 1980s. He also said he would request statutory authority to divert unexpended funds from the Navy at the end of each fiscal year to invest into shipbuilding. He also stressed the need to divest some legacy systems to free up funds for modernization. 

He also said the Navy would need increased shipyard capacity — in the Navy’s four shipyards and in the shipbuilding industry’s yards — to build and maintain the 500+ ships of Battle Force 2045. 

SAN DIEGO – Guided-missile destroyer USS Pinckney (DDG 91) returned to its homeport, Naval Station San Diego, following a nine-month deployment to U.S. 7th Fleet and U.S. 4th Fleet areas of operations, Oct. 5, U.S. Third Fleet Public Affairs said in an Oct. 6 release. 

Pinckney, along with a detachment from Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 75, deployed in January with the Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group to the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations. Pinckney arrived in the U.S. 4th Fleet area of operations in April to participate in U.S. Southern Command and Joint Interagency Task Force South’s enhanced counter-narcotics operations in the Caribbean Sea and Eastern Pacific Ocean. 

“The Sailors of Pinckney have helped make the United States a safer place to live,” said Cmdr. Andrew Roy, Pinckney’s commanding officer. “I thank all Pinckney Sailors and U.S. Coast Guardsmen who overcame many obstacles to make sure illicit narcotics will never make it into our homes, schools, or communities.” 

During their deployment, Pinckney, with its embarked U.S. Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment (LEDET), recovered an estimated 9,800 kilograms (21,605 pounds) of suspected cocaine and an estimated 2,800 pounds of marijuana worth an estimated wholesale value of more than $720 million. In addition, Pinckney also conducted freedom of navigation operations and participated in a passing exercise (PASSEX) with the Guatemalan navy. 

“A lengthy deployment is always challenging, even more so in the midst of a global pandemic that kept us all on the ship for the past six months,” said Cmdr. Ryan Conole, Pinckney’s executive officer. “Our team was able stay focused and on mission, and we could not have done that without the support of our families and friends back home who were also dealing with an incredibly challenging environment on the homefront.” 

Pinckney joined other U.S. Navy warships, numerous U.S. agencies from the Departments of Defense, Justice and Homeland Security cooperating in the effort to combat transnational organized crime. The Coast Guard, U.S. Navy, Customs and Border Protection, FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, along with allied and international partner agencies, are all playing a role in counterdrug operations. 

GROTON, Conn. — General Dynamics Electric Boat, a business unit of General Dynamics, was awarded two U.S. Navy contracts this week with a total value of $251 million, the company said in an Oct. 1 release.  

The first contract is a $215.7 million modification to a previously awarded contract, the cumulative value of which, if all options are exercised, could be more than $1 billion. Electric Boat will provide planning yard, design agent, engineering services and technical support for in-service submarines and submersible systems. The second contract is a $35.3 million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for Reactor Plant Planning Yard services for the submarine fleet and Support Yard services for the Navy’s Moored Training Ships.   

“The shipbuilders of Electric Boat are proud to be a partner to the U.S. Navy, and continue to execute our mission to provide our sailors with the advantage that helps protect our Navy and our nation,” said Kevin Graney, president of General Dynamics Electric Boat.  “We continue to work to hire, train and develop future generations of shipbuilders as we continue to deliver the Virginia class of fast attack submarines and move toward full-scale construction of the Columbia class of ballistic missile submarines.”   

BOSTON — Sea Machines Robotics, a Boston-based developer of autonomous command and control systems for surface vessels, has been awarded a multi-year Other Transaction agreement by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD)’s Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), the company announced in an Oct. 5 release. 

The primary purpose of the agreement is to initiate a prototype that will enable commercial ocean-service barges as autonomous Forward Arming and Refueling Point (FARP) units for an Amphibious Maritime Projection Platform (AMPP).  
 
Under this OT agreement, Sea Machines will engineer, build and demonstrate ready-to-deploy system kits that enable autonomous, self-propelled operation of opportunistically available barges to land and replenish military aircraft. The kits will include Sea Machines’ SM300 autonomous-command and control systems, barge propulsion, sensing, positioning, communications and refueling equipment, as well as items required for global deployment. Each modular kit will meet U.S. Navy criteria and will be in compliance with classifications and regulations from the DoD’s aviation bodies.  
 
The contract includes a concept demonstration phase, with an option for following phases to deploy SM300 Operational Kits. The live concept demonstration is scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2020, in Washington state, for which Sea Machines has teamed with FOSS Maritime, a leading maritime transportation and logistics provider based in Seattle. FOSS will provide naval architecture, support engineering and operations management to outfit a remotely commanded deck barge to land helicopters and host a scaled fueling station for aircraft, surface vessels and shore replenishment. Using the SM300, shoreside operators will have remote situational awareness and will be able to demonstrate the capabilities of remote command and control of the vessel, her operating systems and flight deck. 
 
Sea Machines is the prime contractor for the multi-year contract and is working closely alongside FOSS Maritime and other significant industry leaders, including Huntington Ingalls, America’s largest military shipbuilding company and a provider of professional services, based in Newport News, Virginia, and Bell Flight, a producer of commercial and military, vertical-lift aircraft, based in Fort Worth, Texas, to ensure a successful demonstration. 
 
“The AMPP autonomous replenishment systems will solve critical logistics challenges of expeditionary missions. We are pleased to enable this innovative capability, which will increase the effectiveness and flexibility for the U.S. military,” said Sea Machines’ Phil Bourque, director, sales. “With Sea Machines systems already working off the waters of four continents, this project is well suited for us and one that we look forward to delivering on for the U.S. government.” 
 
“Foss is excited about this new opportunity with Sea Machines.This contract has led to discussions with Sea Machines in a number of other areas where their expertise can help Foss, including bringing more technology to our tug fleet. What they are doing in automation is very interesting and that technology could help our mariners and our vessels safety,” said FOSS’s Will Roberts, chief operating officer. 
 
DIU’s work is part of the DoD’s Resilient Expeditionary Agile Littoral Logistics (REALL) Joint Capability Technology Demonstration (JCTD) project. Funded by the Office of the Secretary of Defense Research & Engineering, the JCTD Program addresses Combatant Command and Joint warfighting gaps through prototyping and demonstration of innovative and game-changing technologies. 

The following offices are involved with defining performance requirements and developing capabilities for REALL: U.S. Central Command, U.S. Transportation Command, U.S. Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory, Naval Facilities Engineering and Expeditionary Warfare Center, Army Engineer Research and Development Center, and the Naval Aviation Warfare Center – Lakehurst. 
 

BALTIMORE — Northrop Grumman Corp. was awarded a follow-on production contract for AN/SLQ-32(V)7 Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Program (SEWIP) Block 3 electronic warfare systems by the U.S. Navy on Sept. 30, the company said in an Oct. 2 release. The system is employed on surface combatants to defeat legacy and emerging anti-ship threats using non-kinetic/electronic attack methodologies.  

Northrop Grumman’s approach to this system is centered on a “software defined, hardware enabled” open architecture that quickly integrates with other combat systems while adopting the latest electronic attack capabilities to ensure the system remains ahead of the threat and supports the U.S. Navy’s Distributed Maritime Operations (DMO) concepts of operations. 

The $100.7 million base contract is for the first follow on production lot of AN/SLQ-32(V)7 SEWIP Block 3 systems. The contract has a maximum value of $1.16 billion. The system will be installed initially on Arleigh-Burke class destroyers and is scalable to other ship classes. 

SEWIP Block 3 is the third in a series of incremental upgrades that adds an electronic attack capability to the AN/SLQ-32 electronic warfare (EW) system to defend ships against anti-ship missiles. The program is managed by the U.S. Navy Program Executive Office – Integrated Warfare Systems (PEO IWS). 

“With this follow-on production award, Northrop Grumman will continue to provide game-changing maritime EW capability that will underpin future Fleet Electromagnetic Maneuver Warfare operations” said Ingrid Vaughan, vice president and general manager, maritime/land systems and sensors, Northrop Grumman. “We are writing a new chapter in the evolution of the AN/SLQ-32 that will fundamentally change how the Fleet will win the fight for years to come.” 

NAVAL SUPPORT ACTIVITY SOUDA BAY, Greece – The Expeditionary Sea Base USS Hershel “Woody” Williams (ESB 4), shifted its homeport from Norfolk, Va., to Souda Bay, Greece, effective Oct. 1, 2020, the U.S. Sixth Fleet Public Affairs said in an Oct. 2 release. 

Hershel ‘Woody’ Williams conducts U.S. Africa Command missions in the Mediterranean, and the waters around East, South and West Africa, to include the Gulf of Guinea operating with regional partners. 

“Hershel ‘Woody’ Williams provides a new capability in the theater, which enhances our interoperability with our partners across the spectrum of maritime operations,” said Vice Adm. Gene Black, commander, U.S. Sixth Fleet. “The unique design of the ship fosters inter-service operations with our U.S. Marine Corps and Special Operations communities, which improves our ability to ensure maritime security and stability.”     

Due to the ship’s extended overseas assignment, Military Sealift Command (MSC) will conduct her routine maintenance in existing facilities at NSA Souda Bay and other overseas ports. 

“The ship truly demonstrates the U.S. Navy’s incomparable maritime flexibility and professionalism,” said Capt. David Gray, Hershel “Woody” Williams’ commanding officer, blue crew. “We operate with a crew of Sailors and civilians who, since our arrival in Sixth Fleet have supported U.S. Marine Corps and Special Operations training, as well as partner nation missions from the Eastern Mediterranean to the Gulf of Guinea.”  

The ship’s two-fold mission provides the U.S. a forward deployed naval presence in Africa, as well as increased naval power through Navy and Marine Corps integrated operations, including Marine aviation and support to amphibious operations. Other operations and training capabilities the ship performs include support to special operations, command and control, and staging of equipment. 

NSA Souda Bay serves as a naval logistics hub for U.S. 6th Fleet, providing support to U.S. warships and logistics ships in the region. 

U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa and U.S. 6th Fleet, headquartered in Naples, Italy, conduct the full spectrum of joint and naval operations, often in concert with allied and interagency partners, in order to advance U.S. national interests and security and stability in Europe and Africa. 

ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Navy has announced plans to activate the force structure to operate its future MQ-25A Stingray aerial refueling unmanned aerial vehicle late next year. 

In an internal notice, the chief of naval operations directed the establishment of Unmanned Carrier-Launched Multi-Role Squadron 10 (VUQ-10) on Oct. 1, 2021. 

The squadron, to be based at Naval Air Station Point Mugu, part of Naval Base Ventura, California, will assign detachments to carrier air wings to provide aerial refueling services to the wing’s first aircraft. 

VUQ-10 will operate under the administrative control of commander, Airborne Command & Control Logistics Wing, also based at Point Mugu.  

The Navy plans to procure 72 Stingrays. A Boeing-owned prototype is being test-flown by the company, which is scheduled to deliver four Engineering and Manufacturing examples of the MQ-25A beginning in 2021. 

The MQ-25A is scheduled to achieve Initial Operational Capability in 2024. The Navy also has said it plans to use the Stingray in the surveillance role, hence the multi-role term in the squadron’s designation. 

POTTSTOWN, Pa. – Remotely operated vehicle (ROV) maker VideoRay has begun shipping its new Defender underwater robot to the U.S. Navy, the company said Oct. 1.

The shipments are done under an existing $49 million contract to deliver the Navy’s Next Generation ROV. The systems are being delivered with integrated sensors, tooling and software from Greensea, Blueprint Subsea, Nortek and Eddyfi, the company said.

The systems are being assembled at VideoRay’s Pottstown, Pennsylvania facility and will be used by the Navy for operations including littoral mine countermeasures, port security missions, and hull and pier inspection. Defender ROV shipments will be completed under the contract by the end of the year.

ARLINGTON, Va. — The reclamation of helicopter parts from some retired Japanese helicopters to sustain some U.S. Navy and Marine Corps helicopters is complete, a Navy spokeswoman said. 

The parts are being used to sustain the U.S. Navy’s MH-53E Sea Dragon mine-countermeasures helicopters and Marine Corps’ CH-53E Super Stallion helicopters, which have long been out of production. The Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force was the only other service that operated the MH-53E. 

“The U.S. Navy procured four aircraft from the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force, two in 2016 and two in 2017, and utilized them to replenish supply for numerous critical components of the H-53E,” said Megan Wasel, public affairs officer for the Program Executive Office Air Antisubmarine Warfare, Assault and Special Mission Programs. “Erickson Inc. performed contracted labor on the four aircraft for the government from 2017 to 2020, removing and refurbishing parts. Erickson Inc. did not procure the helicopters.” 

Erickson Inc. is an Oregon-based aviation operations and sustainment company, well-known especially for its heavy-lift helicopter operations in support of firefighting, oil and gas industry support, and timber lift. 

ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Navy has awarded $29.2 million contract to Kratos Unmanned Aerial Systems Inc. for Lot 1 Full-Rate Production of the company’s BQM-177A subsonic aerial target.  

The Naval Air Systems Command awarded the firm-fixed-price contract to Kratos for 35 BQM-177A targets along with technical and administrative data in support of its Aerial Targets Program Office, according to the Defense Department contract announcement. 

The BQM-177A is the U.S. Navy’s newest subsonic aerial target. It can be used to simulate hostile aircraft or highly dynamic, high-subsonic, sea-skimming anti-ship cruise missiles. The target is capable of speeds in excess of 0.95 Mach and a sea-skimming altitude as low as 6.6 feet, according to the Kratos website. 

The BQM-177A can carry “a wide array of internal and external payloads, including proximity scoring, identification friend or foe, passive and active radiofrequency augmentation, electronic countermeasures, infrared augmentation (plume pods), chaff and flare dispensers, and towed targets,” the website said. 

Delivery of the 35 targets is expected to be completed by February 2022.