ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Navy has ordered four F-35C Lightning II joint strike fighters from Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., the Defense Department said in a release. 

Naval Air Systems Command awarded Lockheed Martin a $360.8 million not-to-exceed undefinitized contract modification to previously awarded fixed-price-incentive-firm-target contract for the procurement of four Lot 14 F-35Cs. 

The aircraft are being procured with fiscal 2020 funds. 

The Navy operates one fleet F-35C squadron, Strike Fighter Squadron 147 (VFA-147). The service also operates one F-35C fleet replacement squadron, VFA-125. 

The Marine Corps’ first F-35C squadron, Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 314, completed transition this year.  

On June 29, Lockheed Martin also received a $67.7 million contract modification for long-lead materials parts, and components to “maintain on-time production and delivery of nine lot 16 F-35A Lightning II aircraft for the government of The Netherlands, as well as seven F-35A semiconductors and two F-35B Lightning II aircraft for the government of Italy,” the release said.

PASCAGOULA, Miss. — Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Ingalls Shipbuilding division has been awarded a $936 million contract for the construction of an additional Arleigh Burke-class (DDG 51) Flight III guided-missile destroyer for the U.S. Navy, the company said in a June 30 release. 

In 2018, Ingalls was awarded a $5.1 billion fixed-price incentive, multiyear contract for six Arleigh Burke-class Flight III destroyers for the Navy. 

“We take great pride in the craftsmanship of our shipbuilders, and in the capabilities of our world-class shipyard,” Ingalls Shipbuilding President Brian Cuccias said. “This contract award provides great momentum for Ingalls and our more than 600 suppliers, in nearly 40 states, as we enter the second half of the year. We continue to focus on high performance and providing the greatest value possible to our customers.” 

Ingalls has delivered 32 Arleigh Burke-class destroyers to the Navy and has four more under construction, including the Frank E. Petersen Jr., the Lenah H. Sutcliffe Higbee, the Jack H. Lucas and the Ted Stevens. Ingalls delivered the Delbert D. Black to the Navy in April. 

Arleigh Burke-class destroyers are multimission ships and can conduct a variety of operations, from peacetime presence and crisis management to sea control and power projection, all in support of U.S. military strategy. 

These guided missile destroyers are capable of simultaneously fighting air, surface and subsurface battles. They contain myriad offensive and defensive weapons designed to support maritime defense needs well into the 21st century.

WASHINGTON — Gregory J. Slavonic was selected by the president as acting undersecretary of the Navy on June 22, the Navy secretary’s public affairs office said in a release. 

Slavonic has been serving as the 18th assistant secretary of the Navy for manpower and reserve affairs since June 2018. 

“I’ve had the opportunity to work with Greg Slavonic for a number of years and value his leadership abilities, foresight and friendship,” Navy Secretary Kenneth J. Braithwaite said. “I look forward to the innovation and inspiration he will continue to bring to the Department of the Navy in his new position.” 

As the acting undersecretary of the Navy, Slavonic serves as the deputy and principal assistant to Braithwaite as well as chief operating officer and chief management officer for the Department of the Navy. 

Additionally, he oversees intelligence activities, intelligence-related activities, special access programs, critical infrastructure and sensitive activities within the department. 

“Over the past two years, I’ve been very fortunate to work with a great team of Sailors, Marines and civilians to make advances and improvements in manpower and reserve component affairs for the [department],” Slavonic said. “I am honored to have been selected to this new position, being able to do a job that I love, engaging with a broader scope of issues and personnel.” 

The majority of Slavonic’s professional life has been in service to the Department of the Navy, both in uniform and out. He enlisted as a seaman recruit and retired after a distinguished military career at the rank of rear admiral in the Navy Reserve. 

During his time as a service member, he held four command assignments, served in combat deployments to Vietnam, Operations Desert Shield/Desert Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom. His final assignment was as the Navy’s sixth special assistant to the chief of information and director of the Navy Reserve Public Affairs Program.  

The secretary also served as the co-chair for the design and building of the USS Oklahoma Memorial at Pearl Harbor to remember the 429 Sailors and Marines who served aboard the battleship and lost their lives on Dec. 7, 1941. 

Prior to serving as ASN (RA), Slavonic served as chief of staff for U.S. Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.), and was Lankford’s last chief when he was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. 

For the past 40 years, Slavonic has held various civilian senior level positions in the communications industry and held positions with broadcasting and print organizations.

ROTA, Spain — The  Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Carney departed Naval Station Rota for the last time as a Forward Deployed Naval Forces-Europe (FDNF-E) asset on June 27. 

USS Roosevelt, named after the 32nd President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his wife Eleanor, replaced Carney in the first of four scheduled homeport shifts to occur in support of the U.S. Navy’s long-range plan to gradually rotate the Rota-based destroyers. 

“Carney’s role as one of our forward-deployed destroyers in Spain has been the cornerstone of the United States’ commitment to our NATO allies and partners and to our combined integrated air and missile defense architecture,” said Vice Adm. Lisa M. Franchetti, commander of the U.S. 6th Fleet. “Through all five years’ worth of operations and exercises, Carney Sailors set the bar high for readiness, interoperability and combat effectiveness.” 

Carney came to C6F on Sept. 25, 2015, as one of the first Rota-based FDNF-E destroyers under commander, Task Force (CTF). Carney began operational tasking in the C6F area of operation immediately upon arrival, conducting operations in the Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea, Eastern Atlantic Ocean, Red Sea, Indian Ocean, and Persian Gulf. 

The ship conducted 55 port calls throughout Europe, the Middle East and Africa. In an effort to maintain and improve efforts towards “Partnership for Peace,” Carney conducted six at-sea maritime training exercises and one passing exercise with partner nations in the Black Sea. Additionally, the ship participated in 11 large-scale exercises in the European theater, improving relations with both NATO allies and partners to include exercise Sea Breeze 2019. 

“Working in 6th Fleet and under the direction of CTF 65 has been a phenomenal experience,” said Cmdr. Christopher J. Carrol, Carney’s commanding officer. “We were extremely blessed for the opportunities to meet the objectives of the Fleet.” 

On her seventh and final patrol this spring, Carney conducted a tactical control shift from C6F to 5th Fleet in support of national tasking alongside the Bataan Amphibious Ready Group (ARG). The unconventional FDNF-E patrol included port visits to the Seychelles and to Cape Town, South Africa, which reinforced the partnership between the U.S. and South Africa. While transiting back to Rota, Spain, Carney became the most recent ship in naval history to circumnavigate Africa instead of transiting north through the Suez Canal. 

“Carney’s departure is a proud moment for all of us,” said Capt. Joseph A. Gagliano, commander, Task Force (CTF) 65. “In addition to the crew departing with pride for a job well done, we are proud to return Carney in peak readiness condition. Both the ship and crew are ready for any mission.” 

Carney is scheduled to return to its former homeport of Mayport, Florida.

SAN DIEGO — Construction of the fourth expeditionary sea base ship officially began June 25 at the General Dynamics National Steel and Shipbuilding shipyard, the Program Executive Office-Ships said in a release. Due to the COVID pandemic, the milestone was marked with an informal shipyard ceremony. 

ESB ships are flexible platforms that are used across a range of military operations supporting multiple operational phases. Acting as a mobile sea base, they are part of the infrastructure that supports the deployment of forces and supplies to provide prepositioned equipment and sustainment. 

“This is a great Navy day as we mark the start of construction on the fourth ship in a class of flexible, adaptable ships that will provide our combatant commanders with enhanced capabilities,” said Tim Roberts, strategic and theater sealift program manager for PEO-Ships. “The ESB platform has proven to be a valuable addition to the Navy and Marine Corps battle force.” 

ESBs support aviation mine countermeasure and special operations force missions. In addition to the flight deck, the ESB has a hangar with two aviation operating spots capable of handling MH-53E equivalent helicopters, accommodations, work spaces, and ordnance storage for embarked force, enhanced command, control, communications, computers, and intelligence to support embarked force mission planning and execution and reconfigurable mission deck area to store embarked force equipment to include mine sleds and rigid hull inflatable boats. 

In 2019, the Navy made the decision to commission all ESBs to allow them to conduct a broader and more lethal mission set, compared to original plans for them to operate with a USNS designation. 

ESBs are commanded by a Navy O-6 with a hybrid-manned crew of military personnel and Military Sealift Command civilian mariners. This designation provides combatant commanders greater operational flexibility as to how the platform is employed.  

In addition to ESB 6, NASSCO is under contract for the construction of ESB 7, with an option for ESB 8, as well as the Navy’s John Lewis Class Fleet Replenishment Oilers.

PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii — Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Preble returned June 25 to its homeport of Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam following the ship’s surge deployment to the U.S. 4th Fleet area of operations, the U.S. 3rd Fleet said in a release. 

Preble, along with a detachment from “Easyriders” from Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 37, deployed in March to conduct U.S. Southern Command and Joint Interagency Task Force South’s enhanced counter-narcotics operations missions in the Caribbean Sea and Eastern Pacific Ocean. 

During their deployment, Preble, with their embarked U.S. Coast Guard law enforcement detachment, recovered 100 bales of suspected cocaine totaling an estimated 2,000 kilograms, with an estimated wholesale value of $40 million. 

“The success of this deployment was due to our Sailors and embarked Coast Guardsmen working together daily for a common cause – enhanced counter-narcotics operations,” said Cmdr. Leonardo Giovannelli, Preble’s commanding officer. “We thank our Preble families and friends whose unwavering support made it possible for their loved ones, our Sailors, to succeed at sea and complete our mission.” 

With the deployment conducted in a COVID-19 environment, the primary focus of ship’s leadership was crew safety. 

“We took all available precautions before the start of the deployment,” said Cmdr. Peter Lesaca, Preble’s executive officer. “I credit our Sailors for understanding the gravity of the pandemic, keeping themselves in good health, and taking care of their shipmates to keep the ship safe.” 

Preble joined other 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 counter-drug operations.

MOBILE, Ala. — The U.S. Navy accepted delivery of the future USS Oakland on June 26 during a ceremony at Austal USA in Mobile, the Program Executive Office-Unmanned and Small Combatants (PEO USC) public affairs said in a release. 

Oakland is the 22nd littoral combat ship (LCS) and the 12th of the Independence variant to join the fleet. Its delivery marks the official transfer of the ship from the shipbuilder to the Navy, bringing the service’s inventory up to 300. It is the final milestone prior to its scheduled commissioning in early 2021.  

“This is a great day for the Navy and our country with the delivery of the future USS Oakland,” said LCS program manager Capt. Mike Taylor. “This ship will play an essential role in in carrying out our nation’s future maritime strategy.” 

Four additional Independence-variant ships are under construction at Austal USA: Mobile, Savannah, Canberra and Santa Barbara. Three additional ships are awaiting the start of construction. 

The future USS Oakland is the third Navy ship to honor the long history its namesake city has had with the Navy. The first Oakland was commissioned in 1918 and used to transport cargo. In 1943, the second USS Oakland was commissioned. Though in service for less than seven years, she was key to many anti-aircraft missions in the western Pacific — Marshall Islands, Pagan Island, Guam, Iwo Jima, Rota, Peleliu and Okinawa. After the war, Oakland performed two duty patrols off the coast of China before her decommissioning in 1949. 

The future USS Oakland is the third LCS delivered to the Navy in 2020. The future USS St. Louis was delivered Feb. 6, and the future USS Kansas City delivered Feb. 12. Two additional ships — Minneapolis-St. Paul and Mobile — are planned for delivery this year.

ARABIAN SEA — As of June 25, the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and its escort ship, the guided-missile cruiser USS San Jacinto, have been continuously at sea for 161 days, setting a new record for the U.S. Navy, Carrier Strike Group 10 said in a release. 

Both ships departed their homeport of Norfolk, Virginia, on Jan. 17, for the strike group’s composite training unit exercise (COMPTUEX) and follow-on deployment to the U.S. 6th and 5th Fleet areas of operation.  

Although Naval History and Heritage Command does not track continuous days underway for naval vessels, it has two modern documented days-at-sea records, both of which are now broken.  

In February 2002, the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt operated for 160 days straight in support of post-9/11 response. And it was again the Ike that held the record of 152 straight days underway during the Iran hostage crisis in 1980. 

“Our ships remain undeterred in the face of adversity and this monumental feat will only make our crews and the Navy stronger,” said Capt. Kyle Higgins, the Ike’s commanding officer. “I’m so proud of the young men and women I see on the deck plates each and every day. Their dedication to the mission is what makes our Navy the greatest fighting force the world has ever seen.” 

Due to the novel coronavirus, Ike and its accompanying strike group have remained at sea to minimize the crews’ exposure to COVID-19.  

“In March, I suspended liberty port visits to reduce the chance of spreading and contracting the virus across the fleet,” said Vice Adm. Jim Malloy, commander of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, U.S. 5th Fleet, and Combined Maritime.  “Throughout this pandemic, maintaining the fleet’s warfighting readiness while ensuring the safety and well-being of our Sailors has been my top priority.” 

Both the Ike and the San Jacinto’s crews have maintained mission readiness and effectiveness despite restrictions related to COVID-19. 

“San Jacinto and Eisenhower have proven their ability to remain a flexible, adaptable and persistent force while staying on station in the Arabian Sea,” said Capt. Edward Crossman, commanding officer of the San Jacinto. “Both crews have been resupplying and refueling, performing repairs and upkeep, and maintaining overall readiness while continuously at sea. The two ships have spent the last five months conducting operations and exercises with foreign partners, other U.S. service branches, and U.S Navy ships in the region.” 

The ships also participated in a “rest and reset” period at sea, coming off-station for a short period of time to allow the crew to relax and reenergize with morale events such as swim calls and steel beach picnics.  

While all deployments bring challenges, especially ones of record-breaking duration, they also bond Sailors together through shared memories that last a lifetime. 

“We’ve made it this far and I’m incredibly proud of the crew for all their hard work,” Crossman said. “The fact of the matter is our work isn’t done. We aren’t headed home yet, and we’re on path to blow the previous record out of the water. The San Jacinto Gunslingers are the most motivated, professional Sailors I have ever served with.” 

The Ike and San Jacinto remain at sea, deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operation in support of naval operations to ensure maritime stability and security in the Central Region, connecting the Mediterranean and Pacific through the Western Indian Ocean and three critical chokepoints for the free flow of global commerce. 

“Ike and San Jacinto, along with the rest of the Ike CSG, have continued to stand the watch in this critical region of the world, conducting routine operations and maintaining constant readiness and I couldn’t be prouder,” Malloy said. 

An interesting fact, the first USS San Jacinto was also underway during a yellow fever epidemic during the Civil War. On May 5, 1862, under the orders of President Lincoln, that San Jacinto and other Union warships bombarded Sewell’s Point, Virginia. On August 1, 1862, it was reported that yellow fever had broken out on the ship, so San Jacinto sailed north, laid anchor and quarantined for four months.

ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Navy base in Diego Garcia, an outpost in the Chagos archipelago in the Indian Ocean, would be welcome to remain if Mauritius succeeds in its sovereignty claim over the archipelago, currently known as the British Indian Ocean Territories (BIOT), a Mauritian official said. 

Diego Garcia, located in the middle of the Indian Ocean, hosts an air and naval base that have been strategically important to U.S. military operations in the Indian Ocean, the Persian Gulf and Southwest Asia since the mid-1970s. 

The Chagos archipelago in which Diego Garcia is located has been claimed by the United Kingdom, which in 1965 moved the Chagocian population from the islands to Mauritius and the Seychelles. Mauritius, an island group to the southwest between the Chagos and Madagascar, disputes the sovereignty over the Chagos by the U.K. The British have claimed the islands since 1814.    

Speaking in a June 24 online discussion sponsored by Arlington, Virginia-based think tank CNA, Ambassador Jagdish Koonjul, the permanent representative of Mauritius to the United Nations, said the UN’s International Court of Justice (ICJ) declared in February 2019 that the Chagos Archipelago “is and always has been an integral part of Mauritius.”  

Last May, the UN General Assembly voted 116-6 in favor of the Chagos being returned to Mauritius. The ICJ gave the British until last November to withdraw, which did not occur.  

The British partitioned the Chagos from Mauritius in 1965 when the U.K. purchased the Chagos for 3 million pounds. Mauritius claimed the separation was forced in order for Mauritius to gain its independence from Britain, finalized in 1968. 

The U.S. has a lease on the facilities there until 2036. Koonjul said Mauritius would propose a 99-year lease for the U.S. to retain the facility and would even allow the British to maintain facilities there if such an agreement were reached. But he said the current impasse is unsustainable. 

As part of an agreement, Mauritius would insist that any Chagocians wishing to re-locate back to the Chagos be allowed to do so, excluding Diego Garcia, but that Mauritians and Chagocians be allowed to seek employment on Diego Garcia.  

Koonjul noted that Mauritius favors the stability that the U.S. base brings to the Indian Ocean and that, as a close partner of India, it favors the increasingly close defense relationship of the United States with India. 

“Mauritius stands ready to be a reliable partner to the United States,” Koonjul said. 

Also speaking in the discussion was Mark Rosen, senior vice president and general counsel for CNA, who said that Diego Garcia was “already developed” and “very precious from a logistics standpoint” and that its isolation from civilian populations gave it “more operational freedom.”   

Rosen said the United Kingdom’s position has substantially weakened” in light of the ICJ decision and UN resolution and that the “political optics” for Britain were “not good” in an era of anti-colonialism. 

He said that time is not on the side of the United States and the U.K. and that the U.S. needs to be proactive in seizing the opportunity to resolve the impasse. 

Koonjul said that Mauritius has “no objection whatsoever to the U.S. base in Diego Garcia. … The importance of the base cannot be underestimated.” 

He stressed the endurance of an agreement between the U.S. and Mauritius in that all Mauritian political parties support the base in Diego Garcia. 

By an earlier agreement, the United States is not allowed to base nuclear weapons in Diego Garcia, although nuclear-armed or nuclear-powered ships are allowed in and out of the port facilities.

NAVAL AIR STATION NORTH ISLAND, Calif. — Bell Textron Inc. and Boeing delivered the first CMV-22B Osprey for fleet operations to the U.S. Navy on June 22. The CMV-22B is assigned to Fleet Logistics Multi-Mission Squadron (VRM) 30 at Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego. 

“We are thrilled to bring the Osprey’s capabilities as a warfighting enabler and its ability to provide time-sensitive logistics to the men and women deployed around the world in support of U.S. Navy operations,” said Kurt Fuller, Bell V-22 vice president and Bell Boeing program director. 

This aircraft is the third overall delivery to the Navy. Bell Boeing delivered the first CMV-22B at Naval Air Station Patuxent River in February for developmental testing, followed by a second in May. The Navy-variant V-22 will take over the carrier onboard delivery mission, replacing the C-2A Greyhound. 

“This first fleet delivery marks a new chapter of the V-22 tilt-rotor program providing enhanced capabilities and increased flexibility to the U.S. Navy as they conduct important operational missions around the globe,” said Shane Openshaw, Boeing vice president of tilt-rotor programs and deputy director of the Bell Boeing team. 

The CMV-22B and C-2A Greyhound conducted a symbolic passing of the torch flight in April. 

“The CMV-22B will be a game-changing enabler to the high-end fight supporting the sustainment of combat lethality to the carrier strike group,” said Navy Capt. Dewon Chaney, commodore, Fleet Logistics Multi-Mission Wing. “The multi-mission capabilities of the CMV-22B, already recognized, will be realized in Naval aviation’s air wing of the future. The arrival of this aircraft is the first of many steps to that becoming reality.” 

The CMV-22B carries up to 6,000 pounds of cargo and combines the vertical takeoff, hover and landing (VTOL) qualities of a helicopter with the long-range, fuel efficiency and speed characteristics of a turboprop aircraft. 

Bell Boeing designed the Navy variant to have the expanded range needed for fleet operations. Two additional 60-gallon tanks and redesigned forward sponson tanks can cover more than 1,150 nautical miles. 

The CMV-22B also can provide roll-on/roll-off delivery of the F135 engine power module for the F-35 Lightning II strike fighter.