OKINAWA,
Japan — The amphibious assault ship USS Wasp (LHD 1) departed U.S. 7th Fleet
area of operations as part of a scheduled homeport shift on Sept. 4, the ship’s
public affairs office said in a release.

Wasp,
which replaced USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6) in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of
operations in January 2018, operated with U.S. Marine Corps forces from the III
Marine Expeditionary Force and helped expand the relationships the U.S.
military maintains with allies and partners in the region.

“The
performance by the Wasp crew has quite simply been superb,” said Rear Adm. Fred
Kacher, who is commander of Expeditionary Strike Group 7.

“Over the
last two years, no ship in the Navy has been asked to do more than USS Wasp,
and the ship delivered in every way. The officers and crew rose to every
challenge, and we could not have asked for a better flagship to operate in the
most important and dynamic area in the world.”

As part of
the U.S. 7th Fleet’s forward deployed naval forces in Japan, Wasp made history
as the first U.S. Navy ship to deploy with the the F-35B Lightning II strike fighter,
which began operating onboard with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit in March 2018.

“It has
been a profound honor for Wasp and her crew to serve 7th Fleet and its
ancillary commands during this time,” said Wasp’s commanding officer, Capt.
Gregory Baker. “Our Sailors have embraced the experiences and opportunities
available in this part of the world and are more operationally prepared to
continue supporting and executing the missions we are presented with. I
couldn’t have asked for a more dedicated or capable crew.”

President Trump
visited the ship and crew during his tour of Japan, becoming the first U.S.
president to visit the ship, and he extended accolades to the crew for their
accomplishments. Wasp participated in exercise Balikatan with the Philippine
military and exercise Talisman Sabre with the Australian Defence Force and
additional forces from Japan, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The
ship also engaged in partnership missions designed to enhance interoperability
with numerous partners and allies supporting security and stability in the
Indo-Pacific region.

“What our
Wasp Sailors have accomplished here over almost two years, given the
operational tempo, and the nature of our multipronged mission, is overwhelming,
and it’s difficult not to constantly shine with pride,” said Wasp Command
Master Chief Kevin Guy, who also noted that more than half the ship’s company
had been geo-bachelors during the ship’s tenure in Japan.

“When you
consider that we have a large number of Sailors thousands of miles away from
their families and friends — their level of dedication under these
circumstances truly exemplifies the Navy core values of honor, courage and commitment.”

The Navy announced earlier this year that Wasp will be replaced by the amphibious assault ship USS America (LHA 6), which will be accompanied by dock landing ship USS New Orleans (LPD 18). USS America is scheduled to become part of the U.S. 7th Fleet forward-deployed naval forces in Sasebo, Japan, later this year.

The 7th Fleet spans more than 124 million square kilometers, stretching from the international date line to the India/Pakistan border, and form the Kuril Islands in the north to the Antarctic in the south. Encompassing 36 maritime countries, about 50 percent of the world’s population also falls within its area of responsibility.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — In its effort to spread innovation and procurement
agility across the workforce, the U.S. Navy has created regional “tech bridges”
in five areas of the country that will serve as “combustion chambers” of ideas
and encourage collaboration among stakeholders.

The tech bridges, with support from the Office of Naval
Research and the Navy’s Systems Commands, will partner with start-ups,
academia, nonprofits, government entities, small businesses and large
corporations to share ideas, experiences and best practices that can make the
Navy and U.S. Marine Corps faster and more agile at developing and acquiring
problem-solving technologies, according to the Naval Expeditions (NavalX)
agility office.

NavalX was created last February by Assistant Secretary of
the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition James Geurts. The central
idea was to create a workforce “super-connector” that could link people with
ideas to individuals and organizations with needs, across all the sea, air and
space domains. Successes, lessons-learned and subject-matter expertise could be
shared servicewide and eventually across the Defense Department.

“Everything from Marines learning how to 3-D print to
writing software to getting folks who don’t normally interact with the military
to learn from each other,” Geurts told reporters during a media roundtable
Sept. 3 at the NavalX’s temporary offices in Virginia.

The first five tech bridges (more are planned) are in Newport,
Rhode Island; Keyport, Washington; San Diego; Orlando; and Crane, Ind. All the
bridges must have a local Navy Department sponsor willing to dedicate funding,
personnel or programming. For example, Newport is home to the Navy War College
as well as a Naval Undersea Warfare Center, said Navy Cmdr. Sam Gray, the tech bridge
director at NavalX. Additionally, the regional bridges must have non-Navy local
or regional partners providing funding or in-kind services and a sustainable
business plan independent of NavalX support after 12 months.

The tech bridges will operate on a “franchise” model, allowing each region to develop their own way to connect to their unique innovation ecosystem. Geurts stressed that the tech bridges will not create platforms or systems. “This is not the place to invent things, this is the place to share knowledge, so others can invent,” he added.

The idea of tech bridges is to create “a gathering spot, kind of a combustion chamber” for innovative ideas that “close that distance” between the end-user, developer and acquiring agency, Geurts said.

NEWPORT
NEWS, Va. — Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Newport News Shipbuilding division
successfully completed the initial sea trials on the newest Virginia-class
submarine, Delaware (SSN 791), the company said in a release.

The
submarine, in the final stages of construction, spent three days at sea proving
all systems, components and compartments. Delaware submerged for the first time
and performed high-speed maneuvers on the surface and underwater.

“Delaware performed well during sea trials, which is a testament to the skill and craftsmanship of the incredible team of shipbuilders who are working to uphold our high standards of quality,” said Dave Bolcar, Newport News’ vice president of submarine construction. “We look forward to continuing our testing program to deliver the submarine to the U.S. Navy later this year.”

The submarine is scheduled to undergo a round of acceptance trials before it is delivered. More than 10,000 shipbuilders from Newport News and teaming partner General Dynamics Electric Boat and thousands of companies across 48 states have participated in Delaware’s construction since the work began in September 2013.

TUCSON,
Ariz. — The U.S. Navy awarded Raytheon Co. a $190 million low-rate initial
production contract for Block 2 versions of the Evolved SeaSparrow Missile, the
company said in a release. ESSM Block 2 missiles feature a new guidance system
with a dual mode active and semi-active radar.

This award
follows the Navy’s decision to shift from development to production on the
enhanced intermediate-range, surface-to-air missile, placing the Block 2
variant on track for initial operating capability next year.

The ESSM
missile is the primary ship self-defense missile aboard Navy aircraft carriers
and large-deck amphibious assault ships. It is an integral component of the
Navy’s layered area and ship self-defense capability for cruisers and
destroyers.

“ESSM
plays a critical role in protecting navy sailors worldwide and our
international partners share our commitment to evolve this missile,” said Mitch
Stevison, Raytheon Strategic and Naval Systems’ vice president.

ESSM is
the foundation of several allied navies’ anti-ship missile defense efforts and
is operational on almost 200 naval platforms worldwide.

The ESSM program is a
cooperative effort managed by a NATO-led consortium made up of 12 nations:
Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Greece, The Netherlands, Norway,
Portugal, Spain, Turkey and the United States.

ARLINGTON, Va. — The Navy has awarded a contract to begin low-rate initial production (LRIP) for the Knifefish Surface Mine Countermeasure Unmanned Undersea Vehicle (UUV), a key mission module for the littoral combat ship’s Mine Countermeasures Mission Package.

Naval Sea Systems Command awarded on Aug. 26 a $44.6 million contract modification to Knifefish prime contractor General Dynamics Mission Systems for LRIP of the UUV. The contract will fund the initial deliveries of the Knifefish that will be used to provide the “initial systems for the Navy to test and operate,” the Defense Department release said.

Earlier on the date of the contract announcement, the Program Executive Officer for Unmanned and Small Combatants (PEO USC) announced that it had granted Milestone C approval to the Knifefish program, which cleared the way for LRIP.

“The Knifefish system is designed for deployment from the littoral combat ship (LCS), vessels of opportunity or from shore to detect and classify buried, bottom and volume mines in high-clutter environments,” the PEO USC release said. “Knifefish is a critical element of the LCS Mine Countermeasure Mission Package and will reduce risk to Navy personnel and equipment.

The following are excerpts from the PEO USC release:

“The Knifefish system, which consists of two unmanned undersea vehicles along with support systems and equipment, uses cutting-edge low-frequency broadband sonar and automated target recognition software technology developed by the Naval Research Laboratory and successfully transitioned to industry. It acts as an off-board sensor while the host ship stays outside the mine field boundaries.

“Knifefish’s common open systems architecture design and modularity allow for platform flexibility and quick reconfiguration of the mission package to respond to evolving and dynamic mission requirements. Planned block upgrades will improve its sensors and automated target recognition software to keep pace with mine threats.

“Formal
developmental testing and an operational assessment were conducted from January
through May 2019 in multiple locations off the coasts of Massachusetts and
Florida. The Knifefish tests involved end-to-end operational mine-hunting
missions against a deployed, simulated target field.

Operations performed by fleet Sailors during developmental testing and operational assessment included mission planning, launching and recovering the system, monitoring the sorties and processing data. The unmanned undersea vehicles were deployed from a support craft in the vessels of opportunity configuration for all test events to provide a characterization of the performance of the entire Knifefish system, including the launch and recovery subsystem.

“A full-rate production decision is expected in fiscal year 2022 after additional testing of LRIP systems. The Navy plans to procure 30 Knifefish systems in all, 24 in support of LCS Mine Countermeasure Mission Packages and an additional six for deployment from vessels of opportunity.”

MOBILE,
Ala. — USNS Puerto Rico successfully completed the first integrated sea trials
for an expeditionary fast transport ship on Aug. 22, the Program Executive
Office Ships said in a release. The ship returned to the Austal USA shipyard
following two days underway in the Gulf of Mexico.

Integrated trials combine builder’s and acceptance trials, allowing for theshipyard to demonstrate to the Navy’s Board of Inspection and Survey the operational capability and mission readiness of all the ship’s systems during a single underway period. During trials, the shipbuilder conducted comprehensive tests to demonstrate the performance of the ship’s major systems.

“The
EPF program continues to be an example of stable and successful serial ship
production,” said Capt. Scot Searles, Strategic and Theater Sealift program
manager, Program Executive Office Ships. “I look forward to seeing EPF 11
deliver in the fall and expand the operational flexibility available to our
combatant commanders.” 

Expeditionary
fast transport ships are noncombatant vessels designed to operate in shallow-draft
ports and waterways, increasing operational flexibility for a wide range of
activities such as maneuver and sustainment, relief operations in small or
damaged ports, flexible logistics support or as the key enabler for rapid
transport. The ships are capable of interfacing with roll-on/roll-off discharge
facilities as well as on/off-loading vehicles such as a fully combat-loaded
Abrams main battle tank.

EPFs
support a variety of missions including the overseas contingency operations, conducting
humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, supporting special operations
forces, and supporting emerging joint sea-basing concepts.

In addition to Puerto Rico,
Austal USA is also currently in production on the future USNS Newport (EPF 12)
and is under contract to build the future USNS Apalachicola (EPF 13) and EPF
14.

SAN DIEGO —
General Dynamics NASSCO, a subsidiary of General Dynamics, was awarded a
contract by the U.S. Navy worth up to $1.6 billion for the construction of the
sixth and seventh ships of the Expeditionary Sea Base (ESB) program as well as
an option for ESB 8, the company said in a release.

“We are
pleased to be building ESB 6 and 7 for our Navy,” said Kevin Graney, president
of General Dynamics NASSCO. “ESBs have proven to be affordable and flexible,
and as the fleet has gained experience with the platform, we have worked with
the Navy and Marines to develop even more capabilities and mission sets.”

The
contract, announced by the Defense Department on Aug. 23, provides $1.08
billion as a fixed-price-incentive modification to a previous contract for the
design and construction of the two ships, with an option for the third that, if
exercised, would bring the total cumulative value to $1.63 billion.

Named
after famous names or places of historical significance to U.S. Marines, ESBs
serve as a flexible platform and a key element in the Navy’s airborne mine
countermeasures mission, with accommodations for up to 250 personnel and a
large helicopter flight deck. The ship’s configuration supports special warfare
and Marine Corps task-organized units.

Work on the two new ships of the ESB program is scheduled to begin in the first quarter of 2020 and will continue to the second quarter of 2023, providing the opportunity to sustain and grow the workforce along San Diego’s working waterfront. NASSCO’s location along the historic San Diego Bay provides shipbuilders and skilled tradespeople with access to the nation’s leading maritime support businesses, and highly trained employees allow NASSCO to build and repair ships in the most efficient manner possible.

In 2011, the Navy awarded NASSCO with a contract to design and build the first two ships in the newly created MLP program, the USNS Montford Point and USNS John Glenn. The program expanded with three more vessels, the USS Lewis B. Puller, USNS Hershel “Woody” Williams and the Miguel Keith, configured as ESBs. Following the delivery of the first four ships to the U.S. Navy, the fifth ship, the Miguel Keith, is scheduled for delivery in the fourth quarter of 2019.

WASHINGTON —
Adm. Michael M. Gilday succeeded Adm. John M. Richardson as the chief of naval
operations in ceremonies Aug. 22 at the Washington Navy Yard.

Navy
Secretary Richard V. Spencer, who presided over the ceremonies, praised Gilday.

“As Adm.
Richardson begins his well-deserved retirement, I know he’s leaving feeling
secure and able to sleep at night because Adm. Mike Gilday is assuming the
tiller as 32nd chief of naval operations,” Spencer said.

“Adm. Gilday
has already played a critical role in restoring readiness, and he is
well-positioned to take over our integrated naval force as we march into the
future. Just look at those shoulders, ladies and gentlemen. There is a mantle
for some heavy weight and gravity.”

“From his
distinguished commands at sea to his cooperation with NATO allies to confront
the great power competition to his innovation of Cyber Command, Adm. Gilday has
demonstrated what an outstanding leader and officer he is,” Spencer added. “His
most recent as director of the Joint Staff has given visibility into the
challenges he will now face. It’s a unique transition in that regard. I am confident
he will attack this responsibility with the urgency that I continually beat on
the drum for the United States Navy. We can achieve our next-generation
integrated naval force we need under his command. Of that I am sure.”

Spencer also
praised the service of Richardson.

“I could not
have asked for a better business partner,” Spencer said. “Wearing the Title 10
hat that I do, that is the highest compliment I can pay John Richardson. He has
done more for this Navy to put us in a ready lethal position than many before.
No effort was too great, no detail too small, as he really did help us navigate
the rocks and shoals to deliver the Navy the nation needs. … He has embraced
emerging technologies, he has pushed this Navy forward on its front feet, to be
faster, quicker to deliver what our Sailors and Marines need.”

Richardson
also praised his successor, saying that Gilday “is a
true cutting-edge warfighter, a surface warrior who, by virtue of his
leadership at 10th Fleet, fully appreciates the challenges we face in the cyberwarfare
arena and the increasing pace of competition in new domains. His experience as
the director of the Joint Staff will ensure that the Navy continues to look for
every opportunity to collaborate with other services, allies and partners
around the world. The Navy will be in good hands with Adm. Gilday at the helm.”

Gilday
spoke briefly and praised the direction of the Navy set under Richardson.

“I believe our Navy’s strategic direction is rock solid and that our Navy is in great shape,” he said. “We are recruiting and retaining a high-quality force, we are providing well-trained combat-ready forces forward, around the globe. We are modernizing our Navy at a scope and pace not seen in decades. I can say all that, in large part, due to the leadership of our 31st CNO.”

As the Navy’s most senior officer, Gilday also is a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, where he “acts as an adviser to the President of the United States, the National Security Council, the Homeland Security Council and the Secretary of Defense,” an Aug. 22 Navy release said. “Under direction of the secretary of the Navy, the CNO is responsible for the command, utilization of resources, and operating efficiency of naval forces and shore activities assigned by the secretary.”

ARLINGTON,
Va. — The Raytheon Co. is ready to demonstrate a single-sortie mine
neutralization concept using systems it developed or is developing. The
technology will be demonstrated at Newport, Rhode Island, during the last week
of August at ANTX (Advanced Naval Technology Exercise) 2019.

The Raytheon plan
is to demonstrate “detect to engage” sea mines using unmanned systems, Andy
Wilde, director of strategy and business development for Raytheon Undersea, said
in an Aug. 15 interview with Seapower.

Wilde said that
unmanned systems will “revolutionize” mine countermeasures (MCM) that currently
take weeks or months to clear minefields and put minesweepers at risk. The Navy
is developing an MCM mission package for the littoral combat ship (LCS) that
will rely largely on unmanned systems.

Raytheon will
demonstrate its AQS-20C towed sonar, now in production, pulled through the
water by a riverine craft acting as a surrogate for the Textron-built MCM
unmanned surface vehicle (MCMUSV) that will be a component of the MCM mission
package for the LCS.

Under the concept,
an MCMUSV is launched from an LCS and deploys the AQS-20C. Once a possible sea
mine is detected by the AQS-20C’s synthetic aperture sonar, a Barracuda
expendable semi-autonomous mine neutralization unmanned undersea vehicle is —
on the same pass — launched into the water from a A-size sonobuoy launcher on
the MCMUSV.

The Barracuda deploys
a float that serves as an RF datalink to the CUSV and an acoustic data link to
the Barracuda. The tactical mission plan is downloaded from the LCS to the
Barracuda via the CUSV. The Barracuda starts a search track and, once it
acquires a mine, it maintains position at the mine. The operator on the LCS
confirms the object is s mine and commands the Barracuda to detonate the mine
with a charge. The MCMUSV would then continue its mission on its planned track.

Raytheon will
have a time slot during ANTX 2019 in Narragansett Bay to run its MCM system
through several geometric patterns, Wilde said.

He said his
company is looking to take advantage of artificial and machine learning to
optimize the performance of its systems.

He also said
the MCM mission concept could be expanded to other missions, including by use
of a B-size sonobuoy launcher with other payloads.

The AQS-20C sonar is now in
production. Raytheon currently is developing the Engineering Development Models
of the Barracuda and recently completed the Navy’s Preliminary Design Review.

ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Navy has issued a draft Request for Proposals for its planned Large Unmanned Surface Vessel (LUSV), one of the vessels planned for its future surface fleet.

“The LUSV will be a
high-endurance, reconfigurable ship able to accommodate various payloads for
unmanned missions to augment the Navy’s manned surface force, the Aug. 9
announcement on the FedBizOps website said.

“With a large payload
capacity, the LUSV will be designed to conduct a variety of warfare operations
independently or in conjunction with manned surface combatants. The LUSV will
be capable of semi-autonomous or fully autonomous operation, with operators
in-the-loop (controlling remotely) or on-the-loop (enabled through autonomy).”

Naval Sea Systems
Command (NAVSEA) intends to award multiple contracts for conceptual designs
from the defense industry. A final RFP is to be issued in the fourth quarter
fiscal 2019. 

On July 16, the Navy issued an RFP for the Medium Unmanned Surface Vehicle (MUSV), another vessel planned to be part of its future fleet concept. That RFP calls for “a pier-launched, self-deploying modular, open architecture, surface vessel capable of autonomous safe navigation and mission execution.”

The Navy is expected to field the LUSV and MUSV as adjuncts to its future surface fleet that will include the future surface combatant and the new FFG(X) guided-missile frigate as well as Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers and the Independence- and Freedom-class littoral combat ships.