ARLINGTON, Va. — KMS Solutions. LLC was awarded a cyber security services contract by the U.S. Navy to support the Naval Undersea Warfare Command Code 25 projects including: assessment and authorization; research, development, test and evaluation; environment maintenance; systems security engineering; posture transition support; in-service engineer agent support; and meeting support.

These services are for the development, evaluation, modernization and sustainment of the U.S. Navy tactical and tactical support systems, the company said in an Oct. 29 release. KMS Solutions is a wholly owned subsidiary of Subsystem Technologies.

“KMS Solutions is pleased to provide Code 25 with these services and will bring a wide range of domain knowledge, mission experience, best practices, and next-generation capabilities to the Navy,” said Michael Martino, KMS Solutions vice president. “Through this contract, we will provide Code 25 with proven, successful cybersecurity services.”

Subsystem Technologies CEO Sam Malhotra said, “We are proud to support Code 25 cybersecurity program and look forward to working closely with our government partners to ensure mission success.”

ARLINGTON, Va. — In a keynote speech to attendees of the 2018 Oceans Conference — held Oct. 22-25 in Charleston, South Carolina — Chief of Naval Research Rear Adm. David Hahn discussed the goals of the U.S. Navy’s Task Force Ocean (TFO), a signature program of Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson. TFO is designed to reinvigorate the Navy’s commitment to ocean sciences, advancing its tactical advantage through a better knowledge of the ocean environment and its impact on sensors, weapons and operations.

Hahn, who leads the Office of Naval Research (ONR) and serves as the director of TFO, began his comments by highlighting the critical role of ocean commerce to global prosperity, and the need to provide order and security to that commerce for the good of the nation and the world, according to an Oct. 29 release from ONR.

“Fundamentally, that is the role of your Navy — it’s what we do every day,” Hahn said.

He pointed out, however, that in this era of increasing “great power competition,” the Navy needs to maintain an advantage, and the time to prepare for that is now. Hahn quoted James Forrestal, appointed the first secretary of defense in 1947, who said in a Congressional testimony, “The tempo of modern war has reached the point where this nation will probably never again have the opportunity to arm itself successfully after the start of hostilities.”

That message bolstered the one given at a Tactical Oceanography Symposium held a week earlier at the Undersea Warfighting Development Center in San Diego. Hahn highlighted the importance of furthering ties between the Navy, academia and industry.

“The Navy needs your help,” he told attendees at the three-day symposium, the first in a series designed to highlight Navy ocean science issues. “We need a committed partnership between government, academia and industry to ensure the U.S. remains the world leader in ocean science, especially Navy-relevant science. Our competitors are gaining on us.”

“Our decades-long competitive advantage in the undersea domain is eroding. This is not a Navy problem — it is our nation’s problem,” said Oceanographer of the Navy Rear Adm. John Okon during a presentation at the symposium. “As Task Force Ocean continues to evolve, we must remain focused on advancing ocean science and uniting our nation’s intellectual capital to increase our competitive advantage.”

A recent report prepared by the Consortium for Ocean Leadership, an umbrella organization that includes over 100 public and private ocean research organizations, highlights the mounting pressure on the Navy’s advantage over global competitors.

To accelerate the recovery of that advantage in these critical areas, Hahn announced that ONR will increase research and sponsor an additional 50 graduate students and 50 post-doctorates under TFO, primarily in the areas of physical oceanography and acoustics, in addition to ONR’s ongoing support for academia.

According to Dr. Tom Drake, director of ONR’s Ocean Battlespace Sensing Department, “ONR will revitalize the ‘Scientist-to-Sea’ program, which provides opportunities for selected scientists and engineers to visit submarines and submarine training facilities, undersea warfighting training centers, Navy laboratories and engineering centers to better understand the needs and priorities of the Navy.”

The Navy’s commitment to revitalize its ocean science efforts will have very positive benefits to the national ocean science program, as well as the Navy. “This is a most welcome turn of events for Navy oceanographic research,” said Prof. Arthur Baggeroer, the secretary of the Navy and chief of naval operations Chair for ocean science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

NAVAL AIR SYSTEMS COMMAND, PATUXENT RIVER, Md. — The U.S. Navy awarded Demonstration of Existing Technologies (DET) contracts Oct. 25, valued at approximately $36 million each to L3 Technologies Communications Systems West and Northrop Grumman Corp. Mission Systems in support of the Next Generation Jammer Low Band (NGJ-LB) capability, the Naval Air Systems Command said in an Oct. 25 release.

The Airborne Electronic Attack (AEA) Systems and EA-6B Program Office (PMA-234) headquartered here manages the NGJ-LB program.

NGJ-LB is an external jamming pod that is part of a larger NGJ weapon system that will augment and, ultimately, replace the aging ALQ-99 Tactical Jamming System currently in use on EA-18G Growler aircraft.

“NGJ-LB is a critical piece of the overall NGJ system in that it focuses on the denial, degradation, deception and disruption of our adversaries’ abilities to gain an advantage in that portion of the electromagnetic spectrum,” said Capt. Michael Orr, PMA-234 program manager. “It delivers to the warfighter significant improvements in power, advanced jamming techniques, and jamming effectiveness over the legacy ALQ-99 system.”

Each DET contract has a 20-month period of performance, during which the NGJ-LB team will assess the technological maturity of the industry partners’ existing technologies in order to inform future NGJ-LB capability development, as well as define the NGJ-LB acquisition strategy.

DAHLGREN, Va. — Navy and congressional leaders joined Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division (NSWCDD) personnel to celebrate a centennial of technological innovation that revolutionized surface warfare at a grand finale ceremony here, Oct. 19.

Over the past year of centennial activities — from a concert and picnics to podcasts and a rocket contest — government civilians, defense contractors, and military personnel working at NSWCDD travelled down memory lane leading up to the 100-year mark this month.

“The first shot of the new base was fired from a 7-inch, 45-caliber, tractor-mounted gun, just like the one over there,” said Capt. Godfrey “Gus” Weekes, NSWCDD commanding officer, while pointing to the century-old gun on display.

Since that shot was fired on Oct. 16, 1918, Dahlgren scientists and engineers rose to the occasion time and again to provide the Navy with innovative solutions based on their technical capability to integrate sensors, weapons, and associated weapon and combat systems into surface ships and vehicles.

“The men and women of Dahlgren are dedicated to the mission and have always answered the bell,” Weekes told the audience which included 65 distinguished visitors. “We answered the bell in 1918 and we’re answering the bell today. Just like during the Cold War or the Korean War, we’re up against near peer or peer threats. The need for Dahlgren is never more apparent.”

Today, NSWCDD leads in the research and delivery of technological solutions that enable warfighters to counter emerging threats. The command leverages core naval warfare systems development and integration capabilities in electric weapons such as the electromagnetic railgun and high-energy lasers, mission engineering and analysis, and cyber warfare engineering.

“I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to recognize our workers who have given so much to this institution,” said Weekes, recounting that he has presented scores of certificates recognizing Navy civilians for 30 and 35 plus years of federal service. “I’ve been privileged to recognized employees who were pioneers in GPS, to those who pioneered Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense and the Standard Missile as well as any advanced weaponry which the U.S. Navy is now in the process of realizing or advancing.”

As participants celebrated the division’s impact upon the Navy and nation, a time capsule — 10 105 mm shells surrounding a 16-inch shell — was unveiled and all in attendance had the opportunity to write notes and share their thoughts with future generations.

The writers conveyed how they personally met the challenges of our time and solved them through innovative collaboration, placing their letters inside the capsule that will be displayed on base. Dahlgren personnel can write notes to be placed inside the capsule until the end of 2018 when it will be sealed and opened on Oct. 16, 2068, at the command’s 150th anniversary.

“Think about the contributions Dahlgren has made over the past 100 years,” said John Fiore, NSWCDD technical director. “We have over 500 patents to our name thanks to the men and women here who have done that work. When the Navy struggles with challenges, it is often that they come to Dahlgren to ask what they should be doing, what they should be thinking about, what we should be working on. Our innovations that have become programs of record are changing the face of warfare systems today.”

Since June 1918, when U.S. President Woodrow Wilson signed a proclamation to acquire nearly one thousand acres to create the original ordnance proving ground during World War I, through today, Dahlgren has served as the center for the scientific research and development that led to hundreds of patents, innovations, and scientific breakthroughs for the U.S. Navy. Dahlgren, today, hosts nine different commands with an expansive array of scientific research and development, and is one of the hubs of naval weapons and weapon system development nationwide.

“There is no technical director who does not appreciate what has happened in the past but let’s think about where we are headed in the future — the kinds of systems and solutions the Navy needs in the future,” said Fiore, speaking to a crowd of more than 700 people — government employees, military personnel, defense contractors and visitors, including former NSWCDD technical directors and commanding officers.

“As I thought about that, I thought about our values. Values that we hold dear at Dahlgren — integrity, courage, imagination, esprit de corps, and urgency. We here overcome change, and we overcome the things we need to do to in order to make a difference in warfare systems throughout the Navy, and that takes courage. The value that I’m the proudest about is urgency, and I think Dahlgren exemplifies that. We’ve been talking urgency and that’s been a core value of Dahlgren for years.

“Recently, I’ve had the privilege of hearing the secretary of the Navy talk. He signs his name, ‘urgently, Richard Spencer’ — understanding that we live in a time when what we do is urgent. If we do not do what we do in developing warfare systems, we’re not enabling our Sailors and Marines to go out and do their mission effectively and come home safe to their families and loved ones — that’s critical.”

Dahlgren’s enduring success in research, development, test, and evaluation stems from its ability to handle complex mathematics and engineering associated with ballistic weapons and projectiles. Moreover, the command’s civilian scientists and engineers always had the capability to test their ideas in collaboration with military personnel on base to produce proven technological solutions.

“This is an installation where a great deal of innovation and collaboration take place,” said Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., describing Dahlgren’s development of technologies revolutionizing military capabilities over the past 100 years. “We’re going to need that same level of collaboration, cutting edge experimentation as we move forward for the next 100 years, not only to protect our country but to make sure that we’re able to match the innovation and have the kind of protections that will keep this nation strong, safe and free. So, for all you’ve done for the last 100 years, I say thank you.”

Warner cited Dahlgren’s role in the development of long guns for World War II followed by the development of Naval warfare systems, the super computer (Naval Ordnance Research Calculator) during the 1950s, the Naval Space Surveillance Center in the wake of Sputnik, GPS technology, and technological advancements impacting ballistic missile systems.

“How are we going to do more with the resources that we have than our adversaries do with the resources that they have?” U.S. Rep. Rob Wittman, R-Va., asked the audience. “How are we going to do more with our unit of currency than they do with their unit of currency?”

The congressman — focusing on technological solutions required to meet complex threats to U.S. national security — answered his questions.

“We’re not going to have the ability to out-resource people anymore,” said Wittman. “Today, it’s about the creation and innovation that goes into doing more with what we have than anybody around the world. We have done that, we can do that, and we will continue to do that to make sure that our nation’s Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Army and indeed our Coast Guard, continue to be the greatest the world has ever known because we have the best and brightest men and women serving our nation both in uniform and here at the base in making sure that we have what we need to defend our nation’s interest. And you will do it better than anybody else in more creative and innovative ways than anybody else, that’s what has made Dahlgren great in the first 100 years and that’s what will make it great in the next century.”

At one point in the ceremony, Virginia State Sen. Richard Stuart and Virginia Delegate Margaret Ransone read and presented the Virginia General Assembly Resolution proclaiming Oct. 16 as Dahlgren Day.

“NSWC Dahlgren Division is the largest employer in central Virginia and the Northern Neck with over 8,000 civilian and military and contract personnel,” said Stuart. “The workforce — composed of 14 counties in Virginia and five counties in Maryland — contributes more than $6.5 billion to the local economy. That is incredible to a boy who grew up in the small town of Montross and understands how important Dahlgren is to this entire region. For your economic activity, for your amazing technological advancements, and for your invaluable contributions to modern warfare systems, we thank you.”

As the U.S. Navy band played “Stars and Stripes Forever” to conclude the ceremony, people from the audience began making their way up for a closer look at the time capsule. They took pictures and in response to the invitation to share their thoughts with future generations — wrote letters to be placed in the capsule.

OLDMELDRUM, Scotland — JFD, part of James Fisher and Sons plc, has successfully completed the sea trials of the deep search and rescue vehicle (DSRV) for the first of two third-generation submarine rescue systems being delivered to the Indian Navy, the company announced in an Oct. 22 release.

The Deep Search and Rescue Vehicle (DSRV) carried out underwater mating with a bottomed submarine at a depth of over 300 feet, followed by a target mating and hatch opening at 45 degrees. On successful mating with the bottomed submarine, JFD and the Indian Navy then carried out a safe transfer of personnel from the submarine to the DSRV.

The sea trials have proven the newly inducted DSRV’s ability to undertake rescue operations from a disabled submarine at sea, providing the Indian Navy with a critical submarine rescue capability. In addition to the mating and transfer of personnel exercises, the DSRV conducted a record dive which represents the deepest submergence by a “manned vessel” in Indian waters, as well as remotely operated vehicle operations at a depth of over 750 meters and side-scan sonar operations at a depth of over 650 meters, all of which represent significant ‘firsts’ for the Indian Navy.

In a statement on social media, the Indian Navy said it now “joins a select league of nations with the capability to search, locate and provide rescue to distressed submarines by induction of our first DSRV and associated kit, which in a fly away configuration can be rapidly mobilized. The DSRV can be mobilized from the naval base at Mumbai to the nearest mounting port by air, land or sea, ready to provide rapid rescue to the submarine in distress.”

Having already successfully completed harbor trials earlier this year, the DSRV has now completed a full launch deployment, dive and recovery in open sea as well as an underwater mating exercise, replicating the operating conditions of a real submarine rescue operation. The completion of open sea trials represents a significant milestone in the ongoing delivery and acceptance of the 3rd Generation Submarine Rescue System, which is grounded in a rigorous trials and testing process that ensures the highest safety standards are upheld.

“JFD is pleased to have successfully completed a period of rigorous sea trials, working in close partnership with the Indian Navy who provided the commercial mothership and associated trials consort vessels,” said Ben Sharples, India DSRV project director. “The Indian Navy west coast-based rescue team, who will operate the system when in service, were active participants throughout this phase of the trials, ensuring they are equipped with the skills and expertise to conduct safe and efficient submarine rescue operations, should the need ever arise.

“The sea trials of the DSRV has ushered in a niche capability into the Indian Navy,” he said. “The DSRV, which is operated by a crew of three, can rescue 14 personnel from a disabled submarine at one time. These sea trials have proven the newly inducted DSRV’s ability to undertake rescue operations from disabled submarines at sea and has provided the Indian Navy with a critical capability.”

JFD is delivering two complete third-generation submarine rescue systems, including launch and recovery systems equipment, Transfer Under Pressure systems, logistics and support equipment, and a 25-year all-inclusive annual maintenance contract.

WASHINGTON — Adm. Philip S. Davidson, commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM), became the Navy’s newest “Old Salt” during an award presentation Oct. 22 at the Pentagon, the Navy News Service reported.

The “Old Salt” award is given to the active-duty officer who has held the Surface Warfare Officer (SWO) qualification for the longest amount of time.

“It is a tremendous honor to receive this award. I have been fortunate to be part of this organization for more than 35 years, serving alongside a number of amazing men and women. This award honors them, those who have come before, and those still yet to serve,” said Davidson, who became the 20th recipient of the award, which is sponsored by the Surface Navy Association (SNA).

A 1982 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, Davidson is the 25th commander of USINDOPACOM, America’s oldest and largest military combatant command located in Hawaii. As a surface warfare officer, he has deployed across the globe in frigates, destroyers, cruisers and aircraft carriers.

Davidson received the award from Adm. Kurt W. Tidd, commander of the U.S. Southern Command.

Initiated in 1988, the “Old Salt” award is accompanied by a bronze statue depicting a naval officer on the pitching deck of a ship. The statue is cast from metal salvaged from historic U.S. naval ships, most notably the battleship USS Maine, which exploded and sank in Havana Harbor in 1898, precipitating the Spanish-American War.

Holding the award since 2015, Tidd said, “From its very earliest days, our Navy has been before all else a profession of Sailors — that closely knit team of men and women who have made it their life’s work to ‘go down to the sea in ships.’ It’s been an honor and a privilege to play a small part in the history of this organization and to have held the title of ‘Old Salt.’ As I pass this distinction on to Adm. Davidson, I also pass along my very best wishes to him, our Navy’s newest ‘Old Salt’.”

“Old Salts” have their names engraved on brass plates attached to the base of the “Old Salt” statue. The statue is then held in the custody of the current “Old Salt” during the recipient’s active duty tenure. The “Old Salt” trophy may be kept in possession of the recipient or displayed by the command to which the Old Salt is assigned.

The issuance of the Old Salt Award is a tribute to the Navy’s customs and traditions which call the respected, experienced, knowledgeable and senior surface warfare officer with the designation as “old salt.”

At the ceremony, Davidson and Tidd took a photo with Taylor Randall, the youngest SWO in the room, who received her service warfare qualification in 2016.

Upon Davidson’s retirement, the statue will be passed on to the next officer, who will be determined by a search of records, a recommendation by director of surface warfare, and approval by the Board of the SNA, which is a professional organization composed of both military and civilian members dedicated to enhance awareness and support of the U.S. Navy and the surface forces.

The Surface Warfare director of the Department of the Navy determines which officers meet the award criteria which include being in continuous active duty and surface warfare qualification letters.

PATUXENT RIVER, Md. — The U.S. Navy commissioned its first Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) test and evaluation squadron during a ceremony Oct. 18 at Naval Air Station Patuxent River’s Webster Outlying Field.

The new unit, Air Test and Evaluation Squadron (UX) 24, flies more than 23 fixed- and rotary-wing UASs including the MQ-8 Fire Scout, RQ-20 Puma, RQ-21 Blackjack, RQ-26 Aerostar and a number of commercial systems.

During the ceremony, Cmdr. Matthew Densing officially assumed leadership of UX-24.

“This squadron centralizes the Navy’s technical excellence in unmanned aviation,” said Densing. “As the Navy continues to require the broad range of capability offered by UAS, UX-24 will always challenge the status quo.”

In April, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson approved establishment of UX-24 to provide research, development, test and evaluation support for Navy and Marine Corps UAS as growth in the field required establishment of a command dedicated solely to that mission. The ceremony marked the squadron’s official transition from what was formerly known as NAWCAD’s UAS Test Directorate.

Densing previously oversaw the former UAS Test Directorate. Under his leadership, the directorate executed more than 2,200 flight hours and 2,000 ground test hours in support of UAS developmental test.

MOBILE, Ala. — The U.S. Navy has awarded Austal an undefinitized contract action (UCA), valued at $57.8 million, to fund the acquisition of long lead-time material (LLTM) and production engineering associated with the construction of a 103-meter expeditionary fast transport (EPF) to be designated EPF 13, the company said in an Oct. 18 release.

Austal was awarded the initial contract to design and build the first 103-meter EPF in November 2008. Since then, nine Spearhead-class EPFs have been delivered and are serving as an affordable solution to fulfilling the Military Sealift Command’s requirements worldwide. Three more EPFs are under construction.

Long lead-time material for the additional vessel will include diesel engines, water jets and reduction gears.

ARLINGTON, Va. — The Navy issued the Next Generation Enterprise Network Re-Complete (NGEN-R) Service Management, Integration and Transport (SMIT) request for proposals (RfP) on Oct. 18, the Navy’s Program Executive Office-Enterprise Information Systems said in a release. Responses are due to the Navy on Jan. 10.

“Today’s successful release of the NGEN-R SMIT RFP is a major achievement in implementing the Navy’s IT [information technology] acquisition strategy to segment network services for the Navy Marine Corps Intranet and the Marine Corps Enterprise Network into multiple contracts,” said Capt. Ben McNeal, Naval Enterprise Networks program manager. “Separating IT services into multiple contract segments makes management, financial and competitive sense for the Navy.”

NGEN-R is the follow-on procurement to the current NGEN and the Outside of the Continental United States (OCONUS) Navy Enterprise Network (ONE-Net) contracts. These contracts provide IT and support services to the Navy Marine Corps Intranet (NMCI), the Marine Corps Enterprise Network (MCEN) and the ONE-Net. The networks support CONUS and OCONUS Navy and Marine Corps users.

NGEN-R will provide IT and support services to NMCI, MCEN, and ONE-Net.

SMIT is one of two NGEN-R contracts. The SMIT contract will provide network services, including print services, service integration, software core build services, service desk and computer network defense.

The RFP for the End User Hardware (EUHW) contract, which provides end user hardware-as-a-service and hardware for purchase, was issued on Sept. 17, 2018. Proposals for the EUHW RFP are due Nov. 19.

ARLINGTON, Va. — The Navy will christen two new attack submarines during ceremonies Oct. 20, the Department of Defense announced. The future USS Vermont (SSN 792) will be christened at General Dynamics Electric Boat in Groton, Connecticut. The future USS Delaware (SSN 791) will be christened at Newport News Shipbuilding, a division of Huntington Ingalls Industries, in Newport News, Virginia.

The principal speaker for the Vermont christening will be Vermont Gov. Phil Scott. Gloria Valdez, former deputy assistant secretary of the Navy (Ships), will serve as the ship’s sponsor. In a time-honored Navy tradition, she will christen the ship by breaking a bottle of sparkling wine across the bow and state, “In the name of the United States, I christen thee.”

For the Delaware ceremony, the principal speaker will be U.S. Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del. Dr. Jill Biden, former second lady of the United States, will serve as the ship’s sponsor.

“The future USS Vermont honors the contributions and support that the state of Vermont has given to our Navy and Marine Corps team throughout the years,” said Navy Secretary Richard V. Spencer. “For decades to come, this boat and the Sailors who will serve on it will stand as a tribute to the patriotic people of Vermont and a testament to the value of the partnership between the Department of the Navy and our industry teammates.”

The future USS Vermont is the third U.S. Navy ship to bear the name of the “Green Mountain State.” The future USS Vermont is the 19th Virginia-class attack submarine and the first of 10 Virginia-class Block IV submarines. The ship’s construction began in May 2014 and it will deliver in the fall of 2019. Vermont will provide the Navy with the capabilities required to maintain the nation’s undersea superiority well into the 21st century.

The future USS Delaware is the seventh ship to bear the name of “The First State.” The future USS Delaware is the 18th Virginia-class attack submarine and the eighth and final Virginia-class Block III submarine. The ship’s construction began in September 2013 and will deliver in 2019.

“Today’s christening marks an important milestone in the life of the future USS Delaware, moving the submarine from a mere hull number to a boat with a name and spirit,” said Spencer. “This submarine honors the contributions and support the state of Delaware has given to our military and will stand as a testament to the increased capabilities made possible through a true partnership between the Department of the Navy and our industry teammates.”