ARLINGTON Va. — The Navy’s “Air Boss” said fifth-generation strike fighters are redefining the concept of full mission capability and changing the way a four-plane division operates in distributed maritime operations.  

Vice Adm. Kenneth Whitesell, commander, Naval Air Forces and commander, Naval Air Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet (the Air Boss), addressed the concept while speaking July 13 at a naval aviation seminar hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies and the U.S. Naval Institute and sponsored by HII. 

Responding to a question from moderator Ward Carroll about the full-mission-capable rates of Navy F-35Cs during the 2021 deployment on board USS Carl Vinson, Whitesell said taking a “30,000-foot view of the way the [carrier] air wing is going to be employed is going to be completely different.”  

“The air wing’s not going to be employed the same way [as before],” Whitesell said. “The F-35 is the perfect exemplar of that. The way we employ that platform. … There is no defensive and offensive combat spread [where] you break out into some of the traditional missions that we would have done five or 10 years ago. Employing the Joint Strike Fighter as they employed it as a [four-plane] division [was] definitely more spread out. The way information is shared amongst the platforms makes up for any deficits that an individual aircraft may have.  

“The way we think of mission capability and full mission capability — we have to think about it in a distributed and in this case in a full division or greater employment mode through Distributed Maritime Ops,” the admiral said. “Fitting into the bigger vision of Distributed Maritime Ops, a single platform can have degradations, but because of the information sharing between the platforms, we have to think about how we’re going to define full mission capability, not platform-specific, but truly mission specific. It’s a different way of looking at things.”   

ARLINGTON, Va. — As the U.S. Navy makes a huge investment in upgrading and modernizing its four public shipyards, one company is proposing ideas to move shipyard processes from the Industrial Age to the Digital Age using digital information technology.  

The Navy is investing more than $20 billion over 20 years to modernize its shipyards under the Shipyard Infrastructure Optimization Plan, or SIOP. Much of the effort involves modernizing century-old dry docks and other heavy infrastructure. 

Patrick Fitzgerald, senior vice president for Navy Missions of Sev1Tech, is a former Naval Information Warfare Center Atlantic Enterprise Systems Department Head and a manager with a long background in information technology. He told Seapower his company is well positioned to contribute to the SIOP the digital transformation of the Industrial-Age processes of Navy shipyards and to “generate a really significant return on investment” and enable the shipyards to “get the ships out to the fleet when needed and fully ready to perform their mission.” 

Fitzgerald said the SIOP is a “once-in-a-century thing that our country needs to safeguard itself. “Unfortunately, a lot of the federal government has not moved to the information age; it’s still very Industrial Age processing.” 

Among the ideas Sev1Tech is floating is the use of augmented reality or virtual reality in training the shipyard workers. Fitzgerald said that technology makes for “much more effective training programs that improve knowledge retention.”  

The workers “make fewer errors when they actually perform the maintenance. They can verify that a part is being installed in the correct space, [which] will help eliminate re-work for a variety of tasks.” 

He also said applying data analytics would result in better parts-demand forecasting and help minimize issues with the global supply chain. Data analytics also would improve auditability, lower the warehousing complexity and costs and reduce or eliminate the time a ship waits for a part to arrive. 

Digital twin modeling of the actual layout of the shipyard facilities as they evolve over time can improve shipyard processes. 

“One we get that initial model set, you can start doing simulations on that for the evolving needs and the evolving capabilities,” Fitzgerald said. “It really optimized the layout for the workflow.” 

Use of drones is one way to save time and improve productivity, he said. 

“The walking that the folks at the four public shipyards do every day is absolutely insane,” Fitzgerald said. “At the end of the day you have to leave the security to get a part and then come back. That’s a lot of lost labor time not directly serving the mission and helping us get that ship out on time. Having the networks in place where a person working on a ship realizes they needed a part that they didn’t expect they needed — if it’s a lightweight part — a drone could potentially fly out a five-pound package to the edge of the ship so they don’t have to walk all the way across the base to get it from a warehouse.” 

Fitzgerald pointed out that the Navy owns the airspace over its shipyards and therefore could set the policy of drome operations within the yard.  

“We could save hours of an employee’s time every day walking back and forth to get parts or checklists,” he said. “That’s massive for what it could mean to getting a ship out of the shipyard on time and back to the fleet where it needs to be.”  

He also advocates leveraging 5G and other wireless communications and use of tablets and other support devices. 

With a tablet that can go classified when [a worker goes] into a classified space — and given access to the data and drawings they need dynamically, and as soon as they walk out of that space, no longer have access to that information. That would reduce the complexity of managing them, reduce the risk of that information getting compromised, and give them what the need at the right time when they need it,” he said. 

“The investment in IT relative to the investment in the capital infrastructure is pretty small to get a really big yield,” Fitzgerald said. 

FORT MEADE, Md. — A Navy Reservist’s innovative concept for adapting a mobile application to better enable mobilization is a winning idea.

Lt. Cdr. Jonathan Calhoun, a Selected Reserve member attached to U.S. Fleet Forces Command Maritime Operations Center (N3 FCC) in Norfolk, Virginia, submitted his entry, “Leveraging Mobile Technology to Streamline Mobilization,” as part of the “i3 Waypoints” effort to find new or better ways for the Navy Reserve to operate.

Vice Adm. John B. Mustin, chief of Navy Reserve and commander, Navy Reserve Force, announced the winning entry of the inaugural i3 Waypoints in a streaming broadcast on July 14.

Calhoun’s entry was one of 107 received and evaluated by a panel of judges. 

Calhoun initially thought of his idea during a mobilization exercise where he realized shifting many of the mobilization requirements to a secure mobile platform would make the process faster and more efficient for both Sailors and Navy Reserve Center staff.  

“Empowering Sailors to use their mobile device to complete a significant portion of pre-mobilization requirements will improve the overall experience for the modern-day Sailor and save critical time during mass mobilizations to get warfighting-ready Sailors on station faster,” said Calhoun. 

Calhoun’s entry envisions a mobile application to reduce duplicative administrative requirements for both members and mobilization staff, save critical time by auto-populating data fields across multiple documents, provide real-time transparency and progress status for members and leadership throughout the process, and enable clear and customizable views and reports.   

Additionally, the app could remove the difficulties some Reserve members have accessing Common Access Card-enabled sites outside an Navy/Marine Corps Internet environment and would “ensure our ability to mass mobilize, predictably, at scale, and with seamless administration activation workflows” as outlined in the Navy Reserve Fighting Instructions 2022.   

“We are already moving out on the design for Lt. Cdr. Calhoun’s mobile application,” said Mustin. “His idea to add mobile technology to our distributed activation process helps us achieve our goal of mobilizing the entire Selected Reserve force of 50,000 in 30 days, if required.”   

Mustin conceived of the i3 Waypoints program as an approach to “innovate something entirely new; improve on something already established; or integrate several ideas, products or processes rendering the former completely obsolete.”

The annual competition is designed to fast-track transformative ideas from across the Navy directly to the highest levels of the Navy Reserve, without filters or bureaucratic barriers.   

The competition is open to anyone in the U.S. Navy–Selected Reserve, Training and Administration of the Reserve, Individual Ready Reserve, Active Duty and civilians, in all ranks, rates and grades.

Of the 107 entries received, five entries were subsequently chosen and presented to a panel hosted by Mustin, retired Vice Adm. Andrew “Woody” Lewis, Bruce E. Mosler, chairman, global brokerage of Cushman & Wakefield Inc., Navy Reserve Force Master Chief Tracy L. Hunt and 2021 Reserve Sailor of the Year Chief Yeoman (Select) Jasmyn Phinizy.     

“The large number of creative, thoughtful strategic ideas submitted in a relatively short timeframe far exceeded our original expectations,” said Mustin. “It demonstrates our Reserve Force’s commitment to innovate, improve efficiencies, and reduce administrative burdens, allowing us to focus on warfighting readiness — our one and only priority. With such an enthusiastic response from the force, and so many great ideas to modernize the way we do business, we saw enough in this inaugural event to commit to making i3 Waypoints an annual program. Very little is more important to us than keeping the direct pipeline open for creative ideas to flow to top leadership without filter or disruption.”   

The other i3 Waypoints finalists, and their winning ideas, are:   

• Lt. Brian Adornato, Naval Sea Systems Command, Surge Maintenance Sacramento: “Create a New Category of Personnel: Civilian Technicians” 
• Cdr. Bobby Hsu, Director of Navy Staff, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations: “Official Navy Reserve YouTube Channel” 
• Cdr. Sarah McGann, Navy Personnel Command (PERS-9), and Lt. Josh Didawick, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations for Manpower, Personnel, Training and Education: “New Policy for Reserve Retirement Education Across the Career Continuum” 
• Cdr. Scott Mericle, Navy Reserve Operations, Plans and Policy (N5), Commander, Second Fleet: “Improve Active to Reserve Transition.” 

The streamlined broadcast can be viewed here: 

https://www.navyreserve.navy.mil/Resources/I3-Waypoints/

https://www.dvidshub.net/video/850290/i3-waypoint-challenge

https://www.youtube.com/c/usnavyreserve

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Navy’s carrier air wings lack some of the characteristics needed to counter China in the event of a conflict, two naval analysts said in a webinar. 

Bryan Clark, senior fellow and director of the Center for Defense Concepts and Technology at the Hudson Institute, and Timothy Walton, a senior fellow at the center, discussed in a July 12 webinar their report “Regaining the High Ground Against China,” which presents their case that carrier strike groups are challenged by Chinese long-range missile threat and will need a longer-range carrier air wing to affect the battlespace. 

The Chinese missile threat could force carrier strike groups to operate at ranges of 1,000 to 1,500 nautical miles away from China, reducing or negating the range with which carrier-based strike fighters could strike hostile forces, Clark said. 

Clark noted that the carrier air wing is not set up for combat at sustained ranges and the U.S. Navy is “going to need some way to extend the range of the carrier air wing.” 

The carrier air wing’s strike fighters, the F-35C Lightning II and the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, need aerial refueling to operate at extended ranges. The forthcoming MQ-25A Stingray aerial refueling UAV will enhance the ranges of the strike fighters, relieve some Super Hornets from aerial refueling duties and provide a platform for sensors. 

Fleet air defense also has become a capability demanding more attention in view of the Chinese missile threat. The F-14 Tomcat fighter and its Phoenix air-intercept missiles, designed during the Cold War to counter Soviet bombers carrying cruise missiles at long ranges, were retired from the fleet in 2006 and the F/A-18 and F-35 do not have a similar long reach. Clark said the CSG needs a layered defense. 

“We need to regain the ability to attack bombers before they can launch their missiles,” Clark said.  

He advocated the use of electronic warfare in a more offensive way, including the use of UAVs to confuse enemy defenses. This would involve shifting away from the EA-18G Growler electronic attack aircraft to long-range UAVs, even expendable ones.  

The analyst said the Navy needs to change the way it conducts airborne early warning and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. Possible platforms include the MQ-9 Reaper UAV, stratospheric balloons and satellites. 

Clark said the P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft would need to keep away from enemy air defenses and shift from an anti-submarine search and attack role to one of command and control of unmanned platforms and distributed ASW sensors. 

A pdf of “Regaining the High Ground Against China” can be found here.

SOUTH CHINA SEA — The Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group is operating in the South China Sea for the first time during its 2022 deployment, July 13, CTF 70/CSG 5 Public Affairs said in a release. 
 
The carrier strike group includes the Navy’s only forward-deployed aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76), the embarked Carrier Air Wing 5, and embarked staffs of Task Force 70 and Destroyer Squadron 15, as well as the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Antietam (CG 54) and the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Higgins (DDG 76). 
 
While in the South China Sea, the strike group is conducting maritime security operations, which include flight operations with fixed and rotary-wing aircraft, maritime strike exercises, and coordinated tactical training between surface and air units. Carrier operations in the South China Sea are part of the U.S. Navy’s routine operations in the Indo-Pacific. 
 
“Our strike group works consistently to stay capable and ready and we continue that focus during operations in the South China Sea to demonstrate our commitment to the region,” said Rear Adm. Michael Donnelly, commander, Task Force 70/Carrier Strike Group 5. “Building on the lessons and successes of exercises like Valiant Shield 2022, and our continuous opportunities to train and operate alongside allies and partners, we provide assured capability to uphold the rules-based international order in this body of water and anywhere else we will sail, fly and operate.” 
 
Throughout the 2022 deployment, Ronald Reagan and accompanying units have routinely integrated with ally and partner naval forces to build high-end warfighting readiness through air defense, anti-submarine warfare, maritime strike, and force protection exercises. In early June this included operations with Republic of Korea navy ships for Carrier Strike Group Exercise 2022. Later that month in the Philippine Sea, the Sailors of CSG 5 worked with more than 200 aircraft and an estimated 13,000 personnel from the U.S. Navy, Air Force, Army, Marine Corps and Space Force during the Valiant Shield exercise, a U.S.-only, biennial field training exercise focused on integration of joint training in a multi-domain environment. 
 
The strike group finished the month of June with a port visit to Guam, where Sailors were able to conduct several community relations events and enjoy recreation and tours across the island, marking the strike group’s first port visit since 2020. 
 
“Our presence in the South China Sea demonstrates America’s commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific,” said Capt. Fred Goldhammer, the commanding officer of USS Ronald Reagan. “Every Sailor onboard contributes to this important and enduring mission as we operate in this region, in accordance with international law to ensure that all nations can do the same.” 
 
The Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group is forward-deployed to the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific region. 

WASHINGTON — Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday met with the commander of the Royal Netherlands Navy, Vice Adm. René Tas, at the Pentagon for an office call on July 12, the CNO’s public affairs office said in a release. 

The leaders discussed global maritime security, strategic competition and their shared commitment to continued cooperation, to include recent naval exercises involving both countries. 

“The Dutch are one of our oldest allies and global maritime partners, and I am grateful for our strong relationship,” said Gilday. “This visit was an important opportunity for us to build upon our solid foundation, look ahead to the future, and reinforce our commitment to unity and to the NATO alliance.” 

Gilday also noted the value and significance of the Royal Netherlands Navy’s maritime reach, the Dutch being one of a handful of European navies with a global presence stretching to the Indo-Pacific. 

“We share the same values and economic interests,” said Tas. “The well-being of our people can only be secured and defended by operating globally. The seas and oceans, just as cyber and space, don’t have borders.” 

The U.S. Navy and Royal Netherlands Navy regularly operate together around the world. Recently, they participated in exercises Formidable Shield and Obangame Express, and conducted joint operations, including USS The Sullivans’ (DDG 68) and HNLMS Evertsen’s (F805) participation in HMS Queen Elizabeth’s 2021 deployment. Last month, both navies participated in BALTOPS 22, the premier maritime-focused exercise in the Baltic Region.  

This meeting was the second in-person discussion between the two heads of navy. 

WASHINGTON — Rear Adm. Jonathan Rucker relieved Rear Adm. David Goggins as Program Executive Office Attack Submarines (PEO SSN) during a change of command ceremony at the Washington Navy Yard, June 30, Team Public Affairs said in a release. 
 
Vice Adm. William Houston, commander, Naval Submarine Forces, served as the principal speaker and expressed his gratitude for the job done by Goggins. 
 
“Your leadership allowed the submarine force to stay atop of our competitors as the world’s best, most lethal, and premier, first class organization that continues to dominate the undersea — and for that, a huge Bravo Zulu to you,” said Houston. “Your dedication to the mission, our people, and the Force is an outstanding example for all to follow.” 
 
Goggins reflected on the submarine workforce’s many accomplishments such as completing Virginia Block III Follow-On Test and Evaluation and delivering three nuclear-powered submarines and three SSNs from depot availabilities earlier this year. He also noted that submarine acquisition and sustainment is comprised of four key organizations; Team Submarine, Naval Reactors, Strategic Systems Programs and Chief of Naval Operations Undersea Warfare Division. 
 
“Today’s successes and the future success of Team Submarine, PEO SSN, are based on the alignment and collaboration between these key stakeholders,” said Goggins. 
 
Rucker is reporting to PEO SSN after serving as Columbia-class submarine program manager, the Navy’s number one acquisition program. During his tenure, the Columbia program office was awarded the David Packard Excellence in Acquisition Award for 2021 as the top program office in Department of Defense. 
 
Houston expressed the challenges that Rucker may encounter, saying, “You have a significant task ahead of you. The fiscal and geo-political landscape from which our nation navigates will only become more challenging, and you must make it your priority that the overmatch we currently enjoy does not evaporate.” 
 
Rucker’s recent assignments include serving as the assistant program manager (APM) for New Acquisitions, Advanced Undersea Systems Program Office; military assistant for the undersecretary for Defense for Acquisition, Technology, & Logistics (USD (AT&L)); APM for New Construction & Test and led construction and test efforts of 12 submarines. He then assumed command as program manager for Unmanned Maritime Systems, responsible for unmanned maritime systems across both the Surface and Undersea domains. 
 
“I am thankful to be a part of the PEO Fast Attack team. These submarines and undersea systems are built to ensure our undersea advantage,” said Rucker. 

PASCAGOULA, Miss. — San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock Fort Lauderdale (LPD 28) departed from HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding division July 11 enroute to its commissioning site in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, HII said in a release. 

“Ingalls Shipbuilders take great pride in knowing that each and every amphibious ship that leaves this shipyard will support our Navy and Marine Corps team defending our nation,” said Ingalls Shipbuilding President Kari Wilkinson. “We at Ingalls remain committed to this partnership and consider it a privilege to serve those who serve.” 

Fort Lauderdale was delivered to the U.S. Navy in March following acceptance sea trials and is the 12th San Antonio-class ship delivered by HII. Additional San Antonio-class ships are under construction at Ingalls, including Richard M. McCool Jr. (LPD 29) and the first Flight II amphibious ship in the San Antonio class, Harrisburg (LPD 30). Later this year, fabrication will begin on the 15^th San Antonio-class ship, Pittsburgh (LPD 31). 

“Watching Fort Lauderdale sail away to join the Navy’s fleet is a very proud moment for our entire LPD shipbuilding team and our skilled workforce,” said Mike Pruitt, Ingalls LPD program manager. “Our shipbuilders have done an outstanding job building a mission capable ship for these sailors and our country.” 

LPD 28 is scheduled to be commissioned July 30 in Fort Lauderdale. It is named to honor the Florida city’s historic ties to the U.S. Navy, which date back to the 1830s and include an important naval training center during World War II. 

Amphibious transport docks are a major part of the Navy’s 21st century expeditionary force, deployed with a U.S. Marine Corps Air-Ground Task Force for amphibious and expeditionary crisis response operations that range from deterrence and joint-force enablement to humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. 

WASHINGTON — The new Australian government said it has no illusions of the immensity of the AUKUS plan to build nuclear-powered submarines and the effort required to make it come to pass. 

Last September, Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom announced an agreement — AUKUS — to develop a nuclear-powered submarine capability for Australia.  

“It will be a huge national project to pull this off,” said Richard Marples MP, minister of defense and deputy prime minister of Australia, speaking July 11 at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank. Marples was in Washington for a meeting with U.S. Defense secretary Lloyd Austin.  

“For a three-ocean nation, the heart of deterrence is undersea capability,” Marples said. “AUKUS will not only make Australia safer, it will make Australia a more potent and capable partner that the United States and the United Kingdom have agreed to work with Australia to meet our needs is not only a game changer, it illustrates why alliances help reinforce, not undermine, our country’s national sovereignty. And I want to recognize the Biden administration and the strong support in Congress for helping bring this agreement to life.  

“In determining the optimal pathway forward, the Australian government is acutely aware of the obligations of nuclear stewardship,” he said. “We are focused on the whole enterprise. Safely stewarding sensitive technology, building the workforce and industrial capacity to support the capability, and ensuring that this initiative sets the strongest possible non-proliferation standards.” 

Marples said Australia, with Collins-class diesel-electric submarines, faces the challenge of an increasing capability gap. 

“How do we get the new capability as soon as possible to minimize any capability gap and then what are we going to do to plug whatever gap exists?” he asked rhetorically. 

“To move to operating a nuclear-powered submarine fleet is as big a national challenge, not just in defense, but in terms of really the whole breadth of government that our country has been presented with, almost at every level, not just in terms of developing the capability but building the industrial base, building the regulation, building the government structures around it,” he said, also noting the cost. “We need to work out how we build this into a budget which has a significant debt associated with it. 

“At every level there are challenges,” he said. “That said, we mean to meet those challenges. This is a huge national challenge for the country but it’s one we’re going to meet.”  

NAPLES, Italy — An F/A-18 Super Hornet assigned to Carrier Air Wing 1, embarked aboard USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75), blew overboard on July 8 due to unexpected heavy weather in the Mediterranean Sea, U.S. Naval Forces Europe said July 10. 

According to a source, the Super Hornet was a two-seat F/A-81F and was assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron 211, based at Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia Beach, Virginia.

The carrier was conducting a replenishment at sea, which was safely terminated through established procedures. All personnel aboard the ship are accounted for. 

One Sailor received minor injuries while conducting operations during the unexpected heavy weather. The Sailor is in stable condition and expected to make a full recovery. 

USS Harry S. Truman and embarked aircraft remain full mission capable. Details and the cause of the incident are under investigation.