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Home , PNS Aslat (F254), Spy ship, USS New (DD-818)

NAVY NEWS WEEK 7-4

14 February 2018

Pakistan ASLAT seizes huge cache of drugs Navy ship Aslat seized 5000 kg of hashish valued in millions of dollars while operating at North Arabian Sea, said a statement issued here by directorate of public relations of on Wednesday. The operation by PNS Aslat was carried out while undertaking maritime security operations in Pakistani Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). The successful seizure of narcotics by Pakistan Navy was the result of a complex and risky operation involving surveillance and analysis in the area and conduct of special operations. After gathering credible evidence, special warfare teams of PNS Aslat boarded the suspected vessel, undertook search operation and seized 5000 kg of hashish. Later, the sized drugs and suspects were handed over to Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (PMSA) ship for further legal proceedings and its disposal as per law. During this operation, Pakistan Navy ship crew demonstrated impeccable professionalism, selfless devotion and utmost courage in the face of harsh environment. The success of Pakistan Navy ship in interrupting the flow of narcotics highlights the importance accorded by Pakistan Navy in patrolling the waters of North to ensure free flow of legitimate commerce and deny use of high seas to terrorists and all associated miscreants Successful operation by Pakistan Navy Ship resulting in seizure of huge quantity of narcotics is a testimony to the fact that the government of Pakistan and Pakistan Navy remain committed to ensuring freedom of high seas and preventing its use for any unlawful purposes. Pakistan Navy has been instrumental in curbing illegal transportation of contraband goods and will continue to shoulder its national obligation and responsibility for making the sea lanes across Indian Ocean safe and secure. PNS Aslat is a F-22P capable of undertaking wide variety of combat as well as full spectrum maritime security operations at sea. The ship was deployed as part of the Multinational Combined Task Force-150 (CTF-150), which is part of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF). The Task Force-150 is mandated to ensure maritime security to prevent counter terrorism and associated illegal activities. Source: APP

Navy needs volunteer gunners for museum piece Written by defenceWeb, Wednesday, 07 February 2018 Does the thought of being responsible for firing a more than 130-year-old cannon appeal? If the answer is yes and you are serving in the SA Navy contact Lieutenant Commander Leon Steyn at the SA Naval Museum in Simons’ Town. He and long-time naval gunner, now retired Warrant officer Martin Venter, are looking for volunteers who want to learn the ins and outs of the nine inch rifled muzzle loading gun that holds pride of place at Middle North Battery. There is currently only one qualified operator for the gun which came to South Africa in 1885.It was mounted at Simon’s Town’s Upper North Battery where it was first fired in 1886. Venter presently has the distinction of being the only person qualified to fire the gun with “assistance” from another warrant officer, Harry Croome. “I’m retired and Harry is due to finish up in the not too distant future so there is definitely a need for volunteers,” Venter said. Both men, along with Steyn, are keen to recruit a new generation of volunteers to maintain and fire the gun. “Keen to keep the ‘living museum’ concept going, the old cannon is fired on special occasions and more specifically public holidays for the benefit of people visiting the SA Naval Museum. To maintain this tradition we call on young sailors with a passion for black powder, history and heritage to volunteer,” Steyn said. Venter agrees adding there must be a passion for old cannons and a willingness to give up free time over weekends and on public holidays with the outcome of “a rewarding hobby enabling you to meet many people and know you are part of preserving South Africa’s military – particularly its naval – history”. The cannon at Middle North Battery has six rifling grooves, the only gun still in service with this number of grooves. Venter said the gun, along with its slide, carriage and mounting was restored in the SA Naval Dockyard gun shop in 1983/84. “It has sadly, been vandalised since then and stripped of a number of parts but still works.” “Also significant is the gun was declared a National Monument in May 1979,” he said adding work was underway to reposition another relevant plaque because “the whereabouts of the original are no longer known”. Source: www.defenceweb.co.za Refurbished Naval Vessel Strengthens EEZ Security by NACANIELI TUILEVUKA The refurbished Royal Fiji Navy Kikau that’s due back home in April will strengthen the navy’s role in carrying out its security tasks in Fiji’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) says Commander of Fiji Navy Captain (Navy) Humphrey Tawake. He said most of the vessel equipment had been upgraded, making it the most sophisticated in the South Pacific. EEZ borders five Pacific Island nations, of Vanuatu to the west, the Solomon Islands to the northwest, Tuvalu to the north, Wallis and Futuna to the northeast, Tonga to the southeast, with around 40 per cent of the EEZ bordering international waters. “The upgrade was fitted in at Cairns, Australia,” Captain (Navy)Tawake said. RFNS Kikau was taken to Cairns on board the MV Thorco Isadora last May. “The reason for the upgrade of the equipment is to strengthen the country’s security at the exclusive economic zone,” he said. “This is to address the increasing trend of illegal fishing in Fiji’s exclusive economic zone. “The aerial support is an extension of the current Pacific Maritime Programme. “In terms of illegal activities we have to deal within our region whether it’s illegal fishing, illegal movement of people, drugs and frankly anything related to terrorism, the more we can work together, the more we can cooperate and collaborate to address those challenges, the more effective it will be,” he said.Captain (Navy)Tawake said the upgraded RFNS Kikau is expected back in April. Twenty trained naval officers will bring the naval vessel from Australia to Fiji. “Maintenance on RFNS Kikau is still underway and is expected to be completed by April,” he said. “Late last year the Royal Australian Navy’s Sea Training Unit Defence Cooperation Programme team was in Fiji for a two-week training programme with 20 Republic of Fiji Navy officers. “They are responsible in operating the revamped vessel and they will be the ones bringing in the vessel. “The second half of the programme focusses on the collective ability of a vessel’s crew to reaction to incidents that they may face while providing maritime security to Fiji. “This includes fire-fighting, leak-stopping, medical emergencies, electrical and mechanical system maintenance and seamanship activities. “The training activities were aimed at better preparing Fijian sailors to work on board Pacific Class Patrol Boats, RFNS Kula and Kikau ,” he said. Meanwhile Republic of Fiji Military Forces Commander Rear Admiral Viliame Naupoto was briefed on the progress of the refit by the project manager and engineers of Norship industries when he visited Australia last year. Rear Admiral Viliame Naupoto had visited Norship Industries in Cairns, Queensland to inspect the progress of the refitting of RFNS Kikau When the RFNS Kikau returns, RFNS Kula will be taken for the same to Australia Rear Admiral Viliame Naupoto Naupoto had said as part of the Australian Government’s Pacific Maritime Security Programme (PMSP), the Fiji Navy will receive two modern patrol boats by 2022 and 2023 respectively. Source : The Fijusun

HMS Gleaner passes RFA Argus flying her paying off pennant as she entered Devonport for the final time this week The old and the new.

US deploys warship where Russian spy ship was spotted 27 miles off coast A US Navy warship tasked with tailing a Russian spy ship off the American east coast has been deployed before going incognito. By Joshua Nevett / Published 7th February 2018 The USS Cole, an Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer, was dispatched from , in southeastern Virginia, on Wednesday afternoon, maritime trackers show. Naval monitors indicate the 505 ft-long USS Cole, whose top speed is 35 mph (30 knots), embarked from its homeport at around 3.48pm local time. Shortly after departing the naval base – home to 75 US Navy – the anti-aircraft, anti-missile vessel turned off its transponder, according to naval monitors. Transponders are tracking systems used to supplement marine – a primary method of collision avoidance. The USS Cole has been shadowing the Viktor Leonov, a Russian spy ship, as it travels through international waters along the US east coast, the US Navy said. The current whereabouts of the Viktor Leonov, a Soviet-era Vishnya class intelligence gathering vessel, has not been released by the US Navy or Russian agencies. The Russian ship, whose crew have access to anti-aircraft missiles and turret guns, was last spotted 350km east of Atlantic City.

ON THE SEAS: The USS Cole has been dispatched from Naval Station Norfolk

A US military plane, a P-8A Poseidon, was launched from Naval Air Station Jacksonville to monitor the ship, flight trackers showed. At its closest, the Russian ship sailed just 24 nautical miles (27 miles) off the coast of Norfolk, naval traffic data showed. Just days later, the USS George HW Bush, a Nimitz-class supercarrier, was deployed from Naval Station Norfolk – close to where the Russian boat was seen. Now the USS Cole has been dispatched amid large-scale naval exercises involving the USS Harry S Truman off the US east coast. Steffan Watkins, a Canada-based naval security analyst, said the USS Cole was tracked sailing eastwards at 3.48pm local time on Tuesday, according to maritime traffic data. He tweeted: “Arleigh Burke- class destroyer USS Cole (MMSI:366988000), last reported to be tasked with shadowing the AGI Viktor Leonov, just departed Norfolk, then turned its transponder off again. (Booo! Hiss! Poor show!).” Last week Mr Watkins told Daily Star Online the Russian vessel may have been sent to gather intelligence on the US naval drill, dubbed COMPTUEX. He said: “I don't know that they ‘are’ doing an exercise, or if it's a cover story, but if this was planned months in advance, that's a big reason for Viktor to be hanging around listening to the whole carrier battle group.”

SPY SHIP: The Viktor Leonov, a Russian Navy intelligence vessel

The Viktor Leonov, one of Russia’s seven Vishnya-Class intelligence ships, has been known to take the same trip along the US east coast every year. The ship is understood to be on a four-to-six month intelligence gathering mission along the east coast, home to a number of naval bases and weapons caches. Source: https://www.dailystar.co.uk Chinese newspaper mocks India after mishap The Global Times suggested India's military forces were too amateurish to operate sophisticated weapons after the vessel's hatch door was left open By Asia Times staff February 7, 2018 6:23 PM (UTC+8)

Crew are seem in top of the Indian nuclear submarine Arihant. Photo: Indian Defence Ministry

A Chinese newspaper has gleefully dismissed India’s navy as “too amateurish” to operate nuclear after the pride of its fleet was put out of service because someone had left a hatch door open. The Global Times also said India’s military forces were a “hodgepodge” of incompatible technologies due to billions of dollars being spent importing weapons from a range of suppliers, including Russia, France, the UK and the US — while it also tried to develop domestic variations. INS Arihant, India’s only locally-built nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine and a symbol of the country’s blue water ambitions, has barely been sighted since it completed sea trials in early 2016 and was officially launched in August of the same year. It was recently disclosed that the submarine, constructed at a cost of US$2.9 billion, was forced back to port after a rear hatch was left open when it submerged, flooding the propulsion plant. The propulsion compartment on a nuclear-powered submarine includes the reactor. According to The Hindu, the submarine had to spend more than 10 months being dried out and undergoing repairs at its home port of Visakhapatnam. The Defence Ministry said the 6,000 tonne state-of-the-art vessel was now back in service. India is only the sixth country to successfully build its own nuclear-armed submarine, but the incident has been a major embarrassment for the armed forces after they put their military might on show at the 69th Republic Day celebrations only late last month.

A diagram illustrating the internal structure of the Arihant. Photo: Handout

The state-owned Global Times mocked the “indiscipline and slackness” of the submarine’s commanders and crew and said the may be “too amateurish” to operate such a complex, advanced vessel. “As a national strategic weapon, the nuclear submarine requires careful maintenance, strict management and operation. However, the sailors on the vessel failed to take good care of it,” a Beijing-based naval expert told the newspaper. Criticising the caliber of India’s armed forces, the report said the Arihant gaffe had shown that most of its soldiers were “not well-educated and lack the necessary knowledge to operate advanced weaponry”. “Improvement in military technology does not come about overnight and is not solely a military issue, but is related to a country’s comprehensive strength, level of technology, manufacturing capability and quality of personnel,” it said, adding a “warm reminder” that New Delhi would be better to divert resources from the arms race and rivalry with Beijing to proper, basic training of its troops. The comments did not go down well with some online readers. One suggested that “the so-called expertise [of China] goes out the door when party line takes primary role in criticism [against India]”. Undaunted by the incident, New Delhi is reportedly pressing ahead with plans for more submarines of the Arihant class. India has one other nuclear-powered submarine, the INS Chakra, but it is being leased from Russia under a 10-year deal that ends in 2022. Source: http://www.atimes.com It was a silly mistake, pointing to a lack of continuous training. The Chinese comment can be seen in the light of propaganda, but at least the Atihant gaffe is in the public domain, while the Chinese gaffes are kept under wrap.

Anzac upgrade sees new talent recruited 07 February 2018 By: Amelia McMahon

HMAS Parramatta undocking after her Anti-Ship Missile Defence upgrade at BAE Systems Henderson Shipyard, Western Australia. Image via Commonwealth of Australia, Department of Defence.

The BAE Systems Australia Henderson facility has welcomed new apprentices to its team, which will work on upgrading and sustaining Australia’s Anzac frigate fleet. The seven new additions, selected out of 200 applicants, will partake in the upgrade program to the Anzac frigates, which includes improvements to engines, propulsion, lighting, heating, cooling and communications, air surveillance radar replacement, self-defence, Nulka enhancements, and improved on- board training. HMAS Arunta is the first ship to be docked at the Henderson facility as part of the $2 billion Anzac Mid-life Capability Assurance Program. The new team members will also work on commercial maritime vessels and a variety of energy and resource projects. The selected apprentices are aged from 17 to 34 and come from a range of backgrounds and experience, and will now undertake roles in electrical and boiler making. BAE Systems Australia CEO Gabby Costigan said the company's investment in local talent reflects its commitment to growing the Henderson business. "We employ a number of local apprentices annually as part of our efforts to advance the next generation of employees," Costigan said. "The skills that this cohort of trainees will gain will be invaluable and the opportunities beyond are endless for these potential leaders in the business." BAE Systems has bids out for three major projects; AIR 2025 Phase 2, LAND 400 Phase 2 and SEA 5000, all of which are expected to be decided within the first half of the year. The defence prime is currently supporting the Guided Missile , the Anzac Class frigates, the Landing Helicopter Dock ships, the Adelaide Class frigates and the hydrographic fleet. Source: https://www.defenceconnect.com.au

German Navy experiences “LCS syndrome” in spades as new frigate fails sea trials With 90% new systems, this bigger, lighter-crewed monster frigate is not ready for duty. Sean Gallagher - 2/8/2018, 1:20 AM

The Baden-Wurttemberg, listing slightly to starboard as usual, has been sent back to shipbuilders—refused by the .

The German Navy has a lot of problems right now. It has no working submarines, in part because of a chronic repair parts shortage. The Deutsche Marine is still flying helicopters older than its pilots—the Sea Lynx entered service in 1981 and the Sea King in 1969—and has long-delayed their replacement. And now the service is facing problems with its newest ships so severe that the first of the class failed its sea trials and was returned to the shipbuilders in December. As Christian Mölling, a defense-industry expert at the German Council on Foreign Relations in Berlin, told the Wall Street Journal’s William Wilkes in January, German military procurement is “one hell of a complete disaster. It will take years to sort this problem out.” The Baden-Württemberg class frigates were ordered to replace the 1980s-era Bremen class ships, all but two of which have been retired already. At 149 meters (488 feet) long with a displacement of 7,200 metric tons (about 7,900 US tons), the Baden-Wurttembergs are about the size of destroyers and are intended to reduce the size of the crew required to operate them (in this way, they are similar to the US Navy's Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) classes and the Zumwalt-class destroyers). Like the LCS ships and the Zumwalt, the Baden- Württemberg ships were conceived in the mid-aughts—the product of lessons allegedly learned from the “asymmetric warfare” of the Gulf and Iraq Wars. Like the Zumwalt, the frigates are intended to have improved land attack capabilities—a mission capability largely missing from the Deutsche Marine’s other post-unification ships. The new frigate was supposed to be a master of all trades—carrying Marines to deploy to fight ashore, providing gunfire support, hunting enemy ships and submarines, and capable of being deployed on far-flung missions for up to two years away from a home port. As with the US Navy’s LCS ships, the German Navy planned to alternate crews—sending a fresh crew to meet the ship on deployment to relieve the standing crew. It was to be a wonder ship and evidence of the resurgence of the Deutsche Marine. At least that was the plan. Instead, the Baden-Württemberg now bears the undesirable distinction of being the first ship the German Navy has ever refused to accept after delivery. In fact, the future of the whole class of German frigates is now in doubt because of the huge number of problems experienced with the first ship during sea trials. So the Baden-Wurttemberg won’t be shooting its guns at anything for the foreseeable future (and neither will the Zumwalt for the moment, since the US Navy cancelled orders for their $800,000-per-shot projectiles). System integration issues are a major chunk of the Baden- Würrtemberg’s problems. About 90 percent of the ship’s systems are so new that they’ve never been deployed on a warship—in fact, they’ve never been tested together as part of what the US Navy would call “a system of systems.” And all of that new hardware and software have not played well together—particularly with the ship’s command and control computer system, the Atlas Naval Combat System (ANCS). Built by Atlas Electronik GmbH of Bremen, ANCS is a brand- new, multi-role command-and-control system for the ship’s weapons and sensors. It is intended to tie radar, sonar, and other sensor data (along with information from the ship’s helicopter and drones and the ship’s weapons fire control systems) into a suite of consoles. The system is supposed to allow a small team of sailors and officers to centrally manage nearly the entire operation of the ship and its weapons from joystick-equipped stations in the ship’s operations room. Atlas has marketed the combat system as “The system for frigates and Corvettes of the new generation,” and the F125 class was to be ANCS’ big debut. But integration of the sensors and weapons hardware with the command and control system has gone poorly, to say the least. The problems weren’t fixed before sea trials began in April of 2016, and Germany’s Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology, and In-Service Support (BAAINBw), the agency of the German government that oversees procurement of military systems, pushed functional tests of the operations room’s systems back to the end of August of 2017. That’s beyond the ship’s original scheduled commissioning date of July 28. And, as of December, the problems had not yet been addressed to an extent that the BAAINBw would accept as successful. On top of the information systems issues, there are other problems: the ship leans a little to the right, is overweight, and can’t make top speed with its first-time-deployed combined turbine propulsion system that combines diesel and gas. None of this should come as a surprise to seasoned military procurement watchers, given the problems the US Navy experienced with the Liberty, Independence, and Zumwalt classes. In the case of the Zumwalt, the vast number of bleeding-edge technologies incorporated increased the development time of the ship accordingly. Cost overruns (and a shift in mission requirements and budget constraints) forced the Navy to cut the order down from an originally planned 32 ships to a mere three. The LCS ships have had their own problems, and new construction orders have been frozen while the Navy looks at building bigger, better-armed, and better-crewed “frigate” versions of the ships. But for the German military—which has seen a collapse in its funding over the past two decades—these sorts of issues have a much more substantial impact on readiness: they are a symptom of a much larger, long-running problem with Germany’s management of its military. Since the “peace dividend” of reunification and the end of the , Germany’s military budget has plummeted to just 1.15 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2016—well below the two-percent mark set by agreement among members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. And the focus of the German military's strategy has drifted as well. I add the following interesting comment, which appeared on the same website (in open media) I used to be involved with the F125 team. Still have a coffee-cup of the project :-) To me, this comes at no surprise. You need to understand the context of this fail: 1. Military shipbuilding in Germany is mainly to prop up the ship building facilities that had a rough time. This means these projects are just mildly guided by military requirements and more by saving jobs and keeping the companies alive (to preserve capabilities). At the end though, it didn't matter, as i recall the the shipbuilders were sold to some middle-east "investor" anyways. I would wager that submarine building is somewhat the exception (despite it apparently having its own problems), it always appeared to me, those capabilities were classified as more serious. And there is a point to this, after all Germany is not really a naval power, a navy makes little sense really beyond appeasing allies and for prestige. 2. The companies that build military warships have no clue about the core components of military warships. They are basically "system integrators", much like car companies, expect that in the case of warships, core components are externally sourced 100%. And here is the major fail, they suck at this job. They have very little competence in "classical" non-networked military components and they had ZERO competence in modern (IP) networked components and software development methodologies. Add to that non-existent project management, cronyism between subcontracts and external consultants working "for" the customer and you end up here. 3. What you would need for a system integrator is an overall lead architect that defines an overarching design and most importantly defines a set of requirements towards component suppliers and enforces those. These type of companies don't have the expertise to do that, so the result is, that those component subcontractors don't actually care whether their stuff works in the overall context, they just fulfill whats barely necessary. Lack of guidelines lead to a situation where each subcontractor feels like being in a "bring your own device" situation, where it is up to the system integrator to clean up the mess (which he ofc can't). 4. What is really sad though, is that apparently those ship builders arrived at also sucking at welding metal. Keep in mind, that shipyard is also the one that build the "Bismark". They really fell from grace. Source: https://arstechnica.com A look at Saab’s Swordfish maritime patrol aircraft Saab’s Swordfish maritime patrol aircraft is a combination of Bombardier’s Global 6000 ultra-long-range aircraft, General Dynamics Mission Systems Canada’s acoustics processor and Saab’s airborne surveillance solutions. The maritime patrol aircraft design is equipped with up to four weapon hard points under the wings to carry anti-ship missiles, torpedoes and drop pods for search-and-rescue missions. The Global 6000 configuration has a maximum cruise speed of 450kt and a long-range cruise speed of 360kt. It can operate over a range of 4,400nm. According to Saab, the Swordfish comes with a range of customisable options: AESA 360° multi-mode radar Multi-statics acoustic system HD quality EO/IR (electro-optical/infrared systems) sensor with integrated laser payload SATCOM and tactical data links Four weapon hard points MAD (magnetic anomaly detector) boom “Saab understands every mission that the modern MPA will be called upon to perform and we know how to deliver success. That is why we carefully selected the Bombardier Global 6000 aircraft for our airborne surveillance solutions. It brings a perfect balance of operational performance and cost, and is ideally suited to demanding, multi-level MPA operations. Although an MPA has to be able to handle many different missions, airborne anti-submarine warfare remains the core competence of any credible MPA. General Dynamic Mission Systems-Canada heritage as the premier supplier of acoustic processors to aircraft means that Swordfish can locate, track and classify all submarine types,” says Lars Tossman, Head of Airborne Surveillance at Saab. “The Swordfish initiative and the Global 6000 aircraft are truly a perfect match,” says Stéphane Leroy, Vice President of Specialized Aircraft at Bombardier. “The redundancy built into the baseline Global 6000 aircraft – such as the four variable frequency generators as well as an auxiliary power unit and RAM air turbine generator – ensures safety and reliability on MPA missions. Other features, such as the revolutionary Bombardier Vision flight deck, reduce pilot workload for a safer, more efficient experience and the head-up display and MultiScan weather radar provide comfort, control and enhanced situational awareness for pilots. Most importantly, its advanced and flexible wing design contributes to a smooth ride, reducing the effects of turbulence on both the crew and on-board equipment. These features are very important when one considers the Swordfish can stay on station for over 11 hours at 200 nautical miles from base.” Source: UK Defence Journal The name Bombardier is popping up more and more, and it seems to be the reason why Boeing has “declared” a trade war with them.

TKMS cuts steel for first Israeli Sa’ar 6-class corvette Construction of a new class of Israeli Navy corvettes started in Germany on February 7, with a steel- cutting ceremony at the Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems shipyard in Kiel. The high profile ceremony was attended by the head of the Israeli Navy, Admiral Eli Sharvit, and German Navy inspector Vice-admiral Andreas Krause. The steel cutting ceremony marked the start of construction of four new Sa’ar 6- class corvettes which will help the Israeli Navy safeguard Israel’s offshore platforms in the . The contract for their construction was signed in May 2015. The corvettes are loosely based on Germany’s Braunschweig-class (K130) corvettes with improved stealth features. Measuring 90 meters in length and displacing around 2,000 tons, the Sa’ar 6-class corvettes will be fitted with Israeli-developed armament and . According to media reports, the corvettes are set to receive an Israel Aerospace Industries-built AESA radar which will control the Barak 8 surface to air missile system. The corvettes were initially scheduled to be fitted with a single Rapfael-built C-Dome naval point defense system but according to a Defense News report, the corvettes are now likely to carry two Iron Dome launchers to counter the threat from Hezbollah’s shore-launched rockets. Sa’ar 6 ships will additionally have a 76mm naval gun, torpedo launchers and remote weapon stations. The first corvette is scheduled to be delivered to Israel in late 2019 with others following in six-month intervals. Source: Naval Today Navy Presses Mattis to Delay ‘Shock Testing’ Costliest Carrier U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis is weighing a Navy request to delay for at least six years the shock testing intended to determine how well its new $12.9 billion aircraft carrier could withstand attack. The decision pits the Navy’s push to have an 11-carrier fleet ready to deploy as soon as possible against warnings from the Pentagon’s testing office that the USS Gerald R. Ford shouldn’t be deployed for initial combat duty until it’s gone through the tests, which involve setting off underwater charges to check the resilience of a ship’s key systems. national defense strategy, which calls for deploying a more lethal force. In its proposed budget for fiscal 2019, the Navy removed funding for the test, which had been scheduled to start late next year. The Ford is now scheduled to be ready for initial combat duty in 2022. The service wants to put off the shock testing and do it on the second carrier in the new class, the USS John F.Kennedy, which is scheduled for delivery in September 2024. In a shock trial, a crew is on board, and the test isn’t intended to damage equipment. The results are used to judge vulnerabilities and design changes that may be needed. moving ordnance in elevators from deep inside the vessel, Robert Behler, the Pentagon’s new chief of testing said in an interview. “I think we have to know if those systems continue to work in a combat environment,” he said, but the decision of whether the shock tests occur next year “is not mine to make.” Asked about Mattis’s review of the issue, Navy Commander Patrick Evans, a Pentagon spokesman, said in an email, “Secretary Mattis will respond directly to the Navy when he makes a decision.” President Donald Trump promised the “12- carrier Navy we need” as he stood on the Ford’s vast deck during a visit in March 2017 to Newport News, Virginia, where Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc. built the ship. Two more ships in the Ford class, the Kennedy and Enterprise, are currently part of the program that’s now estimated to cost $45.7 billion. That includes $2.8 billion for the vessels’ electromagnetic launch system. An older carrier, the USS Nimitz, is scheduled for retirement in the next decade. Captain Danny Hernandez, a Navy acquisitions spokesman, said in an email that “internal discussions on Full Ship Shock Trials” continue “as we look at the technical and programmatic aspects.” He wouldn’t discuss the Navy’s fiscal 2019 budget plans.Through late January, Hernandez said, the Ford “conducted over 700 catapult launches” and landings, including more than 100 launches and recoveries in one day on two separate occasions.But Behler cited concerns about the survivability of key systems on the Ford carrier, which is designated CVN-78, in a memo to Mattis last month accompanying his annual report on major weapons systems. He echoed issues raised by his predecessor Michael Gilmore. “The CVN-78 is making progress, however, reliability of the newly designed catapults, arresting gear, weapons elevators and radar, which are all critical for flight operations, have the potential to limit the CVN-78 ability to generate sorties,” Behler wrote. “Additionally, the survivability of these newly designed systems remains unknown until the CVN-78 undergoes full ship shock trials.” Citing all of the technical setbacks that delayed the official delivery of the carrier from September 2014 to May 2017, Behler said in his annual report that “it is clear that the need to conduct” the shock tests “has not been a factor delaying the ship’s first deployment.” The Navy probably will still need to spend as much as $780 million to finish deferred work, correct deficiencies and conduct the Pentagon-mandated shock test and other outfitting, the Government Accountability Office said in a July report. Source : Bloomberg I do not understand the rush to get the carrier operational without making sure that she has been shock-proofed. Any problems experienced can be correct on the following two ships to get them to the fleet earlier. This is not the first time the Navy have tried to side-step shock testing, as they tried it with the LCS as well.

MAYPORT, Fla. (Feb. 7, 2018) Sailors and Marines man the rails on the flight deck of the amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima (LHD 7) as it departs Naval Station Mayport for a deployment in support of maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in Europe and the Middle East. The Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group embarks the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) and includes Iwo Jima, the amphibious transport dock ship USS New York (LPD 21), the dock landing ship USS Oak Hill (LSD 51), Fleet Surgical Team 8, Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 28, Tactical Air Control Squadron 22, components of Naval Beach Group 2 and the embarked staff of Amphibious Squadron 4. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Dary M. Patten/Released)

US Icebreaker Suffers Flooding, Engine Failure in Antarctic America’s aging, sole remaining heavy icebreaker suffered several engineering challenges, including flooding and engine failure, on its way to completing a recent mission in the Antarctic, highlighting the U.S.’ need for new polar icebreakers. The 1970s-era U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star is called upon each year to aid the delivery of fuel and supplies for National Science Foundation research stations in Antarctica, carving a navigable path through the Ross Sea where seasonal and multi-year ice is sometimes as much as 10 feet thick. During this year’s Operation Deep Freeze mission, Polar Star suffered the failure of one of its three main gas turbines on January 11. The crew was able to continue the mission without the turbine after a programming issue was discovered and troubleshot between the engine and the cutter’s 40-plus years old electrical system. Problems continued on January 16, when Polar Star’s shaft seal failed causing the engine room to flood. The crew stopped the flow using an emergency shaft seal and dewatered the engineering space to make more permanent repairs to the seal No injuries were reported as result of either incident. “Although we had less ice this year than last year, we had several engineering challenges to overcome to get to the point where we could position ourselves to moor in McMurdo,” said Capt. Michael Davanzo, the commanding officer of the Polar Star. “Our arrival was delayed due to these challenges.”

The Polar Star departing from Lyttelton before heading to Antartica Photo : Bryan Shankland (c)

The 399-foot cutter went on to refuel at McMurdo Station, Antarctica on January 18 and continued to develop and maintain the ice channel in preparation for two U.S. Military Sealift Command resupply ships, Ocean Giant and Maersk Peary, in the days following. Polar Star is expected to return to the U.S. in March. “The crewmembers aboard Polar Star not only accomplished their mission, but they did so despite extreme weather and numerous engineering challenges,” said Vice Adm. Fred Midgette, commander, U.S. Coast Guard Pacific Area in Alameda, Calif. However, Polar Star’s mechanical problems follow similar issues faced in recent years and further highlight America’s need for new heavy icebreakers, especially as maritime traffic is increasing through the Northern Sea Route and Northwest Passage, and countries such as Russia continue to bolster their polar icebreaking fleets Polar Star, which was built more than 40 years ago, is the only operational heavy icebreaker in the U.S. fleet after sister ship Polar Sea, also commissioned in 1976, was taken out of service in 2010 due to major engineering problems. The medium icebreaker USCGC Healy entered service in 1999, but its ability to operate in heavy ice is limited “If the Polar Star were to suffer a catastrophic mechanical failure, the nation would not be able to support heavy icebreaker missions like Operation Deep Freeze, and our nation has no vessel capable of rescuing the crew if the icebreakers were to fail in the ice,” Midgette said. Polar Star underwent a three-year reactivation and returned to operations in late 2013, but its days are limited. The Coast Guard said it expects Polar Star to remain in service through approximately 2020 to 2023 The Coast Guard, which said it requires at least two new heavy icebreakers, plans to replace Polar Star and Healy with three heavy and three medium icebreakers. The service is presently in the Analyze/Select phase of acquiring one new icebreaker and intends to begin production activities in 2020 under an accelerated acquisition timeline. Source: Marinelink If the ice crests retracts even further (as expected), they might nod need heavy icebreakers.

Australia’s world-beating defence technology niche 2 Feb 2018|Brendan Nicholson When three American warships and a merchant vessel were attacked by cruise missiles off the coast of Yemen in 2016, their crews fired off a series of defensive systems which diverted some of the missiles and brought the others down. One of those systems, and key elements of another, were developed in Australia by scientists and engineers who are producing some of the world’s most advanced targeting devices. The Nulka decoy system is Australia’s most successful defence export with more than $1 billion worth of sales to close allies. It’s been in operation with the Royal Australian Navy and the US Navy for over 20 years. The Nulka is a rocket packed with electronics that is fired by a ship under missile attack. It hovers in the path of the incoming missiles and emits signals that simulate a radar return from a large ship overlapping the target vessel. Once the incoming missile locks on to what it thinks is a more attractive target, the Nulka moves the ghost image away from the real ship and the missile follows it into empty space. The decoy was developed by Australian scientists from the Defence Science and Technology Organisation (now DST Group) with the high-tech company BAE Systems Australia. The Nulka forms one layer of the complex defence systems fitted to more than 150 Australian, US and Canadian warships. It’s likely that the crew of at least one of the four US ships attacked by rebels off Yemen in October 2016 were saved from death or injury by the world-beating Nulka. The guided missile destroyer USS Mason was operating in the about 12 nautical miles from the coast when it was fired on by Houthi rebels using land-based anti-ship cruise missiles. The Mason’s crew fired their anti-missile systems, which included three of their own missiles and Australian-made Nulka decoys. The incoming missiles crashed into the sea. At the time, very little detail was made public. But now the US publication Navy Times has confirmed that the crews of four American naval vessels received combat action ribbons after a series of cruise missile attacks over several days. It says the Mason was with USS Ponce, an amphibious transport dock, when they were fired on. The Mason’s crew fired off two Standard Missile-2s, one Evolved Sea Sparrow missile and two ‘decoys’. Several days later, five cruise missiles were fired at the Mason and the destroyer USS Nitz. Again, the ships fired missiles and decoys to bring down all five. The photograph with the Navy Times story shows US sailors reloading the Nulka system. Australian scientists from a BAE Systems facility in Melbourne also played a key role in developing the control and guidance systems for the Evolved Sea Sparrow, a US missile made by Raytheon which is part of a NATO development program. Brad Yelland, BAE Systems’ engineering director, says Australia produces the world’s best guidance and control technology using a combination of high physics and mathematics capability combined with proper understanding of how systems work, what they’re needed for, what they’ll do and how they’ll function in the environment they’re destined for. ‘My experience is that Australia is much more capable than most countries in the world, the Western world anyway, of truly applying systems thinking to things.’ The Australian-designed CEA phased-array radar system and the JORN over-horizon radar system are more examples of Australian achievements in the same broad area. ‘We have a level of knowledge and capability in this country that is not recognised’, Yelland says. ‘It’s not just Nulka, it’s the whole capability that enabled the development of Nulka. When you look at the core technical capability that underpins Nulka, it’s all around autonomous guidance and control. We’ve taken the Nulka capability and grown it into traditional missile guidance and control.’ In that way, the guidance and control system for both the Evolved Sea Sparrow and the British Taranis stealthy unmanned combat aircraft came out of the Melbourne office of BAE Australia. He says that while engineers with much greater resources in places like the US throw money at a problem until it goes away, Australians are inclined to take a step back and find an alternative path to a solution. ‘That’s the advantage Australia has. It’s been forced on us because there are very few projects and not much money.’ Engineers in bigger, richer countries tend to focus on one aspect of a project. ‘Young engineers in Australia are likely to find themselves working in the mechanical space, the electrical space, software development, simulation and modelling’, says Yelland. ‘And so you start to build up this full knowledge of the system. It only when you’ve got that that you can really do these niche areas properly. ‘And it’s that fundamental difference that allows us to do these special things where you need to think outside the box, think laterally and understand the whole system.’ Author| Brendan Nicholson is the defence editor of The Strategist. Image courtesy of the US Department of Defense. Source: https://www.aspistrategist.org.au Workhorses of the sea

On Jan. 12, the Happy Buccaneer left Poland bound for The Port of Virginia® and started a two-year cycle that will see the delivery of 86 new cranes that are the centerpieces of the expansion taking place at VIG and Norfolk International Terminals (NIT). Source: Port of Virginia