Ahoy mates and welcome to MSW’s Scuttlebutt! Let’s see what going on today.
Community Build - 2nd Session Voting
The second session of the MSW Community build has come to a conclusion. Listed below are the links to both the OOB voting and the Full Build voting. Also, for those of you interested, there is also a link to the new Community Build Score Sheet.
"OOB voting"
"Full Build voting"
"Scoreboard"
Review ~ BattleFleet Models AK23 USS Alchiba
Jim Adams gives us a closer look at BattleFleet Models 1/700 resin, AK-23 USS Alchiba, in this MSW inbox review!
"Review"
News from Battlefleet Models
Harry Abbott from Battlefleet Models is pleased to announce that their new 1/700 AK 13 Capella will be available Monday 08/11/2008. Also, Harry as a BMK restock order from BMK on the way including the new 1/350 Richelieu barrels
This Day in U.S. Naval History
1782 - Badge of Military Merit (Purple Heart) established.
1942 - Navy Amphibious Task Force lands Marines on Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, in first U.S. land offensive of World War II.
1964 - Gulf of Tonkin Resolution passed by Congress.
Future USS Green Bay Completes Acceptance Trials
The future USS Green Bay (LPD 20) completed Acceptance Trials on Aug. 1, sailing from and returning to the Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding (NGSB) shipyard in New Orleans.
Green Bay is the fourth ship of San Antonio class to be presented to the Navy's Board of Inspection and Survey (INSURV) for acceptance. This is the final major milestone prior to the shipyard delivering this amphibious transport dock ship to the Navy.
"The completion of acceptance trials is a major step towards bringing LPD 20 into the fleet, and we look forward to ship delivery in August," said Capt. Bill Galinis, LPD 17 program manager. "Green Bay performed very well on trials and continued a trend of improving performance as the class matures and more ships are prepared for the Fleet."
During the Acceptance Trials, NGSB successfully demonstrated a variety of systems including main propulsion, engineering and ship control systems, combat systems, damage control, food service and crew support. Among the highlights of the trial, Green Bay successfully completed a full power run, self-defense detect-to-engage exercises, ballasting, deballasting, and steering and anchor handling demonstrations. The multidimensional capabilities of the Shipboard Wide Area Network, the "electronic backbone" of the ship, were also demonstrated during all phases of the trial.
In addition to the INSURV team, Navy experts from Naval Sea Systems Command, the LPD 17-class Program Office and the Supervisor of Shipbuilding Gulf Coast participated in the trials. Among the most excited ship riders were those Sailors from Green Bay's crew who will be moving aboard the ship in late August shortly after delivery.
The future USS Green Bay is scheduled for commissioning in Long Beach, Calif., early next year. The ship will then join USS New Orleans (LPD 18) as the second of the class to be homeported in San Diego.
The next ship in the class, New York (LPD 21), is also at the NGSB yard in Avondale, La., preparing for sea trials next year. San Diego (LPD 22), Anchorage (LPD 23) and Arlington (LPD 24) are all under construction at Northrop Grumman Gulf Coast shipyards.
Meanwhile, USS San Antonio (LPD 17) has been training with its Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG) in preparation for deployment; USS New Orleans' next milestone will be Final Contract Trials; and USS Mesa Verde (LPD 19) is preparing for shock trials.
Navy Prepares Remote Minehunting System as Future Asset
The Navy completed technical evaluation and training of the Remote Minehunting System (RMS) aboard USS Bainbridge (DDG-96) in Panama City on July 28. The evaluation enables the Navy to continue training on the system, designed as part of the mine warfare mission package for the littoral combat ship.
"This is all in preparation for the operational evaluation (OPEVAL) to be conducted in the South Florida Test Facility this September," said Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City RMS Project Engineer Keith Hartless.
Senior Chief Mineman Paul King of the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) Mine Countermeasure (MCM) Detachment 1 praised RMS as cutting-edge technology during his pierside preparations.
"This is the future in the making," said King. "I've been working in mine warfare for at least 15 years and this is some of the most advanced equipment I've seen."
Since mines are a significant threat to today's battlegroups, destroyers have traditionally been first to enter coastal regions ahead of their battlegroups. According to Hartless, the RMS will provide a reconnaissance capability that far surpasses traditional methods of mine hunting and will exponentially increase the safety factor for ship and crew.
"In the past, we did our reconnaissance leading with our nose, so to speak, and when our first ship encountered a mine that became the 'heads-up' to call in our dedicated MCM ships and MH-53E minehunting helicopter squadrons," said Hartless.
Hartless explained the RMS is a system of systems that provides a remote and semi-autonomous capability to enter anticipated operational areas and perform reconnaissance for mine threats prior to any manned ship entering the area.
"The RMS is actually comprised of five subsystems: there is the Remote Minehunting Vehicle (RMV); the AN/AQS-20A (Q-20) towed sensor for minehunting detection and identification; the launch and recovery system; the data link system – half of which is on the RMV, the other half positioned aboard ship; and the software, called the Remote Minehunting Functional Segment (RMFS), which resides within the combat system aboard ship," said Hartless..
While pierside at NSWC PCD, King described how these systems worked together to hunt, detect and locate mines.
"Inside the RMV, there is a cable that can lower the Q-20 towed sonar body; or, the Q-20 can function while hull-mounted to the RMV. The Q-20 is usually streamed out to hunt using its sensors, it then transmits its signals back to us, we see the images in real time on consoles aboard ship, and then we also record the data so we can then perform post mission analysis," said King.
According to Hartless, once the RMS proves itself during the OPEVAL it will become a featured component as part of the mine warfare (MIW) mission package and the anti-submarine warfare (ASW) package aboard one of the Navy's newest platforms –- the LCS.
"The MIW mission package will be comprised of two RMSs –each able to operate in tandem and effectively doubling the search area and rate," Hartless said, adding that the ASW mission package will also receive two very similar remote vehicles.
"The ASW mission module also receives two RMVs except we're changing the nomenclature to Remote Multi-Mission Vehicles (RMMV) because it will be carrying ASW sensors," Hartless said. "The idea is we will have a common RMMV where we will literally be able to swap out sensors – whether for mine warfare or anti-submarine warfare, whichever is needed."
HMS Ledbury wins the last ever Soberton Trophy
HMS Ledbury has been awarded the last ever prestigious Soberton Trophy for professionalism and effectiveness whilst conducting Fishery Protection throughout 2007. The award has historically always awarded to those Mine Warfare vessels employed on fishery operations on a temporary basis. Now that the purpose-built River Class have taken on all Fishery Protection duties, Ledbury will be the last Ship to receive the Soberton Trophy, beating her sister ships HMS Quorn, Brocklesby, and Cattistock to the prize.
Ledbury was awarded the trophy by Commodore Andrew Cameron, COMPORFLOT, in a short ceremony onboard whilst the Ship prepared for a NATO deployment to Mediterraean waters.
The CO, Lt Cdr Paul Russell, said “Everyone is very pleased to be awarded the Soberton Trophy. It is a fitting reward for our hard work on fishery tasking around the UK over the last 18 months, frequently operating in marginal conditions and pushing the envelope in terms of people and equipment. We’re now looking forward to a cracking time with our NATO counterparts in the Mediterranean.”
Photo of the Day
Republic of Singapore frigate Steadfast (FFS 70) steams off the coast of Hawaii during Rim of the Pacific
Gator
