Welcome to MSW’s Scuttlebutt! Here’s the news for the day.



Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum

Today’s website is Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum. Opened in 1986 by the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society dedicated to diving and research of shipwrecks on the Great Lakes including ships ranging from sailing schooners of the early 1800's to the Edmund Fitzgerald, the latest and largest shipwreck, which continues to fascinate residents of Michigan's Upper Peninsula at Whitefish Point on Lake Superior. Enjoy.
Website




This Day in U.S. Naval History

1783 - At the conclusion of the American Revolution, Congress orders all Continental naval vessels and privateers home.
1903 - George Dewey is commissioned Admiral of the Navy with the date of rank, March 2, 1899. He was the only person to hold this rank.
1918 - The battleship Idaho (BB 41) is commissioned.
1988 - William L. Ball III becomes the 67th secretary of the Navy.


Russian Defense Ministry vow to completely re-equip Black Sea Fleet in two years
Source: Russian Defense Ministry

The Russian Defense Ministry plans to completely re-equip the Black Sea Fleet and the troops of the North-Caucasus Military District by 2011, Vladimir Popovkin, the deputy defense minister, announced on Thursday.

Popovkin said that the ministry, after a thorough analysis of the results of the South-Ossetian conflict, had come up with a set of measures meant to strengthen the troops of the North Caucasus Military District and the Black Sea Fleet, with a view to substantially increase the rate at which the armed forces are being refitted with a clearer idea of future perspectives.

Plans are to complete construction of Lada-type diesel submarines with a hydro-acoustic complex, to modernize Varshavyanka-class diesel submarines, increase the rate of construction large new-project landing ships and the Bal-U mobile coastal missile complex. The acquisition of Bastion coastal missile complexes for divisions of the army will also be completed, as well as the purchase of antiship cruise missiles and reconnaissance helicopters.

The Russian Ground Forces will see an acceleration in the modernization of multiple rocket-launching systems; the development of new intelligence-gathering systems; the completion of the modernization of Mig-29 and Su-25 jetfighters; Mi-28H helicopters; the purchase of new Su-27SM and Su-30MK-2 fighter planes and Ka-52, Mi-28H, Mi-24M, and Mi-8MTB5 helicopters; and finally the purchase of Pantsir-S surface-to-air missile systems.

Military experts have met the announcement with skepticism. “2011 sounds absolutely wild, if he had said by 2020, it will not be here soon and the general would not have had to account for the feasibility of the announced plans. But in two years!” the RBK Daily cited Alexander Khramchikhina, an expert at the Institute of Political and Military Analysis, as saying. Anatoly Tsyganok, another expert with the Center for Military Prognosis, also questioned how realistic were plans to re-fit the oldest Russian fleet, where the youngest ship has served for 17 years, in just two year.

The Black Sea Fleet is an operational-strategic division of the Russian Navy operating in the Black Sea. It is considered to have been founded on May 13, 1783, when a fleet under the Azov Flotilla and the command of Vice Admiral F.A. Klokachev entered the Akhtiarskaya Bay. In the more than 200 years of its existence the Fleet has taken part in a multitude of wars, including the Russian-Turkish war, the war against France, and the Great Patriotic War (WWII). The Fleet has scored many glorious victories in its history, such as the battle near Tendra, the battle of Sinop 1853), the defense of Sebastopol (1854-1855, 1941-1942), and others. During WWII, the Fleet conducted 24 landing operations, sank 835 enemy ships and boats, and disabled another 539. The collapse of the Soviet Union had a stinging effect on the Fleet: by a bilateral agreement signed between Ukraine and Russia in 1995 and 1997, the Fleet was used to create the Russian Black Sea Fleet and the Ukrainian Navy. Most of the Black Sea infrastructure is located on Ukrainian territory and is frequently the subject of accusations and fiery disputes between Russia and the Ukrainian leadership, which is keen to accuse the Fleet of violating the signed agreements.

The Black Sea Fleet took part in the war against Georgia in 2008. The headquarters of the Fleet is located in Sebastopol. Here are some bases: Novorossiysk, Sebastopol, under construction in Novorossiysk and Ochamchir (Abkhazia). Vice Admiral Alexander Kletskov has been at the command of the Fleet since July 17, 2007. The Fleet has a contingent of 25,000, more than 50 combat ships, including antisubmarine ships, landing ships, diesel submarines, missile boats, and mine sweepers.


Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle — Failure Not An Option
Source: US Marine Corps

MARINE CORPS BASE QUANTICO, Va. --- Our Corps’ position remains unequivocal — the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle is essential to what we do and is our top acquisition priority. It is a mistake to let past technical difficulties shape the future of the program.

Operational experience has repeatedly demonstrated that the rapid projection of Marine Corps combat power ashore is the key to success in all amphibious missions across the range of military operations. The tremendous flexibility and utility, both across the littorals and deep inland, make it a significant addition to joint commanders’ employment options.

Even if the landing force could avoid fixed defenses, comparative analysis has shown that shuttling personnel carriers on landing craft air-cushioned would delay the build-up of combat power ashore to the extent that the landing force would incur significant casualties from an enemy counter-attack.

Additionally, anti-ship cruise missiles are lethal ship-killers, as demonstrated when Hezbollah struck an Israeli warship during the Lebanon crisis in 2006, but neutralizing these weapons is facilitated by keeping ships over the horizon. The Navy and Marine Corps have therefore pursued a complementary mix of over-the-horizon capabilities, to include rotary-wing and tilt-rotor aircraft, LCACs, and the EFV.

A surface amphibious fighting vehicle that self-deploys from a ship at high speed provides the joint commander the ability to quickly mass combat power ashore while overcoming projected anti-access threats. The Joint Requirements Oversight Council validated the requirement for the EFV, which is to provide rapid combat power build-up ashore from over the horizon.

It’s important to understand that when DoD programs exceed planned cost and schedule, Congress requires the secretary of Defense to make certain certifications. The EFV underwent a complete review in spring 2007, and the Office of the Secretary of Defense certified, among other things, that “the EFV program is essential to national security and there are no alternatives which will provide equal or greater military capability at a reduced cost.”

The EFV continues to make significant progress. A recent major design review assessed the predicted reliability as 61.5 hours mean time between operational mission failures, exceeding the established criteria of 43.5 hours. Further developmental and operational tests will be conducted on seven prototypes currently in fabrication to validate the reliability of the EFV.

This nation requires the ability to rapidly project combat power ashore from U.S. Navy ships to ensure our security against international threats. The Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle remains a vital capability to accomplish that amphibious mission and is the commandant’s top ground combat priority.


Photo of the Day



Emma Mærsk is a container ship owned by the A. P. Moller-Maersk Group. When she was launched, Emma Mærsk was the largest container ship ever built, and as of 2008 the longest ship in use.

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