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



Victory at Sea – Battle of Copenhagen

Take a trip back in time to the days of Nelson and the Royal Navy in this account of the Battle of Copenhagen.
Victory at Sea




Vice Admiral Horatio Lord Nelson

Today’s website is the Vice Admiral Horatio Lord Nelson. The 1805 Club, founded in 1990, preserves, restores and maintains vital parts of Britain's naval heritage through the preservation of monuments and memorials relating to Vice Admiral Lord Nelson and seafaring people of the Georgian era. Also, to promote research into the Royal Navy of the Georgian period, and especially Vice Admiral Lord Nelson and to organise cultural and historical events. Enjoy.
Website




This Day in U.S. Naval History

1781 - Navy frigate Alliance captures two British privateers, Mars and Minerva.
1827 - Construction of the first naval hospital begins at Portsmouth, Va.
1898 - U.S. Naval Academy coat-of-arms is adopted.
1947 - The United Nations places former Japanese-mandated islands under U.S. trusteeship.
1951 - The first Navy use of a jet aircraft as a bomber; it is launched from the carrier USS Princeton (CV 37).
1960 - USS Glacier (AGB 4) begins 12 days of relief operations, providing helicopter and boat transportation, and emergency supplies to residents of Paramaribo, Brazil, after floods.


Tognum Delivers Engines for High Speed Catamaran of U.S. Army and Navy
Source: Tognum (formerly MTU Friedrichshafen)

FRIEDRICHSHAFEN, Germany/DETROIT, Ill. --- Tognum, the specialist in propulsion and power solutions, recently received a major order for its Engines business unit to deliver four large diesel engines to the US-shipyard Austal USA (Mobile, Alabama).

These MTU 20V 8000 M71L engines will be used as main propulsion engines for the first of ten planned high speed catamarans of the U.S. armed forces - called Joint High Speed Vessel (JHSV). They are rated at 9,100 kW each. The contract includes options for nine additional vessels, totalling 36 engines of the same type, expected to be exercised between 2009 and 2013.

The JHSV-catamaran is the Department of Defense’s next generation multi-use platform, which will be operated jointly by both the United States Army and Navy. The 103-metre (338-foot) vessel will be capable of transporting troops and their equipment, supporting humanitarian relief efforts, operating in shallow waters and reaching speeds in excess of 35 knots fully loaded.

Austal USA was named as Prime Contractor for the JHSV-project in November 2008. The aluminum catamaran design of the JHSV will be similar to that of the Austal-built fast ferries for Hawaii Superferry, also powered by MTU Series 8000 engines.

The 416-foot Littoral Combat Ship “Independence”, which was built by Austal USA for the U.S. Navy, is among the military vessels powered by MTU Series 8000 engines.


U.S. Navy Certifies Lockheed Martin Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System with 'Terminal Phase' Capability
Source: Lockheed Martin

MOORESTOWN, N.J. --- Lockheed Martin's latest Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) System with flight test-proven terminal intercept capability recently received full certification from the U.S. Navy.

This newest upgrade to the operational BMD system deployed today adds the capability to defeat short-range ballistic missiles as they re-enter the atmosphere in their final (terminal) stage of flight. The system is already certified to defeat longer range ballistic missiles above the atmosphere.

By June 2009, Aegis BMD version 3.6.1 will be installed in the U.S. Navy's 17 of 18 Aegis BMD-equipped ships. Beginning next summer, Aegis BMD version 3.6.1 will also be installed on three additional Aegis-equipped ships, all homeported on the east coast, being modified to perform ballistic missile defense.

Separate from the 3.6.1 installations, the Aegis BMD capable ship USS Lake Erie (CG 70), is being fitted with the next Aegis BMD spiral that includes an improved on board computing capability and the Standard Missile-3 Block IB. USS Lake Erie will begin sea trails of this next spiral in 2009.

The Navy's latest upgrade certification of the proven sea-based missile defense system followed a thorough government test and evaluation, including a June 2008 test mission with the Aegis BMD cruiser USS Lake Erie. In the test, Lake Erie's SPY-1B radar detected and tracked a ballistic missile test target, and computed a targeting solution to guide two SM-2 Block IV missiles to a successful endo-atmospheric (within the atmosphere) intercept.

"Build a little, test a little, learn a lot- that is the systems engineering backbone behind Aegis," said Orlando Carvalho, vice president of Lockheed Martin's Surface/Sea-Based Missile Defense line of business. "We understand the importance of fielding ever-more-capable ballistic missile defenses, and the role Aegis' continuous development has in the Navy's and Missile Defense Agency's plans to field that capability."

The Missile Defense Agency and the Navy are jointly developing Aegis BMD as part of the United States' Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS). Currently, a total of 20 Aegis BMD version 3.6-equipped warships - 18 in the U.S. Navy and two in the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force - have the certified capability to engage ballistic missiles and perform long-range surveillance and track missions.

The Aegis Weapon System is the world's premier naval defense system and the sea-based element of the U.S. Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS). Its precision SPY-1 radar and missile system seamlessly integrate with its own command and control. Its ability to detect, track and engage targets ranging from sea-skimming cruise missiles to ballistic missiles in space is proven and unmatched. The Aegis BMD Weapon System also integrates with the BMDS, receiving track data from and providing track information to other BMDS elements.

The 88 Aegis-equipped ships currently in service around the globe have more than 950 years of at-sea operational experience and have launched more than 3,500 missiles in tests and real-world operations. In addition to the U.S. and Japan, Aegis is the maritime weapon system of choice for Australia, Norway, South Korea and Spain.

Lockheed Martin is a world leader in systems integration and the development of air and missile defense systems and technologies, including the first operational hit-to-kill missile defense system, Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3). It also has considerable experience in interceptor systems, kill vehicles, battle management command, control and communications, precision pointing and tracking optics, as well as radar and other sensors that enable signal processing and data fusion. The company makes significant contributions to nearly all major U.S. Missile Defense Systems and participates in several global missile defense partnerships.


Photo of the Day



Commercial tankers refuel alongside Iraq's Khawr Al Amaya Oil Platform.

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