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



Community Build Contest Session Coming to End
Ahoy mates! The end of the month is here. Those of you participating in the community build contest, please do not forget to post your progress photos in your build thread.


MSW Scuttlebutt Back in Circulation
After four days of moving furniture and boxes, the Model Shipwrights’ News Department has move in to its new temporary home while our home undergoes hurricane repair. It’s about time.




Boston National Historical Park

Today’s website is the Boston National Historical Park. Boston National Historical Park tells the story of the events that led to the American Revolution and the Navy that kept the nation strong. Visit the historic sites that make up Boston National Historical Park. Enjoy.
Website




This Day in U.S. Naval History

1814 - USS Peacock captures HMS Epervier.
1898 - U.S. warships engage Spanish gunboats and shore batteries at Cienfuegos, Cuba.
1944 - Fast carrier task force (12 carriers) commence two-day bombing of Truk.
1975 - Operation Frequent Wind evacuation from Vietnam begins.


Unmanned ASW Support Facility to be Built in Newport
Source: U.S Navy

NEWPORT, R.I. --- A couple of members of Congress announced the funding of a $9.9 million military construction project at the Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) Division Newport April 9.

The appropriation will fund construction of an Unmanned Anti-Submarine Warfare Support Facility to support testing and evaluation operations on the Narragansett Range, an instrumented range for testing unmanned underwater vehicles, unmanned surface vehicles, swimmer delivery systems, payloads, torpedoes, targets, underwater surveillance, swimmer defense systems and undersea technologies.

This project will cover the design and construction to convert a World War II era building, originally built as a steam plant on the waterfront of Narragansett Bay, to meet current requirements.

"The new facility will provide state-of-the-art range operations, tracking and a display center for development of tactical concepts of operations for undersea warfare development systems and technologies," said Capt. Michael Byman, commander, NUWC Division Newport.

"It will also provide improved diver unit support facilities to accommodate requirements for operating both undersea and surface prototype vehicles on an integrated range."

The architectural and engineering design portion of the project was awarded March 6 to AECOM Services, Inc. of Roanoke, Va. Construction is expected to begin in May 2010 with building occupancy expected in November 2011.


Minister for Defence Visits Aegis Production Center, USA
Source: Australian Department of Defence

The Minister for Defence, the Hon. Joel Fitzgibbon MP, yesterday visited Lockheed Martin’s Aegis Production Test Center in Philadelphia as part of his visit to the United States.

The Aegis system is the key capability element in the Australian Defence Force’s Air Warfare Destroyer (AWD) Program. The lead ship in the program, HMAS Hobart, is due for delivery in 2014.

The visit provided an opportunity for Mr Fitzgibbon to inspect the phased array radar and related Aegis equipment destined for installation in HMAS Hobart. These radar arrays were recently installed at the Production Test Center, marking the full Aegis system’s transition from its production phase to testing.

Tests on the first Aegis combat system will begin in May, with completion expected in November 2009.

Lockheed Martin is contracted to the US Navy for the supply of the Australian Aegis systems. Mr Fitzgibbon also met with Mr Fred Moosally, President of Lockheed Martin’s Maritime Systems and Sensors, and discussed progress on the delivery and testing of the Aegis system. The visit was hosted by Rear Admiral Terry Benedict, the US Navy’s Program Executive Officer, Integrated Warfare Systems.

“Australia will be acquiring the most advanced technology and capability possible with this version of the Aegis System,” Mr Fitzgibbon said. “The Hobart class system will be the first non-US Navy application of this version.

“This visit has given me the opportunity to see at first hand the high degree of success achieved to date in delivering the Hobart class AWD and its leading edge Aegis capability.”

Mr Fitzgibbon’s visit to Philadelphia follows a meeting with Mr Bob Stevens, Lockheed Martin CEO, in which they discussed progress on the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) Program.

The Minister advised Mr Stevens that no final decision on the JSF would be made until the delivery of the Defence White Paper, however, Australia remained a committed partner.

On Thursday, Mr Fitzgibbon and the Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Hon. Stephen Smith MP, jointly led the Australian delegation to the annual Australia-United States Ministerial Consultations, held in Washington, DC.


Photo of the Day



The amphibious dock landing ship USS Ashland (LSD 48) enters port on opening day of the annual Fleet Week Port Everglades celebration.

Gator