Welcome to MSW’s Scuttlebutt! Here’s the news for the day.
National Museum of the Marine Corps
Today’s website is the National Museum of the Marine Corps. The National Museum of the Marine Corps exhibits include weapons, maps, photographs, equipment, and art. Featured are the two American Flags raised on Mt. Suribachi, Iwo Jima in February 1945. Enjoy.
Website
This Day in U.S. Naval History
1802 - Frigate Constellation defeats 9 Corsair gunboats off Tripoli.
1905 - Body of John Paul Jones moved to Annapolis, MD for reburial.
1953 - U.S. ships laid down heavy barrage to support UN troops in Korea
1964 - Four Navy Divers (LCDR Robert Thompson, MC; Gunners Mate First Class Lester Anderson, Chief Quartermaster Robert A. Barth, and Chief Hospital Corpsman Sanders Manning) submerge in Sealab I for 10 days at a depth of 192 feet, 39 miles off Hamilton, Bermuda. They surfaced on July 31.
1974 - Evacuees from the coup on Cyprus arrive on board Navy vessels in the Mediterranean. Operation ended on July 24.
Modernization of Coast Guard Cutters and Naval Surface Combatants
Source: Congressional Budget Office
CBO released a study today that examines alternatives to current Navy and Coast Guard long-term procurement strategies for their small surface ships known as small combatants. As articulated in their respective long-term shipbuilding plans, the Navy and the Coast Guard intend to purchase a total of 83 small combatants. CBO estimates these purchases would cost more than $47 billion over the next 20 years.
The Navy is building two versions of its new combat ship designed for operations near coastlines (the littoral zone). Also, the Coast Guard is building replacements for its existing classes of high-endurance cutters and medium-endurance cutters. As the designation “small combatant” implies, the Navy’s two versions of littoral combat ships (LCSs) and the Coast Guard’s national security cutters (NSCs) and offshore patrol cutters (OPCs) are designed to be significantly shorter in length, lighter in weight, and shallower in draft than most Navy surface warships (carriers, amphibious ships, cruisers, and destroyers).
Although all four types of ship are about the same size, they are designed to perform different missions.
In general, The Navy’s LCSs are designed to have less range than Coast Guard cutters but to operate at much greater speeds and close to shore during wartime as part of a naval battle network. The Coast Guard ships are meant to operate independently at sea for long periods of time and at some distance from the shore and not to engage in major combat operations.
In the early stages of implementing the ship programs, however, the Navy and the Coast Guard have encountered various challenges—including cost overruns and construction problems. As a result of those delays and cost overruns, some members of the Congress and independent analysts have questioned whether the Navy and the Coast Guard need to buy four different types of small combatant and whether—in spite of the services’ well-documented reservations about using similar hull designs—the same type of hull could be employed for certain missions.
To explore that possibility, CBO examined three alternatives to the Navy’s and the Coast Guard’s current plans for these four ships.
Option 1 explores the feasibility of having the Coast Guard buy a variant of the Navy’s LCS to use as its offshore patrol cutter.
Option 2 examines the effects of reducing the number of LCSs the Navy would buy and substituting instead a naval version of the Coast Guard’s national security cutter.
Option 3 examines the advantages and disadvantages of having the Coast Guard buy more national security cutters rather than incur the costs of designing and building a new ship to perform the missions of an offshore patrol cutter.
According to CBO’s estimates, all three alternatives and the services’ plans would have similar costs, regardless of whether they are calculated in terms of acquisition costs or total life-cycle costs.
CBO’s analysis also indicates that the three alternative plans would not necessarily be more cost-effective or provide more capability than the services’ existing plans. Specifically, even if the options addressed individual problems that the Navy and Coast Guard might confront with their small combatants, the options would also create new challenges.
Lockheed to Upgrade US Navy Submarine Masts
Source: Lockheed Martin
MARION, Mass. --- Lockheed Martin, in a joint venture with Granite State Manufacturing (GSM), received a $6.9 million contract from the U.S. Navy to design, test and manufacture an upgraded Multifunction Mast Antenna System to improve submarine communications.
Currently, all U.S. Navy submarines operating at periscope depth, including the new Virginia-class attack submarines, use the antenna system as their primary method to communicate with aircraft, surface ships and land-based assets. The system - designated the OE-538 - provides high performance, erectable mast-mounted communication and navigation capabilities.
The upgraded OE-538/BRC Multifunction Mast Antenna System will provide submarine communications with improved performance in the UHF signal band. It also will add LINK 16, Iridium and Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) UHF satellite communications capabilities, while maintaining performance in legacy bands. Lockheed Martin expects to upgrade and return to the fleet at least 12 systems per year over six years. If all options are exercised, the cumulative value of the contract is estimated at $57.6 million.
"Lockheed Martin has provided more than 90 OE-538 systems for the U.S. and allied navies since 1989," said Joe Rappisi, vice president and general manager of Lockheed Martin's Marion-based business. "This upgrade ensures compatibility with new satellites and evolving communication systems to ensure that submarine forces will remain connected to the global information grid."
GSM, of Manchester, NH, is a highly specialized organization, combining value engineering, program management and in-house state of the art production facilities. GSM offers a full range of manufacturing services including precision machining, metal fabrication, welding, soldering, mechanical assembly, electrical assembly and testing.
Northrop Grumman Delivers Upgraded U.S. Navy Targets
Source: Northrop Grumman
SAN DIEGO --- Northrop Grumman Corporation has delivered to the U.S. Navy two retrofitted BQM-34 Firebee aerial targets, the first delivery in a series of BQM-34 targets retrofitted with current production avionics hardware and software capability from the BQM-74E product line.
The retrofit addresses avionics obsolescence issues faced by the oldest BQM-34 targets in the Navy inventory. An added benefit of integrating the modernized avionics includes fully autonomous waypoint navigation and improved extreme low altitude performance using the same mission planning system and vehicle avionics suite currently delivered with Navy BQM-74 targets.
Under two contracts recently awarded by the Navy, Northrop Grumman will retrofit a total of 15 BQM-34 Firebees. The upgraded capability was initially demonstrated on August 17, 2005, with a successful first flight featuring the enhanced integrated avionics unit serving as the vehicle's autopilot. The two recent deliveries represent the first production version of the upgraded capability.
"The incorporation of the avionics upgrade into the BQM-34S will provide the Navy with an extremely economical means to fulfill their future target needs," said Hans Dall, manager of the Targets Program for Northrop Grumman's Aerospace Systems sector. "The avionics upgrade will assure that the exceptional capabilities provided by the BQM-34 will continue to support Navy needs for many more years."
The primary mission of Firebee is to simulate tactical threats posed by enemy aircraft and missiles for test and evaluation of defensive weapons systems. With a top speed of Mach 0.97, and an operational envelope covering altitudes as low as 10 feet above the sea surface and as high as 60,000 feet, the BQM-34 Firebee is a highly versatile and reliable high performance aerial target system. It is capable of performing seven-g turns while maintaining high airspeeds for realistic threat presentations.
With its high-thrust engine, advanced microprocessor flight control system, rugged airframe, and wide assortment of mission augmentation systems, the BQM-34 Firebee is a premier high performance aerial target system for today's military test and evaluation requirements. Its modular, robust design; large internal and external payload capacity; and abundant electrical power allows it to be readily modified to meet specialized target and tactical unmanned aerial vehicle missions. Such performance, and the ability to survive the hits and near misses of repeated missions, explains why the Firebee has been in constant use by American military services for more than five decades.
Photo of the Day
A rigid hull inflatable boat from the guided-missile destroyer USS McCampbell (DDG 85) departs the Royal Australian Navy guided-missile frigate HMAS Newcastle (FFG 06) during a personnel transfer.
Gator
