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



The US Navy's Command Alphabet Soup - Prewar
MSW Crewmember Tracy White (TracyWhite) provides us with a list of pre-war command abbreviations for the US Navy. Thanks Tracy.
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Portsmouth Minehunter Joins NATO Force In North Atlantic And Baltic
Source: Royal Navy

Portsmouth-based Royal Navy minehunter HMS Quorn leaves the city’s Naval Base tomorrow (July 30) to represent the UK in a NATO mission in the North Atlantic and Baltic Sea.

The vessel will spend five months as part of the Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group 1, working alongside minehunters from six other nations.

HMS Quorn will visit 11 ports during the deployment, including Ponta De Portuga in the Azores, New York, Bermuda, and Kiel in Germany.

She has a busy itinerary of exercises with the other ships in the group which will be followed by live ordnance disposal operations off the coast of France and Belgium, clearing busy shipping lanes of explosives from the first and second world wars.

Quorn’s Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Commander Tim Neild, said: “I’m delighted to be deploying to take up our role within the Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group.
“Since returning from the Gulf in January this year, our main effort has been the regeneration of the ship and her crew to be ready in all respects to meet this important task. There is a real buzz of excitement around the ship, since this deployment presents a fantastic challenge for my ship’s company to operate on both sides of the Atlantic alongside our NATO colleagues.
“It is always useful to train and operate with our partner nations since there is clear potential to share ideas, develop tactics and build cohesiveness.”


Future Submarine Project Study
Source: Australian Department of Defence

John Faulkner, Minister for Defence and Greg Combet, Minister for Defence Personnel, Materiel and Science, today announced that Defence will call for Requests for Tender (RFT) to complete a Domestic Design Study for the Future Submarine Project, SEA 1000.

“The procurement of Australia’s future submarine will be Australia’s largest ever single defence project and will form a critical part of the nation’s future defence force,” said Senator Faulkner.

“Investigations by the Future Submarine Project Office to date have covered a number of diverse areas aimed at developing an understanding of the capability of the international submarine industry.”

“This RFT adds to these preliminary investigations by examining Australia’s design capabilities, and forms part of a program of studies being undertaken to support the planning of Australia’s future submarines as outlined in the Defence White Paper,” said Senator Faulkner.

“The RFT would add to current information collected to help shape the approach to the design of the next generation submarine.”

“We are undertaking a number of studies to identify and explore all the options to ensure we have the appropriate design capability to support our submarines throughout their life. The information we collect through this process will help to develop strategic options for the Government’s consideration,” said Mr Combet.

“This Government is committed to carefully planning for Australia’s next generation of submarines. This is clear through the program of studies and information we are gathering.”

“This request for tender recognises the skills that our Australian domestic defence industry has in the design and development of submarine technologies and systems,” Mr Combet said.




Raytheon Secures Prime Development Contract for Advanced Airborne Sensor
Source: AgustaWestland

DALLAS --- The U.S. Navy has awarded a multi-year contract authorizing Raytheon Company to begin development of the Advanced Airborne Sensor, the follow-on to the Littoral Surveillance Radar System (LSRS).

The AAS program will equip the P-8A Poseidon, the Navy's next patrol maritime aircraft. LSRS is currently operational on Navy P-3C Orions; the AAS will provide airborne radar surveillance with next-generation line-of-site capability.

Awareness and action are critical not only to today's mission, but the ever changing threats of tomorrow. "We will be ready with intelligent technology when the Poseidon takes its place as the Navy's ISR capability in the fleet," said Capt. Scott Anderson, LSRS and AAS program manager.

As the sensor prime contractor, Raytheon will oversee the mission systems integration, consisting of the development, production and installation of the AAS on the Poseidon. Raytheon will work closely with its associate prime contractor, Boeing, for engineering, aircraft modifications, integration and flight test.

"This is a major leap in technology in support of our customer's missions," said Tim Carey, vice president for Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Systems. "As the demand for Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance systems increases, we are proud to provide our customers with ISR capabilities that are recognized around the world."

By maximizing the incorporation of Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) technologies, the AAS will be highly supportable, maintainable, scalable and upgradeable, reducing unit production and life cycle costs.

Raytheon also provides continuing mission support of Navy operations, logistics and sustaining engineering of LSRS through a previously awarded multi-year performance-based contract.




Battleship New Jersey Historical Museum Society

Today’s website is the Battleship New Jersey Historical Museum Society. U.S.S. New Jersey (BB-62) is the subject of an ongoing effort to establish her as a permanent museum at Liberty State Park on the New Jersey side of the Hudson River near the Statue of Liberty. Enjoy.
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This Day in U.S. Naval History

1812 - USS Constitution captures and destroys brig Adeona.
1918 - Secretary of the Navy approves acceptance of women as yeoman in U.S. Navy.
1942 - USS Cleveland (CL 55) demonstrates effectiveness of radio-proximity fuze (VT-fuze) against aircraft by successfully destroying three drones with proximity bursts fired by her five-inch guns.
1944 - Lt. Joseph P. Kennedy Jr., USNR, the older brother of John F. Kennedy, was killed with his co-pilot in a mid-air explosion after taking off from England in a PB-4Y from Special Attack Unit One (SAU-1). Following manual takeoff, they were supposed to parachute out over the English Channel while the radio-controlled explosive filled drone proceeded to attack a German V-2 missile-launching site. Possible causes include faulty wiring or FM signals from a nearby transmitter.
1957 - In first test of Automatic Carrier Landing System, Lt. Cmdr. Don Walker is landed on USS Antietam (CV 36).
1958 - USS Nautilus (SSN 571) arrives at Portland, England, completing first submerged under ice cruise from Pacific to Atlantic oceans.


Photo of the Day



Children from the village of Visale take a tour of an SA-330 Puma Helicopter from the Military Sealift Command dry cargo and ammunition ship USNS Richard E. Byrd (T-AKE 4).

Gator