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



Feature - DKM Scharnhorst
MSW crewmember Katseas Kostas [angeleyes] offers us a view of his stunning DKM Scharnhorst.
Feature

Review - Varyag Wooden Deck
MSW Crewmember D.T. [Dr_Who2] brings us a First look review of Vector Cut’s Varyag wooden deck in 1/350.
Review




Polish Navy Orders a Fuel Cell for Testing in Underwater Craft
Source: Morphic Technologies

Morphic Energy has received an order for a new type of fuel cell that will be used in underwater crafts. The customer is the Polish Navy in Gdynia.

The development work has been carried out parallel with the ongoing industrialization process for Polaris 140, the fuel cell system for recreational vehicles such as boats, travel trailers and motor homes. All volume manufacturing of fuel cell stacks follows one primary process, and the in-house designed machinery that is used is the same for all of Energy’s products.

Morphic will deliver an unconventional, AIP-fuel cell system where electricity is generated in environments with no contact with the atmosphere. The fuel cells are driven by pure hydrogen gas and pure oxygen as opposed to a conventional fuel cell where oxygen is extracted from the air. The advantages of this is that the system can be made more compact and it also increases efficiency. This technology has primarily been used by the military or for space applications.

“The result of the development work is exciting. We are broadening our existing product portfolio consisting of fuel cells mainly intended for civilian use with niche systems for military applications and are strengthening our position as a supplier of fuel cells. Today’s initial order from the Polish Navy means that we now have a customer order for environmentally-friendly electricity generation for land, underwater and airborne applications,” says Martin Valfridsson, President and CEO of Morphic Technologies.

Morphic is a Swedish engineering group operating in the areas of fuels cells and wind power. The Group has about 200 employees and conducts operations in five countries – Sweden, Japan, Greece, Italy and Switzerland.


Technology Enhances Warfighters' Threat Detection Capability
Source: US Navy

DAM NECK, Va. --- Several technological systems connected to provide an over-the-horizon threat detection capability during a demonstration Aug. 5-6 at Damn Neck, Va.

The combination of systems is designed to effectively warn Navy warfighters of threats. Navy and industry officials watched the systems successfully converge to produce a valuable new technological capability – a "systems-of-systems" – that can benefit Navy platforms such as the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) with an early warning capability.

"The integration of various capabilities to produce this over-the-horizon capability is a huge step forward for warfighters," said NSWC Dahlgren Division Commander Capt. Sheila Patterson. "It's the product of our partnership with the Office of Naval Research (ONR) in our development initiatives and the involvement of warfighters to integrate their needs from the very beginning."

The Naval Expeditionary Overwatch (NEO) system combined with SeaLancet radios, AN/SPQ-9B radar and the Integrated Combat Management System (ICMS) to send extended threat detection information to a control station for the expansion of the defensive perimeter - beyond a ship's on-board capabilities.

"NEO can pass the threat detection data back to platforms such as Littoral Combat Ship," said NEO Project Manager Nelson Mills. "This demonstration drives home the critical value of unmanned surface vessels (USVs) for surface warfare by extending the defensive envelope of ships and other command stations."

The NEO system is the integration of threat detection sensors and engagement systems onto both manned and unmanned platforms. ICMS integrates the sensors and weapons aboard LCS.

This over-the-horizon threat detection capability was made possible by combining the NEO USV intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance sensors with the SeaLancet tactical radio, ICMS and the AN/SPQ-9B radar.

The SeaLancet radio communicates high-volume sensor data from multiple Navy platforms to distant tactical ships, such as the Littoral Combat Ship. AN/SPQ-9B radar detects sea-skimming missiles at the horizon even in heavy clutter while simultaneously providing detection and tracking of surface targets and beacon responses.

"NEO unmanned surface vessels broaden a ship's defensive perimeter and provides early warning for littoral surface warfare," said Frank Lagano, NSWCDD Deputy NEO Program Manager. "We did this by integrating warfighter requirements and working with our industry partners – including Northrop Grumman and Harris Corporation – to provide the final links that can bring this technology to warfighters on a grand scale."

During the two-day event, the USV successfully provided early threat detection from outside the defensive perimeter capabilities of a platform by using onboard sensors to pass radar tracks and video to ICMS and the NEO ground station at the Center for Surface Combat Systems.

This threat detection system provides warfighters with actionable information, real-time situational awareness and command and control processing such as track management, correlation, identification for weapon assignment.




Maritime History of the Great Lakes

Today’s website is the Maritime History of the Great Lakes. The Maritime History of the Great Lakes website is an ongoing experiment in the design of a "digital library", a collection of documents intended to be of value to those researching Great Lakes History. Enjoy.
Website


This Day in U.S. Naval History

1843 - Steam frigate Missouri arrives at Gibralter completing first trans-Atlantic crossing by a U.S. steam-powered ship.
1942 - Five Navy nurses who became POWs on Guam are repatriated.
1951 - Twenty-three fighters from USS Essex (CV 9) escort Air Force heavy bombers attacking Najin, Korea, since target was beyond range of land-based fighters.


Photo of the Day



The guided-missile cruiser USS Cowpens (CG 63) and the guided-missile destroyers USS Fitzgerald (DDG 62) and USS Mustin (DDG 89) are underway during the Indonesian International Fleet Review.

Gator