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



Feature - CVN65, The Big E
MSW Crewmember Louis Carabot takes us out to sea onboard his USS Enterprise, CVN65, as she sailed in the 1980''s. Watch out for the salt spray!
Feature



Royal Naval Observers Boosted with £57m Training Contract
Source: UK Ministry of Defence

Royal Navy flying training is receiving a significant boost thanks to a £57 million service contract with Ascent, a joint venture of Lockheed Martin and VT Group. This new contract will provide an incremental approach to Basic Observer Training improving the current course with the Basic Flying Training phase carried out in new aircraft.

The new Basic Observer Course will be delivered by Ascent in three phases. Phases 1 (Introductory Flying Training and Common Core Ground School) and 2 (Elementary Navigation Training) will be conducted at RAF Barkston Heath, the flying elements being delivered on the Grob 115Es, owned by the VT Group. Phase 3 (Basic Flying Training) will be conducted at RNAS Culdrose on four new MOD-owned Beechcraft B350ER King Air aircraft.

The contract in-turn includes a sub-contract between Ascent and Cobham plc that will see FR Aviation, part of Cobham, integrate a radar and tactical mission training system into the King Air aircraft and thereafter conduct maintenance and continuing airworthiness services.

Valerie Evans, Head of the Defence Equipment and Support Flying Training Support Team which encompasses the UK Military Flying Training System said:

“We are delighted to have secured this latest stage of the UK Military Flying Training System with the signing of the Rear Crew Stage 1 Training Service Contract with our industry partner Ascent for the delivery of the Royal Navy Basic Observer Course. We believe this is a prime example of the integrated approach the MoD is now taking with its industry partners to deliver world class training systems for UK military personnel destined for front line service.”

Royal Navy Observers are key members of the crew in all maritime helicopters. Successful graduates from the course will be appointed to their Operational Conversion Units prior to employment on frontline Royal Navy Sea King ASaC, Lynx Mk8 and Merlin Mk 1 helicopter squadrons.


BACKGROUND NOTES

The UKMFTS programme will cater for the different training needs of the entire flying element of the UK front-line, ranging from fast-jet pilots and weapons systems operators, through helicopter and multi-engine pilots to all the rear crew personnel. It will encompass all flying training for students following selection up to the point they are ready to fly operational aircraft such as Typhoon, Chinook and C17.

Initial flying training for these officers is currently achieved through the Royal Navy Basic Observer Course flying in the Jetstream T Mk 2. These aircraft reach their planned Out of Service Date (OSD) in March 2011.

In order to minimise the potential of a capability shortfall, an incremental approach is being adopted to Basic Observer Training within the UK Military Flying training Service construct with the Rear Crew Training Stage 1 Contract preceding a full solution at Stage 2 covering fourteen other aircrew roles including navigation and weapons operations.

The Basic Observer Training delivered via the Rear Crew Stage 1 training solution also encompasses Ground Based Training Equipment and a Training Management and Information System supplied by Lockheed Martin STS and Infrastructure and Information Computer Technology supplied by the VT Group.

The programme will help reinforce the UK’s reputation for delivering unequalled flying training and ensure front-line forces will in future train on significantly more capable aircraft and facilities under a more effective and streamlined instruction package.


Alion Awarded $48.5M Navy Task Order to Develop and Test Automated Torpedo Detection System
Source: Alion Science and Technology

MCLEAN, Va. --- Alion Science and Technology, an employee-owned technology solutions provider, has been awarded a task order from the U.S. Navy valued at $48.5 million to research, design, develop, prototype, integrate and test a new torpedo detection system in conjunction with the Navy’s new anti-torpedo countermeasure technology, demonstrating the improved performance and integration of the technologies in Navy fleet systems.

The task order, awarded under the Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Newport SeaPort-e contract, supports the Naval Sea Systems (NAVSEA) Undersea Defensive Warfare Systems Program Office with Anti-Torpedo Torpedo Defensive System (ATTDS) Torpedo Detection, Classification and Localization (TDCL) technology.

This work follows the successful demonstration of new TDCL technology developed by Alion and its team members over the past four years, which has been proven to outperform existing sonar systems on Navy ships. Alion will evaluate the TDCL system both in the laboratory and at sea.

“As other countries increase their submarine forces, the threat of torpedoes to Navy vessels also increases,” explained Rear Adm. John J. (JJ) Waickwicz (USN, Ret.), Alion Senior Vice President and Manager of the Engineering Technology Center Group. “Continued at-sea testing is intended to demonstrate that ATTDS will reliably detect and counter incoming torpedo threats, protecting Navy ships and the lives of personnel aboard,” Waickwicz added.

The period of performance runs through May 2014. Alion’s ATTDS TDCL team includes 3 Phoenix Inc., Adaptive Methods, Advanced Reasoning Inc., Angle Inc., BAE Systems, BBN, Daniel H. Wagner Assoc. Inc., General Dynamics – Information Technology, L3 and Ultra Electronics




Naval Archive Color Naval Pictures from World War II

Today’s website is the Naval Archive Color Naval Pictures from World War II. Take a look at pictures from the National Archives Naval Color Slide Collection. Enjoy.
Website


This Day in U.S. Naval History

1923 - In disaster at Point Honda, Calif., seven destroyers run aground through faulty navigation.
1939 - President Franklin D. Roosevelt proclaims a limited national emergency and increases enlisted strength in the Navy and Marine Corps; also authorizes the recall to active duty of officers, men and nurses on the retired lists of the Navy and Marine Corps.
1954 - U.S. signs Manila Treaty forming SEATO (Southeast Asia Treaty Organization).
1958 - Lt. R. H. Tabor, wearing a Navy-developed pressure suit, completes a 72-hour simulated flight at altitudes as high a 139,000 feet. It was another step in the development of the Navy spacesuit, which NASA accepted in 1959 for use by Mercury astronauts


Photo of the Day



Kahu Kimokeo Kapahulehua performs a traditional Hawaiian blessing during a boat blessing ceremony. During the ceremony held by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) at Rainbow Bay Marina on Naval Station Pearl Harbor, NOAA unveiled their new research vessel, the R/V Hihimanu.

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