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



On Display - HMS Argonaut

MSW Crew-mate An Chu (AnChu1939) shares his build of White Ensign Models 1:700 scale HMS Dido, AA cruiser, as sister ship HMS Argonaut in this "On Display" feature.


On Display - IJN I-9 Submarine

MSW Crewmember Serhan Oflas [DMcGillavry] tricks out the Pit-Road I-9 in this nice photo feature.


Feature - The Ships at ScaleModelWorld 09

MSW Senior Editor Rui Matos [skipper] gives us a photo report of the The Ships at ScaleModelWorld 09 held in Telford, England during November 8th and 9th weekend.




Defend and Destroy: Navy’s Latest Ship Launched on Clyde
Source: UK Ministry of Defence

Thousands turned out on the banks of the Clyde today to cheer on the latest ship to make up the Royal Navy’s formidable new Type 45 destroyer class. Defender sailed for the first time today.

Chief in Command Fleet Admiral Trevor Soar said: “The thousands gathered here today to witness the launch of Defender is testament to the pride Scotland rightly takes in its shipbuilding industry which has seen a resurgence in recent times with the Type 45 build programme and the manufacture of the Aircraft Carriers that they will defend.

“Defender’s affiliation with her ‘home town’ of Glasgow will ensure these strong links live on and gives the Royal Navy the chance to give something back to the community that worked so hard to deliver her and her sister ships.

“The launch of the fifth ship is an exciting milestone as we draw nearer to the first of class HMS Daring entering into service in the New Year to begin her duties with the Royal Navy.”

Defender was launched amid a cloud of balloons and fireworks by Lady Julie Massey, wife of the Deputy Head of the Navy Second Sea Lord Sir Alan Massey, to the fanfare of the Band of the Royal Marines.

Chief of Materiel Fleet Vice Admiral Andrew Mathews said: “The Type 45 class is a most formidable ship. Her world-class Sea Viper missile system which can defend against multiple attacks by the most sophisticated anti-ship missiles bears out the title ‘destroyer’, while Defender’s name hints to her main future role in providing air defence to the Navy’s new aircraft carriers.

”Defender will be capable of carrying out a wide range of operations, including anti-piracy and anti-smuggling activities, disaster-relief work and surveillance operations as well as high intensity warfighting.”

As versatile as they are powerful, the Type 45s will have a range of capabilities. They will be able to carry up to 60 Royal Marines Commandos and their equipment, and operate a Chinook-sized helicopter from the flight deck. The standards of accommodation are also able to exceed previous classes thanks to the ships’ size.

Defender is the fifth ship of six in the Type 45 destroyer class. Good progress is being made on the programme: HMS Daring (ship one) has been commissioned into the Royal Navy and is on her final trials prior to her entering service, planned for February 2010. Dauntless (ship two) has recently completed two very successful sets of sea trials while Diamond (ship three) has just begun her sea trials. Dragon (ship four) was launched in Scotland at the end of 2008 and Duncan (ship six) is under construction in Govan.


BACKGROUND NOTES:
1. The fifth Type 45 destroyer was launched from the BVT shipyard at Govan, on the Clyde, on Wednesday 21 October 2009 at 15.20.

2. The Type 45 programme is good news for British Industry, providing 4,000 shipbuilding jobs on the Clyde, 3,600 shipbuilding jobs in Portsmouth at its peak and many more jobs at sub-contractors around the country.

3. The Royal Navy currently has ships and personnel deployed across the globe on a variety of operations and training exercises. A large number of UK military personnel in Afghanistan are from the Royal Navy, in a variety of roles, including Royal Marines and helicopter crews.


USVs and UUVs as Minehunters
Source: DCNS

It now looks increasingly likely that drones – specifically unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) and unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) – will play a growing role in minehunting within a few years. A range of scenarios can be envisaged. The French defence procurement agency (DGA) has asked DCNS and co-contractors Thales Underwater Systems and ECA to help it determine which scenarios are the most promising.

In late 2008, DCNS and co-contractors Thales Underwater Systems and ECA won a DGA contract to determine what assets should replace the French Navy’s fleet of 13 highly effective current-generation minehunters.

Given (a) that these vessels will come up for retirement over the coming decade and (b) their high cost – they are in fact more expensive per tonne than submarines – the question being asked in high places is: What should replace them?

The main options are new-generation minehunters or disruptive-technology solutions based on advanced USVs and UUVs. The Antimidro (or anti-mine drone) technical-and-operational study awarded to prime contractor DCNS will help the DGA and higher authorities to make their choice.

More specifically, this study aims to catalogue advanced solutions, assess their technology readiness level (TRL), then select three on the basis of technological and economic criteria. Work began in March 2009 with each contractor focusing on its own area of excellence: DCNS as systems integrator and naval architect and TUS as mine countermeasures (MCM) systems designer and underwater robotics specialist. The study is scheduled for completion in July 2010.

Innovative technologies

Minehunters are expensive primarily because the limited range of current-generation technologies – specifically the wire-guided remotely-operated vehicles they use to locate and destroy mines – means that they must be designed to work close to danger zones (i.e. suspected mine fields).

To cope with these dangers, minehunters are built from special materials and using special procedures designed to make them undetectable by mines; hence their high cost. On a minehunter, everything made of metal – including canned food – must be stored in such a way as to minimise the boat’s magnetic field.

Emerging trends favour remotely supervised USVs and UUVs enabling host vessels and their crews to remain well clear of suspected mine fields. Future systems using autonomous USVs and UUVs may even be able to operate independently of the host vessel. This last prospect opens up the prospect of minehunters built in much the same way as conventional vessels, hence at significantly lower cost.

A range of scenarios

Next-generation minehunters, USVs, UUVs and the like could work in many different ways. One option would be a minehunter that deploys USVs and/or UUVs directly. Another would be a minehunter that deploys a large, remotely controlled platform-type USV which in turn deploys UUVs. Other options might use unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), other offboard systems or combinations thereof.

Expanding knowledge and understanding

The Antimidro study will give the French authorities the information they need to decide how they should invest in this area. The study calls for three sub-studies. The first, entrusted entirely to DCNS, focuses on USV/UUV launch and recovery by surface combatants which involves complex operations calling for disruptive technologies. The second, assigned to TUS, focuses on USV/UUV cooperation as required by certain MCM scenarios. The third, assigned to ECA, focuses on USV/UUV self-protection capabilities including how to avoid obstacles and nets and even data destruction should a drone fall into enemy hands.

Gearing up for tomorrow’s markets

The stakes are high. Mines are cheap, easy to deploy and can cause enormous damage. Since the end of WWII, mines have wrought more damage on naval assets than any other class of weapon. In conflict situations, mines can render straits and choke zones dangerous or impassable for commercial shipping. For countries like Singapore and the Gulf states, among others, for which access to the sea is via a single strait, mines present special challenges.

Given DCNS’s vast experience in complex projects and its international reputation as a leader in minehunter design and construction, the Group is well placed to explore next-generation MCM solutions using USVs and UUVs.

Full speed ahead for Espadon

In June 2009 – and without waiting for the results of the Antimidro study – France launched the Espadon project. Like Antimidro, Espadon was awarded to DCNS in partnership with both TUS and ECA. Whereas Antimidro is a ‘paper study’, Espadon will result in the construction of a large (15-metre-long), remotely controlled platform-type USV deploying UUVs. Espadon system tests are scheduled to take place in 2012.

The French Navy’s current-generation minehunters – wholly designed, developed and built by DCNS – are considered among the world’s best. The Group aims to maintain this international leadership in MCM following the transition from conventional minehunters to next-generation solutions using USVs and UUVs.

The Antimidro study and the Espadon project will put DCNS in a strong position when the new European Defence Agency (EDA) issues calls for tender in this area in a few years’ time.

Mines, in all shapes and sizes

- Bottom mine (aka ground mine): negative buoyancy; remains on seabed; actuated by target’s magnetic field, noise or pressure effects (influence mine); onboard intelligence ranges from ‘dumb’ to ‘smart’.

- Moored mine (aka watching mine): positive buoyancy; moored to float on or below surface; influence-type or triggered by contact.

- Drifting mine: positive or neutral buoyancy; drifts freely; prohibited under Hague Convention, but nevertheless deployed during certain conflicts.

- Moving mine (aka mobile mine): collective term covering mines that can move (e.g. drifting mine) or use powered propulsion; typically feature both long range and a homing system; also typically both sophisticated and expensive.

Note: mine technology is advancing steadily. Some types are increasingly difficult to detect using sonar, hence the term acoustically transparent mine.




Northrop Grumman Continues Pursuit of Electronic Warfare Program
Source: Northrop Grumman Corp

BETHPAGE, N.Y. --- Northrop Grumman Corporation has submitted its proposal for the Technology Maturation phase in the U.S. Navy's competition to develop and field the Next Generation Jammer (NGJ). The jammer will complete the Navy's fielding of a flexible, adaptable weapon that will help defeat enemies on the electronic battlefield, whose weapons can range from those developed in defense laboratories to weapons procured from the corner store.

The company estimates that the eventual NGJ production program value could be hundreds of millions of dollars or more to the winning competitor.

NGJ will function as the "shooting end" for the new Northrop Grumman-built airborne electronic attack weapon system on board the EA-18G Growler. It is a critical replacement for the pre-digital ALQ-99 jamming system that, though still effective, faces diminishing availability of components and capabilities in the face of digital threats that improve and adapt almost daily.

"The first shot fired in a conflict is no longer a bullet. It's an electron," said Stephen Hogan, vice president of Northrop Grumman Information Operations and Electronic Attack. "We saw how the Russians used electronic attack in Georgia, and we see every day how terrorists operate, using store-bought electronics to harm our soldiers and innocent bystanders.

"Northrop Grumman essentially invented airborne electronic attack five decades ago to protect our military, and we recently won awards for our new system for the Growlers. We understand this kind of warfare and have the new ideas to deliver the Next Generation Jammer on time and within budget," said Hogan.

The Navy is expected to select up to four competing teams for NGJ Technology Maturation contracts in the first quarter of 2010. These teams would refine their system concepts and components in preparation for a downselect in 2011, when the Navy is expected to award two Technology Demonstration contracts that will incorporate the best of all the proposed technologies. The Navy plans to award an Engineering and Manufacturing Development contract to a single supplier in the fourth quarter of 2012.
Lockheed Martin Successfully Completes Preliminary Design Review for U.S. Navy Submarine Communications Program Source: Lockheed Martin

MARION, Mass. --- A Lockheed Martin-led industry team recently completed a successful Preliminary Design Review (PDR) for the U.S. Navy’s Communications at Speed and Depth (CSD) program, essential to providing real-time, two-way communications to submarines without having to surface to periscope depth.

All U.S. Navy submarines will be equipped with this capability, which will allow communication between underwater submarines and surface ships, aircraft and land-based assets.

Under the program, Lockheed Martin will deliver three types of two-way communications buoys and associated submarine and shore equipment. Two tethered expendable communications buoy systems – for Iridium satellite and UHF communications – will be launched from submarines. The third is an Acoustic-to-RF Gateway system that can be launched from submarines and aircraft.

Following the successful PDR, the Lockheed Martin team will move into the Critical Design Review (CDR) phase, a vital milestone that must be achieved before hardware manufacturing begins. During the CDR, detailed components and subsystems of the design are assessed to ensure the overall system will meet all U.S. Navy requirements with reliable performance.

Since the January 2009 contract award, the Lockheed Martin-led team has successfully completed an integrated baseline review and system requirements review. “The team has made significant progress to date and is on schedule,” said Brent Starr, the Navy’s CSD Principal Acquisition Program Manager. “Once fully developed, this capability will be a key contributor to enhance information superiority for the warfighter.”

The Lockheed Martin-led CSD team includes Ultra Electronics Ocean Systems and ERAPSCO, a joint venture between USSI, Inc. and Sparton Corporation.




National Naval Aviation Museum

Today’s website is National Naval Aviation Museum. Located aboard Naval Air Station Pensacola, this historic treasure boasts more than 150 beautifully restored aircraft, hands-on exhibits and more than 4,000 artifacts representing Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard aviation. Enjoy.


This Day in U.S. Naval History

1917 - USS Fanning (DD 37) and USS Nicholson (DD-52) sink first enemy submarine, U-58, off Milford Haven, Wales.
1924 - USS Langley (CV 1), first aircraft carrier, reports for duty.
1941 - Congress amends Neutrality Act to allow U.S. merchant ships to be armed. Navy's Bureau of Navigation directs Navy personnel with Armed Guard training to be assigned for further training before going to Armed Guard Centers for assignment to merchant ships.
1955 - Navy sets up Special Projects Office under Rear Adm. William Raborn, USN, to develop a solid propellant ballistic missile for use in submarines.


Photo of the Day



The U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Langley (CV-1) is lies at anchor with Vought VE-7 aircraft on deck, 1923. In the background are four 4-stack destroyers and a Tennessee-class battleship on the left and two New Mexico-class battleships are center and right.

Gator