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



Northrop Grumman to Supply Integrated Bridge Systems for New Indian Navy Fleet Tankers
Source: Northrop Grumman

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. --- Northrop Grumman Corporation has been selected to supply integrated bridge systems (IBS) for two new fleet tankers being built in Italy for the Indian Navy.

The IBS orders were placed with Northrop Grumman's Sperry Marine unit by the Italian shipbuilding company Fincantieri, which is under contract to build the two tankers at its shipyards in Liguria and Palermo. Terms of the contract for the IBS were not disclosed.

Each of the ships will be fitted with a complete Sperry Marine VisionMaster FT IBS, including radars, electronic chart display and information systems, adaptive self-tuning autopilots, gyrocompasses and repeaters, speed sensors, echosounders, differential GPS and other navigation subsystems and sensors. All critical systems have been duplicated for built-in redundancy and survivability. Sperry Marine will also supply the ship's inertial navigation system and data distribution system, which will be interfaced with the combat management system.

Compagnia Generali Telemar S.p.A, Sperry Marine's sales and service representative in Italy, will be responsible for the installing, commissioning, testing and technical support for the project.

"This important contract win builds on our longstanding relationship as a key supplier to the Indian Navy," said J. Nolasco DaCunha, vice president of International Naval Systems at Northrop Grumman's Naval and Marine Systems Division. "We are especially pleased to have this opportunity to work with Fincantieri on this major naval shipbuilding program."

The 175-meter tankers are being built with double hulls to meet the International Maritime Organization's requirements for marine pollution control. They are scheduled for delivery to the Indian Navy in 2010-2011.

Northrop Grumman has a well-established relationship with India that spans more than 25 years and has an office in New Delhi.


First Firing of Exocet Block 3 Anti-Ship Missile from a Frigate
Source: French Directorate General of Armaments

The first firing of the latest Block 3 version of the Exocet MM40 anti-ship missile from a naval warship was successfully completed on March 18, 2010 at the DGA missile test range ay l’Ile du Levant, off Toulon in south-eastern France.

The missile was launched by Chevalier Paul, a Horizon-class frigate recently delivered by the Directorate General of Armaments (DGA) to the Navy.

The contract to upgrade 45 Exocet MM40 Block 2 belonging to the French Navy to the latest Block 3 standard was awarded by the DGA to MBDA in late December 2008. This order follows a development contract originally awarded in January 2004. The MM40 B3 missile was qualified in April 2008, and the upgraded missiles will be delivered from December 2010 to June 2013.

MM40 B3s will initially equip the first two Horizon-class air defense frigates (Forbin and Chevalier Paul). It will also become the main anti-ship weapon of the La Fayette-class frigates from mid-2011 and of the FREMM-class multi-mission frigates to be delivered to the Navy from 2012.

Improvements of the Block 3 version of Exocet focus on a turbojet engine replacing the original solid-fuel rocket engine of earlier versions, and the integration of latest-generation avionics. These modifications double the missile's range, allow it to vary the angle of attack a target or to attack naval targets in the littoral zone, and designated by their geographical coordinates.




Marine Corps' Future F-35B Joint Strike Fighter Makes First Vertical Landing
Source: US Marine Corps

MARINE CORPS AIR STATION YUMA, Ariz. --- The next chapter of Marine Corps aviation history opened March 18, 2010, as the F-35B Joint Strike Fighter descended to its first vertical landing at a Maryland test site.

The plane, which is slated to replace all Marine Corps combat jets including Yuma’s Harriers, hovered in place for a minute before riding 41,000 pounds of thrust from its single engine to the runway 150 feet below.

“Having the F-35B perform its first vertical landing underscores the reality of the Marine Corps achieving its goal of an all (short takeoff/vertical landing) force,” said Lt. Gen. George J. Trautman III, deputy commandant for aviation.

Reaching the milestone in the plane’s development confirmed the F-35B is able to land in confined areas on land and on ships, which the Marine Corps is banking on.

“Being able to operate and land virtually anywhere, the STOVL JSF is a unique fixed-wing aircraft that can deploy, co-locate, train and fight with Marine ground forces while operating from a wider range of bases ashore and afloat than any other (tactical air) platform,” said Trautman.

Despite delays and budget overages within the JSF program, the Marine Corps is marching forward to prepare to reach an initial operating capability of 29 planes by December 2012, according to a statement released by Headquarters Marine Corps on March 18. (see below—Ed.)

Ten of those planes would make up the first operational squadron, Marine Fighter/Attack Squadron 332, which could be based here once the Secretary of the Navy decides on the final basing plans. That decision isn’t expected until December and not until after the Yuma community has another opportunity in June to scrutinize the final environmental impact statement on basing here.

On April 2, the Corps will activate a new squadron to train future JSF pilots and maintainers beginning this fall. Marine Fighter/Attack Training Squadron 501 will officially stand up as part of the Joint Integrated Training Center located at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, according to Headquarters Marine Corps.

On top of Yuma’s proposed planes, the training squadron would operate 15 aircraft, while another four F-35Bs would be based with an operational test and evaluation detachment at Edwards Air Force Base in California.

One way the Marine Corps is keeping its 2012 deadline, while the Navy and Air Force have backslid a year to 2016, is to receive a scaled-down version of the aircraft that could go to combat but would need to be upgraded in the future to expand its capabilities, Trautman told Inside The Navy in an article released March 22.

Still, the economy version of the plane “far exceeds the capabilities of any airplane flying in the Department of the Navy today,” he said.

While the STOVL test was successful, testers will continue evaluations with increasingly stressful tests of the aircraft to ensure it works in combat, said Doug Pearson, Lockheed Martin’s vice president of F-35 testing.

Currently, three F-35Bs continue to be evaluated at the Naval Air Station in Patuxent River, Md.

“Today’s vertical landing onto a 95-foot square pad showed that we have the thrust and the control to maneuver accurately both in free air and in the descent through ground effect,” said Graham Tomlinson, the F-35B’s pilot.

Further testing will include flying with different weight loads and ordnance, firing various weapons and evaluating integrated mission systems before working up to shipboard operations, reported Lockheed Martin, the JSF’s manufacturer.

The first plane arrived in Maryland on Nov. 15, 2009, with the other two arriving in December and February. In total, five F-35Bs will be delivered to Patuxent River.

The F-35B passed the first test of its STOVL propulsion system Jan. 7, successfully using the system for 14 minutes at an altitude of 5,000 feet.

Derived from a common design, developed together and using the same sustainment infrastructure worldwide, three F-35 variants will replace at least 13 types of aircraft for 11 nations initially, making it the most cost-effective fighter program in history, according to Lockheed Martin.

The Air Force will receive the F-35A variant, which will provide conventional takeoff and landing capabilities. The Navy will receive the F-35C, designed for carrier launches and duty at sea.

Compared to the Marine Corps’ current tactical fixed-wing squadrons, the JSF can carry more ordnance with greater range than the F/A-18 Hornet, operate from austere environments like the AV-8B Harrier, and possess electronic warfare technology and capability like the EA-6B Prowler, according to Headquarters Marine Corps.




Researcher@Large

Today’s website is Researcher@Large, a site devoted to the Pacific Theater during World War II. Enjoy.

This Day in U.S. Naval History

1942 - The Pacific theater is divided into two zones to clarify command relations. Adm. Chester W. Nimitz commands the Pacific Ocean Area and Gen. Douglas MacArthur is over the Southwest Pacific Area.
1944 - Torpedo squadrons from carriers are used for the first time to drop aerial mines - Palau Harbor in the South Pacific.
1972 - The Easter Offensive began in Vietnam.


Photo of the Day



HMNZS Endeavour underway between RFA Wave Ruler to starboard, and HMAS Success to port.

Gator