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



On-Display - USS Colorado BB-45

Crew-mate Kostas Katseas (angeleyes) shares his latest 1/700 scale wonder, the USS Colorado BB-45 in this "On Display" feature.


Victory at Sea – Battle of the Coral Sea

Step back in time to 1942 to the first carrier battle between the American and Japanese navies. Battle of the Coral Sea.




General Dynamics NASSCO Starts Construction of the Future USNS Medgar Evers
Source: General Dynamics NASSCO

SAN DIEGO --- General Dynamics NASSCO, a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics, today began construction of the future USNS Medgar Evers, the thirteenth ship of the U.S. Navy's T-AKE program.

The Medgar Evers is named in honor of the U.S. Army veteran and civil rights pioneer from Mississippi. The ship is scheduled to be delivered to the Navy in the second quarter of 2012. When it joins the fleet, the Medgar Evers will be used primarily to stage U.S. Marine Corps equipment abroad by the Navy's Military Sealift Command.


The Qatari Emiri Navy Selects the Latest Generation Missile from the Exocet Family
Source: MBDA

MBDA is pleased to announce that the Qatari Emiri Navy will procure a batch of Exocet MM40 Block 3 missiles to equip its fleet of four Vita class patrol boats.

This latest generation of naval superiority missile has a significantly extended range thanks to its turbojet propulsion. And, thanks to its GPS navigation, the new Exocet MM40 Block 3 is able to strike a target designated by its geographical coordinates, while remaining compatible with existing MM40 launchers.

The Commander of the Qatari Emiri Naval Forces (QENF), Staff Brigadier (SEA) Mohammed Bin Nasser Al Mohannadi, said “The missile development project is in line with our development plan to update the Qatari Emiri Naval Forces. It is an integrated project which includes training officers and other navy personnel to deal with modernised missile systems, the development of missile launcher systems and updating with the latest technology in the field”.

Antoine Bouvier, CEO of MBDA, stated: “I am honoured that the Qatari Emiri Navy, one of the region’s most demanding armed forces, has decided to prolong its partnership with MBDA which already dates back several decades. In choosing Exocet MM40 Block 3, the Qatari Emiri Navy is not only opting for the most modern of anti-ship capabilities it is also maximising its past investment in the Exocet family, as well as benefiting from all the advantages associated with a weapon series that has achieved sales of 3,500 units around the world”.

The EXOCET family has an OTH (Over The Horizon) firing capability and a range of other operational benefits including:
-- low radar signature
-- late seeker activation
-- sea-skimming at very low altitude
-- enhanced target selection and ECCM (Electronic counter-countermeasures)
-- high penetration capability against modern naval air defences

Since entering service in 1972, 3,500 EXOCET missiles, in all configurations, have been sold to 35 countries.

MM40 Block3 has been ordered by the French Navy and will equip its variant of the Franco-Italian FREMM frigate. It has also been ordered by several other export customers. In March 2010, the French navy carried out an operational firing of an Exocet MM40 Block3 from its Horizon class Chevalier Paul frigate.


With industrial facilities in four European countries and within the USA, MBDA has an annual turnover of EUR 2.6 billion and an order book of EUR 12 billion. With more than 90 armed forces customers in the world, MBDA is a world leader in missiles and missile systems.

MBDA is the only group capable of designing and producing missiles and missile systems that correspond to the full range of current and future operational needs of the three armed forces (land, sea and air). In total, the group offers a range of 45 missile systems and countermeasures products already in operational service and more than 15 others currently in development.




Boeing Super Hornet Trainer Deliveries Allow US Navy to Train in 4-ship Formation
Source: US Navy

ST. LOUIS --- Boeing and teammate L-3 Link Simulation & Training today announced that they delivered two F/A-18E/F Super Hornet Tactical Operation Flight Trainers (TOFT) to the U.S. Navy at Naval Air Station (NAS) Oceana, Va., in February, and declared them "Ready for Training." The devices offer aircrews the same Operational Flight Program used in the Boeing-built Super Hornet aircraft.

"The successful delivery of these trainers to Oceana gives pilots there the ability to operate in a four-ship integrated training scenario with previously delivered devices," said Mark McGraw, Boeing vice president of Training Systems & Services. "Also, the Block II software upgrades delivered with the new trainers allow aircrews to operate in more-realistic training scenarios, including mission rehearsals for Air Wing events."

The two TOFTs delivered in February join two trainers that were already operating at NAS Oceana. Another two devices are at NAS Lemoore, Calif. Boeing incorporated the software upgrades into all four previously delivered TOFTs. The improvements include updates to the Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System and to a Digital Memory Device; integrated Joint Mission Planning System capabilities; and an advanced navigation system.

Six additional Block II TOFTs in Arlington, Texas, are being used for future trainer development -- primarily for testing software and other architectural upgrades -- before being delivered to Oceana and Lemoore. When the current contract is complete in 2012, the Navy could award Boeing a follow-on contract for four additional trainers.

The TOFTs each comprise an instructor/operator station that establishes the scenarios and training lessons, and forward and aft crew stations with their own visual systems. More than 40 computers keep the TOFTs operational, and one brief/debrief station is in place for every two trainers.




USS Lexington (CV-2, Originally CC-1), 1927-1942

Today’s website is USS Lexington (CV-2, Originally CC-1), 1927-1942. Enjoy.


This Day in U.S. Naval History

1917 - First Navy ships, Destroyer Division 8, arrive at Queenstown, Ireland, to provide convoy escorts against German U-boats.
1942 - Battle of Coral Sea, first carrier vs. carrier battle, begins.
1945 - Japanese attempt to land on Okinawa repulsed; kamikaze attacks damage 6 U.S. Navy ships.
1961 - Cdmr. Malcolm D. Ross, USNR, and medical observer Lt Cmdr. Victor A. Prather Jr., ascended in two hours to over 11,000 feet in Strato-Lab 5, a 411-foot hydrogen filled balloon launched from the deck of USS Antietam. This was the highest altitude attained by man in an open gondola. Tragically, Prather drowned during the recovery.
1994 - Operation Restore Hope begins in Somalia.


Photo of the Day



The Military Sealift Command replenishment oiler USNS Guadalupe (T-AO 200) cruises alongside the Military Sealift hospital ship USNS Mercy (T-AH 19) during an underway replenishment.

Gator