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



Upgraded Aegis Weapon Systems Proven Operational on Two U.S. Navy Cruisers
Source: Lockheed Martin

MOORESTOWN, N.J. --- The U.S. Navy, supported by Lockheed Martin, successfully completed Combat System Ship Qualification Trials for upgraded Aegis Combat Systems installed aboard two Navy ships.

The Navy determined that the Aegis Combat Systems aboard the cruisers USS Mobile Bay and USS Philippine Sea are fully operational. As part of the cruiser modernization program, the computer suites on these ships were upgraded with enhanced technical data collection capability and radar data display systems, as well as a new digital fire control interface between the anti-submarine warfare control system and the vertical launch system.

During the trials, the ships' Aegis Combat Systems were evaluated for combat-readiness through comprehensive surface, subsurface and anti-air warfare exercises. These included manned raids and electronic attack scenarios, as well as thorough testing of the systems' tactical data link and air defense capabilities.

"Lockheed Martin continues its legacy of working with the Navy to evolve the Aegis system," said Jeff Bantle, Lockheed Martin's vice president of Surface-Sea Based Missile Defense Systems. "We take great pride in our partnership as the Aegis Platform System Engineering Agent and look forward to using our experience to increase program affordability."

The Aegis Weapon System includes the SPY-1 radar, the Navy's most advanced radar system. When paired with the MK 41 Vertical Launching System, it is capable of delivering missiles for every mission and threat environment in naval warfare.

The Aegis Weapon System is deployed on 93 ships around the globe. Aegis is the weapon system of choice for Australia, Japan, Norway, the Republic of Korea and Spain. Aegis-equipped ships have more than 1,200 years of at-sea operational experience and have launched more than 3,800 missiles in tests and actual operations.

The USS Mobile Bay and the USS Philippine Sea are both Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruisers.


General Dynamics NASSCO Launches USNS Washington Chambers
Source: General Dynamics NASSCO

SAN DIEGO --- Sept. General Dynamics NASSCO, a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics, today launched the U.S. Navy's newest supply ship, USNS Washington Chambers (T-AKE 11), during a christening ceremony at the shipyard on the city's working waterfront.

The ship is named in honor of Captain Washington Chambers (1856-1934), the innovative U.S. Navy officer who oversaw the growth of the Navy's fledgling aviation program. His visionary developments enabled the launching of airplanes from Navy ships only a few short years after man's first flight at Kitty Hawk, an advancement that made Chambers a pivotal figure in naval aviation's difficult but ultimately successful evolution from a force of relatively simple planes to today's sophisticated aircraft.

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"The Washington Chambers represents the latest result of aggressive steps NASSCO is taking to adopt a culture of continuous improvement use to maximize efficiency and deliver affordable vessels to our customers. These steps are taking the form of initiatives focused on first-time quality, on-time delivery and under budget performance, thus improving the final product and increasing NASSCO's ability to compete. As a result, the Chambers will be built with 58 percent fewer man-hours than was required to build Lewis and Clark, the first ship of the class," Harris said.

More than 1,000 attendees cheered as the ship's sponsor, Mrs. Loretta Penn, christened the ship by breaking the traditional bottle of champagne against the bow before the 689-foot-long vessel slid into the waters of San Diego Bay. Penn donated a collection of 62 books for the ship's library, enhanced by the addition of Chambers's biography From Torpedoes to Aviation: Washington Irving Chambers and Technological Innovation in the New Navy: 1876 to 1913, signed by the author and presented to Mrs. Penn and the ship's crew during the launch festivities.

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USNS Washington Chambers is the eleventh ship of the Lewis and Clark (T-AKE) class of dry cargo-ammunition ships for the Navy, and the first Navy ship to be named after Washington Chambers. The Navy's new class of replenishment ships has been named to honor legendary pioneers and explorers. NASSCO began constructing the Washington Chambers in March 19, 2009 and is scheduled to deliver it to the Navy's Military Sealift Command in the first quarter of 2011. When the Washington Chambers joins the fleet, its primary mission will be to deliver nearly 10,000 tons of food, ammunition, fuel and other provisions to combat ships at sea.




USS Oriskany Reunion Association

Today’s website is USS Oriskany Reunion Association. Enjoy.


This Day in U.S. Naval History

1854 - Cmdr. David G. Farragut takes possession of Mare Island, the first U.S. Navy Yard on the Pacific.
1917 - Navy Department authorizes establishment of 16 Naval air stations abroad.
1922 - Cmdr. Halsey Powell abaord USS Edsall (DD 219) became the senior officer directing the evacuation of 250,000 Greek refugees from Turkey after war between Greece and Turkey.
1940 - President Roosevelt signs Selective Training and Service Act, the first peacetime draft.
1958 - USS Grayback (SS 208) fires first operational launch of Regulus II surface-to-surface guided missile off California coast; Missile carries first U.S. mail sent by guided missile.
1966 - USS Oriskany (CVA 34) helicopters rescue 44-man crew of British merchant ship August Moon near Hong Kong.


Photo of the Day



ARM Netzahualcóyotl (D-102), a Quetzalcóatl-class destroyer, is one of two destroyers in the Mexican Navy. The Netzahualcóyotl was originally the USS Steinaker (DD-863), a Gearing class destroyer.

Gator