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



Review - Dragon Models 1/350 German Z-39 Destroyer

Join MSW Managing Editor Jim Adams (goldenpony) for a review of the newest kit from Dragon, the 1/350 German Z-39 Destroyer. This is a rare treat as the review is in advance of the release.




DCNS Ramps Up FREMM Aquitaine Harbour Acceptance Tests Ahead Of Its First Sea Going
Source: DCNS

LORIENT, France --- In accordance with the Programme schedule, DCNS is completing equipment integration and harbour acceptance tests on board the first-of-class FREMM multi-mission frigate Aquitaine. All major ship systems must be tested before the major milestone of the first sea going, scheduled next spring.

So far 95% of the electrical and hydraulic equipments of the ship have been installed, so teams are ramping up for the harbour acceptance tests of the principal systems: the information and communication system, the navigation systems (navigation radar, early warning radar), the electric power and distribution system (including four diesel generators), the combat system and the propulsion system.

The first tests of the electric propulsion motors and of the gas turbine started over the last few days and have been successfully completed. For the first time the entire transmission system of the frigate was running, from the motors to the test propellers. This event is an important step, and moving moment, as it represents the first heartbeat of the frigate.

“From now on all our efforts are focused on the preparation of the first sea going scheduled for the spring”, points out Vincent Martinot-Lagarde, DCNS FREMM Programme Director.

Over one thousand components have already been assembled, integrated and embarked onboard the first FREMM: this underlines the magnitude of the work undertaken by the DCNS personnel. Further components will be installed over the coming weeks, including for example the propellers, the systems related to the ship safety at sea, the helicopter hangar door and the davits for the semi-rigid boats.

For the FREMM Aquitaine first sea trials to be both effective and conclusive, sixty men and women from the French Navy already trained for six months. Besides their regular visits onboard the frigate, they prepare themselves running a Ship Management System training platform in DCNS. Their task is to get familiar with a highly-automated ship which will eventually have a crew of only 108 persons (half the number needed for earlier-generation frigates).

FREMM: the most technologically-advanced and most competitive ships on the market

For DCNS, the FREMM Programme comprises twelve units, eleven for the French Navy and one for the Royal Moroccan Navy.

The FREMM frigates are the most technologically-advanced and most competitive ships on the market. Heavily armed, under prime contractor DCNS, they incorporate the highest-performance weapons systems and equipments, such as the Thales Héraclès Multi-Function Radar, an MBDA suite (SCALP Naval Cruise Missiles, Aster Surface-to-Air Missiles and Exocet MM 40 Anti-Ship Missiles) together with Eurotorp MU90 Torpedoes.

Versatile, they can respond to all types of threat. Innovative, they provide unrivalled interoperability and availability. Flexible, they are capable of meeting the needs of a very large number of navies, as demonstrated by the first DCNS FREMM contract for Morocco.

FREMM technical characteristics:
--Overall length: 142 metres
--Beam: 20 metres
--Displacement: 6,000 metric tons
--Maximum speed: 27 knots
--Crew: 108 persons (including helicopter detachment)
--Accommodation capacity: 145 men and women
--Endurance: 6,000 nautical miles at 15 knots


Full-Speed Ahead for MASS: Germany, Finland and Peru All Order Rheinmetall Naval Countermeasure System
Source: Rheinmetall Defence

To protect their fleets from missile attacks, the navies of Peru, Finland and Germany have all ordered MASS, Rheinmetall’s "Multi Ammunition Softkill System", a state-of-the-art decoy system for protecting frigates, corvettes, minesweepers and patrol craft. In winning these three orders, MASS has once again outclassed its international rivals as well as gaining a foothold in the South American market. The three orders are worth a total of approximately EUR 15.5 million.

As part of a comprehensive modernization of its LUPO-class frigates, the Peruvian Navy has placed an order with Rheinmetall Defence initially to equip two ships with the MASS naval countermeasure system. The contract also includes an option for equipping two more frigates of this class within the next two years.

The German Navy has awarded Rheinmetall with another follow-on order for equipping its minesweepers with MASS, reflecting the great emphasis Germany places on force protection. Following immediate retrofitting in 2008 of two countermine vessels in response to an urgent operational requirement (UNIFIL), two more vessels of the same class were equipped with MASS in 2009. Under the current order, two more countermine vessels will be equipped with a MASS two-launcher configuration with integrated detection unit.

The Finnish Navy, opting once again for MASS, has contracted with Rheinmetall Defence to retrofit six RAUMA-class missile boats. In 2002, Finland – the system’s pilot customer – had its Hamina-class fast attack craft outfitted with MASS technology.

Since its market launch in 2002, customers around the globe have ordered no fewer than 172 launcher units.

Superior protection with MASS

Guided missiles and other projectiles pose a constant threat to civilian shipping and naval vessels alike. MASS protects ships from attacks using advanced, sensor-guided missiles on the high seas and coastal waters as well as from asymmetric, terrorist-type threats. MASS fires decoy rounds which lure incoming projectiles away from their intended target.

Fully automatic, the MASS naval countermeasure system offers significant tactical, operational and logistical advantages and can be installed onboard any vessel. Moreover, it can be integrated into any command and control system or operated in standalone mode.

The MASS system’s innovative, programmable omnispectral rounds assure protection in all relevant wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum (radar, infrared, laser, EO, UV). Numerous international test campaigns have demonstrated its effectiveness in compelling fashion.

MASS with integrated detection unit

Featuring an integrated detection unit, the "MASS ISS – Integrated Sensor Suite" represents an innovative departure in naval electronic warfare. Jointly developed by Rheinmetall Defence and Saab (Electronic Defence Systems), this new version of MASS comes with sensors capable of detecting both radar and laser threats.




USS Grayback (SS 574)

Today’s website is USS Grayback (SS 574). Enjoy.


This Day in U.S. Naval History

1778 - Continental Navy frigate Randolph (32 guns) engages HMS Yarmouth (64). Randolph explodes and sinks with the loss of all but four men.
1958 - Commissioning of USS Grayback (SS 574), first submarine built from keel up with guided-missile capability, to fire Regulus II missile.
1960 - USS Kearsarge (CVS 33) rescues four Russian soldiers from their landing craft 1,000 miles from Midway Island.The Soldiers were drifting several weeks after their engine failed off Kamchatka Peninsula.
1966 - The Department of the Navy is reorganized into its present structure under the Chief of Naval Operations.
1967 - River Patrol Boats assist Operation Overload II in Rung Sat Zone, Vietnam.
1968 - Operation Coronado XII begins in Mekong Delta, Vietnam.
1994 - The Navy issues its first orders to women assigned aboard a combat ship - USS Eisenhower (CVN 69).


Diorama Idea of the Day



Marines conduct an amphibious assault vehicle wash down aboard USS Gunston Hall (LSD 44).

Gator