NAVY NEWS

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April, 2024: U.S. Navy Submarine Fitted With Silent Caterpillar Drive
In the first of a kind, the U.S. Navy has fitted a new form of propulsion, magnetohydrodynamic drive, to a Virginia class submarine. This promises to make the submarine virtually undetectable. Water passing through it is accelerated by means of a magnetic field using superconducting magnets. This is often likened to the way a caterpillar crawls leading to the colloquial term ‘caterpillar drive’. Instead of a traditional propeller at the stern, the new propulsion will be entirely within the submarine’s hull. The only external clues are likely to be the water intake doors in the bow. These will resemble torpedo tube shutters but larger, approximately the diameter of a submarine launched ballistic missile. But mounted horizontally, which is unusual for those missiles. The first boat to be fitted with the new propulsion will be the USS Montana (SSN 794). This Virginia Class attack submarine was commissioned into the U.S. Navy in June 2022. Although still a new boat, she has been brought in to Groton, Connecticut, for the modifications. Sonar operators searching for the USS Montana will likely hear noises which are indistinguishable from natural phenomenon, such as seismic activity.

March, 2024: For the first time ever, the US Navy has a carrier-based aircraft that does not require a pilot--the MQ-25 Stingray autonomous refueller.

March, 2024: Austal launches first Saildrone vessel built for U.S. Navy
 

Jan.  4th, 2024: The U.S. Navy’s newest Overlord Unmanned Surface Vessel Vanguard, was launched  from Austal USA’s shipyard in Mobile, Alabama. Vanguard is the first USV for the Navy purpose-built for autonomous operations from the keel-up. The Program Office for Unmanned and Small Combatants (PEO USC) and the Unmanned Maritime Systems Program Office (PMS 406) lead the Navy’s efforts to develop, deliver and sustain capable and affordable unmanned maritime systems to meet Fleet requirements.

Aug 1, 2023: The USS Zumwalt (DDG 1000) departed San Diego to enter a modernization period and receive technology upgrades including the integration of the Conventional Prompt Strike weapons system. The upgrades ensures the ship to remains one of the most technologically advanced and lethal ships in the US Navy. The twin 155 mm Advanced Gun Systems on board will be replaced with four 87-inch missile tubes, each tube containing three Common Hypersonic Glide Bodies. The ship will be deployable by 2025.

Aug. 2023: Israel Launches New Submarine, First In World With Modern Missiles In Sail

The House Appropriations Committee approved an increase to the Coast Guard's fiscal 2024 budget, forwarding a bill to the full chamber that funds a 5.2% pay raise for members, a commercial icebreaker, four additional fast response cutters which are meant to boost the Coast Guard's operations in the Indo-Pacific region, and an extra HC-130J Super Hercules aircraft.

June 2023: Third-Generation Interceptor Cutter Craft Started
Measure 34 feet, the LRI III will have a speed of up to 40 knots (46 miles per hour). The boat will also have closed or open cabin operation to enable all-weather deployments as well as a 180-degree arc of fire to port and starboard. The fleet will also be integrated with Safariland’s portable ballistic panel suite for high-threat missions. The LRI can operate over the horizon of the mothership and can travel 236 nautical miles on any given mission on plane, giving it a very wide swath to patrol after the mothership’s electronics have detected something suspicious. The LRI III fleet will replace the coast guard’s LRI IIs which proved to be a very successful platform. LRI II was the first design to successfully navigate the recovery bay at the transom of the Coast Guard’s flagship 418 National Security Cutter at up to 12 knots. 

First Flight III Destroyer Completes Acceptance Trials. USS Jack H. Lucas (DDG 125) completed acceptance trials on May 18, 2023. During acceptance trials, the ship and its crew performed a series of demonstrations for review by the U.S. Navy’s Board of Inspection and Survey (INSURV). INSURV uses these demonstrations to validate Navy specifications and requirements prior to delivery of the ship to the U.S. Navy. The Flight III upgrade is centered on the AN/SPY-6(V)1 Air and Missile Defense Radar and incorporates upgrades to the electrical power and cooling capacity.

USS Nimitz CVN-68 decommissioned in 2026 and USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) in 2027. Commissioned in 1975, Nimitz was built for a 50-year service.

116-Year-Old Experimental Submarine Discovered in April 2023 https://www.foxnews.com/us/submarine-wreckage-discovered-long-island-sound

US Navy awards contract for Bob Hope-class LMSR operations https://www.naval-technology.com/news/us-navy-awards-contract-for-bob-hope-class-lmsr-operations/

August 2022: the Third “Overlord” Robot Vessel Commissioned
the US Navy welcomed the third great Overlord unmanned surface vessel into its fleet.
Mariner is constructed by Gulf Craft in Louisiana. It’s outfitted with next-gen capabilities, including a command and control system, a unique virtualized Aegis Combat System, and an autonomous navigation system. After additional upgrades and testing, it will head out to California to begin operations in FY 23. Mariner’s sister vessels--Ranger and Nomad-- recently took part in the Rim of the Pacific naval exercise conducted in Hawaii.

Divers find wreckage of first US Navy destroyer sunk by enemy fire

The destroyer was 60 miles off the coast of England, near the English Channel, when a torpedo struck three feet below the water line. The ship was tasked with patrolling and escorting convoys around the United Kingdom from May 1917 until its sinking on December 6. In the eight minutes sailors had until the ship sank, less than half the crew found refuge aboard emergency rafts. Only 46 of the 110 crew members survived the attack. After the sinking, a German U-boat commander took two prisoners of war from the chilly waters and radioed a nearby American base about the need for rescue ships. Because of how quickly the over 1,000-ton destroyer sank, its final resting place was a mystery for over a century. The ship is now at a depth of 400 feet.

U.S. Navy Declares Initial Operating Capability (IOC) For Unmanned Influence Sweep System (UISS). UISS provides acoustic and magnetic minesweeping coupled with the semi-autonomous, diesel-powered, aluminum-hulled Mine Countermeasures Unmanned Surface Vehicle (MCM USV). Notably, this is also the first IOC of an unmanned surface platform by the U.S. Navy, marking an important milestone in the evolution toward a hybrid fleet of manned and unmanned systems.

Nuclear Ballistic Missile Submarine District of Columbia
Construction of the first in a new class of ballistic missile submarine that’s expected to commission in 2027 has been started. At a length of 560 feet and displacing 20,810 tons, the District of Columbia will be the largest submarine ever built by the U.S. Its reactor will not require refueling during the lifetime of planned service. In addition to its complement of 16 missiles, the submarine will be armed with Mk 48 torpedoes and will feature superior acoustic performance and state-of-the-art sensors to make it the most capable and quiet submarine ever built. The class will replace the 14 Ohio-class submarines due to begin to retire from service in 2027. The Columba-class will carry “70 percent of America’s deployed nuclear arsenal,” Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro said at the ceremony at Electric Boat’s Quonset Point facility in Rhode Island. Submarines are the stealthiest and most survivable of the nation’s nuclear triad of land, air and sea-based nuclear weapons.

USS Mount Whitney is set to be decommissioned in 2026
Mount Whitney is the flagship of the U.S. 6th Fleet and one of two Blue Ridge-class amphibious command-and-control ships in the Navy. The move would result in $179.7 million in savings. Mount Whitney would be classified as out of commission in reserve and be kept on the Naval Vessel Register as a reactivation candidate.

In November 2021, the ship drew the attention of Russian President Vladimir Putin when it sailed in the Black Sea for routine NATO operations. At the time, tensions were running high amid a buildup of more than 150,000 Russian troops near the borders of Ukraine. Putin used the ship’s presence as justification for bolstering the country’s air defense system.

If decommissioned in 2026, the ship will have reached year 55 of an expected service life of 68 years. Mount Whitney is Retired Adm. James G. Foggo III's favorite ship in the Navy.

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Construction starts on US Navy’s future USS Robert E Simanek. Expeditionary Sea Base vessel (ESB) ships are designed to support multiple maritime-based missions, such as air mine counter measures (AMCM), special operations forces (SOF), and limited crisis response. The 784ft ship, acting as a mobile sea base, will be equipped with a 52,000ft² flight deck to support operations of MV-22 tilt-rotor, MH-53, MH-60, and H1 aircraft.

The third and final ship in the Zumwalt class of destroyers--the Lyndon B. Johnson (DDG 1002) started her sea trials on the birthday of its namesake, President Lyndon B. Johnson. She was launched in December 2018 and christened in April 2019. Ships of this class is known for their advanced electrical system, capable of powering 50,000 homes, and their stealth as a result of a radar-evading design and construction.
 

Fincantieri uses all three of its US shipyards to build new FFG(X) frigates and will hire 600 more staff by year-end to handle the work. The $553.9 million contract for the second Constellation-class guided-missile frigate was awarded Thursday to Fincantieri Marinette Marine based in Marinette, Wisconsin.

US Navy researches long-range aerial sea mine
The US Navy says it wants to know which companies are capable of designing, manufacturing and testing aerial sea mines as part of its “Long Range Aerial Delivery of Maritime Mines” request for information, posted on 20 August, 2020. the service suggests these mines could be launched from aircraft at a safe distance and flown to the target area, presumably within the body of a cruise missile or with the addition of a jet engine and wing kit. The navy wants a weapon that can deliver at least a 227kg (500lb) explosive payload at a minimum range of 100nm (185km). Ideally, it wants a weapon that can carry a 907kg explosive payload beyond 100nm. Ultimately, long-range aerial sea mines could be helpful in a number of scenarios for the US Department of Defense, including thwarting a Chinese invasion of Taiwan. Such an assault would require China to carry thousands of troops, as well as tanks and other armored vehicles, across the 112-mile-wide Taiwan Strait. Mining the harbors and other staging areas where the invasion force would disembark could slow such an onslaught.

Air Force's New Helicopter Gets 1st Aerial Refueling

The Air Force's newest combat search-and-rescue helicopter, the HH-60W Jolly Green II, hit another milestone Aug. 5, as it began two weeks of developmental tests on its aerial refueling abilities at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida.