RV Kilo Moana

Contract for 2nd ship of class. (Feb 3/12)

The USA’s University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System conducts research throughout the world’s oceans, and their fleet has shifted to 4 basic research vessel types: Global, Ocean/Intermediate, Regional and Coastal/Local. From 2014 onward, new Ocean Class ships will replace aging Intermediate Class ships in current use, and serve alongside the new SWATH-hulled RV Kilo Moana [T-AGOR 26]. Growing trends towards larger, interdisciplinary science teams, using more sophisticated research equipment, means a need for larger and more sophisticated ships. They new Ocean Class will provide parties of up to 25 scientists with an advanced blue-water platform that can stay at sea for up to 40 days, and cover up to 10,000 nautical miles.

Can they be built affordably? The US Navy is managing the competition, construction, and chartering process, and the 1st build contract was issued in October 2011:

• The Ocean Class
• Contracts & Key Events [updated]
• Additional Readings
  Continue Reading… »

AEHF concept

US nuclear weapon communications to be modified. (Dec 30/11)

The USA’s new Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) satellites will support twice as many tactical networks as the current Milstar II satellites, while providing 10-12 times the bandwidth capacity and 6 times the data rate transfer speed. With the cancellation of the higher-capacity TSAT program, AEHF will form the secure, hardened backbone of the Pentagon’s future Military Satellite Communications (MILSATCOM) architecture, with a mission set that includes nuclear command and control. Its companion Family of Advanced Beyond-line-of-sight Terminals (FAB-T) program will give the US military more modern, higher-bandwidth receiving capabilities, and add more flexibility on the front lines. The program has international components, and partners currently include Britain, Canada, and the Netherlands.

This article offers a look at the AEHF system’s rationale and capabilities, while offering insight into some of the program’s problems, and an updated timeline covering over $5 billion worth of contracts since the program’s inception…

• The AEHF Program
• The AEHF Satellites
• The AEHF Satellites: Contracts & Key Events, full history
• FAB-T Terminals and Ground Control
• FAB-T & Ground Control: Contracts and Key Events, full history [updated]
• Additional Readings
  Continue Reading… »

MH-53E & Mk-105 sled

Reliability improvement efforts for the RMS snorkeling USV. (Dec 19/11)

The US Navy currently uses large CH-53/MH-53 helicopters and towed sleds to help with mine clearance work, but they hope to replace those old systems with something smaller and newer. The MH-60S helicopter’s Airborne Mine Counter-Measures (AMCM) system adds an operator’s station to the helicopter cabin, additional internal fuel stores, and towing capability, accompanied by a suite of carried systems that can be mixed and matched. AMCM is actually 5 different air, surface and sub-surface mine countermeasures systems, all deployed and integrated together in the helicopter.

While the US Navy develops AMCM, and complementary ship-launched systems for use on the new Littoral Combat Ships, new minehunter ship classes like the Ospreys are being retired by the US Navy and sold. All in an era where the threat of mines is arguably rising, along with tensions around key chokepoints like the Suez Canal and Strait of Hormuz.

This article explains the components involved (AQS-20, ALMDS, AMNS, OASIS, RAMICS; COBRA, RMS, SMCM), chronicles their progress through reports and contracts, and provides additional links for research…

• Airborne Mine Counter-Measures (AMCM): The Set [updated]
• Contracts & Key Events, 2000 – Present [updated]
• Additional Readings
  Continue Reading… »

The concept

Power system contracts to GA, BAE; 1,000th shot; CNR discusses the field; Significant article updates. (Dec 9/11)

Back in March 2006, BAE Systems received a contract for “design and production of the 32 MJ Laboratory Launcher for the U.S. Navy.” Some hint of what they are talking about can be gleaned from the name. The project is an electro-magnetic rail gun that accelerates a projectile to incredibly high speeds without using explosives.

The attraction of such systems is no mystery – they promise to fire their ammunition 10 or more times farther than conventional naval gun shells, while sharply reducing both the required size of each shell, and the amount of dangerous explosive material carried on board ship. Progress is being made, but there are still major technical challenges to overcome before a working rail gun becomes a serious naval option. This DID FOCUS article looks at the key technical challenges, the programs, and the history of key contracts and events…

• Rail Guns: Concept & Technology Developments [updated]
• Rail Guns: The US EMRG Program [updated]
• Rail Guns: Key Contracts & Events [updated]
• Additional Readings & Sources [updated]
  Continue Reading… »

EMALS Components

British CVF work begins. (Dec 21/11)

As the US Navy continues to build its new CVN-21 Gerald R. Ford Class carriers, few technologies are as important to their success as the next-generation EMALS (Electro-MAgnetic Launch System) catapult. The question is whether that technology will be ready in time, in order to avoid either costly delays to the program – or an even more costly redesign of the first ship of class.

Current steam catapult technology is very entertaining when it launches cars more than 100 feet off of a ship, or gives naval fighters the extra boost they need to achieve flight speed within a launch footprint of a few hundred feet. It’s also stressful for the aircraft involved, very maintenance intensive, and not really compatible with modern gas turbine propulsion systems. At present, however, steam is the only option for launching supersonic jet fighters from carrier decks. EMALS aims to leap beyond steam’s limitations, delivering significant efficiency savings, a more survivable system, and improved effectiveness. This free-to-view spotlight article covers the technology, the program, and its progress to date.

• From Steam to Magnets: EMALS vs. Current Approaches [updated]
• Program Teams
• Contracts and Key Events [updated]
• Additional Readings
  Continue Reading… »

MQ-8B Fire Scout

Afghan deployment extended; MH-60s to extend MQ-8B range? (Nov 14/11)

A helicopter UAV is very handy for naval ships, and for armies who can’t always depend on runways. The USA’s RQ/MQ-8 Fire Scout Unmanned Aerial Vehicle has blazed a trail of firsts in this area, but its history is best described as “colorful.” The program was begun by the US Navy, canceled, adopted by the US Army, revived by the Navy, then canceled by the Army. Leaving it back in the hands of the US Navy. Though the Army is thinking about joining again.

The question is, can the MQ-8B leverage its small size, proven status, and “good enough” performance into a secure future with the US Navy – and beyond? DID describes this new VTUAV platform, clarifies the program’s structure and colorful history, lists related contracts and events over the program’s entire history, and offers related research materials:

• MQ-8: The Platform
• MQ-8: The Program
• Fire Scout Program Budgets
• Fire Scout Contracts & Key Events, full history [updated]
• Additional Readings & Sources [updated]
  Continue Reading… »

US “Chair” Force?

$65M to General Atomics. (September 30/11)

UAVs have played a crucial role in gathering intelligence in the US military’s wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. There are thousands of UAVs gathering and distributing valuable data on the enemy, but each system uses its own proprietary subsystem to control the air vehicle as well as receive and process the data. Yet commanders need access to information gathered by all types of UAVs that are flying missions in their area of operation.

Recognizing this shortcoming, the Pentagon began an effort in 2008 to break down the proprietary barriers between UAV systems and create a single GCS that will fly all types of drones.

This free-to-view DID Spotlight article examines the problem of proprietary UAV systems and efforts to break down barriers to sharing vital UAV-generated information.

• Ground Control to Major Tom: The Role of GCS
• Come Together: The Pentagon’s UCS-WG
• Are You Going STANAG?: NATO’s Standard
• One is the Loneliest Number: AAI’s OneSystem
• Red ROVER, Red ROVER: The ROVER Datalink
• Masters of the Universe: Raytheon’s CGCS
• Too Close to the Sun: ICARUS and Autonomy
• Contracts and Key Events [updated]
• Additional Readings
  Continue Reading… »

• On the 10th anniversary of the attacks that came as the first shots in the current war with al-Qaeda and its allies, see: Pentagon mini-site | Britain’s PM | Canadian MND statement | French PM (video).

• The Long War Journal asks: How many al Qaeda fighters are in Afghanistan again? The numbers don’t seem to add.

• Meanwhile, ISVG points out that “open-source information indicates that while the United States and its allies have been highly effective at killing or capturing high-level members of [al Qaeda Central], the central leadership of [al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula] remains largely intact.”

• At WIRED’s Danger Room, David Axe chronicles 10 (American) military jobs that barely existed on Sept 10, 2001 – but do now.

• The US military’s 1st JHSV catamaran is launched and christened at Austal’s Mobile, AL shipyard. Meanwhile, the Austal-built USS Independence Littoral Combat Ship has finished repairs for its corrosion issues, and steamed into St. Petersburg.

• India’s 5th stretched C-130J special operations transport flies out to AFS Hindan.

• Boeing is cooperating with Dalhaousie University in Halifax, NS, Canada, as part of its required industrial offsets for sales of C-17A Globemaster heavy aerial transports, CH-47F Chinook heavy-lift helicopters, and ScanEagle UAVs. Foci include advanced materials development, engineering graphics on mobile electronics, and visual and text analytics.

• House Armed Services Committee hearings coming up this week: The Future of National Defense and the U.S. Military Ten Years After 9/11 (today), Organizational Challenges in Achieving Sound Financial Management and Audit Readiness and Sustaining GPS for National Security (both on 9/15/11).

• Ronald O’Rourke at the Congressional Research Service releases the latest version of “Navy Force Structure and Shipbuilding Plans: Background and Issues for Congress”, based on information in the proposed FY12 budget, the Navy’s 30-year plan and CBO’s costing of it. Older versions are available for free thanks to Open CRS.

• Andrew S. Erickson of the China Maritime Studies Institute (CMSI) gave a book lecture at the Naval War College museum on Chinese aerospace power and maritime roles. 1-hour video embedded below:
  Continue Reading… »

Aug 30/11: The President and Fellows of Harvard College in Cambridge, MA receive a $6.7 million cost reimbursement contract for research to develop technologies and approaches to predict natural viral evolution. We’d all benefit from that, but we’re still likely to be surprised by what actually happens.

Work will be performed in Cambridge, MA (39%); Laurel, MD (37%); Baltimore, MD (9%); Ann Arbor, MI (9%); and Pittsburgh, PA (5%). Work is expected to be completed by Aug 31/12. The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) manages the contract (HR0011-11-C-0093).

(click to visit)

In August 2001, the US Missile Defense Agency (MDA) awarded Utah State University Space Dynamics Laboratory in Logan, UT a sole-source, 5-year, maximum $150 million indefinite-delivery/ indefinite-quantity, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract. The lab will work with MDA to develop electro-optic sensor systems, and space rated instrument and payload development data, while providing “essential engineering, research, and development capabilities and services in the development of the Ballistic Missile Defense System.”

Utah State University Space Dynamics Laboratory is a university affiliated research center sponsored by MDA, and they’ve been developing electro-optical sensors for over 5 decades. Their work has been used in such diverse applications such as star cameras, sounding rocket experiments, orbiting satellite and small-satellite platforms, UAV and aircraft-borne systems, and ground based facilities. Work will be performed in Logan, UT; Huntsville, AL; Colorado Springs, CO; and Fort Belvoir, VA, from August 2011 through August 2016. $1,070,442 of the MDA’s FY 2011 RDT&E budget will be used to incrementally fund the 1st task orders under this effort. US MDA in Huntsville, AL manages the contract (HQ0147-11-D-0052).