MHFCS Fixed Network Nodes
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To provide Australian armed forces with an integrated communications system, the Australian Defence Force contracted with Boeing Defence Australia, a subsidiary of US-based Boeing, to deploy an integrated HF communications system throughout the country, replacing the separate HF communications systems operated by each service.

The A$628 million (US$547 million) system – called the Modernized High Frequency Communications System (MHFCS) – provides the ADF with a nation-wide secure command and control network for all of the armed forces. The project is divided into two phases [pdf] – the MHFCS core system and the final system. The core system was delivered in October 2004, and the final system was introduced into service on Sept 24/09. Boeing expects Australia to formally accept the final system in March 2010.

On Feb 4/10, Boeing Defence Australia announced that the MHFCS final system completed 130 days in service…

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MvD’s JSS concept

Rolls Royce signs engine/generator contract. (Feb 5/10)

In January 2010, Damen Schelde announced a contract from the Dutch Defence Materiel Organisation to build a 28,000t “Joint Logistic Support Ship” (JSS). The vessel is scheduled to launch in 2014 and replace the existing 16,900t HNLMS Zuiderkruis.

The Dutch want a very versatile ship that can resupply other warships, transport significant loads of army equipment and vehicles, act as a floating headquarters, take on hospital duties, and embark up to 6 helicopters. That level of versatility will come with costs. Canada’s ill-fated JSS program had similar or larger ambitions, but the 3-ship, C$ 2.9 billion program was ultimately suspended when contractors informed the government that they could not supply what Canada wanted at the prices demanded. Can the Netherlands be more successful?

• The Dutch JSS Ships
• Contracts & Key Events [updated]
  
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Austal MRV/JHSV concept
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Is program expansion from 8 to 28 ships in the cards? (Feb 3/10)

The US Army and Navy have leased Incat TSV/HSV wave-piercing catamaran ship designs, while the Marines’ charged ahead with very successful use of Austal’s Westpac Express high-speed catamaran. These Australian-designed ships all give commanders the ability to roll on a company with full gear and equipment (or roll on a full infantry battalion if used only as a troop transport), haul it intra-theater distances at 38 knots, then move their shallow draft safely into austere ports to roll them off.

Unsurprisingly, their use has attracted favorable comment and notice from all services. So favorable that the experiments have led to a $1.6 billion program called the Joint High Speed Vessel, which could involve up to 10 ships. These designs may even have uses beyond simple ferrying and transport. DID’s FOCUS articles offer in-depth, updated looks at significant military programs of record, and this article covers JHSV from its inception onward.

• The US Military’s HSV/TSV Experience
• The JHSV Program
• Contracts & Key Events
• Additional Readings & Sources
  
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T-AOE-6 & CG-72
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When US Navy carrier battle groups are rapidly deployed to hot spots, they need supply ships fast enough to keep up with them. That is the purpose of the US Military Sealift Command’s T-AOE-6-class fast combat support ship.

The T-AOE-6-class, which is the MSC’s largest combat logistics ship, can carry more than 177,000 barrels of oil; 2,150 tons of ammunition; 500 tons of dry stores; and 250 tons of refrigerated stores. There are currently 4 in service.

L-3 Systems in Camden, NJ recently won a contract worth up to $44.7 million to design and produce the ships’ machinery control systems…

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Intelsat satellite
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In the early weeks of Operation Iraqi Freedom, the US military satellite communications capacity was overwhelmed by the demand from US troops for satellite bandwidth to transmit voice and data communication. In response, the US military dramatically increased its use of commercial satellite capacity to meet the explosion of demand.

A study by the Satellite Industry Association found that 80% of all US military satellite communication during the Iraq invasion was carried on commercial satellites. Then-US assistant secretary of defense for networks and information integration, John P. Stenbit, estimated that the US military purchased between $200 million and $300 million worth of commercial satellite services during the first year of the war.

Recognizing the military’s reliance on commercial satellites, the US Navy undertook an effort, called the Commercial Broadband Satellite Program (CBSP), to develop and deploy satellite communication terminals specifically designed to increase the Navy’s commercial satellite communications capability…

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USNS Gordon [T-AKR 296]
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US troops in Iraq and Afghanistan rely on the timely delivery of supplies and equipment to carry out their missions. One of the primary movers of heavy military equipment to that area of the world is the large medium-speed roll-on/ roll-off ship (LMSR) operated by the US Navy’s Military Sealift Command.

These ships need to head out at a moment’s notice. They require operation and maintenance support to keep them in top shape, ready to deliver supplies in theater when needed. To provide this support, the Navy awards large contracts to private companies…

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Fire watcher on duty during
USS Carl Vinson overhaul
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British sailors on wooden warships used to sing a sea-shanty called the “Fire Down Below.” The song – sung while sailors were raising the anchor, pumping out the bilge, or hauling ropes – was about fighting a fire onboard a ship.

Ever since the era of wooden sailing ships, fires onboard ships have been a major concern for the world’s navies. In the era of steel ships, the fire danger might not be as ever-present. But it remains, especially when repair and overhaul work is being done.

That type of work requires the use of welders. And where welders work, there is a risk of fires starting. To monitor the welders’ work during ship overhauls, the US Navy uses fire watchers…

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“Need a tow?”
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Problems with USS New York [LPD 21] reportedly have the US Navy scrutinizing every ship built in the class’ 2 shipyards. Unfortunately, it’s just the latest installment in a long string of basic workmanship issues. In March 2005, “Cost Overruns, Budget Uncertainties Hurting USN and Contractors” noted:

“With the help of a $50 million grant from the state of Louisiana, Northrop Grumman has modernized production at Avondale, and the company is now projecting completion of future amphibious ships at a much faster pace than in the past. Nevertheless, scathing Navy inspector general reviews that detailed shoddy construction and basic workmanship problems at Avondale are cause for legitimate concern in areas that will not be fixed by modernization alone.”

While some teething problems are not uncommon for first ships of a new class, USS San Antonio [LPD 17] stands out for their number and severity. All in a ship whose costs rose from about $700 million when the program was sold, to over $1.7 billion – then stayed at that drastically elevated level through subsequent vessels. Worse, LPD 17 failed to complete a series of sea trials in late March 2007, and could not be sea-tested during a 5-day inspection period because one of its two steering systems completely failed. Navy inspectors found major defects in 3 of 17 categories, and the ship required millions more in repairs. In August 2008, after 2 failed INSURV inspections and 2.5 years after the Navy had officially accepted LPD 17 from the contractor, the first San Antonio Class ship was deployed on an operational mission. Whereupon it sprung oil leaks, and had to dock in Bahrain.

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USNS PFC Eugene A. Obregon
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The US Navy’s Military Sealift Command is paying $28 million to buy maritime prepositioning ship MV PFC Eugene A. Obregon from WTAK-2 in Mobile, AL. The MSC had previously leased the ship under a long-term lease contract (N00033-82-C-1021), which contained an option to purchase. The ship’s new name will be USNS PFC Eugene A. Obregon.

WTAK-2 is executing the sale on behalf of Bell Atlantic Tricon Leasing. The ship will remain crewed by about 26 US merchant mariners employed by Waterman Steamship Corp. in Mobile, AL.

Obregon is one of 15 maritime prepositioning ships (MPS) that strategically place US Marine Corps equipment and supplies at sea around the world, making the cargo readily available to Marines who are flown into a theater of operations.

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USNS Bob Hope [T-AKR 300]
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American Overseas Marine, a Quincy, MA-based unit of General Dynamics, received a $27.2 million firm-fixed-price contract for the operation and maintenance of 7 government-owned Bob Hope-class large medium-speed roll-on/roll-off ships (LMSRs).

This contract includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $238.2 million.

These civilian-crewed ships have more than 380,000 square feet of cargo-carrying capacity (equivalent to 5 football fields), reinforced decks, shipboard cranes, interior ramps, slewing stern ramp and a movable ramp that services 2 side ports; they are used for fast loading and off-loading of out-sized military equipment, including tanks, trucks, Humvees and other rolling stock…

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