Americas
Bath Iron Works won a $42.7 million contract modification to exercise options for the accomplishment of lead yard class services for the DDG 51 Class destroyer program. DDG 51 Arleigh Burke destroyers are warships that provide multi-mission offensive and defensive capabilities. Destroyers can operate independently or as part of carrier strike groups, surface action groups, amphibious ready groups, and underway replenishment groups. This option exercise is for lead yard services (LYS) for the DDG 51 Class destroyer program. LYS provides necessary engineering, technical, material procurement and production support; configuration; class flight and baseline upgrades and new technology support; data and logistics management; lessons learned analysis; acceptance trials; post-delivery test and trials; post shakedown availability support; reliability and maintainability; system safety program support; material and fleet turnover support; shipyard engineering team; turnkey; crew indoctrination, design tool/design standardization, detail design development, and other technical and engineering analyses for the purpose of supporting DDG 51 Class ship construction and test and trials. In addition, DDG 51 Class LYS may provide design, engineering, procurement and manufacturing/production services to support design feasibility studies and analyses that modify DDG 51 Class destroyers for Foreign Military Sales (FMS) programs sponsored by the Department of the Navy and the Department of Defense. Work will take place in Maine and other locations. estimated completion date is in June 2021.
A fault in the launch system kept planes from launching from the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford during a five-day test, the Navy said. The Ford was at sea for testing of communications and data systems, as well as flight operations, over the weekend, but was unable to launch planes for five days. A fault in the power-handling system connecting the ship’s turbines to its EMALS — Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System — was discovered on June 2 and not rectified until June 7, allowing flyoffs by the Carrier Air Wing. The cause of the fault remains under investigation.
Middle East & Africa
Iran has continued to increase its stockpiles of enriched uranium and remains in violation of its deal with world powers, the United Nations’ atomic watchdog said Friday. The International Atomic Energy Agency reported the finding in a confidential document distributed to member countries and seen by The Associated Press. Accordingly, Iran’s total stockpile of low-enriched uranium amounted to 1,571.6 kilograms (1.73 tons), up from 1,020.9 kilograms (1.1 tons) on February 19. Iran signed the nuclear deal in 2015 with the United States, Germany, France, Britain, China and Russia. Known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA, it allows Iran only to keep a stockpile of 202.8 kilograms. The IAEA reported that Iran has also been continuing to enrich uranium to a purity of 4.5 percent, higher than the 3.67 percent allowed under the JCPOA. It is also above the pact’s limitations on heavy water.
Europe
Georgia’s Defense Minister Irakli Garibashvili says his country is capable of producing and selling the Su-25 attack jet. “We have absolutely all the resources, technical, intellectual or human, to be able to restore, produce, and sell the Su-25,” Garibashvili said in an interview on Palitranews tv channel. The majority of Su-25 in service were produced by Tbilisi Aircraft Manufacturing in Georgia before the end of the Soviet Union.
Asia-Pacific
Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems won a $37.5 million contract modification for additional Aegis combat system engineering, computer program maintenance, in-country support, staging support and implementation studies in support of current and future Foreign Military Sales Aegis shipbuilding programs in support of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, Republic of Korea Navy, Spanish Armada, Royal Australian Navy and Royal Norwegian Navy, with scope available to support other potential FMS customers. This modification will provide for additional Aegis combat system engineering, computer program maintenance, in-country support, staging support and implementation studies in support of current and future shipbuilding programs for Japan, Korea, Spain, Australia, Norway and other potential FMS customers. The Aegis FMS programs that will be supported include the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force Kongo and Atago Class ships, Republic of Korea Navy KDX III Class ships, Spanish Armada F-100 and F-110 program, Royal Norwegian Navy F310 Class ships and Royal Australian Navy Hunter and Hobart Class ships. Work will take place in New Jersey, Japan, South Korea, Norway and Australia. Expected completion will be by September 2020.
An engine issue that emerged last year on the Kawaski T-4 jet trainer has yet to be fully rectified, leaving the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) with insufficient numbers of training aircraft. This has forced the Blue Impulse aerobatic team to fly only 4-ship formations as the other serviceable aircraft had to be made available for training of pilots. The root cause was a baffle on the Ishikawajima-Harima F3-IHI-30 turbofan engine, which needs to be replaced. A T-4 from Misawa was forced to shutdown an engine in-flight last year after severe vibrations occurred. Investigators determined that the baffle needs to be switched out but the process of replacing 200 engines in service takes a long time.
Today’s Video
Watch: China Shocked: US warship steams through Taiwan Strait Amid Tension with China
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHgsfRbJ5L0
