Joint Venture (HSV-X1) 315-foot catamaran ferry to deliver troops and equipment. Joint Venture is capable of carrying 363 persons, military vehicles and equipment more than 1,110 nautical miles at a speed greater than 35 knots. Without a heavy load, the ferry reaches 50 miles per hour. Draft is 12-foot.
Oct 2001 - Joint Venture leased from an Australian company for two years to the U.S. Army's Tank-Automotive and Armament Command, it has been modified with a landing pad for large helicopters ; vehicle ramp for rapid loading and discharging of vehicles from the stern or alongside. The Navy operated Joint Venture with mixed army and navy crew. New vessels will be configured to meet the specifications required by each of the services.
4Feb03 Experimental One (HSV-X1) made a brief stop in Rota, Spain, while underway in support of the global war on terrorism. Mar'03 Naval special warfare forces are using the high-speed catamaran Joint Venture (HSV-X1).
Army has TSV (Theater Support Vessel)-1X Spearhead. accepted Jan'03. The Army sees the ship as able to carry four M1 Abrams tanks, 200-300 troops, 600 tons of cargo and helicopter -- is expected to order a dozen in March'04 to supplement the LSV. (The Army operates 300 watercraft.) Specifications include:
- Average speed: 40+ knots
- Self-deployment range: 4726+ NM
- Troops plus gear: 350+
- Cargo space: 25-30,000 sq. ft/ISO container capable
- Helicopter flight deck
- Load/discharge in less than 20 minutes
May 19 . Spearhead will head back to the Persian Gulf soon. Tests have worked well and the Army gave notice it wants one TSV built to its specifications, with the possibility of 15 more to follow.
Swift (HSV-2) is a wave piercing, aluminum-hulled, commercial catamaran vessel with military enhancements, such as a helicopter flight deck, a small boat or unmanned vehicle launch and recovery capability, modifiable berthing compartments, enhanced ramps for military vehicles and a robust communications suite. On trials in Australia made a sustained 40 knots. Draft is 12-foot. Crew of 40. Length 320 feet, 28,000 sf of deck space.
Mission configurations include maritime interdiction, mine warfare, littoral access, homeland security, expeditious troop and equipment transport and a host of other possibilities. Some see the ship as a stepping-stone to the littoral combat ship. (close to shore, Fletcher class DD sized ships)
June2003 - delivered to Naval Shipyard Ingleside . 10Oct03 - Northern Arabian Gulf . 6Nov03 - arrived South Africa to participate with local military units in West African Training Cruise 2004 (WATC 04) . 20Dec03 . Swift (HSV 2) to stop at Little Creek and Washington before going to its home port at Ingleside, TX. Apr'04, joint exercises off Norway. July'04, exercises in Hawaii.
The fourth catamaran will serve with Mine Warfare as command ship.
Sept '05. Ran relief supplies from Pensacola to New Orleans to resupply Iwo Jima (LHD 7) in shallow water where navigation aids were disrupted by hurricane.
JHSV Nov 19, 2005 . All four military services concurred with the decision to procurement of the lead ship for Fy08. Army and Marine Corps will be capable of transporting company-sized units with their vehicles, or reconfigure to become a troop transport for an infantry battalion. JHSV will not be a combatant vessel but will be similar to high-speed commercial ferries.
2009 . Contract let for twelve with Austal USA . First ship of contract to be for Army, due 2012
Osprey V-22.
Twin-engine, tilt wing aircraft. Twelve were initially ordered for evaluation in 1998. It has gone through a very public evaluation period after a training
accident which lost both crew and onboard marines. The USMC wants
348 units to replace aging helicopters and the Navy and Army want
50 each. The Osprey is faster, longer range, quieter, and carries a larger payload than helicopters.
Range 500 miles ; speed 275 mph ; 24 passengers ; external payload 5 tons. Aerial refueling. In an assault configuration - over 200 miles with 18 troops.
Applications: Marine MV-22 for all uses. Navy HV-22 for search and rescue. Air Force CV-22 for special operations.
7March03. All Ospreys received a priority hydraulic system change; to be back in service by March 21.
23Nov03. The Marine Corps MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft completed its latest series of sea trials using USS Bataan (LHD 5) “This was the final flight deck stability test before the V-22 goes into production” .
25 March'09. Bataan (LHD 5) to deploy with ten Osprey.
New Generation Destroyer - DDX - Zumwalt Class (DDG-1000)
Mar. 2003 . USS Radford * to become prototype of new DDX type . Fall 2004-Fall 05.
Dec. 2003 . Popular Mechanics reports the DD(X) requirements have been released to contractors and calls for 14,000 ton displacement, 600 foot waterline, 79 ft beam, stealthy design, manned by a crew of 125, and conventionally armed.
These specifications will make the DDX half again as large as current destroyers (Spruance and Burke classes [which are the size of pre-Ww2 cruisers: New Orleans, Brooklyn classes]) and equal to the size of late-Ww2 heavy cruisers (Baltimore class). Status : preliminary design. Planned delivery 2011, service 2013.
Aug'05 . The first DDX will carry two 155-millimeter guns (5.9") that fire rocket-propelled rounds. Current test versions of the gun have hit targets 68 miles away. The Navy hopes to reach 96 miles. The ships will be built of special materials in a design that will make it stealthy. It will have a variety of automated systems that call for a crew of 150, one-third of the sailors needed on today's destroyers. Northrop Grumman Corp. is the lead contractor.
The Navy wants to begin detailed design and construction on the initial DDX. But the GAO said "engineering development models" for 10 major new systems slated will not be fully tested until much later and fears the need for redesigns.
Sep'05. Navy says 10 new systems satisfactory and ends Phase III. Plans to begin final design and construction with two shipyards - Northrop Grumman Ship Systems and General Dynamics Bath Iron Works to simultaneously build lead ships beginning in fiscal year 2007.
Nov '05. DoD authorizes Phase IV, detail design and construction of the two lead ships.
Apr'06. USS Zumwalt (DDG-1000) named. Zumwalt is to be delivered in 2012 and will have 2% of the radar cross section of current destroyers. Displacement of around 12,000 tons with a crew of 140. Two planned operational in 2013.
21July'08. The $3B DDX will probably to be replaced with a $200M upgrade of existing Burke class destroyers (DDG) [52/61 ships, 1991-2011] and $250M for existing Ticonderoga class cruisers (CG) [22 ships, 1988-1994]. These upgrades will add ten years to their life and install some of the DDX technology including crew automation and electronics.
Feb. 14, 2008, The Navy exercised contract modifications for the construction of DDG 1000 Zumwalt and DDG 1001 to General Dynamics Bath Iron Works and Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding
31Oct'08. DDG 1001 named Michael Monsoor -- 16,000 tons; 600 feet, 148 crew, 30+ knots..
These ships will be the same weight, but longer than the three WWI battleships, New Hampshire class scrapped by treaty 1923 ; larger than any Ww2 heavy cruiser ; and a tad smaller than the post-war Des Moines Class heavy cruiser.
Next Generation Cruiser -- CGX is the discussed replacement for Ticonderoga class cruisers for fleet defense and surface bombardment. These would be based on the (untested) Zumwalt destroyer hull. High estimated costs have caused consideration of alternatives -- upgrades to increase the life of later Ticonderoga (CG-52+) ; a special class of Zumwalts (much as Ticonderogas were renamed from a class of Spruance destroyer) ; and single purpose ballistic missile ships.
Littoral Combat Ships . The definition of littoral is "region along a shore". Now that threats against the deep water navy are reduced , the new "buzz" is for naval capability in shallower coastal regions. The new design ship (in 2004 was) of 1,000 tons [it doubled], about the size of a WWI-era destroyer or gunboat, perhaps more reminiscent of LSM(R)s equipped for shore attack with guns, mortars and rockets.
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The new ship is likely to be a catamaran [not] to operate as a floating truck, relatively small and able to run at high speeds in shallow water. It would carry one or more "mission modules" designed for jobs ranging from mine-clearing to cargo-hauling. The modules are to be quickly interchangeable, so that an anti-mine module can be lifted off the deck and replaced in a few days with one equipped with anti-submarine weapons or provisions that could be ferried to Marines operating ashore. The Navy expects to run each ship with a core crew of perhaps 20 sailors. Specialists would come aboard with each module.
Competing for the ship production are General Dynamics, which is offering a three-hulled trimaran based on an Australian design ; Lockheed Martin, which is proposing a more conventional monohull design ; and Raytheon, which is suggesting a "surface effects ship" that rides on a cushion of air, like the Landing Craft Air Cushion. The Navy hopes to choose from among the three designs in May. The five-year shipbuilding plan calls for 13 ships with a goal to buy 56.
May 28 . Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics awarded LCS final design contracts . pics
Dec 15, 2004. Lockheed Martin awarded contract for detail design and construction of the first Flight 0 LCS with target launch 2006. The Navy plans to build a total of four Flight 0 LCS. [This is the conventional hull version. You are led to think of the original design as a super PT-boat, but the ship built is the weight and length of, and easy to think of as, a better Ww2 era destroyer.]
Freedom (LCS-1) 2 June'05. keel laid by Marietta Marine, Marinette, WI.
Specifications:
Displacement: 2135 tons (light), 2862 tons (full) ;
Length: 378' (oa), 324' (wl) ;
Beam: 57' (extreme), 43' (wl) ;
Draft: 13' (navigational draft), 14' draft limit ;
Propulsion: Two gas turbine engines, two propulsion diesels, two (4?) waterjets ; Hull: steel ; Superstructure: aluminum ;
Speed: max 59 kts. ; [ builder's trials only say greater than 40 kt.]
Range: 1500 nm at 50 knots, 4300 nm at 20 knots
Complement: 26 + mission crew ;
Crew arrived for cross training 30Oct'05.
9Jan'06. A contract for Mission Packages has been awarded. There will be three modules for plug-and-fight capability that will go to sea aboard LCS. Mine Warfare (MIW) module will provide remote minehunting and airborne mine neutralization. Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) module provides high-quality acoustic surveillance and weapons aboard unmanned surface vessels. 18Sept'08 rolled out. Surface Warfare (SUW) includes a 30mm cannon and non-line of sight missiles.
Launched 23Sept'06. To commission and arrive at homeport San Diego, early '07. Doesn't seem to have happened.
April 25, 2007, a fire at Marinette Marine, damaged LCS-1 during outfitting of the vessel. Freedom, only 80% completed, sustained significant damage.
28July'08 builder's trial [pic] 18Sep'08 accepted by Navy, to christen soon then deep sea trials off Norfolk. Commissioned 8Nov'08. Home port San Diego.
8Sept'09. LCS-1 completed 2nd post commissioning refit. Begins firing exercises.
13Oct'09. Freedom (LCS 1) to be deployed in early 2010 for anti-pirate operations, two years ahead of her originally scheduled 2012 maiden deployment.
31Jan'10. Arrives Mayport to ready for Caribbean drug interdictions. 16Feb deplays
Independence (LCS-2) 19Jan'06 keel was laid. Designed by General Dynamics. Specifications: trimaran ;
Displacement: 2176 tons (light), 2784 tons (full) ;
Length: 416' (oa) ; Beam: 104' ; Draft: 14' ;
Hull and superstructure: aluminum .
Speed: 40+ knots ; Range: 4,500 NM ;
Crew 40.
Expected Completion, October 2007. Doesn't seem to have happened. Now expected for July 2009. pic7 pic8 pic9
28April'08 launched. July'09, Builder's trials. Two years late and over budget by 300%, $220M went to $704M. Nov'09 Acceptance trials. Dec'09 Navy acceptance .Planned sail away date Feb'10.
Lockheed Martin (LC-1 and -3) is the conventional hull design with high performance specification and should be the easier to estimate. The General Dynamics (LSC-2, -4) is radically new trimaran hull (narrow main hull with two smaller outboard hulls aft) has much larger helo deck space.
Both designs have been criticized for giving up fuel / range for speed that will be little used, measured in hours. These boats should be of interest to USCG/homeland security for chasing drug runners.
Fort Worth is to be a semiplaning monohull, 378 feet in length, have a waterline beam of 57 feet, displace approximately 3,000 tons, and will make speed in excess of 40 knots. Keel laid 11July'09.
Coronado will be another aluminum trimaran built by Austal.
Unmanned Surface Vessel, USV, Spartan Scout is an unmanned, rigid hull inflatable boat with an enhanced engine and hi-tech camera and sensor gear .
Dec. 1, 2003. Gettysburg (CG 64) of the Enterprise (CVN 65) Carrier Strike Group, successfully launched Spartan Scout and completed an unmanned, three-hour mission that was driven remotely from three laptop computers in the Combat Direction Center (CDC) aboard Gettysburg.
Two years ago, the Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) in Newport, R.I., started development on the first remote-controlled surface vehicle. This test was the first unmanned operation of the Spartan Scout from a U.S. warship at sea and required manpower only for launch and recovery. The unmanned surface vessel (USV) expands your sensor range and situational awareness without exposing boat crews to rough seas or weather. The crew operates the USV from the comfort and safety of the control module in CDC, its sensors feeding information directly the operators.
The trial variant of Spartan is designed primarily for surface surveillance and force protection. Using a forward-looking infrared/CCD camera, Spartan Scout can provide surveillance in a harbor, not only for Navy ships but for U.S. Coast Guard units responsible for port security, and it could provide reconnaissance for ships passing through maritime chokepoint. Spartan Scout can be modified for mine detection or anti-submarine warfare. When equipped with a Hellfire or Javelin missile, it could attack other surface vehicles or conduct precision strikes ashore.
Gettysburg completed its operational testing with Spartan Scout Dec'03 and sent the results for further evaluation.
Sea Shadow (IX 529) is nearing its second decade of service as a test platform for ship stealth and experimental technologies of advanced hull forms and structures, automation for reduced manning, sea keeping and signature control.
The vessel was built modularly under tight secrecy in the early 1980s by different manufacturers and assembled inside the Hughes Mining Barge (HMB). The HMB would be moved out to sea in the dead of night and halfway submerged, to let Sea Shadow out to be tested without being overly exposed to public observation.
Sea Shadow doesn't have traditional rudders --aft stabilizers and forward canards on the inboard side of its submerged twin hulls control steering. Combined with the angled sides,our new oceanographic ships have inherited the stabilizer and canard method to help perform their stability-sensitive surveillance missions. The angled sides also helps the ship remain stable even in very rough water with waves of up to 18-feet and shows the origin of similarly sloped superstructures of the Arleigh Burke-class and the coming DD-X class destroyers.
Sea Shadow is 160-feet-long with a small water-plane area twin hull. She has bunks for 12 and a microwave for galley. Not intended to be mission-capable, never designated as "USS," rather is a miscellaneous craft.
Fuel Cells at Sea The Office of Naval Research (ONR) is developing innovative propulsion systems based on new fuel-cell technology for efficient generation of electrical power and greater design flexibility for future ships. Fuel cells do not require combustion and are far more efficient than gas turbines and diesel engines. Fuel cells will permit design of a “distributed” power system that can be dispersed throughout the ship instead of being co-located with the ship's shaft. This added flexibility will improve ship survivability. The Navy's DD(X) land-attack destroyer program will test fuel cell technology as a supplemental power source.
[Think of early factories were all power came from on central shaft with belts running to each machine. Now we have an electric motor on each machine. Fuel cells, too, can be located where needed and not depend on a central engine room.]
Robotic Mine Hunter An 11-foot mini-sub, Battlespace Preparation Autonomous Underwater Vehicle, is pre-programmed to do independent search for mines and to destroy them. This device came to light when one launched from minesweeper Swift (HSV-2) was lost during joint exercises off southern Norway . It was later found 125 miles away.
Advanced SEAL Delivery System, ASDS, is a 65 foot mini-submarine, which rides attached to the top of a Los Angeles Class submarine. It has increased range, speed, and capacity over the current SEAL Delivery Vehicle which is an open, wet submersible, that transports SEALs in scuba gear, exposing them longer to the elements. The four Trident-class submarines being converted to cruise missile and special forces carriers (SSGN) will be capable of carrying ASDS, as will Virginia-class attack submarines and the Jimmy Carter (SSN 23).
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles. Predator is an endurance-type UAV that operates at medium altitude, 15,000 to 20,000 feet and can stay airborne for more than 24 hours. Shadow is a tactical UAV that operates below 10,000 feet and in the neighborhood of five to six hours in the air. Scan Eagle operates in the 2,000-foot regime or lower ; it is such a small UAV that one person can pick it up and carry it around. Coast Guard is developing Eagle Eye VUAV tilt rotor for shipboard surveillance -- think mini-Osprey. Fire Scout helicopter is shipboard and also selected by Army for joint development.
"Sea Flyer," advanced ship hull system, equipped the Navy's SES-200, ship with a 170-ton Navatek underwater lifting body that enables the hull to be fully out of the water at higher speeds. Navatek’s patented technology is similar to that which NASA uses with spacecraft. The new hull has seen a significant increase in stability over comparable vessels at all speeds from stopped to high speed. 9July04
Computers constantly monitored acceleration, pitch, yaw and roll, adjusting airplane-like flaps to lift up and steer the 167-foot Sea Flyer. 1Oct04
CVN 21 Project the next generation of aircraft carrier [ 21st Century, but CVN-78] began 2 years of advanced construction Aug 11,'05.
Besides being larger than today’s Nimitz-class carriers, the new generation will be similar in appearance with improvements including more compact reactor, electromagnetic catapults, simplified island, faster launch cycle, smaller crew, more accepting of unmanned and vertical takeoff vehicles.
Aug'04. Delayed by budget to begin construction in 2008, launch 2015. Intended to replace Enterprise who's 50-year life reactor will be reached in 2011.
Sept'08. Detailed design contract of $5.1B was awarded for USS Gerald R Ford (CVN-78). Expected completion 2015. Eleven Ford class carriers are planned through 2058.
Silver Fox , Unmanned Aerial Vehicle. "An overgrown model airplane," used in battles in Iraq to provide Marines with live views of the battlefield.
Silver Fox was developed in 2002 for tracking whales and built from off-the-shelf model airplane parts, imaging equipment and Global Positioning Satellite technology. It can be launched by hand by throwing it into the wind and has a flight time of about 5 hours. The UAV is controlled through a laptop computer that can fly several of the aircraft at the same time. It has cameras that provide a real time downlink in color, monochrome and infrared. “Rather than a high value piece of equipment, it gives us the freedom to be use, abuse and lose.”
Mar. 2003 . Six aircraft rushed to Iraq provided protection to American troops by flying convoy escort and reconnaissance and surveillance missions for Special Forces and Marine units.
Georgia class, SSGN . Four converted "boomers" modified to carry 154 cruise missiles or 60 SEALS. Two missile silos are converted as an air lock and an ASDS mini-sub docking hatch. These boats will replace five PCs that were SEAL carriers and recently transferred to the US Coast Guard.
The MK-6 Marine Mammal System has been deployed to Bahrain. This anti-swimmer unit of dolphins protects warships 24/7.
SeaArk Dauntless 34-foot craft used by Inshore Boat Unit of Naval Coastal Warfare Squadron are deploying to Kuwait. These patrol boats mount four guns of various types.
Sea Fighter (FSF 1) The Littoral Surface X- Craft --Experimental will be used to evaluate the hydrodynamic performance, structural behavior, mission flexibility, and propulsion system of high-speed vessels. The X-Craft is a 262-foot, high-speed aluminum catamaran,
beam 72-feet,draft 11.5 feet. capable of speed in excess of 50 knots,
crew of 26, that will test a variety of technologies, which will allow the Navy to operate more effectively in littoral or near-shore waters. Sea trials begin in San Diego in April'05.
Everett, Wash. 22July05 . Arrived homeport San Diego, 1 Aug'05.
Sea-Based X-Band Radar Station. Photo of SBX being transported on MV Blue Marlin
The SBX is a combination of the world’s largest phased-array X-band radar carried aboard a mobile, ocean-going semi-submersible oil platform. It will provide the nation with highly advanced ballistic missile detection and will be able to discriminate a hostile warhead from decoys or countermeasures. The SBX spans 240 feet in width and 390 feet in length. It towers more than 280 feet from its keel to the top of the radar dome and displaces nearly 50,000 tons. The platform is twin-hulled, self-propelled and stable in high winds and turbulent sea conditions. The SBX is scheduled to arrive in Adak, Aleutian Islands, Alaska, later this year. Although homeported in Adak, it will be capable of moving throughout the Pacific Ocean to support both advanced missile defense testing as well as defensive operations.
USMC Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle.
EFV, holds 17 people, a reinforced rifle squad, and a crew of three. The EFV, however, is designed more as a combat vehicle than a troop transport. It has a 30 mm chain gun coaxed with a 7.62 mm machine gun. It follows in the line of development from the Alligator, Bradley Fighting Vehicle, and Advanced Assault Amphibious Vehicle. The 35-ton EFV can do 20 knots in water and keep up with the M1A1 tank on land. EFV is to start reaching the field in 2008. Full-rate production of the EFV is scheduled for no later than 2020. ?!
Fire Scout - Jan'06, unmanned RQ-8A helicopter underwent design test flights, leaving Patuxent River, MD. and landing on LPD-13 Nashville and return. The programs improved MQ-8B is expected to arrive in Fy'08.
Jan'07. Upgraded from R-reconn to M-multipurpose test with 8- 2.75" rockets. Capable of operations of five hours with 130lbs at 110 nautical miles from the launch site. Plan introduction in 2008, with full production in 2009. Program began before May 2002 -- 7-years seems long in wartime. Teens fly radio controlled helicopters in their back yard for under $300.
Sept'08. Designed for the delayed LCS, the Fire Scout is being assigned to other ships for real-world experience and armed with Hellfire missiles. Three delivered, a few on order, Speed 140 mph, controller range 140 miles with 5 hours airtime.
Unmanned Undersea Vehicle (UUV) system
Underwater launch, homing, and docking of an Unmanned Undersea Vehicle (UUV) system from the torpedo tube of a submerged submarine. Called an anti-mine system, it will enable reconnaissance in littoral operations.
Broad Area Maritime Surveillance (BAMS) system involves a large unmanned aircraft capable of flying 2,000 nautical miles each way and remaining in service for at least 24 hours, while surveying large areas of open ocean or coastal areas with state-of-the-art sensors. Northrop Grumman's Global Hawk UAV (left) in use by the Air Force, and a larger version of General Atomics' Predator UAS, (right) called Mariner, are expected to be leading candidates. The Navy will require dozens of aircraft and associated systems that could cost more than $50 million each. A contract is to be awarded by September 2007 with the first of the aircraft and sensors to be ready for testing in 2011 and the system ready for operational use in 2013.
BAMS will reduce the number of P-8s, a modified Boeing 737 jetliner [Multi-mission Maritime Aircraft (MMA), a long-range anti-submarine and reconnaissance plane] that will replace Vietnam-vintage P-3 Orions.
MQ-9, Reaper. The Air Force version of MQ-9, called Reaper, is fitted as an attack aircraft with expected deployment on combat trials fall'07 in Afghanistan and in Iraq by spring'08. Larger than a Predator, about the size of an A-10 WartHog, MQ-9 can carry 14 HellFire missiles (the MQ-1 Predator can carry two; 300 mph vs. 120mph) and will be able to stay aloft for 14 hours fully armed. The pilot of the unmanned hunter-killer will be in Nevada. The Navy's MQ-9 Mariner is intended to operate from a carrier on surveillance flights of 24-hours.
SEA SENTOR and TRAPR DCL are U.K and U.S. systems being tested that can detect torpedoes, fire anti-torpedoes and decoys, and make evasive maneuvers.
Airborne Laser Mine Detection System. First test unit of ALMDS delivered 30Jan'07. Mounted on Littoral Combat Ship MH-60S helicopter, it has no water components for rapid detection of near surface mines over a broad area.
Stiletto . The 88-foot long, 60-ton Stiletto is the first and largest carbon fiber ship built in the United States. It's m-shaped, light-weight hull lets the boat travel at speeds of more than 50 knots. The boat will be used to transport special operations forces to their mission quickly and is ideal for navigating shallow waters to detect mines and support special operations missions. Since launch in January 2005, Stiletto has participated in joint military training. Summer 2009 joint team assigned to illicit trafficking in Caribbean.
- Late Ww2 Patrol/Motor Torpedo Boat (PT) was 80 feet x 21 x 5 feet, 45 tons, 41 knots.
Remote Minehunting System
The RMS components include a remote minehunting vehicle, a semi-submersible, diesel-powered vehicle that tows the AN/AQS-20A minehunting sonar ; a mission control and display which integrates RMS into the undersea warfare system of a late model destroyer or littoral combat ship, and a launch and recovery system. The 23-feet, 7-ton vehicle provides real-time sensing . A mine that costs only a couple thousand dollars can cause hundreds of millions of dollars in damage to Navy ships and put the affected ships out of action for months. Sea Talon is an anti-submarine version.
Mine Resistant Ambush Protected ,
MRAP, vehicle contract was let to 9 vendors in January'07, each to provide four prototypes to Aberdeen Proving Grounds by 31December'07.
June'07 -- Marine Corps test 200 Cougar/Jerry in Anbar Province. Four times heavier than Hummer. July'07 -- With no Marine Corps fatalities, goal is to replace all armored HMMWVs (4,100) USMC). 10July -- 5,000 on order from Stewart and Stevenson Tactical Vehicle Systems LP of Armor Holdings, for delivery before March'08.
19July'07 -- Congress steps in giving high priority for 3,900 by year-end '07.. Taking money from other programs! Oshgosh has stopped work on driverless supply trucks to shift to MRAP personnel carriers.
M-ATV or MRAP II , all terrain vehicle is a highly survivable, off-road capable vehicle. 10June'09 contract for 6,600 to Oshkosh. First shipments being tested in US and Afghanistan. All should be delivered by March 2010. Crew 4 + 1 gunner. It looks more the size of a hummer with the same survivability as the truck sized MRAP.
Joint Precision Approach and Landing System -- JPALS
This is a GPS based system so that aircraft can land at night or in bad weather using local equipment with an encrypted signal, low radiated power, accurate to within 1 foot. 28Sep'08 Navy gave Raytheon $233 million to complete work on an aircraft carrier version.
P-8A Poseidon maritime reconnaissance aircraft is based on the Boeing 737 airliner. Although the 737 is a two engine jet, compared to the four engine turboprop P-3, it is a more capable plane and getting to target areas more quickly. September 26, 2008: The U.S. Navy has ordered the first two P-8A to enter service in 2010. How many P-8s will be produced is uncertain, as UAVs are looking preferable to manned maritime reconnaissance and ASW aircraft.
SRDRS - Submarine Rescue Diving and Re-compression System, is an air deployable rescue asset that can be delivered and installed on pre-screened military or commercial vessels and mated to a distressed submarine within a 72-hours of first rescue notice.
F-35 Joint Strike Fighter . "The F-35C is on schedule to meet the Navy's initial operational capability in 2015, and combines stealth with supersonic speed and high agility. The Lightning II employs the most powerful and comprehensive sensor package ever incorporated into a fighter."
Possibly the last manned fighter plane, It tries to be everything to everybody -- Air Force (A model, 2012), USMC (B), 2013, and Navy Carriers (C), 2015, for unimproved operations, and multi-nations -- is two years behind schedule, over budget, and is too complicated for combat -- IMHO. War is a come as you are party and we won't have time to fix it when the shooting starts. A and B models in flight test early 2009. Navy 480 F-35Cs (also known as CF-1) ,to replace F/A-18A, B, C, and D Hornets. The first test F-35C was rolled out on 29 July 2009 ; first flight to be late 2009 ; plan operational 2015.
Ion Tiger . Fuel cell for prolonged (24-hour) flight of micro UAV. Weights 37 pounds, generates 3/4 HP and carries a 4 or 5 pound payload. Seven times more efficient than batteries for silent, high endurance surveillance and communications..
16-17Nov'09 Ion Tiger, a hydrogen-powered fuel cell unmanned air vehicle (UAV), flew 26 hours and 1 minute carrying a 5-pound payload, setting another unofficial flight endurance record for a fuel-cell powered flight.
Navy Cyber Forces (CYBERFOR) established 26Jan'10 at Little Creek-Fort Story as type commander for cryptology, signals intelligence, cyber, electronic warfare, information operations, intelligence, networks and space disciplines. About time.
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