USA Armed Forces

[donald_of_tokyo]

It is amazing how big the Fire Scout is now compared to the initial developmental models.

It is quite understandable, newly born assets, like UAV, quickly evolves. We all know, "torpedo boat destroyer" was 60 m long 300t FLD ship, which now evolves into 160 m long 10,000t FLD ship. 30 times larger!

[Simon82]

Could the UK not do something similar with retired Gazelles or Lynx? Wasn't there a concept sketch of a Lynx style UAV floating about for a while?

Do you mean the catchily titled AugustaWestland Rotary Wing Unmanned Air System (RWUAS) concept? It certainly had looks reminiscent of an unmanned Lynx Wildcat, but I think it was based on one of the group’s smaller civilians helicopter designs that had been given an angular military makeover.

277CBBFC-9D79-483D-8930-54B000865E6E.jpeg

[Caribbean]

Isn't the UK funding development, along with Italy, for the Leonardo Solo and Hero platforms?

[Dahedd]

Could the UK not do something similar with retired Gazelles or Lynx? Wasn't there a concept sketch of a Lynx style UAV floating about for a while?

Do you mean the catchily titled AugustaWestland Rotary Wing Unmanned Air System (RWUAS) concept? It certainly had looks reminiscent of an unmanned Lynx Wildcat, but I think it was based on one of the group’s smaller civilians helicopter designs that had been given an angular military makeover.

277CBBFC-9D79-483D-8930-54B000865E6E.jpeg

Thats the one. Looks to me like an old naval Lynx that's been converted. Excellent use for the old airframes if it ever came to pass.

[xav]

U.S. Navy Releases RFP for Medium USV

The MUSV will be a pier-launched, self-deploying modular, open architecture surface vehicle capable of autonomous navigation and mission execution. The development RFP contains options for additional USVs. A full and open competitive procurement will take place in fiscal year (FY) 2019.

https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/20 ... edium-usv/

Picture shows one of Austal USA's designs

[Timmymagic]

We really should be having another look at the CG

We are. The CG in its latest variant is likely to be coming back in the next couple of years. No real need for AT as the UK is awash with Javelin and NLAW, let alone the thousands of Hellfire and Brimstone we've got.

[Timmymagic]

Isn't the UK funding development, along with Italy, for the Leonardo Solo and Hero platforms?

I believe the Italians are currently looking at Solo, but then its coming back to the UK for another set of trials next year.

I think the Hero/Skeldar size RWUAS have a lot of potential, particularly in ASW alongside manned assets. But I do wonder about the Solo. The US is well ahead of us on this, they built the Firescout B based on a similar sized helicopter (the Schweizer 333). In the end they found that it was too small to do the job effectively and then put the control system inside a Bell 407 (Longranger) as they needed more power, range and lifting capability.

[Caribbean]

Thanks TM. I seem to remember reading something about the Hero not proving as useful as hoped. Though I can see it in a purely surveillance/ recon role, I suspect that equivalent scale fixed-wing platforms bring greater endurance. The Solo does look more useful, however, though probably only able to carry a single Sting Ray in the ASW role, or a couple of Sea Venom plus 5 LMM for surface attack. Putting the control package in an AW109 (or re-cycled Lynx airframe) or something a little larger seems like a reasonable idea

[Lord Jim]

I do have a problem with these current RWUAS and that is their size. Though you gain the benefits of an unmanned system, unless you have a hanger capable of handling say two Wildcats you have to choose to either embark a conventional helicopter or a RWUAS.

[xav]

Video: DARPA MAD-FIRES Anti-Ship Missile Self Defense for LCS & FFG(X)

Raytheon unveiled a video illustrating what MAD-FIRES is and how it works. MAD-FIRES is the round the company is currently developing with DARPA for the U.S. Navy surface combatants fitted with 57mm main guns.

The Multi-Azimuth Defense Fast Intercept Round Engagement System, or MAD-FIRES, is a missile but it comes out of a 57 mm caliber gun according to Raytheon (who is working on the project with DARPA). It is designed to combine the guidance, precision and accuracy generally afforded by missiles with the speed, rapid-fire capability and large ammunition capacity afforded by bullets.

https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/20 ... -lcs-ffgx/

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HII Completes Builder’s Trials for Amphibious Assault Ship Tripoli (LHA 7)

Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) announced the successful completion of builder’s trials on the amphibious assault ship Tripoli (LHA 7).

The second ship in the America class spent four days at sea in the Gulf of Mexico, testing the ship’s main propulsion, combat and other systems before returning to HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding division.

https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/20 ... oli-lha-7/

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Austal Launched its 12th Independence-class LCS – The Future USS Oakland

The future USS Oakland (LCS 24) was launched July 21 at Austal USA's shipyard in Mobile, Alabama. This event marked the first time the ship floated in the water as it is prepared for delivery to the US Navy next year.

https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/20 ... s-oakland/

[xav]

U.S. Navy Using BAE Systems Payload Tubes to Increase Virginia-class Strike Capability

BAE Systems has received a follow-on contract to produce 28 more payload tubes for the U.S. Navy’s Block V Virginia-class attack submarines. Under the contract with General Dynamics Electric Boat, a builder of the Virginia class, BAE Systems will deliver seven sets of four tubes each for the Virginia Payload Modules (VPM).

https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/20 ... apability/

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US Navy Selects Northrop Grumman as Design Agent for AN/SPQ-9B Radar

As design agent, Northrop Grumman provides support to existing and future systems, troubleshoots issues, performs redesign efforts as parts go obsolete and adds new capabilities to the baseline system. This follow-on engineering services contract will continue to support the installed base of 50 AN/SPQ-9B radar systems on ships and at six land sites, as well as future systems as they are delivered to the fleet. It will provide the Navy with uninterrupted technical assistance in their system installations, upgrades and follow-on production efforts.

https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/20 ... -9b-radar/

[Lord Jim]

The UK should really look at how the Virginia class is evolving when it looks towards the follow for the Astute class which should be as the Dreadnought class enters production so that there is as small a gap as possible between the completion of the last of the Dreadnought and the laying down of the future SSN.

[Jake1992]

The UK should really look at how the Virginia class is evolving when it looks towards the follow for the Astute class which should be as the Dreadnought class enters production so that there is as small a gap as possible between the completion of the last of the Dreadnought and the laying down of the future SSN.

I always thought the only real weakness of the astute is their lack of VLS, if they had a set of say 8 VLS they’d be arguably the best SSNs in the world.

[xav]

During the Suffren launch event, i heard that VLS were considered early in the program... but were not retained because of the (significant) added cost...

[xav]

U.S. Navy Tests SSMM From Independence-class LCS

The U.S. Navy test fired a Longbow Hellfire missile from an Independence-class LCS Surface-to-Surface Missile Module (SSMM) for the first time on June 11 2019.

https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/20 ... class-lcs/

[Lord Jim]

I wonder if Brimstone could be fired form the same system?

[xav]

U.S. Navy Commissioned 67th Burke-class destroyer USS Paul Ignatius – DDG 117

The U.S. Navy’s newest Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, USS Paul Ignatus (DDG 117), was commissioned on July 27, at Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Built by Huntington Ingalls Industries’ (HII) Ingalls Shipbuilding division, DDG 117 is the second (of nine) Arleigh Burke-class, “Flight IIA: Technology Insertion” variant. “Technology Insertion” ships are fitted with elements from the future DDG 51 Flight III.

https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/20 ... s-ddg-117/


U.S. Navy Testing EPF as Drone Mother Ship

The U.S. Navy tested expeditionary fast transport vessel USNS Spearhead (T-EPF 1) as a mother ship for unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV).

https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/20 ... ther-ship/

[xav]

U.S. Coast Guard Exercises Option for Six More Sentinel-class FRC

The United States Coast Guard exercised a contract option for production of six more Sentinel-class FRCs and associated deliverables worth just over $297.4 million with Bollinger Shipyards of Lockport, Louisiana, July 31.

https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/20 ... class-frc/

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USMC F-35B Lightning II Fighters Complete GAU-22 Cannon, Ordnance Hot Reload Training

F-35B Lightning II fighter aircraft with Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 265 (REIN), 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, used the GAU-22 cannon against a simulated target and executed the first shipboard hot reload of ordnance in the Indo-Pacific region while underway in the Solomon Sea from the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp (LHD 1), August 4.

https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/20 ... -training/

[abc123]

Interesting, USMC experimenting with 15 member infantry squad:

https://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/y ... -infantry/

[SW1]

I’ve have heard issues raised before that the loss of tactile control on touch screens especially during more intense operations has the potential to be an issue as there rolled out more widely in other defence areas but it’s the first time I’ve seen such concerns raised in an accident report.

https://www.theverge.com/2019/8/11/2080 ... l-controls

The US Navy will replace the touchscreen throttle and helm controls currently installed in its destroyers with mechanical ones starting in 2020, says USNI News. The move comes after the National Transportation Safety Board released an accident report from a 2017 collision, which cites the design of the ship’s controls as a factor in the accident.

Specifically, the board points to the touchscreens on the bridge, noting that mechanical throttles are generally preferred because “they provide both immediate and tactile feedback to the operator.” The report notes that had mechanical controls been present, the helmsmen would have likely been alerted that there was an issue early on, and recommends that the Navy better adhere to better design standards.

[xav]

U.S. Navy Fixes Propulsion Issues on its Newest Aircraft Carrier USS Gerald R. Ford

The U.S. Navy declares its newest aircraft carrier, USS Gerald R. Ford CVN78, propulsion plant has "reached completion" over two years after the ship's delivery in May 2017. Major unspecified issues have now been fixed but the ship remains in the shipyard at Newport News Shipbuilding.

https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/20 ... ld-r-ford/

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U.S. Navy Considering More Advanced Burke Destroyers as Large Surface Combatant Timeline Slips

The Navy is looking at “something beyond even a Flight III” combat capability for its new-build destroyers, as its plans for transitioning from building the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer to the future Large Surface Combatant continue to evolve and the LSC procurement date continues to slide.

https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/20 ... ine-slips/


DDG 51 Burke Flight IV ? Flight IIIA ?

I am a bit surprised honestly because i heard here and there rumors that the Flight III is already at the limits (in terms of weight, stability, power etc...)

Why not use the DDG1000 hull as the new base platform ?


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Advanced Arresting Gear Ready for All Props and Jets Aircraft

The U.S. Navy’s newest aircraft carrier Advanced Arresting Gear (AAG) system received the green light to recover all “props and jets” aircraft. The ARBs enable propeller aircraft: C-2A Greyhound, E-2C Hawkeye and E-2D Advanced Hawkeye, and jet aircraft: F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and E/A-18G Growler to perform flight operations aboard USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78).

https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/20 ... -aircraft/

[bobp]

Have they fixed the weapons elevators yet?

[Timmymagic]

Have they fixed the weapons elevators yet?

Not all. 2 are working. But these are the ones from the hangar deck to the flight deck. The ones to the magazine are not...which makes it all a bit moot...the self imposed deadline for when they will be fixed is going to be missed, with no end date in sight by all accounts.

[Clive F]

Not to mention they can't launch any aircraft either!

[xav]

Not to mention they can't launch any aircraft either!

Sure they can.

Just not F-35C