David Architzel News

Blackmer, a company in positive displacement and centrifugal pump and reciprocating compressor technologies, has a relationship with the U.S. Military that dates back to 1914 when it became an official equipment supplier to the Armed Forces. One of the more significant contracts Blackmer has earned was awarded in 2007 when the U.S. Navy selected the company to supply sliding vane pumps for use on the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78), which would be the lead ship in a new class of supercarriers used for crisis response and early decisive striking power in major combat operations. The USS Gerald R.

Vice Adm. David Architzel, Principal Military Deputy Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition, signed the donation contract officially transferring title and ownership of the historic battleship ex-USS Wisconsin (BB 64) to the city of Norfolk, Va. Wisconsin saw extensive action in the Pacific during the waning days of World War II and was decommissioned in 1948. The ship was recommissioned in 1951, returned to the Pacific where it saw heavy action in the Korean conflict and was decommissioned again in 1958. Wisconsin earned five battle stars during World War II service and one battle star during the Korean War. After many years in storage, the ship was modernized and recommissioned in 1988 and returned to war when Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait.

The 13th annual ShipTech event will be held at the Beau Rivage Resort in Biloxi, Mississippi, March 9-10, 2010. ShipTech 2010 is cosponsored by the Office of Naval Research's (ONR) Manufacturing Technology Program (ManTech) and the National Shipbuilding Research Program (NRSP) and is facilitated by the Navy Metalworking Center. Intended for the domestic shipbuilding industry, its supplier base, Navy Program Offices and Navy-sponsored shipbuilding research programs, ShipTech is organized to present research, best practices and what is currently being done to reduce total ownership costs of naval ships while enhancing the competitiveness of the domestic shipbuilding industry.

Northrop Grumman reached its first construction milestone in the life of the new-generation aircraft carrier, CVN 21. The company cut one of the first pieces of steel, a 15-ton plate for a side shell unit of CVN 78, the first ship of the CVN 21 program. Design work on the CVN 21 is underway at Northrop Grumman's Newport News sector, with the full construction contract anticipated in 2007. Advance construction began in 2005 to allow shipbuilders to test the design-build strategy before overall construction begins in 2007. Each ship of the class is valued at approximately $8 billion. The ceremony also served as the grand opening for the shipyard's new heavy-plate bay facility, one of several new facilities built for CVN 21 construction.

U.S. "We are pleased to note that the Secretary of Defense has agreed with the position of the Committee on Armed Services that an officer in the grade of Vice Admiral would be a valuable addition to the staff of the senior Navy acquisition executive. The Committee has long felt that a senior officer serving as the Principle Deputy to the Assistant Secretary for Research, Development and Acquisition would be a valuable link between the uniformed service and the civilian acquisition professionals.

Invoking millennia of maritime and shipbuilding tradition, USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70), currently in drydock at Northrop Grumman Newport News shipyard, stepped its new mast March 6 in a solemn ceremony on the flight deck. The ceremony involved a series of remarks by distinguished guests and culminated in the welding of a commemorative metal plaque to the base of the ship’s new mast. Carl Vinson Commanding Officer Capt. Ted Carter led the ceremony, and introduced its distinguished participants during his opening remarks: Rear Adm. David Architzel, Program Executive Officer for Aircraft Carriers; Ken Mahler, vice president for carrier overhauls at Northrop Grumman Newport News; and retired Capt. Richard Martin, Carl Vinson’s first commanding officer. Rear Adm.

The Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) and the Program Executive Officer (PEO) Aircraft Carriers held a signature and awards ceremony on Sept. 5 at the Washington Navy Yard to commemorate the certification of the ship specifications for the CVN 78 Class Aircraft Carriers, which makes up the CVN 21 program. NAVSEA's Ship Design, Integration and Engineering Directorate (SEA 05) led efforts, in cooperation with Northrop Grumman Newport News, the lead design shipyard, to develop the CVN 78 ship specifications with support from across the Navy Enterprise. The certification of the CVN 78 ship specifications marks a major milestone in the future aircraft design process and forms the basis of the technical data package used to prepare a ship construction contract.

The CVN 78 ship specifications were certified at a Senior Stakeholder Board/Executive Steering Group meeting held recently, after 12 months of specification writing and three months of intense reading sessions. The Naval Sea Systems Command’s (NAVSEA) Ship Design, Integration and Engineering Directorate (SEA 05), in cooperation with Northrop Grumman Newport News (the Lead Design shipyard), led efforts to develop the ship specifications with support from across the Navy enterprise. NAVSEA and the Program Executive Officer for Aircraft Carriers (PEO Carriers) will commemorate the certification of the ship specifications for the CVN 78 Class Aircraft Carriers in a signing and awards ceremony to be held Sept. 5 at the Washington Navy Yard.