RIMPAC Exercise Puts LCS Through Paces
It was the middle of May, and the littoral combat ship Independence was operating out of San Diego, testing components of the mine warfare mission package. The mission is one that, except for several extended overhaul periods, has consumed much of the ship’s operating time since the class-leading vessel was commissioned in January 2010. Word then came down from the highest levels of US Navy leadership — Independence was going to Pearl Harbor to take part in the world’s largest naval exercise, Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC). The event, held every two years, was only weeks away from beginning. To get there on time, the LCS would have to rapidly switch gears — offloading the mine equipment…
General Dynamics Tests U.S. Navy UUVs
General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems, a business unit of General Dynamics, completed the comprehensive risk reduction program for the U.S. Navy’s Knifefish Surface Mine Countermeasure Unmanned Undersea Vehicle (UUV) program. Designed to discover any potential systems defect early on in the program’s development phase, the configuration item test (CIT) successfully verified key components within the UUV system including the hardware architecture and critical areas of hardware and software integration.
Navy Awards $87m Deal for Mine Countermeasure UUV
The U.S. Navy’s Naval Sea Systems Command has awarded General Dynamics Advanced Informational Systems a contract to design and build the Surface Mine Countermeasure Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (SMCM UUV) system. The system will initially be a part of the Littoral Combat Ship Mine Warfare mission package. The contract has a maximum potential value of $86.7 million for one Engineering Development Model (EDM) and five low-rate initial production systems if all options are exercised. General Dynamics Advanced Informational Systems is a business unit of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD). The SMCM UUV system will allow Navy commanders and sailors to reliably detect and identify mines in high-clutter underwater environments in a single pass…
Navy Prepares Remote Minehunting System as Future Asset
The Navy completed technical evaluation and training of the Remote Minehunting System (RMS) aboard USS Bainbridge (DDG-96) in Panama City on July 28. The evaluation enables the Navy to continue training on the system, designed as part of the mine warfare mission package for the littoral combat ship. "This is all in preparation for the operational evaluation (OPEVAL) to be conducted in the South Florida Test Facility this September," said Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City RMS Project Engineer Keith Hartless. Senior Chief Mineman Paul King of the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) Mine Countermeasure (MCM) Detachment 1 praised RMS as cutting-edge technology during his pierside preparations. "This is the future in the making," said King.
Navy Evaluates Remote Minehunting System
The Navy completed technical evaluation and training of the remote minehunting system (RMS) aboard USS Bainbridge (DDG-96) in July 28. The evaluation enables the Navy to continue training on the system, designed as part of the mine warfare mission package for the Littoral Combat Ship. "This is all in preparation for the operational evaluation (OPEVAL) to be conducted in the South Florida Test Facility this September," said Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City RMS Project Engineer Keith Hartless.
Navy Rolls Out New Mine Warfare Mission Package
The Navy rolled out its new Mine Warfare Mission Package for the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) in a ceremony on Sept. 14 at the ARINC Engineering Services facility near Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) Panama City, Fla. Congressman F. Allen Boyd, Jr. (D-Fla.-2), leader of the Mine Warfare Caucus, Dr. Delores Etter, Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition, and James Thomsen, Program Executive Officer Littoral and Mine Warfare, all spoke at the event. "These mission modules will revolutionize warfighting in the littorals and will fill critical requirement gaps that exist in the fleet today. We urgently need them as we continue to fight the Global War on Terrorism," said Etter.
Navy Rolls Out New Mine Warfare Mission Package
The Navy rolled out its new Mine Warfare Mission Package for the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) in a ceremony on Sept. 14 at the ARINC Engineering Services facility near Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) Panama City, Fla. Congressman F. Allen Boyd, Jr. (D-Fla.-2), leader of the Mine Warfare Caucus, Dr. Delores Etter, Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition, and James Thomsen, Program Executive Officer Littoral and Mine Warfare, all spoke at the event. "These mission modules will revolutionize warfighting in the littorals and will fill critical requirement gaps that exist in the fleet today. We urgently need them as we continue to fight the Global War on Terrorism," said Etter.
