U.S. Revives Cold War Submarine Spy Program to Counter China
On a windswept island 50 miles north of Seattle sits a U.S. Navy monitoring station. For years, it was kept busy tracking whale movements and measuring rising sea temperatures. Last October, the Navy gave the unit a new name that better reflects its current mission: Theater Undersea Surveillance Command.The renaming of the spy station at the Whidbey Island naval base is a nod to a much larger U.S. military project, according to three people with direct knowledge of the plans:…
Russian Spy Ship Makes Surprise Visit to Havana
A Russian spy ship slipped into Havana Bay for an unannounced visit during a period of turmoil in Ukraine and displays of military strength elsewhere in the world. The Viktor Leonov SSV-175, part of the Vishnya class of intelligence ships, quietly entered Cuban waters earlier this week and was docked at a cruise ship terminal on Thursday, its crew casually taking in the view of the old colonial section of the Cuban capital as passers-by gawked. Russian warships have come and gone in Cuba since the collapse of the Soviet Union…
Christian Joins Creative Systems
John W. Christian started his maritime career at Kings Point, USMMA, in the 1970s performing classwork on facility-sized mainframes, while Creative Systems was developing stability software on similar machines in Seattle. Since then John has accumulated wide-ranging experience in marine and computer technology while Creative Systems has become a leading supplier of marine software. Christian combines experience in merchant, naval, and offshore activities, both international and domestic, with business, computer, and training backgrounds.
U.S. Claims Chinese Harass Oceanographic Ship
Five Chinese vessels shadowed and maneuvered close to the USNS Impeccable in the March 8, a senior Pentagon official said March 9. The oceanographic ship was 70 miles south of conducting routine operations in international waters when the ships approached, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said. "We view these as unprofessional maneuvers by the Chinese vessels and violations under international law to operate with due regard for the rights and safety of other lawful users of the ocean," Whitman said.
JHOC: Eyes Wide Open
The Joint Harbor Operation Center (JHOC) — pronounced "Jay - Hawk" —v on Naval Station Norfolk is the pinnacle of cooperation between the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Navy; jointly devised, outfitted, staffed and maintained to protect what is arguably one of the most diverse, sensitive and valuable series of waterfront installations in the nation. The JHOC established on Naval Station Norfolk in wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks is serving as a sort of prototype for the rest of the nation, with a similar JHOC under development in San Diego. It is unique as, for the first time it brings together the Navy and the Coast Guard in a joint operation to ensure port security, specifically monitoring military and civilian vessels entering and exiting the lower part of the Chesapeake Bay.
U.S. Navy Awards Grant to Technest Holdings
Technest Holdings, Inc. has been awarded a Phase I Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) grant by the U.S. Navy for the development of a real-time, omni-directional and zoom capable hyperspectral recording and process imaging device, the Omni-Guard. This is the first SBIR grant awarded to Technest, and will be based on technologies developed by the company's wholly owned subsidiary, Genex Technologies, Inc. Designed for the Navy's Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) operations, the Omni-Guard will, among other applications, be used on Navy platforms for target detection purposes. The Omni-Guard is designed to quickly search for a specific target within global view and provide a detailed image of the target through its advanced zoom and scanning mechanism.
