Patuxent River News

“Synergy” is an overused word. But in the case of the “Advanced Naval Technology Exercises” that are held around the country, ANTX is truly a sum greater than its parts.ANTXs are conducted by the Naval Research & Development Establishment (NR&DE) and hosted at the various Naval Warfare Centers to demonstrate emerging technologies and innovations aimed at solving Navy and Marine Corps problems and addressing mission priorities and gaps. They are not so much exercises, which usually denotes training, but more like technology demonstrations.

British aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth arrived in Norfolk, Va. a bit later than planned on Monday after evading Hurricane Florence, which devastated large areas of the U.S. East Coast.The Royal Navy said HMS Queen Elizabeth skirted south of the hurricane, but sailed close enough for the effects of a four meter swell, five meter wave height and winds gusting 40 knots to be felt throughout the carrier, as the 65,000-metric-ton ship rolled around the Atlantic.The 'WESTLANT 18' Task Group…

Less than one week after Pres. Donald J. Trump commissioned the U.S. Navy's newest aircraft carrier, USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) launched and recovered its first fixed-wing aircraft July 28, 2017, off the coast of Virginia. The first arrested landing, or "trap", occurred at 3:10 PM (EST) and the first catapult launch happened at 4:37 PM (EST). Lt. Cmdr. Jamie Struck of Tallmedge, Ohio piloted the F/A-18F Superhornet from Air Test and Evaluation Squadron (VX) 23 based at Patuxent River, Maryland. The Superhornet caught the number two arresting wire of Ford's advanced arresting gear (AAG) system and was launched from catapult one using the electromagnetic launch system (EMALS). "Today, USS Gerald R.

Performing missions at sea, on land and in the skies daily around the globe, the Navy is a constant presence in the environment. To emphasize stewardship on all fronts, the Navy workforce is taking part in Earth Day-related activities throughout the month of April. The official Earth Day date is April 22. The Navy's Earth Day theme for 2017 is, "Building Strength Through Stewardship." The theme emphasizes the value of environmental initiatives in supporting the mission by helping to build trust with government agencies and the public. As examples, preserving the ecosystems where we train and operate, conducting research in support of…

1893 - Navy General Order 409 establishes the rank of Chief Petty Officer. 1899 - A landing party of 60 men from USS Philadelphia (C 4) and a force of 100 friendly natives join 62 men from HMS Porpoise and Royal Isle in Samoa to establish order over Samoan throne. 1943 - USS Shad (SS 235) torpedoes and damages the Italian blockade runner Pietro Orseolo, shortly after the Italian ship reaches the Bay of Biscay and her escort of four German destroyers. 1945 - Under heavy naval gunfire and aircraft support, U.S. Army and U.S.

1898 - The battleship USS Kentucky (BB 6) is launched in Newport News, Va. 1903 - Adm. George Dewey is commissioned Admiral of the Navy, the only person to hold this rank. Upon his death Jan. 16, 1917, Congress deactivates the rank. 1919 - The battleship USS Idaho (BB 42) is commissioned. Idaho serves with the Pacific fleet, participating in gunfire support of the Aleutian, Marianas, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa Campaigns, and is in Tokyo Bay Sept. 2, 1945 when Japan formally surrenders. 1936 - USS Balch (DD 363), named after Rear Adm. George B. Balch, is launched.

The F-35C Lightning II carrier variant Joint Strike Fighter completed its first phase of developmental test (DT) aboard an aircraft carrier Nov. 14, three days ahead of schedule aboard USS Nimitz (CVN 68). During the DT-I event, F-35C Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) the F-35 Lightning II Integrated Test Force (ITF) from Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 23 (VX-23) located at Naval Air Station (NAS) Patuxent River in Patuxent River, Maryland, tested the carrier suitability of the aircraft and its integration with carrier air and deck operations in the at-sea environment, achieving 100 percent of the threshold test points. The aircraft demonstrated exceptional performance throughout its initial sea trails…

The Navy's X-47B unmanned aircraft has completed its final test aboard 'USS Theodore Roosevelt' (CVN 71) and has returned to its home base at Naval Air Station Patuxent River after eight days at sea
, informs U.S. Naval Air Systems Command. While underway, the X-47B flew in the carrier pattern with manned aircraft for the first time and conducted a total of five catapult launches, four arrestments and nine touch-and-go landings, including a night time shipboard flight deck handling evaluation. "This is another detachment for the record books; all tests were safely and effectively executed," said Capt. Beau Duarte, Navy's Unmanned Carrier Aviation program manager. Testing began Aug. 17 when the X-47B performed its initial cooperative launch and recovery cycle with an F/A-18.

One year ago, Sailors watched an unmanned air vehicle take-off from a nuclear-powered carrier flight deck for the first time in naval aviation history, says Capt. "May 14, 2013 was an extraordinary day for the Navy. The crew from USS George H.W. Bush launched the X-47B that morning off the coast of Virginia. The tailless, autonomous unmanned aircraft took to the skies, while the flight crew on deck celebrated this historic achievement. Our Naval Air Forces Commander Vice Adm. David Buss called it “a watershed event” as he watched from the flight deck. He compared this event to aviation pioneer Eugene Ely’s first-ever landing on the deck of a ship in 1911. In July, the UCAS-D team went back to the ship and took testing one step further.

The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) said it assisted two boaters Monday by transferring them off a grounded boat approximately 200 yards from the Patuxent River Naval Air Station. Watchstanders from Coast Guard Sector Baltimore received notification at approximately 1 a.m. from boaters aboard their 30-foot sailboat, asking about weather conditions. Upon further questioning, the watchstanders were informed the boat was grounded and taking on water while anchored. Sector watchstanders dispatched a crew aboard a 29-foot Response Boat - Small II from Coast Guard Station St. Inigoes to assist. “When we arrived on scene, the captain informed us the bilge pumps were keeping up with the flooding…

The funeral of the United States' fourth astronaut to fly in space, and the second to orbit the Earth, U.S. Navy Cmdr. Malcolm Scott Carpenter (retired), was held at St. John's Episcopal Church in Boulder, Colo., with full military honors. Carpenter, 88, died Oct. 10 at the Denver Hospice following complications from a stroke. He was, a dynamic pioneer of modern exploration, and earned the unique distinction of being the first human to penetrate both inner and outer space, thereby acquiring the dual titles of astronaut and aquanaut from NASA. He was commissioned in the U.S.

Unmanned aircraft accomplishes first ever ‘touch-and -go’ aboard aircraft carrier CVN 77. The Navy's X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System Demonstrator (UCAS-D) has begun touch-and-go landing operations aboard the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush following on board launching. For UCAS-D, this represents the most significant technology maturation of the program. Ship relative navigation and precision touchdown of the X-47B are critical technology elements for all future Unmanned Carrier Aviation (UCA) aircraft.

Northrop Grumman, U.S. Navy, complete at-sea deck handling trials of X-47B unmanned demonstrator. The exercises aboard the USS Harry S. Truman demonstrated the ability to maneuver the tailless, strike-fighter-sized aircraft quickly and precisely on the flight deck using a wireless handheld controller. They are the latest in a series of test activities leading up to the first carrier landings of the X-47B planned for 2013. "The X-47B deck trials proved convincingly that the design…

MOSS POINT, Miss., March 16, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) completed the first of three fuselages for the Broad Area Maritime Surveillance Unmanned Aircraft System (BAMS UAS) System Development and Demonstration (SDD) program. The MQ-4C fuselage will undergo final assembly and system checkout at the company's Palmdale, Calif. facility ahead of its first flight next year. "This milestone follows our successful Critical Design Review held last month and shows we are on track to meet our demonstration objectives…

Donjon Marine, Co., Inc., a global marine services provider based in N.J., served as the lead salvage contractor to the U.S. Navy to coordinate the locating and initial archeological investigation of the USS Scorpion, the flagship of a U.S. Navy fleet known as the Chesapeake Flotilla during the War of 1812. The recovery of the vessel is to be accomplished in two to three phases. Phase one, just completed, was designed to locate and conduct preliminary preparatory work for the more extensive archeological work to be done in concert with the bicentennial celebration of the War of 1812.

General Atomics signed a fixed-price contract modification for the production of the Advanced Arresting Gear (AAG) and the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) for the U.S. Navy’s new CVN 78 aircraft carrier, to be named Gerald R. Ford. This action modifies the existing contract awarded in 2009 by the Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md. It includes a delivery incentive, based on the contract schedule of delivery of the EMALS equipment to the shipyard. “Our production efforts started last June for EMALS and in November for AAG. All long-lead materials are on order and component manufacturing is in process for a number of subsystems. We are on track for CVN 78,” said Electromagnetic Systems Division Vice President R. Scott Forney, III.

Seaward Marine Services, Inc., Fairfax, Va., was awarded a $9,096,597 modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-09-D-4219) on Nov. 13, 2009, for waterborne hull cleaning and associated services to support the director of ocean engineering, supervisor of salvage and diving. The primary purpose of this contract is to provide hull cleaning, hull inspection and other related ship husbandry services on the underwater portion of Navy, Coast Guard, Army and Military Sealift Command ships and craft. Work will be performed in Norfolk, Va. (54 percent); Mayport, Fla. (24 percent); Ingleside, Texas (17 percent); and New London, Conn. (5 percent). Work is expected to be completed by August 2010. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.

Hawaiian Dredging Construction Co., Inc., Honolulu, Hawaii, is being awarded at $11,344,500 for firm fixed price task order #0010 under a multiple award construction contract (N62742-04-D-1302) for repairs to Pier B4 and Wharf B5 at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Work will be performed in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and is expected to be completed by May 2010. Funds provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Three proposals were received for this t ask order. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Hawaii is the contracting activity.

BAE Systems Applied Technologies, Rockville, Md., is being awarded a $7,490,962 modification to previously awarded cost-plus-fixed-fee term contract to exercise an option for technical and engineering services for the integration and testing of radio communications systems for shipboard installation. Work will be performed in California, Md. (80 percent); St. Inigoes, Md. (10 percent); Bath, Maine (five percent); and Pascagoula, Miss. (five percent), and is to be completed by June 2003. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.

Science Applications International Corp., San Diego, Calif., is being awarded a $46,022,062 contract for the development, demonstration and technology transition of a miniaturized communications terminal and several phased array antennas compatible with the Navy's Cooperative Engagement Capability System. Work will be performed in Kauai, Hawaii and Arlington, Va., and is expected to be completed by September 2004. Contract funds in the amount of $300,000 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured under the Sensor Integration and Communication Technologies broad agency announcement. There were 23 proposals solicited, and 32 offers were received.

first shipboard landing by the U.S. UAV in late August. The flights were made between Pt. Calif., and the USS Denver underway at sea. payload from launch to recovery. be fully TCS compliant. program manager. Scout test team. (the U.S. Navy's UAV program office), and the Raytheon Company. finder. and the first shipboard landings later this fall. The first Fire Scout test flight, conducted Aug. a functional check flight. approximately 20 minutes. Aug. successfully to several intentional, operator-directed wave-offs. and approach routes relative to a moving platform. River, Md. and U.S. Marine Corps forces ashore. nautical miles of its ground control station. coordinates.

L3 Communications Titan Corp., San Diego, Calif., is being awarded a $5,617,177 modification on a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-07-C-0071), to exercise an option for the Phase II study and analysis to develop innovative solutions to be used in mission requirements for the Affordable Weapons System. This weapon system is being designed to fill a sea-based land attack and strike mission, to operate from ships, with potential for a sea-based Navy and Marine Corps aircraft launch capability. Work will be performed in San Diego, Calif., and is expected to be completed in November 2009. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.

BAE Systems Information and Electronic Systems, Nashua, N.H., is being awarded a $33,676,912 modification to a previously awarded firm fixed price contract (N00019-08-C-0044) for the Low Rate Initial Production Lot V of the Integrated Defensive Electronic Countermeasures (IDECM) AN/ALE-55(V) Subsystems and associated technical support and non-recurring engineering for the U.S. Navy and Royal Australian Air Force F/A-18E/F aircraft. The AN/ALE-55(V) subsystem consists of an electronic frequency converter (EFC) and a fiber optic towed decoy (FOTD). This modification provides for a total of 70 EFCs for the U.S. Navy, (58) and the Royal Austra lian Air Force, (12); and 323 FOTDs for the U.S. Navy, (251) and the Royal Australian Air Force, (72).