Textron News

The U.S. Navy took delivery of the next-generation landing craft, Ship to Shore Connector (SSC), Landing Craft, Air Cushion (LCAC) 108, from Textron Systems."These next-generation craft provide our Navy and Marine Corps team with essential agility and speed to complete their missions,” said Capt. Jason Grabelle, program manager for Amphibious Assault and Connectors Programs, Program Executive Office (PEO) Ships. “SSC provides the fleet with agility and speed to assist with current and future mission requirements.”LCACs are built with configurations…

Don Hairston has been named General Manager of Austal USA Advanced Technologies in Charlottesville, Va. Hairston comes to Austal from L3Harris Technologies where he was vice president and general manager of the C5 Systems Division. He was responsible for leading a $400 million organization that designs and delivers unmanned surface vessels, integrated C5ISR, and maritime controls and cyber solutions to support, defend and protect critical national assets and infrastructure.In…

Not every vessel in the U.S. Navy is built for major combat operations on the high seas. There are large numbers of boats and service craft that provide essential services to the sea services, the nation and its partners.The U.S. Navy procures about 100 small boats per year. Some of these boats are based on commercial designs, procured to a Navy developed specification that tailors the requirements to the end user needs. They are procured and managed by two Naval Sea Systems Command program offices—PMS 300 and PMS 325.Compared to warships and auxiliaries…

The U.S. Navy announced it accepted delivery of the next-generation landing craft, Ship to Shore Connector (SSC), Landing Craft, Air Cushion (LCAC) 105, March 8.LCACs are built with configurations, dimensions, and clearances similar to the legacy LCACs they replace – ensuring that this latest air cushion vehicle is fully compatible with existing well deck-equipped amphibious ships, the Expeditionary Sea Base and the Expeditionary Transfer Dock. LCACs are capable of carrying a 60-75 ton payload.

The U.S. Navy has taken delivery of the next generation landing craft, Ship to Shore Connector (SSC), Landing Craft, Air Cushion (LCAC) 106 following the completion of Acceptance Trials with the Navy’s Board of Inspection and Survey to test the readiness and capability of the craft and to validate requirements.“We are excited to deliver this next generation craft to the Navy and Marine Corps team,” said Capt. Jason Grabelle, program manager, Amphibious Assault and Connectors Programs, Program Executive Office (PEO) Ships.

In an era of great power competition, navies – by virtue of their ability to span the globe and effectively deliver combat power – are likely to be the sine qua non of military power. This leads, naturally, to the tendency to count numbers of ship hulls when comparing the strength of navies. Lost on no one is the fact that the size of China’s Navy now exceeds that of the U.S. Navy, and the gap in ship numbers is growing.During the Cold War, while the quality of their ships might not have been equal to that of the U.S.

My first visit in 2007 to the American Society of Naval Engineers’ (ASNE) Multi-Agency Craft Conference (MACC) was an eye-opener. Having built a naval architecture career with frigates, destroyers and other large naval and commercial ships, I was eager to learn of the smaller craft used by the U.S. Navy and other government and military bodies. As my flight into Norfolk, Va. descended over Chesapeake Bay, I gazed in amazement as a Landing Craft Air Cushion (LCAC) raced toward Virginia Beach, slowed, glided up the beach and into its shore base.

Oslo-listed drone company Nordic Unmanned has received a conditional letter of award from the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) for a contract worth up to 20 million euros ($23,75 million).The letter of award is related to fixed-wing RPAS (drone) services carrying out long-range general maritime surveillanceThe official value of the framework contract is EUR 20 million over a period of up to 2+1+1 years. Nordic Unmanned is the contractual partner with EMSA. Nordic Unmanned will utilize Textron Systems' Aerosonde as its drone platform and two complete systems…

Irwin F. Edenzon, the retired president of Huntington Ingalls Industries' (HII) Ingalls Shipbuilding division, accepted the Navy League of the United States' Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz Award last night. The Navy League presented the award at the annual Sea-Air-Space Black Tie Reception and Banquet at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland. The Nimitz award honors an industry leader who has made a major contribution to the nation's maritime strength or enhanced national security.

Seeking to enhance its surveillance capabilities on its warships, the Indian Navy (IN) has now announced a global competition for procuring ‘Ship-Borne Unmanned Aerial Vehicles’ (UAV) that can augment various patrolling and search-related tactics on its vessels. The navy is planning to acquire a total of 50 shipborne drones for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions as part of its effort to boost maritime security, says a report in PTI. "We want to have such a capability and want to know what kinds of products are available in the market," defence sources said. At present, the navy operates two squadrons of Israeli- origin Heron and Searcher Mk-II UAVs which are based in Kochi and Porbandar.

Greg Hewitt (MBA, B.Sc.) has over 25 years of versatile experience from industrial equipment, transportation, major appliances and retail businesses. He has worked as President and CEO in Heil Trailer International, as Vice President & General Manager in Komatsu North America, Construction Division, and as Executive Vice President of Sales, Marketing and Customer Service at Jacobsen, a Textron Company. "Greg Hewitt will be focusing on the development of our sales and service and customer interfaces in the Americas region, with the target to increase Kalmar's market share in the region. We are delighted to welcome him to the team," says Olli Isotalo, President of Kalmar.

The US Department of Defense informs that Textron Inc., New Orleans, Louisiana, is being awarded a $21,904,620 modification to a previously awarded contract (N00024-12-C-2401) for the construction of Landing Craft, Air Cushion (LCAC) 101 of the ship-to-shore connector (SSC) program. DoD explains that the SSC program is the functional replacement for the existing fleet of LCAC vehicles, which are nearing the end of their service life. It is an air cushion vehicle designed for a 30-year service life. Its mission is to land surface assault elements in support of operational maneuver from the sea, at over-the-horizon distances, while operating from amphibious ships and mobile landing platforms.

iBASEt, developers of Solumina’s Product Lifecycle Execution (PLE) software suite say that Textron Systems operating unit Textron Marine & Land Systems, has selected Solumina’s Manufacturing Execution System (MES) to streamline manufacturing operations for its work on the U.S. Navy’s Ship to Shore Connector (SSC) air cushion vehicle. IBASEt inform that the  SSC is the evolutionary replacement for the Navy’s existing fleet of Landing Craft, Air Cushioned (LCAC) vehicles, which are nearing the end of their service life. Since Solumina captures all the manufacturing data during the entire product’s manufacturing lifecycle, detailed manufacturing intelligence is easily accessible through dashboards, graphs and reports at the click of a button.

Rolls-Royce appoints Don Roussinos as President Naval - Marine, succeeding Andy Marsh. Don, who holds a Bachelors of Science in Electronic Engineering from Wentworth Institute of Technology and a Master of Management from Cambridge College, joins Rolls-Royce from L-3 Communications where he most recently held the position of President – L-3 Maritime Systems. He has held a number of senior roles at L-3 during his career and has also worked at Lau Technologies, General Electric and Textron. He will be based at the Rolls-Royce North America headquarters in Reston, Virginia and will report to both Tony Wood, President – Marine, and Jim Guyette, President & CEO Rolls-Royce North America Inc.

Rolls-Royce wins contract to power the U.S. Navy’s future fleet of hovercrafts, known as the Ship-to-Shore Connector (SSC). The Group will work with Textron Marine & Land Systems, an operating unit of Textron Systems, a Textron Inc. company, which has been selected to build the initial development craft, in a program that could extend to 73 craft. The SSC will replace the Navy’s current fleet of Landing Craft Air Cushion (LCAC) hovercraft over the next 20 years. The new hovercraft will be used to rapidly deploy personnel and vehicles between U.S. Navy ships and the shore.

The SeaFox mine neutralization system, delivered by ATLAS North America (ATLAS NA), a subsidiary of the German-based ATLAS ELEKTRONIK GmbH, once again proved its effectiveness in performing unmanned mine countermeasure missions, when participating in Trident Warrior 2012 U.S. Navy Fleet Experiment, July 9-20. During the Fleet Experiment, Textron/AAI used its Fleet Class Common Unmanned Surface Vessel (CUSV) with a L-3 Klein 5000 V2 Side Scan Sonar to investigate a suspected minefield.

Earlier reported here, now more detail added with acknowledgement to 'Defense Industry Daily'. Textron, Inc. in New Orleans, LA have been awarded a $212.7 million fixed-priced incentive-fee contract for the detail design and construction of a ship to shore connector (SSC) test and training hovercraft, and technical manuals. This contract includes options for up to 8 production SSC hovercraft, which could bring the cumulative value of this contract to $570.5 million. The Ship to Shore Connector (SSC) hovercraft program aims to build on the USA’s LCAC hovercraft experience, and retain the US Navy’s unparalleled transport options from ship to shore and beyond.

The Navy awards a $212 million contract for Textron Inc. In March 2011 a solicitation for Ship-to-Shore-Connector landing craft was issued  by the U.S. Navy’s Naval Sea Systems Command. The request for proposals began the process of building a replacement for the Landing Craft Air Cushion amphibious craft that first entered service in the mid-1980s. The office of Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., said the contract includes options that could make it worth as much as $570 million. Landrieu’s office said Textron will build a boat at its Slidell facility with a 30-year service life capable of carrying a 74-ton payload and traveling at speeds of more than 35 knots. Sen.

Naval Architects and marine engineers from around the world gathered in Honolulu in September for the 11th International Conference on Fast Sea Transportation (FAST 2011). The four-day biannual symposium promoted world-wide cooperation among scientists and engineers involved with all aspects of the high-speed maritime industry. FAST 2011 was the Fast Foundation’s 20th anniversary. Kjell Holden of the Norwegian Univ. of Science and Technology and FAST International Standing Committee…

Analytic Systems has announced that it has responded to its commercial marine reseller network in North America and started the process of certifying their marine specific power conversion products. These products will be highlighted at the Multi-Agency Combat Craft Conference at Norfolk, VA in May, 2012. The first models to be certified to ABS standards are the new BCA1505 (1500W AC charger); the BCA310 (300W AC charger); the IPS300 (300W DC/AC Puresine inverter) and the VTC315 (Isolated DC/DC voltage converter). In addition a new line of cost reduced Intelligent AC battery chargers, cost reduced power supplies and inverters will also be highlighted. ABS has provided Analytic Systems with their Certificate of Manufacturing Assessment # VA2089914-A-X.

ARLINGTON, Va. - Steel may have met its match: An Office of Naval Research (ONR)-funded project will produce a full-size ship hull section made entirely with marine-grade titanium, using a welding innovation which could help bring titanium into future Navy ship construction, officials announced. The contractor team building this section recently completed the industry's longest friction-stir titanium alloy welds and aims to complete the ship hull section this summer. Friction-stir welds more than 17 feet long joined the titanium alloy plates for the section's deck. "This fast, effective friction-stir weld technique is now an affordable manufacturing process…

Participants at a workshop exploring the use of titanium structure for ships found that it is not only possible to construct a ship hull from titanium—or Ti, it could be cost effective. The workshop was sponsored by the Office of Naval Research and hosted by the University of New Orleans, where an ONR research program on titanium ship structures is being conducted. Representatives of the shipbuilding industry, titanium suppliers, Navy, Coast Guard and Air Force labs, and academia discussed and examined materials, processes and applications. Most ships today are primarily made from steel.

Textron Systems Advanced Systems, an operating unit of Textron Systems, a Textron Inc. company, announce that its second Fleet-class Common Unmanned Surface Vessel (CUSV) completed a successful in-water demonstration in New Orleans following vessel modifications at the Textron Marine & Land Systems (TM&LS) shipyard. The two Textron Systems operating units recently collaborated on vessel performance enhancements and are preparing to participate in additional capabilities demonstrations for the United States Navy. The team also is pursuing vessel contracts with the U.S. Navy, international navies and other government agencies in the U.S. and overseas.