Mda News

There is little question that world militaries see the value of unmanned systems to complement their manned counterparts. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan accelerated the development of unmanned aerial systems and unmanned ground systems to meet urgent operational needs. Now, there is increasing interest in unmanned surface systems, resulting in their placement on an accelerated development path.Like their air and ground counterparts, these unmanned surface systems are valued because of their ability to reduce the risk to human life in high threat areas…

There is little question that world militaries see the value of unmanned systems to complement their manned counterparts. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan accelerated the development of unmanned aerial systems and unmanned ground systems to meet urgent operational needs. Now, there is increasing interest in unmanned surface systems, resulting in their placement on an accelerated development path.Like their air and ground counterparts, these unmanned surface systems are valued because of their ability to reduce the risk to human life in high threat areas…

Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations Supervisory Air Interdiction Officer Ali Baig recognized for promoting regional maritime securityThe National  Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) Executive Steering Committee annual national level “MDA ESC Excellence Award for 2021 for law enforcement was presented to U.S. Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations Supervisory Air Interdiction Officer Ali Baig of the Jacksonville Air and Marine Branch. The recognition…

Navy Expeditionary Combat Command (NECC) operates hundreds of boats all the way from a 7-meter Rigid-Hulled Inflatable Boat (RHIB) to a 78-foot patrol boat, as well as construction equipment such as cranes, bulldozers, pumps, cranes, vehicles and chain saws and Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD) equipment.Maintaining all of it comes under the watchful eye of Force Maintenance Director Dave Noel.“I’m the guy that fixes the equipment we buy,” Noel said. “Once it’s fielded, it’s our job to keep it operational…

exactEarth Ltd. has signed an agreement with MDA to provide advanced Satellite-AIS data services as part of MDA's recently announced Dark Vessel Detection (DVD) program for the Government of Canada. The DVD program is intended to detect and identify vessels that have switched off their AIS transponders and are engaged in illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.IUU fishing is a global problem that results in significant economic loss—estimated at $23 billion per year…

Gearing up to build the U.S.' first new heavy icebreaker in decades, Pascagoula, Miss. shipbuilder Halter Marine said it is upgrading the launch way area where the U.S. Coast Guard's Polar Security Cutter (PSC) will be constructed.The detailed design phase is "rapidly progressing", the shipbuilder said, and the 460-foot icebreaker is the heaviest vessel per foot of length that Halter Marine has constructed. The launch way has been fortified to accommodate the PSC’s 19,000-ton launch weight.Bob Merchent, President and CEO of Halter Marine.

“All the business of war, and indeed all the business of life, is to endeavour to find out what you don’t know by what you do”Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of WellingtonIt is hard to get past headlines painting the portrait of a world besieged physically and economically by a medical crisis on a global scale and a nation that has turned the national spotlight onto the fundamentals of its constitutional democracy, including the persistence of racism, the right to protest and the character of local and national security forces in the United States.

Ship maintenance and repair company ST Engineering Halter Marine and Offshore, Inc., said it is investing $10 million to expand at its Pascagoula, Miss. site, adding 100 jobs in the process.STEHMO, along with its sister company VT Halter Marine, is growing as a result of recent market opportunities. The expansion will enable the company to perform new commercial repair work for larger ships and oil platforms that require greater size and lifting capacity. STEHMO is adding dock space and water depth adjacent to its Bayou Casotte site.

Seaspan Shipyards, Canada’s non-combat shipbuilding partner for the National Shipbuilding Strategy, is pleased to announce the appointment of David Hargreaves as Vice President, Strategy & Business Development.David brings to Seaspan over 25 years of experience in complex system engineering and a track record of growth-oriented industrial development, building long-lasting customer relationships and establishing strategic partnerships.Leveraging Seapan’s world class modern infrastructure…

As the Japan Coast Guard celebrates its 70th anniversary, Maritime Reporter & Engineering News offers insights on the current status and future direction of the JCG courtesy of an interview with Shuichi Iwanami, Commandant, Japan Coast Guard.*Note: At the time this interview was conducted, Shuichi Iwanami was still Vice Commandant for Operations.Could you please tell us the history and future development of the Japan Coast Guard (JCG)?The JCG, in 2018 celebrates the 70th anniversary of its foundation. When it was founded, the Japanese waters were in an eclipse period.

The U.S. Coast Guard’s Navigation Center (NAVCEN) is involved in a number of activities that have an impact on all Americans, even if they don’t realize it.From motorists checking directions with their Global Positioning System (GPS) to boaters to ships coming and going to U.S. ports, the NAVCEN plays an unseen but vital role.With a staff of19 officers, 17 enlisted personnel and 19 civilians, NAVCEN falls under the Director of Marine Transportation Systems (CG-5PW) at USCG Headquarters…

Naval and merchant maritime experts partnered together to deliver enhanced maritime domain awareness (MDA) for the first time in a Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise in 2018.MDA is the ability to maintain situational awareness of seagoing vessel movements, and is used to assess the normal patterns of life on major trade routes. Their interaction provided an adaptive capability that is an important part of maritime security operations.This capability is a critical supporting element in the effort to maintain freedom of navigation…

The Ghanaian portion of exercise Obangame Express 2018 (OE18) concluded yesterday in Tema, Ghana, with a closing ceremony. Participants from the Royal Canadian Navy, the German Navy, the U. S. Navy, the Ghanaian Navy and other partner and allied nations were in attendance. The guest of honor was Commodore Jo Kontoh, flag officer commanding, Eastern Naval Command. “I have been a part of Obangame Express exercises since the inception in 2011, said Kontoh. Over the past 11 days, the Ghanaian portion of OE18 has included many different and technical facets. Whether conducting an exercise at one of the maritime operations centers or conducting training with the Ghanaian Special Boat Service…

In pursuance of India’s ‘Act East’ policy, Eastern Fleet ships INS Satpura and Kadmatt are on a 4-day port visit to Singapore from 14 September 17. During the stay in harbour, various activities such as official calls, formal reception on board ships, ships open to visitors, guided tours for Indian naval personnel and professional interaction between naval personnel of both the nations have been planned. With a joint aim to ensure seamless Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) through optimal utilisation of limited resources at sea, both the countries have already signed a Technical Agreement (TA) to share white shipping information and are also a part of the multilateral construct Regional Maritime Information Exchange (REMlX).

Edison Chouest Offshore locating shipbuilding operations, TopShip, LLC, in Gulfport, Miss. Gov. Phil Bryant and officials from Edison Chouest Offshore, an offshore energy service and supply company, officially announced today the company is locating shipbuilding operations at the Port of Gulfport in Gulfport, Miss. The project represents a $68 million corporate investment and will create 1,000 full-time jobs. Edison Chouest Offshore’s new Gulfport operations, TopShip, LLC, will be located at the Port of Gulfport’s new inland port on Seaway Road.

Maritime forces from Eastern Africa, Western Indian Ocean island nations, Europe and the United States, as well as several international organizations began the fifth iteration of the multinational maritime exercise Cutlass Express, Jan. 30. Cutlass Express 2016, sponsored by U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), is designed to improve regional cooperation, maritime domain awareness (MDA) and information sharing practices to increase capabilities of participating nations to counter sea-based illicit activity. PORT VICTORIA, Seychelles (NNS) -- Maritime forces from Eastern Africa, Western Indian Ocean island nations, Europe and the United States, as well as several international organizations began the fifth iteration of the multinational maritime exercise Cutlass Express, Jan. 30.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx today announced that DOT has awarded contracts with a total award value of $1.96 billion over eight years to seven U.S. maritime firms to manage, maintain and operate 48 National Defense Reserve Fleet (NDRF) vessels through January 2024. These Maritime Administration contracts are funded by the Department of Defense (DoD) National Defense Sealift Fund to support DoD’s strategic sealift mission. “Since 1946, National Defense Reserve Fleet vessels have facilitated U.S. strategic sealift, natural disaster response, and humanitarian operations all around the world,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx.

Maritime forces from North Africa, Europe, and the United States kicked off Exercise Phoenix Express 2015 with opening ceremonies in Tunisia, today. The at sea portion of the exercise begins Monday and will test North African, European, and U.S. forces’ abilities to combat illegal migration, piracy, and movement of materials for weapons of mass destruction. Phoenix Express 2015, sponsored and facilitated by U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), is designed to improve regional cooperation, maritime domain awareness (MDA), information-sharing practices, and tactical interdiction expertise to counter sea-based illicit activity in the region. Vice Adm. James Foggo III, Commander U.S. Capt.

The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) and sailors aboard the USS Carney, USS Gonzalez, and USS Barry successfully completed a flight test involving the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) weapon system. At approximately 2:30 a.m. EST today, three short-range ballistic missile targets were launched near simultaneously from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia. Two Aegis BMD destroyers acquired and tracked the targets. Using this data, the Aegis BMD ships conducted simulated Standard Missile-3 Block IB guided missile engagements with the distributed weighted engagement scheme (DWES) capability enabled. The DWES provides an automated engagement coordination scheme between multiple Aegis BMD ships that determines which ship is the preferred shooter…

Maritime forces from East Africa, South Africa, Europe, Indian Ocean nations, the United States and several international organizations began the fourth iteration of the multinational maritime Exercise Cutlass Express, Jan. 28, 2015. Exercise Cutlass Express 2015, sponsored by U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), is designed to improve regional cooperation, maritime domain awareness (MDA) and information-sharing practices to increase capabilities of East African and Indian Ocean nations to counter sea-based illicit activity. The exercise leverages The Djibouti Code of Conduct, which 21 nations are signatory to, as a framework for exercising information-sharing practices and enforcing maritime rule of law at sea.

McMurdo Group, a company in end-to-end search and rescue (SAR) and maritime domain awareness (MDA) solutions, announced that it has formally established its Americas Headquarters in Beltsville, Maryland located within the Baltimore (Maryland)/Washington D.C. metropolitan area. The new headquarters, a result of McMurdo’s recent acquisition of Techno-Sciences, Inc., will also be home to the group’s Search and Rescue Center of Excellence which will include a distribution warehouse and an advanced research and development team.

Maritime industry business intelligence provider PortVision says that its CEO, Dean Rosenberg, testified before the House Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation. "Yesterday I was honored to have the opportunity to testify before the US House Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation. The purpose of the hearing was to focus on new ocean technologies, how these technologies can improve government performance, and any impediments that exist in the use of these technologies. As Chairman Duncan Hunter’s office said in a press release announcing the hearing, understanding and monitoring our oceans and how they are being used is vital to our national defense…

The Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation, chaired by Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.), will hold a hearing next week to examine the proliferation of new ocean technologies, how such technologies could improve government performance, and any impediments that exist in the use of such technologies. The federal government is responsible for recording, understanding, monitoring and protecting the oceans in the Exclusive Economic Zones which surround United States and territories out to 200 miles, and even in areas of the ocean beyond those littoral zones. Understanding and monitoring both the physical characteristics of these areas and how these areas are being used is vital to our national defense…