Naval Systems Engineering Directorate News

A pigment package designed by the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) to slow discoloration of the exterior coating on surface ships has started to make its way into the fleet and is producing early, positive results.NRL researchers created the pigment combination to satisfy the fleet requirement for the Navy standard "haze gray" paint that will remain color stable for longer than current coatings. While many paint manufacturers had produced new coating technologies that solved a variety of other problems…

Alion Science and Technology, an employee-owned technology solutions company, announced on Feb. 2, that it has been awarded a contract to support the Naval Systems Engineering Directorate (SEA 05) in providing technical and management services in all technical disciplines required to design and support the full spectrum of naval ship types. The award, a cost-plus, fixed-fee delivery order under the NAVSEA SeaPort Enhanced (SeaPort-e) contract, has a potential value of $391m over up to five years and extends Alion’s 35 years of continuous support to SEA 05. As with the recent CG(X) design and acquisition contract awarded to Alion, this delivery order calls on the fully integrated capabilities of John J.

Systems Command's (NAVSEA's) Engineering for Reduced Maintenance (ERM) team outlined Sept. 29 a new thermal barrier materials initiative designed to reduce maintenance expenses, improve shipboard quality of life and reduce shipboard weight. ERM is part of NAVSEA's Naval Systems Engineering Directorate team which seeks to streamline costly and time-consuming maintenance procedures in the fleet. Thermal barriers, the insulation on high temperature pipes and equipment, protect Sailors from serious burns and keep heat from dissipating, improving operational efficiency. Current insulation, commonly called "lagging," consists of up to six inches of a heavy, mortar-like, calcium silicate compound encased in fiberglass cloth.

2007 was another successful year for the Naval Sea Systems Command’s (NAVSEA) Engineering for Reduced Maintenance (EFRM) team, with the warfighter-focused program making great strides in reducing shipboard maintenance burdens. Working under NAVSEA’s Naval Systems Engineering Directorate, the EFRM team seeks to streamline costly and time-consuming maintenance procedures in the Fleet. At January’s Surface Navy Symposium, NAVSEA Commander, Vice Adm. Paul E. Sullivan, talked about the importance maintenance plays in achieving NAVSEA’s mission. “We can’t just build the new ships we need for the 313-ship Navy and go home,” said Sullivan. Whether reducing significant Fleet maintenance costs…