Mark Vandroff News

Fincantieri Marinette Marine announced on Wednesday that it has officially started construction on the U.S. Navy’s first Constellation-class guided missile frigate in Northeast Wisconsin.The future USS Constellation moved into the next stage of development as shipbuilders began cutting steel for the ship with members of the Navy, representatives of elected officials and community leaders observing this material start to a class of ships.Two years ago the Navy selected FMM to design and build the Constellation-class frigate…

As a rudderless U.S. Navy debates maritime strategy, fleet futures and platform performance, America’s naval shipbuilding industry can look forward to another year of relative stasis.Barring a major geopolitical incident or unexpected maritime provocation, government shipbuilding isn’t going to change course. With Admiral Michael Gilday approaching the final “lame duck” year of his four-year term as Chief of Naval Operations and the 2024 election season looming, the prospect for major changes in the Navy’s demand signal seems limited.Aside from the U.S.

The Shipbuilders Council of America (SCA), the national association representing the U.S. shipyard industry, today announced the 2022 Annual Shipyard Safety Awards. SCA recognized a total of 15 U.S. shipyards and repair facilities with seven recipients receiving multiple awards.SCA honors shipbuilding and repair organizations with the “Excellence in Safety” Award and “Improvement in Safety” Award each year for enhancement of operations and promotion of safety and accident prevention.

When he served as the commander of NWSC Carderock, Mark Vandroff woke every morning knowing that his counterpart in China had just gone to bed and had spent that day trying to make China’s Navy superior. His job, he figured, was to “get cracking and work to make our Navy even better.” Now the CEO at Fincantieri Marinette Marine (FMM), Vandroff brings that passion for navy shipbuilding – and delivering on the new USN Constellation-class frigates contract – to work every day.Introducing a new class of warship usually comes with a heaping helping of pain, from cost overruns to technical glitches.

Fincantieri Marinette Marine and its board of directors announced that Mark Vandroff will be taking over as CEO effective July 7, replacing Jan Allman who has led the Wisconsin shipyard since 2014.“Our company’s continued growth afforded us an opportunity to expand our senior leadership team and to better organize to exceed our customer’s needs,” said Dario Deste, CEO of Fincantieri Marine Group. “Jan [Allman] has done a tremendous job working with partner Lockheed Martin and the Navy on the Littoral Combat Ship and Multi-mission Surface Combatant programs…

Marine engineering firm BMT has been awarded a prime contract to conduct industry studies for the U.S. Navy’s T-ARC(X) cable ship replacement program.The Navy’s only operational cable ship, the nearly 40-year-old USNS Zeus (T-ARC 7), is approaching the end of its service life, and the Navy is interested in recapitalizing its undersea cable installation and repair capabilities, as well as adding the new mission sets of acoustic, hydrographic, and bathymetric survey; and deploying and recovering unmanned underwater vessels.

Traveling across the globe from port to port, the U.S. Navy fleet transports sailors and Marines, aircraft, and supplies. Unfortunately, ships can also unintentionally transport stowaways, small organisms which live in ballast water. Most people would not look at small organisms like mitten crabs or zebra mussels and think they are a major threat to the environment – and in their natural habitats they pose no threat. But what happens when these organisms are introduced into a new ecosystem? According to Rachel Jacobs, a chemical engineer in the Wastewater Management Branch at Naval Surface Warfare Center, Carderock Division, the results of introducing non-native species into a new environment can be disastrous for the ecosystem…

Huntington Ingalls Industries’ (HII) Ingalls Shipbuilding division authenticated the keel of the destroyer Delbert D. Black (DDG 119) on June 1. The ship, named in honor of the first Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy, will be the 32nd Arleigh Burke-class (DDG 51) guided missile destroyer Ingalls has built for the U.S. Navy. “This ship’s name carries a special meaning,” Ingalls Shipbuilding President Brian Cuccias said at this morning’s keel-laying ceremony. “Destroyers are traditionally named after great men and women in the history of our Navy…

Ingalls Shipbuilding has begun fabrication of Destroyer Delbert D. Black (DDG 119) for the U.S. Huntington Ingalls Industries' (HII) Ingalls Shipbuilding division Tuesday marked the start of fabrication for the U.S. Navy’s Arleigh Burke-class (DDG 51) guided missile destroyer Delbert D. Black (DDG 119). The start of fabrication signifies that 100 tons of steel have been cut. The ship is named in honor of Delbert D. Black, who served as a gunner's mate in the U.S. Navy and was aboard the battleship USS Maryland during the attack on Pearl Harbor.

The future USS John Finn (DDG 113) was launched at the Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) shipyard March 28. During launch the drydock was flooded allowing the 637-foot floating dock to slowly submerge until the ship was afloat. Once the drydock was fully submerged, the ship was pulled by tugs to HII's south berth where the ship will continue outfitting in preparation for test and activation and eventual delivery to the Navy. The next major milestone is the ship's Aegis system light off planned for later this year.

Huntington Ingalls Industries' (HII) Ingalls Shipbuilding division today authenticated the keel for the company's 30th Aegis guided missile destroyer, Ralph Johnson (DDG 114). To make it official, Georgeann McRaven, ship sponsor and wife of retired Adm. William McRaven, former commander, U.S. "We have a long history of building surface combatants, and the DDG 51 destroyers have become the backbone of the U.S. Navy's fleet," said Ingalls Shipbuilding President Brian Cuccias. "These are complex vessels built by experienced shipbuilders. Mrs.

Huntington Ingalls Industries' (HII) Ingalls Shipbuilding division authenticated the keel of the company's 29th Arleigh Burke-class aegis guided-missile (DDG 51) destroyer, John Finn (DDG 113), on Monday. Laura Stavridis, ship's sponsor and wife of retired Adm. James Stavridis, the former Supreme Allied Commander, Europe, attended with her husband. "It's great having Mrs. Stavridis here to see her ship and meet some of the shipbuilders," said George Nungesser, Ingalls' DDG 51 program manager. "The Aegis destroyer program has been one of our company's most successful programs. Mrs.

The future 'USS Michael Murphy' (DDG 112) leaves General Dynamics Bath Iron Works (BIW) shipyard for New York City for fleet commissioning. This milestone marks the completion of the initial 62-ship procurement for the DDG 51 Arleigh Burke-class destroyer program, and the 34th DDG 51 class ship built at BIW, until the class-restart ships begin delivering in fiscal year 2016. "This sailaway is a poignant milestone for both this ship and the program," said Capt. Mark Vandroff, DDG 51 class program manager for the Navy's Program Executive Office, Ships (PEO Ships).