DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: New US Navy High-Speed Ship Unveiled

DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: New US Navy High-Speed Ship Unveiled

Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith 
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - February 14, 2013: The US Navy has unveiled the USNS Spearhead - its first Joint High Speed Vessel, capable of transporting troops and equipment more quickly than ever before.

The USNS Spearhead is the Navy's first Joint High Speed Vessel. It is designed for rapid intra-theatre transport of troops and military equipment.

The ship was built in Mobile, Alabama and is docking in St Petersburg, Florida for a few days so top military brass at MacDill Air Force Base and Central Command can tour the ship.
It is a 338-ft long catamaran that can transport 600 tonnes vehicles, supplies and equipment.

"When we're going fast it feels very much like you're flying in an airplane," said Captain Douglas Casavant.

USNS Spearhead (JHSV 1), the innovative high-speed catamaran transport ship under construction by shipbuilder Austal in Mobile, Alabama, successfully completed Builder's Sea Trials (BST) on April 19 in the Gulf of Mexico. The trials encompassed over 50 demonstration events that enabled the shipbuilder to rigorously test the ship and all of its systems in preparation for final inspection by the United States Navy before delivery.

Notable achievements during the trials included a demonstration of major systems along with first-of-class standardization and maneuverability trials, reaching a top speed in excess of 35 knots.

A series of high-speed ahead and astern maneuvers in the Gulf of Mexico demonstrated the effectiveness of the ship’s four steerable waterjets. In the course of repeated high-speed turns the ship demonstrated the stability and agility of the catamaran hullform, with the JHSV exhibiting virtually no heeling motions throughout the radical turns.

Upon returning from the full-power trial, Joe Rella, President and Chief Operating Officer of Austal USA, remarked: “The successful first run trials for this prototype vessel validates the quality and reliability of Austal’s shipbuilding know-how. I have never witnessed a more problem-free Builder’s Sea Trial than USNS Spearhead’s. The global Austal organization successfully participated in the design, procurement, and production of this ship with a great outcome, all being accomplished while locally, Austal USA continues to hire new workers and expand our facilities. This is a telltale sign of the dedication of our team of shipbuilding professionals.”

Austal's US facility is a full-service shipyard offering design, construction and high-speed vessel service and repair. As Austal continues to expand its service and repair capabilities, the company is well positioned for new business with engineering, test and trials capabilities, and a new waterfront facility all co-located on the Mobile Bay waterfront.

Austal is currently under contract with the U.S. Navy to build nine 103-metre JHSVs under a 10-ship, US$1.6 billion contract and five 127-metre Independence-variant Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) class vessels, four of which are a part of a 10-ship, US$3.5 billion contract.

For the LCS and JHSV programs, Austal, as prime contractor, is teamed with General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems, a business unit of General Dynamics. As the ship systems integrator, General Dynamics is responsible for the design, integration and testing of the ship’s electronic systems including the combat system, networks, and seaframe control. General Dynamics’ proven open architecture approach allows for affordable and efficient capability growth as technologies develop.

Austal has grown into one of southern Alabama’s largest employers with over 2,800 employees on staff hailing from the Mobile Area, Mississippi, Florida, and beyond. Under the current workload, Austal expects to employ over 4,000 Americans by the end of 2013, and will be ready to help the U.S. Navy meet any national security contingency ahead.

Read the Team Ships news release here..

Click here for further information on the JHSV

*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith DTN News
*Speaking Image - Creation of DTN News ~ Defense Technology News 
*This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News Contact:dtnnews@ymail.com 
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DTN News: Creeping Oil Slick Slipping Through Growing Containment Effort

DTN News: Creeping Oil Slick Slipping Through Growing Containment Effort Source: DTN News / By Sheldon Alberts, Washington Correspondent, Canwest News Service (NSI News Source Info) VENICE, La.- May 1, 2010: Way down near the mouth of the Mississippi River, in a place local fishermen call "the end of the world," John Pope stepped back from the water's edge to snap a few pictures of his day's catch. It was an impressive display — a dozen fresh redfish that Pope pulled from the still-clean waters of the Louisiana delta. But he wondered if they might be his last. "It's a terrible thing that's happening, a terrible thing," Pope, a recreational fisherman from Georgia, said of the massive oil spill lurking in open water just a few kilometres from this fishing village on the Mississippi's west bank. "I just hope the folks are able to get this cleaned up before it does too much damage." Ten days after an oil rig under lease to British Petroleum exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, the prospects of averting a major environmental calamity dimmed Friday as high winds pushed a vast oil slick to the edge of Louisiana's sensitive coastal marshlands. The bad weather forced BP to halt efforts to skim oil from the water's surface, adding to the frustration of federal and state government officials who blamed company officials for a sluggish response to a spill that is pumping 210,000 gallons of light crude into the Gulf each day. "We need to work more speedily to protect wetlands, to protect marshes, to protect our ecosystem here," said U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano. She said the Obama administration "will continue to push BP to engage in the strongest possible response." Official with BP said they welcomed any ideas and assistance — both from Washington and competing oil firms. But the company also said there was little they could do to stop the spill's spread until the weather improves. The National Weather Service currently predicts the high winds could last until Monday. "When winds come up and the seas come up, unfortunately we can't do much on the surface of the sea," said Doug Suttles, a BP spokesman. "Because of wave heights we are not able to skim." BP said it is spending between $6 million and $7 million a day to try and contain the spill. "Clearly as the oil reaches the shoreline, those costs will increase as we mount cleanup activities," Suttles said. "Like everyone we understand and completely agree that we need to bring this event to closure as quickly as possible." Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, speaking at a news conference in Robert, La., said booms deployed to control the spread of the oil slick are being overwhelmed by rough water. He said the next several days would be "critical" and called up 6,000 National Guard troops to aid in potential cleanup efforts. "I do have concerns that BP's current resources are not adequate to meet the three challenges we face," Jindal said. In Washington, President Barack Obama announced he was ordering a halt to new offshore drilling leases as the federal government investigates the cause of the explosion that destroyed the Deepwater Horizon rig. The blast ruptured an oil well located about 80 kilometres offshore and 1,500 metres underwater. Eleven rig workers were killed. "I continue to believe that domestic oil production is an important part of our overall strategy for energy security," Obama said at the White House. "But I've always said it must be done responsibly, for the safety of our workers and our environment." The president has dispatched inspectors to the Gulf to examine all deepwater rigs and platforms for ensure they meet safety requirements. The Obama administration pledged to provide every available resource to help BP fix the oil leak and contain the spill. More than 66,000 metres of protective boom have been laid in the Gulf to help block the oil from shorelines. More than 300 Coast Guard and Naval vessels have been deployed alongside 1,900 federal personnel. While winds wreaked havoc with the response on the water, the U.S. air force continued to dump dispersant chemicals over the oil slick using two C-130 planes. To date, more than 530,000 litres of dispersant have been sprayed into the Gulf. Some residents of Plaquemines Parish, which includes most of the Mississippi River wetlands, reported seeing the first fingers of oil wash up onshore at Pass-a-Loutre Wildlife Reserve — although the U.S. Coast Guard had not confirmed a widespread landfall. Still, the anxiety is growing among Louisiana residents who fear one of the richest fisheries in North America will be badly damaged — or destroyed — if BP is unable to quickly find a way to close down the offshore well. The fishing community of Venice, one of the last slips of land reachable by car, has become a hub of activity as the response to the oil spill intensifies. The Cypress Cove Marina, where shrimp and oyster boats line the dock, was crowded with TV satellite vehicles and oil spill recovery trucks. Coast Guard boats shared the narrow channels with the few remaining fishing charters still plying the delta's waters. Environmentalists say it's only a matter of time before the crude begins to slip into the hundreds of estuaries and coves that are home to some of the continent's biggest bird, fish and wildlife populations. "This is the nursery of North America — and we have spilled oil right across its surface," said Mark Floegel, a senior investigator with Greenpeace USA. "Anything that swims, flies or crawls in the Gulf, this is where they feed. They feed on the surface." While the oil spill is — so far — much smaller than the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster in Alaska's Prince William Sound, the potential for environmental ruin may be higher, environmentalists say. That's because the oil spilling from the BP well is a light crude that stays on the surface. While Alaska's rocky coastline aided removal of the oil, the Mississippi Delta is full of marshes and reeds that could make cleanup far more difficult. "Here we've got barrier islands. We've got swamps and bayous . . . It's not like scrubbing rock. It's devilishly hard to get this oil out of there," Floegel said. "And the coastline is exponentially much larger because of all the little inlets." Worries about the oil spill extend well beyond the Louisiana coast to Alabama, Mississippi and Florida, where Gov. Charlie Crist declared a state of emergency in six counties on Friday.

DTN News: General Dynamics Littoral Combat Ship Team Completes Main Propulsion System Testing In Preparation For LCS 2 Sea Trials

DTN News: General Dynamics Littoral Combat Ship Team Completes Main Propulsion System Testing In Preparation For LCS 2 Sea Trials

*Source: General Dynamics (NSI News Source Info) BATH, Maine – June 9, 2009: The General Dynamics Littoral Combat Ship Team, led by Bath Iron Works of Bath, Maine, recently completed testing of the main propulsion system for Independence (LCS 2) in preparation for the ship’s upcoming builder’s at-sea trials. The ship, which is in its final stages of system test and activation, is being constructed at Austal USA facilities in Mobile, Alabama.

USS Independence (LCS-2), the class prototype for the Independence-class littoral combat ship, will be the sixth ship of the United States Navy to be named for the concept of independence. It is the design competitor produced by the General Dynamics consortium, in competition with the Lockheed Martin-designed USS Freedom, the prototype for the Freedom-class littoral combat ship. It is intended as a small assault transport with a variety of capabilities depending on the mission module installed. The ship is a trimaran design capable of over 40 knots (74 km/h; 46 mph), and will probably be delivered to the US Navy in September 2009.

All components of the combined diesel and gas turbine (CODAG) main propulsion system which drive the ship’s four independent steerable water jets have been tested. The two diesel engines, two gas turbine engines, and four water jets are operational and all four propulsion shafts have been successfully rotated. The four ship’s service diesel generators were successfully brought on-line in earlier testing.

The ship will soon undergo a series of dockside tests before going to sea for builder’s trials this summer.

Jeff Geiger, president of Bath Iron Works, said, “With the main propulsion system now ready, we’re well on the way toward getting this ship to sea. It’s a major accomplishment for the GD LCS team and Navy personnel who have worked tirelessly to get us to this point. We will continue to perform system activation, testing and integration efforts over the next several weeks but with this milestone under our belts, everyone is looking forward to taking in the lines and putting Independence through its paces in the Gulf of Mexico.”

Independence is one of two ship designs that will be evaluated by the U.S. Navy as part of its plan to build a total of 55 Littoral Combat Ships. When delivered later this year, it will be the U.S. Navy’s first trimaran warship. Independence (LCS 2) will be homeported in San Diego.

The Littoral Combat Ship is a major part of the Navy’s plan to address asymmetric threats of the 21st century. Intended to operate in coastal areas, the ships will be fast, highly maneuverable and geared to supporting mine detection/elimination, anti-submarine warfare and anti-surface warfare, particularly against small surface craft. The 419-foot ship provides superior seakeeping, propulsion efficiency and aviation capability. Key features include a large, below-deck open mission bay with a high payload capacity, enabling the ship to carry equipment and personnel for a variety of missions. The General Dynamics LCS’s large flight deck will support near-simultaneous operation of two SH-60 helicopters or multiple unmanned vehicles. The ultra-stable trimaran hull also allows for flight operations in high sea conditions.

The ship’s open architecture computing infrastructure (OPEN CI) is the computing backbone that handles the combat, damage control, engineering control, mission package and other computing functions onboard the General Dynamics LCS. Developed by the General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems team, the OPEN CI design made it possible to rapidly achieve successful operation of the propulsion system from the General Dynamics LCS Integrated Command Center.

General Dynamics Bath Iron Works is the prime contractor for the General Dynamics Littoral Combat Ship Team. Partners include Austal USA (Mobile, Ala.); BAE Systems (Rockville, MD); General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems (Fairfax, Va.); L3 Communications Marine Systems (Leesburg, Va.); Maritime Applied Physics Corporation (Baltimore, Md.); and Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems (Baltimore, Md.).

Bath Iron Works, a leader in surface combatant design and construction, employs approximately 5,700 people. Since 1991, BIW has manufactured and delivered 30 Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, the most technologically advanced surface combatant in the world, to the U.S. Navy. Four additional ships are currently under construction for delivery by 2011. The shipyard is also building the lead ship of the Navy’s Zumwalt (DDG 1000) class of guided missile destroyers.

General Dynamics, headquartered in Falls Church, Va., employs approximately 92,900 people worldwide. The company is a market leader in business aviation; land and expeditionary combat systems, armaments and munitions; shipbuilding and marine systems; and information systems and technologies. More information about General Dynamics is available online at www.generaldynamics.com.