VT Halter gets new executive

PASCAGOULA, Miss. -- Shipbuilder VT Halter Marine appointed retired Rear Adm. John J. Prendergast III as executive vice president. He’ll be responsible for a range of activities, including government contracts. Upon his retirement after more than 30 years in the Navy, Prendergast was director of sustainment business operations for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter with Lockheed Martin. VT Halter Marine operates one ship construction facility in Pascagoula and two others in Moss Point. It designs, builds and repairs a variety of ocean vessels. (Source: Mississippi Press, 12/26/12)

Contract: Austal USA, $166.9M

Austal USA, Mobile, Ala., is being awarded a $166,881,824 modification to previously awarded contract to exercise the construction option for Joint High Speed Vessel 10. Work will be performed in Mobile, Ala. (48 percent), Pittsfield, Mass. (9 percent), Franklin, Mass. (3 percent), Philadelphia, Pa. (3 percent), Henderson, Western Australia. (3 percent), Atlanta, Ga. (2 percent), Chicago, Ill. (2 percent), Gulfport, Miss. (2 percent), Slidell, La. (1 percent), Iron Mountain, Mich. (1 percent), Houston, Texas (1 percent), Dallas, Texas (1 percent), Chesapeake, Va. (1 percent), Milwaukee, Wis. (1 percent), Brookfield, Wis. (1 percent), and various sites inside and outside the United States each below one percent (21 percent), and is expected to be completed by June 2017. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 12/20/12)

Contract: Austal USA, $8M

Austal USA, Mobile, Ala., is being awarded an $8,057,541 modification to previously awarded contract to exercise an option for Littoral Combat Ship core class services. This option exercise is for Core LCS Class Services. Austal USA will assess engineering and production challenges as well as evaluate the cost and schedule risks from affordability efforts to reduce LCS acquisition and lifecycle costs. Work will be performed in Mobile, Ala. (51 percent) and Pittsfield, Mass. (49 percent), and is expected to be complete by December 2013. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 12/20/12)

Zumwalt deckhouse in place

Deckhouse put in place.
General Dynamics photo

BATH, Maine -- Bath Iron Works erected the composite deckhouse for Zumwalt (DDG 1000), the U.S. Navy's next generation destroyer. The 900-ton deckhouse module, built in Gulfport, Miss., by Ingalls Shipbuilding, was shipped by barge to Bath Iron Works for installation on the ship, which is under construction at the company's Bath shipyard. The 155-foot-long, 60-foot-high and 60-foot-wide module was lifted to a height of about 100 feet using four cranes. Bath Iron Works is part of General Dynamics.(Source: General Dynamics, 12/20/12)

Contract: Textron, $23.3M

Textron Inc., New Orleans, La., is being awarded a $23,299,975 modification to previously awarded contract to exercise an option for long lead time materials, advanced planning, engineering, procurement services and technical manuals for the Ship to Shore Connector program. The SSC Program is the functional replacement for the existing fleet of Landing Craft, Air Cushion vehicles. It is an Air Cushion vehicle designed for a 30-year service life. The 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. SSC provides increased performance to handle current and future missions, as well as improvements which will increase craft availability and reduce total ownership cost. Work will be performed in Indianapolis, Ind. (37 percent); Camden, N.J. (25 percent); New Orleans, La. (11 percent); Norway (8 percent), Great Britain (7 percent); Farmington, Mich. (6 percent); and Eatontown, N.J. (6 percent), and is expected to be completed by June 2015. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 12/19/12)

VT Halter, Scana Volda team

PASCAGOULA, Miss. -- VT Halter Marine Inc. has partnered with Norwegian company Scana Volda AS for delivery of the propulsion systems and controls for two offshore supply vessels for Hornbeck Offshore Services Inc. The two ships will be delivered in the second half of 2013 and will operate in the Gulf of Mexico and Latin America. (Source: Marine Log, 12/17/12)

X-47B completes at-sea tests

USS HARRY S. TRUMAN, at sea -- The X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System (UCAS) demonstrator completed its first at-sea test phase aboard the nuclear powered aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) Dec. 18. The first aircraft of its kind aboard a Navy vessel, the Northrop Grumman-built X-47B was put through myriad trials to assess the viability of an unmanned system's operation aboard a carrier. Among the tests, the X-47B was towed using carrier-based tractors, taxied on the flight deck via its arm-mounted control display unit and had its digital engine controls tested within environments pervaded by electromagnetic fields. "The system has performed outstandingly," said Don Blottenberger, program manager for the N-UCAS Program Office. "We validated our capabilities on an aircraft carrier," said Mike Mackey, Northrop Grumman's program director. (Source: NNS, 12/18/12) Gulf Coast note: Northrop Grumman builds portions of the Global Hawk and Fire Scout UAVs in Moss Point, Miss.

Austal USA gets new chief

MOBILE, Ala. -- Craig Perciavalle has been promoted to president of Austal USA, effective Dec. 17. Austal USA Interim President and Chief Financial Officer Brian Leathers was promoted to senior vice president and CFO, also effective Monday. Perciavalle, who currently serves as senior vice president of operations, joined Austal in 2007. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 12/12/12)

X-47B taxis on carrier

X-47B taxis on USS Truman
U.S. Navy photo

ATLANTIC OCEAN -- An X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System demonstrator aircraft for the first time taxied aboard a carrier Sunday. During the test aboard the USS Harry S. Truman, deck operators used an arm-mounted control display unit to remotely control the aircraft. Lt. Cmdr. Larry Tarver, Truman's aircraft handling officer, said every test on the aircraft brings the Navy one step closer to unmanned carrier aviation. "Nobody has ever done this before," said Tarver. The Northrop Grumman built X-47B is scheduled to complete taxi testing before Truman returns to its homeport in Naval Station Norfolk. (Source: NNS, 12/10/12) Gulf Coast note: Northrop Grumman builds portions of two other UAVs, Global Hawk and Fire Scout, in Moss Point, Miss. Previous Related

Underwater robot lost

PANAMA CITY, Fla. -- A battery-powered Navy vehicles was lost in the Gulf of Mexico near Panama City and Biltmore Beach Thursday night. A news release from the Naval Oceanography Mine Warfare Center at Stennis Space Center, Miss., said the command lost contact with the Remus 100 Unmanned Underwater Vehicle during a training exercise. The vehicle is black, 6 feet long and 7 inches in diameter. It was heading north when contact was lost. (Source: Panama City News Herald, 12/07/12)

Contract: Huntington Ingalls, $54.5M

Huntington Ingalls Industries, Pascagoula, Miss., is being awarded a $54,485,474 modification to previously awarded contract to exercise the third option for Life Cycle Engineering and support services on the LPD 17-class Amphibious Transport Dock Ship program. Contract funds in the amount of $12,904,398 will be obligated at contract award. The total value of this contract is $157,918,243. Work will be performed in Pascagoula, Miss., and is expected to be completed by December 2013. Contract funds in the amount of $204,315 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington Navy Yard, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 12/07/12)

Navy accepts Arlington

PASCAGOULA, Miss. -- The Navy accepted delivery of the eighth LPD 17 class amphibious transport dock ship, the future USS Arlington (LPD 24), from Huntington Ingalls Industries on Friday. Accepting delivery of Arlington represents the official transfer of the ship from the shipbuilder to the Navy and is a major milestone in the ship's transition to operational status. San Antonio class ships functionally replace more than 41 ships (LPD 4, LSD 36, LKA 113, and LST 1179 classes of amphibious ships). Their principal mission is to deploy the combat and support elements of Marine Expeditionary Units and Brigades, projecting power ashore through the high speed landing craft, air cushion and the Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft. (Source: NNS, 12/07/12) Previous

Crowds drawn to boat show

NEW ORLEANS – The International WorkBoat Show is under way in New Orleans. Thousands have gathered for the three-day event, which started Wednesday. It's touted as the largest maritime trade show in North America. The show and conference is expected to draw more than 14,000 visitors from around the world to the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. (Source: New Orleans Times-Picayune, 12/06/12)

Austal delivers JHSV

MOBILE, Ala. -- Austal USA and its partners delivered the joint high-speed vessel USNS Spearhead to the U.S. Navy in a signing ceremony Wednesday. The 338-foot-long aluminum catamaran, which Austal began building in December 2009, completed acceptance trials in August and will leave Mobile toward the end of this month and enter service in 2013. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 12/06/12)

Contract: L-3 Services, $12.9M

L-3 Services Inc., Mount Laurel, N.J., is being awarded a $12,932,304 modification to a previously awarded contract to exercise options for field service representatives to perform maintenance and repair of the U.S. Marine Corps mine roller systems. Support will provide scheduled and unscheduled maintenance, including repair, of USMC mine roller systems to ensure operational levels meet in-theater needs. Work will be performed in Afghanistan, and is expected to be completed by December 2013. The Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City Division, Panama City, Fla., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 12/05/12)

Wave Glider crosses ocean

SYDNEY, Australia -- U.S. based Liquid Robotics, an ocean data service provider and developer of the Wave Glider, announced the first pacific crossing Wave Glider, "Papa Mau," completed its 9,000 nautical mile scientific journey across the Pacific Ocean to set a new world record for the longest distance traveled by an autonomous vehicle. Throughout his journey, Papa Mau navigated along a prescribed route under autonomous control collecting and transmitting high-resolution ocean data. (Source: Liquid Robotics, 12/06/12) Gulf Coast note: Liquid Robotics has an office at the Mississippi Enterprise for Technology at Stennis Space Center, Miss.

VT Halter Marine expanding

PASCAGOULA, Miss. -- Ground was broken on a major expansion of VT Halter Marine. The new ship rapair facility will create 400 jobs at VT Halter Marine, which designs and builds ships for the military, among others. The company has three ship construction facilities, with one in Pascagoula and two in Moss Point. The new facility in Pascagoula is expected to be operational in early 2014. (Sources: Mississippi Press, Clarion Ledger, 12/05/12)

CNO visits shipbuilders

PASCAGOULA, Miss. -- Adm. Jonathan Greenert, chief of naval operations, was in Pascagoula Thursday visiting Ingalls Shipbuilding and VT Halter Marine. At Ingalls he toured the amphibious assault ship America, LHA 6. Greenert said the amphibious ships Ingalls has built for the Navy have been "doing really well." (Sources: Mississippi Press, Sun Herald, 11/29/12)

X-47B makes history on carrier

X-47B hoisted aboard USS Harry S. Truman
Navy photo

NORFOLK, Va. -- The Navy hoisted an X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System (UCAS) demonstrator on board aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) Monday in preparation for the unmanned aircraft's first carrier-based testing. The X-47B, built by Northrop Grumman, has a wingspan of more than 62 feet, wider than an F/A-18 Super Hornet. It will undergo a variety of tests and will be controlled remotely via a hand-held unit. Truman will be the first modern aircraft carrier to host test operations for an unmanned aircraft. Capt. Jaime Engdahl, N-UCAS program manager, said the X-47B's delivery aboard Truman was among the most historic moments in the program's history. "The moment the aircraft set down on Truman's deck was the moment it officially met the fleet," said Engdahl. The test will be conducted over three weeks and will include in-port and underway demonstrations. (Source: NNS, 11/27/12) Gulf Coast note: Northrop Grumman builds portions of two other UAVs, Global Hawk and Fire Scout, in Moss Point, Miss.

Contract: Lockheed Martin, $26.6M

Lockheed Martin Global Training and Logistics, Orlando, Fla., is being awarded a not-to-exceed $26,619,869 cost-plus-fixed-fee, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for Undersea Warfare product support. This contract will cover procurement of Undersea Warfare product support. This includes integrated logistics, training, equipment alteration and installation, fleet support and life cycle support across Undersea Warfare system programs. The initial funding amount applied at contract award is $12,437,878. Work will be performed in California (8 percent); Florida (8 percent); Hawaii (22 percent); Maine (3 percent); Mississippi (3 percent); and Virginia (56 percent), and is expected to be completed by November 2013. Contract funds in the amount of $1,108,294 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to 10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(1). The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 11/27/12)

Investigator appointed

GULFPORT, Miss. -- NOAA has appointed an enforcement officer to investigate the mutilation and deaths of dolphins in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Richard Stifel, an enforcement officer for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, was named Tuesday. NOAA last week issued a directive asking state and environmental officials to be on watch for incidents. Jurisdictions involved are in Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana. (Source: Sun Herald, 11/20/12)

Contract: Exelis, $93.3M

Exelis Inc., Alexandria, Va., is being awarded a $93,261,183 indefinite-delivery/indefinite quantity, cost-plus-fixed fee contract, with provisions for cost-plus-fixed-fee orders for the procurement of material and services to design, procure, install and maintain the Adaptive Persistent Awareness Systems. The Adaptive Persistent Awareness Systems is an integrated system that provides command, control, communication, computers and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, and persistent awareness. Work will be performed in various naval facilities worldwide and is expected to be completed by November 2017. The Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City Division, Panama City, Fla., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 11/20/12)

LPD 24 completes sea trials

PASCAGOULA, Miss. -- The amphibious transport dock Arlington, LPD 24, returned from successful Navy acceptance sea trials late last week. The company's eighth ship in the LPD 17 class returned to Pascagoula following three days of at-sea demonstrations and testing. While in the Gulf of Mexico, there were more than 200 test events. Ingalls has delivered seven ships in the class and has four more in various stages of construction, including Arlington, which will be commissioned next spring. (Source: Globe Newswire, 11/05/12)

Ingalls seeks workers

PENSACOLA, Fla. -- Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc. will hold a job fair next week hoping to eventually hire nearly 2,000 workers for Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Miss. The job fair will be held from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 8 at the Workforce Escarosa One-Stop Center in Pensacola, Fla. Most openings are craftsman positions, including welders, pipefitters, shipfitters, mechanics and crane operators. Ingalls is looking to hire 1,200 people through the end of the year and another 4,000 next year. The company will provide daily van pools from Pensacola to Pascagoula for workers who don't want to relocate. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 11/02/12)

GCRL's McIlwain dies

OCEAN SPRINGS, Miss. -- Longtime marine biologist Thomas D. McIlwain has died after a three-year battle with cancer. He was 71. McIlwain had a 50-year career and spend most of his time at the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory in Ocean Springs, Miss. He retired in 2011. He was credited with helping the lab transition from an independent lab to a part of an academic program at the University of Southern Mississippi. (Source: AP via Mississippi Press, 11/02/12)

Chair for Austal chosen

MOBILE, Ala. -- John "Dugan" Shipway, a retired Navy admiral, has been elected to chair the board of Austal USA in Mobile, effective immediately. Shipway, who spent 35 year in the Navy, joined the Austal USA board in March as an outside director. He will replace Lawrence Cavaiola, the inaugural chairman of Austal's U.S. subsidiary. Austal is under contract with the Navy to build nine joint high-speed vessel under a 10-ship contract and five littoral combat ships. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 11/01/12)

Exelis officially opens

Exelis mine system. Excelis photo

PANAMA CITY, Fla. -- ITT Exelis officially opened its full-service mine defense production facility Friday in West Bay. Exelis systems, towed by helicopters or minesweepers or operated remotely, are used to find clear multiple types of mines. The Exelis mine defense business moved from New York to Panama City in 2005 and now employs nearly 100. Exelis is in a 105,000 square-foot building at VentureCrossings, near Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport. (Source: Panama City News Herald, Exelis, 10/19/12)

Ship to be christened

PASCAGOULA, Miss. -- The amphibious assault ship, America (LHA 6), will be christened during a 10 a.m. ceremony Saturday in Pascagoula. The ship will be the first of the America-class amphibious assault ships for the U.S. Navy. Its mission will be to act as a flagship of an expeditionary strike group, carrying Marines and aircraft. (Sources: multiple, 10/18/12)

Milestone in ship marked

MOBILE, Ala. -- A milestone was marked Thursday for the third Littoral Combat Ship Austal USA is building for the Navy. The company hosted the traditional keel-laying ceremony for the USS Jackson (LCS 6). Austal officials said 25 percent of the ship has been completed and it is expected to be delivered to the Navy in 2014. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 10/18/12)

MSU center to open

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. -- Mississippi State University will open its $9 million science and technology center Tuesday. The center will be home of the Northern Gulf Institute, MSU's Geosystems Research Institute, NOAA's National Coastal Data Development Center and an engineering branch of NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service. The building was funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (Source: AP via Mississippi Press, 10/15/12)

VT Halter teams with French

PASCAGOULA, Miss. -- VT Halter Marine Inc. is teaming with DCNS of Paris to bid on a contract to build a U.S. Coast Guard Offshore Patrol Cutter. VT Halter would be the prime contractor and DCNS would be its exclusive subcontractor. The Coast Guard anticipates buying up to 25 OPCs to replace 28 Medium Endurance Cutters. VT Halter Marine employs 1,800 at shipyards in Pascagoula, Moss Point and Escatawpa. DCNS is a leading designs, builds and supports surface combatants and submarines. (Source: al.com link, 10/15/12)

Ingalls delivers Zumwalt deckhouse

GULFPORT, Miss. -- Huntington Ingalls Industries announced that the company's Ingalls Shipbuilding division has delivered to the Navy the composite deckhouse for the Zumwalt-class destroyer, DDG 1000. The 900-ton structure houses the ship's bridge, radars, antennas and intake/exhaust systems and is designed to provide a significantly smaller radar cross-section than any other ship in today's fleet. Ingalls is building the composite deckhouse and hangar for the DDG 1000 class at the company's Composite Center of Excellence in Gulfport. Made almost exclusively using cored composite construction processes, the deckhouse and hangar take advantage of the properties of carbon fiber materials and balsa wood cores. When cured, the composite structure is as strong as steel but requires little maintenance and is very lightweight. The Gulfport facility also builds composite masts for the Navy's San Antonio (LPD 17) class of amphibious ships. (Source: Huntington Ingalls, 10/09/12)

BAE starts dump scow build

MOBILE, Ala. -- BAE Systems in Mobile started construction on the first of two dump scows for Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co. Employees and executives of both companies gathered at BAE System's shipyard on Pinto Island to watch as the first piece of steel for the ship was run through a robotic cutting machine. Delivery is scheduled for April 2013. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 10/02/12)

Austal launches JHSV

MOBILE, Ala. -- Austal USA successfully completed the launch process of the second joint high-speed vessel, the USNS Choctaw County. On Sunday the vessel was lifted out of the shed where it was being put together onto a deck barge floating in the Mobile River. It was floated to BAE Systems Southeast Shipyard, where it was transferred to the Drydock Alabama, BAE's floating dry dock. The dry dock was then submerged and the Choctaw County entered the water. It was towed back up river to the shipbuilder's facility, where it will undergo final outfitting. The JHSV is 338 feet long and will be used to move troops, weapons and cargo. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 10/02/12)

Contract: Ingalls, $11.6M

Huntington Ingalls Inc., Pascagoula, Miss., is being awarded an $11,626,843 cost-plus-fixed-fee modification to previously awarded contract to exercise an option for fiscal year 2013 class services in support of class product fabrication, delivery, engineering, and engineering support of the DDG 1000 Zumwalt class destroyer. Work will be performed in Pascagoula, Miss. (95 percent), and Gulfport, Miss. (5 percent), and is expected to be completed by July 2013. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington Navy Yard, DC, is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 10/01/12)

Bollinger to build six cutters

NEW ORLEANS -- Lockport-based Bollinger Shipyards Inc. will receive $250 million to build six Fast Response Cutters for the Coast Guard. That's according to Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La. Chair of the Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee, she said funding was included in the FY 2012 federal spending bill. The six boats will be homeported in San Juan, Puerto Rico. (Source: New Orleans Times-Picayune, 09/21/12)

Navy boat surprises residents

MARY ESTHER, Fla. -- Unidentified boats that worried some residents along the Santa Rosa Sound in Northwest Florida were part of a training exercise from a Navy team based at Stennis Space Center, Miss. The gunfire they heard? Blanks. The exercise was part of a training course run by the Naval Small Craft Instruction and Technical Training School (NAVSCIATTS). Students were learning how to operate patrol craft for counterterrorism and counternarcotics operations. Authorities received calls about loud booms and gunshots Tuesday evening. (Source: Northwest Florida Daily News, 09/20/12)

Eglin's "narco sub"

A surrogate semi-submersible engineered to mimic the design of drug-running vessels is helping the Department of Homeland Security's Science and Technology Directorate develop better devices to detect them. Called "Pluto," it's homeported at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., and being kept operational by the 46th Test Squadron. The vessels are popularly called "narco subs," build by South American drug cartels. They are actually low-riders, barely visible on the surface of the ocean. The Coast Guard, Navy, Air Force and other federal agencies are using Pluto to test remote sensing capabilities on the 45-foot long vessel in the Gulf of Mexico, Atlantic and Pacific. (Source: Department of Homeland Security, 09/16/12) Eglin is best known as the base where the Air Force develops and tests aerial weapons, and more recently as home of the F-35 training center.

Contract: Ingalls, $83.3M

Huntington Ingalls Inc., Pascagoula, Miss., is being awarded a cost-plus award fee contract for CG 47-class cruisers and DD 963-class destroyers Integrated Planning Yard Services. The base year of the contract has an estimated value of $83,271,169, of which $1,000 is being obligated at contract award. This contract includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $468,155,000. Work will be done in Pascagoula, and is expected to be completed by August 2013. Contract funds in the amount of $1,000 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Incremental funding will be provided by the administering activity. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to FAR 6.302-1, only one responsible source. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 09/14/12)

Contract: Northrop Grumman, $18.8M

Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Bethpage, N.Y., is being awarded an $18,820,793 modification to previously awarded contract to provide engineering and production planning services for mission packages that will deploy from and integrate with the Littoral Combat Ship. Mission package capabilities are currently focused on primary mission areas of mine warfare emphasizing mine countermeasures, littoral anti-submarine warfare, and littoral surface warfare operations, including prosecution of small boats. Twenty percent of the work will be done in Panama City, Fla. Other work locations are Bethpage (45 percent); Washington, DC (20 percent); Ventura County, Calif. (10 percent); and Dahlgren, Va. (5 percent), and is expected to be completed by December 2013. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington DC, is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 09/12/12)

Navy to christen JHSV

MOBILE, Ala. -- The Navy will christen the Joint High Speed Vessel Choctaw County, named for three U.S. counties in Mississippi, Alabama and Oklahoma, during a ceremony in Mobile Sept. 15 at 10 a.m. CDT. Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus will deliver the principal address. The 338 foot-long aluminum catamaran is being built by Austal USA in Mobile. Choctaw County and the eight other JHSVs under contract are for fast, intra-theater transportation of troops, military vehicles, supplies and equipment. (Source: DoD, 09/13/12)

Ingalls starts destroyer fabrication

PASCAGOULA, Miss. -- Huntington Ingalls has started fabrication on the U.S. Navy's next Aegis guided missile destroyer, John Finn (DDG 113). The ship will be built at the company's Ingalls Shipbuilding division and will be the 29th Arleigh Burke-class destroyer built at Ingalls. The start of fabrication milestone signifies that 100 tons of steel have been cut for DDG 113. The Arleigh Burke-class destroyers are capable of simultaneously fighting air, surface and subsurface battles. (Source: Globe Newswire, 09/11/12)

Halter parent wins contract

Singapore Technologies Engineering Ltd., parent company of VT Halter Marine, said its marine unit has won $143 million worth of shipbuilding and repair contracts. The contracts include two offshore support vessels valued at $89 million for Hornbeck Offshore Services Inc., to be built by VT Halter Marine. In November, VT Halter Marine won a $353 million contract for eight OSVs for Hornbeck, with an option to supply 24 more ships. The OSVs will be constructed in VT Halter Marine's shipyards in Moss Point, Miss. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 09/06/12)

Cutter keel authenticated

PASCAGOULA, Miss. -- The keel of the Coast Guard National Security Cutter Hamilton (WMSL 753) was authenticated Wednesday at the company's Ingalls Shipbuilding facility. In the keel laying, the sponsor's name is welded into the keel plate in a traditional ceremony. Ingalls has delivered three 418-foot long Legend-class NSCs, designed to replace the 378‐foot Hamilton-class cutters. WMSL 753 is scheduled to be delivered in the third quarter of 2014. A fifth NSC, Joshua James (WMSL 754), is currently being built and expected to be delivered in the second quarter of 2015. (Source: Huntington Ingalls via Globe Newswire, 09/05/12)

JHSV clears acceptance trials

MOBILE, Ala. -- Austal USA's USNS Spearhead successfully completed Navy acceptance trials in the Gulf of Mexico Aug. 17, company officials said. The Joint High Speed Vessel built in Mobile demonstrated the catamaran's propulsion plant, ship handling and auxiliary systems. Austal is under contract to build nine 103-meter JHSVs for the Navy under a 10-ship, $1.6 billion contract. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 08/30/12)

Arlington back from builder's trials

LPD 24. Huntington Ingalls photo

PASCAGOULA, Miss. -- The amphibious transport dock Arlington (LPD 24), the eighth built at Huntington Ingalls Industries, recently returned from builder's sea trials in the Gulf of Mexico. Dock trials started last week, and the ship left HII's Ingalls Shipbuilding division on Aug. 21 for three days of at-sea testing. A team tested LPD 24's major operational systems. More than 200 test events took place during the sea trials, including anchor handling, flight operations, ballasting and de-ballasting the well deck, and compartment air balancing. (Source: Huntington Ingalls, 08/30/12)

Ingalls extends closure

The Ingalls Shipbuilding facilities in Pascagoula and Gulfport, Miss., and Avondale, La., are closed until Sept. 4 so damages from Hurricane Isaac can be assessed. The exception is for the damage assessment teams in Pascagoula and Gulfport, who will report for work Friday, as well as production control, rigging and transportation personnel in Gulfport. In Avondale, only personnel contacted by supervisors will report Friday. (Source: Sun Herald, 08/30/12)

Contract: Huntington Ingalls, $7.2M

Huntington Ingalls Industries, Pascagoula, Miss., is being awarded a $7,200,000 modification to previously awarded contract for research, development, test, and technical services in support of DDG 1000 Zumwalt-class destroyer. DDG 1000 technical services include technology development, analytical modeling, qualification of materials, potential design/process improvements, and design excursions. Work will be done in Pascagoula (80 percent), and Gulfport, Miss. (20 percent), and is expected to complete by September 2013. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 08/16/12)

Austal USA graduates 15

MOBILE, Ala. -- Fifteen people graduated from Austal USA's four-year apprenticeship program on Tuesday. The ceremony was held in the new Office Complex Multi-Use Room, completed last month as part of a three-building, $200 million expansion. The graduates consist of six electrical journeymen, four pipe-fitting journeymen, and five fabrication journeymen. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 08/15/12)

Contract: SAIC, $58.5M

Science Applications International Corp., McLean, Va., is being awarded a $58,485,318 cost-plus-fixed-fee and cost-plus-incentive-fee contract. The contractor will perform Phases 2 through 4 of the Anti-Submarine Warfare Continuous Trail Unmanned Vessel (ACTUV) Program. The contractor will design, construct, and demonstrate a prototype ACTUV vessel. The contractor proposed a trimaran platform: key features and innovations for the vessel, sensors, autonomy and software. This design reflects the results of extensive trade studies conducted by Science Applications International in Phase 1 which validated the suitability of a trimaran platform. Long Beach, Miss., will perform 13.4 percent of the work. Other work sites are Arlington, Va. (25.7 percent); Vancouver, Wash. (27.4 percent); Pittsburgh, Pa. (8.9 percent); Glen Burnie, Md. (5.7 percent); Portsmouth, R.I. (5.0 percent); Pasadena, Calif. (4.5 percent); Newport, R.I. (2.6 percent); Melbourne, Fla. (2.4 percent); Bowie, Md. (1.9 percent); Bristol, R.I. (1.7 percent); Gloucester Point, Va. (0.5 percent); and Virginia Beach, Va. (0.4 percent). Work is expected to be completed by Aug. 15, 2015. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 08/15/12)

Austal USA to create more jobs

MOBILE, Ala. -- Austal USA will add up to 1,000 new jobs as a result of a new project agreement with the state, Gov. Robert Bentley said today. It's a five-year, $5 million agreement that will help Austal continue its workforce expansion efforts. As part of the agreement, the company will also receive employee training services from the Alabama Industrial Development Training program. Once the overall expansion is completed at Austal, total employment at the Mobile complex is expected to reach about 4,600 people. (Source: Office of the Governor, 08/14/12)

Huntington Ingalls graduates 295

PASCAGOULA, Miss. -- Huntington Ingalls Industries held graduation ceremonies for graduates of Ingalls Shipbuilding's Apprentice School on Saturday. The ceremony, held at the Biloxi Civic Center, included 295 students from crafts representing shipbuilders from Pascagoula, Gulfport, Miss., and Avondale, La., sites. Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant, delivered the keynote address. Ingalls Shipbuilding's apprentice program provides comprehensive two-to-four year curriculums for students interested in shipbuilding careers. Since 1952, the Apprentice School has produced more than 4,000 graduates in support of the operational needs of Ingalls Shipbuilding. (Source: Huntington Ingalls via Globe Newswire, 08/13/12)

Center tests underwater device

PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. –The Underwater Breathing Apparatus performed at a “world class” level when the improved deep sea breathing device was tested at extreme depths, according to the Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City Division. Called the MK 16 MOD 1 UBA, it looks like a regular diving suit. Upgrading the apparatus will allow it to be used an additional 10 years, said Navy officials. (Source: Panama City News Herald, 08/12/2012)

BAE secures vessel contract

MOBILE, Ala. -- BAE Systems said the Mobile shipyard has picked up a contract from Houston, Texas-based GulfMark Americas Inc., to build two platform supply vessels. The 288-foot-long vessels are expected to cost $48 million each. The contract also includes the option to build two additional offshore platform supply vessels, according to the director and general manager at BAE Systems Southeast Shipyards Alabama. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 08/08/12)

Command gets new leader

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. -- Rear Adm. Brian Brown is the new leader of the Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command at NASA's Stennis Space Center. He relieved Rear Adm. Jonathan White in a change of command ceremony Friday. Brown most recently served as deputy oceanography of the Navy in Washington, but before that was executive officer of the Naval Oceanographic Office at SSC. White is moving to Washington to become oceanographer of the Navy. The command's mission is to monitor weather and ocean conditions worldwide. (Source: WLOX-TV, Sun Herald, 08/03/12)

Oceans in Action workshop nears

BILOXI, Miss. -- The Marine Technology Society's TechSurge Oceans in Action Workshop is scheduled for Aug. 13 and 14 at the IP Casino Resort in Biloxi. Events on the 13th include exhibit set-up, patron check-in and a reception. The next day featured speakers will detail major technologies developed or implemented since the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. There also will be exhibits from agencies and companies involved in marine science and technology projects. To register, click here. Also on the 14th, the Stennis Space Center's Mississippi Enterprise for Technology will host one-on-one business matchmaking sessions. The deadline to schedule meetings is Aug. 6. For a list of participating agencies and to register, click here. (Source: Tcp, 08/01/12)

Contract: Ingalls, $1.5B

Huntington Ingalls Inc., Pascagoula, Miss., is being awarded a $1,514,080,000 fixed-price-incentive modification to previously awarded contract for the procurement of the detail design and construction of Landing Platform Dock ship (LPD 27), it will incorporate the previously purchased long lead time material efforts and the necessary labor and remaining material to efficiently construct the ship. Work will be done in Pascagoula (82 percent), Crozet, Va. (4 percent), Beloit, Wis. (2 percent), and New Orleans, La. (1 percent), with other efforts performed at various sites throughout the United States (11 percent). Work is expected to be completed by June 2017. This contract was awarded on a sole-source basis and was not competitively procured. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 07/27/12)

NOAA ship continues to serve

PASCAGOULA, Miss. -- A research vessel that was expected to have a service lifespan of 20 to 25 years when it was launched in 1967 is going on its 300th research cruise and has now chalked up 45 years of service. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Oregon II, built by Ingalls Shipbuilding, will be doing its annual assessment of red snapper and shark populations in the Gulf of Mexico and western Atlantic. (Source: Mississippi Press, 07/26/12)

TY Offshore looking to hire

GULFPORT, Miss. -- The first of 10 barges was christened and launched Tuesday at TY Offshore in Gulfport, and company officials said they need more workers to keep pace. John Dane III, TY Offshore president, said the company wants to hire at least 50 welders and shipfitters. The next barge for Florida Marine Transporters is under construction and will be ready in six weeks, then barges will be built on a four-week schedule. Florida Marine has an option to buy 18 more barges, which are 297 feet long and 54 feet wide and carry 30,000 barrels of crude oil. (Source: Sun Herald, 07/24/12)

Somerset to be commissioned

NEW ORLEANS -- The U.S. Navy will christen the newest amphibious transport dock ship, Somerset, July 28 during a 10 a.m. CST ceremony at the Huntington Ingalls Industries shipyard in Avondale, La. The ship is named in honor of the passengers and crew of United Airlines Flight 93. Their actions prevented terrorist hijackers from reaching their destination. The plane crashed near Shanksville in Somerset County, Pa., Sept. 11, 2001. Somerset is the final of three ships named to honor heroes of the September 11 attacks, joining the USS New York and USS Arlington. Designated LPD 25, Somerset is the ninth amphibious transport dock ship in the San Antonio class. (Source: DoD, 07/25/12)

PC Warfare Center gets awards

PANAMA CITY, Fla. -- Two teams of engineers from the Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City Division were among 19 commands and installations to receive the 2012 Department of the Navy Safety Excellence Award July 11 at the U.S. Navy Memorial and Naval Heritage Center in Washington D.C. The Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City Division, a field activity for the Naval Sea Systems Command, was recognized for two distinct award categories: Safety Integration in Acquisition; and for the Emerging Center of Excellence. (Source: NNS, 07/24/12)

ONR issues call to innovators

ARLINGTON, Va. -- The Office of Naval Research opened online registration for its biennial Naval Science and Technology Partnership Conference Oct. 22-24 at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City in Arlington. Some 1,500 members of ONR's science and technology provider network, as well as Navy and Marine Corps customers, are expected. The conference is to raise awareness of the naval S&T strategy and program initiatives and to broaden ONR's partnership base to explore new ideas. ONR will reintroduce "Pitch a Principal," which allows members of industry and academia to request one-on-one meetings with ONR decision makers to pitch proposals. Those interested in participating can submit a request through the conference website. To register for the event, click here. (Source: NNS, 07/24/12) Gulf Coast note: The Gulf Coast is a major shipbuilding region; the Office of Naval Research's Naval Research Laboratory has an operation at Stennis Space Center, Miss.

LCS can't quickly swap missions

The Navy concluded that its littoral combat ships would take weeks to change missions, not days as originally hoped. The ships were seen as substitutes for frigates, minesweepers and patrol boats, but a study shows that although they can serve as anti-piracy vessels and other deterrents, they aren't able to fulfill most of the Navy's fleet missions. (Source: Defense News, 07/14/12) Gulf Coast note: One version of the LCS is built by Austal USA in Mobile, Ala.

Contract inked for underwater device

NORTH FALMOUTH, Mass. -- Teledyne Benthos recently signed a five-year contract with the U.S. Naval Oceanographic Office for deep-sea equipment to collect underwater data. The value is $6 million. The company had a similar contract with the Navy that expired last year. The products covered by the contract include technology that allows devices anchored to the ocean floor to be released remotely via acoustics for retrieval. The devices, often used to monitor data such as ocean currents, can often be deep under water for a year at a time. This remote system eliminates the need to use a vessel or submersible to retrieve the device. (Source: Cape Cod Times, 06/14/12)

Contract: Textron, $212.7M

Textron Inc., New Orleans, La., is being awarded a $212,722,820 fixed-priced incentive-fee contract for the detail design and construction of a ship to shore connector test and training craft and technical manuals. The program, the replacement for the existing fleet of landing craft, air cushion vehicles, which are nearing the end of their service life, is an air-cushioned vehicle designed for a 30-year service life. The ship to shore connector 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. This contract includes options that would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $570,451,044. Work will be done in New Orleans, La. (59 percent); Camden, N.J. (26 percent); Great Britain (6 percent); St Louis, Mo. (3 percent); Indianapolis, Ind. (3 percent); and Eatontown, N.J., (3 percent). Work is expected to be completed by February 2017. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 07/06/12)

Shrimp harvest may beat average

BILOXI, Miss. -- NOAA scientists predict an above-average season for the commercial harvest of brown shrimp in the western Gulf. The marine scientists make an annual prediction of brown shrimp catches based on monitoring juvenile populations, growth estimates and environmental indicators. They estimate the harvest in the western Gulf will be 59.2 million pounds, above the historical 50-year average of 56.5 million pounds, NOAA's officials said Thursday. (Source: Sun Herald, 07/05/12)

BAE gets dump scow contract

MOBILE, Ala. -- BAE Systems has picked up a contract from Illinois-based Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co., to build two dump scows, a project expected to add about 125 workers to the company's Mobile shipyard. The 295-foot-long dump scows will be built concurrently, with completion slated for 2013. The contract also includes the option for the shipyard to build two additional dump scows, vessels used to transport and dump sediments acquired while dredging waterways. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 06/28/12)

Ship finishes acceptance trials

AVONDALE, La. -- Amphibious transport dock Anchorage successfully completed its acceptance trials last week, according to the Navy. LPD 23, under construction at Ingalls Shipbuilding, is the seventh in the LPD 17 class to be built by the company. Three others LPDs are under construction in Pascagoula, Miss., and Avondale: Arlington (LPD 24), Somerset (LPD 25), and John P. Murtha. (Source: Mississippi Press, 06/25/12)

Contract: Ingalls, $9.3M

Huntington Ingalls Inc., Pascagoula, Miss., is being awarded a $9,298,610 cost-plus-fixed-fee modification to previously awarded contract for government furnished equipment workshare transportation efforts in support of the Zumwalt class destroyer. The modification will provide GFE workshare transportation efforts for the procurement of material required for the fabrication of cradles, fixtures, and other equipment that are necessary to safely and securely transport class products from Huntington Ingalls in Pascagoula to Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine. Nearly all the work will be performed in Pascagoula, with 5 percent in Gulfport, Miss., and is expected to be completed by June 2014. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 06/26/12)

Changes afoot at Austal

MOBILE, Ala. -- Changes are taking place at shipbuilder Austal USA. Joe Rella resigned as president of Austal USA, and the company may be talking to General Dynamics to sell at least part of its Mobile shipyard. The Mobile Press-Register cited maritime analyst Tim Colton's blog. Colton said in a post today that the "hot rumor" is that a majority interest in the yard is being sold to General Dynamics, whose Marine Systems division includes Bath Iron Works and Electric Boat. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 06/26/12) Austal USA is owned by Australia's Austal.

Contract: Lockheed Martin, $17.4M

Lockheed Martin Mission Systems and Sensors, Moorestown, N.J., is being awarded a $17,430,000 modification to previously awarded contract for DDG 51 class and CG 47 class Aegis Combat System installation, integration and test in support of the Program Executive Officer for Integrated Warfare Systems. The required ship integration and test engineering for Aegis ships includes program management, planning, installation, integration, testing, training, personnel, and associated services to effectively support PEO IWS efforts for the installation, integration, and test of Aegis Combat Systems. Twenty-two percent of the work will be done in Pascagoula, Miss. Other work sites are Moorestown, N.J.; Bath, Maine; San Diego, Calif.; Washington, D.C.; Norfolk, Va.; Port Hueneme, Calif.; and Syracuse, N.Y. Work is expected to be completed by November 2012. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 06/25/12) Previous modification post

Ingalls gets tax break

PASCAGOULA, Miss. -- The city of Pascagoula passed a resolution this week waiving property tax for nine years on $18.8 million worth of machinery, equipment and furniture at Ingalls Shipbuilding. The exemption provides Ingalls with an annual savings of $111,637. The company told city councilmen it would help keep the yard viable in a competitive military shipbuilding environment. Total savings will be over $1.1 million. (Source: Mississippi Press, 06/21/12)

Austal USA wins award

Austal USA, Daikin America and Cascades Sonoco were announced as winners of the 2012 Manufacturer of the Year Awards at a luncheon today in Montgomery, Ala. The awards, presented by the Business Council of Alabama and the Alabama Technology Network, recognizes manufacturers in Alabama for excellence. Austal, of Mobile, builds aluminum ships for the Navy. It won in the large manufacturer category. (Source: Birmingham News, 06/20/12)

Contract: Lockheed Martin, $11.8M

Lockheed Martin Mission Systems and Sensors, Moorestown, N.J., is being awarded an $11,842,065 modification to previously awarded contract for DDG 51 class and CG 47 class Aegis Combat System installation, integration and test, and fleet life cycle engineering support. The required Aegis ship integration and test engineering includes: program management, planning, training, personnel, and services to effectively support Program Executive Office Integrated Warfare Systems and Naval Sea Systems Command Surface Warfare directorate in the execution of the cruiser modernization program; and post availability test and trials, combat system ship qualification trials, and developmental test planning and execution. Twenty-two percent of the work will be done in Pascagoula, Miss. Other work will be done in Moorestown, N.J.; Bath, Maine; San Diego, Calif.; Washington, D.C.; Norfolk, Va.; Port Hueneme, Calif.; and Syracuse, N.Y. Work is expected to be completed by September 2012. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 06/19/12)

New GCRL director named

OCEAN SPRINGS, Miss. -- Dr. Eric Powell will become the new director of the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory, according to the University of Southern Mississippi, beginning in September. Powell is currently a professor at the Haskin Shellfish Research Laboratory at the School of Environmental and Biological Science at Rutgers University. Powell replaces Dr. Bill Hawkins, who retired June 2011. Hawkins led the GCRL’s expansion, which now includes 16 buildings at the lab’s 224-acre Cedar Point expansion site in Ocean Springs. (Source: University of Southern Mississippi, 06/12/12)

BAE starts hopper dredge project

MOBILE, Ala. -- BAE Systems has begun construction on the MV Magdalen, a trailing suction hopper dredge for Weeks Marine Inc. Executives from both companies were at BAE Systems' Mobile shipyard this week as steel was cut for the vessel's first module, which will weigh 130 tons. BAE expects to complete the 340-foot vessel in 2014. The vessel will be the first designed by Netherlands-based IHC Merwede to be built in the United States. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 06/07/12)

Decisive gets new commander

PASCAGOULA, Miss. -- Cmdr. Mark Walsh took over command of the 210-foot cutter Decisive during a ceremony Thursday at the Coast Guard Station at Singing River Island. Turning over command was Cmdr. Teri Jordan. The ship has been in Pascagoula since 1998. (Source: Sun Herald, 06/07/12)

Keel ceremony held

PASCAGOULA, Miss. -- Ingalls Shipbuilding held a brief ceremony Thursday to authenticate the keel for its 10th amphibious transport-dock ship, the John P. Murtha. Following U.S. Navy tradition, the keel was authenticated to verify it has been "truly and fairly laid." The keel-laying for the LPD 26 vessel was completed in February. The ship is in the San Antonio class. Ingalls has delivered six such ships to the Navy. (Source: Sun Herald, 06/06/12)

Contract: Ingalls, $17.3M

Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc., Pascagoula, Miss., is being awarded a $17,334,110 cost-plus-award-fee/cost-plus-fixed-fee with performance incentives contract for DDG 51-class follow yard services. The follow yard services provides necessary engineering, technical, material procurement and production support; configuration; class flight upgrades and new technology support; data and logistics management; lessons learned analysis; acceptance trials; post delivery test and trials; post shakedown availability support; reliability and maintainability; system safety program support; material and fleet turnover support; shipyard engineering team; turnkey; crew indoctrination, design tool/design standardization, detail design development, and other technical and engineering analyses for the purpose of supporting DDG 51 class ship construction and test and trials. In addition, DDG 51 class follow-yard services may provide design, engineering, procurement and manufacturing and production services to support design feasibility studies and analyses that modify DDG 51 class destroyers for Foreign Military Sales programs sponsored by the Department of the Navy and the Department of Defense. Work will be performed in Pascagoula, Miss. (98 percent), and Washington, D.C. (2 percent), and is expected to be completed by February 2013. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 06/07/12)

Building for the future

New maritime training academies in Pascagoula, Miss., and Mobile, Ala., will help ensure that area shipyards have a steady supply of workers. In Pascagoula, pilings on the $20 million, 76,000-square-foot Haley Reeves Barbour Maritime Training Academy north of Ingalls Shipbuilding are about 90 percent driven. In Mobile, the $12 million Maritime Training Center near Austal USA is already supplying workers. It opened in January 2011. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 06/05/12)

LHA launched from drydock

LHA 6, with LPD 24 in background. Ingalls photo

PASCAGOULA, Miss. -- The U.S. Navy's next amphibious assault ship, America (LHA 6), was launched from Ingalls Shipbuilding's floating drydock Monday. Ingalls last week received a $2.38 billion contract to build the next ship in the class, Tripoli (LHA 7). The two ships are the first in the new America class of amphibious assault ships. The ships are 844 feet long and 106 feet wide and will be capable of carrying a Marine Expeditionary Unit, including Marine helicopters, MV‐22 Osprey and F‐35B Joint Strike Fighter aircraft, allowing it to serve as a small aircraft carrier. (Source: Globe Newswire, 06/05/12)

Sub commissioned

PASCAGOULA, Miss. -- The $2 billion USS Mississippi nuclear submarine was set into active duty Saturday at 11:28 a.m. by Navy Secretary Ray Mabus at the Port of Pascagoula in a public event that drew spectators and dignitaries. The submarine arrived last week to the commissioning site on the west bank of the Pascagoula River. (Source: Sun Herald, 06/02/12)

Contract: Ingalls, $2.4B

Huntington Ingalls Inc., Pascagoula, Miss., is being awarded a $2,381,448,356 modification to previously awarded fixed-price incentive contract for detail design and construction of the Navy's next large-deck amphibious assault ship LHA 7, including crew familiarization, technical manuals, and engineering and post-delivery industrial services. Work will be performed in Pascagoula, Miss. (92.5 percent); Charlottesville, Va. (2.4 percent); Beloit, Wis. (1.5 percent); Ocean Springs, Miss. (1.4 percent); Santa Fe Springs, Calif. (1.2 percent); and Brunswick, Ga. (1 percent), and is expected to be completed by June 2018. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 05/31/12)

Brown to lead command

Capt. Brian B. Brown, who has been selected for the rank of rear admiral (lower half), will be assigned as commander, Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command, Stennis Space Center, Miss. Brown is currently serving as executive assistant to the director, Oceanography, Space, and Maritime Domain Awareness, N2/N6E, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Washington, D.C. (Source: DoD, 05/29/12) Before he was assigned to Washington D.C., post in 2011, Brown headed the Naval Oceanographic Office at SSC.

Study finds sea life increase

MOBILE, Ala. -- Nearly four times as many fish, shrimp and crabs were found in Alabama waters in the fall of 2011 as there were before the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. That's according to data collected by the Dauphin Island Sea Lab. Scientists believe the months-long fishing closure caused by the spill helps explain the dramatic increase. John Valentine, director of Sea Lab, said the data indicates the waters in Alabama, nearshore at least, are in relatively good shape. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 05/26/12)

USS Mississippi arrives

PASCAGOULA, Miss. -- The USS Mississippi arrived in Pascagoula Friday to cheering crowds. The 377-foot attack submarine will be commissioned June 2, an event expected to draw thousands. The Virginia-class sub was built by General Dynamics' Electric Boat in Groton, Conn., and will be assigned to Submarine Group Two. (Sources: multiple, including AP via Times-Picayune, Mississippi Press, WKRG-TV, 05/25/12)

LPD 23 completes builder's trial

Anchorage during trial. Ingalls photo

PASCAGOULA, Miss. -- Amphibious transport dock Anchorage successfully completed its builder's trials last week, Ingalls Shipbuilding said Monday. LPD 23, under construction at the company's Avondale, La., shipyard, is the seventh in the LPD 17-class to be built by Ingalls. The 684-foot-long vessel's primary mission is to transport up to 800 Marines, their fighting vehicles and aircraft. Builder's trials are meant to measure performance and identify any possible construction discrepancies. (Source: Mississippi Press, Globe Newswire, 05/21/12)

Boat yard shutting down

MOBILE, Ala. -- Harrison Brothers Dry Dock and Repair Yard is closing after 117 years. The inventory is being sold in one chunk, and owner Bill Harrison III wants to clear and lease the land. The yard has operated on the east bank of the Mobile River since 1895, but a combination of factors, including a slack economy, led to the decision to close. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 05/17/12)

San Diego to be commissioned

SAN DIEGO, Calif. -- The Navy on Saturday will commission the newest San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ship, San Diego. The ship is named for the principal homeport of the Pacific fleet. Adm. Mark Ferguson, vice chief of naval operations, will deliver the principal address. Built by Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Miss., the ship is 684 feet long and capable of embarking a landing force of about 800 Marines. Four turbo-charged diesel engines power the ship to sustained speeds in excess of 22 knots. (Source: DoD, 05/17/12)

Contract: Ingalls, $133.8M

Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc., Pascagoula, Miss., is being awarded a $133,751,000 cost-plus-fixed-fee not-to-exceed modification to previously awarded contract for advance procurement of long-lead-time materials and pre-construction activities in support of Landing Platform Dock 27. Work will be performed in Pascagoula, Miss., and is expected to complete by June 2017. Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 05/15/12)

Austal confident

Australia-based Austal is confident its contract with the U.S. Navy will not be affected by a move to investigate purchase of the ships. A committee wants the Government Accountability Office to look into how the U.S. Navy has dealt with problems associated with its 55-vessel Littoral Combat Ship program, including rust issues. Austal USA is building the Independence class version of the LCS in Mobile, Ala. Company CEO Andrew Bellamy told PerthNow he has never felt more confident about the LCS program. (Source: PerthNow, 05/10/12)

Contract: Enterprise Ventures, $12.5M

Enterprise Ventures Corp., Johnstown, Pa., is being awarded a $12,529,511 firm-fixed-price contract for the production of 12 carriage, stream, tow, and recovery system kits in support of the Naval Air Systems Command, MH-60S Airborne Mine Countermeasures Program. The objectives of the program are to design, fabricate, test, and integrate a system for the carriage, stream, tow and recovery of all five airborne mine countermeasures sensors to support the mission of the MH-60S helicopter. The contract includes an option that would bring the cumulative value to $31,969,022. Work will be performed in Johnstown, Pa., and is expected to complete by November 2014. Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City Division, Fla., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 05/11/12)

New cutter springs leaks

The Associated Press is reporting that a Coast Guard cutter built by Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Miss., will have to be put in dry dock for repairs. Temporary repairs were made to the four leaks found in April on the USCG Stratton. The 418-foot long ship, the third ship of its class, is homeported in California and was delivered to the Coast Guard in September 2011. No similar problems have been found in the other two ships of the class. (Source: Associated Press via the Sun Herald, Mississippi Press, 05/08/12) The $551 million Stratton (WMSL 752) can reach a top speed of 28 knots and carries a crew of 110. The first two ships of the Legend class are the Bertholf (WMSL 750) and Waesche (WMSL 751).

Hangar shipped to Maine

GULFPORT, Miss. -- A composite helicopter hangar built by Ingalls Shipbuilding in Gulfport is heading for Bath Iron Works in Maine. The 60 foot wide structure took nearly two years to construct for the Zumwalt class destroyer. Another, even larger composite structure, the deckhouse, is still being built and is expected to be shipped to Maine this summer. (Source: WLOX-TV 05/07/12, Sun Herald 05/08/12)

Contract: Lockheed Martin, $7.7M

Lockheed Martin Mission Systems and Sensors, Moorestown, N.J., is being awarded a $7,708,000 modification to previously awarded contract for DDG 51-class and CG 47-class Aegis combat system installation, integration, testing, and fleet life-cycle engineering support of the Program Executive Officer for Integrated Warfare Systems. The required engineering for DDG 51-class and CG 47-class ships includes program management and operation support, quality assurance, configuration management, ship design integration, fleet lifecycle engineering support, installation support, firmware maintenance, combat system test and evaluation, Navy-furnished material support, special studies, and future-ship integration studies. Work will be done in Moorestown, N.J. (55 percent); Norfolk, Va. (18 percent); Baltimore, Md. (15 percent); San Diego, Calif. (5 percent); Bath, Maine (2 percent); Washington, D.C. (2 percent); Pascagoula, Miss. (1 percent); Port Hueneme, Calif. (1 percent); and Syracuse, N.Y. (1 percent). Work is expected to completed by September 2012. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 05/07/12)

LHA 7 to be named Tripoli

Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus announced Friday the selection of USS Tripoli as the name for the Navy's next large-deck amphibious assault ship, LHA 7. It will be the third ship to be named Tripoli, a name that commemorates the capture of Derna in 1805 by a small force of U.S. Marines and about 370 soldiers from 11 other nations during the First Barbary War. LHA 7 has an increased aviation capacity to include an enlarged hangar deck and more that will support helicopters, tilt rotors and Joint Strike Fighters F-35B aircraft. (Source: DoD, 05/04/12) Gulf Coast note: LHA 7 is being built by Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Miss.

JHSV keel-laying held

MOBILE, Ala. – Austal USA hosted its own version of the traditional keel-laying ceremony Thursday for the third Joint High Speed Vessel. About 100 people gathered for the ceremony. JHSVs are designed to transport troops, equipment and supplies quickly throughout theaters. They are equipped with helicopter landing pads and can quickly maneuver and operate in shallow waters. The full program consists of 10 vessels and is potentially worth over $1.6 billion. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 05/03/12)

Sub delivered ahead of schedule

GROTON, Conn. -- General Dynamics Electric Boat today delivered the nuclear-powered attack submarine Mississippi, SSN-782, to the U.S. Navy 363 days ahead of contract schedule and more than $60 million below target cost. John Holmander, vice president and Virginia program manager for General Dynamics Electric Boat, noted that the ship is at the most combat-ready state of any Virginia-class submarine at delivery. Mississippi, the ninth ship of the class, will join the fleet in a commissioning ceremony June 2 in Pascagoula, Miss. (Source: General Dynamics, 05/02/12)

USS Independence arrives in S.D.

USS Independence in San Diego. Navy photo

SAN DIEGO, Calif. -- The littoral combat ship USS Independence, LCS 2, arrived at Naval Base San Diego today, completing the ship's maiden voyage to its homeport. Independence, commissioned in 2010, is the first Independence-class ship to transit the Panama Canal, conduct a foreign port visit and arrive in San Diego. After two years of training off the coast of Florida, the ship's transit from Mayport to San Diego marks the successful completion of testing the ability of the ship's Mine Countermeasures mission package to detect, localize, and destroy mines in a tactical environment. (Source: NNS, 05/02/12) Gulf Coast note: The ship was built by Austal USA in Mobile, Ala.

Contract: Ingalls, $11.5M

Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc., Pascagoula, Miss., is being awarded a $11,497,083 modification to previously awarded contract to exercise an option for fiscal 2012 class services in support of class product fabrication, delivery, engineering, engineering support and integrated logistics support of the Zumwalt Class (DDG 1000) destroyer. Work will be performed in Pascagoula (95 percent) and Gulfport, Miss. (5 percent), and is expected to be completed by October 2012. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 04/30/12)

Group critical of Lockheed LCS

A report from a watchdog group was highly critical of the Lockheed Martin version of the Littoral Combat Ship, and recommending dropping it in favor of the Austal USA variant built in Mobile, Ala. The Project on Government Oversight said it reviewed internal Navy documents, and in a letter delivered to House and Senate leaders said the Lockheed vessel has a history of hull cracks, equipment failure and other design problems making it unsafe for service. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 04/25/12)

Exploration center opens

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. -- Mississippi State University's new Science and Technology Center here is now home of the country's seventh National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Exploration Command Center. The center, using "telepresence technology," enables research scientists at sea and colleagues on shore to simultaneously view live video streams from underseas. The MSU-led Northern Gulf Institute and NOAA's Office of Ocean Exploration and Research are coordinating the first use at Stennis of this technology. A key part of the effort is the Okeanos Explorer, the NOAA exploration flagship currently probing the floor of the Gulf of Mexico. Telepresence technology enables scientists aboard vessels to be in constant contact with others ashore through a combination of high-definition cameras and remotely operated underwater vehicles. The network includes an Internet-enabled intercom system for voice communication as the ship's remotely operated vehicles send a continuous stream of live video and data. (Source: MSU, 04/24/12)

Nelson: Name ship after P.C.

PANAMA CITY, Fla. – Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., has written to Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus to request a Navy ship be named after Panama City. According to a letter dated Thursday, “Panama City has a long history in Mine Warfare beginning in 1945 when the Navy moved the U.S. Navy Mine Countermeasures Station to Florida.” The mission, size and responsibilities for the activity has expanded to meet the military’s needs. The Navy operation in Panama City more recently has played a key role in development of the Littoral Combat Ship Mine Hunting and Mine Neutralization missions, the letter said. (Source: Panama City News Herald, 04/20/12)

DDG-1002 named Johnson

WASHINGTON -- Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus said Monday that the next Zumwalt-class destroyer will be named the USS Lyndon B. Johnson, after the nation's 36th president. The ship, DDG-1002, is the third ship of the Zumwalt class being built by General Dynamics' Bath Iron Works in Maine. The ships, designed for sustained operations in the littorals and land attack, are 600 feet long with a speed of 30 knots. (Source: NNS, 04/16/12) Gulf Coast note: Ingalls Shipbuilding's Gulfport, Miss., operation supplies the composite deckhouse and other composite sections for the Zumwalt ships.

Alcoa sends Amah tips to Austal

Alcoa said it's delivered a set of two "ready for installation" aluminum Amah tips to Austal USA for use on the future Littoral Combat Ship USS Jackson (LCS 6). An Amah tip is the leading edge of the all-aluminum, trimaran-type vessel's outrigger, or amah, and is more than seven feet across and weighs 850 pounds. The LCS 6 is currently being built for the U.S. Navy at Austal's Mobile, Ala., shipyard. A second set of Amah tips for the USS Montgomery (LCS 8) will be delivered to Austal next month. (Source: Business Wire, 04/16/12)

Maritime robots grab spotlight

Two new maritime robots, both with Gulf Coast ties, have been unveiled recently. Today at the Navy League's Sea-Air-Space Exposition in Maryland, General Dynamics unveiled a quarter-scale model of the Surface Mine Countermeasure Unmanned Undersea Vehicle, "Knifefish." It's a heavyweight-class minehunting, unmanned undersea vehicle designed for the Littoral Combat Ship mine countermeasure mission package. Development and manufacturing work on this program is done in Greensboro, N.C., Fairfax, Va., Quincy, Mass., Braintree, Mass., and Panama City, Fla. A version of the LCS is built in Mobile, Ala., by Austal USA. (Source: General Dynamics, 04/16/12) Last week in New Orleans, Textron showed off the Common Unmanned Surface Vessel at its Textron Marine and Land Systems shipyard. The 39-foot long unmanned system can navigate and patrols the high seas on its own and reach 28 knots. It can be controlled remotely from 10 to 12 miles away, or further away it can be switched to a satellite control system. (Source: multiple, including New Orleans Times Picayune, 04/12/12)

River tug delivered

BAYOU LA BATRE, Ala. -- Horizon Shipbuilding of Bayou La Batre has delivered an inland river tugboat to the Army Corps of Engineers. The 58-foot M/V General Irwin was christened March 30 in Eufaula. The vessel will be used in operations and maintenance work. Horizon, with about 240 employees, spent 13 months on the tug, built under a contract valued at $3.8 million. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 04/11/12)

SSC gets new research center

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. -- NASA's Stennis Space Center will be the home of the National Oceans and Applications Research Center, Gov. Phil Bryant said Wednesday at the ribbon-cutting for the Infinity Science Center. NOARC will combine the capabilities of NASA, NOAA and the Navy to analyze and understand the Gulf of Mexico watershed and other oceans NOAA monitors. Bryant said the center will be the "Woods Hole of the South," a reference to the world-renown center in Massachusetts. NOARC data could be used to develop environmental management best practices, identify optimal sites to build infrastructure and help guide coastal restoration efforts. NOARC will leverage a partnership with the Mississippi Enterprise for Technology to help encourage the development of small businesses that benefit from NOARC data. NOARC will be funded with remaining monies that BP granted to Mississippi during the response to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion. The center will receive initial funding of $500,000 to provide for basic startup needs. (Sources: Sun Herald, WLOX-TV, press release, 04/11/12) Stennis Space Center is home to 30 agencies, including NASA and NOAA. It's also the center for the Navy's oceanographic work.

Avondale still on track to close

Huntington Ingalls Industries is sticking to plans to close its Avondale shipyard near New Orleans, the company's Chief Executive Officer, Michael Petters, said in an interview in Bloomberg's Washington office. Shipbuilding will end at Avondale by mid- to late-2013, after it delivers its last amphibious ship. The company continues to seek a partner, such as a heavy manufacturer that will develop an alternative use, Petters said. The closure plans were first announced in 2010 when HII was still part of Northrop Grumman. The company is consolidating its Gulf Coast work at the company's shipyards in Pascagoula and Gulfport, Miss. (Source: Bloomberg, 04/10/12)

Sub completes sea trial

GROTON, Conn. -- The nation's newest nuclear-powered attack submarine, Mississippi (SSN-782), returned to the Electric Boat shipyard following the successful completion of its first voyage in open seas. During the alpha sea trials, Mississippi submerged for the first time and conducted high-speed runs on and under the surface to demonstrate that the submarine's propulsion plant is fully mission-capable. Mississippi is the ninth ship of the Virginia Class. The submarine will be commissioned June 2 in Pascagoula, Miss. Electric Boat is a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics. (Source: General Dynamics, 04/09/12)

Contract: Northrop Grumman, $27M

Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Aerospace Systems, Melbourne, Fla., is being awarded a $27,058,492 modification to previously awarded contract for the procurement of the AN/AES-1 Airborne Laser Mine Detection System (ALMDS) low rate initial production. Work will be performed in Melbourne, Fla. (36.2 percent); Tucson, Ariz. (34 percent); St. Charles, Mo. (12.5 percent); Irvine, Calif. (8 percent); San Clarita, Calif. (5 percent); and Edgewood, N.Y. (4.3 percent). Work is expected to be completed by April 2014. The Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City Division, Panama City, Fla., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 04/05/12)

Contract: Ingalls, $50.3M

Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc., Pascagoula, Miss., is being awarded a $50,300,000 modification to previously awarded contract for procurement of additional long lead time material in support of the LHA replacement, Flight 0, amphibious assault ship, LHA 7. Work will be performed in Pascagoula, Miss., and is expected to complete by May 2013. Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 04/04/12)

Titanium hulls in the future?

ARLINGTON, Va. -- An Office of Naval Research-funded project is producing a full-size ship hull section made with marine grade titanium using a welding innovation that could help bring titanium into future ship construction. Researchers at the University of New Orleans School of Naval Architecture and Textron Marine and Land Systems are demonstrating the project, and expect to have a complete hull this summer. Friction-stir welds more than 17 feet long joined the titanium alloy plates for the section's deck. Friction-stir welding works well for most aluminum alloys, but titanium is hard to join by the same process because of the high temperatures required. The researchers overcame that problem by using new titanium friction-stir welding methods developed by Florida-based Keystone Synergistic Enterprises Inc., with funding from both ONR and the Air Force. The processes were scaled up and transferred to the National Center for Advanced Manufacturing in New Orleans, which is a partnership between UNO, NASA and Louisiana. (Source: Office of Naval Research, 04/03/12)

Ingalls gets NSC contract

PASCAGOULA, Miss. -- Huntington Ingalls Industries said its Ingalls Shipbuilding division has received a $76 million fixed-price contract from the U.S. Coast Guard to purchase long-lead materials for a sixth National Security Cutter. Construction and delivery of the yet-to-be-named WMSL 755 will be performed at the company's Pascagoula facility. A second phase of the contract, when awarded, would bring the overall value to $88 million. The cutters are 418 feet long and displace 4,500 tons with a full load. They have a top speed of 28 knots, a range of 12,000 miles, an endurance of 60 days and a crew of 110. (Source: Globe Newswire, 03/30/12)

Sequestration threatens LCS

The Pentagon would expect hundreds of thousands of layoffs across the defense industry if lawmakers don't avert an additional $500 billion in defense budget cuts that could take effect in January 2013. Frank Kendall, the Defense Department's acting undersecretary for acquisition, said the cuts would force the Pentagon to break many contracts, including the Navy's contracts with Lockheed Martin and Austal USA for littoral combat ships. (Source: Reuters, 03/29/12)

HII marks first year

Huntington Ingalls Industries marked its first year of operations after its spinoff from Northrop Grumman, with CEO Mike Petters ringing the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday. Huntington Ingalls has two sectors: a Newport News facility in Virginia and Ingalls Shipbuilding on the Gulf Coast, which oversees the Pascagoula, Miss., yard, a composite yard in Gulfport, Miss., and an Avondale, La., yard that will close next year. The Pascagoula yard warships for the Navy and Coast Guard and is one of the state's largest private employers. HII finished four ships, started construction on two, received new construction contracts on three and is at the halfway point on structural work for the aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford. (Sources: Sun Herald, 03/29/12, Mississippi Press, 03/30/12)

Contract: General Dynamics, $27M

General Dynamics Information Technology, Herndon, Va., is being awarded a $27,091,748 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for information technology engineering and mission sustainment services in support of the commander, Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command, Stennis Space Center, Miss. Sixty percent of the work will be done at SSC. Other sites are Monterey, Calif. (20 percent); Washington, D.C. (10 percent); San Diego, Calif. (8 percent); and Bahrain, Saudi Arabia (2 percent). Work is expected to be completed by April 1, 2013. The NAVSUP Weapon Systems Support, Mechanicsburg, Pa., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 03/29/12)

DDG-1000 completes key test

The future USS Zumwalt completed a major developmental test Tuesday, demonstrating the integration of the engineering control system software and the ship's integrated power system, the Naval Sea Systems Command announced Thursday. The test marks the completion of the second of two developmental tests. The ship is now 67 percent complete and will be delivered in 2014. The ship is built by Bath Iron Works in Maine, but Ingalls Shipbuilding's composite center in Gulfport, Miss., builds composite deckhouse and hangars for the ship, and the Pascagoula yard builds steel units that support the composite deliveries and the aft peripheral vertical launch system ship sections. (Source: Mississippi Press, 03/23/12)

Austal wins safety award

MOBILE, Ala. -- Shipbuilder Austal USA has earned the Award for Excellence in Safety from the Shipbuilders Council of America, a national trade association of the shipbuilding industry. Notice of the award, the fourth in a row for Austal, was announced by the company in a news release on Thursday. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 03/22/12) Austal USA builds littoral combat ships and joint high-speed vessels for the U.S. military.

Robot to robot refueling tested

WASHINGTON -- The Naval Research Laboratory successfully demonstrated the robotic fluids transfer from a stationary platform to an unmanned surface vehicle in wave heights greater than three feet. The Rapid Autonomous Fuel Transfer project was able to track the motion of a Sea Fox naval vessel, emplace a magnetic refueling fitting to an on-board receptacle and complete fluids transfer. The testing was done at the Army Aberdeen Test Center wave simulator facility. Further robotic transfer tests may include land-based autonomous vehicles and unmanned aerial vehicle. (Source: NRL via Business Wire, 03/20/12) Gulf Coast note: This region is heavily involved in unmanned systems, including aerial and maritime, and is a major shipbuilding region; the NRL has an operation at Stennis Space Center, Miss.

Engineers design UxV controllers

PANAMA CITY, Fla. -- Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City Division scientists and engineers have designed unmanned system controllers for a younger generation of sailor raised on video-game systems. The latest proof-of-concept uses an Xbox Kinect to deliver gesture-based robotic controls. It's been demonstrated as a viable interface for human-machine interaction with omni-directional vehicles. Gesture-based robot control and similar approaches that utilize "human-centric" interaction with unmanned-systems opens a door to the future of effective human-robot teams in which communication is natural, reducing training requirements. (Source: NNS, 03/16/12)

Navy orders four LCSs

Contracts for four more Littoral Combat Ships were awarded Friday by the Navy, bringing the total of LCS vessels under order or in service to 12. Lockheed Martin received $715 million for two ships and Austal USA of Mobile, Ala., received $691.6 million for two ships. In Mobile, the award will fund the shipyard's fifth and sixth LCSs. The vessels, meant for minesweeping, submarine-hunting, anti-piracy efforts and special forces operations, represent the third funding increment to be awarded under a 10-ship, $3.8 billion deal that Austal secured in December 2010. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, Navy Times, 03/16/12)

Contract: Lockheed Martin, $20M

Lockheed Martin Mission Systems and Sensors, Moorestown, N.J., is being awarded a $20,000,000 modification to previously awarded contract exercising an option for integration, installation, and testing of the Aegis combat system on DDG 51-class ships. The tasks to be accomplished include planning, technical data package development, test procedure development, test engineering, installation engineering, and combat system test engineering. Work will be performed in Moorestown, N.J. (37 percent); Bath, Maine (25 percent); Pascagoula, Miss. (22 percent); San Diego (6 percent); Washington, D.C. (5 percent); Norfolk, Va. (3 percent); Port Hueneme, Calif. (1 percent); and Syracuse, N.Y. (1 percent), and is expected to be completed by September 2012. Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 03/16/12)

Contract: Austal USA, $19.7M

Austal USA, Mobile, Ala., is being awarded a $19,692,295 modification to previously awarded contract to exercise options for special studies, analyses, review and class service efforts for the Littoral Combat Ship program. This effort will assess engineering and production challenges and evaluate the cost and schedule risks from affordability efforts to reduce LCS acquisition and lifecycle costs. Work will be performed in Mobile, Ala. (72 percent) and Pittsfield, Mass. (28 percent). Work is expected to be complete by March 2013. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 03/14/12)

Mine-sweep system overhauled

PANAMA CITY, Fla. -- ITT Exelis has completed its first overhaul of a mine-sweeping system for the U.S. Navy. The Naval Surface Warfare Center in Panama City, Fla., awarded this sole-source indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract in 2009, which has a potential value of $49 million. The refurbishment extends the life of this MK-105 Mod 4 Airborne Mine Countermeasure Influence Sweep unit for another 10 years. (Source: ITT Excelis via Business Wire, 03/12/12)

Shipyards finish repairs

MOBILE, Ala. -- BAE Systems Southeast Shipyards and Austal USA finished a four-month repair and maintenance job on a Navy research vessel. The companies in November announced they were teaming up to work on the Sea Fighter, an experimental vessel based out of Panama City, Fla., an aluminum catamaran that the Office of Naval Research uses to test technologies it will use on its littoral combat ships and joint high-speed vessels. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, MarineLink, 03/08/12)