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)