HII earns LHA 8 contract

Huntington Ingalls Inc. of Pascagoula, Miss., was awarded a $272,467,161 contract for the planning, advanced engineering, and procurement of long lead time material in support of one amphibious assault ship (LHA 8). The contract includes options. Forty-four percent of the work will be performed in Pascagoula. Work is expected to be completed by June 2017. Naval Sea Systems Command of Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity (Source: DoD 06/30/16)

Metairie gets part in oiler contract

General Dynamics' National Steel and Shipbuilding Company of San Diego was awarded a block-buy contract for the detail design and construction of six T-AO 205 Class Fleet Replenishment Oilers. The award amount is $640,206,756 for the lead ship. The contract includes line items for five follow ships, and options. Work will primarily been done in San Diego, but two percent of the work will be done in Metairie, La. Work for the lead ship is expected to be completed by July 2020. Work for the follow ships is expected to complete by July 2025. (Source: DoD 06/30/16)

Regional firms earn Navy pacts

The Navy is awarding multiple contracts to 608 firms to provide for service requirements solicited by Naval Sea Systems Command, Naval Air Systems Command, Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command, Naval Supply Systems Command, Military Sealift Command, Naval Facilities Command, Strategic Systems Programs, Office of Naval Research, and the Marine Corps. There are 22 functional service areas within the scope of the contracts. Regional contractors included: A&H Technologies Inc., Vancleave, Miss.; ARS Aleut Services LLC, Port Allen, La.; B3H Corp. and Beast Code LLC both of Shalimar, Fla.; CLA Tech Inc., Ocean Springs, Miss.; Cybernetics Industries Inc., Healtheon Inc., Technology Associates Inc., and Louisiana Technology Group Inc. doing business as LATG, all of New Orleans; K2 Technical LLC, Panama City, Fla.; Methods Technology Solutions Inc., Baton Rouge, La.; OneSourcePCS LLC, Pensacola, Fla.; Operations and Security Integrated Solutions doing business as O&SIS, Lynn Haven, Fla.; Peak Mountain Technology Solutions LLC, Harahan, La.; and VinTech LLC, Stennis Space Center, Miss. (Source: DoD 06/30/16)

Navy Panama City: LCAC parts depot

PANAMA CITY, Fla. - Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City has become a Landing Craft Air Cushion hovercraft parts depot, according to military officials. LCACs were designed for a 20-year service life. That timeline is quickly approaching. LCACs were delivered to the Navy from 1998-2001, according to Glenn Campbell, project lead engineer at NSWCPC. The next generation of LCACs is expected by the fall of 2017. In the mid-2000s, the Navy began a Service Life Extension Program in Panama City to increase the lives of LCACs by 10 years. The program includes upgraded engines, hull repairs, addition of larger fuel tanks, and addressing aging propulsion equipment, according to NSWCPC, the LCAC in-service engineering agent. The repair work is expected to save the Navy hundreds of thousands of dollars in operating costs. Some 18 engineers and technicians are involved in the process at the Panama City base, says air cushion vehicle branch head Ivan Lugo. The teams modifying the fleet are mostly made up of a tight-knit family of military veterans who know what LCACs mean to the fleet, says Campbell. LCACs haul Marine Corps equipment, and are the connector for the amphibious ships. (Source: Panama City News Herald 06/29/16)

Contract: Austal, $11.2M

Austal USA, Mobile, Ala., is being awarded an $11,239,032 cost-plus-fixed-fee delivery order modification against the previously awarded basic ordering agreement (N00024-15-G-2304) to provide emergent availability planning and execution for full ship shock trials support (FSST) for the Littoral Combat Ship USS Jackson (LCS-6). Austal USA will provide advance planning and accomplishment in support of in-between shot repairs during the FSST event; and the FSST repair period including work specifications and execution to correct damage sustained during the FSST event and FSST instrumentation removal. Work will be performed in Mayport, Fla. (80 percent); San Diego, Calif. (10 percent); and Mobile (10 percent), and is expected to be completed by December 2016. The Supervisor of Shipbuilding, Conversion, and Repair, Gulf Coast, Pascagoula, Miss., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 06/29/16)

Expanded Panama Canal opens

PANAMA CITY, Panama - With a band playing and flags waving, a Chinese ship carrying more than 9,000 containers entered June 26 the newly expanded locks that will double the Panama Canal's capacity for international shipping. Several tugs pulled "Cosco Shipping Panama" into the new locks at Agua Clara under a cloudy sky in Colon province, about 50 miles north of the capital. Nearly two years behind schedule, the $5.25 billion project formally launched with the transit of the 984-foot-long Chinese-owned ship. (Source: The Associated Press 06/26/16)

IHMC's underwater NASA researcher

Dawn Kernagis, a research scientist with Pensacola, Fla.’s Institute for Human and Machine Cognition (IHMC) will be among NASA astronauts and scientists living underwater as part of NASA's Extreme Environment Mission Operations (NEEMO) project in July. NEEMO 21’s mission is to take place at the Aquarius Reef Base, the world's only undersea research lab some y60-plus feet below the sea in the Florida Keys’ National Marine Sanctuary. It is part of the Florida International University Marine Education and Research Initiative. (Source: Pensacola News Journal 06/24/16)

$1.8 GoM projects grant

The Gulf of Mexico Coastal Ocean Observing System Regional Association (GCOOS-RA) has been awarded $1.8 million a year for the next five years to support data collection and distribution in the Gulf of Mexico. GCOOS funds work conducted by, among others, Louisiana State University, University of Southern Mississippi, and the Dauphin Island (Ala.) Sea Laboratory. (Source: Gulf of Mexico Coastal Ocean Observing System 06/24/16)

GC-built LCS deploying to Asia

The Navy’s first aluminum trimaran Littoral Combat Ship, built on the Gulf Coast at Austal USA in Mobile, Ala., will take its maiden deployment six years after the first LCS was commissioned. USS Coronado (LCS 4) departed San Diego on June 22 bound for the Rim of the Pacific exercises in Hawaii before heading to the Asia region. At RIMPAC, the ship will fire an LCS-first shoot of a Harpoon missile - more typical of bigger combatants. “It's time to demonstrate the full potential of these ships to the fleet,” said Cmdr. Scott Larson, commanding officer of one of the ship’s interchangeable crews. The lead ship of the aluminum trimaran line –USS Independence (LCS 2) also based in San Diego - spent a great deal of time as a test platform for mine countermeasures warfare equipment development for LCS. (Source: San Diego Union-Tribune 06/21/16)

GC-built LCS Survives Shock Test

The Gulf Coast-built Littoral Combat Ship USS Jackson (LCS 6) has undergone the Navy’s first Full Scale Shock Trials (FSST) since 2008, and withstood the 10,000-pound explosion June 10 better than expected, sources said, although evaluations will continue. The FSST took place of Florida’s Atlantic coast. About 260 instruments were placed throughout LCS 6 to measure various aspects of the blast, which strikes above and below the waterline. After the test, the Jackson returned to the Mayport (Fla.) Naval Station where engineers downloaded data, examined the ship and made necessary repairs, a Navy spokesperson said. The next test is scheduled to be about June 22. A third and final test is planned for July 8. Each test will use the same 10,000-pound explosives charge, but the ship will be moved progressively closer to the explosion. The first test explosion was about 100 yards from the ship. (Source: Defense News 06/17/16) With two different LCS designs in production, there will be two series of shock trials. USS Jackson represents the Independence class and was built at Austal USA in Mobile, Ala., while the USS Milwaukee will test the Freedom variant.

Navy’s 1000th international student

PENSACOLA, Fla. - The Pensacola-based Naval Education and Training Security Assistance Field Activity (NETSAFA) recently completed training of its 1,000th international water survival student. Italian Navy Lt. Marco Tullio Cicerone completed the training in preparation for a Joint Diving Officer Course at Naval Diving and Salvage Training Center Panama City. The command’s International Training Center was established in 1988 to meet the aviation specific training needs of international officer and enlisted students from allied countries. Water survival and fitness training was initially only provided to student-pilots of the Royal Saudi Naval Forces, and later to weapon officers of the Saudi air force. The training has evolved to include training for numerous non-aviation military. NETSAFA oversees all Navy and Marine Corps international training. (NETSAFA 06/20/16)

Panama Canal expansion to open

The expansion of the Panama Canal is to open June 26. The canal handles about a third of Asia-to-Americas trade. The nine-year expansion project cost about $5.4 billion, and more than doubles the canal’s cargo capacity. A third lane was added to accommodate ships that can carry up to 14,000 containers, compared with around 5,000 currently; and will alleviate bottlenecks caused by smaller ships. The expansion will shorten the one-way journey by sea from Asia to the U.S. Atlantic and Gulf coasts by about five days. The expansion isn't going to be a guaranteed panacea. Some East and Gulf Coast ports have poured billions into infrastructure. But, bigger doesn’t always mean more cargo. “It’s a common mistake to think that if you build up a port, traffic will come,” said Asaf Ashar, a port infrastructure expert and professor emeritus at the University of New Orleans. But there has been a surge in U.S. natural-gas output, and interests in new export markets like Japan, South Korea, India and China. By 2020, the Panama Canal’s VP for business development, Oscar Bazán, expects liquid natural gas to be one of the main products transported through the canal. There is only one facility, Cheniere Energy Inc.’s Sabine Pass terminal, in Cameron Parish, La., capable of processing natural gas for export from the Gulf of Mexico. (Source: Wall Street Journal 06/20/16)

PC defense contractor opens office

PANAMA CITY, Fla. - Avian LLC supports test and evaluation, logistics and maintenance, and business and financial management activities for Naval Sea Systems Command, Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City, and the Office of Naval Research at Naval Support Activity Panama City. On June 17, the company, which has been working in the area for more than seven years, officially opened its first office building in Panama City with a June 17 ribbon cutting ceremony. (Source: Avian LLC 06/17/16)

Navy PC dive center has new boss

PANAMA CITY, Fla. – Navy Commander Cameron Chen became the new commanding officer of the Naval Diving and Salvage Training Center (NDSTC) here June 17. Chen, who is a graduate of the center, comes to Panama City from duty as the counter-weapons of mass destruction operations officer in the Pentagon’s Global Operations Directorate. The base’s outgoing commander, Cmdr. Hung Cao, had served as head of NDSTC since 2013. Cao is being assigned to the Pentagon. (Source: Panama City News Herald 06/17/16)

Vet to lead ceremony at battleship

World War II veteran Major John Jacobson, age 105, will be the special guest for the annual Enlistment Ceremony – involving Gulf Coast-wide military commands – on July 2 inside the Medal of Honor Aircraft Pavilion of USS Alabama Battleship Park on Mobile (Ala.) Bay. Following the 10 a.m. ceremony, there will a dedication of the newest monument to Battleship Memorial Park, called ‘The Recruit’, which was created by Mobile sculptor Casey Downing Jr. Major Jacobson is one of the oldest veterans in the state of Alabama. He served under General Patton in WWII. (Source: Events Website 06/2016)

MS port talks with major tenant

The Port of Gulfport, Miss., is in talks with SeaOne Gulfport LLC, a major tenant, in terms of a 40-year lease. SeaOne is proposing a $450 million liquefied natural gas facility, according to port executive Jonathan Daniels. The 36-acre site would be on an expanded section of the port that is part of $566 million from the federal government. Daniels said the firm would offer stability and significantly tonnage for the port. Initially, it was reported that SeaOne would create about 70 jobs, roughly half of which would be skilled professionals such as engineers. The Harrison County Board of Supervisors agreed to write off half of SeaOne’s personal property taxes for 10 years. (Source: Mississippi Business Journal 06/16/16)

Austal's LCS 4 completes IOT&E

The Gulf Coast-built Littoral Combat Ship USS Coronado (LCS 4) has demonstrated it can defend itself against anti-ship missiles in a recently completed initial operational test and evaluation (IOT&E) event, the Navy said. The Independence-class LCS scored a “mission kill” against an unmanned aerial vehicle target using a Raytheon SeaRAM anti-ship missile defense system test offshore of Naval Air Station Point Mugu, Calif. While at sea, LCS 4 also received 12 satisfactory tracking events. The tests demonstrate “the core anti-air warfare capabilities of the ship against an anti-ship cruise missile,” according to the Navy. SeaRAM combines the Close-in Weapon System radars and fire control system with the Rolling Airframe Missile to provide a capable, reduced-manning defense against anti-ship cruise missiles and aircraft, the Navy statement explained. (Source: US Naval Institute News 06/14/16) Austal USA shipbuilding of Mobile, Ala., builds the Independence Class (even-number hulls) of LCS.

CNO: 'Feel good' ship construction

The Navy’s USS Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier entered the Mediterranean Sea this week and made deployment history, says Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson. Speaking on Capitol Hill at a meeting June 13 of the Congressional Shipbuilding Caucus, CNO provided information about the Navy's two high-profile mission areas – South China Sea and the Middle East. USS Harry S. Truman is in the Middle East. Both are in position to launch airstrikes against Islamic State militants’ targets in Iraq and Syria. As of last week, the Navy has had six aircraft carriers – out of 10 – underway in the past months. CNO called it a "milestone" event. USS John C. Stennis, with more than 75 aircraft aboard, flew some 4,000 sorties in the South China Sea during its seven-month deployment. "Everyone who thinks about and talks about shipbuilding can feel good about that day," Richardson told the Military.com website, but ship construction needs to be faster – less than the 5-and-5 year rule from design to completion - and more innovative. "I think we need to challenge that," CNO said. "We've got to continue to challenge ourselves, or we're just going to fall into this situation where we're not going to be as capable and agile as we need to." (Source: Military.com 06/14/16) Huntington Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Miss., is the sole provider of the San Antonio (LPD 17) class of amphibious transport dock ships and America (LHA 7) class of amphibious assault ships for the Navy. Austal USA shipbuilding of Mobile, Ala., builds the Independence variant of Littoral Combat Ship for the Navy.

Ingalls DDG to be named for nurse

Navy Secretary Ray Mabus, who has been an advocate for increasing opportunities for women in the Navy, announced that a new Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer will be named for a trailblazing Navy nurse and the first woman awarded the Navy Cross. Mabus announced that the future DDG-123 will be named for Lenah H. Sutcliffe Higbee. She was among the “Sacred 20” - the first 20 women to formally serve as active members of the Navy Nurse Corps beginning in 1908. In January 1911, Higbee became the second superintendent of the Navy Nurse Corps. It is the second Navy ship to bare Higbee’s name. During WWII, USS Higbee (DD-806) was the first warship named for a female member of the Navy. (Source: U.S. Naval Institute News 06/14/16) DDG-123 will be built at Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Miss., and is expected to enter Navy service in 2024.

USM fortifying Gulf leadership

The University of Southern Mississippi took steps to fortify its Gulf Coast leadership in marine education and research with the formation of a new School of Ocean Science and Technology (SOST). The school, housed within the College of Science and Technology, brings marine-related research and education programs under one administration and ties together key elements of USM, including the Division of Marine Science (DMS) - based at the John C. Stennis Space Center in Hancock County; Gulf Coast Research Laboratory and Division of Coastal Sciences in Ocean Springs; and the university’s fleet of five research vessels. (Source: Southern Miss Now 06/13/16) USM’s Marine Industries Science and Technology is comprised of marine-related entities, which includes private business, state agencies, non-profits, colleges and universities in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida.

Finalizing Frigate-variant of LCS

The Navy is in the process of finalizing plans for the types of weapons, sensors and technologies to install into its new, more lethal upgraded Frigate-variant of the Littoral Combat Ship. The new Frigate’s capabilities being considered include additional interactive surface and anti-submarine warfare technologies - sonar, over-the-horizon (OTH) and surface-to-surface close-in missiles, and a 30mm gun. “You will be able to employ both (SW & ASW) mission areas simultaneously,” Capt. Dan Brintzinghoffer, Frigate Program Manager. LCS was configured to perform with only one of its three mission packages at a time. The Frigate – a likely outgrowth of one of the two LCS variants - is slated for delivery to the Navy by 2023. Critics have argued the two LCS variants were too vulnerable to enemy attacks. Six LCS are currently operational. Defense Secretary Ash Carter told the Navy to buy only 32 more. The original plan was for 52. (Source: Scout Warrior 06/10/16) Gulf Coast Note: According to SECDEF Carter, only one of the two LCS shipbuilders – either Austal USA of Mobile, Ala., or Lockheed Martin in Wisconsin – will likely be selected; and the other could suffer significant business repercussions. A Government Accountability Office report claims the new upgraded frigate variant of LCS is not much of an improvement over the original because Navy was too focused on cost and production numbers. GAO says the two shipyards have plenty of original-LCS work to keep them busy through FY 2017; and Navy should pause from buying any more in FY-17.

SD firm awarded LPD 26 pact

BAE Systems San Diego (Calif.) Ship Repair was awarded a $21,234,688 contract for the fitting-out availability and post shakedown availability of the Amphibious Landing Platform Dock ship USS John P. Murtha (LPD 26). Specific efforts include program management, planning, engineering, design, liaison, scheduling, labor and procurement of incidental material in support of the availabilities. The contract includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $61,107,878. Work will be performed in San Diego, and is expected to be completed by September 2017. (Source: DOD 06/09/16) LPD 26 was built at Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Miss., and christened in March 2015.

La. hurricane protection project

BIS Services LLC of Kenner, La., was awarded a $9,512,825 contract with options for a hurricane protection project across New Orleans, Venice, and West Point A La Hache to the St. Jude Levee in Plaquemines Parish. The estimated completion date is Nov. 13, 2017. The Army Corps of Engineers at Vicksburg, Miss., is the contracting activity. (Source: DOD 06/08/16)

Keel laid for DDG 119

PASCAGOULA, Miss. -- The keel of a future Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer has been laid at a Huntington Ingalls Industries shipyard. The ceremony marking the official start of construction of the ship was held Wednesday for the future USS Delbert D. Black (DDG 119). To date, Ingalls has delivered 28 Arleigh Burke-class destroyers to the Navy. There are five more currently under construction at Ingalls, including Delbert D. Black. (Source: HII, 06/01/16)

Developing futuristic dive helmets

PANAMA CITY, Fla. - An Underwater Systems Development project team is in the midst of developing the future of Navy diving this summer at Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City. Lead engineer Dennis Gallagher's team is developing a high-resolution Divers Augmented Vision Display (DAVD) that can be fixed directly inside a diving helmet. The system enables divers to have real-time visual operational data displays from sector sonar to text messages. The see-through head-up display (HUD) allows for real-time operational data to enable divers to become more effective and safe based on expanded situational awareness and navigation-to-target, instead of having to rely on pre-dive briefings alone. The team is currently working on Phase II – the design of components for both the helmet systems and face masks. In October, divers are scheduled to conduct in-water simulation testing. Phase III will entail the hardening of the system for expanded field testing in FY 2017. (Source: Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City 06/02/16)

Developing futuristic dive helmets

PANAMA CITY, Fla. - An Underwater Systems Development project team is in the midst of developing the future of Navy diving this summer at Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City. Lead engineer Dennis Gallagher's team is developing a high-resolution Divers Augmented Vision Display (DAVD) that can be fixed directly inside a diving helmet. The system enables divers to have real-time visual operational data displays from sector sonar to text messages. The see-through head-up display (HUD) allows for real-time operational data to enable divers to become more effective and safe based on expanded situational awareness and navigation-to-target, instead of having to rely on pre-dive briefings alone. The team is currently working on Phase II – the design of components for both the helmet systems and face masks. In October, divers are scheduled to conduct in-water simulation testing. Phase III will entail the hardening of the system for expanded field testing in FY 2017. (Source: Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City 06/02/16)

Navy gets new research ship

PASCAGOULA, Miss. – The 353-foot long research vessel USNS Maury was handed over to the Navy in a ceremony Tuesday. The ship, built by VT Halter Marine, is designed to explore the deepest depths of the ocean. It's the sixth research vessel VT Halter has built. This ship, which will be manned by merchant marines, has a feature that allows it to launch and recover emotely operated vehicles. The ship is named after Matthew Fontaine Maury, who's considered the founder of the science of oceanography and the father of world meteorology. (Source: WLOX, 05/31/16)