[mafets]

http://www.janes.com/article/52592/hii-hands-over-12th-virginia-submarine-to-us-navy

Huntington Ingalls Industries' (HII's) Newport News Shipbuilding division has handed over the US Navy's (USN's) 12th Virginia-class nuclear-powered attack submarine (SSN), officials announced on 25 June.

John Warner (SSN 785) - named after the US senator and former secretary of the navy - was delivered at HII's Newport News, Virginia shipyard. It is the sixth Virginia SSN to be completed by Newport News, which is building the boats in partnership with General Dynamics Electric Boat, under a teaming agreement.

The USN is acquiring a 30-boat class of Virginia SSNs. Eleven boats are in commission.

John Warner is the second of eight Block III Virginias that feature a redesigned bow (with a new Large Aperture Bow array) and two 87-inch Virginia payload tubes that each launch six Tomahawk land-attack cruise missiles.

Cumprimentos

[olisipo]

Atlantic Ocean, June 1, 2015. The Virginia-class attack submarine Pre-Commisioning Unit (PCU) John Warner (SSN 785) ends sea trials at the Atlantic (Footage released by the builders)

[olisipo]

Atlantic Ocean, June 5, 2015.The guided-missile destroyer USS Gravely (DDG 107) fires a Standard 2.

[mafets]

http://www.janes.com/article/52742/us-navy-retires-prowler-electronic-attack-aircraft-after-close-to-45-years-service

The US Navy (USN) retired from service the last of its Grumman EA-6B Prowler electronic attack (EA) aircraft during a three-day 'sundown' ceremony at Naval Air Station (NAS) Whidbey Island in Washington state from 25 to 27 June.

The four-seat Prowler, which was developed from the twin-seat A-6 Intruder attack aircraft, first entered service with the US Navy in 1971. With the final unit (Electronic Attack Squadron [VAQ] 134) having now fully transitioned over the successor Boeing EA-18G Growler, the Prowler was withdrawn after nearly 45 years of operations.

Although a highly capable EA platform, the Prowler had for a long time been showing its age and a need for replacement.

With no real self-defence capability, the Prowler needed a fighter escort when operating in denied environments. With a relatively modest (for a jet) top speed of 556 kt, the Prowler could not keep up with the navy's modern crop of fighters, requiring them to slow down to a sub-optimum performance envelope, which is far from ideal when flying in enemy airspace.

This is not an issue for its successor, since it is based on the same F/A-18E/F Super Hornet airframe as the navy's current fleet defence fighter. As well, the Growler is capable of defending itself with air-to-air missiles and so does not need an escort in the first place.

While the transition from Prowler to Growler has largely seen the current capabilities cross-decked from one platform to the other, one issue that the navy had to deal with was the 50% reduction in the number of crew members needed. With only half as many crew members as the Prowler, one of the navy's biggest priorities was to redefine the different roles of the Growler's two-man crew. The pilot is no longer fully occupied with flying the aircraft, but instead spends much of his or her time operating the mission systems as well.

Whereas each crew station in the Prowler is fitted with specific kit for specific tasks, in the Growler both crew members have access to the full range of onboard mission systems. However, the specific systems tasked to each crew member largely depend on the mission being flown at that time.

As well as being more capable than its predecessor, the Growler is also easier to maintain, needing 1.6 man-hours of servicing per flight hour compared with 30 man-hours per flight hour for the Prowler.

At the height of its service, there were 170 Prowlers in the USN's inventory. These have been replaced by 114 Growlers.

Sai de cena o Prowler entra o Growler.  


Saudações

[NVF]

O Prowler ainda vai continuar ao serviço dos Marines por mais alguns anos.

[NVF]

Four NATO Ships Enter Black Sea for Annual Exercise, Russian Activity on Rise in the Region

http://news.usni.org/2015/07/06/four-nato-ships-enter-black-sea-for-annual-exercise-russian-activity-on-rise-in-the-region

Guided missile destroyer USS Porter (DDG-78) entered the Black Sea on Sunday — following three other NATO ships in the last several days — marking a noticeable uptick in activity in the region ahead of military exercises in Bulgaria, according to a Bosphorus Naval News ship spotting site and U.S. 6th Fleet.

Porter crossed the Bosphorus and entered the Black Sea on Sunday a day after the Dutch frigate HNLMS Tromp (F-803) and Portuguese frigate NRP D. Francisco de Almeida (F-334). Spanish minesweeper ESPS Tajo (M-36) crossed the strait on July 1.

The ships were bound for Bulgaria as part of the annual Breeze 2015 exercise that include ships from Standing NATO Maritime Group 1 (SNMG1) and the Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group 2 (SNMCMG2). The exercise began on July 3 and is scheduled to run until July 12, according to a release from the Bulgarian Ministry of Defense.

“Porter’s presence in Bulgaria reaffirms to NATO allies that the U.S. Navy shares a commitment to strengthen ties while working toward mutual goals of promoting peace and stability in the Black Sea region,” read a statement from 6th Fleet.

The exercise will include 30 ships and around 1,700 personnel from Greece, Bulgaria, Turkey as well as the U.S., according to the MoD.

Outside of the exercise, the French signals intelligence ship Dupuy de Lôme (A759) and guided missile destroyer USS Laboon (DDG-58) recently left the Black Sea as part of an ongoing presence mission since Russia seized the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine in March of 2014.

In addition to the NATO ship moves, Russia moved two Project 775 amphibious warships — Korolev (130) and Alexander Otrakovski (031) — into the Black Sea on Friday.

All warships from countries without a coast on the Black Sea operate under the 1936 Montreux Convention Regarding the Regime of the Straits.
Montreux rules call for foreign warships to depart the Black Sea after 21 days.

USS Porter (DDG-78) off the coast of Bulgaria on July 6, 2015. US Navy Photo


The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Porter (DDG 78) arrives at Naval Station Rota, Spain on April 30, 2015. US Navy photo.

[olisipo]

Timor Sea, July 6, 2015. An MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter assigned to the Golden Falcons of Helicopters Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 12 transfers supplies to the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73) during a replenishment-at-sea as part of Talisman Sabre 2015. It is a bilateral training exercise between US and Australian forces.

[olisipo]

Little Creek, Virginia, July 5, 2015. The Military Sealift Command joint high-speed vessel USNS "Spearhead" (JHSV 1) transits away from a pier at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story. "Spearhead" is deploying to support Southern Partnership Station 2015, a joint exercise of the US Navy with allied militaries of the Caribbean area.

[olisipo]

USS nuclear aircraft carrier "Gerald R. Ford" (CVN-78) being outfitted at the Newport News Shipbuilding. The Phalanx CIWS, RAM missile launchers and ESSM launchers are already in place. She is supposed to be commissioned in 2016.

By the way, an American engineer of Egyptian origin was arrested after trying to pass the plans for this aircraft carrier to a FBI agent who he believed was an Egyptian spy.

http://touch.dailypress.com#section/-1/ ... 822023115/

[mafets]

http://www.naval.com.br/blog/2015/07/21/ha-69-anos-acontecia-a-primeira-operacao-de-um-aviao-a-jato-a-bordo-de-porta-avioes-americano/

Em 21 de julho de 1946, o navio-aeródromo USS Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVB 42) tornou-se o primeiro dos EUA a operar com avião a jato em condições controladas. O capitão tenente James Davidson voando um jato McDonnell XFD-1 Phantom realizou uma série de decolagens e pousos bem-sucedidos no Roosevelt ao largo de Cape Henry, Virginia.Os testes com jato continuaram em novembro, quando o tenente coronel Marion E. Carl, USMC, fez dois lançamentos por catapulta, quatro decolagens livres e cinco pousos enganchados com um Lockheed P-80A.

Cumprimentos

[mafets]

http://news.usni.org/2015/07/24/last-west-coast-frigate-uss-gary-decommissioned-before-sale-to-taiwan

he last Oliver Hazard Perry frigate on the West Coast was decommissioned after more than 30 years in service in a Thursday ceremony at Naval Station San Diego, Calif.
Former and current crew from the USS Gary (FFG-51) gathered at the yard for the ceremony.

“These are the boys of Gary,” said second commanding officer, retired Capt. Dallas Bethea, during remarks at the ceremony.
“These are the boys, the men, who were integral in the success of the ship. They took a ship that was nothing in the shipyard and created a warship. It wasn’t me, my predecessor or successor; it was the boys of Gary. That is the heart and soul of the ship, the men who serve aboard her.

Following the ceremony, the ship will now be readied for sale to Taiwan, along with three other Perrys.

The Naval Vessel Transfer Act of 2013 — signed by President Obama in December — approves the sale of up to four frigates to Taiwan.

Along with Gary, the act identified USS Taylor (FFG-50), USS Gary (FFG-51), USS Carr (FFG-52) and USS Elrod (FFG-55) as the ships approved for sale to Taiwan.

<iframe src=”https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1YA4TmhFZNcDj42k7CxBwQimBJ-yQWjK-D-B86aCtteo/pubhtml?widget=true&amp;headers=false” width=”550″ height=”500″></iframe>

The ships will replace four Knox-class destroyers and join eight Perrys built in Taiwan.

The final Perry in commission — USS Kauffman (FFG-59) — returned from deployment in mid-July.

Originally built as escort ships, the Perrys spent their last days in service as platforms for peacetime missions like anti-trafficking and maritime cooperations.

Many of their roles will be taken over by the emerging two classes of Littoral Combat Ship and the Joint High Speed Vessel (JHSV).

Cumprimentos

[HSMW]

Taiwan já vai retirar de serviço as Knox?   http://weaponsystems.net/weaponsystem/G ... class.html

[mafets]

Taiwan já vai retirar de serviço as Knox?    

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_China_Navy







Saudações

[olisipo]

Waters near Japan, July 24, 2015. Four US Navy Boeing EA-18G Growlers assigned to the Black Ravens of Electronic Attack Squadron  (VAQ) 135 conduct bilateral training with four Japan Air Self-Defense Force Mitsubishi F-15J Eagles.

[olisipo]

The American way of decommisioning some of its ships. The USS Ogden (LPD-5), sunk by South Korean and Norwegian  naval missiles during an exercise.