August 1, 2018 | International, Naval
By: Ben Werner
The Navy has exercised options adding several million dollars to the future guided-missile frigate (FFG(X)) conceptual design work being performed by five shipbuilders in contention for the final hull design.
The Navy expects bids from the following shipbuilders – Austal USA, Huntington Ingalls Industries, General Dynamics Bath Iron Works, Lockheed Martin and Fincantieri Marinette Marine. A final request for proposal is expected in 2019, with the Navy planning to award a single source design and construction contract in 2020, according to the Navy. Ultimately, the Navy plans to build a fleet of 20 frigates
Each company was awarded initial contracts of $15 million in February to start design work. The latest contract modification, announced Monday, sends between $6.4 million and $8 million in additional funding to each company to be used fleshing out their designs.
“Each company is maturing their proposed ship design to meet the FFG(X) System Specification. The Conceptual Design effort will inform the final specifications that will be used for the Detail Design and Construction Request for Proposal that will deliver the required capability for FFG(X),” Alan Baribeau, a Naval Sea Systems Command spokesman, said in an email to USNI News.
Each design for the future frigate competition is based on existing designs the shipbuilders are already producing. The Navy expects to spend between $800 million and $950 million on each hull, which will follow the Littoral Combat Ship.
In terms of combat and communications systems, the Navy plans to use what is already deployed on LCS platforms. USNI News understands the new frigates will use the COMBATSS-21 Combat Management System, which uses software from the same common source library as the Aegis Combat System on large surface combatants. Missile systems for the frigate include the canister-launched over-the-horizon missile; the surface-to-surface Longbow Hellfire missile; the Mk53 Nulka decoy launching system and the Surface Electron Warfare Improvement Program (SEWIP) Block 2 program with SLQ-32(V)6. The ships would also require an unspecified number of vertical launch cells. The frigate design also is expected to include the SeaRAM anti-ship missile defense system and several undersea warfare tools.
The complete list of companies awarded contract options on their respective contracts include:
Austal USA LLC (Austal), Mobile, Alabama – $6,399,053; initial contract award – $14,999,969
General Dynamics Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine – $7,950,000; initial contract award – $14,950,000
Huntington Ingalls Inc., Pascagoula, Mississippi – $7,997,406; initial contract award – $14,999,924
Lockheed Martin Inc., Baltimore, Maryland – $6,972,741; initial contract award – $14,999,889
Marinette Marine Corp., doing business as Fincantieri Marinette Marine, Marinette, Wisconsin – $7,982,991 initial contract award – $14,994,626
October 26, 2018 | International, Aerospace
Graham Warwick | Aviation Week & Space Technology From armed scout to heavy lift, modernizing rotorcraft fleets has become a priority for the U.S. Defense Department. But whether the U.S. Army and other services will have the budgets to fulfill its ambitious renewal plans remains to be seen. http://aviationweek.com/defense/guide-us-military-helicopter-modernization
July 4, 2019 | International, Naval
MacGregor has received a contract from Gulf Island Shipyards to supply deck machinery equipment for two new US Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) towing, salvage and rescue ships (T-ATS). Gulf Island Shipyards received a contract in May this year to build two additional T-ATS-class vessels for the US Navy. The navy exercised the first two options for the new ships under a previous contract awarded to Gulf Island Shipyards. The original contract includes a total of seven options for additional vessels. The company is building the two new T-ATS-class vessels at its facility in Houma, Louisiana, US. MacGregor will deliver the packages of deck machinery under the latest orders next year. The package includes a main towing and traction winch, in addition to an offshore crane, Triplex shark jaws, pop-up pins, and a stern roller. The company is also required to provide crew training, as well as integrated logistics support. With a combined value of around €8m, the orders come after MacGregor won the first contract in the fourth quarter of last year. MacGregor Advanced Offshore Solutions vice-president Høye Høyesen said: “We are very pleased that MacGregor has again been selected to supply deck machinery equipment for the two T-ATS class vessels, which further demonstrates Gulf Island Shipyards and US Navy confidence in MacGregor's solutions and services.” The company has the potential to win further orders if the navy chooses to exercise the option for a further five vessels. The new class of vessels are expected to replace the existing T-ATF 166 and T-ARS 50 class of ships. The lead vessel of the T-ATS-class will be named USNS Navajo and designated T-ATS 6, while each additional ship will be named after Native Americans or Native American tribes. Last month, the US Navy announced that the second vessel in this class will be named to honour the Cherokee Nation. The service will deploy these vessels for open-ocean towing, supporting salvage operations and submarine rescue missions worldwide. https://www.naval-technology.com/news/macgregor-to-supply-deck-machinery-for-two-t-ats-vessels/
January 27, 2021 | International, Land
January 25, 2021 - A NATO customer has awarded Rheinmetall an order for modern artillery ammunition. The Group's South African subsidiary, Rheinmetall Denel Munition (Pty) Ltd., will supply several thousand conventional and extended-range artillery shells of the Assegai family (Base Bleed and V-LAP) as well as M92 Assegai tactical modular charges. Delivery commenced in December 2020 and is to be complete by May 2021. The order is worth around €25 million. Manufactured by Rheinmetall Denel Munition, the tactical modular charges of the Assegai Series are intended to propel artillery shells from 155mm gun systems. The charge system is fine-tuned to the customer's specific weapon systems and artillery shells for maximum effectiveness. Their modular design simplifies logistics and makes handling in self-propelled artillery systems easier. They also offer other advantages: Assegai charges reduce barrel wear (RDM's Barrel Wear Reducer/BWR) and produce lower muzzle flash (RDM's Muzzle Flash Reducer/MFR); the former results in longer barrel life, the latter makes the artillery system harder for the enemy to detect. “Thanks to our current product portfolio and new products in the development pipeline, we want to offer customers the full range of possibilities for indirect fire support and maintain our lead in artillery ammunition technology. This applies especially to our new developments in artillery projectiles, which we aim to meet our goal of attaining ranges of over 155 kilometres with. In addition, Rheinmetall Denel Munition is eager to support the troops with our new uni-modular charges, which achieve better performance and simplify the logistics, especially in gun systems with automatic loading,” says Jan-Patrick Helmsen, Rheinmetall Denel Munition's CEO. Rheinmetall and its South African unit Rheinmetall Denel Munition possess proven expertise in advanced indirect fire systems. At a test fire event held at the Alkantpan test range in South Africa in 2019, Rheinmetall and Rheinmetall Denel Munition achieved several new range records for indirect artillery fire with various guns, attaining maximum ranges of up to 76 kilometres. This display of technological achievement and capability sparked the interest of artillery users across the globe. Rheinmetall Denel Munition has embarked on a phased development approach, including the continuous improvement in range capability of artillery ammunition. The range demonstration showed the potential of the first phase and reinforces Rheinmetall Denel Munition's goal of meeting a user-specified range requirement of more than 155 km. About Rheinmetall Denel Munition The South African company Rheinmetall Denel Munition (Pty) Ltd is a cutting-edge maker of ammunition and explosive products, supplying military and civil users in numerous countries around the globe. Rheinmetall Denel Munition is a joint venture co-owned by Rheinmetall (51%) and Denel SOC Ltd of South Africa (49%). RHEINMETALL AG Corporate Sector Defence Press and Information Oliver Hoffmann Rheinmetall Platz 1 40476 Düsseldorf Germany Phone: +49 211 473-4748 Fax: +49 211 473-4157 View source version on Rheinmetall Denel Munition (Pty) Ltd: https://www.rheinmetall.com/en/rheinmetall_ag/press/news/latest_news/index_22656.php