15 avril 2024 | International, Naval
Get the US Navy’s frigate program back on schedule
Opinion: Failure to return the FFG-62 to the expected cost and schedule will further erode confidence in Navy acquisition management.
28 janvier 2021 | International, Naval
Maritime Administration inks a deal for two more multi-mission support ships
By: David B. Larter
WASHINGTON – The Maritime Administration has inked a deal for two more training ships for its prospective Merchant Marine officers in a move that could provide the Navy with a suitable hull for special mission auxiliary ships in the future.
MARAD contracted for two additional National Security Multi-Mission Vessels, adding on to the two it purchased last year. The ships are destined for use at Maine Maritime Academy in Castine, Maine, and Texas A&M Maritime Academy in Galveston, Texas.
The contract, announced Jan. 19, with Philly Shipyard in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is worth approximately $600 million. If the last ship is contracted, it would bring the total buy to $1.5 billion, according to the marine trade publication gCaptain.
The NMSVs are also national assets that can be used in humanitarian assistance missions, can accommodate up to 1,000 people and includes a modern medical facility.
The vessels could also prove useful in the Navy's quest to identify a flexible hull that can meet a series of missions as it seeks to replace its aging logistics fleet, Sal Mercogliano, a former merchant mariner and maritime historian at Campbell University, told Defense News last year.
“Those vessels serve as a potential hull form for maybe a hospital ship, maybe a command ship, an aviation logistics ship, a sub tender: There's potential there,” Mercogliano said.
Questions remain around how the Navy will replace some of its special mission ships, such as the aging hospital ships, and the NMSV is worthy of consideration.
For moving lots of tanks and howitzers across long distances, the NSMV isn't well-suited. But for many of the other missions the Navy needs to recapitalize, including its hospital ships, it could prove useful.
“I don't think they'd be good for a roll-on/roll-off — it's not designed for a large mission bay,” Mercogliano said. “But I think for the hospital ship, a command ship, there's a lot of utility there.”
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21 avril 2021 | International, Aérospatial
French A400M completes helicopter-refueling drills
France has recently completed a series of test flights to move forward with certification of the A400M’s capability to refuel helicopters during flight, day and night.
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2 novembre 2018 | International, Terrestre
Marines want a ruggedized robot mule to patrol with and resupply a squad
By: Todd South The Marines want an unmanned vehicle capable of keeping up with its rifle squad and conducting squad resupply to unburden the grunt. A Request For Information recently posted on the Federal Business Opportunitieswebsite keeps options open, telling interested industry partners that the mode could be a “robotic applique” on existing systems, a remote-controlled vehicle or a fully autonomous transport. The system must carry between 500 and 1,000 pounds to outfit up to a 15-Marine unit. While the main objective is for the vehicle to move with the squad through inconsistent terrain, a nice bonus would be if it could manage intra-squad resupply, according to the posting. It must run on rough roads and off road, go for between eight hours and three days, fit inside an MV-22 Osprey when fully loaded, and fit on a light tactical trailer in ground transport. The system also must push out 1- to 3-kW of power to recharge and run squad systems. The Marine Corps Rapid Capabilities Office wants information from industry by Nov. 13. Marines participating in the Advanced Naval Technologies Exercise at Camp Pendleton, California, in May saw vehicles that might fit some of the requirements in operation during urban training sessions. As far back as 2016, Marines were testing a tracked version of the Multi-Utility Tactical Transport, which could carry weapons systems or gear but at a lower rate than this current request. At the time, the MUTT could haul 600 pounds on land and 300 pounds while running amphibious for about 15 miles before power ran down. This latest posting falls closely in line with an existing program in the Army known as Squad Multipurpose Equipment Transport, or SMET. The SMET program has accepted four submissions of similarly capable vehicles for testing by the 10th Mountain Division, 101st Airborne Division and an unidentified Marine unit at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. All four of those submissions are standalone vehicles that use either wheeled or tracked methods of movement. The Army expects to pick the contract winner by 2020 after extensive field tests. https://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/your-marine-corps/2018/10/31/marines-want-a-ruggedized-robot-mule-to-patrol-with-and-resupply-a-squad