New Burke DDG Christened at NGSS Ingalls Honors Hawaiian Hero of Pacific Campaign

By RICHARD R. BURGESS, Managing Editor


The newest Arleigh Burke-class Aegis guided-missile destroyer (DDG) has been named in honor of a U.S. Navy flag officer who distinguished himself fighting the ferocious kamikaze attacks during the Okinawa campaign in 1945. DDG 93--a Flight IIA Burke hull built by Northrop Grumman Ship Systems (NGSS) Ingalls Operations--was christened Chung Hoon in honor of Rear Adm. Gordon P. Chung-Hoon (1910-1979).

Chung-Hoon, a 1934 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, received the Navy Cross and Silver Star for conspicuous gallantry while serving as commanding officer of the destroyer USS Sigsbee from May 1944 until October 1945. While on a radar picket patrol screening a carrier strike force south of Kyushu, Japan, the Sigsbee assisted in the destruction of 20 Japanese aircraft. On 14 April 1945, a kamikaze aircraft hit the Sigsbee, disabling the ship's port engine and steering controls, and reducing the starboard engine's capability to five knots. Chung-Hoon continued to provide anti-aircraft fire while conducting damage control, enabling his ship to make port under its own power.

Adm. Walter F. Doran, commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet, gave the keynote address before more than 1,300 guests at the christening ceremonies for the new DDG. The ship's sponsor, Michelle Punana Chung-Hoon, niece of the ship's namesake, broke a commemorative bottle of champagne over the bow of the ship; she was assisted by Nancy King Holt, matron of honor, and Chung-Hoon's daughter, Asti Punana Sorge'. Also in attendance at the 11 January ceremonies in Pascagoula, Miss., were Rear Adm. William W. Cobb Jr., program executive officer for theater surface combatants; Rear Adm. Charles S. Hamilton II, deputy program executive officer for ships; Perry White, stepson of Rear Adm. Chung-Hoon; Capt. Philip N. Johnson, supervisor of shipbuilding, conversion, and repair in Pascagoula; and Philip A. Dur, president of Northrop Grumman Ship Systems.

GE Gas Turbines to Power Eighth Wasp-Class LHD

GE Marine Engines has been awarded a contract from Northrop Grumman Ship Systems to provide two LM2500+ aeroderivative gas turbine engines and main reduction gearing for installation on the eighth Wasp-class amphibious assault ship (LHD 8).

The selection of the GE engines represents a departure from the design of the first seven units of the Wasp class, which are powered by steam plants. The selection also represents the first military application of the LM2500+, a development that, said Karl Matson, general manager of GE Marine Engines, paves the way "for the use of this gas turbine for a variety of domestic and international naval programs."

"The LM2500+s each will have the U.S. Navy rating of 35,000 shaft horsepower for the LHD 8--the highest ever in U.S. military marine applications," Matson said.

GE Marine Engines has adapted the reduction-gear design of earlier LHDs to accommodate LHD 8's unique hybrid gas turbine/electric drive system, which will have electric motors to provide propulsion power at low loitering speeds. One reduction gearbox will allow power input from either the LM2500+ or the electric motor; the other will be a copy of the gearbox of the earlier LHD design. The gearboxes will be built at the company's plant in Lynn, Mass.
GE officials said that there are 20 LM2500+s currently in service worldwide on commercial cruise ships and fast ferries. An additional 74 are being used for other power-generation requirements.

BAE's ALQ-214 IDECM System Enters Operational Evaluation

BAE Systems and the Navy have completed developmental testing (DT) of the onboard components of the new Integrated Defensive Electronic Countermeasure System (IDECM) Radio Frequency Countermeasure (RFCM) System. The IDECM is now going through operational evaluation (OPEVAL) by the Navy.

Successful completion of the OPEVAL will clear the way for full-rate production of the IDECM RFCM for deployment on the Navy's F/A-18E/F Super Hornet strike fighter. The ALQ-214--developed by BAE's partner, ITT Industries--provides the onboard electronic defensive capability for the system.

"This is a significant accomplishment for the IDECM," said Capt. Robert Boyd, the Navy's program manager for the IDECM. "The ALQ-214's completing DT and starting OPEVAL is an important step in providing our Super Hornet crews with the highly effective self-protection system they need."

The IDECM is the first "truly integrated" electronic warfare suite developed for the U.S. military that links the aircraft's radar warning system, mission computer, RFCM system, and fiber-optic towed decoy (FOTD) into a unified system, said John Lydiard, vice president of countermeasures at BAE Systems' Integrated Electronic Warfare Systems.
IDECM features highly sensitive onboard sensors designed by ITT and a high-powered ALE-55 FOTD and deployment canister built by BAE. The next phase of the evaluation will include tests linking the ALE-55 with the ALQ-214.

Boeing-Upgraded Mercury Begins Navy Test Program

An E-6B Mercury strategic communications and airborne command post aircraft has begun a two-site test program--at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md., and the Boeing Development and Modification Center in Wichita, Kan.--to evaluate upgrades to its cockpit and communications systems. The aircraft, the first of 16 E-6Bs to be modified, will go through tests by a Boeing test team and the Navy's Air Test & Evaluation Squadron 20.

The E-6B Mercury provides airborne command, control, and communications between the president, secretary of defense, and U.S. forces, including ballistic missile submarines and land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles.
The cockpit upgrades include installation of the Multifunction Display System (MDS) based on the cockpit displays in the Boeing 777 and 737-700 airliners. The MDS is designed to provide state-of-the-art communications, navigation, and surveillance capabilities compatible with global air traffic management requirements.

The mission system upgrades include secure and non-secure internet protocol router network functions, including two onboard network servers; access to servers on the ground via local area network communications links; airborne user interfaces via laptop computers; a KU-band uplink; and a demand-assigned multiple-access downlink. A new phased-array antenna system provides a wide-bandwidth data capability.

Bell AH-1Z CompletesEnvelope Expansion Testing

The H-1 Integrated Test Team (ITT) has completed a series of tests on the AH-1Z helicopter gunship designed to determine how high and fast the aircraft can go, Naval Air System Command officials said. The AH-1Z--remanufactured by Bell Helicopter Textron from older AH-1W helicopters--is designed to provide expanded combat capabilities and reduced logistic requirements for Marine Corps aviation units.

During the first phase of test flying, which began in December 2000, the ITT pilots and engineers took the first AH-1Z, Zulu One, to 220 knots, maneuvered to -0.3 to +3.5 Gs, and reached an altitude of 16,000 feet.

"Having accomplished 400 hours of envelope expansion test flying during the first 24 months of engineering and manufacturing development on this airframe exemplifies the dependability, reliability, and maintainability in the design of the AH-1Z," said Lt. Col. Nic Hall, government flight-test director for the ITT. "Especially so, considering the average AH-1W fleet utilization rate is 300 hours per year."

Zulu One is now being tested to determine its ability to jettison external stores. All three AH-1Zs assigned to the test program also have been used to test the mapping capability of the "Top Owl" helmet-mounted display system designed by Thales.

Defense Industry Notes

* Bath Iron Works (BIW)--a General Dynamics company--and Northrop Grumman Ship Systems (NGSS) have been awarded $409.1 million and $401.6 million, respectively, in Naval Sea Systems Command contract modifications for multiyear procurement of Arleigh Burke-class Aegis guided-missile destroyers (DDGs). The contract modifications provide funding for DDGs 105 and 106--to be built by NGSS and BIW, respectively--as well as advance-procurement items for follow-on DDGs.

* BAE Systems has been awarded a $298 million Naval Sea Systems Command contract to provide systems engineering, test, evaluation, integrated logistics, and program management support for the Aegis Combat System installed on the Navy's guided-missile cruisers and destroyers.

* Lockheed Martin Naval Electronics & Surveillance Systems (LM NE&SS) has been awarded a $391.5 million Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) contract modification for work on Aegis Combat Systems for the U.S. and foreign navies. The contract calls for work on six Aegis systems--two for the U.S. Navy, three for the Republic of Korea Navy, and one for the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force. In related developments: (a) Raytheon has been awarded a $238 million NAVSEA contract modification for work on the OT-188/SPY-1D(V) radar and Mk99 Mod 8 transmitter group, fire control system, ancillary equipment, and other support for the six Aegis sets; and (b) LM NE&SS has been awarded a $153.1 million NAVSEA contract modification to provide engineering and technical services for Aegis Combat System baseline upgrades and experiments.

* Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control has been awarded a $30.1 million Marine Corps Systems Command contract for low-rate initial production of 400 Predator Short-Range Antitank Weapon Systems for Marine infantry units.

* Raytheon has been awarded a $224 Naval Air Systems Command contract modification for the low-rate initial production (LRIP) of 167 Tactical Tomahawk cruise missiles. The LRIP of the all-up rounds includes engineering technical support and special tooling and test equipment.

* The world's fleet of F/A-18 strike fighters--built by Boeing--has passed the five-million flight hour mark. Currently, 1,290 F/A-18s serve in 58 active-duty, reserve, and test squadrons in the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps and in seven foreign air forces. The F/A-18 entered operational service 20 years ago.

* Raytheon has been awarded a $155 million Naval Sea Systems Command contract modification for production of the Standard Missile (SM) and associated equipment and spares. The contract calls for the production of SM-2 Block III, IIIA, and IIB all-up rounds, including 57 SM-2 Block IIIA all-up rounds for Foreign Military Sales to Japan, Canada, and The Netherlands. In a related development, Raytheon has been selected by the Navy to provide full-service maintenance and logistics support for the SM-1 missiles deployed on the ships of seven foreign navies, allowing the Navy, Raytheon officials said, to focus its own resources on the procurement and deployment of the SM-2.

* BAE Systems has been awarded a $55.1 million Navy Strategic Systems Programs contract to provide systems integration support for the Trident I and II missiles deployed on the Navy's fleet ballistic-missile submarines.

* Raytheon has been awarded a $118.7 million Naval Sea Systems Command contract for a second year of low-rate initial production of the RIM-162 Evolved SeaSparrow Missile (ESSM). The contract calls for the production of 163 all-up-round ESSMs for the navies of Australia, Denmark, The Netherlands, and the United States. Raytheon also received a $6 million contract to build radomes for the ESSM, an advanced ship self-defense missile designed to protect ships from antiship cruise missiles, including those that fly at low altitudes and that can maneuver during their terminal-flight phase.

* Boeing has been awarded a $60.3 million Naval Air Systems Command contract for the procurement of 120 AGM-84H/K SLAM-ER (Standoff Land-Attack Missile-Expanded Response) all-up rounds. The SLAM-ER is deployed on Navy and Marine Corps F/A-18 strike fighters.

* Lockheed Martin Naval Electronics & Surveillance Systems has been awarded a $70 million Naval Sea Systems Command contract modification for the Acoustics Rapid Commercial-off-the-shelf Insertion (ARCI) sonar processing system. The ARCI integrates and improves the sensor processing of towed, hull-mounted, and spherical sonars installed on Los Angeles-class and Seawolf-class nuclear-powered attack submarines, and on Ohio-class nuclear-powered ballistic-missile submarines.

* Lockheed Martin Systems Integration has been awarded a $30 million contract for the engineering, technical support, and equipment fabrication for the integration of OAMCM (Organic Airborne Mine Countermeasures) systems into the MH-60S helicopter. The MH-60S is being evaluated as a potential replacement, in the mine countermeasures role, for the Navy's MH-53E helicopter.

* The National Steel and Shipbuilding Company (NASSCO)--a General Dynamics company--has agreed to develop a design for a class of 750,000-barrel capacity, double-hull crude oil tankers for SeaRiver Maritime Inc. NASSCO expects to complete the design by September 2003 and to be awarded a construction contract by the end of 2003. If built, the tankers will be used to transport crude oil from Alaska to West Coast refineries.

* Steel salvaged from the World Trade Center--destroyed by terrorists on 11 September 2001--may be used to build the New York, the fifth of the San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ships (LPDs) being built by Northrop Grumman Ship Systems. The steel--transported from Staten Island, N.Y., to the company's shipyard in Pascagoula, Miss.--will be used to form the edge of the ship's bow, if the steel meets required specifications. The LPD will be named in honor not only of the almost 3,000 New Yorkers who perished in the attacks, but also of the thousands of rescue workers and other "first responders" who participated in the massive relief and recovery effort that followed.

* NORSHIPCO--a United Defense company--has been awarded a second contract to perform maintenance on the aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy in Mayport, Fla. The $21 million contract award follows a $10 million contract awarded earlier. The specifics of the contract call for work in two of the ship's four engine rooms and repairs to tanks, boilers, forced-draft blowers, steam valves, reduction gears, main feed pumps, lube oil pumps, piping, and the main condenser.

* VT Halter Marine has been awarded a $25 million contract from the Army Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command to exercise a second option to build a Logistic Support Vessel (LSV). Delivery of the 313-foot LSV--designed to carry more than 2,000 tons of cargo--is scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2004.

* Electric Boat Corporation--a General Dynamics company--has been awarded two Naval Sea Systems Command contract modifications--worth $54.6 million and $38.3 million, respectively--for the procurement and manufacture of long-lead materials for the conversion of four Ohio-class nuclear-powered ballistic-missile submarines to nuclear-powered guided-missile submarines.

* Lockheed Martin has been awarded $23 million to continue the pre-System Design and Development phase of the Radar Modernization Program (RMP). The company is leading an industry team in developing the next-generation radar for the Navy's E-2C radar early-warning aircraft. The new radar is planned to replace the APS-145 currently installed on the E-2C by 2010.

* Northrop Grumman Newport News Operations has been awarded a $34.7 million Naval Sea Systems Command contract modification for continued research and design development for the future aircraft carrier program, now known as CVN 21.

* Lockheed Martin has begun construction of a $9.4 million center in Moorestown, N.J., to develop and test systems being developed for ships and aircraft of the Coast Guard's Integrated Deepwater System program. The 46,000-square-foot facility is scheduled for completion in the fall of 2003. *