THE SEA SERVICES

Singapore Hosts First U.S. Carrier At New Changi Naval Base Pier

By RICHARD R. BURGESS, Managing Editor

The ability of the U.S. Navy to support its forces in the Western Pacific and the Indian Ocean has been significantly strengthened with the dedication in Singapore of a new pier capable of mooring the Navy's largest aircraft carriers.

The conventionally powered aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk, forward- deployed to the U.S. Seventh Fleet, arrived at Changi Naval Base on 22 March and tied up at the new pier. U.S. Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Vern Clark and his Singaporean counterpart, Chief of Navy Rear Adm. Lui Tuck Yew, were among those commenting on what many described as "a new era" in U.S.-Singapore relations.

"Singapore and the United States have a common set of beliefs with regards to global security," Clark said in a speech aimed at the American business community in Singapore reported in the Singapore Straits Times. "The Pacific Rim is a priority for the United States. If that were not so, I wouldn't be here," Clark said at a breakfast meeting cosponsored by the Singapore Council of the U.S. Navy League and the Singapore chapter of the American Chamber of Commerce.

The United States and Singapore reached agreement in November 1998 to build the pier, which is on 212 acres of land reclaimed from the sea. Until now, carriers and large amphibious assault ships had to moor several miles offshore.

The new pier is one of only two in Southeast Asia capable of berthing a carrier--the other is at Port Klang in Malaysia. Singapore has taken on increasing importance in U.S. naval forward-deployed operations since the 1992 closure of the former U.S. naval base at Subic Bay in the Philippines. Two U.S. Navy commands have been established in Singapore to support operations of the U.S. Fifth and Seventh Fleets: (a) Logistics Group, Western Pacific, which coordinates repairs and the resupply of ships with food, fuel, and spare parts; and (b) The U.S. Naval Regional Contracting Center, which procures supplies for ships and aircraft passing through the region.

Singapore's position at the mouth of the Malacca Strait makes it particularly attractive as a logistics hub for the U.S. Navy's operations in the Indian Ocean and Western Pacific. U.S. defense officials say that the availability of the Changi pier will enhance regional stability, which has been diminished in recent years by political unrest in Indonesia, sovereignty disputes over the Spratly Islands, new tensions between China and Taiwan, and an increase in the number of piracy incidents in the Malacca Strait.

Singaporean officials have been equally forthright in asserting that a strong U.S. naval presence in the region contributes to regional stability and the protection of the area's sea lanes of communication. Deputy Prime Minister Tony Tan reaffirmed Singapore's intent to continue the naval cooperation between the two countries when he met earlier this year, in Germany, with U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, according to the Singapore Strait Times.

USMC Attributes Osprey Crash To Software, Hydraulic Failure

The Marine Corps' investigation into the crash of an MV-22B Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft in December has determined the cause to be a hydraulic failure compounded by an anomaly in the software used in the aircraft's flight control system.

Maj. Gen. Martin R. Berndt, commanding general of II Marine Expeditionary Force, delivered the report that detailed the causes of the 11 December 2000 mishap in North Carolina in which an Osprey flight crew of four Marines--all experienced V-22 crewmen--were killed. Berndt said that the crew "reacted immediately and correctly to the in-flight emergency, as they were trained to do. We consider them to be without fault in this tragedy."

Berndt attributed the mishap to a rupture--caused by chafing--in a titanium hydraulic line in the Osprey's left engine nacelle as the aircraft was transitioning from a fixed-wing mode of flight to a helicopter mode. The failure resulted in the left rotor--now uncontrolled by the number one system and isolated from the number three system--being controlled only by the number two system. The right rotor was controlled by both the number two and number three hydraulic systems, and the resulting imbalance made the rotors unable to respond to control inputs at the same rate.

The hydraulic failure alone would not normally have caused a mishap, Berndt said. The pilots properly and continuously pressed the primary flight-control reset button to reset the software, but the rotors accelerated and decelerated each time the button was pressed. Berndt said that "a software anomaly" compounded the problem when it caused significant pitch and thrust changes in both rotors, resulting in decreased airspeed, altitude, and a left yaw during the last 20 seconds of the flight that caused the aircraft to stall and lose any capability for controlled flight.

Berndt's report recommended that Headquarters, Marine Corps, and the Naval Air Systems Command conduct a comprehensive review of the flight control software to identify any design deficiencies that might still exist. The report also recommends that the Naval Air Systems Command and Bell Boeing--the Osprey's designer and manufacturer--review the hydraulic line clearances and wire- bundle placements in the V-22, and investigate the possibility of redesigning the aircraft's hydraulic systems to prevent dual-system failures like the one that caused the December mishap. Berndt noted that chafing was discovered in 1999 on all eight MV-22Bs then in service, and that inspection and replacement of some hydraulic lines had already been accomplished.

Two other investigations of the Osprey are ongoing. The Department of Defense Inspector General is looking at the alleged falsification of maintenance records by members of the Marine Corps' Osprey training squadron, Marine Tiltrotor Training Squadron 204. In addition, an independent Blue Ribbon Panel appointed by the Secretary of Defense--and chaired by retired Marine Corps Gen. John R. Dailey--is conducting a thorough review of the V-22 program. A decision to proceed with full production of the MV-22B has been delayed indefinitely by the Department of Defense.

NOAA, Navy Seek Accord On SURTASS Operation

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Marine Fisheries Service has been evaluating a Navy request for a "small take exemption" under the Marine Mammal Protection Act to operate its Surveillance Towed Array Sensor System (SURTASS) low-frequency active sonar in the open ocean. NOAA officials said they want to ensure that SURTASS operations will have only a "negligible" effect on marine mammals.

NOAA and the Navy have proposed establishing "Offshore Biologically Important Areas" (OBIAs)--areas of the oceans where marine mammals congregate in large numbers to feed, migrate, breed, and calve--in which SURTASS systems would not be employed. The Navy has proposed establishment of three OBIAs: one along the North American East Coast; one in the Antarctic convergence zone; and one in the waters off Costa Rica. NOAA has proposed establishment of an additional OBIA inside the Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary off Molokai, Hawaii, during the months of November through April, when it is used by humpback whales as a breeding ground.

The SURTASS, an active/passive acoustic system used to track submarines, "has the potential to harass marine mammals incidental to its operation," NOAA officials said. The Navy fields only four SURTASS systems and will operate no more than two systems at sea at any one time, the agency said, and will not carry out SURTASS operations in coastal, estuarine, or polar areas.

USO: Designate May as Military Appreciation Month

The United Services Organization (USO), familiar to generations of military personnel for its support of naval and military personnel both at home and overseas, has renewed its effort to have Congress designate the month of May as National Military Appreciation Month (NMAM).
Legislation has been introduced in the 107th Congress to designate May in perpetuity as NMAM. S.1419--sponsored by Sen. John S. McCain (R-Ariz.)--passed the Senate unanimously last year, and was transferred to the House of Representatives under the sponsorship of Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) for consideration.

In the meantime, the USO said, the organization is pressing ahead with its own celebration of May as NMAM and is encouraging business, community, religious, civic, and veterans' organizations, as well as private citizens, to do the same. Armed Forces Day, VE (Victory in Europe) Day, Military Spouses Day, and Memorial Day all are observed in May, making that month particularly appropriate for the NMAM designation.

Sea Service Notes

* The Los Angeles-class nuclear-powered attack submarine USS Greeneville has departed the drydock at Naval Base Pearl Harbor after completing repairs to her hull. The Greeneville was slightly damaged during her collision on 9 February with the Japanese fisheries training ship Ehime Maru, which sank following the collision. The Navy's Court of Inquiry investigating the incident has completed its hearings and is expected to issue its findings and recommendations in the near future.

* Helicopter Antisubmarine Squadron Light 94 (HSL-94) has been deactivated at Naval Air Station Willow Grove, Pa. The demise of the reserve squadron--which flew Kaman-built SH-2G Super Seasprite helicopters--leaves HSL-84 at Naval Base Coronado, Calif., as the Navy's last squadron flying the H-2 helicopter. HSL-84 is scheduled for deactivation next month.

* The proposal to tow the retired aircraft carrier USS Midway from Bremerton, Wash., to San Diego, Calif., where it would serve as a museum and education center, has cleared its last major regulatory hurdle with the decision of the California Coastal Commission to approve establishment of the museum. The nonprofit San Diego Aircraft Carrier Museum Group has now turned its efforts to satisfying 14 U.S. Navy requirements that must be met before the carrier can be towed to San Diego from its storage site in Bremerton.

* A fire aboard the Lexington Museum in Corpus Christi, Texas, last month injured one staff member who was painting a space in the retired aircraft carrier's island superstructure when a spark ignited a paint spray gun, according to the Corpus Christi Caller-Times. The damage is not expected to seriously affect the museum's operations, officials said. *

"The Hainan Incident"

A VQ-1 (Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron l) EP-3E Orion equipped with the Aries II electronic surveillance system, similar to the EP-3 shown here, made an emergency landing on the island of Hainan, China, on 1 April, following a collision with a Chinese F-8-II "Finback" fighter that had intercepted the U.S. Navy aircraft, which was conducting a routine surveillance patrol over the South China Sea. The 24 crew members of the EP-3E were detained in Hainan along with their aircraft; the Chinese pilot apparently was lost after he ejected from the F-8-II. After 11 days' delay and considerable behind-the-scenes diplomacy the EP-3 crew was finally released. A full report on "The Hainan Incident"--and its implications for the future of U.S.-Chinese military and diplomatic relations--is planned for an upcoming issue of Sea Power.