| Raytheon's
CEC Systems Package
Passes Navy Operational Evaluation
Richard R. Burgess, Managing Editor
A successful operational evaluation (OPEVAL) by the Navy of the Cooperative
Engagement Capability (CEC) systems built by Raytheon clears the way
for a Department of Defense decision, expected this fall, approving full-scale
production of the CEC system.
Capt. Daniel Busch, the Navy's program manager for CEC in the program
executive office for theater surface combatants, announced that the commander,
Operational Test & Evaluation Force, has declared the CEC USG-2 equipment
and Baseline 2.0 software both "operationally effective" and "operationally
suitable."
The CEC is basically a sensor-networking system--developed by Raytheon
and Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory--that "integrates radar
measurements in real time," Raytheon officials said. In AAW (anti-air
warfare) operations, CEC generates a composite track of each object in
the air that is so accurate that weapons platforms can detect and destroy
advanced threats--such as cruise missiles--at ranges not previously possible.
Navy officials said that the level of sensor networking in the CEC represents "the
highest level of achievement to date" in network-centric warfare.
CEC equipment fuses track measurements from a broad spectrum of airborne
and shipboard radars and permits target engagement by units in mutual
support, including units with only remote tracking data available. The
CEC also enables a battle group to counter cruise missiles at the maximum
distance from the most remote-firing unit, and permits time for more
than one engagement against the fastest moving targets.
The CEC integrates the sensor and weapon systems installed on aircraft
carriers, large amphibious ships, Aegis guided-missile cruisers and destroyers,
and E-2C Hawkeye radar early warning aircraft. Navy officials said that
CEC represents "the greatest leap in air and missile defense capability
since the advent of Aegis, which was the first effort to fully integrate
space-age communications, radar, and weapons into a single platform."
Navy officials said that the CEC OPEVAL was "one of the most complex
formal tests ever conducted by the Navy," and marked "the first
time the Navy has tested an entire carrier battle group in an operational
test environment, involving live missile firings and high-stress scenarios."
The CEC OPEVAL--which followed a technical evaluation in February 2001--was
conducted in three phases. The first was carried out in the Puerto Rico
Operations Area from 21 April to 1 May 2001. Phase 2 was conducted in
the Virginia Capes Operations Area from 7 to 11 May. The units participating
in these phases included the aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy (Phase
2 only); the Ticonderoga-class Aegis guided-missile cruisers USS Anzio,
USS Hue City, USS Vicksburg, and USS Cape St. George; the amphibious
assault ship USS Wasp; and an E-2C Hawkeye. The evaluation was supported
by two non-CEC ships, the Arleigh Burke-class Aegis guided-missile destroyers
USS Carey and USS The Sullivans.
Phase 3, which focused on operational suitability, was conducted from
28 May to 1 June at the pier in Mayport, Fla., on board the Hue City
and the Vicksburg.
Raytheon currently is manufacturing more than 50 CEC systems under low-rate
initial production contracts. When full-rate production is approved,
the company expects to produce approximately 160 CEC systems.
Major Communications Upgrade:
EDS Brings NMCI Online
The Navy-Marine Corps Intranet (NMCI) became a reality less than one
year after contract award as the first Sailor logged onto the NMCI at
Naval Air Facility (NAF) Washington, located at Andrews Air Force Base
in Camp Springs, Md.
EDS, leader of a team of companies known as the Information Strike Force
(ISF), has announced that Aviation Structural Mechanic First Class Ian
Gehrmann sent an e-mail on 7 September 2001 to Secretary of the Navy
Gordon England and other senior Navy officials. "At the direction
of the commanding officer Naval Air Facility Washington," Gehrmann
said, "I am pleased to report to the chain of command, 'We've been
given a ready deck. ... NAF Washington has launched NMCI!' "
EDS, based in Plano, Texas, was awarded the NMCI contract--at $6.9 billion
the largest federal information technology contract ever competitively
awarded--in October 2000. The ISF is charged with integrating computer
networks at Navy and Marine Corps installations not only in the United
States but also at several locations overseas under a single overarching
network for data, voice, and video exchange.
"This is a landmark day for government and the private sector," said
Al Edmonds, president of EDS's federal government division. "EDS
and the Department of the Navy are successfully blazing a new trail in
federal procurement and our incremental successes are being applauded
in boardrooms across the country."
Congress limited installation of the NMCI to 15 percent of the first-increment
orders and required a test of the system before the remainder of the
program would be fully funded. The first test was conducted the day after
the Department of Defense reached agreement with the Department of the
Navy on how the system's performance would be tested.
The ISF has opened two network operations centers and has assumed responsibility
for 42,000 work stations at 29 Navy sites in the first major step in
the incremental deployment of the NMCI. The second phase, called "cutover," occurs
when all of a site's computers are moved into the NMCI, as was done with
NAF Washington.
National Ship Repair Coalition
Targets Maintenance Backlog
A trade organization dedicated to the interests of the nation's ship
repair community has been established in Washington, D.C. The new National
Ship Repair Coalition (NSRC) is committed, said Christopher Long, the
organization's president, "to improving national security and building
a strong and vibrant ship-repair industrial base in the United States."
The founding members--including shipyards, suppliers, and subcontractors--of
the NSRC are Earl Industries, Marine Hydraulics International, NORSHIPCO,
Continental Marine, National Steel & Shipbuilding Company, Pacific
Ship Repair & Fabrication, Southwest Marine, Jemm Industries, PacOrd
(East), PacOrd (West), and Propulsion Controls Engineering.
"For years, Navy fleet readiness has languished because of insufficient
funding," Long said. "The U.S. industrial base has suffered,
too. We have seen thousands of good ship-repair jobs lost forever, not
because there is a lack of work, but because there is a lack of funding
to pay for work that is critically needed."
The current funding backlog of Navy ship-repair work is estimated to
be "hundreds of millions of dollars," Long said. He pointed
out that the deferred maintenance "has compromised fleet readiness,
subjected Sailors to unnecessary risks and hardships, and battered the
industrial base." Through the first half of 2001 alone, Long said,
the Navy had been forced to cancel repairs on 26 ships, resulting in
the loss of approximately 2,200 jobs in the private sector.
Northrop Grumman to Develop
COBRA Mine-Detection System
The Naval Surface Warfare Center's Dahlgren Division has awarded a contract
to Northrop Grumman's Integrated Systems Sector to develop an airborne
mine-detection system for the U.S. Marine Corps. The contract, potentially
worth $44.7 million if all contract options are exercised, calls for
development of the systems under the Coastal Battlefield Reconnaissance
and Analysis (COBRA) program.
The COBRA system is designed to provide amphibious forces with "accurate
battlefield intelligence depicting tactical objectives, minefields, obstacles,
and fortifications on the beach and inland areas," company officials
said. The Northrop Grumman design will build upon the COBRA Advanced
Technology Demonstration completed during the 1990s at the Navy's Coastal
Systems Station in Panama City, Fla.
The COBRA system includes a multispectral sensor payload designed to
be flown on board a tactical unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). The sensor
uses technology developed for the company's Airborne Laser Mine-Detection
System (ALMDS).
Teamed with Northrop Grumman in development of the COBRA system are
Arete Associates, Science & Engineering Associates, Wescam, General
Dynamics Advanced Technology Systems, PAR Government Systems, and L3
Communications.
"Northrop Grumman's COBRA team brings together leading mine-countermeasures
experts in spectral imaging systems to design, build, test, deliver,
and support a 'best value' mine detection system for the warfighter," said
John Casko, advanced mine-countermeasures director for Northrop Grumman's
Airborne Ground Surveillance & Battle Management Systems. "Our
innovative design exceeds all COBRA threshold requirements for hostile
littoral areas, can be fielded on a variety of UAV platforms, and provides
expeditionary operations the ability to more effectively detect minefields
in the beach and inland."
Sikorsky Helos Carry Out
New York Relief Missions
Sikorsky Aircraft Company mustered eight helicopters from its facility
in Stratford, Conn., and dispatched them on relief missions to New York
City within hours of the 11 September terrorist attacks that brought
down the World Trade Center buildings.
A company-owned S-76 chase helicopter flew to New York City on the morning
of the attacks at the request of the Port Authority of New York and New
Jersey. Seven UH-60L Blackhawk helicopters--ultimately destined for delivery
to the Army--were launched for New York City that afternoon, loaded with
medical personnel and supplies. Several also carried emergency-response
workers, company officials said.
The helicopters--which operated from the New York Heliport--were flown
by a mixture of Sikorsky crews and military crews--including Navy pilots--assigned
to the Defense Contract Management Agency in Stratford, where they oversee
military procurement of Sikorsky helicopters.
Defense Industry Notes
* Northrop Grumman Marine Systems has been awarded a contract by Bath
Iron Works to provide commercial-off-the-shelf surface-search radars
for new-construction Arleigh Burke-class Aegis guided-missile destroyers
(DDGs). Northrop Grumman will supply Decca BridgeMaster E radars for
the next 19 Burke DDGs, beginning with the Mason, which is scheduled
to be commissioned in 2002. The Decca BridgeMaster E succeeds the SPS-64
radar installed on earlier ships of the class.
* Corrosion Engineering Services has been awarded a five-year, $60 million
Naval Sea Systems Command contract to provide corrosion-control services
for Navy surface ships and submarines.
* Boeing has been awarded a $33.6 million Air Force contract for low-rate
initial production of 131 Joint Helmet-Mounted Cueing Systems (JHMCSs),
including 39 for Navy F/A-18 aircraft, as well as options for 16 more.
The JHMCS allows a pilot to lock weapons on a target with motions of
the helmet.
* Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company has been awarded a $10 million
Naval Air Systems Command contract modification for repair of the Navy
EP-3E reconnaissance aircraft that was stranded on China's Hainan island
in April 2001 after a Chinese F-8 fighter collided with it. *
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