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The Navy's 14th Cyclone-class coastal patrol ship (PC)--launched by Bollinger Shipyards--is the last of its class to be built, but is by no means the least. The Tornado, launched long after her sister ships were delivered to the Navy, features significant structural and electronic upgrades.

The Tornado was christened by her sponsor, Mrs. Linda Bowman, wife of Adm. Frank L. Bowman, director of Naval Nuclear Propulsion, in 25 September ceremonies at the Bollinger shipyard in Lockport, La.

The Tornado's changes to the original Cyclone structural design decrease the ship's radar signature. The hull also was extended nine feet to accommodate a ramp for the launch and recovery of naval special warfare boats. The 360-ton ship is equipped with an integrated bridge command-and-control system, a satellite-navigation system, a forward-looking infrared system, and a surface-search radar with collision-avoidance functions. The Tornado's weapons suite includes one 25mm MK38 chain gun, one 25mm Mk96 gun, two .50-caliber M2 and one M60 7.62mm machine guns, one 40mm Mk19 grenade launcher, and a Stinger surface-to-air missile station.

The Tornado, powered by four Paxman diesel engines that develop a total of 13,400 horsepower, is designed to exceed 35 knots. The ship accommodates a crew of four officers and 24 enlisted personnel, as well as an eight-man SEAL detachment.

"The multimission Cyclone PCs have performed so well that they are now being used on missions that just a few years ago would have been assigned to larger and more expensive vessels," said Scott Therriot, executive vice president for new construction at Bollinger. "They have been involved in enforcing U.N. sanctions, conducting numerous interdictions and boardings, and have been deployed to the Caribbean, Mediterranean, Pacific, and the Middle East."

Bollinger will deliver the Tornado to the Navy in the spring of 2000.

DD 21 Teams Select Gun Configurations

The two industry teams participating in the DD 21 land-attack destroyer competition have agreed on the fundamental configuration of the Advanced Gun System (AGS) that will be installed on the new ships.

The Blue Team--General Dynamics Bath Iron Works and Lockheed Martin--and the Gold Team--Litton Ship Systems Ingalls Shipbuilding and Raytheon Systems Company--agreed on the basic gun configuration proposed by United Defense LP. The AGS will be a single-gun trainable mount with a burst- and sustainable-firing rate of 12 rounds per minute. A dual-barrel configuration was rejected based on a combination of cost, technical, and schedule considerations.

The AGS will begin its engineering and manufacturing development phase in fiscal year 2000. Initial proof-of-concept demonstrations are scheduled for fiscal year 2002, and initial production deliveries are slated prior to 1 June 2006.

Defense Industry Notes

Raytheon Systems Company has been awarded a $62.4 million Naval Air Systems Command contract to deliver 34 additional ALR-67(V)3 radar-warning receiver systems for the Navy's F/A-18E/F Super Hornet strike fighter. The ALR-67(V)3 provides advanced techniques to detect hostile radar emitters. Deliveries are scheduled to be conducted between April 2001 and January 2002.

Boeing mechanics have attached the single-piece wing assembly to the fuselage of its X-32B short takeoff and vertical landing (STOVL) version of its Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) concept-demonstration aircraft (CDA). Assembly of the wing took one-third less time than it did for the X-32A conventional-takeoff version of its JSF CDA.

The Raytheon-built T-6A Texan II joint primary training aircraft has received Federal Aviation Administration certification, the company has announced, paving the way for deliveries of two production aircraft this fall to the Air Force, lead service for the Multiservice Operational Test & Evaluation. Four production aircraft and one prototype flew more than 1,400 hours of certification flights, which included tests for engine performance, engine air starts, handling qualities, flutter tests, and avionics and systems. The T-6A was certified as a Part 23 aerobatic aircraft, and also received a production certificate, which allows Raytheon to license the aircraft. In a related development, the Hellenic Air Force has ordered 45 T-6As to replace its T-37 and T-41 pilot training aircraft. The first 25 aircraft will be similar to the U.S. military version; the remaining 20--with options for an additional five--will be in the "New Trainer Aircraft" configuration.

Raytheon Systems Company has been awarded a $25.8 million contract to remanufacture up to 20 Tomahawk cruise missiles for the U.K. Royal Navy. The remanufacture effort involves upgrading Tomahawk antiship missiles to the Block III land-attack configuration.

National Steel & Shipbuilding Company (NASSCO) has been awarded a Navy contract for a study for the first phase of the Navy's Auxiliary Dry Cargo Carrier T-ADC(X) program. The T-ADC(X) is intended to replace the Navy's aging fast combat-support ships and ammunition ships. NASSCO, which recently had completed delivery to the Navy of the last of four Supply-class fast combat-support ships, is one of four shipbuilders competing for the contract to build the T-ADC(X).

Avidyne Corporation and Anzus Inc. have been selected to provide a replacement for the Multifunction Control and Display Unit (MFCDU) used on the Navy's E-2C Hawkeye radar early warning aircraft. Company officials said that the new display controller will "provide substantially more functionality and three times the reliability of the old MFCDU."

AIL Systems has been awarded a 25.6 million Naval Air Systems Command contract to provide 50 UEU (universal exciter upgrade) units for the Navy's EA-6B electronic attack aircraft. The UEU generates the jamming modulations for the aircraft's tactical jamming pods.

Kaman Aerospace Corporation has been awarded a $4.2 million contract by the U.S. Marine Corps Warfighting Lab to design, fabricate, and install a remote piloting package on the Kaman-built K-Max helicopter. Kaman also will flight-test the unmanned K-Max during the summer of 2000 to evaluate the capability of the vehicle to deliver logistic loads to precise locations on the battlefield.

The Republic of Korea (ROK) has requested the sale of 64 Mk44 guided-missile round packs, with Mk116 Block I Rolling Airframe Missiles (RAMs), as well as canisters, spare and repair parts, and support and test equipment. The RAMs will be installed on the ROK Navy's KDX-II destroyers. Raytheon Systems Company would be the prime contractor for approximately $33 million. In a related development, Samsung Industries in the Republic of Korea has ordered two LM2500 aeroderivative gas turbine engines from GE Aircraft Engines for the KDX-II class.

The Navy and Raytheon Systems Company have completed in-depth testing of the Block 1B surface-mode upgrade of the Phalanx close-in weapon system (CIWS). The gun was tested against a variety of high-speed maneuvering missile threats. Raytheon officials said that the CIWS exceeded requirements for engagement ranges and destruction of targets in both day and night operations.

American Classic Voyages (AMCV) has announced that Atlantic Marine Inc. has cut steel for the first of AMCV's new fleet of 226-passenger U.S.-flag coastal-cruise ships. AMCV has contracted for two ships for $460 million, with an option for a third ship. The 300-foot diesel-powered ships are slated to cruise the U.S. East Coast as Delta Queen Coastal Cruises. 

Russian Navy Reported "Ready to Modernize"