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13 May 2024
Workshop to Examine Baltic Sea's Operational and Geopolitical Challenges
Experts to convene in Poland to examine operational and geopolitical challenges in Baltic Sea at Littoral OpTech WorkshopThe Polish Naval Academy in Gdynia, Poland will host the 2024 Littoral OpTech workshop to explore the current trends regarding the operational, economic and geo-political environment in and around the Baltic Sea.The Polish Naval Academy was established in 1922, and has been in continuous operation since then…
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25 Apr 2024
Rear Adm. Philip Sobeck: MSC Needs More Mariners, New Ships
Founded as the Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS) and renamed Military Sealift Command in 1970, MSC today not only support the Navy, but we are the Department of Defense's provider of all sealift. Maritime Reporter & Engineering News recently interviewed Rear Adm. Philip Sobeck, U.S. Navy, for insights on the service today and it’s needs to grow in the future.What makes MSC so vital to the…
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28 Dec 2023
USCG's New Cutters Can’t Arrive Soon Enough
The much-needed replacement for the U.S. Coast Guard’s long-serving medium endurance cutters (WMEC) took a giant step closer to joining the fleet as the first Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC) was launched and christened at Eastern Shipbuilding Group (ESG) in Panama City, Fla. on October 27, 2023.The future USCGC Argus (WMSM 915) was christened by the ship’s sponsor, Captain (Ret.) Beverly Kelley, the first woman to command a U.S.
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14 Aug 2023
Commercial Fishing on the Great Lakes is a Family Affair
Although the number of fishermen who make a living on the waters of the Great Lakes is much diminished from a half century ago, the region's commercial whitefish fishery continues to be viable and profitable.Henriksen Fisheries is one of about a dozen commercial entities in the Wisconsin waters of Lake Michigan, focused on trap netting whitefish in Green Bay and the waters surrounding the Door Peninsula.Charlie…
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27 Jul 2023
Crossing Death's Door Daily
Washington Island Ferry Line (WIFL) has been the essential link between the residents, business and visitors of Washington Island and Wisconsin's Door Peninsula for more than eight decades.Picturesque and peaceful Door County isn't named for some intrepid settlers named Door. The name has a more ominous meaning. It's derived from the treacherous passage between the peninsula and Washington Island that mariners called Porte des Mortes…
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19 Jul 2023
The Need for [U.S. Navy Shipbuilding] Speed
The Navy wants, and needs, more ships; but it can’t build them fast enough.While the U.S. Navy aims to achieve a 355-ship fleet, it is decommissioning older (and some not so old) ships at about the same rate it's adding new ones.A Congressional Research Service report stated that, as of April 17, 2023, the Navy included 296 battle force ships. "The Navy projects that under its FY2024 budget submission…
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08 Jun 2023
America's Sea Services Building Large Fleet of Small Ships and Craft
Not every vessel in the U.S. Navy is built for major combat operations on the high seas. There are large numbers of boats and service craft that provide essential services to the sea services, the nation and its partners.The U.S. Navy procures about 100 small boats per year. Some of these boats are based on commercial designs, procured to a Navy developed specification that tailors the requirements to the end user needs.
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23 May 2023
Strategically Located, Guam's Defense Posture is Growing
With the rise of China and her global ambitions, the military importance of Guam in the Indo-Pacific theater has become apparent. The force levels on the island had drawn down from a peak of about 26,000 at the height of the Vietnam War to a tenth of that—just 2,500 people in the early 2000s. Today, that's changing. Guam's defense posture is growing.Guam's proximity to major population centers in East Asia underscores its strategic importance.
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08 Feb 2023
The U.S. Navy Needs More Ships, Encourages Industry to "Pick up the Pace"
The demand for warships is strong, and the Navy continues to receive support from the Congress to build more ships. The Navy is working to achieve a fleet of about 355 ships, plus a fleet of about 150 unmanned vesselsBut to achieve something close to that goal requires more than demand, and even more than money. For one thing, it requires an industrial base that can build, repair and sustain that fleet.While Navy leadership acknowledges the challenges of a stressed supply chain…
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26 Jan 2023
3D Printing: Navy Builds Up Additive Manufacturing on Ships
The U.S. Navy has long valued the potential of additive manufacturing (AM) and 3D Printing.AM refers to the depositing of material layer by layer to create an object. For the Navy, it’s not practical to carry every replacement part for every system on a ship, and it can be difficult to forecast if or when parts will fail. AM provides a flexible source of supply in being able to make parts instead of ordering them and waiting for them to arrive…
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29 Dec 2022
The More ‘Eyes On The Water’, The Better
Manama, Bahrain -- Advancing maritime domain awareness in the U.S. Naval Forces Central Command/U.S. Fifth Fleet area of responsibility (AOR) is a challenging task. Yet keeping the sea lanes open is critical for the region, for the U.S. and the world.U.S. Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT), U.S. Fifth Fleet and Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) are all headquartered here in Bahrain, under the command of Vice Admiral Brad Cooper. U.S. Fifth Fleet oversees the operations for all U.S.
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28 Dec 2022
Ex-USS Denver Served Until Sunk
Explosive charges aboard the ship enabled battle damage assessment (BDA) teams to respond to actual damageThe former Austin-class amphibious transport dock USS Denver (LPD 9) was sunk in a blaze of glory as a target ship during the recent Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) Exercise 2022. The 9,600-ton, 561-foot Denver, which was commissioned in 1968 and served until being retired in 2014, had been stored with other inactive ships at Pearl Harbor…
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21 Dec 2022
Great Ships '22: USS Jack H. Lucas (DDG 125)
The Arleigh Burke-class Guided Missile Destroyer - The world’s most successful post-war surface combatantsThe USS Arleigh Burke (DDG 51) class of guided missile destroyers can rightfully be called the most successful class of surface combatants in the post-World War II era. The lead ship was commissioned in 1991, and the Navy is still building them at Huntington Ingalls Industries Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Miss., and General Dynamics Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine.
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07 Nov 2022
Navy: Swedish Combat Boat 90, Both a Warrior and a Workhorse
The Swedish-built Combat Boat 90 (CB 90) has established itself with military forces around the world as both a warrior and a workhorse. The 52-foot boats first entered service in 1991 as troop carriers with the Swedish Marines, which is still procuring them. There are more than 250 operating worldwide today.These rugged boats are optimized for high-speed / shallow-draft operations in and around Sweden’s many coastal islands…
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22 Aug 2022
Experts to Gather in Helsinki to Examine Littoral Operations in Baltic Sea
Naval and maritime experts will be convening in Helsinki, Finland, for the Littoral OpTech Baltic Sea workshop. The event will take place August 30 and 31 at the Finnish Naval Academy.The conference will examine the integration of multi-domain operations – to include air, land, surface, undersea, space and cyber—in the crowded and cluttered coastal waters and adjacent land, and will investigate the technology and operational concepts to successfully deal with conventional…
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08 Aug 2022
Shipyards Adapt to help Navy, Coast Guard Recapitalize Fleets
U.S. shipyards are making improvements to building ships for the Navy and Coast Guard today and in the future. In some cases, it means phasing out one class of ship and getting ready for the next. Or, it can be a drastic make-over.The yards include mid-tier yards all the way up to very large facilities devoted exclusively to warships. The ships range from the 353-ton Fast Response Cutter to the 100,000-ton nuclear-powered aircraft carriers.
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05 Aug 2022
RIMPAC Naval Exercise Brings Together 'Capable Adaptive Partners' from 28 Nations
The 2022 biennial, multi-national Rim of the Pacific's (RIMPAC) exercise has come to a close.This year’s exercise with the theme of “Capable Adaptive Partners,” featured 26 participating nations and 38 surface ships, three submarines, more than 30 uncrewed systems, approximately 170 aircraft, and more than 25,000 personnel.RIMPAC 2022 featured a wide range of capabilities--projecting the inherent flexibility of maritime forces and helping to promote a free and open Indo-Pacific…
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28 Jul 2022
US Navy: Building Small Combatants to Create Force Structure and Capability
The U.S. Navy needs more ships. And that means the Navy has to build more ships than it is decommissioning.The sea service has a stated a goal of 355 ships, and as many as 500 and more when unmanned platforms are counted. There are 298 ships in the fleet today. For surface ships, this number includes a high-low mix of highly capable large surface combatants, and smaller ships such as littoral combat ships LCS).The Navy’s smallest combatants are the 330-ton, 197-foot coastal patrol boats (PCs).
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05 Jul 2022
Navy Establishing Unmanned Surface Vessel Fleet for Persistent ISR in Middle East
“We're not tinkering. We're building enhanced maritime domain awareness.”The U.S. Navy’s Task Force 59, based in Bahrain as part of the U.S. Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT) and U.S. Fifth Fleet, is advancing the operational employment and integration of unmanned systems and artificial intelligence in fleet operations.According to Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, the fleet commander, unmanned systems and artificial intelligence are helping to accelerate innovation…
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14 Jun 2022
USCG Report: Small Cutters Prove They Can Patrol a Big Ocean
The Coast Guard’s 353-ton, 154-foot fast response cutter (WPC) is capable of deploying independently to conduct missions that include port, waterways and coastal security; fishery patrols; search and rescue; and national defense. The service plans to build 64 of them to replace the 110-foot Island class patrol boats. The FRC has a range of 2,500 miles, but the endurance of the 24 crewmembers is normally limited to about five days based on the quantity of provisions carried.