After a decade dominated by ground wars against insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan, the drill dubbed Bold Alligator is "the largest amphibious exercise conducted by the fleet in the last 10 years," said Admiral John Harvey, head of US Fleet Forces Command.

About 20,000 US forces, plus hundreds of British, Dutch and French troops as well as liaison officers from Italy, Spain, New Zealand and Australia are taking part in the exercise along the Atlantic coast off Virginia and North Carolina.

An American aircraft carrier, amphibious assault ships including France's Mistral, Canadian mine sweepers and dozens of aircraft have been deployed for the drill, which began on January 30 and runs through mid-February.

Monday was "D-day" for Bold Alligator, with US Marines stepping on to the beach from hovercraft, near the Camp Lejeune base in North Carolina.

The American military, mindful that Marines have spent most of their time in the deserts of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan since 2001, said the goal was "to revitalize, refine, and strengthen fundamental amphibious capabilities and reinforce the Navy and Marine Corps role as 'fighters from the sea.'"

With defense spending coming under pressure after years of unlimited growth, the Marines -- which devoted a brigade to the exercise -- also are anxious to protect funding for their traditional role as an amphibious force.

The exercise scenario takes place in a mythical region known as "Treasure Coast," with a country called Garnet, a theocracy, invading its neighbor to the north, Amberland, which calls for international help to repel the attack.

Garnet has mined several harbors and deployed anti-ship missiles along the coast.

The threat of mines, anti-ship missiles and small boats in coastal waters conjure up Iran's naval forces, but the commanders overseeing the drill, Admiral Harvey and Marine Lieutenant General Dennis Hejlik, say the scenario is not based on any particular country.

Amid rising tensions with Iran and threats from Tehran to close the strategic Strait of Hormuz, naval officers and military planners are keenly aware of the Islamic Republic's arsenal of mines and anti-ship missiles.

When asked by reporters last week, Harvey acknowledged that the exercise scenario was "certainly informed by recent history" and that it was "applicable" to the Strait of Hormuz, as well as other areas.

Harvey also said the exercise incorporated lessons from the 2006 Lebanon conflict, when Iran-backed Hezbollah forces hit an Israeli navy corvette with an anti-ship missile.

The Pentagon opened the drill to allied forces for the first time this year, with 650 French troops among those participating.

In their AMX-10 wheeled reconnaissance vehicles and VAB armored personnel carriers, the mission of the French forces was "to land first to secure a path for the Americans," said Second Lieutenant Chens Bouriche, a French military spokesman.

]]> Wed, 08 FEB 2012 08:56:04 AEST Melbourne FL (SPX) Feb 07, 2012 - The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force has purchased four helicopter-mountable, laser mine detection systems to help protect its coastline and the daily maritime traffic coming in and out of the country's ports. This is the first direct commercial sale of Northrop Grumman's Airborne Laser Mine Detection System (ALMDS) to an international navy.

"ALMDS will enable the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force to cover significant distances at the speed of flight using its MCH-101 aircraft. This technology dramatically compresses the time between mine detection and neutralization," said Donna Carson-Jelley, ALMDS program manager for the U.S. Navy.

"ALMDS keeps mine countermeasures ahead of the threats."

The mine detection system is laser-based and utilizes streak tube imaging light detection and ranging (LIDAR) to detect, classify and localize near-surface moored sea mines.

With high area coverage rate capability, the system transmits a fan-shaped beam of laser light to establish its swath width, and then relies on the forward motion of the helicopter to sweep the light over the water in a "push broom" manner.

Four cameras are arranged to cover the same swath illuminated by the laser fan beam. As images are received by the system, an automatic target recognition algorithm picks out potential mine-like objects and stores their images for classification by shipboard Fleet operators, using computer-aided post-mission analysis tools.

"The addition of ALMDS to the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force mine countermeasures suite of solutions provides them with significantly enhanced mine detection capability-first developed for the United States Navy," said Pat McMahon, sector vice president and general manager, Military Aircraft Systems of Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems.

"The installation of this capability will also improve the exchange of information between the U.S. Navy and JMSDF during allied operations."

Northrop Grumman is working closely with its industry partners Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd., and Fujitsu Limited on the delivery and installation of ALMDS.

"The addition of our mine countermeasures systems broadens the strong relationship we have with the Japan Ministry of Defense and we are very proud of that partnership. It goes back to the early 1960s," said McMahon. The Japan Air Self-Defense Force has flown the Northrop Grumman-built E-2C Hawkeye airborne early warning command and control system since 1982.

]]> Wed, 08 FEB 2012 08:56:04 AEST Washington DC (SPX) Feb 07, 2012 - Lockheed Martin and Raytheon are teaming to compete for a U.S. Navy contract that will upgrade the fleet's capability to electronically attack anti-ship missiles.

Through its Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Program (SEWIP) Block 3 upgrade, the Navy seeks to cost effectively enhance the electronic attack (EA) capability of its AN/SLQ-32 V(3) and V(4) electronic warfare (EW) systems to counter threat technology advances. All U.S. aircraft carriers, cruisers, destroyers and other warships use the AN/SLQ-32 EW system.

SEWIP Block 3 is the latest upgrade in an evolutionary succession the Navy is pursuing for its EW system. Each upgrade incrementally adds new defensive technologies and functional capabilities. The Lockheed Martin-Raytheon team intends to offer a SEWIP Block 3 solution derived from more than 80 years of combined, proven experience in developing systems to defend the fleet. A formal Navy request for proposals is anticipated later this year.

Under a $167 million contract awarded by the Navy in November 2009, Lockheed Martin is developing SEWIP Block 2, which includes passive detection capabilities for advanced threats and establishes a framework to easily integrate future upgrades. The Navy approved the Block 2 solution during a Critical Design Review in February 2011, and two engineering development models are undergoing integration and testing at Lockheed Martin's new EW systems test facility in Syracuse, N.Y.

"Technology is rapidly advancing around the world and we understand the threats our Navy faces are not simplified by today's fiscal challenges," said Carl Bannar, vice president of Lockheed Martin's Integrated Warfare and Surveillance Systems business.

"By teaming with Raytheon, the original developer of the legacy AN/SLQ-32 program, we will provide the Navy with a solution for SEWIP Block 3 that addresses today's and tomorrow's evolving threats."

Developed by Raytheon in the 1970s, the original AN/SLQ-32 systems employed passive radar technology for early warning, identification and tracking of enemy threats. Subsequent upgrades provided an additional active capability for simultaneous jamming of multiple threats.

"Lockheed Martin's experience on the current SEWIP Block 2 system combined with Raytheon's expertise in shipboard EW will give U.S. Navy fleet commanders a critical advantage on the seas," said Mark Kula, vice president, Tactical Airborne Systems, for Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems.

"The Lockheed Martin-Raytheon partnership provides the low-cost, high-reliability solution the Navy needs to meet current and future sea-surface threat environment."

]]> Wed, 08 FEB 2012 08:56:04 AEST Washington (AFP) Jan 28, 2012 - The US military plans to send a large floating base for commando teams to the Middle East amid rising tensions with Iran and intensifying fighting in Yemen, The Washington Post reported Saturday.

Citing unspecified procurement documents, the newspaper said the Navy is converting an aging warship it had planned to decommission into a makeshift staging base for the commandos in response to requests from the US Central Command.

Unofficially dubbed a "mothership," the floating base could accommodate smaller high-speed boats and helicopters commonly used by Navy SEALs, the report said.

Special operations forces are a key part of President Barack Obama's strategy to make the military leaner and more agile as the Pentagon confronts at least $487 billion in spending cuts over the next decade, the paper noted.

Mike Kafka, a spokesman for the Navys Fleet Forces Command, declined to elaborate on the floating bases purpose or to say where, exactly, it will be deployed in the Middle East, The Post said.

Other Navy officials acknowledged that they were moving with unusual haste to complete the conversion and send the mothership to the region by early summer, the report said.

Navy documents indicate that it could be headed to the Persian Gulf, where Iran has threatened to block the Strait of Hormuz, The Post noted.

]]> Wed, 08 FEB 2012 08:56:04 AEST Rio De Janeiro (UPI) Jan 17, 2012 - Brazil is modernizing its navy with new acquisitions to continue expansion of the naval forces' responsibilities in regular patrolling of lakes and rivers, a role normally played by the coast guard and other security arms of national defense.

Brazil is also building up its submarine construction program with French help and will build at least one nuclear-powered submarine under present plans and likely extend the conventional naval craft building into new areas, including export, industry sources said.

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff and aides have repeatedly outlined plans for Brazil taking on the mantle of the lead regional supplier of defense equipment to neighboring countries while pursuing exports further afield.

Shipbuilder Base Naval de Val-de-Caes recently delivered a single Lancha de Acao Rapida-Especial to the Brazilian navy. The LAR-E is a light fast attack craft, which will be deployed on the Itaipu Lake and rivers on the country's border with Argentina and Paraguay.

Officials said the LAE-E will be operated by the Foz do Iguacu port authority that looks after the Itaipu Lake, part of the giant Itaipu hydro-electric dam, which feeds electricity into the power grids of the three countries.

The 3-ton vessel can cruise at a speed of 40 knots and its superstructure is fitted with firing ports and ballistic armor installed by the Centigon Blindagens do Brasil, part of the Carat Security Group.

The vessel includes observation, communication and navigation systems. The boat includes a weapon mount for installation of 7.62mm and 12.7mm machine guns and a 40mm automatic grenade launcher.

The Brazilian navy has embarked on expansion in response to a stepped up defense and security development program begun under former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. The navy already has about 60,000 personnel and has its numerical strength constantly under review.

To an existing 98 ships and 89 aircraft will be added more patrol craft, naval aviation units and other craft for deployment on lakes and rivers and the along the country's Atlantic coast. Already, the Brazilian navy is the largest in Latin America with an inventory of international origin, including the 32,800-ton aircraft carrier, the NAe Sao Paulo, bought from the French navy, British-built frigates, locally manufactured corvettes, coastal diesel-electric submarines and many other river and coastal patrol craft.

Unlike other navies the Brazilian navy has been increasingly involved with the merchant navy, a role that is seen likely to increase with the development of offshore oil and natural gas fields.

BNVC didn't say if more of the LAR-E vessels would be forthcoming in the new year.

]]> Wed, 08 FEB 2012 08:56:04 AEST Tewksbury MA (SPX) Jan 17, 2012 - Raytheon has delivered the final Ship Self-Defense System (SSDS MK 2) hardware ship set of its 2010 production contract, completing all system deliveries ahead of schedule. The system is slated for installation and integration onboard the John P. Murtha (LPD 26), providing the ship's U.S. Navy-certified open-architecture combat management system.

SSDS is an open, distributed combat management system in service on carriers and expeditionary warfare ships. It is designed to expedite the detect-to-engage sequence to defend against anti-ship cruise missiles. SSDS links and automates standalone sensors and weapon systems to provide the required combat reaction.

"SSDS is a proven combat management system, demonstrating predictable and reliable performance that the Navy can count on, time after time," said Kevin Peppe, vice president of Seapower Capability Systems for Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems.

"Delivering the benefits of open architecture, SSDS - by design - streamlines ship system updates and repairs, minimizing downtime and delivering consistent performance and interoperability across the fleet."

Under the Fiscal Year 2010 contract, Raytheon provided five SSDS hardware ship sets for installation on new ships as well as for upgrades to legacy combat management systems on in-service ships.

This brings the total number of systems to 30, all of which were delivered early to the Navy. The SSDS hardware upgrades are aligned with the Navy's scheduled maintenance and refresh cycles, ensuring optimum ship system capabilities and performance. SSDS' open design easily supports upgrades throughout the full lifecycle of the fleet.

In addition to this key program milestone, the company was awarded an $8 million modification to the previously awarded Platform Systems Engineering Agent contract to exercise options for fiscal 2012 Ship Self-Defense System PSEA efforts.

The funds continue SSDS MK 2 modifications for CVN 78 and SSDS MK 1 upgrades to the MK 2 OA baseline. In addition to SSDS MK 2 OA integration, CVN 78 will also leverage technology reuse and prior investment with the integration of the Dual Band Radar, originally developed as part of the DDG 1000 program.

Raytheon has been the SSDS PSEA since 2008, providing ongoing maintenance, upgrades and lifecycle support for both new ship programs as well as legacy ships. As PSEA, Raytheon has achieved consistently favorable customer performance ratings over the life of the contract.

Raytheon's SSDS MK 2 is the first fleet use of open architecture computing environment hardware and software that includes selected software components from the Total Ship Computing Environment Infrastructure developed for the DDG 1000-class destroyer.

The open architecture design adds a new level of flexibility and commercial standards to support the Navy's goal of open, modular and interoperable combat management systems for the fleet. With its open and modular design, SSDS can also support additional domestic and international combatants.

]]> Wed, 08 FEB 2012 08:56:04 AEST Fairfax VA (SPX) Jan 13, 2012 - Boeing subsidiary Argon ST has received a $14.8 million follow-on award under its contract for the U.S. Navy's Surface Ship Torpedo Defense (SSTD) program. The firm, fixed-price agreement provides continuous production and delivery of new SSTD systems, as well as optional cost-plus-fixed-fee enhancements to existing SSTD systems, over a period of five years.

"The Navy has relied on Argon ST for advanced signals intelligence and countermeasure systems for almost a decade," said Joe Carlin, Argon ST vice president.

"We are committed to upgrading current systems and developing the next generation of SSTD in order to protect sailors and Marines and help them complete their missions."

Argon ST won its original contract for the AN/SLQ-25C system - commonly called "Nixie" - from the U.S. Naval Sea Systems Command in 2006.

Argon ST is the sole contractor for the design, development and manufacturing of the passive, electro-acoustic decoy system, which is used as a countermeasure against acoustic homing torpedoes.

Work on the new systems and the enhancements will be done primarily at Argon ST's facilities in Lemont Furnace and Smithfield, Pa.

]]> Wed, 08 FEB 2012 08:56:04 AEST New Delhi (UPI) Jan 5, 2012 - India officially rejoined the nuclear submarine operators' club when the Russian manufacturers handed over to an Indian crew the Nerpa, in Russia's far east.

The crew will set sail for India toward the end of January in the 8,000-ton submarine that will be renamed Chakra, The Times of India said.

Nuclear submarines are operated also by the United States, Russia, Britain, France and China. India briefly operated a nuclear submarine form 1988-91 when it leased a Charlie class vessel from Russia. It, too, was called the Chakra while in service with the Indian navy.

The Akula II class Nerpa submarine will be with the Indian navy under a 10-year lease from the Russians, The Times of India report said.

Handover of the Nerpa was completed during a signing ceremony at the Bolshoi Kamen shipbuilding yard in Bolshoy Kamen, a small coastal town whose main activity is construction and repair of nuclear subs.

Bolshoy is around 25 miles from Vladivostok in the isolated Primorsky Krai region and is off-limits to foreigners.

The Nerpa leaves Russia after a controversial history, including a fatal on-board fire in November 2008 just after the vessel was made operational by the Russian navy.

The vessel was sailing through the Sea of Japan when the firefighting system was accidentally activated, Russian media reported at the time. Three naval personnel and 17 civilian specialists died after inhaling chemical gases, Russia's Defense Ministry said.

Amur Shipbuilding began construction of the Nerpa at their plant in Komsomolsk-on-Amur around 1993. The ship was intended for the Russian navy but delays and financial problems lengthened the construction schedule.

A $650 million deal with Indian government in 2004 rescued the program which by then had been stopped. The Nerpa finally was launched in October 2008 and entered service with the Russian navy in late 2009, pending handover to India.

The Chakra will be joined by another nuclear submarine, the Arihant, built by the Ship Building Center in Visakhapatnam. A launch ceremony for the 6,000-ton, 365-foot Arihant was in July 2009 and the ship with a crew of up to 100 is expected to be operational by the end of this year.

A report by the defense news Web site Defense Professionals in July 2009 said the Arihant design possibly is based on the older 5,000-ton Russian Charlie-II class submarine. Russia decommissioned it last Charlie class sub in 1994.

]]> Wed, 08 FEB 2012 08:56:04 AEST Moscow (AFP) Dec 30, 2011 - Nine people were injured when a huge fire engulfed a Russian nuclear submarine as it was being repaired, Interfax news agency reported Friday, but officials said all weapons had been removed and there was no radiation risk.

Firefighters launched a massive operation to douse the flames after the blaze broke out Thursday on the 11,740-tonne Yekaterinburg while it was docked in the northern Murmansk region near Russia's border with Norway, sending flames and smoke billowing into the sky.

The fire was contained at 1:40 am Friday Moscow time (2140 GMT Thursday) nine hours after it started and was expected to be eventually put out "in the coming hours," Russian Minister for Emergency Situations Sergei Shoigu said as quoted by Interfax.

Nine firemen were suffering from smoke inhalation, an emergency situations ministry source was quoted as saying.

The defence ministry had said earlier that the blaze in the Roslyakovo dockyard near one of Russia's main naval bases had been extinguished.

"In order to prevent a new fire breaking out, the submarine will be lowered into the water before returning to its original position," defence ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov added.

The vessel had all its nuclear missiles and conventional rockets removed before entering the dock, Konashenkov had told state television earlier, adding that its two reactors had been switched off well in advance and there was "no threat of a nuclear radiation leak".

"The power unit was switched off and is now safe," he told state television.

It is not yet known how the fire started, but a spokesman for the Russian military prosecutor, quoted by Ria Novosti, said a criminal probe had been launched into the "reckless destruction or damage of military assets".

The fire broke out on wooden scaffolding surrounding the submarine and spread to its outer hull, Northern Fleet navy spokesman Vadim Serga told the Interfax news agency.

"There is no threat to the onboard equipment," he added.

Eleven fire brigades and a navy fire boat were involved in the salvage operation, but television footage showed huge clouds off smoke billowing from the shipyard even after the flames had been contained.

A special helicopter also doused the flames with tonnes of water from above, the Murmansk region's TV-21 channel reported.

"I would say the flames reached about 10 metres (over 30 feet)," one unnamed witness told the station.

The Delta IV class vessel was commissioned by the former Soviet Union in 1985 and can carry up to 16 inter-continental ballistic missiles, according to Russian press descriptions of the submarine.

Russia is believed to have six Delta IV submarines, which form the backbone of its sea-based nuclear defences.

The worst disaster to befall the Northern Fleet in recent years was the sinking of the Kursk nuclear submarine in August 2000, which killed all 118 seamen aboard when it caught fire and exploded in the Barents Sea.

Thursday's fire occurred near the closed town of Severomorsk, one of the Russian navy's main bases.

In a separate incident involving the military Thursday, a Sukhoi 24 fighter jet crashed on landing in the southern region of Volgograd, although both pilots managed to eject and were unharmed, the defence ministry said.

"The plane exploded during landing," said a ministry spokesman quoted by Interfax. "The crew ejected following orders."

The accident occurred at the end of a routine training flight at the Marinovka aerodrome, 60 kilometres (40 miles) from the city of Volgograd.

Accidents involving military aircraft are fairly frequent in Russia.

]]> Wed, 08 FEB 2012 08:56:04 AEST Washington (AFP) Dec 28, 2011 - President Barack Obama has nominated a four-star admiral who played a key role in the Libya air war as the new chief of the military's vast Pacific Command, the Pentagon said Wednesday.

If confirmed by the Senate, Admiral Samuel Locklear would oversee more than 300,000 service members and a fleet of aircraft and warships over an area spanning the west coast of the United States to the western border of India.

Locklear, who currently oversees US naval forces in Europe and Africa and leads NATO's Joint Forces Command in Naples, helped shape the allied air campaign in Libya that ended with the toppling of Moamer Kadhafi's regime.

As chief of Pacific Command, based in Hawaii, the admiral will likely be heavily focused on China's growing economic and military might as well as the threat posed by North Korea, whose longtime leader Kim Jong-Il died this month.

The nomination for a new PACOM commander comes after a year in which the Obama administration has stressed the strategic importance of the Asia-Pacific region and vowed to expand the American military's presence, announcing the deployment of up to 2,500 US Marines in Australia.

Locklear would replace the current chief of Pacific Command, Admiral Robert Willard, who was appointed in October 2009.

]]> Wed, 08 FEB 2012 08:56:04 AEST Subscribe to our daily selection of space, military, environment and energy newsletters responseText http://visitor.constantcontact.com/manage/optin/ea?v=0016gbbKsaiGSpQFojVO8ZoHw%3D%3D