Northrop Grumman Corporation’s AQS-24 mine hunting sonar recently completed initial in-water testing of a next-generation Deploy and Retrieval (D&R) payload. Operated from the Mine Countermeasures Unmanned Surface Vessel (MCM USV), the AQS-24 D&R demonstrated the unmanned operations needed to perform a mine hunting mission off the MCM Mission Package aboard the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS).
The AQS-24B minehunter being deployed from the Mine Countermeasures Unmanned Surface Vessel (MCM USV)
«Achieving this important milestone demonstrated reliable unmanned mine hunting operations, while using operationally representative hardware from the LCS MCM Mission Module», said Alan Lytle, vice president, undersea systems, Northrop Grumman. «This allows the program to begin preparation for further at-sea testing of the system for extended duration missions in rigorous conditions».
The MCM USV tests are ahead of planned user-operated evaluation system testing of the AQS-24 on LCSs. The company has multiple versions of the AQS-24 to provide mine hunting capabilities for navies. The AQS-24B is a deployed system which uses side-scan sonar for real-time detection, localization and classification of bottom and moored mines in addition to a laser line scanner for precise optical identification.
Integration of the AQS-24 sonar with USVs allows for the real-time transmission of all AQS-24 data to a remote sonar operator, who can then commence Real-Time Mission Analysis (RTMA) of all recorded mission data. RTMA significantly reduces MCM detect to engage timelines, as well as the real-time reacquisition and identification of bottom mines following traditional mine hunting sorties.
The U.S. Navy christened its newest Freedom-variant Littoral Combat Ship (LCS), USS Indianapolis (LCS-17), during a 10 a.m. CDT ceremony Saturday, April 14, in Marinette, Wisconsin.
The future littoral combat ship USS Indianapolis (LCS-17) is moved from an indoor production facility in Marinette, Wisconsin, to launchways in preparation for its upcoming launch into the Menomenee River (U.S. Navy photo courtesy of Marinette Marine by Val Ihde/Released)
The future USS Indianapolis, designated LCS-17, honors Indianapolis, Indiana’s state capital. She will be the fourth ship to bear the name.
The principal speaker was former U.S. Senator Richard Lugar of Indiana. Mrs. Jill Donnelly, wife of U.S. Senator Joe Donnelly of Indiana, served as the ship’s sponsor. In a time-honored Navy tradition, she christened the ship by breaking a bottle of sparkling wine across the bow.
«The future USS Indianapolis honors more than a city, it pays tribute to the legacy of those who served during the final days of World War II on board USS Indianapolis (CA-35)», said Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer. «This ship will continue the proud legacy of service embodied in the name Indianapolis, and is a testament to the true partnership between the Navy and industry».
USS Indianapolis (LCS-17) is the fourth ship to carry the name of Indiana’s capital city. The most recent Indianapolis was a Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarine, commissioned Jan. 5, 1980, which served through the end of the Cold War before being decommissioned in 1998. The first Indianapolis was a steamer built for the U.S. Shipping Board (USSB) and commissioned directly into the Navy in 1918. After two runs to Europe, the ship was returned to the USSB following the war. It is the second Indianapolis (CA 35)-a cruiser-that is perhaps the best known of the three. The ship was sunk in the final days of World War II, and her crew spent several days in the water awaiting rescue. But it was her impressive war record that first brought the ship to the attention of U.S. Navy leaders and the American public. The ship and her crew served faithfully throughout the war, seeing action in the Aleutians, the Gilbert Islands, Saipan, the Battle of the Philippine Sea, Iwo Jima and Okinawa. In addition to frequently serving as the flagship of the U.S. Fifth Fleet, the ship earned 10 battle stars for World War II service and successfully completed a top-secret mission delivering components of the instrument that ended the war.
The future USS Indianapolis is a fast, agile, focused-mission platform designed for operation in near-shore environments yet capable of open-ocean operation. It is designed to defeat asymmetric «anti-access» threats such as mines, quiet diesel submarines and fast surface craft.
LCS is a modular, reconfigurable ship, designed to meet validated fleet requirements for SUrface Warfare (SUW), Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) and Mine CounterMeasures (MCM) missions in the littoral region. An interchangeable mission package is embarked on each LCS and provides the primary mission systems in one of these warfare areas. Using an open architecture design, modular weapons, sensor systems and a variety of manned and unmanned vehicles to gain, sustain and exploit littoral maritime supremacy, LCS provides U.S. joint force access to critical areas in multiple theaters.
The LCS class consists of two variants, the Freedom variant and the Independence variant, designed and built by two industry teams. The Freedom variant team is led by Lockheed Martin (for the odd-numbered hulls). The Independence variant team is led by Austal USA (for LCS-6 and the subsequent even-numbered hulls).
Ship sponsor Jill Donnelly christened LCS-17, the future USS Indianapolis, in Navy tradition by breaking a champagne bottle across the ship’s bow
Ship Design Specifications
Hull
Advanced semiplaning steel monohull
Length Overall
389 feet/118.6 m
Beam Overall
57 feet/17.5 m
Draft
13.5 feet/4.1 m
Full Load Displacement
Approximately 3,200 metric tons
Top Speed
Greater than 40 knots/46 mph/74 km/h
Range at top speed
1,000 NM/1,151 miles/1,852 km
Range at cruise speed
4,000 NM/4,603 miles/7,408 km
Watercraft Launch and Recovery
Up to Sea State 4
Aircraft Launch and Recovery
Up to Sea State 5
Propulsion
Combined diesel and gas turbine with steerable water jet propulsion
Power
85 MW/113,600 horsepower
Hangar Space
Two MH-60 Romeo Helicopters
One MH-60 Romeo Helicopter and three Vertical Take-off and Land Tactical Unmanned Air Vehicles (VTUAVs)
Core Crew
Less than 50
Accommodations for 75 sailors provide higher sailor quality of life than current fleet
Integrated Bridge System
Fully digital nautical charts are interfaced to ship sensors to support safe ship operation
Core Self-Defense Suite
Includes 3D air search radar
Electro-Optical/Infrared (EO/IR) gunfire control system
The fully automatic Mk110 gun system, known internationally as the Bofors 57Mk3, is the deck gun of choice for the LCS.
Additional Mk110 Naval Guns set to board U.S. Navy Littoral Combat Ships
BAE Systems has been awarded a contract by General Dynamics to provide two additional Mk110 Naval Gun Systems for the Independence variant of the U.S. Navy’s Littoral Combat Ship (LCS). The additional guns are part of a follow-on to a current contract, bringing the total number of Mk110 systems to 15 for the Independence variant.
The fully automatic Mk110 gun system, known internationally as the Bofors 57Mk3, is the deck gun of choice for the LCS. It is a multi-mission, medium-caliber shipboard weapon, effective against air, surface, or ground threats without requiring multiple round types. The system is capable of firing up to 220 rounds per minute at a range of more than 9 nautical miles/10.4 miles/16.7 km using BAE Systems’ six-mode programmable, pre-fragmented, and proximity-fused (3P) ammunition.
«BAE Systems’ Mk110 Naval Gun, together with our advanced 3P programmable multi-purpose ammunition, provides a unique capability to address multiple air, sea, and land threats», said Lena Gillström, general manager of Weapon Systems Sweden at BAE Systems. «This additional Mk 110 order for the LCS is evidence that this system is among the best medium-caliber naval guns in the world. Sailors benefit from its adaptability, robust endurance, and pointing accuracy, even in high wind waves and swells».
Deliveries are expected to take place during 2019 and 2020. The 57-millimeter Mk110 is currently in service with the U.S. Navy’s LCS and the U.S. Coast Guard’s National Security Cutter. Also selected for the Coast Guard’s new Offshore Patrol Cutter, the Mk 110 has been proposed for the Navy’s future frigate FFG(X) program. To date, BAE Systems has 28 Mk110 guns contracted to the U.S. Navy and 11 to the Coast Guard. Worldwide, there are 86 Mk110/57Mk3 naval gun systems under contract with eight nations.
The U.S. Navy conducted a successful structural test firing of the Surface to Surface Missile Module (SSMM) from Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) USS Detroit (LCS-7) February 28 off the coast of Norfolk, Virginia.
U.S. Navy Conducts Successful Missile Test Firing
The test marked the first launch of a missile from the SSMM from an LCS as well as the first vertical missile launched from an LCS, as part of the developmental test program for the Surface Warfare (SUW) Mission Package (MP).
«The testing aboard USS Detroit was an important milestone in advancing LCS capability, not only for the LCS community but for the entire fleet. As small boat threats proliferate, the SSMM will give our ships added lethality», said Commander Michael Desmond, Detroit’s commanding officer.
SSMM utilizes the Army Longbow Hellfire Missile in a vertical launch capability to counter small boat threats. SSMM is the next delivery of capability for the LCS SUW MP, which achieved Initial Operational Capability (IOC) in November 2014 with delivery of the Gun Mission Module (two 30-mm guns) and the Maritime Security Module (36 feet/11 meters Rigid Hull Inflatable Boat for Visit Boarding Search and Seizure).
«This was another positive step forward in fielding of the next increment for the SUW MP», said Capt. Ted Zobel, Mission Modules program manager. «The SSMM is a critical piece of the SUW MP and this event will allow us to move safely into developmental testing and soon to fielding this capability aboard LCS».
When new or different ordnance systems are first installed on board Navy warships, a Structural Test Fire (STF) is required to determine if shipboard structures, equipment, and systems can operate satisfactorily after weapon firing and if any personnel hazards, such as toxic gas intrusion or damaging noise levels, exist during weapon firing operations. Specifically, STF verifies that the ship’s structure and equipment as well as the interfaces between ordnance and the ship are capable of withstanding the vibration, shock, noise, gases and other blast derivatives from ordnance firing. STF results will be used to evaluate and document safety requirements.
The Surface Warfare Mission Package will begin developmental testing aboard USS Milwaukee (LCS-5) later this year and will culminate in operational testing and IOC in 2018.
The littoral combat ship USS Detroit (LCS-7) launches a Longbow Hellfire Missile during structural test firing (STF) off the coast of Norfolk, Virginia. STF is part of the developmental test program for the Surface to Surface Missile Module (U.S. Navy photo/Released)
Ship Design Specifications
Hull
Advanced semiplaning steel monohull
Length Overall
389 feet/118.6 m
Beam Overall
57 feet/17.5 m
Draft
13.5 feet/4.1 m
Full Load Displacement
Approximately 3,200 metric tons
Top Speed
Greater than 40 knots/46 mph/74 km/h
Range at top speed
1,000 NM/1,151 miles/1,852 km
Range at cruise speed
4,000 NM/4,603 miles/7,408 km
Watercraft Launch and Recovery
Up to Sea State 4
Aircraft Launch and Recovery
Up to Sea State 5
Propulsion
Combined diesel and gas turbine with steerable water jet propulsion
Power
85 MW/113,600 horsepower
Hangar Space
Two MH-60 Romeo Helicopters
One MH-60 Romeo Helicopter and three Vertical Take-off and Land Tactical Unmanned Air Vehicles (VTUAVs)
Core Crew
Less than 50
Accommodations for 75 sailors provide higher sailor quality of life than current fleet
Integrated Bridge System
Fully digital nautical charts are interfaced to ship sensors to support safe ship operation
Core Self-Defense Suite
Includes 3D air search radar
Electro-Optical/Infrared (EO/IR) gunfire control system
