The Navy Vol_70_No_4 Oct 2008 - Navy League of Australia

Flash Follower Traffic
SM-6 is being developed by Raytheon
to meet the USN’s requirement for an
extended range anti-air warfare missile.
Expected to deploy in 2011, it provides
capability against fixed and rotary wing
aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles
and delivers a transformational overthe-horizon
counter to the ever-evolving
cruise missile threat. Employing the
Standard Missile-2 Block IVA airframe
and the newly developed active radar,
SM-6 will be able to autonomously
destroy aircraft over the horizon and
outside of the launching ships own
sensors.
USS AMERICA named
Despite conventional wisdom saying
‘don’t name ships after the country’
the USN’s newest class of large-deck
amphibious assault ship, LHA-6,
will bear the name USS AMERICA,
Secretary of the US Navy Donald C.
Winter announced while speaking at
the USS AMERICA Carrier Veterans
Association reunion in Jacksonville, Fla
last June.
This ship will inherit a proud tradition,
explained Winter. From the American
Revolution through the first Gulf War,
three warships have sailed with the name
America.
“To serve in a ship named after our
country adds to the pride one feels in
being part of the Navy, and adds to the
feeling that when AMERICA pulls into
port, there is no more powerful symbol
of the power, the ideals, and the greatness
of the United States of America,” said
Winter.
LHA-6 will be the fourth USN ship to
bear the name AMERICA. The first
AMERICA, a 74-gun ship-of-theline,
was the first built for use by the
Continental Navy. However, before
having a chance to serve the fledgling
USN, the ship was presented as a gift to
the king of France to show appreciation
for his country’s service to the new
nation. The second USS AMERICA
(ID-3006) was later the name given to
a troop transport used during World
War I. The third was a Kitty-Hawk class
aircraft carrier (CV-66) in commission
from 1965 to 1996. Among other
notable accomplishments, the carrier
AMERICA made three deployments to
Vietnam and launched air strikes on Iraq
during the opening days of Operation
Desert Storm.
LHA-6 will replace the aging Tarawaclass
and represents a conscious decision
to increase the aviation capacity of future
big deck amphibious ships in order
to maximize the Navy’s investment in
future aircraft.
LHA-6 will have an extended hangar
deck with two higher hangar bay areas,
each fitted with an overhead crane for
aircraft maintenance. LHA-6 will also
provide increased aviation fuel capacity,
stowage for aviation parts and support
equipment. LHA-6 will be able to embark
and launch the MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor
aircraft, cargo and attack helicopters,
the AV-8B Harrier and the short take-off
vertical landing (STOVL) variant F-35B
Lightning II Strike Fighter.
AMERICA is currently under contract
at Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding in
Pascagoula, Miss., and is expected to be
delivered to the Navy in 2012.
1,000th Tomahawk
delivered to USN
US Company Raytheon has achieved a
significant production milestone with
the delivery of the 1,000th Tomahawk
Block IV cruise missile to the USN.
“Tomahawk Block IV provides the Navy
with an array of enhanced capabilities
to support land-based operations in
the global war on terror and across
the spectrum of warfare," said Capt.
Rick McQueen, the USN's programme
manager for the Tomahawk weapon
system. “The Navy's receipt of this
1,000th Tomahawk Block IV builds on
a legacy of providing the commander
with a powerful weapon to shape the
battlespace.”
Tomahawk Block IV's provides
an expanded array of operational
capabilities while significantly reducing
acquisition, operations and support
costs. Tomahawk Block IV employs a
two-way satellite data link that enables
a strike controller to flex the missile
in flight to preprogrammed alternate
targets or redirect it to a new target.
This targeting flexibility includes the
capability to loiter over the battlefield
and await a more critical target.
USCGC BERTHOLF
(WMSL-750)
commissioned
On August 4 the Northrop Grumman
Corporation-built National Security
Cutter USCGC BERTHOLF was
commissioned on the US Coast Guard’s
birthday, becoming the service's most
capable and technologically-advanced
maritime asset in its 218-year existence.
BERTHOLF is the flagship of the
fleet-the largest and most technically
advanced class of cutter the Coast Guard
has ever known.
In partnership with the US Coast Guard,
Northrop Grumman and Lockheed
Martin, the joint venture partners of
Integrated Coast Guard Systems, have
been working side-by-side to design a
ship that is not only capable and flexible,
but also an economical and enduring
platform.
“We are in an era of a persistent conflict,
with hazards and threats to be dealt
with,” said US Coast Guard commandant
Adm. Thad Allen. “This ship represents
a remarkable step forward, not only in
capability and capacity, but also in the
competency of this crew. Today, the crew
will bring this ship to life and Bertholf
will be up to the challenges of the 21st
century.”
BERTHOLF is named to honour
Commodore Ellsworth P. Bertholf,
The new USCG Cutter BERTHOLF on sea trials. (USCG)
20 VOL. 70 NO. 4 THE NAVY