Page 9: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (December 2005)

December 2005 9

By Edward Lundquist

The U.S. Navy's Unmanned Surface

Vehicle Industry Day, held at the

Washington Navy Yard October 18-20, called for industry ideas and solutions to support the anti-submarine warfare (ASW) mission packages for the Littoral

Combat Ship.

The conference was hosted by the

Program Executive Office for Littoral and Mine Warfare. The service is requesting assistance from industry for research and development (R&D) of

Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV) for

ASW applications. "The Navy's goal is to procure up to four (prototype) USVs in the near term and as many as 52 USVs for ASW

Mission Packages in the far term," said

Capt. Walt Wright, Program manager for the LCS Mission Modules. "We're seeking a single USV design to support all ASW mission systems,"

Wright said. "This will support a com- mon USV effort for all LCS Mission

Packages.

Acquiring a USV for the LCS ASW

Mission Package is a top-level require- ment, according to Ken Michaud, assis- tant program manager for the ASW mis- sion package. Industry has some flexi- bility, Michaud said. "Our Objective is to articulate the governments needs and to establish the hard and soft boundaries in the trade space that industry can bal- ance to meet the Navy's near term needs in support of the ASW Mission

Package."

The USV will be used for sensor mis- sion systems. The three ASW systems currently being considered for applica- tion from USVs are the Unmanned

Dipping Sonar (UDS); the Umanned

Towed Array System (UTAS); and the

Multi-Static Off-Board Source (MS-

OBS). "Up to four prototype USVs will be procured under this contract," Michaud said. "The program plans to award a contract in January 2006 for two ASW

USV prototypes with an option for two additional units. The first two units will be required by March 2007. The option for two additional prototype units may be awarded by June 2006 for delivery by

August 2007."

The Navy wants industry to focus on the platform and core control sensors and systems. The communication radio sets and host control stations will be government furnished equipment (GFE). The LCS and ASW Mission

System Integration requirements define the trade Space. The Navy and industry will work together to identify require- ments and best achieve the ASW mis- sion capabilities, meeting or exceeding the requirements wherever possible. "We will provide industry trade space to meet the top level Requirements,"

Michaud said. "We're seeking a low risk solution."

The top level requirements and

Request for Proposals ("Technology developments leading to demonstrations of improved capabilities in unmanned ground, sea surface, underwater, and air robotic systems" - Announcement num- ber N66001-04-X-6001) are available online: https://e-commerce.spawar.navy.mil/com- mand/02/acq/navhome.nsf/homepage?re adform "Innovative design in the trade space is required to balance USV requirements and LCS programmatic objectives with- in the available timeframe," said Chris.

Hillenbrand, Unmanned Surface Vehicle

Customer Advocate, USW Weapons and

Vehicles Product Area.

According to program office officials, the LCS "sea frame" will be a major fac- tor for mission module design. The mis- sion packages must fit within the seaframe volume allocation. The davits must be able to lift the vehicles, and the systems must mate up to the standard interfaces. The communication links must utilize the VRC-99 radio to talk to the operator. "We want to open up the USV's design to the greatest extent possible while still being bound by the LCS sea frame and ASW mission system's requirements," Hillenbrand said.

News

USV Industry Day Held in Washington, D.C.

William Bainbridge was born on May 7, 1774 in Princeton, New Jersey. Bainbridge entered the merchant marine at the age of 15, and at 19, became a commander of a merchant ship.

He married Miss Susan Hyleger, daughter of a merchant and granddaughter of the governor of

St. Uestatia ,at the island of St Bartholomew in 1798. Bainbridge was given command of the schooner Retaliation with a rank of lieutenant-commander in 1798 by the Navy. In 1812, the

United States went to war with Great Britain. Bainbridge was given command of the

Constitution. On December 29, the Constitution engaged the HMS Java, badly damaged the

Java with all her mast shot off. During this engagement, one of the fallen mast from the Java damaged the wheel of the Constitution. Bainbridge had her wheel removed and replaced with the wheel from the Java and sailed home. Commodore William Bainbridge on his return was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal. Bainbridge passed away on July 28 1833 from pneu- monia and enterred in Christ Church in Philadelphia. Four previous ships were named after

Bainbridge: The first, a 259 ton Brig, commissioned on December 16,1842. The second, the first destroyer DD-1 was commissioned on February 1903. The third was a Clemson Class

Destroyer, DD-246 was commissioned February 1921 and the fourth, a Nuclear-Powered

Guided Missile Cruiser DLGN/CGN 25 was commissioned October 6,1962. The new Aegis

Guided Missile Destroyer- USS Bainbridge ( DDG 96 ), an Arleigh Burke Class destroyer, is the 25th 'Best built" by Bath Iron Works, Bath Maine and the 46th of the class, was commissioned on November 12, 2005 at Port Everglades , Fla. Ms Susan Bainbridge Hay is the fifth "Susan

Bainbridge" descended from and named after the wife of Commodore William Bainbridge. The

USS Bainbridge (DDG96) first Commanding Officer is Commander John M. Dorey, USN.

Bainbridge Commissioned

Illustration: Peter Hsu, Anteon

Moore Honored by

SNAME

Arnold P. Moore, engineering vice president at Northrop Grumman

Corporation's Ship Systems sector, received the 2005 William M. Kennedy

Award from the Society of Naval

Architects and Marine Engineers (SNAME). The award honors his out- standing service and contribution in the development of systems and planning for shipbuilding and ship repair. "Our com- pany is fortunate to have someone with the expertise, ingenuity and impeccable leadership skills of Arnie Moore, plan- ning and developing the shipbuilding platforms that will define the U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard's future capabili- ties," said Philip Teel, president of

Northrop Grumman Ship Systems. "Arnie's ability to manage extensive engineering resources across several dif- ferent ship classes is a testament to his extensive knowledge of marine engi- neering and naval architecture. We join

SNAME in congratulating him on his career achievements." Moore was recog- nized for the key planning and produc- tion control initiatives he has led over the past 23 years at Northrop Grumman Ship

Systems. During his tenure with the shipyard he has held key leadership roles in the detail design of the Ticonderoga- class cruisers, the Wasp- and San

Antonio-classes of amphibious assault ships, the Israeli Navy SA'AR 5 corvette, the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer and the Coast Guard's national security cut- ter.

Voith Expands

Marine Portfolio

Voith Turbo Marine entered into a commercial cooperation with AIR

Fertigung-Technologie GmbH & Co.

KG and aims to expand its portfolio in the market for marine propulsion sys- tems made from CFK. Based in Hohen-

Luckow (Mecklenburg Ante-

Pomerania), AIR was founded in 1993 by employees of Rockstock University and has since then presented significant and internationally acclaimed develop- ments in propeller technology both for ships' propulsion systems and wind power stations. The company currently produces Contur-Propellers made from fiber compound plastics, which automat- ically adjust the propeller pitch inde- pendent of the thrust coefficient, so that optimum propulsion efficiency is achieved across the entire load range of the ship.

Additionally, AIR works at the innova- tive drive concepts Inline Thruster and

Vector-Prop, which will shortly be launched in the marketplace and have already attracted a high amount of atten- tion from interested shipbuilders and owners. AIR CEO and company founder

Dr. Dirk Büchler estimates that the annu- al sales planned in this context will amount to approximately two million

Euro.

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