So, this is getting us to the end of the naming for the first twelve vessels of each class already on contract.Naval Today said:US Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus announced Aug. 19 that the next Independence variant Littoral Combat Ship will be named USS Oakland (LCS 24).
The ship will be named to honor the long-standing history its namesake city has had with the Navy.
The future USS Oakland will be the third naval ship to bear the name. The first, commissioned in 1918, was largely used to transport cargo; the second, commissioned in 1942 during the height of World War II, was only in service for seven years, but was key in many antiaircraft missions in places such as Pearl Harbor, Marshall Islands, Pagan, Guam, Iwo Jima, Rota, Peleliu and Okinawa. After the war, Oakland performed two duty patrols off the coast of China before being decommissioned.
A fast, agile surface combatant, the LCS provides the required war fighting capabilities and operational flexibility to execute a variety of missions in areas such as mine warfare, anti-submarine warfare and surface warfare.
The ship will be built with modular design incorporating mission packages that can be changed out quickly as combat needs change in a region. These mission packages are supported by detachments that deploy both manned and unmanned vehicles, and sensors, in support of mine, undersea, and surface warfare missions.
Oakland will be built by Austal USA in Mobile, Alabama. It will be 419 feet long and be capable of operating at speeds in excess of 40 knots.
DEVELOPING:An explosion has been reported at the U.S. military facility in Sagamihara, Japan, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports, citing the Japanese Broadcasting Corporation.
source:Boise August 22, 2015 - Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus hosted a ship-naming ceremony today to announce that SSN 799, a Virginia-class attack submarine, will bear the name USS Idaho.
The submarine will be named to honor the history its namesake state has with the Navy. Idaho is home to the former Farragut Naval Training Station, which was the second largest training facility in the world during World War II. From the early 1950s to the mid-1990s, the Naval Reactors Facility (NRF) located within the Idaho National Laboratory, trained nearly 40,000 Navy personnel in surface and submarine nuclear power plant operations with three nuclear propulsion prototypes including the first nuclear-powered submarine prototype, S1W. The facility continues to support the Navy by examining Naval spent nuclear fuel and irradiated test specimens, which are used to develop new technology and to improve the cost-effectiveness of existing designs. And nearby, Lake Pend Oreille, the fifth deepest lake in the United States, continues to conduct tests of large-scale submarine and surface ship prototypes in a setting with acoustic properties similar to that of the ocean.
The future USS Idaho will be the fifth naval vessel to bear the name. The first, commissioned in 1864, was a steam sloop that served as a store and hospital ship; the second, commissioned in 1905, was a battleship that largely supported American Foreign Policy in Central America and conducted operations and exercises in Guantanamo Bay. The third Idaho was a motorboat commissioned in 1917 that patrolled New Jersey and Pennsylvania harbors. The last Idaho was a New Mexico-class battleship launched on June 30, 1917 and saw action in World War II.
Virginia-class attack submarines provide the Navy with the capabilities required to maintain the nation's undersea supremacy well into the 21st century. They have enhanced stealth, sophisticated surveillance capabilities and special warfare enhancements that will enable them to meet the Navy's multi-mission requirements.
These submarines have the capability to attack targets ashore with highly accurate Tomahawk cruise missiles and conduct covert, long-term surveillance of land areas, littoral waters or other sea-based forces. Other missions include anti-submarine and anti-ship warfare; mine delivery and minefield mapping. They are also designed for special forces delivery and support.
Each Virginia-class submarine is 7,800-tons and 377 feet in length, has a beam of 34 feet, and can operate at more than 25 knots submerged. They are designed with a reactor plant that will not require refueling during the planned life of the ship, reducing lifecycle costs while increasing underway time. The submarine will be built under a unique teaming agreement between General Dynamics Electric Boat (GDEB) and Huntington Ingalls Industries-Newport News Shipbuilding (HII-NNS) wherein both companies build certain portions of each submarine and then alternate deliveries. Idaho will be delivered by GDEB located in Groton, Connecticut.
Contacted by Navy Recognition, a Lockheed Martin spokesperson said "we learned over the weekend that LRASM's official designation will be AGM-158C". AGM-158C is the designation for the air-launched LRASM missile only. There is no surface-launch LRASM program of record yet. The Department of the Navy, Naval Air Warfare Center, gave the official designation.
YES! Go Idaho!something for Jeff
Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus Names SSN 799 USS Idaho
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Naval Today said:US Navy celebrated the keel laying of the aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy (CVN 79), the second ship of the Gerald R. Ford class, at Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Newport News Shipbuilding division on Saturday, August 22.
Caroline Kennedy, the daughter of the ship’s namesake, the 35th President of the United States, the ship’s sponsor, declared the keel “truly and fairly laid” to signify the ceremonial start of construction.
John F. Kennedy will be the second U.S. Navy ship to bear the name of the 35th President. Crew members who served on the first John F. Kennedy attended and were recognized during the ceremony. To conclude the event, Rear Adm. Earl Yates, the first commanding officer of CV 67, signaled crane operators to lift the aircraft carrier’s engine room No. 2 unit into the dry dock while more than 1,500 guests watched.
Whatever else may be said, he US Navy has the initial LCS vessels out there exercising them, and gaining valuable experience with them that will only improve the vessels in the future.Naval Today said:The littoral combat ship USS Fort Worth (LCS 3) wrapped up its participation in Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) exercises with both Indonesia and Malaysia following an Aug. 21 closing ceremony held in Sandakan, Malaysia.
In deepening navy-to-navy relationships, Fort Worth visited Surabaya, Indonesia, for the first time in her 16-month rotational deployment to U.S. 7th Fleet. This port visit is particularly significant for Fort Worth, as she was part of the Indonesian-led Air Asia search efforts in the Java Sea.
CARAT is a model of how the TNI-AL and U.S. Navies can cooperate and work together to enhance interoperability, develop relationships and address shared maritime security priorities, as in the visit, board, search and seizure (VBSS) exercises. TNI Sailors conducted their first VBSS boarding of Fort Worth during this year’s CARAT.
U.S. units participating in the exercise included the littoral combat ship USS Fort Worth (LCS 3), the amphibious dock landing ship USS Germantown (LSD 42), a P-3C Orion, Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 5, Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit (EODMU) 5, Coastal Riverine Group (CRG) 1, and U.S. Marines assigned to the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Brigade (III MEB).