Since 12-11-05
SS News Daily for 09DEC05
Since 12-11-05
The Daily Internal Information Source for the U.S. Navy Submarine Force
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Photo by JOC(SW/AW) David Rush, COMSUBPAC Public Affairs
U.S. Navy photo by COMSUBPAC Public Affairs
Defense Industry Daily, 9 Dec 05
USS Miami welcomed back from its 6-month deployment
By Anthony Cronin, New London Day, 9 Dec 05
By Lt j.g. Eric Melo, USS Helena (SSN 725)
By Lindy Thackston, First Coast News, 9 Dec 05
Norwich Bulletin, 8 Dec 05
By Anthony Cronin, New London Day, 9 Dec 05
ITAR-TASS, 6 December 2005
From Mercopress.com, 9 Dec 05
Arieh O'Sullivan, The Jerusalem Press, 9 Dec 05
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U.S. Navy photo by JOC(SW/AW) David Rush, COMSUBPAC Public Affairs
A Navy diver uses a scrubber to clean the hull of USS Key West (SSN 722). The nuclear-powered attack submarine returned to its homeport of Pearl Harbor from a Western Pacific deployment on Nov. 10, 2005. USS Key West participated in “Talisman Sabre,” and during the deployment the crew visited Australia, Japan and Guam.
U.S. Navy photo by COMSUBPAC Public Affairs
(Left) Capt. Kenneth Sault, commanding officer USS Key West (SSN 722), greets Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy (MCPON) Terry Scott. (Right) The MCPON visited the crew on the mess decks of the nuclear-powered attack submarine where he discussed various issues. The submarine returned to its homeport of Pearl Harbor from a Western Pacific deployment on Nov. 10, 2005. USS Key West participated in “Talisman Sabre,” and during the deployment the crew visited Australia, Japan and Guam.
Defense Industry Daily, 9 Dec 05
DID [Defense Industry Daily] recently covered the U.S. Navy's Advanced SEAL Delivery System (ASDS) program and its budgetary, performance, and timeline problems. The gaps are large and serious, and so it should be no surprise that political fallout has begun. US Congressional Rep. Rob Simmons [R-CT], said recently that the potential layoff of 2,000 workers at Electric Boat in Groton, CT only underscores the urgency in having the US Department of Defense rebid the U.S. Navy's Advanced SEAL Delivery System (ASDS) program [his words].
Like the ASDS program itself, to say that the current situation at General Dynamics Electric Boat is not good is something of an understatement.
The Norwich Bulletin reports that up to 2,000 Electric Boat jobs will be eliminated by the end of 2006. Recent company projections suggest the workforce reduction will be in the area of 1,900 to 2,400 by the end of 2006, and the first wave of 150-170 job losses will cut across all sectors of the company. Decisions on the rest of the job losses will be announced later next year.
Three factors are driving the reduction in the company's workforce. One of the biggest impacts is the U.S. navy's decision to eliminate Electric Boat from future repair, maintenance and modernization work. That work will now be conducted by shipyards in Portsmouth, NH and Newport News, VA.
The second is the US Navy's submarine construction schedule. The Navy plans to continue its construction program at one new submarine a year through 2011, with that work divided between General Dynamics Electric Boat and Northrop Grumman Newport News. The result is a submarine production schedule of one-half submarine per year.
The last driver is the lack of any new submarine design programs for the forseeable future, now that the SSN-744 Virginia Class is entering full production.
Electric Boat President John Casey said Tuesday that future workforce reductions can only be avoided if production of submarines is increased to two a year, and contracts awarded for the design of a new class of submarines - neither of which appears likely to happen. Given those realities, as many as half of the company's 11,400 person workforce at its Groton, CT and Quonset Point, RI work force could be eliminated by the middle of 2008.
Hence Rep. Simmons [R-CT] proposal.
"This [ASDS] is an important program for the Navy, and we need a proven team at the table," Simmons said. "Electric Boat is the leader in the engineering, design, production and life cycle support of the world's most advanced submarines. EB's participation would also help prevent layoffs at the nation's only prime contractor for nuclear submarines."
Northrup Grumman currently holds the ASDS contract, and despite SOCOM's plan to restructure the SEAL mini-sub program, it has shown no inclination to go to a rebid at this point.
USS Miami welcomed back from its 6-month deployment
By Anthony Cronin, New London Day, 9 Dec 05
Groton -- The USS Miami arrived at its home port Thursday at the Naval Submarine Base to the cheers of hundreds of family and friends -- and an enthusiastic welcome from Santa Claus.
'Tis the season, after all.
The sunny skies belied an occasional biting wind, but that didn't deter Tricia Dodge of Groton, who waited patiently with her 1-year-old son, Reese, who was snugly wrapped up in his stroller outside the pier where the Miami would arrive.
Dodge said she looked forward to spending the holidays with her husband, Machinist's Mate 2nd Class Sean Dodge, and their family.
“It's nice just to celebrate Christmas together,” she said, adding that her husband's birthday is this weekend. “This is just in time.”
As wives, children, friends and sub base personnel gathered in anticipation of the sub's arrival after six months at sea, the mood was festive, with Christmas music playing on the sound system and Santa handing out gifts to the children.
The Miami, a Los Angeles-class nuclear attack submarine, left Groton in June for a 184-day deployment that included stops in Scotland, England, Norway and Portugal. In addition, the ship participated in the multinational “Shark Hunt '05” operation that involved 2,000 sailors from eight countries, and also participated in global anti-terrorism activities.
In addition to the Miami, other Groton-based submarines taking part in the month-long anti-submarine exercise included the USS Augusta, the USS San Juan and the USS Philadelphia.
The Philadelphia, which returned to Groton this past month, is scheduled for maintenance and repairs at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine. The Electric Boat shipyard had hoped to win the work on the Groton-based submarine, which it said was tied to at least 150 jobs at its Groton shipyard.
The Miami also is scheduled for maintenance-related work next year, for which EB will bid as it struggles to keep remaining maintenance, repair and overhaul work. EB officials have said that maintenance and overhaul work on the Miami and Toledo nuclear attack submarines would be its last such work. Navy officials have informed the sub builder that future work would be awarded to its four Navy-owned shipyards, including the one in Maine.
That lack of work, combined with low production rates on the current Virginia-class submarines led the shipbuilder to announce cutbacks of up to 20 percent of its overall work force by the close of next year.
The Miami's commanding officer, Cmdr. Joseph B. Wiegand, said the sub's six-month deployment was a successful journey for its crew of 134 officers and sailors.
“This was a fantastic deployment,” Wiegand said. “We spent 184 days aboard, and 156 of them were at sea.”
Wiegand said the sub's participation in the large-scale Shark Hunt exercises this summer provided his crew with good training opportunities. He said he was pleased to be home and that he will be spending “plenty of time” with his family during the holidays. The Wisconsin native lives in Gales Ferry with his wife and two daughters, ages 12 and 14.
“This is also a time to remember those other sailors out to sea and to think of them and their families during the holidays,” he said.
Wiegand said the large turnout for his boat's homecoming, with some 300 family members and friends crowding the pier upon its arrival, was a testament to his entire crew of officers and sailors.
“This is a great crew to work with,” he said. “This turnout really shows how close my crew is.”
By Lt j.g. Eric Melo, USS Helena (SSN 725)
NAVAL BASE POINT LOMA, CA--Five submariners from the Los Angeles class nuclear-powered attack submarine USS Helena (SSN 725) spent a day at The Tonight Show with Jay Leno during a special tribute to all military members. The program was taped Nov. 23 and aired on Thanksgiving.
“It was a lot of fun and a great experience,” said Machinist’s Mate 3rd Class Adam Sadler. “After the show we met Jay and got our picture taken with him.”
USS Helena returned from a Western Pacific deployment on Sept. 18, which is why their parent squadron nominated the boat for the opportunity. During the taping, all five services were represented in the audience, though the Helena Sailors were the only submariners.
“We were really excited to be able to reward these guys for their hard work during deployment,” said Helena’s Chief of the Boat Master Chief Sonar Technician (Submarines) Cris Addington. “I like when the guys can hear from other people how much their work is appreciated.”
Besides meeting Leno, the Sailors also enjoyed watching the show’s scheduled guests, like popular actress/singer Lindsay Lohan.
“Seeing Lindsay Lohan in person was awesome,” said Electronics Technician 2nd Class Timothy Weise. “It was amazing to see how the entire process of taping a show was accomplished.”
USS Helena is 360 ft. long and is the 37th submarine of the Los Angeles class. It was commissioned July 11, 1987 and is one of five submarines assigned to Submarine Squadron Eleven, in San Diego.
By Lindy Thackston, First Coast News, 9 Dec 05
KINGSLAND, GA -- Suzy Walker loves to share a meal with her husband, despite getting some strange looks.
"I think if they knew what I was doing they would probably enjoy it," said Walker.
Walker says she stands by her man because he's a doll. Literally. She has a mannequin that eerily resembles her husband, a sailor on the USS West Virginia.
"When I put the mustache on him, I couldn't believe the resemblance," said Walker. "It's incredible."
It's the newlywed's first separation, and Walker was looking for a way to get through the alone time.
"I was surfing EBay and I saw a sailor for sale," said Walker. "One day he was used for a photo shoot in Washington, and I was the high bidder."
Walker bought her stand-in man for $200 and she takes him everywhere.
He's been to the movie theater, Victoria's Secret, and the gas station to buy lottery tickets.
The couple attracts lots of attention.
"It helps me pass the time while he's gone," said Walker. "And knowing that I'm making him a photo album so he really will know where I've been, gives me a good feeling."
The mannequin weighs about 40 pounds.
Her husband, DB Walker, had no idea at first, but word quickly spread to the submarine, and he thinks it's hilarious.
No word yet on when DB Walker will return home to Kingsland.
Norwich Bulletin, 8 Dec 05
GROTON-- Significant shifts in the employment level at Electric Boat are not unusual, and influenced by the number of new submarines under construction.
In the post-World War I Era, EB went 13 years without a single U.S. Navy construction contract, surviving by building submarines for foreign nations. To read the latest letter the Navy sent to U.S. Rep. Rob Simmons regarding EB, click on the file downloads link to the right.
World War II saw the company flourishing again. By 1943, with more than 12,000 workers, EB was turning out subs at a rate of one every two weeks as the nation's submarine force grew to more than 250. But a year later, the Navy canceled orders for three dozen ships, and by 1947, EB's work force had shrunk to just 1,500.
And so it has gone throughout the history of Electric Boat. Here's a look at the company's work force level from 1970 through today:
· In 1972, EB was awarded the design and development contract for the Ohio-class ballistic-missile submarine. The work force grew from just less than 12,000 in 1970 to more than 28,000 by 1976.
· From 1977 to 1979, the work force dipped slightly to just more than 22,000 workers -- but still the region's largest employer.
· Employment remained steady throughout the 1980s with the construction of the Los Angeles-class submarines, reaching a height of 25,700 workers in 1983 and a low of 21,500 in 1989.
· The end of the Cold War brought an end to the defense buildup and submarine production slowed dramatically. Throughout the 1990s, employment at EB was in a steady decline, falling 57 percent from a high of 22,200 workers in 1990 to just 9,100 at the start of the new century.
· From 2000 through today, the company has slowly increased its work force to just less than 12,000.
Company projections are that as many as 6,000 of those jobs could be eliminated during the next three years if submarine construction is not increased from one to two per year.
By Anthony Cronin, New London Day, 9 Dec 05
General Dynamics has elected Frederick J. Harris, a longtime executive with its Electric Boat shipyard in Groton, to be a corporate vice president overseeing its National Steel and Shipbuilding Co. shipyard in San Diego.
Harris, who was senior vice president for programs at Electric Boat, will assume his new position on Jan. 1.
Harris has had a long career with the Groton shipyard, starting in 1973 as a senior engineer on the Trident ballistic-missile submarine program.
He has held a number of supervisory and executive positions, including serving as program manager for the advanced propulsion-plant technology platform for the new Virginia-class submarine.
As senior vice president of programs at EB, Harris was in charge of key design, construction and fleet-support programs, including the Seawolf- and Virginia-class nuclear attack sub programs.
He will now serve as the top executive overseeing the San Diego shipyard, reporting to Michael W. Toner, a General Dynamics' executive vice president and its group executive for Marine Systems. Toner is a former EB president.
Harris will succeed Richard H. Vortmann as president of the San Diego shipyard.
The 60-year-old Harris graduated with an engineering degree from the Maine Maritime Academy and holds a master's degree in business administration from Babson College.
The National Steel and Shipbuilding Co., or NASSCO, has been designing and building large ships since 1960, such as support ships for the U.S. Navy and massive oil tankers and dry-cargo carriers for various commercial markets.
The San Diego company employs more than 4,000 workers and is the nation's only major shipbuilding yard on the West Coast.
NASSCO is one of three shipyards in General Dynamics' Marine Systems Group. General Dynamics, which employs about 70,000, is headquartered in Falls Church, Va.
ITAR-TASS, 6 December 2005
St Petersburg, 6 December: A third submarine of Project 677 Lada will be laid down in the first quarter of 2006. The submarine, which is intended for the Russian navy, will be named Petrozavodsk, Yuriy Kormilitsin, chief designer of non-nuclear submarines at the Rubin central naval design bureau, told an ITAR-TASS correspondent today.
The Petrozavodsk diesel-electric submarine of the 4th generation will become a second submarine in the series [as received]. The first one - Kronshtadt - is being built at the Admiralteyskiye Verfi shipyard and will be passed to the navy in 2008, whereas the lead submarine - Sankt-Peterburg - is already undergoing sailing tests in the Baltic Sea. It is expected that the tests will be completed and the Sankt-Peterburg will be passed to the customer by the end of next year.
The designers believe that the adoption of Project 677 submarines by the Russian navy will open up good prospects for the promotion of export versions of this submarine (Amur-1650) on international markets of armaments. Kormilitsin said the Rubin bureau had designed several versions of the Amur submarine with various weapons to meet the taste of any customer. In particular, one version envisages vertical positioning of strike missile system launchers.
Source: BBC Monitoring Former Soviet Union, ITAR-TASS news agency, Moscow, in Russian
From Mercopress.com, 9 Dec 05
The Chilean Navy brand new submarine “O’Higgins” built by a French-Spanish consortium is scheduled to arrive in Valparaíso Friday.
The country’s top officials and military commanders will be present when the vessel arrives from Cherbourg, France after 50 days navigation.
“O’Higgins” is the first of two conventional submarines Scorpone Class which the Chilean Navy ordered from the French-Spanish DCN shipyards and can alternatively be diesel or electrically powered
Alter months of intense and successful trials “O’Higgins” finally left last October and called in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, and Colon before crossing the Panama Canal.
The new state of the art conventional submarine is 66,4 metres long and 6,2 wide with a surface displacement of 1.525 tons and 1.668 tons when submerged. Apparently she can travel at 20 knots submerged and as deep as 300 metres. She has a crew of 38 and 50 days sea autonomy.
A second similar Scorporne unit, “Carrera” is scheduled to be delivered in Chile next year.
The two submarines cost 450 million US dollars and will be replacing two former British built submersibles decommissioned from the Chilean Navy after thirty years service.
Arieh O'Sullivan, The Jerusalem Press, 9 Dec 05
The Israel Navy has decided to cease sending its warships through the Suez Canal, out of concern they will be targeted by global jihad terrorists, The Jerusalem Post has learned.
"We don't want to draw terror," said a senior naval officer in explaining the move.
The decision was a unilateral one for the navy, affecting its missile ships and patrol boats such as the Dvora. It has no effect on Israeli civilian vessels. Zim, the Israeli-owned shipping line, said its ships continue to sail through the Suez Canal regularly.
Analysts downplayed the strategic significance of the decision, saying the navy rarely used the Suez Canal. But it does restrict options for the IDF.
Naval authorities said they made the decision recently. It is not clear when the last Israel Navy vessel actually sailed through the canal.
Israel did not have access to the Suez Canal until its peace treaty with Egypt. Prior to that point, the navy maintained a relatively large fleet of Reshef-class missile boats in Ofira (Sharm e-Sheikh) and a smaller fleet of patrol boats in Eilat. The vessels would travel out of the Mediterranean, all the way around Africa, and then up through the Red Sea.
The first Israeli warships passed through the reopened canal to fanfare in May 1979, when three landing craft sailed for three days from Ofira to Ashdod. Periodically, the navy would bring its Red Sea vessels through the canal for service in Ashdod or Haifa and return them.
"At Ismailia, the president of Egypt, Anwar Sadat, dressed in a naval white uniform and personally saluted the convoy as we passed," recalled Hirsh Goodman, who was military correspondent for The Jerusalem Post at the time. "It took us 71 hours to do the entire 400 kilometer journey."
Goodman, who wrote the official history of the Israel Navy, said Thursday he believes the decision to avoid the Suez Canal today is a prudent move. "Israel would never send a fully armed ship off to fight Arab enemies in such a situation," Goodman said.
The lack of a few Israeli naval vessels will not likely make a dent in Egyptian profits from the Suez Canal. According to the Egypt-based Business Today, canal receipts reached their all-time highest level in the 2004-2005 fiscal year. Egypt gained $3.3 billion as it handled 7 percent of the world's seaborne trade.
But the decision by the navy should be a warning for Egypt, another analyst said.
"The question is, what does it say about our confidence in the Egyptian security services?" asked Michael Oren, author of Six Days of War and senior fellow at Jerusalem's Shalem Center.
Another issue relates to one of Israel's most important strategic weapons - its three Dolphin-class submarines, which according to foreign reports can fire nuclear-tipped cruise missiles and serve as a second-strike platform.
It could prove problematic for Israel to dispatch them to the Gulf of Oman against Iran. The only way they could get there without need for refueling would be to go through the Suez Canal. With their 4,500 nautical mile range, taking the long way around Africa would require at least two stops for refueling at a friendly port or for fuel to be replenished at sea.
"Not using the Suez Canal complicates things," Oren said. "There could a conceivable emergency when [the navy] might want to have this kind of mobility."
However, Goodman doesn't believe the navy would likely, even then, risk sending a valuable submarine through Egyptian waters.
"It is just too sensitive, and I wouldn't put such a sensitive piece of equipment through that vulnerable slot," said Goodman, today deputy head of the Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies.
Nevertheless, foreign navies still use the Suez Canal quite frequently. The US often sends its nuclear carriers through in a slow, public display of military might. Israel does not yet have any aircraft carriers.