But Congress had other ideas, and in the final 2013 National Defense Authorization Act, approved at the end of December, forbade the Navy from spending any money in 2013 to inactivate or decommission any of the ships in 2013 and authorized $628.5 million to keep Anzio, Vicksburg and Cowpens in the fleet while ordering a review of the Port Royal‘s problems and what would be required to fix her. However, though the Congress has passed the authorization bill, the current budget impasse means they’ve yet to authorize the money needed to upgrade the ships.
New Platforms … Arriving
While some legacy platforms struggled through 2012, the LCS program took great strides toward realizing its promise of a 55-ship strong program that will replace the Navy’s Perry-class guided-missile frigates.
The Freedom-class littoral combat ship USS Fort Worth (LCS 3) arrives at its new homeport in San Diego , Calif., Oct. 8, 2012, in Galveston, Texas, and will be assigned to the U.S. Pacific Fleet. The littoral combat ship program made strides in 2012. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Rosalie Garcia
The bulk of the frigates will be gone by the end of 2015, and the last one will leave service in 2019. When the LCS building plan is complete, these ships will represent nearly a third of the Navy’s surface combatant fleet.
After a slow start caused by highly publicized cost overruns in the last seven years, the flow of LCS ships has picked up again, and to date, the first 12 have been announced and funding has started.
Initially all the LCSs will be based out of San Diego, Calif., though the service announced that Mayport will eventually be the East Coast hub for the ships.
A key milestone in the program was announced in May 2012, when the Navy announced that the USS Freedom, the first LCS, will make a 10-month deployment.
This will be the first major test of the platform’s ability to operate forward, and of the multi-crew concept that will eventually have three crews for each two ships.
Aviation Advances
The Navy took delivery of its first P-8A Poseidon in March 2012 at Patrol Squadron (VP) 30, the fleet replacement squadron, and by September, a second aircraft had arrived and the squadron had started the transition process of fleet squadrons to the new airframe.
Patrol Squadron (VP) 16 prepares to launch the command’s first P-8A “Poseidon 430” at Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Fla., as a P-3C Orion passes overhead, Jan. 14, 2013. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Gulianna Dunn
The move to the P-8 from the P-3 Orion has been long-awaited, as the older multi-engine prop plane has been in service for more than 50 years.
The P-8 gives the Navy’s patrol aviators new life and capabilities as the move to jet engines instead of turboprops allows the Poseidon to stay on station longer, with better comfort for the crew.
In June, Patrol Squadron 16 returned from its final P-3 deployment and turned in its aircraft. By July, its members had started training at VP-30 in the Poseidon.
VP-16 will train with the fleet replacement squadron through the rest of the year, said Capt. Mark Stevens, VP-30’s commanding officer. Next will come training, exercises, and inspections in preparation for a December 2013 deployment to 7th Fleet, Stevens said.
New VP squadrons will begin training on the P-8 every six months. “The second fleet squadron to transition to the P-8 will be VP-5, followed by VP-45, and then the remainder of Jacksonville VP squadrons,” Stevens said.
An X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System (UCAS) demonstrator aircraft on an aircraft elevator on board the aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman (CVN 75), Dec. 11, 2012. The X-47B successfully completed a series of flight deck trials in December. U.S. Navy photo courtesy of Northrop Grumman by Alan Radecki
Another aviation milestone was realized in late 2012, when the first unmanned carrier aircraft, an X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System, was successfully catapulted into flight at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md., on Nov. 29, and just two weeks later, one went to sea for the first time.
“We are working toward the future integration of unmanned aircraft on the carrier deck, something we didn’t envision 60 years ago when the steam catapult was first built here,” said Vice Adm. David Dunaway, commander of Naval Air Systems Command, in noting the occasion.
The land catapult success paved the way for the unmanned aircraft to begin the X-47’s initial testing on the deck of the carrier Harry S. Truman in mid-December.
Though the unmanned aircraft didn’t land and take off from the ship, the X-47B was towed using carrier-based tractors, and taxied around the flight deck. Flight and hangar deck sailors worked with the aircraft, directing it on the flight deck and in the hangar bays.
As a demonstration aircraft, the X-47B is designed to test the concept of unmanned flight from Navy carriers and will pave the way for unmanned aircraft designs that will eventually be incorporated into carrier air wings of the future.