Articles By: US Navy

Navy Equips Unmanned Boats with Non-Lethal Weapons

Navy Equips Unmanned Boats with Non-Lethal Weapons

U.S. Fleet Forces Command (USFF) directed a follow-on fleet experiment this week off the shoreline of Fort Eustis to explore capabilities for unmanned surface vessels (USVs) to deploy non-lethal weapons during maritime security and force protection operations. “Equipping unmanned surface vessels with non-lethal weapons will further expand the capabilities of our Naval forces to confront [...]

Smart phone technology takes leap to battlefield

Smart phone technology takes leap to battlefield

A joint demonstration involving multiple defense agencies and several aerospace companies proved that smart phone technology can be used to improve battlefield awareness. A tactical digital network, featuring advanced digital radios, hand-held cellular smart phones, a helicopter-mounted “cell tower in the sky” and a boarding party in the Chesapeake Bay recently completed a joint interoperability [...]

Small Tactical Unmanned Air System Executes Early Operational Capability

Small Tactical Unmanned Air System Executes Early Operational Capability

Marines witnessed the first flight of the service’s newest small unmanned aircraft Jan. 22 at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms, Calif. As part of the RQ-21A Small Tactical Unmanned Aircraft System (STUAS) Early Operational Capability (EOC), personnel from Marine Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Squadron (VMU) 2 and 3 and Insitu operators [...]

ACU4 Certifies French Ship FS Mistral in Preparation for Bold Alligator 2012

ACU4 Certifies French Ship FS Mistral in Preparation for Bold Alligator 2012

Assault Craft Unit Four (ACU4) Sailors trained with the crew of French projection and command ship (BPC) FS Mistral (L9013) Jan. 24-25, to certify the ship’s well deck for operations with the U.S. Navy’s landing craft, air cushion (LCAC) in preparation for Bold Alligator 2012. “We have worked with the French navy not only here, [...]

BAMS UAS Program Advances with Launch of First Radar Flight

BAMS UAS Program Advances with Launch of First Radar Flight

Marking significant advancement in its maritime surveillance program, the U.S. Navy recently began test flights on a radar system destined for an unmanned aircraft. The Navy completed the first flight of the Multi-Function Active Sensor (MFAS) radar system, the primary sensor on the MQ-4C Broad Area Maritime Surveillance Unmanned Aircraft System. The Dec. 16 two-hour [...]

US Navy Progresses in Demonstrating Unmanned Refueling Capability

US Navy Progresses in Demonstrating Unmanned Refueling Capability

The Navy is testing a system that promises to significantly increase the endurance and range of carrier-based unmanned aircraft. As part of the Unmanned Combat Air System Demonstration (UCAS-D) program, the Navy and industry partner Northrop Grumman have been developing Autonomous Aerial Refueling (AAR) technologies to refuel unmanned aircraft in flight. The team completed a [...]

USS Simpson and Fire Scout set sail for Africa

USS Simpson and Fire Scout set sail for Africa

The MQ-8B Fire Scout, the Navy’s only unmanned aircraft to operate on land and at sea, departed Jan. 17 from Mayport, Fla., aboard USS Simpson (FFG 56) for a six-month deployment to western Africa. Personnel from Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron Light (HSL) 60 Detachment 4 and Northrop Grumman took Fire Scout on its third at-sea deployment [...]

Keel Laid for Navy’s First Mobile Landing Platform

Keel Laid for Navy’s First Mobile Landing Platform

General Dynamics NASSCO held a keel-laying ceremony for the U.S. Navy’s first mobile landing platform (MLP), Jan. 19, in San Diego, Calif. Keel-laying recognizes the first joining together of a ship’s components. While modern shipbuilding processes allow fabrication of individual modules to begin months earlier, keel laying represents the formal beginning of a ship. “The [...]

Renewable Energy: Navy Solar Farm Construction Underway

Renewable Energy: Navy Solar Farm Construction Underway

The Navy made another leap into renewable energy integration Jan. 18 with groundbreaking on a new 118 acre solar farm in China Lake, Calif. Construction of a SunPower Corporation 13.78 megawatt solar photovoltaic power system officially got underway at Naval Air Weapons Station (NAWS) China Lake following a mid-morning ceremony at the sprawling weapons development [...]