Category: Surface Forces

Nimitz Carrier Strike Group Now Near Guam, Makin Island Amphibious Ready Group Heading East

Aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN-68) and its escorts are operating off the coast of Guam awaiting the call to assist in disaster relief ashore, two Navy officials told USNI News. Last week, Nimitz was dispatched to aid civil authorities if requested in a defense support of civil authorities (DSCA) after Super Typhoon Mawar passed near […]

USS Nimitz (CVN-68) on May 26, 2023. US Navy Photo

Aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN-68) and its escorts are operating off the coast of Guam awaiting the call to assist in disaster relief ashore, two Navy officials told USNI News.

Last week, Nimitz was dispatched to aid civil authorities if requested in a defense support of civil authorities (DSCA) after Super Typhoon Mawar passed near Guam with 140 miles per hour and waves up to 30 feet high, according to the National Weather Service.

There’s been widespread destruction across the island, including power and water outages across the U.S. territory that’s home to 150,000. The territory’s leadership has formally petitioned the Biden administration for federal assistance.

Until civil authorities formally request aid, the carrier is assisting by providing communication assistance to the island, according to a Navy official.

It’s the worst typhoon to hit Guam since Typhoon Pongsona made landfall in 2002.

“Most of Guam is dealing with a major mess that’s going to take weeks to clean up,” Landon Aydlett, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said last week.

The strike group deployed on Dec. 3 and has been operating in the Western Pacific since Dec. 16th, according to the USNI News Fleet and Marine Tracker.

Nimitz deployed with Carrier Air Wing 17 embarked, guided-missile cruiser USS Bunker Hill (CG-52), guided-missile destroyers USS Wayne E. Meyer (DDG-108), USS Chung-Hoon (DDG-93), USS Decatur (DDG-73) and USS Paul Hamilton (DDG-60). It’s unclear which of the strike group’s escorts are operating nearby.

Meanwhile, USS Makin Island (LHD-8) and the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit departed Pearl Harbor, Hawaii and are headed east toward the West Coast, officials confirmed to USNI News. The Pentagon had considered also dispatching the Makin Island ARG top support potential humanitarian relief operations on Guam, but has elected instead to send the ARG closer to the U.S.

Makin Island, USS John P. Murtha (LPD-26) and USS Anchorage (LPD-23) left San Diego on Nov. 9.

Japanese Place Self-Defense Forces on Alert After North Korean Launch Warnings

Japanese ballistic missile defense systems are on alert after North Korea told the Japan Coast Guard it would launch a satellite in the next two weeks, USNI News learned. Japan’s Defense Ministry on Monday issued an order that placed its BMD-capable destroyers and Patriot PAC-3 units to destroy any North Korean missiles launched from Wednesday […]

Kim Jong Un and his daughter Kim Ju Ae inspect the country’s first military reconnaissance satellite, in Pyongyang, North Korea on May 16, 2023. KCNA Photo

Japanese ballistic missile defense systems are on alert after North Korea told the Japan Coast Guard it would launch a satellite in the next two weeks, USNI News learned.

Japan’s Defense Ministry on Monday issued an order that placed its BMD-capable destroyers and Patriot PAC-3 units to destroy any North Korean missiles launched from Wednesday to June 11, if the rockets launching the supposed satellite look like they could land in Japanese territory.

The order came about after North Korea informed the Japan Coast Guard via email that it would launch a satellite sometime between May 31 and June 11. Japan is the area coordinator for NAVAREA XI, with the JCG acting as the executing agency to release navigation and safety warnings for the area.

Japan Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada in his regular press conference on Tuesday said that based on the past, North Korea’s proclamation of a satellite launch was actually a ballistic missile launch. The Japanese government’s position is that even if North Korea calls it a satellite launch, it’s still in violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions that prohibit any launches using ballistic missile technology.

Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters on Monday that even though North Korea claimed it was launching a satellite, launches using ballistic missile technology violated United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions. The Prime Minister’s Office also issued a statement on Monday stating that Japan would coordinate with the United States, South Korea and other concerned countries to strongly urge North Korea to not carry out the launch. It also stated that the Japan Ministry of Defense and the Japan Self-Defense Forces had been instructed to prepare to take destructive measures against any North Korean ballistic missiles.

Japan’s Defense Ministry on Monday issued a release stating that the JSDF would take measures to destroy any missiles heading toward Japanese territory by using SM-3 missiles launched from destroyers or PAC-3 missiles launched by Patriot units. The release did not state how many destroyers would deploy, though it said those destroyers would go to the East China Sea. The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force has eight Aegis-equipped destroyers capable of BMD tasking: four Kongo-class destroyers, 2 Atago-class destroyers and 2 Maya-class destroyers.

PAC-3 units on alert are comprised of units stationed at Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JSGDF) Naha (in Okinawa) and Yonaguni Island garrisons, Japan Air Self-Defense Force ( JASDF) Miyakojima base and the PAC-3 unit on Ishigaki Island, all of which are located in the southwest islands of Japan.

Path of People’s Liberation Army Navy warships.

Meanwhile, on Monday, the Joint Staff Office (JSO) of Japan’s Ministry of Defense issued a news release stating that at 4 p.m. local time on Friday, People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) Sovremenny-class destroyer, a Jiangkai-class frigate and two Yuzhao-class amphibious ships were sighted sailing north in an area 81 miles south of Yonaguni Island. The release did not include the usual pennant numbers of the ship, nor did it include photos of the ships, as per the norm for JSO releases. The PLAN ships then sailed between Yonaguni Island and Taiwan and were later seen sailing north in an area 50 miles west of Uotsuri Island, according to the release, which also said that destroyer JS Sawagiri (DD-157) and a JMSDF P-3C Orion Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) of Fleet Air Wing 5 based at Naha Air Base, Okinawa shadowed the PLAN ships.

On Tuesday, the JSO said Russian Navy corvettes RFS Sovetskaya Gavan (350) and RFS Koryeyets (390) were sighted sailing southeast in an area 19 miles north of Cape Soya, Hokkaido. Subsequently the two Russian corvettes sailed east through La Pérouse Strait. Destroyer JS Yudachi (DD-103) and a JMSDF P-3C Orion MPA of Fleet Air Wing 2 based at JMSDF Hachinohe Air Base on the main island of Honshu monitored the Russian ships, according to the release.

Russian corvettes RFS Sovetskaya Gavan (350) and RFS Koryeyets (390)

Also on Tuesday, French Navy frigate FS Lorraine (D657) docked at the Tokyo International Cruise Terminal on a port visit as part of its Indo-Pacific deployment. French Navy Chief Admiral Pierre Vandier at a news conference in the United Kingdom said the frigate would integrate with a U.S. Navy Carrier Strike Group during its deployment, Naval News reported. Vandier did not specify which CSG the French frigate would integrate with, but both the Nimitz and Reagan CSGs are currently operating around Japan.

Earlier on Monday Lorraine carried out the France-Japan bilateral exercise “Oguri-Verny 23-2” with destroyer JS Yamagiri (DD-152) in the waters south of the Kanto region on the main island of Honshu, according to a Tuesday JMSDF release. The release said the two ships conducted tactical maneuvers as part of the exercise.

Defense Department Leadership Face Chart

The following is the Defense Department organizational face chart of top leadership as of March 6, 2023.

Download the document here.

The following is the Defense Department organizational face chart of top leadership as of March 6, 2023.

Download the document here.

Philippine Coast Guard Will Hold First-Ever Trilateral Exercise with U.S., Japan

MANILA — The Philippine Coast Guard will hold maritime exercises with the U.S. Coast Guard and the Japan Coast Guard near the Chinese-occupied Scarborough Shoal this week. The trilateral maritime exercise will start on June 1, and will be held in the waters of Mariveles, Bataan, is the first for the PCG which is facing […]

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MANILA — The Philippine Coast Guard will hold maritime exercises with the U.S. Coast Guard and the Japan Coast Guard near the Chinese-occupied Scarborough Shoal this week.

The trilateral maritime exercise will start on June 1, and will be held in the waters of Mariveles, Bataan, is the first for the PCG which is facing an aggressive China in the South China Sea.

BRP Melchora Aquino (MRRV-9702), BRP Gabriela Silang (OPV-8301), BRP Boracay (FPB-2401) and one 44-meter multi-role response vessel will conduct the exercise with National Security Cutter USGCC Stratton (WMSL-752) and Japanese patrol vessel Akitsushima (PLH-32).

According to the PCG, the trilateral maritime exercise would strengthen interoperability through communication exercises, maneuvering drills, photo exercises, maritime law enforcement training, search and rescue and a passing exercise.

“Participating coast guard personnel will demonstrate a scenario involving a suspected vessel involved in piracy,” reads a statement from the Philippine government.
“The joint law enforcement team from the three coast guards will carry out a boarding inspection followed by a operation.

PCG Officer-in-Charge Vice Adm. Rolando Lizor Punzalan said the combined maritime exercise would also improve maritime cooperation and understanding.

“The U.S. Coast Guard and Japan Coast Guard have been assisting us in our human resource development program, particularly in law enforcement training. This is a good opportunity to thank and show them what our personnel learned from their programs,” Punzalan Jr. noted.

The week-long engagement will also involve a sporting event to strengthen the three Coast Guards’ camaraderie, a special interest exchange for women in maritime law enforcement, and an expert exchange for PCG personnel’s professional development.
The exercises followed the government’s installation of five additional navigational buoys off the coast of Luzon Island as Manilla asserts its sovereignty over nearby waters, while China placed its own buoys.

Last month a China Coast Guard Cutter nearly collided with PCG patrol vessel BRP Malapascua (MRRV-4402).

Malapascua (MRRV-4402) and BRP Malabrigo (MRRV-4403) encountered a PLAN Type 054A frigate, hull number 549, 7 nautical miles from Pag-asa Island, internationally known as Thitu Island and part of the disputed Spratly Islands, on April 21,” reported USNI News.
“Embarked media reported and filmed a near collision between the two ships when the CCG . The Philippines ship stopped its engines and reversed, averting a potential collision.”

Marine Expeditionary Units Making Do Until Amphibious Combat Vehicles Join the Fleet

Amid a delay in fielding the Marine Corps’ new Amphibious Combat Vehicle program, sailors and Marines are adjusting how they move Marines ashore. Last summer, the three ships in the Makin Island Amphibious Ready Group became the first U.S. Navy vessels certified to operate the new ACVs. But a late-stage change ahead of their deployment […]

A member of Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit (EODMU) 1 Expeditionary Mine Counter Measure (ExMCM) Company 1-3 participates in a raise, tow, beach operation with Marines from I Marine Expeditionary Force (MEF) at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif., Feb. 17, 2023. US Navy Photo

Amid a delay in fielding the Marine Corps’ new Amphibious Combat Vehicle program, sailors and Marines are adjusting how they move Marines ashore.

Last summer, the three ships in the Makin Island Amphibious Ready Group became the first U.S. Navy vessels certified to operate the new ACVs. But a late-stage change ahead of their deployment meant the ARG and the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit would deploy without the new armored vehicles that are able to swim from an amphibious warship to shore across the open ocean.

During the last amtrac age, the Marine Corps’ amphibious assault doctrine called for two-thirds of Marines to hit the shore from the sea, while a third of the force would fly. But without the AAVs or ACVs, the Marine Corps is rethinking how to deploy Marines ashore. In the interregnum between the amtracs and the new ACV, the MEUs have adapted to employ other ship-to-shore capabilities.

The Makin Island ARG/MEU – which has been deployed to the Indo-Pacific for the last seven months – has instead relied on its five Landing Craft Air Cushions and one Landing Craft Utility to land Marines ashore.

“We saw no degradation to any capability in our ship-to-shore connectors during any portion of the exercise,” Col. Samuel Meyer, the commanding officer of the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit embarked with the Makin Island ARG, told USNI News in an interview last week.

The ability to pivot to the other platforms, for which the ARG/MEU also has certifications, demonstrates the nimbleness of the amphibious force, USS Makin Island (LHD-8) commanding officer Capt. Andria Slough told USNI News.

Marines from I Marine Expeditionary Force (MEF) at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif., Feb. 17, 2023. US Navy Photo

“I think that just goes back to show how agile these L-class ships, with their combined Marine compliment, really are. You can change that plan – it happened to change for deployment – but it can change for specific missions too. And we’ve seen that in the past, specifically with humanitarian aid, disaster relief, or small security packages that are needed wherever. Not everything’s a full-scale war. So we’re very scalable, very agile,” Slough said.

USS Makin Island (LHD-8) and amphibious transport docks USS John P. Murtha (LPD-26) and USS Anchorage (LPD-23) deployed in November as an ARG with the 13th MEU embarked. Since then, the ARG/MEU has participated in a host of exercises throughout the Indo-Pacific with regional allies and partners like Japan and the Philippines.

“When you have the change of a configuration, you don’t have a loss of capability. So it’s the team together that manifest this robust capability and it’s a team fight,” Meyer said.

A 2020 amtrac accident that killed eight Marines and a sailor off the coast of California’s San Clemente island upended the Marine Corps’ planned transition from the AAV to the ACV. The Marine Corps suspended AAV waterborne operations following the 2020 accident and permanently banned the Vietnam-era AAVs from waterborne operations in late 2021.

A Marine sits atop a LAV-25 aboard a landing craft utility in the well deck of USS Bataan (LHD-5) on April 23, 2023. USNI News Photo

The Bataan Amphibious Ready Group and the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit were slated to be the first East Coast ARG/MEU to deploy with the ACVs. But the ongoing operational pause meant the MEU had to rethink its ship-to-shore capabilities without the ACVs, one Marine told USNI News on an embark to Bataan last month.

In place of ACVs, Bataan was filled with the Marines’ LAV-25 light armored vehicles. The LAVs were both in the big deck’s vehicle stowage and packed aboard two LCUs in Bataan’s well deck. The amphibious assault battalion cross trained to operate 11-meter rigid hull inflatable boats, 26th MEU commander Col. Dennis Sampson told USNI News during an interview aboard Bataan in April.

“What we’ve done is taken Marines that are familiar with water operations from the amphibious assault battalion Navy coxswain courses to a high standard, and we also put them through a maintenance course that is associated with those 11-meter RHIBs,” Sampson said.
“We’re heavily reliant on our aviation assets to build combat power ashore. We’re more reliant on LCACs and LCUs but they’re not equivalent to tracks. We’d like to have those ACVs.”

An ACV with 3d Assault Amphibian Battalion, 1st Marine Division onshore and USS Anchorage (LPD-23) and two Navy safety boats in the water. USNI News Photo

It’s unclear when the Marine Corps will deploy the ACVs for the first time. After the service decided not to deploy the new vehicles with the 13th MEU, Marine Corps deputy commandant for combat development and integration Lt. Gen. Karsten Heckl said last year that the 15th MEU would be the first to deploy with the ACVs.

Last month, when announcing a new training unit to help with the ACV transition, the Marine Corps said it would not “speculate on future deployments,” but wants to focus on training the operators.

For now, the Marines out with the fleet feel they have what they need to achieve their missions.

“I don’t think there’s any capability lost for anything that we’ve done. We certainly look forward to the modernization of the ACV when it comes out, but that will be when it’s ready and that will be on a future MEU,” Meyer said.

Report on Navy TAGOS-25 Ocean Surveillance Shipbuilding Program

The following is the Congressional Research Service May 18, 2023 In Focus report, Navy TAGOS-25 Ocean Surveillance Shipbuilding Program: Background and Issues for Congress. From the report The Navy in FY2022 procured the first of a planned class of seven new TAGOS-25 class ocean surveillance ships at a cost of $434.4 million. The Navy’s FY2024 […]

The following is the Congressional Research Service May 18, 2023 In Focus report, Navy TAGOS-25 Ocean Surveillance Shipbuilding Program: Background and Issues for Congress.

From the report

The Navy in FY2022 procured the first of a planned class of seven new TAGOS-25 class ocean surveillance ships at a cost of $434.4 million. The Navy’s FY2024 budget submission shows that the ship’s estimated procurement cost has since grown to $789.6 million—an increase of $355.2 million, or 81.8%. The Navy’s proposed FY2024 budget requests $355.2 million in additional cost-to-complete procurement funding to pay for this cost growth. The Navy wants to procure the second TAGOS-25 class ship in FY2025.

Meaning of TAGOS Designation

In the designation TAGOS (also written as T-AGOS), the T means the ships are operated by the Military Sealift Command (MSC); the A means they are auxiliary (i.e., support) ships; the G means they have a general or miscellaneous mission; and the OS means the mission is ocean surveillance. The TAGOS-25 program was previously known as the TAGOS(X) program, with the (X) meaning that the precise design for the ship had not yet been determined. Some Navy budget documents may continue to refer to the program that way.

TAGOS Ships in the Navy

TAGOS ships support Navy antisubmarine warfare (ASW) operations. As stated in the Navy’s FY2024 budget submission, TAGOS ships “gather underwater acoustical data to support the mission of the Integrated Undersea Surveillance System (IUSS) by providing a ship platform capable of theater anti-submarine acoustic passive and active surveillance…. The two current classes of [TAGOS] surveillance ships use Surveillance Towed-Array Sensor System (SURTASS) equipment to gather undersea acoustic data.” Figure 3 shows a simplified diagram of a TAGOS-25 ship with its SURTASS arrays.

Current TAGOS Ships

The Navy’s five aging TAGOS ships include four Victorious (TAGOS-19) class ships (TAGOS 19 through 22) that entered service in 1991-1993, and one Impeccable (TAGOS-23) class ship that entered service in 2000. As of the end of FY2021, all five were homeported at Yokohama, Japan. The ships use a Small Waterplane Area Twin Hull (SWATH) design, in which the ship’s upper part sits on two struts that extend down to a pair of submerged, submarine-like hulls . The struts have a narrow cross section at the waterline (i.e., they have a small waterplane area). The SWATH design has certain limitations, but it has features (including very good stability in high seas) that are useful for SURTASS operations.

Quantity, Schedule, and Design

The Navy wants to procure seven TAGOS-25 class ships as replacements for its five in-service TAGOS ships. The first TAGOS-25 class ship was procured in FY2022. The Navy wants to procure the second through fifth ships in the class in FY2025-FY2028 at a rate of one ship per year. The Navy’s notional design for the TAGOS-25 class employs a SWATH design that would be larger and faster than the in-service TAGOS ships.

Download the document here.

Report to Congress on U.S. Amphibious Warship Programs

The following is the May 22, 2023, Congressional Research Service report, Navy LPD-17 Flight II and LHA Amphibious Ship Programs: Background and Issues for Congress. From the report The Navy is currently building two types of amphibious ships: LPD-17 Flight II class amphibious ships, and LHA-type amphibious assault ships. Both types are built by Huntington […]

The following is the May 22, 2023, Congressional Research Service report, Navy LPD-17 Flight II and LHA Amphibious Ship Programs: Background and Issues for Congress.

From the report

The Navy is currently building two types of amphibious ships: LPD-17 Flight II class amphibious ships, and LHA-type amphibious assault ships. Both types are built by Huntington Ingalls Industries/Ingalls Shipbuilding (HII/Ingalls) of Pascagoula, MS. Required numbers and types of amphibious ships are reportedly ongoing matters of discussion and debate between the Navy, the Marine Corps, and the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD). Projected numbers of amphibious ships, procurement of LPD-17 Flight II class ships, and proposed retirements of older amphibious ships have emerged as prominent items in Congress’ review of the Navy’s proposed FY2024 budget.

The Navy’s 355-ship force-level goal, released in December 2016, calls for achieving and maintaining a 355-ship fleet with 38 larger amphibious ships, including 13 LPD-17 Flight II class ships. The Navy and OSD have been working since 2019 to develop a new force-level goal to replace the 355-ship force-level goal, but have not been able to come to closure on a successor goal. Required numbers of amphibious ships are reportedly a major issue in the ongoing discussion. The Marine Corps supports a revised Navy ship force-level goal with 31 larger amphibious ships, including 10 LHA/LHD-type ships and 21 LPD-17s. Section 1023 of the FY2023 NDAA amends 10 U.S.C. 8062 to require the Navy to include not less than 31 operational larger amphibious ships, including 10 LHA/LHD-type ships and 21 LPD- or LSD-type amphibious ships.

The Navy’s FY2024 30-year (FY2024-FY2053) shipbuilding plan shows the projected number of amphibious ships remaining below 31 ships throughout the 30-year period, with the figure decreasing to 26 ships in FY2035 and to 19 to 23 ships in FY2053. Marine Corps officials have stated that a force with fewer than 31 larger amphibious ships would increase operational risks in meeting demands from U.S. regional combatant commanders for forward-deployed amphibious ships and for responding to contingencies

The Navy’s FY2023 budget submission proposed truncating the LPD-17 Flight II program to three ships by making the third LPD-17 Flight II class ship—LPD-32—the final ship in the program. The Navy’s proposed FY2023 budget submission requested funding for the procurement of LPD-32 in FY2023, but programmed no additional LPD-17 Flight II class ships or LPD-type ships of a follow-on design through FY2027. Congress, in acting on the Navy’s proposed FY2023 budget, funded the procurement of LPD-32 in FY2023 and provided $250.0 million in advance procurement (AP) funding for the procurement in a future fiscal year of LPD-33, which would be a fourth LPD-17 Flight II class ship.

The Navy’s FY2024 budget submission, like its FY2023 budget submission, proposes truncating the LPD-17 Flight II program to three ships by making LPD-32 the final ship in the program. The Navy’s FY2024 budget submission does not request any funding for the procurement of LPD-33 and programs no additional LPD-17 Flight II class ships or LPD-type ships of a follow-on design through FY2028. The Marine Corps’ FY2024 unfunded priorities list (UPL) includes, as its top unfunded priority, $1,712.5 million in procurement funding for procuring LPD-33 in FY2024.

The most recently procured LHA-type ship is LHA-9. The Navy’s FY2024 budget submission estimates its procurement cost at $3,834.3 million (i.e., about $3.8 billion). The ship has received a total of $2,004.1 million in prior year advance procurement (AP) and procurement funding. The Navy’s proposed FY2024 budget requests the remaining $1,830.1 million needed to complete the ship’s procurement cost.

Section 129 of the FY2023 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) (H.R. 7776/P.L. 117-263 of December 23, 2022) permits the Navy to enter into a block buy contract for procuring up to five LPD-17 and LHA-type amphibious ships.

Download the document here.

Aircraft Carrier USS George Washington Redelivers to Navy After 2,120-Day Overhaul

USS George Washington (CVN-73) is back at Naval Station Norfolk, Va., after passing Navy acceptance trails following its mid-life overhaul, USNI News has learned. The carrier left HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding for sea trials following the completion of its almost six-year-long refueling and complex overhaul (RCOH) that set the ship up for another 25 years […]

USS George Washington (CVN-73) returning from sea trials on May 25, 2023. HII Photo

USS George Washington (CVN-73) is back at Naval Station Norfolk, Va., after passing Navy acceptance trails following its mid-life overhaul, USNI News has learned.

The carrier left HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding for sea trials following the completion of its almost six-year-long refueling and complex overhaul (RCOH) that set the ship up for another 25 years of service. The multi-billion RCOHs are typically scheduled for four years.

“Getting our warship redelivered and back out to sea to take its place as the premier CVN in the world’s greatest Navy is a direct result of the tenacity and grit displayed by our warfighters,” Capt. Brent Gaut, Washington‘s commanding officer, said in an HII statement.
“To our incredible sailors, contractors and shipyard workers: I am proud of you, and I sincerely hope you feel an extreme sense of pride as well, especially in light of our once-in-a-lifetime achievement.”

HII has pinned the delays on a variety of factors, including financial uncertainty in the Fiscal Year 2015 budget, growth work as a result of the condition of the ship, cannibalization of GW parts for other carriers and workforce delays as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The carrier was forward-deployed to Japan from 2008 to 2015 before entering the availability on Aug. 4, 2017.

“Redelivering George Washington to the Navy is the end result of incredible teamwork between our shipbuilders, the CVN-73 crew, our government partners and all of our suppliers,” Todd West, Newport News’ head of in-service carrier programs, said in a statement.

The redelivery follows an exhaustive investigation into quality-of-life issues for ships in overhaul that revealed the carrier’s crew had some of the toughest living conditions in the Department of Defense. Nine sailors assigned to the carrier from 2017 to 2022 died by suicide, which led to the investigation.

Following the delivery, George Washington and its crew will now prepare to return to Japan and relieve USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76), the current forward-deployed carrier.

USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74) has been at Newport News in the midst of its own RCOH since May 2021.

U.K. Royal Navy ‘Distressed and Concerned’ by Illegal Chinese Salvage of WWII Wrecks

An illegal Chinese salvage operation is raiding two United Kingdom World War II warship wrecks off the coast of Malaysia for scrap steel, aluminum and brass fittings, prompting a statement of concern from the Royal Navy, USNI News has learned. Chuan Hong 68 used a large dredging crane to pluck scrap from the wrecks of […]

Illegal salvage earlier this year over the suspected site. Photo via New Straits Times

An illegal Chinese salvage operation is raiding two United Kingdom World War II warship wrecks off the coast of Malaysia for scrap steel, aluminum and brass fittings, prompting a statement of concern from the Royal Navy, USNI News has learned.

Chuan Hong 68 used a large dredging crane to pluck scrap from the wrecks of battleship HMS Prince of Wales (52) and battlecruiser HMS Repulse, according to local press reports. Both were sunk on on Dec. 10, 1941, days after Pearl Harbor, by Japanese bombers, resulting in the loss of 840 sailors.

Professional diver Hazz Zain flagged the illicit commercial operation local authorities after local fisherman spotted the dredger over the wreck sites, reported the New Straits Times this week.

The illegal salvage has thrown a sharp spotlight on how vulnerable historic heritage sites are to thieves intent on plundering war graves, the director general of the Museum of the Royal Navy said in a Tuesday statement.

“What we need is a management strategy for the underwater naval heritage so that we can better protect or commemorate these ships. That may include targeted retrieval of objects,” Dominic Tweddle said.
“If resourced correctly, the existing Royal Navy loss list can be enhanced to be a vital tool to begin to understand, research and manage over 5,000 wrecks before they are lost forever.”

A retouched Japanese photograph of HMS PRINCE OF WALES (upper) and REPULSE (lower) after being hit by Japanese torpedoes on Dec. 10, 1941.

The wreckage site is in the extended economic zone of Malaysia. Authorities there told news organizations they are investigating the reported looting of the two ships and the discovery of material in a beachside scrap yard that could have been from them.

The battleship is resting upside down in 223 feet of water near Kuantan in the South China Sea. The wreckage of the battlecruiser is several miles away.

News reports from the U.K. and Australia say salvage vessel Chuan Hong 68 was dredging with a deep-reach crane for the “high-quality steel” used to build the two warships. The steel could be smelted for other uses. The value comes from the steel’s production before the use of nuclear weapons and testing and is important for use in manufacturing some scientific and medical equipment.

The salvage vessel has been operating in the region since early this year, new agencies reported.

British news organization have often reported about previous illegal dredging of this site and others for steel, copper and specially manufactured propellers. For example, The Guardian reported six years ago that at least 40 vessels have been destroyed in these operations.

In addition to the British warships, the same waters off Indonesia and Singapore contain wreckage sites of 40 Australian, Dutch and Japanese warships and merchantmen that have already been destroyed.

Sailors of HMS Prince of Wales abandoning ship to the destroyer HMS Express. Imperial War Museum Photo

New Straits Times reported that Chuan Hong 68  “is also wanted by Indonesian authorities for plundering the remains of sunken Dutch warships HNLMS De Ruyter, HNLMS Java and HNLMS Kortenaer in the Java Sea.”

The U.S. Navy has also expressed concern over its own wrecks in the Western Pacific. To the south, cruiser USS Houston (CA-30) and Australian warship HMAS Perth sank a few months after Prince of Wales and Repulse during the Battle of Sunda Strait on March 1, 1942. More than 650 U.S. sailors and Marines died when Houston sank, and more than 350 died when Perth sank.

The U.S. and Australia have worked with Indonesia to preserve the sites as war graves, USNI News has reported.

Five years ago, the U.K. Ministry of Defense was so concerned over the illegal dredging of wreckage sites, scavenging and looting that it dispatched a task force of survey vessels to the region to investigate the wrecks’ status. The ministry said then it would also monitor the water by satellite to keep track of activity near the sites.

“We are upset at the loss of naval heritage and the impact this has on the understanding of our Royal Navy history,” Twiddle said.

Report to Congress on Navy Medium Landing Ship

The following is the May 24, 2023, Congressional Research Service report Navy Medium Landing Ship (LSM) (Previously Light Amphibious Warship [LAW]) Program: Background and Issues for Congress. From the report The Navy’s Medium Landing Ship (LSM) program, previously called the Light Amphibious Warship (LAW) program, envisions procuring a class of 18 to 35 new amphibious […]

The following is the May 24, 2023, Congressional Research Service report Navy Medium Landing Ship (LSM) (Previously Light Amphibious Warship [LAW]) Program: Background and Issues for Congress.

From the report

The Navy’s Medium Landing Ship (LSM) program, previously called the Light Amphibious Warship (LAW) program, envisions procuring a class of 18 to 35 new amphibious ships to support the Marine Corps, particularly in implementing a new Marine Corps operational concept called Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations (EABO). The Navy wants to procure the first LSM in FY2025. The Navy’s proposed FY2024 budget requests $14.7 million in research and development funding for the program.

The EABO concept was developed with an eye toward potential conflict scenarios with China in the Western Pacific. Under the concept, the Marine Corps envisions, among other things, having reinforced-platoon-sized Marine Corps units maneuver around the theater, moving from island to island, to fire anti-ship cruise missiles (ASCMs) and perform other missions so as to contribute, alongside Navy and other U.S. military forces, to U.S. operations to counter and deny sea control to Chinese forces. The LSMs would be instrumental to these operations, with LSMs embarking, transporting, landing, and subsequently reembarking these small Marine Corps units.

LSMs would be much smaller and individually much less expensive to procure and operate than the Navy’s current amphibious ships. Under the Navy’s FY2024 budget submission, the first LSM would be procured in FY2025 at a cost of $187.9 million, the second LSM would be procured in FY2026 at a cost of $149.2 million, the third and fourth LSMs would be procured in FY2027 at a combined cost of $297.0 million (i.e., an average cost of about $148.5 million each), and the fifth and sixth LSMs in FY2028 at a combined cost of $296.2 million (i.e., an average of about $148.1 million each). The first LSM would cost more than subsequent ships in the program because the procurement cost of the first LSM would include much or all of the detailed design/nonrecurring engineering (DD/NRE) costs for the class. (It is a traditional Navy budgeting practice to include much of all of the DD/NRE costs for a class of ship in the procurement cost of the lead ship in the class.)

The LSM as outlined by the Navy could be built by any of several U.S. shipyards. The Navy’s baseline preference is to have a single shipyard build all the ships, but the Navy is open to having them built in multiple yards to the same design if doing so could permit the program to be implemented more quickly and/or less expensively. The Navy’s FY2024 budget submission states that the contract for the construction of the first LSM would be awarded in December 2024, and that the ship would be delivered in July 2028.

The LSM program poses a number of potential oversight matters for Congress. The issue for Congress is whether to approve, reject, or modify the Navy’s annual funding requests and envisioned acquisition strategy for the program. Congress’s decisions regarding the program could affect Navy and Marine Corps capabilities and funding requirements and the U.S. shipbuilding industrial base.

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