Navy fishes for COD aircraft

Current COD C-2A Greyhound

Grumman C-2 Greyhound - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
C-2 Greyhound Carrier On-Board Delivery Aircraft - Naval Technology

Northrop Grumman is currently working on the resupply of the upgraded C-2A version. In November 2008, the company also obtained a $37m contract for the maintenance, logistics and aviation administration services over five years for the C-2A fleet assigned to air test and evaluation squadron 20 (VX-20) at Patuxent River.

A service life extension programme (SLEP) is being carried out to improve the operating service life of the reprocured aircraft, achieving a viable and economically maintainable platform until it is replaced. The programme will increase its service life from 15,020 to 36,000 landings and from 10,000 to 15,000 flight hours. The SLEP involves structural enhancements to the centre wing, an aircraft rewire, a new propeller system and improvement of the avionics systems.

Battle brews over US Navy C-2A Greyhound replacement - 4/10/2013 - Flight Global

Bell-Boeing, with the strong backing of the US Marine Corps, is urging the USN to replace its C-2s with its V-22 Osprey tiltrotor. While the navy is officially on board to buy 48 Ospreys, the service has never found a niche for the machine nor has it allocated funding to pay for those aircraft.

For Bell-Boeing, an opportunity arose when a USN analysis of alternatives showed that the only suitable follow-ons to the Greyhound for the carrier onboard delivery (COD) mission were the V-22 or a modernised C-2. A draft request for proposal might be issued as early as 2014.

US Navy Eyes C-2, H-60 Replacement Programs | Defense News | defensenews.com

The newest C-2A dates from 1990, and the service is planning to award a replacement contract in 2016. Among the contenders are an updated version of the C-2A from Northrop, and a COD version of the Bell-Boeing MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft.
“Frankly, we’re looking at tilt-rotors as a potential option to replace the COD in the future. It’s a pretty versatile capability,” Rear Adm. Bill Moran, the US Navy’s director of air warfare at the Pentagon, said during a recent interview.
While the flexibility of a tilt-rotor is attractive, the Osprey has its issues.

The Future COD Aircraft Contenders: The Northrop Grumman C-2A Greyhound | Defense Media Network

Although the C-2s entered the fleet in 1966, the 35 aircraft currently flying are “reprocured” C-2As acquired in the mid-1980s. Those aircraft have just undergone a service life extension program upgrade (SLEP), which will keep them serviceable until the mid-2020s. “There’s a lot of life left in these airplanes,” says Steve Squires, director of product support and sustainment for Northrop Grumman’s E-2 and C-2 programs.
Rather than replace them at that time, Northrop Grumman is proposing a modernization approach that would give the C-2 the same wings, glass cockpit and engines as the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye.

Navy Considers Aircraft for Future Carrier Delivery Mission | DoD Buzz

The Navy is evaluating a range of aircraft as possible future platforms to perform landing, take-off and delivery missions of supplies and personnel onto aircraft carriers at sea, service officials said.
A new-build aircraft, V-22 Osprey, S-3 Viking aircraft and upgraded C-2 Greyhound plane are among the range of options currently being considered by the Navy for the Carrier Onboard Delivery, or COD, mission, said Brian Scolpino, COD recapitalization manager.
Whichever aircraft is chosen will need to meet a range of mission-specific requirements such as the ability to transport 26 passengers and carry 10,000-pounds of cargo for distances up to 1,150 miles, he said.

Navy Considers Aircraft for Future Carrier Delivery Mission | global aviation report

Editor’s note: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it! C-2 has performed this job magnificently for years. It has parts commonality with the E-2C (D if new buy) Hawkeye for maintenance purposes. Its turbo-props offer good fuel economy at lower operating altitudes. If it can’t hold an F-35 engine (one of the selling points for pulling S-3s out of the D-M Boneyard and giving them a new fuselage) then buy new-build Greyhounds with improved T56-A-427A turboprop engines (has extreme reliability, new six-bladed scimitar propellers) and a bigger fuselage to accommodate the Lightening II’s engine (how hard can that be?). Or carry spare engines on-board the CVN and if needed use an MH-53 with a special sling for F135 transport. The -53 can be refueled in-flight to extend its range (now projected at 288 miles) if needed.

NAVY CONSIDERS AIRCRAFT FOR FUTURE CARRIER DELIVERY MISSION | Article - Mon 29 Sep 2014 06:14:45 PM UTC | airsoc.com, reach for the sky.

Landing a V-22 Osprey helicopter-style on
aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush

Marines Push Quietly, But Firmly, For Navy to Replace C-2s With V-22s

The C-2 will soon be “an obsolete carrier on-board delivery platform,” said Marine Col. Greg Masiello, who as V-22 program manager for the Naval Air Systems Command is openly advocating the Osprey as a replacement. “I might be considered biased, but it’s an ideal platform for aerial resupply for the Navy.”
A Navy purchase of Ospreys is hardly a new idea. In the 1980s, when Navy Secretary John Lehman fathered the V-22 program, the Navy was supposed to buy as many as 380 for search and rescue and for anti-submarine warfare. That plan evaporated after Lehman left office in 1987, but since the 1990s, the Navy has — at least nominally — had a plan to buy 48 Ospreys. The V-22 first went into service with the Marines in 2007, though, and hasn’t been available in the past when the Navy had a suitable requirement to fill.

V-22 Tiltrotor Could Revolutionize Naval Logistics In The Pacific

V-22_Navy_PC_LR.PDF

Status of The FAA UAV Test Sites

So far, a lot of press announcements, but little definitive testing has apparently been done.  Links and Contacts have been identified.

Fact Sheet – FAA UAS Test Site Program

as of 7/24/14

2014 Annual Meeting Presentations | National Lieutenant Governors Association (NLGA)
JSkaggs-NLGA-7-24-14-v1.pdf

UAS Test Sites Contacts
The Test Sites: Who, What, Where
On December 30, 2013, the FAA announced the following six applicants had been selected to operate the UAS test sites:

• University of Alaska.  ACUASI
• Alaska; University of Alaska; Pan-Pacific UAS Test Range Complex Director and Deputy Director, ACUASI; Rosanne Bailey; rbailey11@alaska.edu 
• UAVs get tested in Fairbanks for public safety uses - Fairbanks Daily News-Miner: Local News
• development of a set of standards for unmanned aircraft categories, state monitoring and navigation.  
• work on safety standards for UAS operations. 
• Battlespace at Pan Pacific UAS Test Range
• New director, focus of the Alaska Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration Marty Rogers was appointed to lead ACUASI in January 2014
• Pan Pacific UAS Test Range Complex (PPUTRC) A Component of ACUASI-Bailey.pdf
• State of Nevada. Nevada Institute for Autonomous Systems
•  Nevada; State of Nevada; Communications Director; Ms. Jennifer Cooper jcooper@diversifynevada.com
• UAS standards and operations
• operator standards and certification requirements. 
• a concentrated look at how air traffic control procedures will evolve with the introduction of UAS into the civil environment 
• how these aircraft will be integrated with NextGen.  
• Nevada Becomes Third Operational FAA UAS Test Site
• New York’s Griffiss International Airport. NUAIR Alliance
• New York; Griffiss International Airport; NUAIR Technical Director; Dr. Ray Young; ryoung@nuair.org
• developing test and evaluation 
• verification and validation processes under FAA safety oversight. 
• sense and avoid capabilities for UAS 
• researching the complexities of integrating UAS into the congested, northeast airspace.
• FAA Announces New York UAS Test Site Now Operational
• North Dakota Department of Commerce Northern Plains Unmanned Aircraft Systems  .  
• North Dakota; North Dakota Department of Commerce; Director, Economic Development and Finance Division; Mr. Paul Lucy; plucy@nd.gov
• develop UAS airworthiness essential data and validate high reliability link technology.
•  conduct human factors research. 
• a variety of different airspace which will benefit multiple users.
• First FAA-Approved Drone Test Site Goes Live Next Week in North Dakota - IEEE Spectrum
• Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi - Lone Star UAS Center of Excellence & Innovation.  
• Texas; Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi; Senior Research Development Officer; Ron George; ronald.george@tamucc.edu
• develop system safety requirements for UAS vehicles and operations 
• a goal of protocols and procedures for airworthiness testing. 
• Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) - Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership UAS Test Site .  
• Virginia; Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University ("Virginia Tech"); Director; Mrs. Rose Mooney; mooneyr@vt.edu
• to conduct UAS failure mode testing 
• identify and evaluate operational and technical risks areas. 
• FAA Announces Virginia Tech UAS Test Site Now Operational

In totality, these six test applications achieve cross-country geographic and climatic diversity and help the FAA meet its UAS research goals of

• System Safety & Data Gathering, 
• Aircraft Certification, 
• Command & Control Link Issues, 
• Control Station Layout & Certification, 
• Ground & Airborne Sense & Avoid, 
• Environmental Impacts.

The FAA Creates Thin Privacy Guidelines For The Nation's First Domestic Drone "Test Sites" | Electronic Frontier Foundation

The FAA Won't Tell Its Drone Test Sites What to Test | Motherboard

In April, the United States' first commercial drone test site opened in North Dakota. Since then, it's done, well, not a whole lot.
That's not the test site's fault: Officials at the independently-operated site insist they are ready and willing to fly, anxious to start helping the Federal Aviation Administration commercialize drones. But the FAA hasn't told them what, exactly, they're supposed to be testing. And now, there's evidence that the very idea of the test sites is being somewhat tossed out the window, leading administrators like Becklund to wonder what, exactly, they're here for.
The question, then, is: What is the FAA thinking?
The agency established these test sites in order to experiment with commercial drones, but it isn't letting the test sites do any testing. It hasn't even told the test sites what they are supposed to be testing. In fact, the only indication it has given anyone about what each test site will specialize in is from a press release in January, which noted that North Dakota would "validate high reliability link technology" and "conduct human factors research."
That came as news to Becklund: "The only time we've ever seen that is in the press release," he said.

NAVMAR ASC an SBIR Success Story with Tigershark UAV and Payload Sensors

SBIR Success Story

Navmar Applied Sciences Corporation: Overview | LinkedIn
Navmar’s LADAR and Probe Sensor SBIR Research

Navmar Applied Sciences Corp. in Warminster, PA is not the only firm to win “Laser Radar” related contracts, nor are they the only firm to invest in LADAR for various uses. But they have received a series of contracts dating back from 2000, and collectively worth over $240 million, in order to develop the technology into deployed systems.
Navmar’s contracts have been issued under the auspices of the US Navy’s Small Business Innovation Research program, under SBIR Solicitation Topics N92-170 (Laser Detection and Ranging Identification Demonstration) and N94-178 (Air Deployable Expendable Multi-parameter Environmental Probe).

Navy Search Database - Summary Report

Navmar Applied Sciences Corporation (Navmar) has developed technology highly desirable and directly applicable to the Navy Warfighter’s need for portable surveillance and remote target identification systems. Phase III of SBIR Topic N92-170 (Laser Radar Identification Demonstration) addressed a total integrated system approach including the modification of Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance aircraft with Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance and enhanced communications packages using technologies developed under Phases I and II. The Navy mission requirement for low cost/expendable standoff surveillance, reconnaissance, and targeting was addressed through the development of medium and long endurance UAV (Unmanned Air Vehicle) systems with reconfigurable payloads. Navmar is positioned to utilize the directly applicable SBIR results to develop medium and long endurance UAV systems capable of housing and/or delivering flexibly configured payloads. Navmar has the capability to produce UAV prototypes to deploy Maritime LADAR on UAVs.

Navmar’s successful performance on SBIR Phase III (Topic N92-170) revealed that the Electro-Optic surveillance aspect of the LADAR system, which provides for hands-off, queuing, and targeting for the LADAR, can solve other Navy needs for surveillance. The technology developed under the SBIR addressed 3 to 5 micron infrared Focal Plane Array (FPA) versus the standard 8 to 12 micron focal planes in use. This led to higher resolution imagery and more sensitive detection capabilities. Navmar’s goal is to successfully apply this technology to the Navy’s need for portable surveillance systems and the need for high resolution imagery with portability being a key factor. The application of Maritime LADAR on UAVs is an outgrowth of the ability to see through cover and create 3D imagery.

Tigershark UAV

NAVMAR Team

NAVMAR RQ-23 Tigershark UAV

Navmar to upgrade TigerShark medium-endurance UAV with new sensors and airframe enhancements - Military & Aerospace Electronics

JOINT BASE McGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J., 18 Feb. 2014. Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) designers at Navmar Applied Sciences Corp. in Warminster, Pa., will upgrade their TigerShark medium-sized UAV with electro-optical sensor payload and airframe improvements under terms of a $44.7 million U.S. Navy contract announced late last week.


Officials of the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division-Lakehurst at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., are awarding Navmar at phase-3 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract for TigerShark improvements.
The Navmar TigerShark UAV for reconnaissance and surveillance missions has a wingspan of 22 feet, weighs 260 pounds, has a payload capacity of 50 pounds, and a flight duration of 10 hours

NASC (Navmar Applied Sciences Corporation) Announces Availability of Commercial Version of Tigershark Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) |

WARMINSTER, PA, July 29, 2014 /24-7PressRelease/ -- NASC announced the availability of the TigerShark XP, a commercial version of their RQ-23 TigerShark RPA, which has performed highly successful Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) missions for the US military in numerous theaters of operation.

The TigerShark XP is a group three category RPA that leverages the demonstrated reliability and proven operational performance of the TigerShark RQ-23 with emphasis on system upgrades including improved flight performance, SATCOM and multi-sensor compatibility. "TigerShark XP will meet the ISR mission requirements of a broad domestic and global customer base for missions such as peacekeeping, border patrol and littoral water monitoring and numerous commercial applications. TigerShark XP provides system solutions with performance that rivals larger and costlier RPA's on the market today," said Thomas Fenerty, president of NASC. 

U.S. Navy "Tiger Shark" UAVs will enhance the ability to detect explosives - News News

BEIJING, Feb. 20, according to China National Defense Science and Technology Information Network reported that the Naval Air Systems Command awarded the company a $ 44.7 million contract to expand and enhance the RQ-23A 'Tiger Shark' UAV capability. Navmar company will upgrade the equipment in the RQ-23A Ku-band 'Copperhead' synthetic aperture radar system performance and improve the integration of command and control systems. 'Copperhead' radar by the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization (JIEDDO and Sandia National Laboratory designed to detect improvised explosive devices (IED.

spendergast: Sandia Copperhead Mini-SAR IED Detector proven in JIEDDO tests to Army

Recent Contract Awards

 Defense.gov Contracts for Monday, September 29, 2014

NAVMAR Applied Sciences Corp.,* Warminster, Pennsylvania, is being awarded $12,296,784 for delivery order 0015 against a previously issued Basic Ordering Agreement (N68335-10-G-0026) for work associated with a Phase III Small Business Innovation Research effort under Topics 

• N92-170: Laser Radar Laser Detection and Ranging Identification Demonstration;
• N94-178: Air-Deployable Expendable Multi-Parameter Environmental Probe; and 
• AF083-006: Low Cost Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance, Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). 

Efforts include the assessment, procurement, and deployment of intelligence, surveillance, and
reconnaissance systems, communication systems, unmanned systems, noise reduction technology, improved aircraft aerodynamics to include increased lift and decreased drag, unmanned air vehicle weatherization, improved endurance, support of at sea Navy operations and related support hardware. Work will be performed in Yuma, Arizona (30 percent); Patuxent River, Maryland (20 percent); Afghanistan (20 percent); China Lake, California (15 percent); and Point Mugu, California (15 percent), and is expected to be completed in September 2015. Fiscal 2014 operations and maintenance (Army) funds in the amount of $253,000 will be obligated at time of award, all of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division,
Lakehurst, New Jersey, is the contracting activity.

NAVMAR Applied Sciences Corp.,* Warminster, Pennsylvania, is being awarded $8,597,356 for delivery order 0001 against a previously issued Basic Ordering Agreement (N68335-14-G-0040) for work associated with a Phase III Small Business Innovation Research effort under topics \

• N08-023: Precision High Altitude Sonobuoy Emplacement;
• N94-178: Air-Deployable Expendable Multi-Parameter Environmental Probe; and 
• AF083-006: Low Cost Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance, Unmanned Aerial Vehicle. 

 Efforts are associated with the advancements in command, control, communications, computer, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance technologies to enhance communication techniques between the sensors and/or platforms and interfaces; analyze the fusion and exploitation of multi-source sensor data; and develop any other technique to advance capabilities. This work will be performed in Yuma, Arizona (30 percent); Patuxent River, Maryland (30 percent); Warminster, Pennsylvania (20 percent); and Washington, District of Columbia (20 percent), and is expected to be completed in September 2016. Fiscal 2014 operations and maintenance (Army) and research, development, test and evaluation (Navy and Defense-wide) funds in the amount of $828,899 will be obligated at the time of award, $766,139 of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Lakehurst, New Jersey, is the contracting activity. 
NAVMAR Applied Sciences Corp.,* Warminster, Pennsylvania, is being awarded $8,180,100 for cost-plus-fixed-fee delivery order 0002 against a previously issued Basic Ordering Agreement (N68335-11-G-0040) for work associated with a Phase II Small Business Innovation Research effort under Topics

• N08-023 Precision High Altitude Sonobuoy Emplacement,
• N92-170 LADAR Identification Demonstration, and
• AF083-006 Low-Cost Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance, Unmanned Aerial Vehicle. 

This order provides for the development, test, and evaluation of advanced intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance sensors, as well as enhanced surveillance capabilities to the deployed warfighter that can be integrated into existing naval platforms to support U.S. Special Operations Command activities. Work will be performed in Lexington Park, Maryland (50 percent); Washington, District of Columbia (20 percent); Avon Park, Florida (10 percent); Yuma, Arizona (10 percent); Warminster, Pennsylvania (5 percent); and Ponca City, Oklahoma (5 percent), and is expected to be completed in September 2016. Fiscal 2014 research, development, test and evaluation, and fiscal 2014 operations and maintenance (Defense Wide) funds in the amount of $85,996, will be obligated at time of award, $14,409 of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Lakehurst, New Jersey, is the contracting activity. 

South Korea plays games with F35 and Satellites

Exclusive: Lockheed to buy European satellite for South Korea in F-35 deal | Reuters
Lockheed to buy European satellite for South Korea in F-35 deal | Business Recorder
Asian Defence News: Lockheed to buy European satellite for South Korea in F-35 deal

 (Reuters) - Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N) said it will buy a European-built military communications satellite for South Korea as part of a $7 billion deal to supply Seoul with 40 F-35 fighter jets, in what industry observers call among the most unusual "offset" agreements ever to accompany a major arms sale.
U.S. government and industry officials said they believed it was the first time that a U.S. firm had included a satellite in a so-called "offset agreement" with an arms deal. In this case, Seoul's offset target was 50 percent of the value of the jets.
Marco Caceres, an analyst with the Virginia-based Teal Group, said the new satellite may be built by France's Thales (TCFP.PA), which has already built several satellites for South Korea. The satellite was likely medium-sized and would cost several hundred million dollars to build, plus another $100 million to launch, he said.  

not new, SATCOM was included in the original deal

Seoul Eyes Secure Satcom, KF-X Tech In F-35 Deal | Defense content from Aviation Week

With Seoul’s March 24 announcement of its long-held intent to purchase the F-35A, South Korea is likely securing an offset deal that will include a new military communications satellite and technical assistance in the country’s plans to develop an indigenous stealthy KF-X fighter.

Also in the offset proposal is a secure satellite communications satellite; Lockheed is building the newest U.S. Air Force jam-proof satellite called the Advanced Extremely High Frequency spacecraft. It is built on the company’s A2100 bus and includes the latest security measures to avoid interference or jamming. The offset also includes “necessary control equipment and technical training,” Rein says. The deal could cover delivery of the new satellite, launch and turnover of the operational system. 

Koreasat 5 Launch

South Korea | Thales Group

In the Space sector, Thales Alenia Space was prime contractor for the Koreasat 5 dual-purpose commercial and military communication satellite programme. 

North Korea earlier this year jammed military communications
running through a South Korea satellite, according to a report
in the Joong Ang Ilbo. A powerful signal sent from a
location near Pyongyang caused interference
to military communications on the Koreasat 5 satellite in March

South Korean Satellite Launched to Serve Dual Purpose

Carrying a high-powered payload of broadband transponders, Koreasat 5 will operate on behalf of SouthKorea's Agency for Defense Development and the KT Corporation - a leading telecommunications provider in the Asia-Pacific region. A total of 36 transponders are split between the two co-owners.

With the new satellite, South Korea's military will have a dedicated system to offer a secure route for critical communications throughout the armed forces. Eight channels in the super high frequency band and four Ka-band transponders make up the craft's payload. Koreasat 5 is the nation's first satellite with military communications as a primary objective.

  South Korea and Satellite Communication Systems

South Korea's first two spacecraft were based on the UK's Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. (SSTL) microsatellite design. Kitsat 1 (aka Uribyol 1, 10 August 1992) and Kitsat 2 (aka Uribyol 2, 26 September 1993) were carried as piggyback passengers on Ariane flights to LEO. Although neither of the spacecraft were true communications satellites, both were equipped with a modest store-and-forward messaging capability (References 374-377).

The long-range goal of South Korea is to develop its own spacecraft. A step in this direction was taken with Kitsat 2, which was assembled in South Korea from UK components. The next step is the much delayed, dual-purpose Kompsat. Relying heavily on a TRW spacecraft bus and engineering expertise, South Korea will assist in the design and manufacture of Kompsat which will perform remote sensing as well as serve as a communications relay. The 400-kg spacecraft will be inserted into a 685-km, sun-synchronous orbit in 1998 or 1999 (References 378-382). South Korea has discussed a similar venture with the PRC (References 383-385).

Space Law and Policy in the Republic of Korea_D.H.Kim.pdf

Seven critical prostate cancer controversies

Seven critical prostate cancer controversies | THE "NEW" PROSTATE CANCER INFOLINK
answers in brief =

1. Who should receive regular tests (“screening”) for risk of prostate cancer and how? don't know, but no-one is not the answer.
2. Does ANYthing actually prevent prostate cancer? nothing has been proven to.
3. Who does NOT need immediate treatment for low-risk prostate cancer and how can we best identify them? current technology can't tell, but new tests are becoming available.
4. Can we actually cure prostate cancer in MOST men diagnosed with high-risk disease? yes with high probability if detected early enough.
5. What is the “best” type of treatment for localized prostate cancer? no one best treatment fits all.
6. When should androgen deprivation therapy (ADT, also known as “hormone” therapy) be started in men with progressive prostate cancer? we don't know.
7. Is intermittent ADT as good as continuous ADT for men with progressive prostate cancer? we don't know.

 

All Electric USS Zumwalt (DDG 1000) lights-off first Rolls Royce MTG set

ZUMWALT (DDG 1000): The Future Is Getting Closer

Future USS Zumwalt (DDG 1000) achieves successful Light-Off of first Main Turbine Generator Set - Rolls-Royce PR

Successful MTG Light Off for USS Zumwalt

Rolls-Royce Selected to Power New Navy Destroyer

Rolls-Royce will supply the U.S. Navy’s surface combatant ship with the world’s most powerful marine gas turbine. Four MT30 gas turbine generator sets will be supplied for two DDG-1000 Zumwalt Class destroyers, with deliveries of the 36MW MT30 sets to begin in 2009. An MT30 generator set currently provides power to the U.S. Navy’s DDG-1000 Land Based Test Site in Philadelphia and the MT30 has also been selected to power the first two Lockheed Martin Littoral Combat Ships.

apparently they beat GE - Military | Marine Propulsion | Engines | GE Aviation

DDG 1000: Milestone at U.S. Navy Test Site

Converteam in partnership with the U.S. Navy have successfully tested the DDG 1000’s high voltage Integrated Power System (IPS)(1) to full power at the Land Based Test Site located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. DDG 1000 is the first U.S. Navy surface combatant to leverage this technology—an all-electric architecture providing electric power for both propulsion and ship services.

G.E. to Buy Converteam for $3.2 Billion - NYTimes.com
Converteam now part of GE.

USS ZUMWALT Plugged In

PHILADELPHIA - The pre-commissioning crew of future USS Zumwalt (DDG 1000) completed training March 14 at Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock Division – Ship Systems Engineering Station (NSWCCD-SSES) where they learned to operate the unique systems of the U.S. Navy’s first all-electric ship. This was the first opportunity for the crew to get hands-on experience operating and maintaining the Integrated Power System (IPS). 

Future USS Zumwalt (DDG 1000) achieves successful light-off of first main turbine generator set

Onboard the Zumwalt are two Rolls-Royce MT30 Main Turbine Generator Sets (MTGs) and two RR4500 Auxiliary Turbine Generator Sets (ATGs) that will provide a total of 78 MW for total ship power - the MTGs provide 35.4 MW each and the ATGs 3.8 MW each.

The MT30 is the most power dense marine gas turbine in the world, selected to power the most modern and advanced vessels in the US Navy, including the Freedom Class Littoral Combat Ship, as well as with the Royal Navy’s Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers, the innovative Type 26 Global Combat Ship, and the Republic of Korea Navy’s FFX Batch II frigate.

Turboelectric Drive in American Capital Ships

Electrical propulsion was tried before, but advanced electric propulsion technology makes it now economical and feasible. 
Turboelectric drive offers several advantages:

1. There is no mechanical connection between the turbogenerator shaft and the propeller shaft, allowing both to turn at their disparate efficient speeds.  This reduces propeller rotation speeds and increases fuel efficiency.
2. The motor rooms can be placed nearer the stern than can reduction-geared turbines, eliminating the need to lead the propeller shafts farther forward in the ship.
3. The machinery components are more easily segregated into multiple compartments, and require fewer steam line penetrations of watertight bulkheads.
4. The turbo-electric drive consumes less beam, allowing more hull breadth to be devoted to the torpedo defense system.
5. The propeller shafts can be immediately reversed by simply switching the direction of the electric motors without the need to reroute steam to a separate reversing turbine.
6. Equal power (but not speed) is available for ahead or astern steaming.  Astern steaming can also be maintained indefinitely.
7. The machinery is more easily cross-connected in the event of battle damage through the switching of electrical loads between different turbogenerators and motors, and the elimination of propulsive steam lines.
8. More steam is available at all power levels for the ship's service turbogenerators (SSTGs), making more power available for ancillary systems (including main battery elevation and training) and electronics.
9. Most major electrical components are reparable by the ship's company at sea.

The turboelectric drive also has several inherent negatives:

1. It is heavier and more expensive than a direct drive or reduction geared turbine installation.
2. It is susceptible to turbogenerator room damage.
3. It is susceptible to damage to the main control compartment containing the bus bar system.
4. It is susceptible to shorting out from shock damage to the bus bar system. 

Electrical Propulsion Tougher to knock out than you might think:

Eight US Navy capital ships with turboelectric propulsion; Damage suffered:

• BB-40 New Mexico- 06 Jan 45 Kamikaze ; 12 May 45, Kamikaze - Plant replaced by geared turbines during reconstruction.
• BB-43 Tennessee - First installation with refined subdivision. - 07 Dec 41 2 bombs; 14 Jun 44 3 coastal artillery shells; 12 Apr 45 Kamikaze
• BB-44 California - 07 Dec 41 2 torpedoes; 2 bombs [Sunk, Salvaged] ; 14 Jun 44 1 coastal artillery shell ; 06 Jan 45 Kamikaze
• BB-45 Colorado - 24 Jul 44 22 coastal artillery shells ; 27 Nov 44 2 Kamikazes ; 09 Jan 45 Multiple friendly AA shells
• BB-46 Maryland - 07 Dec 41 2 bombs ; 14 Jun 44 1 torpedo ; 29 Nov 44 Kamikaze ; 07 April 45 Kamikaze
• BB-48 West Virginia - Completed under Treaty in exchange for Mutsu. - 07 Dec 41 9 torpedoes; 2 bombs [Sunk, Salvaged] ; 01 Apr 45 Kamikaze
• CC-1 Lexington - Completed as carrier (CV-2 Lexington) under Treaty.- 08 May 42 2 torpedoes; 2 bombs [Scuttled, Sunk]
• CC-3 - Saratoga - Completed as carrier (CV-3 Saratoga) under Treaty. -11 Jan 42 1 torpedo  31 Aug 42 1 torpedo ; 21 Feb 45 3 bombs; 4 Kamikazes 

BB40 USS New Mexico

first electric propelled battleship
commissioned on 20 May 1918

BB40, USS New Mexico had turbo-electric transmission, in which the high-speed steam turbine drove a set of generators providing electricity to electric motors turning the propeller shafts. General Electric ran an advertisement titled "The "Constitution" of To-day — Electronically Propelled" with a drawing of the New Mexico next to USS Constitution. The ad touted the battleship as "the first of any nation to be electrically propelled". The electrical generating plant was said to put out 28,000 horsepower (20.9 Megawatts) for a cruising speed of 10 knots, top speed 21 kts. GE called it one of the most important achievements of the scientific age and related it to consumer products noting that "so general are the applications of electricity to the needs of mankind that scarcely a home or individual today need be without the benefits of General Electric products and service." An illustrated booklet titled "The Electric Ship" was offered free of charge upon request.^[3]

A comparison of the turbo-electric propulsion with the more conventional direct-drive turbine design used on her sister ships showed that the conventional design generated 2.5x the power per ton of machinery and required 1/3 the floor area although at the cost of 20% greater fuel consumption, always a concern for the U.S. Navy given Pacific distances. The turbo-electric design allowed for the equipment to be split between smaller watertight compartments, which was a potential benefit should parts of the engine space be attacked and flooded. There was a design weakness in that all electrical connections went through a single switch room, which could entirely disable the ship were that room to be hit. Saratoga, which used a similar propulsion design, lost power for five minutes when it was hit by a torpedo in 1942. The scheme of watertight subdivisions was further weakened by large ventilation trunks passing through bulkheads and glass windows in the generator room bulkhead.^[4]

Simulating and Designing How will it work

ESRDC: Electric Ship Research and Development Consortium

The U.S. Navy is investing in technology for an electric naval force to enable increasing affordability and military capability. This transformational war fighting capability represents unprecedented levels of system complexity, through integrated electric power systems technologies that will include electric propulsion, energy storage, and enable integration of future electric weapons and sensors, while ensuring system communality.

The unique and challenging requirements of the electric naval force require a dedicated effort in development and assessment of technologies and system engineering, and in manpower.

To achieve the goals of the electric naval force, the Navy is making substantial investments in universities to provide leadership in the technologies and system engineering, as well as the education and training of the employees in both the Navy and industry.

As a result, the Office of Naval Research established the Electric Ship Research and Development Consortium in 2002 to stimulate a multidisciplinary approach to the electric naval force system complexity, and to develop the necessary tools for the complex system design and engineering to reduce the risk and costs of early decisions.

Aaron M. Cramer, Fei Pan, Hanling Chen (UKY), Edwin L. Zivi(USNA), Modeling and Simulation for Early-Stage QuantitativeAssessment of Medium-Voltage DC Power System Protection Schemes

—Short-circuit protection is one of the greatest risks associated with a transition towards medium-voltage dc (MVDC) shipboard power systems. While ac circuit breakers and associ- ated protection schemes are well-understood, there are remaining technical challenges associated with the protection of MVDC systems. Technologies such as dc circuit breakers and fault current limiters are not as mature as their ac counterparts. Herein, a method for extending a successful early-stage modeling approach in order to assess alternative MVDC protection schemes quantitatively is described. This method will generalize the existing approach to consider the effect of the behavior of breakers and sectionalizers on the ability of the power system to provide power through both accidental faults and those resulting from damage. This entails modifications to the bus model to account for nonideal sectionalizing behavior and modifications to the generator model to address temporary generator bus faults. This approach is demonstrated using a notional power system model.

 

J. S. Chalfant and C. Chryssostomidis, Analysis of VariousAll-Electric-Ship Electrical Distribution System Topologies, Design Laboratory, MIT Sea Grant College Program, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Cambridge, MA, USA

Email: fchalfant, chrysg@mit.edu

Abstract—As advances in technology mature, the need is evident for a coherent simulation of the total electric-drive ship to model the effect of new systems on the overall performance of the vessel. Our laboratory has been developing an integrated architectural model in a physics-based environment which analyzes ship variants using a standard set of metrics, including weight, volume, fuel usage and survivability. This paper discusses advances in the model including the use of operational scenarios, incorporation of a survivability metric, and streamlining the performance of model. The model is employed herein to compare two possible distribution system topologies: a ring bus and a breaker-and-a-half. The ring bus is heavier and larger but more survivable. Fuel usage is equivalent in the two variants.