Page 8. MAINE COASTAL NEWS December 2015 U. S. NAVY NEWS


Members of Congress, USSTRATCOM commander observe missile launch from ballistic missile submarine


USSTRATCOM Public Affairs Offi ce


Offutt Air Force Base, Neb. (NNS) -- Mem- bers of Congress and the U.S. Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM) commander were aboard the USS Kentucky when the U.S. Navy’s Strategic Systems Programs (SSP) conducted a successful test fl ight of a Trident II D5 Missile, Nov. 7, 2015, to obtain valid reliability, accuracy and performance factors for use by the Joint Chiefs of Staff and USSTRATCOM.


The unarmed test missile was launched as part of a Demonstration and Shakedown Operations (DASO) from the USS Ken- tucky, an Ohio Class ballistic missile sub- marine (SSBN), in the Pacifi c Test Range off the coast of Southern California. The primary objective of a DASO is to demon- strate the readiness of a SSBN’s crew and weapon system. This launch marked the 156th successful test fl ight of the Trident II (D5) missile conducted by SSP since 1989. Admiral Haney stated that “strategic weapons tests demonstrate the readiness of our nation’s nuclear triad and serve to assure our allies and deter our potential adversar- ies.” He went on to say that exercises, weap- ons tests and operations are an important part of validating that our deterrence forces are capable 24/7.


Also witnessing the test was a con- gressional delegation including Sen. Joe Donnelly (Indiana), Rep. Stephen Womack (Arkansas), Rep. Pete Visclosky (Indiana), Rep. Jackie Walorski (Indiana), Rep. Larry Bucshon (Indiana) and professional staff members from Senate and House subcom- mittees.


Haney encouraged the observers to share their experience with their colleagues and others as he discussed the importance of strategic deterrence for our nation today, and for tomorrow’s future.


The triad, the U.S. strategic nuclear forces of ballistic missile submarines, in- tercontinental ballistic missiles, bombers and the tankers that refuel them, along with intelligence, sensing capabilities, national nuclear command, control and communi- cations, altogether comprise the primary deterrent of nuclear attacks against the U.S., our allies, and partners.


The U.S. Navy supports USSTRAT-


COM’s strategic deterrence missions by op- erating and maintaining Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines, the most survivable leg of the triad, to deter regional and strategic threats. The weapon system is a critical ele- ment that underpins U.S. national security. U.S. Navy’s SSP conducted another


successful test fl ight - the 157th - of a Tri- dent II D5 Missile, Nov. 9. The unarmed test missile was also launched as part of a DASO


from the USS Kentucky in the Pacifi c Test Range off the coast of Southern California. Haney and the congressional members, however, were not on board. One of nine DoD unifi ed combatant commands, USSTRATCOM has global strategic missions, assigned through the Unifi ed Command Plan, which include stra- tegic deterrence; space operations; cyber- space operations; joint electronic warfare; global strike; missile defense; intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; combating weapons of mass destruction; and analysis and targeting.


Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus Names Virginia-Class Submarine


Secretary of the Navy Public Affairs Foxborough, Mass. (NNS) -- Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus announced that SSN 798, a Virginia-class attack submarine, will bear the name USS Massachusetts during a taped video message at Gillette Stadium. The submarine will be named to honor the history its namesake state has with the Navy. This history extends to 1775, before the offi cial founding of the United States, to the time when George Washington founded the Continental Navy in an effort to protect the 13 colonies from British attack. By 1800, six years after the establishment of the Department of the Navy, one of its fi rst 14 ship yards was incorporated in Boston. And in 1836, The Boston Naval Hospital, one of the fi rst of three hospitals dedicated solely to the care of naval personnel, opened. The future USS Massachusetts will be


the fi fth Navy vessel to serve under that name; the fi rst, a wooden steamer, was a privately owned ship built in Boston in 1845 and purchased by the War Department in 1847. It served as a troop transport for the Army before being transferred to the Department of the Navy in 1849. Before being decommissioned in 1852, it served by scouting potential sites for lighthouses on the West Coast. After being recommissioned in 1854, it transported guns and ammunition during the Puget Sound War. Five years later, it was transferred back to the Army to cruise the Puget Sound providing protection for the inhabitants of the region. In 1862, it was transferred back to the Navy and a year later was converted to a storeship serving in this capacity until its fi nal decommission in 1867.


The second Massachusetts, built in 1860, also in Boston, was bought and com- missioned by the Navy in 1861. She was an iron screw steamer whose service spanned for the entire Civil War. A day after joining her squadron in Pensacola, Florida, Massa- chusetts took her fi rst British ship, Perth- shire. Over the course of the next month, Massachusetts overpowered seven more ships of Mexican and Confederate origins.


Her record continued along these lines until the end of the year when she worked at in- tercepting Confederate freight shipments in Ship Island’s passage until early 1862 when she was decommissioned in New York. She commissioned again in April of that year and served as a supply ship until December when she decommissioned again. In 1863, she recommissioned and continued defeating Confederate ships until the end of the war in 1865.


The third ship to bear the name had


a long history. A battleship commissioned in 1896, it spent the fi rst two years of its service conducting training exercises off the Atlantic coast before being assigned to blockade duties in Cuba in 1898. There she bombarded a Spanish cruiser and multiple fortifi cations. A couple of months later, Massachusetts returned to her duties cruis- ing the Atlantic Coast for about seven years before briefl y becoming a training ship for the Naval Academy. Shortly thereafter she began a pattern of being decommissioned and recommissioned to serve as a training ship before moving to Yorktown, Virginia in 1918 to become a heavy gun target practice ship until the end of World War I. A year later, Massachusetts was decommissioned for a fi nal time. The fi nal Massachusetts was a battle- ship commissioned during the middle of World War II, in 1942. Within days of being launched, she had joined the confl ict off the coast of North Africa and sunk two French ships. In addition, she played a vital role during the war for her defense against the Japanese, largely through her participation in fl eet and air strikes. She was decommis- sioned in 1947, but received 11 Battle Stars for her actions and has been preserved in Fall River, Massachusetts as a memorial for those who served in World War II. Virginia-class attack submarines pro- vide the Navy with the capabilities required to maintain the nation’s undersea suprem- acy well into the 21st century. They have enhanced stealth, sophisticated surveillance capabilities and special warfare enhance- ments that will enable them to meet the Navy’s multi-mission requirements. These submarines have the capability


to attack targets ashore with highly accu- rate Tomahawk cruise missiles and conduct covert, long-term surveillance of land areas, littoral waters or other sea-based forces. Other missions include anti-submarine and anti-ship warfare; mine delivery and mine- fi eld mapping. They are also designed for special forces delivery and support. Each Virginia-class submarine is 7,800- tons and 377 feet in length, has a beam of 34 feet, and can operate at more than 25 knots submerged. They are designed with a reactor plant that will not require refueling during the planned life of the ship, reducing lifecycle costs while increasing underway time. The submarine will be built under a unique teaming agreement between General Dynamics Electric Boat and Huntington In- galls Industries’ Newport News Shipbuild- ing division wherein both companies build


certain portions of each submarine and then alternate deliveries. Massachusetts will be delivered by Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Newport News Shipbuilding.


Patent Push: U.S. Navy Received Nearly 400 Patents In Fiscal Year 2015 By Warren Duffi e, ONR


ARLINGTON, Va. (NNS) -- The Depart- ment of the Navy received 393 patents from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Offi ce in fi scal year 2015-the largest number of patents the Navy has received since fi scal year 1977, offi cials announced Nov. 4. This is the largest number of patents the Navy has received since fi scal year 1977. This surge in patents is critical since by investing in science and technology research-and strengthening the Navy’s patent portfolio-the Offi ce of Naval Re- search (ONR) lays the groundwork for new discoveries that could benefi t both the American warfi ghter and the public. Think of innovations such as cell phones, GPS and radar, which began as ONR-supported mili- tary technology but eventually transformed global culture as well.


ONR manages the Navy’s intellectual property investments, setting policy and conducting oversight of patents as well as trademarks, copyrights, inventions and royalty payments. Patents are designed to protect the patent owner’s interests-exclud- ing others from making, using, offering for sale or selling the invention through the United States, or importing the invention for a specifi ed time.


fi scal year 2015 include:


Some patents issued to the Navy in Using agricultural waste to make sili-


con carbide: This patent takes agricultural byproducts, such as rice and corn husks and fruit pits, and incorporates them into special containers used to produce silicon carbide-a compound found in heating elements for in- dustrial furnaces and in wear-resistant parts for pumps and rocket engines. This provides a new way to use the billions of pounds of agricultural waste produced yearly. A reusable laboratory seat for aircraft


crash testing: This seat accurately simulates seating systems used in military aircraft during crash testing, which can cost $80,000 a seat. It can be tested in a laboratory setting, is reusable and saves the military money while still helping to save lives. Removing nitrous oxide from exhaust gas: Nitrous oxide is a byproduct of fossil fuels and can present severe health hazards to the human respiratory system. This patent focuses on exhaust produced by combus- tion-based energy sources such as coal- and oil-fi red power plants, gas turbines, and diesel and gasoline internal combustion engines.


This latest patent boost is another exam- ple of the Navy’s commitment to innovation. In his recent Innovation Vision statement, Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus said, “As an institution, we have a responsibility to put innovative ideas to work solving the de- manding challenges that lie ahead. We must


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