thedrifter
12-23-08, 11:18 AM
MAKIN ISLANDLHD-8 SHIPSHAPE
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
By APRIL M. HAVENS
The Northrop Grumman-built Makin Island, the U.S. Navy's eighth and final Wasp-class amphibious assault ship, performed well during five days of builder's trials earlier this month, Navy crewmembers from the ship's pre-commissioning unit reported.
Earlier this year, defective electrical wiring on the Makin Island cost Northrop a $326 million write-off. The shipbuilder has said the problems were partly due to inexperienced workers hired after Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
During a third-quarter earnings con ference call in October, Northrop officials told analysts the Pascagoula yard was working past the problems on the LHD-8, reaching significant milestones toward its delivery to the Navy next spring.
The builder's trials, performed Dec. 9-13, marked the first time a U.S. Navy hybrid gas turbine-electric propulsion system has been tested at sea and the first time Makin Island has gone to sea on its own power, Navy officials said.
Northrop Grumman employees and more than 100 Makin Island sailors were on board to observe and monitor the testing, while a Marine checked out the vessel's "green" spaces, or the areas where Marines and their equipment will be housed.
"One of our primary missions with this type of ship is to take Marines and their equipment where they need to go," explained Navy public affairs officer W. Scott Mishley.
"My primary focus during builder's trials was to check the Marines' habitability spaces aboard ship," said Gunnery Sgt. Shane Snyder, combat cargo assistant. "Once Marines start using the ship for what it was designed for, then my focus will shift more to combat cargo. Then, I will make sure the green gear fits aboard ship and the load plans are proper."
"Builder's trials are the best training platform you can have prior to taking custody of the ship and getting under way," said William Toten, gas turbine system technician. "I learned so much these past couple of days because I finally got to see everything work together."
Capt. Robert Kopas, Makin Island's prospective commanding officer, said the trials gave him an opportunity to experience one of the ship's unique features. The system automatically compensated to keep its ordered speed, he said. "Typically, on most other ships you would have to manually order that to happen."
A large number of the shipbuilder's tests focused on the Makin Island's command, control, computers, communications, combat, and intelligence suite. Makin Island is unique among amphibious assault ships, Navy officials said, because it has a SPQ-9 combination fire control radar, upgraded air control radars, and the latest generation of the Ships Self Defense System, a combat system.
Those upgrades improve the ship's defense systems and also allow for better air traffic control, Mishley said.
Fire controlman Amanda Organ, the ship's self-defense system technician,
said tests on her system "were almost 100 percent successful, and our interaction with other combat systems has been consistently good. I realized that we were definitely able to protect ourselves as a Navy vessel."
Bill Glenn, a Northrop spokesman, said many of the ship's systems tested satisfactory, and the ship functioned very well. "Overall, we are pleased with ship's performance and the actions of the shipbuilders and crew," Glenn said.
Northrop Grumman, the Navy's Supervisor of Ship Building for the Gulf Coast, and the Makin Island crew, are now preparing for additional testing and acceptance trials, the next big construction milestone prior to the ship's delivery.
The ship is scheduled for an Oct. 24 commissioning in San Diego.
Ellie
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
By APRIL M. HAVENS
The Northrop Grumman-built Makin Island, the U.S. Navy's eighth and final Wasp-class amphibious assault ship, performed well during five days of builder's trials earlier this month, Navy crewmembers from the ship's pre-commissioning unit reported.
Earlier this year, defective electrical wiring on the Makin Island cost Northrop a $326 million write-off. The shipbuilder has said the problems were partly due to inexperienced workers hired after Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
During a third-quarter earnings con ference call in October, Northrop officials told analysts the Pascagoula yard was working past the problems on the LHD-8, reaching significant milestones toward its delivery to the Navy next spring.
The builder's trials, performed Dec. 9-13, marked the first time a U.S. Navy hybrid gas turbine-electric propulsion system has been tested at sea and the first time Makin Island has gone to sea on its own power, Navy officials said.
Northrop Grumman employees and more than 100 Makin Island sailors were on board to observe and monitor the testing, while a Marine checked out the vessel's "green" spaces, or the areas where Marines and their equipment will be housed.
"One of our primary missions with this type of ship is to take Marines and their equipment where they need to go," explained Navy public affairs officer W. Scott Mishley.
"My primary focus during builder's trials was to check the Marines' habitability spaces aboard ship," said Gunnery Sgt. Shane Snyder, combat cargo assistant. "Once Marines start using the ship for what it was designed for, then my focus will shift more to combat cargo. Then, I will make sure the green gear fits aboard ship and the load plans are proper."
"Builder's trials are the best training platform you can have prior to taking custody of the ship and getting under way," said William Toten, gas turbine system technician. "I learned so much these past couple of days because I finally got to see everything work together."
Capt. Robert Kopas, Makin Island's prospective commanding officer, said the trials gave him an opportunity to experience one of the ship's unique features. The system automatically compensated to keep its ordered speed, he said. "Typically, on most other ships you would have to manually order that to happen."
A large number of the shipbuilder's tests focused on the Makin Island's command, control, computers, communications, combat, and intelligence suite. Makin Island is unique among amphibious assault ships, Navy officials said, because it has a SPQ-9 combination fire control radar, upgraded air control radars, and the latest generation of the Ships Self Defense System, a combat system.
Those upgrades improve the ship's defense systems and also allow for better air traffic control, Mishley said.
Fire controlman Amanda Organ, the ship's self-defense system technician,
said tests on her system "were almost 100 percent successful, and our interaction with other combat systems has been consistently good. I realized that we were definitely able to protect ourselves as a Navy vessel."
Bill Glenn, a Northrop spokesman, said many of the ship's systems tested satisfactory, and the ship functioned very well. "Overall, we are pleased with ship's performance and the actions of the shipbuilders and crew," Glenn said.
Northrop Grumman, the Navy's Supervisor of Ship Building for the Gulf Coast, and the Makin Island crew, are now preparing for additional testing and acceptance trials, the next big construction milestone prior to the ship's delivery.
The ship is scheduled for an Oct. 24 commissioning in San Diego.
Ellie