The United States Navy has recently decommissioned its very last Oliver Hazard Perry-class guided-missile frigate, the USS Simpson (FFG56). This marks a new age of naval warfare, where it is becoming less likely for ships to go to battle in the open sea. Before lowering its flags, the USS Simpson covered its windows and removed its weapons. The ship will now travel to Philadelphia, where it will wait until it is sold off to a foreign nation. The USS Simpson’s service came to an end after 30 years of service, concluding with a ceremony at Mayport Naval Station in Jacksonville, Florida. During these three decades of active duty, the USS Simpson was capable of firing missiles at and sinking an Iranian oil platform as well as an Iranian Navy vessel during a battle in April of 1988. Now, the only remaining Navy ship to have sunk an enemy is the USS Constitution, which did so over a couple of centuries ago during the War of 1812.
In honor of the long-standing history with the namesake state, the US Navy christened its newest Virginia-class attack submarine as the USS Idaho (SSN 799).
Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) has secured a $57.8m contract to carry out planning in support of modernization and maintenance for the US Navy’s Los Angeles-class submarine, USS Columbus. This contract will include the restoration and maintenance of the ship’s tanks, propulsion systems, hull structure, armament, and furnishings. If all the options are exercised on the contract, the total value will be expected to reach $288 million. The project is scheduled to be complete in May 2019.
Austal USA delivered the future USS Jackson to the U.S. Navy as part of its first littoral combat ship in a 10-ship, $3.5 billion block-buy contract. This latest vessel represents the fifth LCS and the third of the Independence variant to join the Navy. Navy officials expressed enthusiasm about Tuesday’s arrival of the USS Jackson, which will soon bring the total operational number of LCS ships up to five.
Currently, the United States has two icebreaker ships to patrol the Arctic, the Polar Star and the Polar Sea. However, the Polar Star is no longer operational and has been parked up, the crew transferred to the Polar Sea, and its parts transferred to the Polar Sea to keep it operational. According to Admiral Paul F. Zukunft, commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, the United States is in desperate need of recreating a presence in the Arctic. With only 2 ships in comparison to Russia’s 27, we are practically a bystander in the region.
