Naval Swiss Army Knife: MK 41 Vertical Missile Launch Systems (VLS)

MK 41s in action

The naval MK 41 Vertical Launching System (VLS) hides missiles below decks in vertical slots, with key electronics and venting systems built in. A deck and hatch assembly at the top of the module protects the missile canisters from the elements, and from other hazards during storage. Once the firing sequence begins, the hatches open to permit missile launches of various types. It is also being adapted for land use, as part of the USA’s plan to forward-deploy ballistic missile defense in allied countries.

The Mk.41 is the most widely-used naval VLS in the world, in service with the US Navy and with many countries outside the United States. Lockheed Martin is the system’s prime contractor, and BAE Systems Land & Armaments also makes components and canisters for the MK 41 system. In September 2011, however, the US Navy assumed the final integrator role.

Listening Sticks: US Navy Sonobuoy Contracts

P-8A: Sonobuoy drop

Sonobuoys are used to detect and identify moving underwater objects by either listening for the sounds produced by propellers and machinery (passive detection), or by bouncing a sonar “ping” off the surface of a submarine (active detection). They usually float, or have at least some part of them that does. Specialized sonobuoys can also detect electric fields, magnetic anomalies, and bioluminescence (light emitted by microscopic organisms disturbed by a passing submarine); as well as measuring environmental parameters like water temperature versus depth, air temperature, barometric pressure, and wave height.

Sonobuoys are generally dropped from aircraft or helicopters that are equipped with a means to launch them, and electronic equipment to receive and process data sent by the sonobuoy. They can also be launched from ships. This entry will discuss some of the new sonobuoys in use, and cover related contracts.

Rapid Fire Feb. 13, 2013: Hagel | SOTU | DID Feedback Loop

• Debate in the full US senate about the nomination of Chuck Hagel as Secretary of Defense should start today, following yesterday’s far from consensual approval (14-11 following party lines) in the Armed Services Committee. In all likelihood Hagel will be confirmed, threats of a Republican filibuster or not, but he will start his tenure with a wobbly image, in contrast with John Kerry’s shoo-in as Secretary of State. SASC | NYT.

• In his State of the Union speech, President Obama announced the withdrawal of 34,000 American troops from Afghanistan this year, or more than half of the current contingent. SOTU 2013 | DoD | Stars & Stripes.

• Donald Gene Garst, a former employee of a company contracted by the Pentagon at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, was sentenced to 30 months in prison and a $52K fine for smuggling kickbacks he obtained in return for favoring a construction subcontractor. As a clue in hindsight on the defendant’s character, Garst was told by the state of Kansas to stop shady brokering practices [PDF] a decade ago. US Department of Justice | Topeka Capital-Journal.