1.
USS Hurricane (PC-3)
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USS Hurricane is the third Cyclone-class patrol ship. Her keel was laid at Bollinger Shipyards on 20 November 1991, in 2012, Hurricane made port visits to various cities in the Great Lakes region to commemorate the bicentennial of the War of 1812. This article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register, which, the entry can be found here. PC-1 Cyclone class Patrol Coastal Boats, Federation of American Scientists Military Analysis Network
2.
USS Typhoon
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USS Typhoon is the fifth United States Navy Cyclone-class patrol ship. Typhoon was laid down 15 May 1992 at Bollinger Shipyards, in Lockport, Louisiana and she was commissioned 12 February 1994 in Tampa, Florida. As of 2008, Typhoon operates in the Persian Gulf, stationed in Manama, in August 2001, Typhoon visited Koper, Slovenia to participate in joint training with the Slovene patrol ship Ankaran. Typhoon returned to Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek 9 May 2003 following a deployment in support of the war on terrorism. Bolles body was recovered 22 November 2003, at the end of April 2004, Typhoon and USS Sirocco departed Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek for the Persian Gulf to relieve USS Firebolt and USS Chinook. The ships were to be deployed for 18 months while crews would be swapped every six months, the ships were escorted by USNS Patuxent during the trans-Atlantic portion of the trip. In June 2004, Typhoon and Sirocco arrived in the Persian Gulf to assist in security operations and enforce a 2,000 meter exclusion zone around the Al Basrah. In December 2004, Typhoon responded to a call from a dhow. The fisherman was transferred to USS Essex, in May 2005, Typhoon participated in the rescue of 89 people from a small dhow which capsized in the Gulf of Aden,25 miles off the coast of Somalia. In April 2006, Typhoon performed maritime security operations with HNLMS Amsterdam and USCGC Wrangell off the Horn of Africa, Typhoon used her smaller size and faster speed to intercept dhows and other merchant vessels to gather intelligence on maritime activity and prevent piracy and terrorism in the area. On 7 September 2007, sailors from Typhoon rescued seven mariners adrift on a raft in the Persian Gulf, at the time, Typhoon was based in Bahrain providing security for Iraqi oil platforms in the northern Persian Gulf and participating in Maritime Security Operations. The 300-page report on the investigation into Daley, which began in February 2016, was compiled by the Navy, Daley denied many of the accusations and said he was appealing. In April 2008, the Typhoon fired a flare at a small Iranian vessel in the Persian Gulf, the flare was fired after the U. S. ship has unsuccessfully tried to contact the Iranian ship by radio. The Typhoon then proceeded on its way without further incident, Iranian officials said that the encounter was normal and routine and this article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register, which, as a U. S. government publication, is in the public domain. The entry can be found here, www. fas. org, PC-1 Cyclone class Patrol Coastal Boats
3.
USS Chinook (PC-9)
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The second USS Chinook is the ninth Cyclone class patrol ship of the United States Navy. Contract awarded 19 July 1991 to Bollinger Shipyards, her keel was laid 16 June 1993 and she was delivered 7 October 1994 and commissioned 28 January 1995. S. government publication, is in the public domain. The entry can be found here, USS Chinook Makes First Overnight U. S
4.
Bollinger Shipyards
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Bollinger Shipyards is an American constructor of ships, workboats and patrol vessels. The firm was founded in 1946 and its thirteen shipyards and forty drydocks are located in Louisiana and Texas. Its drydocks range in capacity from vessels of 100 tons displacement to 22,000 tons displacement, the United States Coast Guard has called upon Bollinger Shipyards to build many of its patrol vessels Bollinger secured the contract to build approximately fifty Marine Protector cutters. These 87 foot vessels were staffed by a crew of 10, uniquely for Coast Guard vessels of this size they were designed to be capable of being crewed by crews of mixed sex. These high speed vessels were armed, mounting just two Browning M2 fifty caliber machine guns. But they were equipped with a launching ramp, capable of launching and retrieving a high speed pursuit boat while the cutter was still in motion. The launch and retrieval of the boat required just one sailor to remain on deck. Bollinger originally built 49110 feet Island class cutters, so called because each cutter was named after an Island and these vessels were staffed by a crew of 18, and their primary armament was a 25 mm autocannon. Bollinger secured a contract to eight of the Island Class cutters, adding thirteen feet to their stern, so they too could launch. The refit also included replacing the original deckhouse and refitting the crew accommodation so they could carry a mixed crew of 18. The conversion added 15 tons to each vessel, on September 26,2008, Bollinger Shipyards in Lockport, Louisiana, USA, was awarded US$88 million to build the prototype. In 2008 Bollinger secured a contract to build the first group of 24-34 Sentinel-class cutters, on 5 May,2016 U. S. Coast Guard has signed a new contract with Bollinger Shipyards for building 26 Sentinel-class fast-response cutters. Bollinger Shipyards already had a contract with the U. S. Coast Guard for building 32 cutters, after signing the new contract, the number of cutters increased to 58 cutters. The Federal Government will have to pay for 58 vessels nearly $3.8 billion, a news release says the new boats will replace ones that Bollinger built more than 30 years ago. These 154 feet 240 ton vessels will be staffed by a crew of 22 and these vessels can also stern launch and retrieve a high speed pursuit boat, without coming to a stop. These vessels are capable of being staffed by a crew of mixed sexes and they were designed for missions of five days. The first three vessels were launched in 2011 and 17 are now in commission as of May 2016 and they are being launched at a rate of four per year. Bollinger built 14 Cyclone-class patrol ships for the U. S. Navy between 1993 and 2000, the ships are 179 feet long and carry a crew of 28
5.
United States Navy
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The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U. S. Navy is the largest, most capable navy in the world, the U. S. Navy has the worlds largest aircraft carrier fleet, with ten in service, two in the reserve fleet, and three new carriers under construction. The service has 323,792 personnel on duty and 108,515 in the Navy Reserve. It has 274 deployable combat vessels and more than 3,700 operational aircraft as of October 2016, the U. S. Navy traces its origins to the Continental Navy, which was established during the American Revolutionary War and was effectively disbanded as a separate entity shortly thereafter. It played a role in the American Civil War by blockading the Confederacy. It played the role in the World War II defeat of Imperial Japan. The 21st century U. S. Navy maintains a global presence, deploying in strength in such areas as the Western Pacific, the Mediterranean. The Navy is administratively managed by the Department of the Navy, the Department of the Navy is itself a division of the Department of Defense, which is headed by the Secretary of Defense. The Chief of Naval Operations is an admiral and the senior naval officer of the Department of the Navy. The CNO may not be the highest ranking officer in the armed forces if the Chairman or the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The mission of the Navy is to maintain, train and equip combat-ready Naval forces capable of winning wars, deterring aggression, the United States Navy is a seaborne branch of the military of the United States. The Navys three primary areas of responsibility, The preparation of naval forces necessary for the prosecution of war. The development of aircraft, weapons, tactics, technique, organization, U. S. Navy training manuals state that the mission of the U. S. Armed Forces is to prepare and conduct prompt and sustained combat operations in support of the national interest, as part of that establishment, the U. S. Navys functions comprise sea control, power projection and nuclear deterrence, in addition to sealift duties. It follows then as certain as that night succeeds the day, that without a decisive naval force we can do nothing definitive, the Navy was rooted in the colonial seafaring tradition, which produced a large community of sailors, captains, and shipbuilders. In the early stages of the American Revolutionary War, Massachusetts had its own Massachusetts Naval Militia, the establishment of a national navy was an issue of debate among the members of the Second Continental Congress. Supporters argued that a navy would protect shipping, defend the coast, detractors countered that challenging the British Royal Navy, then the worlds preeminent naval power, was a foolish undertaking. Commander in Chief George Washington resolved the debate when he commissioned the ocean-going schooner USS Hannah to interdict British merchant ships, and reported the captures to the Congress
6.
Philippine Navy
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The Philippine Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and one of the three uniformed services of the Philippines. It has a strength of 24,000 active service personnel. To organize, train, equip, maintain, develop and deploy forces for prompt and sustained naval, a flotilla of balangay was discovered in the late 1970s in Butuan City, Agusan del Norte. Philippine ships, such as the karakao or korkoa were of excellent quality and some of them were used by the Spaniards in expeditions against rebellious tribes and Dutch, some of the larger rowed vessels held up to a hundred rowers on each side besides a contingent of armed troops. Generally, the vessels held at least one lantaka at the front of the vessel or another one placed at the stern. Philippine sailing ships called praos had double sails that seemed to rise well over a hundred feet from the surface of the water, despite their large size, these ships had double outriggers. Some of the sailing ships, however, did not have outriggers. Antecedent to this raids, somethime between A. D, in A. D. However, the author observed that these reaiders spoke a different language and had an entirely different appearance. In the Battle of Manila in 1365 is an unspecified and disputed battle occurring somewhere in the vicinity of Manila between the forces of the Kingdoms in Luzon and the Empire of Majapahit, alternatively, Luzon may have been successfully invaded but was able to regain its independence later. The Republics need for a force was first provided for by Filipino revolutionaries when they included a provision in the Biák-na-Bató Constitution. This authorised the government to permit privateers to engage enemy vessels. On May 1,1898, the first ship handed by Admiral George Dewey to the Revolutionary Navy is a small pinnace from the Reina Cristina of Admiral Patricio Montojo, the ships were refitted with 9 centimeter guns. The 900-ton inter-island tobacco steamer further reinforced the fleet, Compania de Filipinas, steam launches purchased from China, after passing of the Malolos Constitution the Navy was transferred from the Ministry of Foreign Relations to the Department of War headed by Gen. Mariano Trías. As the tensions between Filipinos and Americans erupted in 1899 and a blockade on naval forces by the Americans. The Americans employed many Filipino sailors in this bureau and in the Bureaus of Customs and Immigration, Island and Inter-Island Transportation, Coast and Geodetic Survey, and Lighthouses. They also reopened the former Spanish colonial Escuela Nautica de Manila, which was renamed the Philippine Nautical School, adopting the methods of the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis. The U. S. Naval Academy accepted its first Filipino midshipman in 1919, in 1935, the Commonwealth Government passed the National Defense Act, which aimed to ensure the security of the country. This was criticized because it placed the burden of the defense of the Philippines on ground forces and it discounted the need for a Commonwealth air force and navy, and naval protection was provided by the United States Asiatic Fleet
7.
United States Coast Guard
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The United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the countrys seven uniformed services. This has happened twice, in 1917, during World War I, created by Congress on 4 August 1790 at the request of Alexander Hamilton as the Revenue Marine, it is the oldest continuous seagoing service of the United States. As Secretary of the Treasury, Hamilton headed the Revenue Marine, by the 1860s, the service was known as the U. S. Revenue Cutter Service and the term Revenue Marine gradually fell into disuse, the modern Coast Guard was formed by a merger of the Revenue Cutter Service and the U. S. Life-Saving Service on 28 January 1915, under the U. S. Department of the Treasury. As one of the five armed services, the Coast Guard has been involved in every U. S. war from 1790 to the Iraq War. As of 2014 the Coast Guard had over 36,000 men and women on duty,7,350 reservists,29,620 auxiliarists. In terms of size, the U. S. Coast Guard by itself is the worlds 12th largest naval force. Because of its authority, the Coast Guard can conduct military operations under the U. S. Department of Defense or directly for the President in accordance with Title 14 USC 1–3. The Coast Guards enduring roles are maritime safety, security, to carry out those roles, it has 11 statutory missions as defined in 6 U. S. C. §468, which include enforcing U. S. law in the worlds largest exclusive economic zone of 3.4 million square miles, the Coast Guards motto is the Latin phrase, Semper Paratus. In a 2005 article in Time magazine following Hurricane Katrina, the author wrote, the Coast Guards most valuable contribution to may be as a model of flexibility, and most of all, spirit. Wil Milam, a swimmer from Alaska told the magazine, In the Navy. Practicing for war, training for war, in the Coast Guard, it was, take care of our people and the mission will take care of itself. The Coast Guard carries out three basic roles, which are subdivided into eleven statutory missions. Both agencies maintain rescue coordination centers to coordinate this effort, and have responsibility for military and civilian search and rescue. The two services jointly provide instructor staff for the National Search and Rescue School that trains SAR mission planners and coordinators, previously located on Governors Island, New York, the school is now located at Coast Guard Training Center Yorktown at Yorktown, Virginia. The NRC also takes Maritime Suspicious Activity and Security Breach Reports, details on the NRC organization and specific responsibilities can be found in the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan. The Marine Information for Safety and Law Enforcement database system is managed and used by the Coast Guard for tracking pollution, the five uniformed services that make up the U. S
8.
Paxman (engines)
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Paxman is a major British brand of diesel engines. Ownership has changed on a number of occasions since the formation in 1865. At its peak, the Paxman works covered 23 acres and employed over 2,000 people, Engine production is still primarily based at Paxmans Colchester works. Early Paxman diesel engines carried the name Paxman Ricardo, Paxman was founded by James Noah Paxman, Henry and Charles Davey as Davey, Paxman & Davey, Engineers in 1865, later Davey, Paxman & Co. which became a limited company in 1898. In 1920 the company became a member of the Agricultural & General Engineers Ltd combine, in 1932 AGE collapsed and Paxman emerged as Davey Paxman & Co Ltd. Davey, Paxman and Davey conducted business as engineers and ironworkers. The company manufactured steam engines, boilers, agricultural machinery, by the early 1870s the company was supplying machinery to the Kimberley diamond mines in South Africa. In 1940, Ruston & Hornsby Ltd purchased a controlling interest in the company, during World War II Paxman supplied diesel engines for various naval vessels such as e. g. the British U-class submarine and the British V-class submarine. In 1954, the engine controls business of Paxman was reformed as a subsidiary, in 1962, Paxman acquired the engine controls division of the Curtiss-Wright Corporation and merged the two businesses under the Regulateurs Europa name. In 1966, the Ruston-Paxman Group was acquired by English Electric, the diesel engine businesses were merged into English Electric Diesel Engines Ltd. Paxman became the Paxman Engine Division of English Electric, in 1968, English Electric was itself acquired by GEC. In 1972, GEC renamed the engines division GEC Diesels Limited, in 1975, a reorganisation saw the creation of Paxman Diesels Limited as a subsidiary. In 1988, GEC merged its Paxman, Ruston and Mirrlees Blackstone diesels businesses with the Alsthom division of Compagnie Générale dElectricité to form GEC-Alsthom, Paxman became GEC ALSTHOM Paxman Diesels Ltd. In December 1997, GEC Alsthom had its public offering as Alstom. The diesel engine businesses became Alstom Engines Ltd, in 2000, Alstom Engines Ltd. was acquired by MAN B&W Diesel to become MAN B&W Diesel Ltd. In 2005, MAN sold the Regulateurs Europa controls business to Heinzmann GmbH
9.
M242 Bushmaster
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The M242 Bushmaster is a 25 mm chain-driven autocannon. It is used extensively by the U. S. military, as well as by NATOs and some other forces in ground combat vehicles, such as the Bradley fighting vehicle. Originally the weapon was designed and manufactured by Hughes Ordnance in Culver City, CA and it is an externally powered, chain-driven, single-barrel weapon which may be fired in semi-automatic, burst, or automatic modes. It is fed by a metallic link belt and has dual-feed capability, the term chain gun derives from the use of a roller chain that drives the bolt back and forth. The gun can destroy lightly armored vehicles and aerial targets and it can also suppress enemy positions such as exposed troops, dug-in positions, and occupied built-up areas. The standard rate of fire is 200 rounds per minute, the weapon has an effective range of 3,000 metres, depending on the type of ammunition used. With over 10,000 units sold worldwide, it is one of the most successful modern autocannons, the Bushmaster project started as an offshoot of the US Armys MICV-65 program that was attempting to introduce a new infantry fighting vehicle to replace their existing M113s. Part of this called for a new scout vehicle to replace the M114. Both the XM800 and the version of the XM701 MICV vehicles were armed with the M139. During the testing phase, the Army eventually rejected the XM701, soon after the XM800 was also rejected. This led to the combination of the two programs, moving the role to the cavalry version of the XM723. This was essentially a power-driven gun firing similar 20mm ammunition as the HS.820, progress on the VRFWS-S was slow, and eventually resulted in a switch to a much more powerful 25 mm round. Since 1990, there have been several enhancements made upon the weapon, to date, more than 10,500 weapons are in service. One of the reasons for this popularity is the extremely reliable nature of the weapon. It has a rating of 22,000 mean rounds between failure, much higher than comparable devices. Unlike most automatic firearms, the M242 does not depend on gas or recoil to actuate its firing system, instead, it uses a 1 hp DC motor, positioned in the receiver to drive the chain and dual-feed system. This system uses sprockets and extractor grooves to feed, load, fire, extract, a system of clutches provides for an alternate sprocket to engage and thus allows the gunner to switch between armor-piercing and high-explosive rounds. The weapon assembly consists of three parts, the assembly, the feeder assembly, and the receiver assembly
10.
M2 Browning
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The M2 Machine Gun or Browning.50 Caliber Machine Gun is a heavy machine gun designed toward the end of World War I by John Browning. Its design is similar to Brownings earlier M1919 Browning machine gun, the M2 uses the much larger and much more powerful.50 BMG cartridge, which was developed alongside and takes its name from the gun itself. It has been referred to as Ma Deuce, in reference to its M2 nomenclature, the design has had many specific designations, the official designation for the current infantry type is Browning Machine Gun, Cal.50, M2, HB, Flexible. It is effective against infantry, unarmored or lightly armored vehicles and boats, light fortifications, the M2 has been produced longer than any other machine gun. The Browning.50 caliber machine gun has been used extensively as a vehicle weapon and it was heavily used during World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Falklands War, the Iraq War and the War in Afghanistan in the 2000s and 2010s. It is the heavy machine gun of NATO countries, and has been used by many other countries as well. The M2 has been in use longer than any firearm in U. S. inventory except the.45 ACP M1911 pistol. The current M2HB is manufactured in the U. S. by General Dynamics, Ordnance for use by the U. S. government, and for allies via Foreign Military Sales, as well as foreign manufacturers such as FN Herstal. Machine guns were used in World War I, and weapons of larger than rifle caliber were appearing. Both the British and French had large caliber machine guns, the larger rounds were needed to defeat the armor that was being introduced to the battlefield. Armor was also appearing in the skies, during World War I, the Germans introduced a heavily armored airplane, the Junkers J. I. The armor made aircraft machine guns using conventional rifle ammunition ineffective, consequently, the American Expeditionary Forces commander General John J. Pershing asked for a larger caliber machine gun. Pershing asked the Army Ordnance Department to develop a gun with a caliber of at least 0.50 inches. U. S. Col. John Henry Parker, commanding a machine gun school in France, the Army Ordnance Department ordered eight experimental Colt machine guns rechambered for the French 11 mm cartridge. The French had developed a machine gun for an even larger caliber. The French 11 mm round was found to be unsuitable because its velocity was too low, Pershing wanted a bullet of at least 670 gr and a muzzle velocity of 2,700 ft/s. Development with the French round was dropped, around July 1917, John M. Browning started redesigning his.30 caliber machine gun for a larger caliber. Winchester worked on the cartridge, which was a version of the. 30-06
11.
Mk 19 grenade launcher
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The Mk 19 grenade launcher is an American 40 mm belt-fed automatic grenade launcher that was first developed during the Vietnam War. The first model in 1966 was determined to be unreliable and unsafe, the Navy made further improvements to the weapon, resulting in the Mod 3 in 1976. The Mod 3 was adopted by the U. S Army in 1983, the Mk 19 is a belt-fed, blowback-operated, air-cooled, crew-served, fully automatic weapon that is designed not to cook off. It fires 40 mm grenades at a rate of 325 to 375 rounds per minute. The weapon operates on the principle, which uses the chamber pressure from each fired round to load. The Mk 19 can launch its grenade at a distance of 2,212 meters, though its effective range to a point target is about 1,500 meters. The nearest safe distance to launch the grenade is 310 meters in training and 75 meters in combat, though the Mk 19 has a flash suppressor, it serves only to save the eyesight of its operator, not concealing the weapons position. For night operation, a picatinny rail quadrant sight can be added for thermal, the primary ammunition for it is the high-explosive dual-purpose M430 grenade. On impact, the grenade can kill anyone within a radius of five meters and it can also punch through 2 inches of rolled homogeneous armor with a direct hit, which means it can penetrate most infantry fighting vehicles and armored personnel carriers. It is especially effective when used against enemy infantry formations, the ammunition comes in cans that hold a 32- or 48-grenade belt weighing 42 and 60 pounds, respectively. The Mk 19 automatic grenade launcher replaced the earlier Mk 18 hand-cranked multiple grenade launcher, the 40 mm ammunition used is not interchangeable with that used in the M203. The M203 ammunition develops a lower pressure, and resultant lower muzzle velocity and range. The Mk 19 fires from an open bolt, the rounds are mechanically fed onto the bolt face with the pull of the charging handles. When the trigger is pressed, the bolt closes, and the pin is released. The recoil blows back the bolt, feeds a new round onto the bolt face, production of the Mk 19 is managed by Saco Defense Industries. S. The 40 mm airburst grenade uses a programmable, time-based fuse that computes and programs the detonation time into it, the airburst ammunition is compatible with the Mk 19, which would give it greater effectiveness and lethality, particularly against concealed and defilade targets. The U. S. Army plans to introduce new features to the Mk 19 in an upgrade package that could be introduced by late 2017. GDOTS has built nearly 35,000 Mk 19 Mod 3 systems for roughly 30 customers since 1984, users of the Mk 19 include, Afghanistan, Orders by Afghan National Army
12.
M240 machine gun
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The M240, officially Machine Gun,7. 62mm, M240, is the US military designation for the FN MAG, a family of belt-fed, gas-operated medium machine guns firing the 7. 62×51mm NATO cartridge. The M240 has been used by the United States Armed Forces since the late-1970s and it is used extensively by infantry, most often rifle companies as well as ground vehicles, watercraft and aircraft. Despite being heavier than weapons, it is highly regarded for reliability. All variants are fed from disintegrating belts, and are capable of firing most types of 7.62 mm NATO ammunition, M240 variants can use non-disintegrating belts. There are significant differences in weight and some features among some versions which restrict interchangeability of parts, the M240s used by the US military are currently manufactured by FN Manufacturing, a US-based branch of FN Herstal. Manufactured by Fabrique Nationale, the FN MAG was chosen by the U. S. military for different roles after large world-wide searches, the MAG is a belt-fed, gas-operated, air-cooled, crew-served, fixed headspace weapon. Its versatility is demonstrated by its ability to be mounted on the M122A1 tripod and it was first adopted by the U. S. Army in 1977, as a coaxial tank gun, and slowly adopted for more applications in the 1980s and 1990s. The M240 and M240E1 were adopted for use on vehicles and this led to further adoption in more uses, especially for the Army and Marine infantry. While possessing many of the basic characteristics as its predecessor. The MAG actually has a more complex gas system than the M60, compared to other machine guns, its rating of 26,000 mean rounds between failure is quite high for its weight—in the 1970s when it was first adopted it achieved about 7,000 MRBF. It is not as reliable as some very heavy older designs and it would go on to be deployed in this role in the 1980s, but was additionally adopted for infantry and other uses. It was deployed in new roles in the 1990s and 2000s. As mentioned, during the 1970s the Army was looking for new 7.62 mm machine guns for vehicle/AFV mounts, the 1950s-era M73 had been rather troubled, and the derivative M73E1/M219 was not much of an improvement. A number of designs of the period from various countries were considered and they underwent comprehensive testing alongside the older M219 for comparison. Two main criteria analyzed were mean rounds between stoppages and mean rounds between failures, the results for the evaluated machine guns were the following, The test applies only to the 1970s-era versions tested. The MAG itself underwent some improvements and the M60E2 was a specialized coaxial variant that differed from some of the other types, the qualities of the M60 variants vary considerably, such as between the M60E4 and the M60C. That aside, for these types the clear winner was the MAG and it went on to replace many older types for the vehicle/coaxial role in the 1980s. The M240 proved popular enough that it was adapted by the later on, spawning the M240B
13.
FIM-92 Stinger
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The FIM-92 Stinger is a Man-Portable Air-Defense System that operates as an infrared homing surface-to-air missile. It can be adapted to fire from a variety of ground vehicles. Developed in the United States this weapon entered service in 1981 and is used by the militaries of the United States. It is principally manufactured by Raytheon Missile Systems and is produced under license by EADS in Germany, light to carry and easy to operate, the FIM-92 Stinger is a passive surface-to-air missile, that can be shoulder-fired by a single operator. The FIM-92B missile can also be fired from the M-1097 Avenger, the missile is also capable of being deployed from a Humvee Stinger rack, and can be used by airborne troops. A helicopter launched version exists called Air-to-Air Stinger, the missile is 5.0 ft long and 2.8 in in diameter with 10 cm fins. The missile itself weighs 22 lb, while the missile with launcher weighs approximately 34 lb.54, the warhead is a 3 kg penetrating hit-to-kill warhead type with an impact fuze and a self-destruct timer. To fire the missile, a BCU is inserted into the handguard and this shoots a stream of argon gas into the system, as well as a chemical energy charge that enables the acquisition indicators and missile to get power. The batteries are sensitive to abuse, with a limited amount of gas. Over time, and without maintenance, they can become unserviceable. The IFF system receives power from a rechargeable battery, guidance to the target is initially through proportional navigation, then switches to another mode that directs the missile towards the target airframe instead of its exhaust plume. There are three variants in use, the Stinger basic, STINGER-Passive Optical Seeker Technique, and STINGER-Reprogrammable Microprocessor. These correspond to the FIM-92A, FIM-92B, and FIM-92C and later variants respectively, the POST has a dual-detector seeker, IR and UV. This allows it to distinguish targets from countermeasures much better than the Redeye and FIM-92A, the Stinger-RMP is so-called because of its ability to load a new set of software via ROM chip inserted in the grip at the depot. If this download to the missile fails during power-up, basic functionality runs off the on-board ROM, the four-processor RMP has 4 KB of RAM for each processor. Since the downloaded code runs from RAM, there is space to spare, particularly for processors dedicated to seeker input processing. Initial work on the missile was begun by General Dynamics in 1967 as the FM-43 Redeye II, production of the Redeye II ran from 1969 to 1982 where some 85,000 were in circulation. It was accepted for development by the U. S. Army in 1971 and designated FIM-92
14.
Surface-to-air missile
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A surface-to-air missile, or ground-to-air missile, is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft or other missiles. It is one type of system, in modern armed forces, missiles have replaced most other forms of dedicated antiaircraft weapons. The first serious attempts at SAM development took place during World War II, further development in the 1940s and 1950s led to the first operational systems being introduced by most major forces during the second half of the 1950s. Smaller systems, suitable for work, evolved through the 1960s and 1970s. The American Nike Ajax was the first operational guided missile SAM system, widely used modern examples include the Patriot and S-300 wide-area systems, SM-6 naval missiles, and short-range man-portable systems like the Stinger and Strela-3. The first known idea for a guided missile was in 1925. A selenium cell was mounted on the tip of each of the rockets four tail fins, when one selenium cell was no longer in the light beam, it would be steered in the opposite direction back into the beam. During World War II, efforts were started to develop surface-to-air missiles as it was considered that flak was of little use against bombers of ever-increasing performance. The lethal radius of a shell is fairly small. Against the Boeing B-17, which operated just within the range of the numerous German eighty-eights flak guns, bombers flying at higher altitudes require larger guns and shells to reach them. This greatly increases the cost of the system, and slows the rate of fire, faster aircraft fly out of range more quickly, reducing the number of rounds fired against them. Against late-war designs like the Boeing B-29 Superfortress or jet-powered designs like the Arado Ar 234, the first serious consideration of a SAM development project was a series of conversations that took place in Germany during 1941. Von Braun became convinced a better solution was a manned rocket interceptor, the directors of the Luftwaffe flak arm were not interested in manned aircraft, and the resulting disagreements between the teams delayed serious consideration of a SAM for two years. None of these saw any real development until 1943, when the first large-scale raids by the Allied air forces started. As the urgency of the problem grew, new designs were added, including Enzian and Rheintochter, in general, these designs could be split into two groups. One set of designs would be boosted to altitude in front of the bombers and these designs included the Feuerlilie, Schmetterling and Enzian. The second group were high-speed missiles, typically supersonic, that flew directly towards their targets from below, both types used radio control for guidance, either by eye, or by comparing the returns of the missile and target on a single radar screen. Development of all systems was carried out at the same time
15.
AGM-176 Griffin
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The AGM-176 Griffin is a lightweight, precision-guided munition developed by Raytheon. It can be launched from the ground or air as a missile or dropped from the air as a guided bomb. It carries a small warhead, and was designed to be a precision low-collateral damage weapon for irregular warfare. It has been used in combat by the United States military in Afghanistan, Raytheon developed Griffin as a low-cost modular system, using components from earlier projects, including the FGM-148 Javelin and the AIM-9X Sidewinder. It was originally designed to be launched from the US Special Operations Commands MC-130W Dragon Spear gunship and its precision combined with a relatively small 5.9 kg warhead reduces collateral damage. The munition comes in two versions, Griffin A is an unpowered precision munition that can be dropped from a rear cargo door or a door-mounted launcher that can drop while the cabin is pressurized. Weighing 15 kg and measuring 1.1 meters in length, the missiles folding fins allow it to be launched from a 140 mm tube. It can be set to engage the target height of burst. The U. S. Navy has tested the Griffin as a shipboard missile guided by laser at fast-moving small boats, the missile version is less than half the weight of a Hellfire round and includes a 5.9 kg warhead. It has a range of 15 km when air-launched, or 5.5 km when launched from the surface and it has been fired from the U. S. Army Remote weapon station, multi-round Wedge Launcher, Smart Launcher and Kiowa Warrior manned helicopters. The missile is smaller than the Hellfire typically used by armed UAVs, three Griffins can be carried in place of one Hellfire. The Griffin missile and launch assembly is also lighter than the Hellfire, in 70 months of production from 2008 to early February 2014, Raytheon delivered 2,000 Griffin missiles. In late February 2014, Raytheon demonstrated the improved Griffin Block III missile, hitting static, the Block III includes an improved semi-active laser seeker with better electronics and signal processing and a new Multi-Effects Warhead System to maximize lethality against different targets. Raytheon developed a version of the Griffin for integration onto Littoral Combat Ships. The Sea Griffin has a new motor and guidance system to increase its range from an LCS. Raytheon faced competition in equipping the LCS with a missile, as the Navy looked for other vendors, competition came from MBDA with the Sea Spear version of its Brimstone missile. Both missiles intended to give the LCS protection from small boat swarm attacks, the Navy instead selected the AGM-114L Hellfire to equip the LCS. The decision was made from the use of the Saab’s Sea Giraffe radar
16.
Patrol boat
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A patrol boat is a relatively small naval vessel generally designed for coastal defence duties. There have been designs for patrol boats. They may be operated by a navy, coast guard, police force or customs. They are commonly engaged in various border protection roles, including anti-smuggling, anti-piracy, fisheries patrols. They are also called upon to participate in rescue operations. Vessels of this include the original yacht, a light, fast-sailing vessel used by the Dutch navy to pursue pirates and other transgressors around. They may be classified as inshore patrol vessels and offshore patrol vessels. They are warships typically smaller in size than a corvette and can include fast attack craft, torpedo boats and missile boats, the offshore patrol vessels are usually the smallest ship in a navys fleet that are large and seaworthy enough to patrol off-shore in the open ocean. In larger militaries, such as in the United States military, offshore patrol vessels usually serve in the coast guard, some modern patrol vessels are still based on fishing and leisure boats. Depending on role, vessels in this class may also have more sophisticated sensors and fire control systems that would enable them to carry torpedoes, anti-ship, most modern designs are powered by gas turbine arrangements such as CODAG, and speeds are generally in the 25–30 knots range. They are primarily used for patrol in a countrys Exclusive Economic Zone, common tasks are fisheries inspection, anti-smuggling duties, illegal immigration patrols, anti-piracy patrols and search and rescue. The largest OPVs might also have a deck and helicopter embarked. In times of crisis or war, these vessels are expected to support the vessels in the navy. Their small size and relatively low cost make them one of the most common type of warship in the world, almost all navies operate at least a few offshore patrol vessels, especially those with only green water capabilities. They are useful in smaller seas such as the North Sea as well as in open oceans, similar vessels for exclusively military duties include torpedo boats and missile boats. The United States Navy operated the Pegasus class of armed hydrofoils for years, the River Patrol Boat is a U. S. design of small patrol boat type designed to patrol waters of large rivers. 4 units built under license by ASMAR, OPV-81 Piloto Pardo OPV-82 Comandante Toro OPV-83 Marinero Fuentealba and this unit has reinforced hull for Antarctic operations. OPV-84 Cabo Odger with characteristics similar to the previous ship 06 MICALVI Class Patrol vessels built in ASMAR,18 Protector Class Patrol crafts built under license by ASMAR
17.
Littoral zone
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The littoral zone is the part of a sea, lake or river that is close to the shore. In coastal environments the littoral zone extends from the water mark. It always includes this intertidal zone and is used to mean the same as the intertidal zone. However, the meaning of littoral zone can extend well beyond the intertidal zone, what is regarded as the full extent of the littoral zone, and the way the littoral zone is divided into subregions, varies in different contexts. The use of the term varies from one part of the world to another. For example, military commanders speak of the littoral in ways that are different from marine biologists. The adjacency of water gives a number of characteristics to littoral regions. The erosive power of water results in particular types of landforms, such as sand dunes, the natural movement of the littoral along the coast is called the littoral drift. Biologically, the availability of water enables a greater variety of plant and animal life. In addition, the local humidity due to evaporation usually creates a microclimate supporting unique types of organisms. The word littoral is used both as a noun and an adjective and it derives from the Latin noun litus, litoris, meaning shore. In oceanography and marine biology, the idea of the zone is extended roughly to the edge of the continental shelf. Starting from the shoreline, the zone begins at the spray region just above the high tide mark. From here, it moves to the region between the high and low water marks, and then out as far as the edge of the continental shelf. These three subregions are called, in order, the zone, the eulittoral zone and the sublittoral zone. The supralittoral zone is the area above the high tide line that is regularly splashed. Seawater penetrates these elevated areas only during storms with high tides, organisms here must cope also with exposure to fresh water from rain, cold, heat and predation by land animals and seabirds. At the top of this area, patches of dark lichens can appear as crusts on rocks, some types of periwinkles, Neritidae and detritus feeding Isopoda commonly inhabit the lower supralittoral
18.
United States Navy SEALs
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The United States Navys Sea, Air, and Land Teams, commonly abbreviated as the Navy SEALs, are the U. S. Navys primary special operations force and a component of the Naval Special Warfare Command. Among the SEALs main functions are conducting small-unit maritime military operations that originate from, and return to, the SEALs are trained to operate in all environments for which they are named. As of 2016, all active SEALs are currently male and members of the U. S. Navy, the CIAs highly secretive and elite Special Operations Group recruits operators from SEAL Teams, with joint operations going back to the MACV-SOG during the Vietnam War. This cooperation still exists today, as evidenced by military operations in Iraq, the modern day U. S. Navy SEALs can trace their roots to World War II. The United States Navy recognized the need for the reconnaissance of landing beaches. As a result, the Amphibious Scout and Raider School was established in 1942 at Fort Pierce, Florida. The Scouts and Raiders were formed in September of that year, just nine months after the attack on Pearl Harbor, from the Observer Group, a joint U. S. Army-Marine-Navy unit. The Scouts and Raiders mission was to identify and reconnoiter the objective beach, maintain a position on the designated beach prior to a landing, and guide the assault waves to the landing beach. The first group included Phil H. Bucklew, the Father of Naval Special Warfare, commissioned in October 1942, this group saw combat in November 1942 during Operation Torch on the North African coast. Scouts and Raiders also supported landings in Sicily, Salerno, Anzio, Normandy, a second group of Scouts and Raiders, code-named Special Service Unit No. 1, was established on 7 July 1943, as a joint, the first mission, in September 1943, was at Finschhafen in Papua New Guinea. Later operations were at Gasmata, Arawe, Cape Gloucester, conflicts arose over operational matters, and all non-Navy personnel were reassigned. The 7th Amphibious Scouts conducted operations in the Pacific for the duration of the conflict, the third and final Scouts and Raiders organization operated in China. Scouts and Raiders were deployed to fight with the Sino-American Cooperative Organization, to help bolster the work of SACO, Admiral Ernest J. King ordered that 120 officers and 900 men be trained for Amphibious Raider at the Scout and Raider school at Fort Pierce, Florida. They formed the core of what was envisioned as a guerrilla organization of Americans and Chinese operating from coastal waters, lakes and rivers employing small steamboats. While most Amphibious Raider forces remained at Camp Knox in Calcutta, in September 1942,17 Navy salvage personnel arrived at ATB Little Creek, VA for a week long course in demolitions, explosive cable cutting and commando raiding techniques. On November 10,1942, the first combat demolition unit successfully cut cable and this enabled the USS Dallas to traverse the water and insert U. S. Rangers who captured the Port Lyautey airdrome, on 6 June 1943, LCDR Kauffman established Naval Combat Demolition Unit training at Fort Pierce
19.
Special operations
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Special operations may be performed independently of or in conjunction with, conventional military operations. The primary goal is to achieve a political or military objective where a conventional force requirement does not exist or might adversely affect the strategic outcome. Special operations are conducted in a low-profile manner that aims to achieve the advantages of speed, surprise. Special operations are implemented through specific, tailored intelligence. The decade 2003–2012 saw U. S. national security strategy rely on special operations to an unprecedented degree, identifying, hunting, and killing terrorists became a central task in the Global War on Terrorism. Linda Robinson, Adjunct Senior Fellow for U. S, Special Operations appropriations are costly, Its budget went from $2.3 billion in 2001 to $10.5 billion in 2012. Some experts argued the investment was worthwhile, pointing to the raid in May 2011 that killed Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad, others claimed that the emphasis on Special Operations precipitated a misconception that it was a substitute for prolonged conflict. Raids and drone strikes are tactics that are decisive and often incur significant political. Although raids and drone strikes are necessary to disrupt dire and imminent threats…special operations leaders readily admit that they should not be the pillar of U. S. military strategy. Instead, Special Operations commanders stated that grand strategy should include their indirect approach, Special operations forces is a term primarily used in the West. It is an all encompassing term that defines a nation’s specialized units, the term special forces is also used by countries around the world to describe their specialized unit, however. Examples of special operations include, special reconnaissance/military intelligence, unconventional warfare, psyops, Special operations are sometimes associated with unconventional warfare, counter-insurgency, operations against guerrillas or irregular forces, low-intensity operations, and foreign internal defense. They are sometimes referred to as forces, commandos. This is known in the special operations community as foreign internal defense, recently the 82nd Airborne Division has also been conducting special operations in Iraq. The 82nd Airborne has been assigned to advise and assist Iraqi Security Forces, in March 2015, a 173rd Airborne battalion of around 600 American paratroopers headed to Ukraine to train Ukrainian national guard troops. The training took place at the Yavoriv training center near the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, the 173rd Airborne paratroopers trained the Ukrainians on how to better defend themselves against Russian and rebel artillery and rockets. Training also included securing roads, bridges, and other infrastructure and this program was known as Fearless Guardian which was congressionally approved under the Global Contingency Security Fund. Under the program, the United States trained three battalions of Ukrainian troops over a six-month period, list of US Special Operations Forces
20.
United States Naval Special Warfare Command
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Originating in the unconventional naval units formed during the Second World War, NSWC was established on April 16,1986 at Naval Amphibious Base Coronado in San Diego, California. Its mission is to leadership, doctrinal guidance, resources and oversight to special operations carried out in maritime. NSWC specializes in a range of tactical areas, including unconventional warfare, direct action, counterterrorism, special reconnaissance. NSWC is organized primarily around eight Navy SEAL teams, three special teams, and various supporting commands, totaling approximately 9,200 personnel. Units can operate independently, as part of U. S. Navy carrier battle groups and amphibious ready groups, by utilizing the Navys ships, submarines, and overseas facilities, NSWC forces can be deployed rapidly almost anywhere in the world. In the Vietnam era, the Navy drew most of its SEALs from the Underwater Demolition Teams, from the early 1960s up until 1983 the SEAL Teams and UDTs coexisted. Navy SEALs typically traced their origin to the Scouts and Raiders while the Underwater Demolition Teams traced theirs to the Navy Combat Demolition Units, however, in 1983 the Underwater Demolition Teams were merged with the SEAL Teams. This, in turn, merged their ancestry, the Scouts and Raiders mission was to identify and reconnoiter the objective beach, maintain a position on the designated beach prior to a landing and guide the assault waves to the landing beach. By the time the United States became involved in World War II, Adolf Hitler, if the Allied forces were to stand a chance, there would have to be several full-scale landings. The U. S. Navy decided that to do the job right required sending in their own and they needed men to reconnoiter the landing beaches, take note of obstacles and defenses and ultimately guide the landing forces in. Later, during the war, the Army Engineers passed down demolition jobs to the U. S. Navy and they were to clear any obstacles and/or defenses in the near shore area, beginning a tradition that continues today. The Navy Scouts and Raiders were created before the Navy Combat Demolition Units, the Scouts and Raiders were first formed in September 1942, nine months after the attack on Pearl Harbor, from the Observer Group, a joint Marine Corps-Army-Navy unit. The Observer Group was the first unit trained in amphibious reconnaissance and they trained in inflatable boat insertions from submarines around the Chesapeake Bay and at the Amphibious Training Base Little Creek in Virginia and in Fort Pierce, Florida. They were training for a clandestine mission in North Africa. The U. S. Navy began the Scouts and Raiders to provide reconnaissance, the unit could conduct raids and sabotage missions from a pair of men to platoon sized operations. The unit continued its deployment to North Africa as planned, where they earned eight Navy Crosses, robert Halperin, a former NFL football player and future Olympic medalist, received a Presidential Citation and the Navy Cross for his work during the amphibious landings in French Morocco. This was just the first of many missions for the versatile Scouts. The first group included Phil H. Bucklew, the Father of Naval Special Warfare, commissioned in October 1942, this group saw combat in November 1942 during Operation Torch on the North African coast
21.
Norfolk, Virginia
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Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. At the 2010 census, the population was 242,803, in 2015, Norfolk is located at the core of the Hampton Roads metropolitan area, named for the large natural harbor of the same name located at the mouth of Chesapeake Bay. It is one of nine cities and seven counties that constitute the Hampton Roads metro area, officially known as the Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, the city is bordered to the west by the Elizabeth River and to the north by the Chesapeake Bay. It also shares borders with the independent cities of Chesapeake to its south. Norfolk is one of the oldest cities in Hampton Roads, and is considered to be the historic, urban, financial, the city has a long history as a strategic military and transportation point. The largest Navy base in the world, Naval Station Norfolk, is located in Norfolk along with one of NATOs two Strategic Command headquarters. As the city is bordered by multiple bodies of water, Norfolk has many miles of riverfront and bayfront property, including beaches on the Chesapeake Bay. It is linked to its neighbors by a network of Interstate highways, bridges, tunnels. In 1619, the Governor of the Virginia Colony, Sir George Yeardley incorporated four jurisdictions, termed citties and these formed the basis for colonial representative government in the newly minted House of Burgesses. What would become Norfolk was put under the Elizabeth Cittie incorporation, in 1634 King Charles I reorganized the colony into a system of shires. The former Elizabeth Cittie became Elizabeth City Shire, after persuading 105 people to settle in the colony, Adam Thoroughgood was granted a large land holding, through the head rights system, along the Lynnhaven River in 1636. When the South Hampton Roads portion of the shire was separated, one year later, it was split into two counties, Upper Norfolk and Lower Norfolk, chiefly on Thoroughgoods recommendation. This area of Virginia became known as the place of entrepreneurs, the House of Burgesses established the Towne of Lower Norfolk County in 1680. In 1691, a final county subdivision took place when Lower Norfolk County split to form Norfolk County, in 1730, a tobacco inspection site was located here. By 1775, Norfolk developed into what contemporary observers argued was the most prosperous city in Virginia and it was an important port for exporting goods to the British Isles and beyond. In part because of its merchants numerous trading ties with other parts of the British Empire, after fleeing the colonial capital of Williamsburg, Lord Dunmore, the Royal Governor of Virginia, tried to reestablish control of the colony from Norfolk. Dunmore secured small victories at Norfolk but was forced into exile by the American rebels and his departure brought an end to more than 168 years of British colonial rule in Virginia. On New Years Day,1776, Lord Dunmores fleet of three ships shelled the city of Norfolk for more than eight hours, the damage from the shells and fires started by the British and spread by the patriots destroyed over 800 buildings, almost two-thirds of the city
22.
Naval Amphibious Base Coronado
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Naval Amphibious Base Coronado is a naval installation located across the bay from San Diego, California. The on‑base population is 5,000 military personnel and 7,000 students and reservists, formally commissioned in January 1944, Naval Amphibious Base, Coronado provides a shore base for the operations, training, and support of naval amphibious units on the West Coast. It is one of only two Navy amphibious training bases in the United States, NAB is approximately 1,000 acres in size and is composed of the Main Base, training beaches, California least tern preserve, recreational marina, enlisted family housing, and state park. State Highway 75 separates NAB into surfside and bayside sections, the majority of the bayside is composed of fill materials dredged from San Diego Bay in the early 1940s. Amphibious training is conducted on both surfside and bayside beaches, to the south of the Main Base, the majority of amphibious training activities take place on about 257 acres of ocean beachfront property, leased from the State of California. A least tern nesting preserve is located on North and South Delta Beach between the NAB Marina and Main Base, NAB is located within the city of Coronado, California, a community of approximately 30,000. The city of Coronado covers nearly 9 square miles of land, another naval facility, Naval Air Station North Island, is located northwest of the city of Coronado. South of NAB is the Silver Strand, in June 1943, the Secretary of the Navy authorized the establishment of the Amphibious Training Base in the San Diego area to meet wartimes demands for trained landing craft crews. These crews were deployed to the South Pacific area of operations, Training for infantry coordination with naval artillery and attack aircraft was provided at the Naval Gunfire Liaison School and Support Air Control School. The streets of the bear the names of those famous battles which led to the Empire of Japans defeat, Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Tulagi. The base has also provided training for Underwater Demolition Teams, United States Navy SEALs, Brown-water navy personnel, the base also conducts research and tests of newly developed amphibious equipment. 67657°N117. 15827°W /32.67657, -117.15827, have a swastika-shaped plan view
23.
Low intensity conflict
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Low intensity conflict is the use of military forces applied selectively and with restraint to enforce compliance with the policies or objectives of the political body controlling the military force. The term can be used to describe conflicts where at least one or both of the opposing parties operate along such lines, low-intensity operations consist of the deployment and use of soldiers in situations other than war. For states, these operations are conducted against non-state actors and are given terms like counter-insurgency, anti-subversion. Violent non-state actors often conduct low-intensity operations against states, often in insurgencies, low-intensity conflict is defined by the US Army as. A political-military confrontation between contending states or groups below conventional war and above the routine, peaceful competition among states and it frequently involves protracted struggles of competing principles and ideologies. Low-intensity conflict ranges from subversion to the use of the armed forces and it is waged by a combination of means, employing political, economic, informational, and military instruments. Low-intensity conflicts are often localized, generally in the Third World, successful LIC operations, consistent with US interests and laws, can advance US international goals such as the growth of freedom, democratic institutions, and free market economies. US policy recognizes that indirect, rather direct, applications of US military power are the most appropriate. The principal US military instrument in LIC is security assistance in the form of training, equipment, services, when LIC threatens friends and allies, the aim of security assistance is to ensure that their military institutions can provide security for their citizens and government. The United States will also employ combat operations in exceptional circumstances when it cannot protect its interests by other means. When a US response is called for, it must be in accordance with the principles of international and these principles affirm the inherent right of states to use force in individual or collective self-defense against armed attack. For example, the use of air power, pivotal in modern warfare, is relegated to transport. Artillery is often not used when LIC occurs in populated areas, the role of the armed forces is dependent on the stage of the insurrection, whether it has progressed to armed struggle or is in an early stage of propaganda and protests. Intelligence gathering is essential to an efficient basis of LIC operation instructions, electronic and signal gathering intelligence, ELINT and SIGINT, proves largely ineffective against low intensity opponents. LIC generally requires more hands-on HUMINT methods of information retrieval, Low intensity warfares main opponent is the guerrilla, or irregular fighter. This opponent may be sponsored, or private non-state actors driven by religious or other ideology in urban, semi-urban. Modern guerrilla warfare at its fullest elaboration is a process, complete with sophisticated doctrine, organization, specialist skills. Based on their level of sophistication and organization, they can shift between all modes as the situation demands
24.
USS Tornado
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USS Tornado is the fourteenth and last Cyclone class patrol ship, notable for being the only ship in the class designed with shaping features for signature management. She was laid down by Bollinger Shipyards, Lockport, Louisiana 25 August 1998 and she was commissioned by the United States Navy 24 June 2000, decommissioned 1 October 2004 and transferred to the United States Coast Guard as USCGC Tornado. Tornado was transferred back to the Navy on 30 September 2011 and this article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register, which, as a U. S. government publication, is in the public domain. The entry can be found here, federation of American Scientists, Cyclone class ship characteristics Navsource. org ship history
25.
Naval Station Mayport
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Naval Station Mayport is a major United States Navy base in Jacksonville, Florida. Since its commissioning in December 1942, NS Mayport has grown to become the third-largest naval surface fleet concentration area in the United States. Mayports operational composition is unique, with a harbor capable of accommodating 34 ships. Naval Station Mayport is also home to the Navys United States Fourth Fleet, with the decommissioning of all conventionally powered aircraft carriers by the U. S. Navy, no carriers are presently assigned to Mayport. However, both houses of Congress have passed legislation authorizing about US$75 million for dredging and upgrades at NAVSTA Mayport to accommodate an aircraft carrier. On January 29,2010, the Quadrennial Defense Review Report stated that an aircraft carrier would be homeported at NAVSTA Mayport. In 2009 Robert Gates, Secretary of Defense, stated, Having a single homeport has not been considered acceptable on the west coast and should not be considered acceptable on the east coast. The decision was opposed by elected officials in Virginia, who would lose 3,500 sailors and their dependents, $425 million in each year. The Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce estimated the loss at 11,000 jobs, infrastructure changes and facility construction at Mayport are estimated to take five years and cost over half a billion dollars. The 2011 budget commits $590 million during the years from 2011 to 2019. However, a group is coming sooner. USS New York relocated to Mayport in December 2013 and USS Iwo Jima, a 2013 report from the Navy revealed that they are considering basing as many as 14 littoral combat ships at NS Mayport. Littoral Combat Ship Squadron 2 was established at the base on November 7,2014, USS Milwaukee, USS Detroit, USS Little Rock, and USS Sioux City will be among the squadrons ships. On 1 April 1944, the air facility at Mayport was commissioned as Naval Auxiliary Air Station Mayport, following the Second World War, the NAAS was decommissioned and placed in a caretaker status. The United States Coast Guard took over the base and operated a small “Boot Camp” there for several years, Mayport was reactivated again in June,1948 as a Naval Outlying Landing Field under the cognizance of the Commanding Officer, Naval Air Station Jacksonville. As helicopter aviation evolved during the Cold War, Mayport became the East Coast home for the Light Airborne Multi-Purpose System MK III squadrons, as a reflection of growth, Mayport Naval Air Facility was re-designated as a naval air station in 1988. DoD Lodging Worldwide FAA Airport Diagram, effective March 30,2017 Resources for this U. S. org
26.
United States Fourth Fleet
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Fourth Fleet is a United States Navy command operating the Navy component command of U. S. Fourth Fleet was a major U. S. Navy command in the South Atlantic Ocean during World War II and it was originally established in 1943 to protect the U. S. against Axis surface raiders, blockade runners, and submarines. In 1950, the Fourth Fleet was disestablished when its responsibilities were taken over by the United States Second Fleet, on 24 April 2008, then Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Gary Roughead announced the reestablishment of the Fourth Fleet. Nearly three months later on 12 July 2008, it was re-established during a ceremony at Naval Station Mayport, the reactivation of the Fourth Fleet without first informing foreign governments in the region sparked concern within some South American governments. The governments of Argentina and Brazil made formal inquiries as to the mission in the region. In Venezuela, President Hugo Chávez accused the United States of attempting to frighten the people of South America by reactivating the fleet, and vowed that his countrys new Sukhoi Su-30 jets could sink any U. S. ships invading Venezuelan waters. Cuban ex-president Fidel Castro warned that it could lead to incidents such as the 2008 Andean diplomatic crisis. It has five missions, support for peacekeeping, humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, traditional maritime exercises, commander, USNAVSO also serves as the Navy component commander for USSOUTHCOM. It is an organizational fleet staffed to fulfill a planning and coordination mission, as part of its 2008 reestablishment, Fourth Fleet headquarters is co-located with USNAVSO headquarters in Mayport, Florida, and is commanded by a rear admiral. Is NAVSO Organized and Staff To Do Its Job, alexandria, Virginia, Center for Naval Analyses
27.
Surface effect ship
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A Surface Effect Ship or Sidewall Hovercraft is a watercraft that has both an air cushion, like a hovercraft, and twin hulls, like a catamaran. When the air cushion is in use, a portion of the twin hulls remain in the water. When the air cushion is turned off, the weight of the vessel is supported by the buoyancy of the twin hulls. The United States Navy initiated the SES model test program in 1960, by 1963, a 10-ton test craft called the XR-1 was designed and built to test the surface effect concept. The first version of the XR-1 used fixed plywood seals at the fore, a jet engine providing 1700 pounds of thrust was used for main propulsion. A separate 110 horsepower gas engine was used to drive lift fans, during the first year of testing, the XR-1 was fitted with more powerful main propulsion and flexible fore and aft seals were tested as well. The XR-1 was also used to test the concept of water-jet propulsion, the ship was modified in 1964 and equipped with gas turbine engines driving the water jet propulsors. The ships weight increased to 17 tons, rohr Industries became involved in SES history in 1970, taking over the XR-1 test program for the Navy. Rohr continued to use the XR-1 to test propulsion and seal concepts and their eventual goal was to develop a 3000-ton SES, the LSES, capable of utilizing vertical launch missile systems and anti-submarine helicopters & various VTOL aircraft. The proposed ship was to be capable of 80 knots in sea-state 6 conditions, the proposed main power units were to be 440, 000hp gas turbine engines driving water jet propulsors. The 3000-ton ship development contract was canceled in 1980, two experimental SESs, both of around 100 tons, with 80 ft length and 40 ft beams, were developed for the US Military in the 1960s and 70s. They both attained speeds in excess of the goal of 80 knots. The SES 100B, was built by Bell Aerospace at the NASA Michoud Assembly Facility, driven by 2 semi-submerged, supercavitating controllable, reversible propellers, achieved speeds in excess of 96 knots in the Gulf outside St. Andrews Bay in Panama City, Florida. The speed was verified by the USAF ARIS radar and it also fired the Navys first vertically launched missile while doing 60 knots. It was also used to test automatic ride control and high speed collision avoidance, the 100A ship was used to test waterjet propulsion, variable geometry inlets and automatic ride control systems. The 100A and 100B were both capable of operating almost completely out of the water on an air cushion with only 18in of sidewall, the propellers or the waterjet inlets entering the water. The 100-ton SES 100B was built for the US Navy as a 1/10 scale model to test the feasibility of using hovercraft and other Surface Effect Ships in combat situations. Unlike the hard sidewall SESs, the full skirted AALCs, JEFF A&B were the vehicles for the LCACs used by the Navy with such success in the Persian Gulf War
28.
Vosper Thornycroft
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VT Group is a privately held United States defence and services company, with its origins in a former British shipbuilding group, previously known as Vosper Thorneycroft. The British part of Vosper Thorneycroft was integrated into Babcock International in the early 2010s, VT Group plc was a British defence and services company, formerly known as Vosper Thornycroft. VT Group finally exited the Shipbuilding industry in October 2009, after selling its 45% share of the Shipbuilding Joint Venture company BVT Surface Fleet to BAE Systems. Formerly listed on the London Stock Exchange and a constituent of the FTSE250 Index, Vosper Ltd built small boats and J I Thornycroft had a long history of building destroyers and similar sized craft. The company was nationalised by the Labour Government in 1977, becoming a division of British Shipbuilders and it became a commercial company again after a management buyout in 1985. In 1998, Vosper Thornycroft acquired the specialist military boatbuilder Halmatic, in 2001, in their most ambitious diversification project, VT started work on the US$55million superyacht Mirabella V for former Avis Car Hire boss Joe Vittoria. At the time of its completion in 2004, Mirabella V was the worlds largest single-masted sailing vessel with a length of 75 metres. From 2002, the business was known as VT Group plc. In 2008, VT Shipbuilding was merged with BAE Systems Glasgow-based Surface Fleet Solutions subsidiary to form BVT Surface Fleet, the VT Halmatic boatyard site in Portchester was also sold off to Trafalgar Wharf, with Halmatic also moving into Portsmouth Naval Base. In 2008, VT Group acquired BNG Project Services from the government-owned British Nuclear Fuels for £75m, as the provider of nuclear decommissioning and waste treatment engineering services, Project Services gave VT Group access to the nuclear industry in the UK and abroad. The business was renamed VT Nuclear Services, on 28 January 2009 VT Group announced its intention to sell its share of BVT Surface Fleet to BAE Systems. Following the sale of VT Groups 45% share, BVT Surface Fleet was renamed BAE Systems Surface Ships to reflect the total ownership, in 2010, the British defence and construction company Babcock International Group purchased VT Group for £1. 32bn. Babcock integrated the UK portion of VT Group into its own business, in 2012, Babcock sold VT Group, which was by then US-based, to the private investment fund Resolute Fund II LP, linked to the Jordan Company
29.
Oman
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Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is an Arab country on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula. The coast is formed by the Arabian Sea on the southeast, the Madha and Musandam exclaves are surrounded by the UAE on their land borders, with the Strait of Hormuz and Gulf of Oman forming Musandams coastal boundaries. From the late 17th century, the Omani Sultanate was an empire, vying with Portugal and Britain for influence in the Persian Gulf. At its peak in the 19th century, Omani influence or control extended across the Strait of Hormuz to modern-day Iran and Pakistan, as its power declined in the 20th century, the sultanate came under the influence of the United Kingdom. Historically, Muscat was the trading port of the Persian Gulf region. Muscat was also among the most important trading ports of the Indian Ocean, the Sultan Qaboos bin Said al Said has been the hereditary leader of the country since 1970. Sultan Qaboos is the current ruler in the Middle East. Oman has modest oil reserves, ranking 25th globally, nevertheless, in 2010 the UNDP ranked Oman as the most improved nation in the world in terms of development during the preceding 40 years. A significant portion of its economy is tourism and trade of fish, dates and this sets it apart from its neighbors solely oil-dependent economies. Oman is categorized as an economy and ranks as the 74th most peaceful country in the world according to the Global Peace Index. Two optically stimulated luminescence age estimates place the Arabian Nubian Complex at 106,000 years old and this supports the proposition that early human populations moved from Africa into Arabia during the Late Pleistocene. Dereaze, located in the city of Ibri, is the oldest known settlement in the area. Archaeological remains have been discovered here from the Stone Age and the Bronze Age, findings have included stone implements, animal bones, shells and fire hearths, with the latter dating back to 7615 BC as the oldest signs of human settlement in the area. Other discoveries include hand-molded pottery bearing distinguishing pre-Bronze Age marks, heavy flint implements, pointed tools, sumerian tablets refer to a country called Magan or Makan, a name believed to refer to Omans ancient copper mines. Mazoon, another used for the region, is derived from the word muzn. The present-day name of the country, Oman, is believed to originate from the Arab tribes who migrated to its territory from the Uman region of Yemen. Many such tribes settled in Oman, making a living by fishing, herding or stock breeding, from the 6th century BC to the arrival of Islam in the 7th century AD, Oman was controlled and/or influenced by three Persian dynasties, the Achaemenids, Parthians and Sassanids. A few scholars believe that in the 6th century BC, the Achaemenids exerted a strong degree of control over the Omani peninsula, Central Oman has its own indigenous so-called Late Iron Age cultural assemblage, the Samad al-Shan
30.
Kenya
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Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country in Africa and a founding member of the East African Community. Its capital and largest city is Nairobi and it is bordered by Tanzania to the south and southwest, Uganda to the west, South Sudan to the north-west, Ethiopia to the north and Somalia to the north-east. Kenya covers 581,309 km2, and had a population of approximately 48 million people in January 2017, Kenya has a warm and humid tropical climate on its Indian Ocean coastline. The climate is cooler in the grasslands around the capital city, Nairobi, and especially closer to Mount Kenya. Further inland are highlands in Central and Rift Valley regions where tea, in the West are Nyanza and Western regions, there is an equatorial, hot and dry climate which becomes humid around Lake Victoria, the largest tropical fresh-water lake in the world. This gives way to temperate and forested areas in the neighbouring western region. The north-eastern regions along the border with Somalia and Ethiopia are arid and semi-arid areas with near-desert landscapes, Kenya is known for its world class athletes in track and field and rugby. The African Great Lakes region, which Kenya is a part of, has been inhabited by humans since the Lower Paleolithic period, by the first millennium AD, the Bantu expansion had reached the area from West-Central Africa. Bantu and Nilotic populations together constitute around 97% of the nations residents, European and Arab presence in coastal Mombasa dates to the Early Modern period, European exploration of the interior began in the 19th century. The British Empire established the East Africa Protectorate in 1895, which starting in 1920 gave way to the Kenya Colony, Kenya obtained independence in December 1963. Following a referendum in August 2010 and adoption of a new constitution, Kenya is now divided into 47 semi-autonomous counties, the capital, Nairobi, is a regional commercial hub. The economy of Kenya is the largest by GDP in East, agriculture is a major employer, the country traditionally exports tea and coffee and has more recently begun to export fresh flowers to Europe. The service industry is also an economic driver. Additionally, Kenya is a member of the East African Community trading bloc, the Republic of Kenya is named after Mount Kenya. The origin of the name Kenya is not clear, but perhaps linked to the Kikuyu, Embu and Kamba words Kirinyaga, Kirenyaa, if so, then the British may not so much have mispronounced it, as misspelled it. In the 19th century, the German explorer Johann Ludwig Krapf was staying with the Bantu Kamba people when he first spotted the mountain. On asking for the name of the mountain, he was told Kĩ-Nyaa or Kĩĩma- Kĩĩnyaa probably because the pattern of black rock, the Agikuyu, who inhabit the slopes of Mt. Kenya, call it Kĩrĩma Kĩrĩnyaga in Kikuyu, which is quite similar to the Kamba name. Ludwig Krapf recorded the name as both Kenia and Kegnia believed by most to be a corruption of the Kamba version, others say that this was—on the contrary—a very precise notation of a correct African pronunciation /ˈkɛnjə/
31.
USS Cyclone
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USS Cyclone was the first of the Navys Cyclone class coastal patrol ships. As the lead ship of her class, Cyclone served as the test bed for this series of 14 vessels and she was laid down at Bollinger Shipyards, in Lockport, Louisiana, on 22 June 1990, launched on 1 February 1992, and commissioned on 7 August 1993. Her small size, stealthy construction and high speed were tailored to performing long-range Special Operations Forces insertion and extraction as well as other SOF support duties as needed, the ships operational capabilities were designed to meet the unique requirements of its Special Warfare missions. Operationally, Cyclone was capable of accelerating from stop to 35 knots in under three minutes, then move from full ahead to 15 knots astern in 60 seconds, in high-speed, hard-over turns, the ship barely heeled as the automatic stabilizers engaged. Originally armed with two Mk3825 mm chain guns fore and aft, several pintle mounts for attaching, the Mk96 combines both a 25 mm chain gun and a 40 mm grenade launcher on a single stabilized platform. The computer can also interface with the Stinger SAMs carried on board, the Navy began looking for ways to phase out Cyclone and her sister ships, so on 28 February 2000, Cyclone was decommissioned and stricken from the Navy list. She was then transferred to the United States Coast Guard the next day, the Coast Guard lacked an effective vessel sized between its 110 patrol cutter and the 210 Medium Endurance Cutter, so there was considerable interest in Cyclone at first. However, her high operating costs were prohibitive and thus she sat largely inactive and she was rechristened BRP Mariano Alvarez, in honor of a revolutionary general in the Philippine war of independence against Spain. This article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register, which, the entry can be found here
32.
BRP General Mariano Alvarez (PS-38)
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The BRP General Mariano Alvarez is the lone ship of the same class of coastal patrol ships in service with the Philippine Navy. Historically, she is the ship of the Cyclone class prior to being transferred to the Philippine Navy. Today she is considered as one of the newest active fighting ships in the Philippine Navy and her small size, stealthy construction and high speed were tailored to performing long-range Special Operations Forces insertion and extraction as well as other SOF support duties as needed. The Navy began looking for ways to phase out the Cyclone and her ships, so on 28 February 2000. It was then transferred to the United States Coast Guard the next day, the Coast Guard lacked an effective vessel sized between its 110 patrol cutter and the 210 Medium Endurance Cutter, so there was considerable interest in Cyclone at first. However, her high operating costs were prohibitive and thus she sat largely inactive and she was rechristened BRP General Mariano Alvarez on 8 March 2004, in honor of a revolutionary general in the Philippine war of independence against Spain. She is currently assigned to the Patrol Force of the Philippine Fleet and she was also one of the naval vessels that was deployed to Zamboanga City during the Zamboanga City crisis. The ships operational capabilities were designed to meet the requirements of its Special Warfare missions. Operationally, the ship is capable of accelerating from stop to 35 knots in under three minutes, then move from full ahead to 15 knots astern in 60 seconds, in high-speed, hard-over turns, the ship barely heeled as the automatic stabilizers engaged. Originally armed with two Mk3825 mm chain guns fore and aft, several pintle mounts for attaching.38 mount with the new Mk.96 platform. The Mk.96 combines both a M242 Bushmaster 25 mm chain gun and a 40 mm automatic grenade launcher on a stabilized platform. The computer can also interface with Stinger SAMs, the Sperry Vision 2100M combat system employs the navigational radars and the Sperry Voyage Management System integrated navigation and control system as a combat data suite. The radar intercept equipment was developed for use on helicopters, has a Sperry Marine automated Integrated Bridge System. Each Mk 52 decoy rocket launcher carries 12 ready-service rounds, and 15 more rockets per launcher are carried in adjacent lockers. Ammunition supply includes 2,000 rounds 25-mm,2,000 rounds.50 cal,2,000 rounds 7. 62-mm, navigation systems include Global Positioning System and Loran receivers. Radio gear includes LST-5C SATCOM/line-of-sight UHF transceiver, A5 Spectra VHF radio, ICM120 Marine Band radio, and RF5000 HF, VRC-92A VHF, aN/SAT-2A infrared signaling systems are fitted, and the Marconi Vistar stabilized FLIR sensor with integral low-light-level television camera is mounted on the mast. Have IFF transponder but no interrogation capability, although it may be added later, the sonar transducer is retracted within the hull at speeds above 14 kts. The hull was constructed using BS-4360 Grade 43A steel, the superstructure was constructed using 5086 aluminum alloy, four Reintjes WVS-2232 reduction gearbox, with a reduction ratio,2.025,1. Total air conditioning plants production,83.33 kW and they can refuel at sea, using astern fueling rigs
33.
USS Tempest (PC-2)
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USS Tempest is the second Cyclone-class patrol ship, decommissioned 30 September 2005 and transferred to the United States Coast Guard as USCGC Tempest. She was placed in Commission Special status until December 2005, when she was commissioned as a Coast Guard cutter. She was returned to the US Navy on 22 August 2008, in 2013, Tempest shifted homeport to Naval Support Activity Bahrain. The fast attack craft had ignored calls to veer off as well as warning flares. This article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register, which, the entry can be found here. Media related to USS Tempest at Wikimedia Commons FAS
34.
USS Monsoon
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USS Monsoon is the fourth Cyclone class patrol ship. Monsoon was laid down by Bollinger Shipyards, Lockport, Louisiana on 15 February 1992 and she was commissioned 22 January 1994 by the United States Navy. She was decommissioned 1 October 2004 and loaned to the United States Coast Guard as USCGC Monsoon and she was returned to the U. S. Navy on 22 August 2008. The crew of Monsoon took him into custody and his U. S. registered fishing boat and this article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register, which, as a U. S. government publication, is in the public domain. The entry can be found here
35.
USS Sirocco
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USS Sirocco is the sixth Cyclone-class patrol ship of the U. S. Navy. Sirocco was laid down 20 June 1992 by Bollinger Shipyards, Lockport, Louisiana and she was commissioned by the Navy 11 June 1994. As of 2016, the ship was stationed in Bahrain performing coastal patrol, lt. David M. Caldwell in command. Sirocco is assigned to Commander Fifth Fleet through Destroyer Squadron 50 and is homeported in Manama,7 PC class warships are forward deployed to C5F. PC ships were crewed by one of 13 rotational PC crews. PC ships such as Sirocco complete a variety of sets that has expanded since the transfer of the ships. As of 2009, PC ships deployed in Bahrain primarily conducted Maritime Security Operations in the Persian Gulf with a concentration towards anti-piracy, in 2009, Sirocco completed phase 1 of a modernization program to extend the useful lives of these hard working ships. Upgrades included new computer systems and satellite communications, as well as upgraded AC systems, on 28 March 2016, Sirocco seized a stateless dhow in the Arabian sea. A boarding party had been dispatched to inspect the vessel and discovered it had been transporting 1,500 AK-47 assault rifles,200 RPG launchers. After receiving reports from Sirocco, the destroyer USS Gravely also arrived on the scene to assist, after the weapons were seized and offloaded, the dhow and its crew were released. Sirocco Continues Maritime Security Operations with New Crew NNS050606-04, Sirocco Responds To Medical Emergency NNS100907-07. This article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register, which, the entry can be found here. This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, the entry can be found here
36.
USS Squall
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USS Squall is the seventh Cyclone class patrol ship. Squall was laid down 17 February 1993 by Bollinger Shipyards, Lockport, Louisiana and she was commissioned by the United States Navy 4 July 1994. In 2013, Squall shifted homeport to Naval Support Activity Bahrain, in accordance with standard maritime procedure, the warning shots were fired into the water. The Iranian boat then left the area and this article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register, which, as a U. S. government publication, is in the public domain. The entry can be found here
37.
USS Zephyr
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USS Zephyr is a Cyclone class patrol coastal ship in the United States Navy. Zephyr is the ship of thirteen in the Cyclone-class. All ships in class are named after weather elements. Zephyr is the first Navy vessel to bear the name and she was laid down 6 March 1993, by Bollinger Shipyards, Lockport, Louisiana and launched 3 December 1993. She was commissioned on 14 October 1994 and decommissioned 1 October 2004, the CGC Zephyr was the first cutter deployed to respond to the Deepwater Horizon oil rig fire. Zephyr was transferred back to the Navy on 30 September 2011, Zephyr is currently undergoing repairs at Colonas Shipyards in Norfolk, Virginia. This article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register, which, the entry can be found here. Navsource. org, USCGC Zephyr Federation of American Scientists, Cyclone class ship characteristics
38.
USS Firebolt
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USS Firebolt is the 10th member of the Cyclone-class of coastal patrol boats. She is a 174 ft vessel with a crew of approximately 30 sailors, normally homeported at Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek, Norfolk, Virginia. Her armament includes two Mk38 chain guns, two Mk19 automatic grenade launchers, and two.50 in machine guns, as well as six Stinger missiles. She was laid down by Bollinger Shipyards on 17 September 1993, launched on 10 June 1994, in February 2003, Firebolt deployed to Bahrain to operate in the Persian Gulf in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. While there, she rotated crews so that she could remain on station without returning home for leave, in February 2004, Firebolt collided with a navigational buoy off the coast of Iraq. The subsequent inquiry board into the incident led to the removal of Lieutenant Commander Michael T. Sullivan from command, on 24 April 2004, Firebolts rigid-hulled inflatable boat attempted a boarding operation on a dhow that was approaching the Khawr Al Amaya Oil Terminal in Iraq. As the boarding team of seven pulled alongside, the dhow exploded in an apparent suicide bombing, bruckenthal, a member of the embarked Law Enforcement Detachment, was the first Coast Guardsman to die in action since the Vietnam War. The survivors were picked up by an S-70B-2 Seahawk helicopter from the Australian frigate HMAS Stuart and this article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register, which, as a U. S. government publication, is in the public domain. The entry can be found here
39.
USS Whirlwind (PC-11)
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USS Whirlwind is the eleventh Cyclone class Patrol ship. Whirlwind was laid down 4 March 1994 by Bollinger Shipyards, Lockport, Louisiana and she was commissioned 1 July 1995 in Memphis, Tennessee. This article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register, which, the entry can be found here
40.
USS Thunderbolt
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USS Thunderbolt is the twelfth Cyclone class patrol ship. Thunderbolt was laid down 9 June 1994 by Bollinger Shipyards, Lockport, Louisiana and she was commissioned by the United States Navy 7 October 1995. In 2013, Thunderbolt shifted homeport to Naval Support Activity Bahrain and this article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register, which, as a U. S. government publication, is in the public domain. The entry can be found here
41.
USS Shamal
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USS Shamal is the thirteenth Cyclone class patrol ship. Shamal was laid down 23 September 1994 by Bollinger Shipyards, Lockport, Louisiana and she was commissioned 27 January 1996. Decommissioned by the United States Navy 1 October 2004 and transferred to the United States Coast Guard, Shamal was transferred back to the Navy on 30 September 2011, and is once again designated PC-13. This article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register, which, the entry can be found here. Federation of American Scientists, Cyclone class ship characteristics
42.
Virginia
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Virginia is a state located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, as well as in the historic Southeast. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are shaped by the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Chesapeake Bay, the capital of the Commonwealth is Richmond, Virginia Beach is the most populous city, and Fairfax County is the most populous political subdivision. The Commonwealths estimated population as of 2014 is over 8.3 million, the areas history begins with several indigenous groups, including the Powhatan. In 1607 the London Company established the Colony of Virginia as the first permanent New World English colony, slave labor and the land acquired from displaced Native American tribes each played a significant role in the colonys early politics and plantation economy. Although the Commonwealth was under one-party rule for nearly a century following Reconstruction, the Virginia General Assembly is the oldest continuous law-making body in the New World. The state government was ranked most effective by the Pew Center on the States in both 2005 and 2008 and it is unique in how it treats cities and counties equally, manages local roads, and prohibits its governors from serving consecutive terms. Virginias economy changed from agricultural to industrial during the 1960s and 1970s. Virginia has an area of 42,774.2 square miles, including 3,180.13 square miles of water. Virginias boundary with Maryland and Washington, D. C. extends to the mark of the south shore of the Potomac River. The southern border is defined as the 36° 30′ parallel north, the border with Tennessee was not settled until 1893, when their dispute was brought to the U. S. Supreme Court. The Chesapeake Bay separates the portion of the Commonwealth from the two-county peninsula of Virginias Eastern Shore. The bay was formed from the river valleys of the Susquehanna River. Many of Virginias rivers flow into the Chesapeake Bay, including the Potomac, Rappahannock, York, and James, the Tidewater is a coastal plain between the Atlantic coast and the fall line. It includes the Eastern Shore and major estuaries of Chesapeake Bay, the Piedmont is a series of sedimentary and igneous rock-based foothills east of the mountains which were formed in the Mesozoic era. The region, known for its clay soil, includes the Southwest Mountains around Charlottesville. The Blue Ridge Mountains are a province of the Appalachian Mountains with the highest points in the state. The Ridge and Valley region is west of the mountains and includes the Great Appalachian Valley, the region is carbonate rock based and includes Massanutten Mountain. The Cumberland Plateau and the Cumberland Mountains are in the southwest corner of Virginia, in this region, rivers flow northwest, with a dendritic drainage system, into the Ohio River basin
43.
Florida
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Florida /ˈflɒrᵻdə/ is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, Florida is the 22nd-most extensive, the 3rd-most populous, and the 8th-most densely populated of the U. S. states. Jacksonville is the most populous municipality in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States, the Miami metropolitan area is Floridas most populous urban area. The city of Tallahassee is the state capital, much of the state is at or near sea level and is characterized by sedimentary soil. The climate varies from subtropical in the north to tropical in the south, the American alligator, American crocodile, Florida panther, and manatee can be found in the Everglades National Park. It was a location of the Seminole Wars against the Native Americans. Today, Florida is distinctive for its large Cuban expatriate community and high population growth, the states economy relies mainly on tourism, agriculture, and transportation, which developed in the late 19th century. Florida is also renowned for amusement parks, orange crops, the Kennedy Space Center, Florida has attracted many writers such as Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, Ernest Hemingway and Tennessee Williams, and continues to attract celebrities and athletes. It is internationally known for golf, tennis, auto racing, by the 16th century, the earliest time for which there is a historical record, major Native American groups included the Apalachee, the Timucua, the Ais, the Tocobaga, the Calusa and the Tequesta. Florida was the first part of the continental United States to be visited and settled by Europeans, the earliest known European explorers came with the Spanish conquistador Juan Ponce de León. Ponce de León spotted and landed on the peninsula on April 2,1513 and he named the region La Florida. The story that he was searching for the Fountain of Youth is a myth, in May 1539, Conquistador Hernando de Soto skirted the coast of Florida, searching for a deep harbor to land. He described seeing a wall of red mangroves spread mile after mile, some reaching as high as 70 feet. Very soon, many smokes appeared along the whole coast, billowing against the sky, the Spanish introduced Christianity, cattle, horses, sheep, the Spanish language, and more to Florida. Both the Spanish and French established settlements in Florida, with varying degrees of success, in 1559, Don Tristán de Luna y Arellano established a settlement at present-day Pensacola, making it the first attempted settlement in Florida, but it was abandoned by 1561. Spain maintained tenuous control over the region by converting the tribes to Christianity. The area of Spanish Florida diminished with the establishment of English settlements to the north, the English attacked St. Augustine, burning the city and its cathedral to the ground several times. Florida attracted numerous Africans and African-Americans from adjacent British colonies who sought freedom from slavery, in 1738, Governor Manuel de Montiano established Fort Gracia Real de Santa Teresa de Mose near St
44.
Littoral combat ship
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The littoral combat ship is a class of relatively small surface vessels intended for operations in the littoral zone by the United States Navy. It was envisioned to be a networked, agile, stealthy surface combatant capable of defeating anti-access, the Freedom class and the Independence class are the first two LCS variants. Both are slightly smaller than the U. S. Navys guided missile frigates and have likened to corvettes. Standard armaments include Mk 11057 mm guns and RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missiles and they are also equipped with autonomous air, surface, and underwater vehicles. Possessing lower air defense and surface warfare capabilities than destroyers, the LCS concept emphasizes speed, flexible mission modules, the first littoral combat ship, USS Freedom, was commissioned on 8 November 2008 in Veterans Park, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The second ship, and first of the design, USS Independence, was commissioned on 16 January 2010, in Mobile. In 2012, CNO Jonathan W. Greenert stated that LCSs would be deployed to Africa in place of destroyers and cruisers. In 2013 and 2014, the Navys requirement for LCS ships was progressively cut from 55 to 32 vessels in favor of a proposed frigate, more capable of high intensity combat. In December 2015, Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter ordered the Navy to reduce planned LC and FF procurement from 52 to 40, due to its modular design, the LCS will be able to replace slower, more specialized ships such as minesweepers and larger assault ships. Performing functions such as sonar sweeps for mines or submarines as well as launching torpedoes against hostile submarines at a distance from the ship is less risky, placing sensors on remote vehicles allows the LCS to exploit concepts such as bistatic sonar. The Navy responded that the LCS is built to a Level 1+ survivability standard, Jonathan Greenert said that the crew would conduct an orderly abandon ship if their ship was struck by enemy fire, an action that might not be necessary on other vessels in the same circumstances. The ships were designed to minimize vulnerability with modern automated damage control systems to perform its mission, the LCSs combat abilities were said to be very modest even before the cancellation of the XM501 Non-Line-of-Sight Launch System. The Independence variant reportedly has better facilities and more internal space while the Freedom variant is said to be better able to launch. Admiral Gary Roughead said that a mix of both types would be operationally advantageous, Navy Secretary Ray Mabus clarified that the ship could operate in combat areas while under the protection of other warships. The LCS utility against high-tech enemies would be working with and being covered by destroyers. With destroyers providing extended air and missile defense, the cheaper and more numerous LCS can sweep for mines, the ships are planned to have a 3,2,1 manning concept. That is three ship crews, and two hulls for each ship that is on station at any time, the other ship and other two crews who are not on deployment will either be preparing for deployment or in rotation in or out of theater. The result is a 50% reduction in ships and a 25% reduction in crews than traditional deployment practices, the ships were predicted to fall short in manning
45.
Mark V Special Operations Craft
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The Mark V SOC is a small marine security/patrol/transport boat manufactured by VT Halter Marine Inc. The Mark V is one of the newest additions to the United States Naval Special Warfare Command, the development of the Mark V SOC was very fast-paced, taking only 18 months from the initiation of the program to actual delivery of the first boat on 4 September 1995. The contract was fulfilled when full operational capability was met in 1999, in all,20 Mk V SOC units were delivered to USSOCOM at a unit cost of $3.7 million. The Mark V SOC deployment, on the hand, was less smooth. Problems included instances of the windshield and entire pilothouse assembly collapsing upon wave impact, however, these issues have been resolved and the Mark V SOC has markedly improved maritime special operations capabilities. The original Mk V SOC was designed to address the lack of any specifically conceived SEAL insertion craft, prior to the Mk V SOC, SEALs traveled on any form of surface transport available, often resorting to taping lawn furniture to the deck of the available craft. The original Mk V competition included three different designs, one Kevlar composite monohull, one aluminum monohull and one aluminum catamaran hull, the Mk V SOC specifically incorporated a modular shock mitigation seating design to minimize injury. Experience gained during training and operational usage showed the aluminum monohull transmitted the impact with the water to the occupants more readily than a composite hull. Even after modifications such as the addition of shock-absorbing seats, the boats are capable of generating up to 20 Gs of force while slamming across waves and this led to many cases of bruises, sprained ankles, chipped teeth, and back, neck and joint injuries. On 11 January 2008 the U. S. Navy unveiled a new version of the Mk V, dubbed the Mk V.1, intended to reduce the number of injuries sustained by sailors and SEALs during the operation of the vessel. Nicknamed the MAKO, the boat will undergo testing off the coast of Maine to evaluate its new composite carbon-fiber hull before final evaluation in Norfolk, Virginia. The MAKO was designed by Maine Marine Manufacturing LLC, a subsidiary of Hodgdon Yachts, a boat builder. The new boat will feature a hull made of layers of fiber, a foam core. The MAKO is lighter than current Mk Vs, the primary mission of the Mark V is medium range insertion and extraction platform for Special Operations Forces in a low to medium threat environment. The secondary mission is limited Coastal Patrol and Interdiction, specifically limited duration patrol, the typical Mark V SOC mission duration is 12 hours. The Mark V has the capacity to carry sixteen fully equipped SEALs to missions 500 miles away from where they are based and they ride on seats that are designed for maximum comfort and shock mitigation in high seas or heavy maneuvering, and allows occupants to either stand or sit. With a beam of 17½ feet, the craft has enough room to carry four Combat Rubber Raiding Crafts with six outboard motors and fuel, the ramp on the stern allows SEAL teams to ride their CRRCs right up the stern of the boat, for fast extraction and insertion. Together these provide 360 degrees of firing coverage, to defend against aircraft, the craft has a station for firing the Stinger Man-portable Air Defense System
46.
International Standard Book Number
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The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an e-book, a paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, the method of assigning an ISBN is nation-based and varies from country to country, often depending on how large the publishing industry is within a country. The initial ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering created in 1966, the 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108. Occasionally, a book may appear without a printed ISBN if it is printed privately or the author does not follow the usual ISBN procedure, however, this can be rectified later. Another identifier, the International Standard Serial Number, identifies periodical publications such as magazines, the ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 in the United Kingdom by David Whitaker and in 1968 in the US by Emery Koltay. The 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108, the United Kingdom continued to use the 9-digit SBN code until 1974. The ISO on-line facility only refers back to 1978, an SBN may be converted to an ISBN by prefixing the digit 0. For example, the edition of Mr. J. G. Reeder Returns, published by Hodder in 1965, has SBN340013818 -340 indicating the publisher,01381 their serial number. This can be converted to ISBN 0-340-01381-8, the check digit does not need to be re-calculated, since 1 January 2007, ISBNs have contained 13 digits, a format that is compatible with Bookland European Article Number EAN-13s. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an ebook, a paperback, and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, a 13-digit ISBN can be separated into its parts, and when this is done it is customary to separate the parts with hyphens or spaces. Separating the parts of a 10-digit ISBN is also done with either hyphens or spaces, figuring out how to correctly separate a given ISBN number is complicated, because most of the parts do not use a fixed number of digits. ISBN issuance is country-specific, in that ISBNs are issued by the ISBN registration agency that is responsible for country or territory regardless of the publication language. Some ISBN registration agencies are based in national libraries or within ministries of culture, in other cases, the ISBN registration service is provided by organisations such as bibliographic data providers that are not government funded. In Canada, ISBNs are issued at no cost with the purpose of encouraging Canadian culture. In the United Kingdom, United States, and some countries, where the service is provided by non-government-funded organisations. Australia, ISBNs are issued by the library services agency Thorpe-Bowker
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Philippine Navy (1)
United States Navy (13)
United States Coast Guard (4 returned to U.S. Navy)
Media related to Cyclone class patrol coastal ships at Wikimedia Commons
