Source: US Navy Source: US Navy Close

The event focused on navigation, communication and ship handling skills, improving interoperability between U.S. Navy and RTN forces.

"This cooperative deployment is an opportunity for Antietam to exercise warfare skills with our Thai allies," said Capt. George Kessler, Antietam's commanding officer. "Joining our allies for this event benefits all ships at sea that depend on maritime security in the 7th Fleet area of operations."

The at-sea serials are part of a longstanding naval partnership that includes exercises like Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT), Cobra Gold and Guardian Sea, as well as staff talks and port visits throughout the year.

"Participating in a cooperative deployment like this is a great experience for our Sailors to hone their navigational skills alongside our Thai counterparts on the open seas," said Cmdr. Jeremy Watkins, Antietam's executive officer. "It's truly an invaluable opportunity for us to improve interoperability with our allies in such a critical area of the world."

Officers and Sailors benefitted from the opportunity at all levels.

"Engaging in this experience with the Royal Thai Navy presents new opportunities to get better at what we do," said Operations Specialist 1st Class Chase Collier. "It brings out our ship’s capabilities and assists in training Sailors on small, surface action group operations."

Antietam is in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations supporting security and stability in the Indo-Pacific.

The future USS Santa Barbara (LCS 32) is named in honor of Santa Barbara, California and is the third ship to bear the name.

The future USS Santa Barbara will be built by Austal USA in Mobile, Alabama. This ship will be 421 feet long with a beam length of 103.7 feet and be capable of operating at speeds in excess of 40 knots.

The Navy has accepted delivery of 16 LCss. Including the recent contract modifications, a total of 32 LCSs have been procured with 10 ships under construction (LCS 15, 17, 19-26).

LCS is a modular, reconfigurable ship, designed to meet validated fleet requirements for surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare and mine countermeasures missions in the littoral region. An interchangeable mission package is embarked on each LCS and provides the primary mission systems in one of these warfare areas.

Land-Based SPY-6 AMDR Test Installation Source: Raytheon Land-Based SPY-6 AMDR Test Installation Source: Raytheon Close

"AN/SPY-6(V) continues to impress through consistent performance against complex, surrogate threats," said U.S. Navy Captain Seiko Okano, Major Program Manager for Above Water Sensors, Program Executive Office Integrated Warfare Systems. "With production now underway, we're progressing - with confidence - toward delivery of this exceptional, game-changing radar, which will transform our naval capabilities for decades to come."

Raytheon states that the SPY-6 program has met all milestones, ahead of or on schedule, since its inception in January 2014. The radar has amassed a track record of performance, demonstrating its multi-mission capabilities against an array of single and multiple, simultaneous targets throughout the Navy's extensive testing program and against various targets of opportunity. Now in production at Raytheon's advanced Radar Development Facility, the company says that the SPY-6 remains on schedule for delivery to the first DDG 51 Flight III, the future USS Jack H Lucas (DDG 125), in 2019.

The SPY-6 provides greater range, increased accuracy, greater resistance to environmental and man-made electronic clutter, higher reliability, and sustainability than currently deployed radars, says Raytheon. The radar's demonstrated sensitivity provides greater coverage for early and accurate detection which optimizes the effectiveness of the Navy's most advanced weapons, including all variants of Standard Missile-3 and Standard Missile-6.

The inherent scalability of the radar, which is based on 2'x2'x2' Radar Modular Assemblies, individual radar "building blocks," allows for new instantiations without significant new radar development costs. Scaled variants of SPY-6 already designated as U.S. Navy programs of record, include the back-fit radar for existing DDG 51 Flight IIA destroyers, the new and backfit radars for aircraft carriers and amphibious ships, as well as the radar for the new guided-missile frigate, FFG(X).

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