NEWPORT, R.I. –
The Mark 48 Mod 4 Torpedo Submarine Launch Team, with 13 members from the Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) Division Newport, recently won the Expand the Advantage Achievement Award in the Naval Sea Systems Command’s (NAVSEA) fiscal year 2023 Excellence Awards program.
The award program recognizes individuals and teams in various occupational specialties across the enterprise for outstanding efforts made in support of the NAVSEA mission.
Division Newport team members from three departments, include David R. Reynolds, team lead and branch head, Heavyweight Torpedo Fleet Engineering, Peter F. Bria Jr., submarine test engineer, and Kyle M. Edwards, engineering technician, all in the Undersea Warfare (USW) Weapons, Vehicles and Defensive Systems Department; USW Combat Systems Department staff, Patrick M. Foster, supervisory engineer, Michael A. Gower, program manager, Christopher S. Guinen, engineer, Jeffrey R. Noia, scientist, William J. Roman, technical project manager, Dylan J. Souza, systems engineer, Antone M. Santos, technical engineer, and Eric P. Boucher, hardware engineer; and two members of the USW Platforms and Payload Integration Department, Joseph M. Vieira, mechanical engineer, and Joseph F. McSweet, technician. Nine NUWC Division Keyport personnel also contributed to the team’s success.
The team was recognized for their outstanding efforts in demonstrating that Mark 48 Mod 4 analog torpedo can still be successfully deployed from U.S. submarines, resulting in the first time that type of torpedo was fired from a U.S. submarine in more than 20 years.
The team of Newport and Keyport subject matter experts collaborated to build and issue two Mark 48 Mod 4 torpedoes to the fleet and pulled together the needed hardware to reconstitute a Mod 4 Combat Systems Lab and weapon simulators at Division Newport, the award states. The team traveled to several ports over the course of a month to get aboard a submarine to test and troubleshoot the submarine's existing analog torpedo launch capability, then identified numerous issues with the old console hardware.
“Through perseverance and teamwork, they made the necessary repairs to allow the submarine to communicate with and launch two Mark 48 Mod 4 torpedoes,” the award states. “The team's efforts will enable the torpedo enterprise to consider re-issuing Mark 48 Mod 4 torpedoes, which would increase the torpedo inventory while new torpedoes are produced and delivered to the fleet.”
There were more than 300 nominations received for the NAVSEA award program and 14 individuals and 14 team awards were given in 25 award categories.
“These impressive numbers reflect the high-quality work being done across the breadth and scope of the warfare centers’ technical and functional capabilities in support of the Navy and the nation,” said Dr. Martin Irvine Jr., executive director, NUWC/Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC), when he announced the winners, who were recognized during an award ceremony held in August at the Washington Navy Yard in D.C.
NUWC Newport is the oldest warfare center in the country, tracing its heritage to the Naval Torpedo Station established on Goat Island in Newport Harbor in 1869. Commanded by Capt. Chad Hennings, NUWC Newport maintains major detachments in West Palm Beach, Florida, and Andros Island in the Bahamas, as well as test facilities at Seneca Lake and Fisher's Island, New York, Leesburg, Florida, and Dodge Pond, Connecticut.
Join our team! NUWC Division Newport, one of the 20 largest employers in Rhode Island, employs a diverse, highly trained, educated, and skilled workforce. We are continuously looking for engineers, scientists, and other STEM professionals, as well as talented business, finance, logistics and other support experts who wish to be at the forefront of undersea research and development. Please connect with NUWC Division Newport Recruiting at this site- https://www.navsea.navy.mil/Home/Warfare-Centers/NUWC-Newport/Career-Opportunities/ and follow us on LinkedIn @NUWC-Newport and on Facebook @NUWCNewport.