NEWPORT, R.I. –
The U.S. and Australia have a long-standing military relationship that only continues to grow through collaboration. In helping to bolster that relationship, Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) Division Newport on April 7 welcomed Air Vice-Marshal Gerry van Leeuwen, head of Guided Weapons and Explosive Ordnance Systems for the Department of Defence of Australia, for a series of discussions and a tour of the command.
The visit was part of an eight-day stretch for van Leeuwen during which he toured several industry and government defense facilities, with Division Newport designated as one of the key stops.
The two navies leverage their own capabilities, experiences and operational environments to achieve maximum synergy in the heavyweight torpedo (HWT) enterprise. The partnership demonstrates a shared commitment to maintaining free and open global maritime commons.
“There are important mutual benefits in the partnership between Australia and the United States through active participation in joint and cooperative programs such as the Mark 54 MOD 2 and Mark 48 HWT cooperative programs,” van Leeuwen said. “Division Newport’s capabilities are significant contributors that drive development of these programs to success.”
“As we’ve seen for decades, working hand in hand strengthens the capabilities, readiness and resolve of both sides,” NUWC Division Newport Technical Director Marie Bussiere said. “With its level of technical expertise, Division Newport is committed to further strengthening this bilateral partnership.”
Bussiere certainly understands the importance of international relationships, especially with Australia. Earlier in her career, she served as Division Newport’s lead systems engineer for a Foreign Military Sales case for the Royal Australian Navy’s Collins-class submarine, which progressed to an Armaments Cooperation Project (ACP), for the AN/BYG-1 submarine combat system.
More recently, and just prior to becoming technical director in 2023, Bussiere was the U.S. lead for lethality in support of Commander, Submarine Force (COMSUBFOR) and the AUKUS Pillar 2 Undersea Working Group. AUKUS is the trilateral security pact between Australia, United Kingdom and United States.
Accompanying van Leeuwen on the tour were Marilyn Tomlinson, chief of staff, Guided Weapons and Explosive Ordnance Systems; Hayley Trevitt, counsellor, Guided Weapons and Explosive Ordnance; and Callum Beutel, liaison officer to Guided Weapons and Explosive Ordnance.
In 2023, the Royal Australian Navy and U.S. Navy celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Heavyweight Torpedo ACP memorandum of understanding. This joint effort resulted in significant operational capability and lethality improvements to the Mark 48 Advanced Capability heavyweight torpedo through three major hardware and software upgrades developed and tested by the Naval Undersea Warfare Centers and the Australian Defence Science and Technology Group (DSTG).
“The U.S. and Australia have been doing co-development on our heavyweight systems for 20 years now, so it’s a very strong relationship,” said John Fastino, head of the Weapons Systems Division in Division Newport’s Undersea Warfare (USW) Weapons, Vehicles, and Defensive Systems Department. “I’d say it’s the strongest relationship we have with another country. And it’s important because we need to do co-development, right? We need to leverage all the talent available through this ACP.”
Now, a similar developmental effort is being forged with the Mark 54 lightweight torpedo, Fastino said, which was the basis of van Leeuwen’s visit to Division Newport.
“We wanted to show Air Vice-Marshal van Leeuwen the breadth and depth of the capability at Division Newport for weapon systems development for torpedoes, both heavyweight and lightweight,” Fastino said. “During the tour, we focused on the lightweight torpedo in the areas of hardware development and modeling and simulation software. We’re trying to get more of a partnership on the software algorithm development side, which the Royal Australian Navy and DSTG have played an important role in the past. We’re trying to continue that.”
After briefings with leadership, the tour kicked off at the Weapons Analysis Facility (WAF) Laboratory, where van Leeuwen heard from Rick Murphy and Sharon Tyler, subject matter experts in modeling and simulation in the USW Weapons, Vehicles, and Defensive Systems Department. The WAF is used for critical tasking in torpedo software development, software integration into torpedo weapon systems, and analysis of both in-water and simulated weapon runs. The facility has more than 450 users, encompassing mostly scientists and engineers. There is a complimentary facility located in Perth in Western Australia.
The Propulsion Test Facility was the next stop, where Matt Cunha, Chris Burke and Trevor Whitney, all from the USW Weapons, Vehicles, and Defensive Systems Department, discussed equipment that will be used to test the advanced lightweight torpedo that is being co-developed and Jacob Martin and James Pianfetti, all from the USW Weapons, Vehicles, and Defensive Systems Department, explained test equipment. Finally, Dr. Victor Evora and Tony Paolero, both from the Sensors and Sonar Systems Department, took van Leeuwen through the Acoustic Pressure Tank Facility.
“The facilities we have here are all critical to the development and testing of this new lightweight torpedo, and each one of the folks who spoke have an area of expertise needed to ensure our undersea warfare superiority,” Fastino said.
The missions and geographic locations of Division Newport and the UWDC have contributed to a close working relationship. Leadership of both organizations meet periodically for technical exchanges and deep dives into critical gap areas and capability enhancements. The warfare center’s technical departments and UWDC’s working groups also interact regularly.
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.