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Va. Beach’s NOFP Dam Neck helping US, UK expand undersea surveillance capabilities

Posted at 8:34 AM, Feb 04, 2019
and last updated 2019-02-04 13:02:23-05

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – New technology that is helping the U.S. and a long-standing ally, Great Britain, integrate their undersea surveillance was celebrated at Naval Ocean Processing Facility (NOPF) on January 24.

NORTH ATLANTIC – SEPTEMBER 18: In this handout provided by the U.S. Navy, an F/A-18 Super Hornet assigned to Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 1 launches from the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) September 18, 2018 in the North Atlantic. The Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group is deployed to the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations, demonstrating commitment to regional allies and partners, combat power, and flexibility of U.S. naval forces to operate wherever and whenever the nation requires. (Photo by Thomas Gooley/U.S. Navy via Getty Images)

Maritime surveillance is key for providing critical information through the two countries open communication lines, and this Hampton Roads project is certainly going to play a big part in making things safer and more collaborative for both countries.

According to the Navy, the state-of-the-art Integrated Undersea Surveillance System (IUSS) operations floor expansion comes equipped with improved surveillance technologies for faster input and analysis of international waters, providing vital information for homeland security in the United States and for our allies in the United Kingdom.

“The new operations watch floor is a fantastic addition to our capabilities,” said Cmdr. Aaron Holdaway, commanding officer NOPF Dam Neck. “This is cutting-edge technology that has been years in the making between the United Kingdom and the United States to develop and to get installed into this building. It comes along with new software, new hardware and new mission capabilities marking a true achievement between our two countries.”

NOPF Dam Neck, a component of IUSS, was founded 40 years ago to support anti-submarine warfare and tactical forces by detecting, classifying, and providing timely reporting of information on submarines and other contacts of interest, said the Navy. The NOPF international team also has direct links to associated surveillance towed array sensor system (SURTASS) ships, gathering long-term acoustic, oceanographic, and hydrographic information.

“The Sailors and Airmen, both U.S. and UK, are what makes NOPF Dam Neck such a formidable asset in the battle for undersea dominance,” said Rear Adm. Paul Halton, OBE, Commander, Maritime Operations Royal Navy. “While the future holds many challenges, there is also cause for great optimism; the mettle of our men and women will always be a deciding factor in the Anti-Submarine Warfare campaign.”

The Navy added that The NOPF team works tirelessly, 24/7, 365 days a year, to monitor the ocean night and day in the spirit of the undersea warrior motto, “Nyns Us Convya Y’n Downder,” which translates from Cornish to “No Sanctuary in the Deep.” The ceremony of the expansion of NOPF is considered a true celebration of the U.S./UK partnership.

For more on this development, click here.