An official website of the United States government
Here's how you know
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Home : Media : News : News Article View
NEWS | Oct. 5, 2021

USNS Alan Shepard Enhances Training with Navy’s New Sub-Sonic Target

By Leslie Hull-Ryde Military Sealift Command Far East

PACIFIC OCEAN - Lewis and Clark-class dry cargo ship USNS Alan Shepard (T-AKE 3) helped test the capabilities of the BQM-177A, the Navy next-generation Sub-Sonic Aerial Target (SSAT) while operating in the Western Pacific, Sept. 9-10.

“The BQM-177A enhances our readiness because it increases our training capabilities,” said Cmdr. Eli Marshall, range operations officer assigned to Pacific Missile Range Facility in Barking Sands, Hawaii.

This sub-sonic aerial target replicates modern subsonic anti-ship cruise missile threats launched from air, land, surface and subsurface to test the effectiveness of shipboard air defense systems and is used for fleet training. Capable of speeds in excess of 0.95 Mach and a sea-skimming altitude as low as 6.6 feet, the BQM-177A has no equal when it comes to delivering realistic anti-ship missile threat emulation, according to program managers at Naval Air Systems Command.

The BQM-177A provides threat emulation for air-to-air engagements. The BQM-177A’s aerodynamic design and performance capabilities provide high-dynamic, high-subsonic and sea-skimming anti-ship cruise missile threat emulation. This versatile aerial target supports a variety of mission requirements by carrying a wide array of internal and external payloads. These include proximity scoring, Identification Friend or Foe (IFF), passive and active RF augmentation, electronic counter-measures, infrared (IR) augmentation (plume pods), chaff and flare dispensers, and towed targets.

The Navy is in the process of replacing current air-to-air target simulators with the BQM-177A.

Alan Shepard, a fleet ordnance and dry cargo ship, was selected as the first vessel in the U.S. Navy’s Combat Logistics Force operating in the Western Pacific to help test the new capability.

“Alan Shepard’s crew is helping provide valuable training for our warfighters in the WESTPAC area of responsibility,” Marshall said.

Commander, Logistics Group Western Pacific and Task Force 73 is the U.S. 7th Fleet's provider of combat-ready logistics, operating government-owned and contracted ships that keep units throughout 7th Fleet armed, fueled, and fed. USNS Alan Shepard delivers ammunition, food, repair parts, and fuel to U.S., allies’ and partner nations’ navies operating in the region.

As the U.S. Navy's largest forward-deployed fleet, 7th Fleet employs 50-70 ships and submarines across the Western Pacific and Indian Oceans. U.S. 7th Fleet routinely operates and interacts with 35 maritime nations while conducting missions to preserve and protect a free and open Indo-Pacific Region.

CONNECT WITH USINDOPACOM
Facebook

Like Us
X
363,201
Follow Us

ENGAGE & CONNECT MORE WITH PACOM

                                                 

IN THE USINDOPACOM NEWS
Readout of Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III's Meeting With President Wesley Simina of the Federated States of Micronesia
Graphic intended for use as a placeholder for Statements and Press Releases without accompanying imagery.
March 22, 2024 - Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder provided the following readout...

AUKUS Trilateral Statement
Graphic intended for use as a placeholder for Statements and Press Releases without accompanying imagery.
March 22, 2024 - The Honourable Richard Marles MP, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence, Australia; the Right Honourable Grant Shapps, Secretary of State for Defence, United Kingdom; and Lloyd J. Austin III, Secretary of Defense,...

U.S., India launch Exercise Tiger TRIUMPH 2024
Courtesy Photo
March 21, 2024 - Indian and U.S. combined armed forces began Exercise Tiger TRIUMPH 2024 with the arrival of amphibious transport dock ship USS Somerset (LPD 25), March 18 and an opening ceremony March 19.This is the third time U.S. and...

USACE: Ensuring Safety Every Step of the Way
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers - Japan Engineer District (USACE JED) is the premier Department of Defense (DoD) military construction (MILCON) agent in the Pacific, providing facilities-related design and construction work in Japan for all military services and agencies. With over 60 years of experience in designing and constructing facilities in Japan, JED possesses the experience in Japanese standards and specifications, regulations, construction practices, maintenance requirements, and culture needed to ensure facilities are built with the utmost safety and professionalism. Photo by Charles Maib.
March 21, 2024 - The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers - Japan Engineer District (USACE JED) is the premier Department of Defense (DoD) military construction (MILCON) agent in the Pacific, providing facilities-related design and construction work...

THAAD Battery in Guam Successfully Completes Table VIII Evaluation
A Terminal High Altitude Area Defense launcher used by E-3 Air Defense Artillery THAAD Battery as part of their Table VIII certification in Dededo, Guam, March 13, 2024. The THAAD battery, equipped with a state-of-the-art missile defense system, is tasked with defending Guam against ballistic missile threats. (U.S. Army Photo by Maj. Trevor Wild)
March 21, 2024 - In a testament to readiness and operational excellence, Task Force Talon's E-3 ADA THAAD Battery conducted a Table VIII evaluation for the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system stationed in Guam, March 11-15,...