Editorial CommEnt
All change
for DDG 1000
and LCS
the lCS USS Freedom (lCS 1) berths next to
USS Constitution at the Charlestown navy
Yard.
I
n early April, US Defence Secretary Dr solution to the DDG budget problem was cutting seems inevitable. A contract for a
Robert M Gates announced new plans ‘pre-cleared’ with the relevant congres- third LCS has been placed with Lockheed
for building the US Navy’s DDG 1000 sional leaders, enabling Ingalls to get two Martin and the semi-planing monohull
destroyers which will see all three Zumwalt more DDGs in the 2010 budget, Bath to ship, to be named USS Fort Worth, will be
class destroyers built at Bath Iron Works, build all the DDG 1000s – whether that built by Marinette Marine, this contract
rather than splitting construction between turns out to be one, two or three ships – being the first phase of a competitive
Bath iron Works and Northrop Grumman and then both yards will build more DDG acquisition programme for Fiscal Years
Marine Systems. At the same time it seems 51s. Secretary Gates’ proposals are, then, 2009 and 2010.
that the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) project a ‘balancing act’ between meeting the US However, somewhat surprisingly, but
is being revived, although not without Navy’s changing needs and maintaining the understandably given the ongoing contro-
some major changes that should reduce the national shipbuilding industrial base. versy over the programme and criticism of
cost of the much-criticised LCS. The Navy Secretary also revealed that unit costs, the DoD has refused to release the
The new building plan for the Zumwalt he wants to accelerate acquisition of the value of the contract for the vessel, claiming
class is being seen as an effort to stabilise LCS and has also backed plans for a new that it is “considered source selection
employment levels at Bath Iron Works, ballistic missile submarine, which could information”. Moreover, as Naval Spyglass
which was previously scheduled to build benefit General Dynamics’ Electric Boat. also noted, although no contract has been
only two of the destroyers and has begun to He also wants to accelerate production of awarded for the fourth ship, and there is no
cut metal on the first. Northrop Grumman Raytheon’s new SM-6 Standard surface-to- indication who will win the contract to build
had already received a contract for the air missile, but delay carrier construction it, the fourth LCS has already been given a
second ship, although they have not cut by switching to a five-year building cycle name – USS Coronado.
metal despite earlier claims. instead of four, which will delay delivery of The second phase of the acquisition
To re-allocate the contract from the the second Gerald R Ford (CVN 78) class programme includes the potential award
Mississippi shipyard to the Maine yard carrier by a year to 2020. of up to three more LCS Flight 0 Plus
will require approval from both Congress Other plans also announced by Secretary ships, even though the unit costs of the
and the Senate, and the Department of Gates revealed plans for cuts in defence ships ordered so far were so high that the
Defense (DoD) would apparently compen- spending, the key points being to increase original LCS 3 and LCS 4 were cancelled,
sate Northrop Grumman by allowing the the number of LCS vessels built in 2010 as previously highlighted in Warship
Pascagoula yard to restart construction from two to three; increase the number Technolog y. One reason for the high cost
of more Arleigh Burke (DDG 51) class of Joint High Speed Vessels from two to is the need for a sophisticated hull capable
destroyers. As Naval Spyglass reported four; begin replacing the Ohio class SSBNs of meeting the requirement for a speed of
recently, Gates appears to have secured the in 2010; delay the next-generation cruiser 40-50kts.
support of the two yards who are reported indefinitely; delay the 11th LPD indefi- It has been suggested that this require-
to have signed a deal. (It is worth noting nitely; delay the proposed MLP indefinitely; ment has added 30-40% to the hull costs
that the US Navy had originally wished to build no more than three and preferably and the Naval Sea Systems Command is
build all the Zumwalts at one yard but was only one DDG 1000; and restart the DDG believed to be re-examining the requirement
overruled by Congress). 51 programme. with a view to cutting unit costs significantly,
Other sources in the US report that it is In order to continue to progress the US in order to meet a Congressional cost cap of
apparent that Secretary Gates’ proposed Navy’s LCS programme some form of cost US$460 million for each ship. WT
Warship Technology May 2009 5
p5_WT_May09.indd 5 21/04/2009 10:02:54
Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52