Feature 3 | US NAVY
has 14 Henry J Kaiser (T-AO 187) class oilers and four Supply (T-AOE 6) class fast combat support ships but only three fleet replenishment oilers are double hulled to meet international environmental regulations and the US 1990 Oil Pollution Act. Military Sealift Command is already
The San Antonio (LPD-17) class programme was recently the subject of a damning report.
will be ordered in FY12 to FY20 and they will be succeeded by Flight III ships in which Naval Sea Systems Command wants to focus upon cost reductions, integrating improved radar for ballistic missile defence and new computing capabilities. Procurement would begin in the spring of 2016 with DDG 122 which will be delivered in the late summer of 2022. Te improvements will include the Zumwalts’ Air and Missile Defense Radar (AMDR), with a smaller (4.2m aperture) versions being installed during FY19 possibly with AN/SPY-3, and it is planned to have six ships to FY25. Te US Navy has awarded technology
development contracts worth a total of US$351 million to three companies; Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and Raytheon in a bid to produce a replacement
for the Lockheed Martin Aegis (AN/SPY-1) multi-function radar. Te Air and Missile Defense Radar (AMDR) will be a scalable system intended to improve the US Navy’s capability against the new generation of anti-ship and ballistic missiles. It will consist of two primary radars and
a radar suite controller to co-ordinate the sensors. A 2-4 GHz S (E/F)-band radar will provide volume search, tracking, ballistic missile defence discrimination and missile communications, according to the Navy, while a 8-12 GHz X (I/J)-band radar will provide horizon search, precision tracking, missile communication and terminal illumination of targets. The US Navy has brought forward
by four years its T-AO (X) programme for replacement fleet oilers. It currently
considering alternatives and will try to begin procurement in FY12. Northrop Grumman’s Avondale yard and General Dynamics’ National Steel & Shipbuilding Company (Nassco) in San Diego are the leading contenders for the contract and it is possible the navy will split the work between the two. The FY12 budget request will also
accelerate the design and construction of a new T-ATS class. Tis will replace both the Safeguard (T-ARS 50) class salvage ships and Powhatan (T-ATF 166) class fleet ocean tugs. Finally, mention should be made of
a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) programme to develop an unmanned vessel to track submarines. Te Anti-Submarine Warfare Continuous Trail Unmanned Vessel
(ACTUV)
programme (about which more can be found elsewhere in this issue) calls for an autonomous unmanned naval vessel with unique architectures for robust platform performance across a range of missions. Te ACTUV will have a novel suite of
sensors capable of robustly tracking quiet diesel-electric submarines, and the agency aims to produce a technology demonstrator capable of performing the role, navigating safely and using limited remote control. In Phase I, which will be completed by July, six contractors are involved in the project with integrated system concept design teams led by Northrop Grumman Undersea Systems, Science Applications International Corp (SAIC) Intelligence, Security, and Technology Group and Qinetiq North America Technology Solutions Group each of whom has received a US$2 million contract. Based on lessons learned from Phase I,
DARPA will define a system performance specification to serve as the basis for subsequent competition for prototype system design, construction and at-sea demonstration. Three
later Design options for the SSBN-X include a modified version of the Virginia class. 22 phases
will include detailed design, prototype construction and testing. WT
Warship Technology March 2011
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