US Navy News and updates

Mattshel

Member
So I guess the RAN and RCN aren't the only navies debating the 32 versus 48 VLT option. The current specification calls for 32. It will be interesting to see if any of the bidders provide a 48 cell option.

https://www.realcleardefense.com/ar...rigate_cant_carry_enough_missiles_114523.html
I suspect at this point with all the changes to this RFP since the beginning, this process could use a bit of re-thinking or tweaking. This project started off where the LCS based variants looked best positioned to win, now it looks like the largest vessel on offer is in the catbirds seat because of the constant mission creep. With congress also making noise about things I foresee this program running into problems in short order.

To me it looks like what the USN wants now is a Hobart Class with expanded ASW Capability and next generation radars, I do not understand how this would ever come in at $800 Million USD a copy no matter how much Government Furnished Equipment is supplied.
 

John Fedup

The Bunker Group
A frigate choice instead of LCS would have resulted in a vessel that could have included many of the mission creep features which are desirable. The planned budget for the new frigate class supplemented with the money squandered on LCS could a have produced a really capable frigate with perhaps a few more hulls.
 

MickB

Well-Known Member
Young people not opting for apprenticeships is common to all 5eyes countries I suspect. Frankly, some university degrees are simply not good value for money and many of these students would be better off pursuing apprenticeships.
As a parent who's children went through this not long ago, It seems to me that many industries complain of the lack of skilled tradespeople but few are willing to expend the time to train them.
 

John Fedup

The Bunker Group
Again, a common problem that makes the situation worse. It pi$$es me off listening to companies complain about no skilled workers. They want others to pay for training. In the case of naval ship building, companies need sufficient work for this investment. The conditions for receiving a contract should be a continuous apprenticeship development program or no order. No more foreign import of skilled labour either.
 

John Fedup

The Bunker Group
I saw the Railgun article earlier. The lack of publicity on this project can be viewed in a positive way (no point letting the Chinese know your progress) or alternatively the negative (limited progress or setbacks). Hopefully it is the former, this technology might keep surface ships safe from swarming missile attacks (along with lasers) thus ensuring their viability. Even 48 to 96 VLT could be exhausted in short order given the rapid increase in Chinese and perhaps Russian ASM inventories.
 

Todjaeger

Potstirrer
Again, a common problem that makes the situation worse. It pi$$es me off listening to companies complain about no skilled workers. They want others to pay for training. In the case of naval ship building, companies need sufficient work for this investment. The conditions for receiving a contract should be a continuous apprenticeship development program or no order. No more foreign import of skilled labour either.
Having worked in several quite different business sectors in the US, I can see and understand where companies come from, though the situation is admittedly somewhat self-inflicted. For certain types of roles/positions, certain types of degrees are required by corporations. Typically any sort of supervisory position will often require a Bachelor's Degree or greater, and often the type (BA or BS, or even major) is unimportant. This creates an issue because people who are or want to plan for the future, need to get that piece of paper, otherwise they limit their potential options for positions and/or future advancement.

At the same time, companies are loathe to spend money training personnel and getting them credentialed for positions that the staffing of resembles a revolving door, entry-level positions especially. It would be one thing if companies could be assured that their investment in training workers would pay off for the company, but in many cases people without a needed skill who start training for a given skill either find out that they are unsuitable for that skill/position, or once they have completed the training and gotten credentialed sometimes find "better" positions with other companies that are also looking for workers with the skill or credential.
 

hauritz

Well-Known Member
USN USV work co to use at a faster pace. Looking like an RFP for both the MUSV and LUSV could be issued in the next two years. These USV will fundamentally alter the way the USN will conduct operations with its Ghost fleet of drones well in advanced of any Manned Combatants providing not only networked ISR bit offensive/defensive screening.

Navy Fast-Tracks New Large "Strike Warfare" Attack Surface Drones - Warrior Maven
Drones are certainly the quick and cheap route to boosting the USN fleet numbers. That the USN was even willing to sacrifice an aircraft carrier to fund these programs is testament to how important and game-changing this technology is.

I am particularly interested in UUVs. Unmanned surface vessels are all well and good but small underwater vessels would be pretty much able to go anywhere and be very difficult to detect.

 

John Fedup

The Bunker Group
Having worked in several quite different business sectors in the US, I can see and understand where companies come from, though the situation is admittedly somewhat self-inflicted. For certain types of roles/positions, certain types of degrees are required by corporations. Typically any sort of supervisory position will often require a Bachelor's Degree or greater, and often the type (BA or BS, or even major) is unimportant. This creates an issue because people who are or want to plan for the future, need to get that piece of paper, otherwise they limit their potential options for positions and/or future advancement.

At the same time, companies are loathe to spend money training personnel and getting them credentialed for positions that the staffing of resembles a revolving door, entry-level positions especially. It would be one thing if companies could be assured that their investment in training workers would pay off for the company, but in many cases people without a needed skill who start training for a given skill either find out that they are unsuitable for that skill/position, or once they have completed the training and gotten credentialed sometimes find "better" positions with other companies that are also looking for workers with the skill or credential.
Yes, the revolving door issue is a problem. Perhaps some kind of contract arrangement is needed. An example is some provinces in Canada which subsidize medical training on the condition the graduates spend an agreed upon time to work in rural areas, something most doctors tend to avoid as these locations are too far away from medical centres where they can interface with current leagues to improve their skills.
 

Ranger25

Active Member
Staff member
Drones are certainly the quick and cheap route to boosting the USN fleet numbers. That the USN was even willing to sacrifice an aircraft carrier to fund these programs is testament to how important and game-changing this technology is.

I am particularly interested in UUVs. Unmanned surface vessels are all well and good but small underwater vessels would be pretty much able to go anywhere and be very difficult to detect.

The possibilities of the XLUUV deployed to do ISR as well as offensive warfare will definitely be a force multiplier for the fleet. Tailing and hunting small AIP subs in the Littorals and choke points will be important and free up USN SSNs for larger tasks.
 

OPSSG

Super Moderator
Staff member
Post 1 of 2: Strike Further
The USN has released its final RFP for the FFG(X). The GFE the Navy will supply is:
  • A fixed-face Raytheon Enterprise Air Surveillance Radar (EASR) that will serve as the primary air search radar.
  • At least 32 Mark 41 Vertical Launch System cells that could field Standard Missile 2 Block IIICs or RIM-162 Evolved SeaSparrow Missiles (ESSM) and a planned vertically launched anti-submarine warfare weapon.
  • COMBATSS-21 Combat Management System based on the Aegis Combat System.
  • Cooperative Engagement Capability (CEC) datalink that would allow the frigate to share targeting information with other ships and aircraft.
  • Space, weight and cooling for 8 to 16 Over-the-Horizon Anti-Ship Cruise Missiles
  • An aviation detachment that includes an MH-60R Seahawk helicopter and an MQ-8C Firescout Unmanned Aerial Vehicle.
  • AN/SQQ-89(V)15 Surface Ship Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) Combat System
  • AN/SQS-62 Variable Depth Sonar.
  • SLQ-32(V)6 Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Program (SEWIP) Block 2 electronic warfare suite with allowances to include SEWIP Block 3 Lite in the future.
  • Space, weight and cooling reservation for a 150-kilowatt laser.
It also wants simpler methodologies for upgrading with no hull cuts or dry docking and the same for the upgrading of hull mounted subsurface and towed sonar sensors. The Navy is looking at US$800 million per ship with at least 20 ships being ordered, although the first contract will be for a tranche of 10 ships. Technical proposals are to be submitted by 22/8/2019 and cost proposals by 26/9/2-19. The contract winner will be selected fiscal year 2020 (1/10/2019 - 30/9/2020). Navy Issues Final RFP for FFG(X) Next-Generation Frigate - USNI News

However, the Navy maybe pushing the brown smelly stuff uphill both in terms of cost and in the time scale that it requires the ships, because of the critters in Congress sticking their noses into the works. If the Navy "tries to contract for any auxiliary equipment, such as pumps, or propulsion equipment or shipboard cranes not manufactured in the United States. In other words, those components must be manufactured in the United States, or Congress won’t fund them." The Navy opposes this because it increases the cost and lengthens the time required getting the ships into service because of redesign time, costs and lack of commonality with the wider USN fleet. So Congress critter pork barrelling yet again. Why doesn't that surprise me, considering the dysfunctional mess that's been Congress for the last 8 or so years. The US Navy’s new frigate program is careening toward a roadblock
One, from the string of announcements below, it is clear that US Air Force (USAF) and the US Navy (USN) have matured or planning for improved capabilities to strike at range (and at a lower cost than with legacy systems). In March 2019, the USN awarded Boeing a contract for the production of 78 Block III Super Hornets (61 single seat ‘E’ models and 17 two seat ‘F’ models) to be built beginning in 2019 and deliver beginning in 2021. The Block III Super Hornet includes conformal fuel tanks, larger weapons payload, a longer lifespan (9000-10,000 hours) and Block II IRST.

Two, I am a big fan of the Firescout and the MQ-25A prototype. Loving UAS on a helicopter type platform that is very well suited for the USN’s LCS and the coming frigate acquisition plans.

Three in Feb 2018, 5 ship designs were shortlisted to compete in the USN’s requirement for the next-generation guided-missile frigates (FFG(X), as per the above post). On June 20, 2019, the Navy released its Request for Proposals (RFP) for the Detail Design and Construction (DD&C) contract for up to 10 ships in FFG(X) program (the lead ship plus nine option ships). Responses to the RFP are due by August 22, 2019. The Navy plans to award the contract in July 2020. Of the 5 shipbuilders who were awarded contracts for conceptual design of the frigates, four remain. Austal USA (based on LCS-2 design), General Dynamics Bath Iron Works (based on F-100), Fincantieri Marine (based on FREMM) and Huntington Ingalls Industries (undisclosed design) were each awarded $15 million contracts for the FFG(X) work (see: Report to Congress on U.S. Navy Frigate FFG(X) Program - USNI News ).

The joint DARPA / USN LRASM program was initiated in 2009 to deliver a new generation of anti-ship weapons, offering longer ranges and better odds against improving air defense systems. The US military is also expecting an environment where enemies try to jam or destroy the GPS system and encrypted datalink transmissions, compounding its difficulties in targeting opponents if it can’t get many of its platforms through advanced air defenses. Those considerations underline the importance of autonomous targeting. Beyond their anti-jamming digital GPS, therefore, LRASM will also rely on a 2-way data link, a radar sensor that can detect ships (and might also be usable for navigation), and a day/night camera for positive identification and final targeting.
  • OASuW Increment 1 authorized a limited buy of air-launched LRASMs on Feb 3/14. Production missile purchases will begin in FY 2017, after LRASM has been integrated with USN F/A-18E/F Super Hornet fighters and USAF B-1 bombers.
  • OASuW Increment 2 will address ship-launched requirements. Harpoon anti-ship missiles were removed from all American frigates many years ago, and haven’t been installed in DDG 51 destroyers since Flight IIA began with DDG 79. The lack of anti-ship missiles on American surface combatants is becoming a problem, and likely cuts will make it a bigger problem as the USN looks to cut operating costs by cutting expensive ships like cruisers. A vertically-launched anti-ship and land strike missile that removed the need for dedicated launchers topside would solve this problem.
 
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OPSSG

Super Moderator
Staff member
Post 2 of 2: Execution of USN Plans to Strike Further

Jul 5/19: LRASM Engineering and Testing —
The USN tapped Lockheed Martin with $175 million for engineering, testing, product support and ancillary support to update the current Long Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM) components and systems required to achieve objective requirements in the Offensive Anti-Surface Warfare Increment 1 Capability Description Document. LRASM is a precision-guided, anti-ship standoff missile based on the successful Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile-Extended Range (JASSM-ER). According to the company, it is designed to detect and destroy specific targets within groups of ships by employing advanced technologies that reduce dependence on intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance platforms, network links and GPS navigation in electronic warfare environments. Lockheed will perform work in various places within the continental US and is expected to be finished in November 2022.

Jul 3/19: New LRASM Wing Design — Lockheed Martin has started designing an improved AGM-158C LRASM only eight months after the stealthy, air-launched weapon entered operational service. The USAF awarded Lockheed’s Missiles and Fire Control division a $175 million contract on July 3 to pay for “updates” to the AGM-158C. The update package, named LRASM 1.1, includes unspecified changes to the shape of the wing for better range.

Jun 28/19: Firescout IOC — The USN has declared that Northrop Grumman's MQ-8C has reached initial operational capability. The Bell 407-based variant is larger than its 8B predecessor, but it's also more capable. The 8C can last roughly twice as long in the air at 12 hours on station, and carry roughly three times the payload -- 701lbs, to be exact. It also packs new radar with a larger field of view and more modes, including air-to-air targeting.
Endgadget: USN's next-gen helicopter UAS is ready for service

May 7/19: Early IOC — BAE Systems together with Lockheed Martin have supplied the USAF with LRASM for the B-1B bomber aircraft, reaching early IOC ahead of schedule. The service ordered 50 LRASMs. The Lot 2 production effort is priced at $172 million.

Apr 28/19: Progress on the MQ-25A prototype — Boeing moved its MQ-25A prototype from its manufacturing facility near St. Louis, Mo. to a regional airport where it will conduct its first flight in late 2019. The MQ-25A will integrate with the rest of the carrier air wing, similar to how MH-60R Seahawk crews use with the unmanned MQ-8 Fire Scout UAVs aboard LCS. The MQ-25As will be paired with the Navy’s E-2 Hawkeye community. E-2 pilots and naval flight officers will cross train to operate the MQ-25A from the carrier. The USN is also upgrading four aircraft carriers with the Unmanned Carrier Aviation Mission Control System (UMCS) to operate the MQ-25As from the carrier. USS George H.W. Bush will be the first to be upgraded with the UMCS. USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) is also scheduled to be upgraded with UMCS.
Edit:

Feb 28/19: F-35C IOC — This IOC comes after the USN’s first F-35C squadron, Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 147, conducted aircraft carrier qualifications aboard USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) in early December, received its safe-for-flight operations certification on Dec. 12 and spent the intervening weeks working with the Navy’s test community to prove it could operate and maintain the new stealthy jets.
 
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FormerDirtDart

Well-Known Member
Tweet from Phil Ewing, National Security Editor with NPR: Phil Ewing on Twitter
@philewing
Today is #WarshipWednesday and in furtherance of the broad theme that LCS is back in the doin stuff business, here is LCS 10 underway somewhere in EastPac. Is that the NSM installed just forward of the pilothouse
Phil Ewing LCS-10 w-NSM 1.jpg Phil Ewing LCS-10 w-NSM 2.jpg

There is some speculation in the replies to the tweet that there are only 3 missile canisters mounted because these rounds were part of the test article purchase, and the 4th missile was fired off the USS Coronado (LCS 4) back in 2014

Also, I notice the heavy cabling running along the exterior of the ship. Most likely a temporary mounting solution
 

Ranger25

Active Member
Staff member
The USN used electronic attack to bring down and Iranian drone flying too close the USS Boxer. USMC used their new counter drone electronic attack system to defeat the drone.
The Boxer was also shadowed by several IRGC speedboats and a larger surface ship without incident. I USN SH60 was also needed to push back an IRGC Bell Huey that also came in for a look


Marine Anti-Drone Buggies On USS Boxer Knocked Down "Threatening" Iranian Drone (Updated)


Here’s more data in the new USMC non kinetic anti drone system

Here's the New Marine Corps Weapon that Just Destroyed an Iranian Drone
 
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FormerDirtDart

Well-Known Member
From Chris Cavas on twitter
@CavasShips
#TRIPOLI LHA7, the 2nd aviation-centric assault ship of the US #Navy's AMERICA class, completed builder's trials last week in the Gulf of Mexico. Built by
@HIIndustries
' #Ingalls #Shipbuilding in Pascagoula MS, she'll do acceptance trials in a few weeks. (link: https://newsroom.huntingtoningalls.com/releases/photo-release-huntington-ingalls-industries-successfully-completes-builders-trials-for-amphibious-assault-ship-tripoli-lha-7) newsroom.huntingtoningalls.com/releases/photo…


And, from the HII press release linked by Cavas:
PASCAGOULA, Miss., July 22, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE: HII) announced today the successful completion of builder’s trials on the amphibious assault ship Tripoli (LHA 7). The second ship in the America class spent four days at sea in the Gulf of Mexico, testing the ship’s main propulsion, combat and other systems before returning to HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding division. ...
I'm still curious as to how much smaller the Bougainville (LHA 8) well deck will be in comparison to the Wasp-class ship's well decks
 
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