Category: Naval

Unsure as to Whether this is Brilliant, or Whacked

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But it appears that the Raytheon is working on an underwater surface to air missile based on the AIM-9X.

It appears that they are looking at autonomous operation of the missile after launch from a sub, as opposed the the German IDAS system which maintains a fiber optic link to the missile.

There are a number of reasons that I am dubious of such a system, the ability of a submarine to get targeting data regarding an airborne threat and the fact that the AIM-9X has pretty poor kinematics compared to other IR AAMS, because its motor is based on a 50 year old airframe.

On the other hand, this weapon is just about perfect for terrorists: Drop the canister off the end of a boat, and shoot down a passenger plane coming into land at a seaside airport.

US Navy to Drop One LCS Design

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This News is not really a surprise.

The ships are very expensive, and making 2 different models is expensive.

My guess would be that the trimaran LCS-2 is toast. It’s more expensive, and Aluminum rather than steel, like the monohull LCS-1, which raises durability issues, even if it might be a bit more stingy with a gallon of gas, and has a much wider and more stable flight deck.

They are both designed to perform multiple roles with modular mission packages (surface warfare, mine warfare, special ops insertion, etc.) that can swapped out as the situation demands, which is, I think, a losing proposition anyway.

The modules create compromises which means that both ships are under-armed for their size.

The Israelis have rejected the ship, at one point, Lockheed-Martin proposed a modified ship without the mission modules to get the bang for the buck that the Israelis wanted, and the Israelis rejected that, and are not looking at other designs, most notably the MEKO A-100, which are smaller, lighter, and cheaper, for their needs, which among other things, do not require the relatively long range, or extremely high speeds (40kts +) of the LCS.

When a Hijacking Isn’t

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I’m reading conflicting stories about what happened to the Russian freighter that was captured by pirates, but there are also reports that the ship was carrying S-300 SAMs (Probably the NATO designation SA-12) to Iran, and that the capture of the ship by “pirates” was a ploy by Russia to avoid delivery of missiles that had already been sold by someone who should have sold them.

In any case, it is definitely weird.

Galrahn Observes

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That, “US Navy has 46% of our sub force on deployment,” not just at sea, but on deployment, and it is a high number.

Could be one of those year end things where they are trying to meet deployment rates, or maybe, as Galhran wonders, something is about to happen.

If it is prepositioning for some sort of action, the two most likely reasons to have subs out there loaded for bear would be to make some surprise cruise missile strikes, or SEAL insertions to go after some some nasty on a personal level.

In either case, it’s odd, even if it’s just a statistical glitch.

U.S. Navy: No Risk From Bad Welds – Defense News

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It appears that the construction defects in some of the Virginia class submarines may not be as worrying as previously thought:

Both Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding and General Dynamics Electric Boat have conducted exhaustive analysis and testing that demonstrates: the low probability of improper welds occurring aboard submarines; that improper welds are unlikely to fail during the ship’s operational life; and that should a weld fail it would leak but not break, thereby alerting the crew in time to address the issue before the weld degraded further.

That sounds reassuring.

Note that this is separate from the issues involving bolts for the weapons handling system.

Well, This is Reassuring

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It appears that the Electric boat and Newport News Shipyards are having to do some rework after serious flaws were discovered in the manufacturing of the weapons handling systems for the Virginia Class Submarines under construction. (also here)

Northrop Grumman Corp. and General Dynamics Corp., the U.S. Navy’s two largest shipbuilders, are reviewing their work on Virginia-class nuclear submarines after defects were found on weapons-handling systems of four vessels.

The companies have discovered improperly drilled and machined bolt holes, bolts that had been wrongly machined and fasteners that weren’t installed correctly, Alan Baribeau, a Navy spokesman, said in an e-mail today. The companies will deliver their combined review to the service in two weeks, he said.

It appears the the defects have the possibility of making it impossible to load weapons, or weapons coming loose under shock.

The commissioning of the New Mexico, and the entry into service of the North Carolina, will both be delayed as a result.

Something is seriously Cheneyed up here. These are not the first of these boats out of either yard, and bugs like this should be worked out by now.

Russia Looks to Buy French Amphibious Assault Ship

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The Russians are looking at buying a Mistral Class amphibious assault ship.

It’s roughly equivalent to the Tarawa class of LHA, it’s a through-deck helicopter carrier with a well deck, and the possibility of carrying some STOVL aircraft, and can carry, and act as a command center for, amphibious assaults.

This is a capability that was never really the focus of the Russian navy, nor of the Soviet navy before it, which would explain why they want to purchase this capability from a 3rd country.

I’m not entirely sure why they feel that they need this capability though. The only 2 applications that I see are in multinational peace-keeping operations, and for invading Georgia, though issues with both the Turks and the Ukrainians would make the latter application difficult.

Nostalgia…..

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It looks like Russian attack boats Akula class according to reports, are patrolling off of the US coast.

The military says that they are not concerned, and that they tracked them all the way here:

Two nuclear-powered Russian attack submarines have been patrolling off the eastern seaboard of the United States in the first mission of its kind so close to shore in nearly a decade, U.S. officials said on Wednesday.

The Pentagon said it was not alarmed by the maneuvers, carried out by what officials described as Soviet-designed Akula-class submarines in international waters as little as 200 miles off the coast.

Interesting in all this is the rather matter of fact statement that there was no problem tracking the boats:

The official said the Navy was able to track the submarines as they made their way through international waters off the American coastline. This can be done from aircraft, ships, underwater sensors or other submarines.

It makes me wonder if this was not intended to be public in the first place. The Russians have already leased a sub to India, and there are other potential customers, and patrolling off the US coast, if it makes it into the papers, is an advertisement for the product.

The Akulas may not be Virginia class boats, but they are pretty quiet, after all.

Then again, maybe they just wanted some good cigars, as some of the reports note that at least one of the boats paid a visit to Cuba.

H/t Information Dissemination.

A Petition I Approve Of

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It’s to name the next United States Navy nuclear powered aircraft carrier the USS ENTERPRISE.

Actually, I’m not too set on the name….If they called it the Lexington, Saratoga, Enterprise, Ranger, Hornet, Midway, Coral Sea, or something with some history, but the idea that is being push by whack job Republicans, that it be named after Barry Goldwater, is just plain stupid.

Goldwater served in the USAF, and quite honestly, his claim to fame is having been crushed in a presidential election.

If you are going to name carriers after one term (GHW Bush) and ½ term unelected (Gerald Ford) presidents, you should name this one after LBJ or WJC, but I do not think that we should name warships after anyone.

Solid-State Laser Ready for Deployment

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The US Navy is looking to place a high power solid state laser abroad selected naval vessels in the nest 12-18 months. (paid subscription required)

It appears that they will be using Northrop Grumman’s JHPSSL (Joint High Power Solid-State Laser), which uses 15kw blocks that can be ganged together to create a more powerful beam, as a basis for the weapon, and its intended target is small boats.

As to how viable the system is, if the Navy deploys it to the waters off Somalia’s coast to fight pirates, then they think that it can be made to work under combat conditions, if not then there is a lack of confidence in the system.

Cracks Found in Pressure Hull of US SSN

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Specifically, the Los Angeles class boat the USS Toledo:

Two cracks have been discovered on the hull of the USS Toledo, a potentially fatal flaw that could have led to water leaks and, ultimately, hull failure if the submarine submerged, the Navy confirmed Tuesday.

Toledo crew members on Friday found the 21-inch-long crack in the exterior topside hull under the sail and a corresponding 1-inch crack in the pressure hull underneath.

From the picture, it’s one of the later models of the Los Angeles class, it has bow planes, not sail planes, so it should be well before the fatigue life of the hull is reached, and it was found by the crew, but still, cracks in pressure hull of a sub…Yikes!!!

Hopefully this is a one-off, and not a systemic problem.

Chinese Pilots to Train on Brazilian Carrier

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I think that this implies that the Chinese intend to move very aggressively towards creating an aircraft carrier capability.

It’s an opportunity for them to hone their skills, and tap the expertise of the Brazilian, along with the rapidly progressing refit of the Varyag, you can see pictures at the link, implies to me that the Chinese intend to have an training carrier air wing in a pretty near term operating from the never completely Admiral Kuznetsov-class carrier.

One Solution to Piracy

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There is s conflict between merchant ships being generally forbidden under international maritime law from carrying weapons, and how to deal with the the upsurge of pirates.

One interesting solution is the electronically controlled water cannon, which comes with a remote control joystick, so that the operator can be away from the turret, and the returned fire, an automatic system to track small boats, the ability to also shoot pepper spray, and, at 5000 liters a minute, it can, “send an 85 kg barrel flying end over end at 75 meters”, which is well probably at the accurate fire limit for someone shooting you at a small boat.

Best of all, it’s not a weapon, it’s “fire fighting equipment,” and so is not subject to things like port restrictions.

Defense Budget Finally Out

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So, the details are out, and we have a big, confusing, and sprawling story from a big confusing, and sprawling building, the Pentagon.

Here are some links, and some things that I find noteworthy.

Specific programs:

With $439 million budgeted, the USAF is definitely going full speed on the tanker replacement bidding.

The Next Generation Bomber and the F-136 alternate JSF engine are on the chopping block, and the Gerald Ford class aircraft carrier has been delayed a year to work out the bugs on its electric catapults.

Star Wars takes a hit, with both the multiple kill vehicle and the airborne laser being canceled.

UAV’s did very well, with the Raven (shown) getting over 700 orders.

Aviation:

The DEW Line has a rundown.

Classified:

The Pentagon classified budget is now, up above $50 billion, which, on its own, makes the black programs something like the 3rd largest military budget in the world.

US Army:
spending on Helos is up, as are both unmanned vehicles and the number of active duty soldiers.

Navy:

We already know the story, cancellation of the DDG-100, restart of the Brukes, and continued procurement of the LCS, more here, here, and here.

Short version, it’s a generally down, but the Navy has done OK.

USAF

Basically, talk to the deer.

The USAF did not fare well, with the end of the F-22 and C-17 production lines, underfunding of the Air Force One replacement, the Joint Dual-Role Air Dominance Missile (JDRADM), and the follow on to the Predator drone, and the cancellation of the TSAT satellite system.

Cost Guard:

Not the Pentagon, it’s technically in the Department of Commerce, but its budget is up by about 3%.

Chinese Move Aircraft Carrier, Possibly for Refit

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The partially completed Soviet aircraft carrier Varyag was sold by the Ukraine to China a few years back, and it was thought that it would be converted to a casino.

Well Galrahn came across photos of the ship being moved across the Dalian shipyard in what appears to be a prelude toward bringing the hull up to operational standards.

My guess is that it will never see operational service, but that it will be used for training and development of an indigenous carrier capability.