Marine Log - March 2008 - (Page 19)

BY NICK BLENKEY NAVYSHIPBUILDING NAVY’S TOUGHEST BATTLE: BUILDING FUTURE FLEET Austal graphic shows Littoral Combat Ship fighting in heavy seas: LCS looks to have weathered one shipbuilding storm. Despite cost problems with lead ships, Navy is still looking to include 55 LCS’s in its projected future fleet o, here we go again. The pieces are in place for the start of the annual Washington game that ultimately results in orders for actual naval ships being placed in American shipyards. Among the most important pieces now on the board are the naval shipbuilding budget request for 2009, and two items that accompany that request: the Navy’s 30-year shipbuilding plan and a “wish list” that the Chief of Naval Operations sends the Ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee. The wish list prioritizes desperately needed expenditure items that got pushed out of the budget request because other priorities were even higher. The Navy’s aim is to achieve a 313ship fleet by the year 2020. What’s different in this year’s plan for reaching that goal is that less of the ships will be new construction vessels. Life extension of the existing workhorse DDG 51 Arleigh Burke class destroyers will be important in achieving the 88 surface combatants in the future fleet. Significantly, the latest listing of the 313 ships still includes 55 Littoral Combat Ships, despite that program’s well publicized lead ship escalations. Shipbuilders and the Navy are locked in a Catch 22 system where ever rising ship costs drive down the number of ships ordered and extend the intervals between orders—both of which contribute to ships being even more expensive—as does the Navy’s constant push for beyond cutting edge technology. A www.marinelog.com S case in point is what is now the DDG 1000. This was formerly the DD(X) program and before that the DD 21. When the DD 21 program was getting started, some ten years ago, the target cost was $750 million a ship by the fifth ship from each yard and construction was to begin in 2004. The first contracts for what is now the DDG 1000 were actually awarded last month. The cost: $1.4 billion a copy. One reason that the ship is so costly is that just about every system in the DDG 1000 is new—most noticeably its wavepiercing tumblehome hull. The chief benefit of this hull is that it is stealthy. However, some naval architects have concerns that in certain sea conditions it may be prone to capsizing. Hopefully, that’s been taken care of. WHAT’S IN THE BUDGET REQUEST? Reaching the 313-ship Navy has been estimated as a $14 billion a year undertaking. If that’s so, then this year’s budget request makes a reasonable contribution, with $16.9 billion being sought for shipbuilding and maritime systems. The table on the next page, taken from the Pentagon’s FY 2009 Budget Highlights publication shows planned Navy shipbuilding programs for FY 2008 through FY 2013. The Navy says that its FY 2009 budget “continues the shift to next generation warships and will provide the platforms needed to complete future mission objectives.” It funds seven ships, including the eleventh Virginia class submarine, the third DDG 1000, two Littoral Combat Ships, two T-AKE Dry Cargo and Ammunition ships and the first Joint High Speed Vessel (JHSV) for the Navy. This is an increase of three ships from FY 2008. The JHSV program combines the Army’s Theater Support Vessel (TSV) program with the Navy and Marine Corps High Speed Connector (HSC). From a shipyard viewpoint, it’s seen as a program that, like LCS, could sprinkle a few Navy dollars in the direction of second tier yards. Three teams have been awarded initial design contracts, including Austal, the Incat-Bollinger team and General Dynamics Bath Iron Works, which is offering a Rolls-Royce design based on a steel monohull Ropax. SURFACE SHIPS Looking at the surface ships in the MARCH 2008 MARINE LOG 19 FY 2009 budget request seeks $16.9 billion for shipbuilding and maritime systems http://www.marinelog.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Marine Log - March 2008

Marine Log - March 2008 Contents Editorial Second Thoughts Update Inside Washington Navy's Toughest Battle Building Future Fleet Less Fuel, Lower Emissions A New Generation of Mariners Training for the Future LNG Security: Resources Needed Models of Perfection Tech News Newsmakers Contracts Events Infodirect Website Directory ML Marketplace Opinion

Marine Log - March 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.