Posted on 08/27/2008 7:08:09 PM PDT by Jeff Head
(Excerpt) Read more at hamptonroads.com ...
It will be a great platform for the new technologies, but not enough vessels to be decisive in a major crisis or conflict...though it will certainly augment the major forces we can apply.
The USS Obama?
One has to wonder if recent activities of the Russian fleet in the Black Sea have any influence on this decision.
Hmmmm.
Cold War
Nah, the USS Obama would be painted UN blue and be completely unarmed.
Glad to hear this. The original plan was to build 32 of these, and at some point we will have to bite the bullet and build a quantity of advanced ships. Perhaps we will have figured at the rail-gun technology by then.
USS Zumwalt, DDG 1000, in honor of Elmo Russell Zumwalt, Jr. (November 29, 1920 – January 2, 2000) who was an American naval officer and the youngest man to serve as Chief of Naval Operations.
I agree. With the cold war heating up again it is a good move.
Sounds like the Arleigh Burke line will porobably conitnue. Though I wish we would build the enhanced version.
I suppose it is instead bristling with ECMs that can burn out the front end of an incoming missile receiver.
I’m more into aviation so I’ve got a bunch of bias, but I can appreciate a nice looking use of stealth. Still...four guns and cruise missiles, it seems underarmed compared to destroyers of old. How would it be used?
Yeah that looks disturbing to me too. What do they use now instead of the CIWS point defense guns (those R2D2-looking gatling guns).
If there is ever a USS Obama, it will be unmanned. No self-respecting sailor would ever serve on her.
Maybe behind a panel/opening there will be an advanced CIWS. A while back Raytheon demonstrated the basic CIWS without the gun. In its place was a commercial welding laser. (solid state?) Supposedly they were able to shoot down mortar rounds with it. I would guess anything with ordnance on it would be susceptible to the heating and premature detonation.
Susan implied the true reason for the third DDG-1000. The need to maintain employment at BIW. Have also heard that the Navy will be building 7 more DDG-51 class ships.
You're right - seems to be just enough armament to defend itself if it has to. But I'll bet the intent is more for "special projects" and going places where USN DDGs ought not to go (normally) or where an adversary wouldn't expect it. After all, it does have stealth, UAVs, helos, and RHIBs... That says close-in ops to me...
I remember seeing a documentary on the Falklands War, and in a test sequence, the CIWS was putting multiple hits on an incoming cruise missile, and it kept right on coming.
Which reminds me of my visit to battleship USS Alabama at Mobile Harbor (If you want to see a fully-restored WWII battleship, that is the only place to go).
The deck is lined with .50 caliber Brownings, and stenciled on the pair of armored plates are the words "LEAD DAMMIT LEAD".
The $**+ was serious back then.
This system consists of two advanced 155 mm guns firing the Long Range Land-Attack Projectile which is in fact a rocket with a warhead fired from the AGS gun. The warhead has a circular error of probability of 50 meters. This weapon system will have a range of 100 nmiles.
The AGS will be provided with a magazine of 600 rounds or more per weapon and offers a rate of fire of 10 rounds per minute per gun. The barrel is water cooled to prevent over-heating issues. The combined firepower from a pair of turrets gives Zumwalt-class destroyers firepower equivalent to 18 conventional M-198 field guns.
In addition, the 80 cells for the Peripheral Vertical Launch System (PVLS) will carry a mix of Tomohawk missiles, Evolved Sea Sparrow Missiles (in quad packs for each cell) and Standard Missiles.
The vessel will be capable of carrying two helos and with them and its own on-board systems will also be very capable ASW platforms.
A total of three is just too few, IMHO, but better than none. Really, they are using those three to keep the shipbuilding going, and to provide a platform to test and perfect the new weapons systems.
You, sir, have given me a good chuckle. Thank you!
DrMike speaking up for the interim close escort role, because we must still import oil from the hell bound muslims. Another reason to drill here, drill now.
I'll buy five of these right now. Now, where did I put the good credit card?
Whatever these new ships have, it is highly classified, and only those with SCI know about it, I hope. But I’ll bet they can burn some things without firing a shot. And I’ll bet their sub detection capabilities are a lot better than we know. The freakin’ eggheads we have in this country get off on this stuff, and they’re working, working, working.....
An Obama Administration (GOD forbid) will slash funding for this vessel, and many others both under construction, and already in service.
All that sounds like a lot of bang for the buck, but it is all unclassified. I’m betting there is a ton more there that we are not privy to. The ECMs on those ships I bet are ungodly.
I kinda wonder what sort of engagement this sort of ship would realistically be designed for. When is the last time that a US battleship fought an enemy battleship? What can a battleship do that an aircraft carrier full of a few bombers or gazillions of UAV’s can’t do? As for stealth technology, it certainly helps with aircraft, but I wonder just how effective it really could be with a much slower moving, bigger boat in the age of spy satellites. Designing for stealth is going to introduce more design tradeoffs. Maybe heat seeking missiles or radar seeking missiles can’t target it as easily, but that doesn’t mean a submarine or a row boat laden with TNT can’t do much damage. It looks sexy, but hopefully the development and deployment of these three ships will help the Navy objectively determine whether they are the future (ie ironclads in the civil war) or just a bad idea. If it doesn’t help us to defend our coasts from threats, protect shipping, collect intelligence, or move warfighting assets anywhere and everywhere quickly, then it’s a waste of time and money.
Technically, it’s not a battleship and is not envisioned as a ship-to-ship combatant. This is a fire support ship, intended to support amphibious landings. It has extremely long range guns which fire with accuracy and can help clear coastal defenses more effectively than air support. The straits of Hormuz would be a possible arena for this ship.
Not for a long time, but never say never.
These smaller and cheaper ships support the Big Ones.
It has been 60 years since we have been in that position, but in history, that is an eyeblink, and less than one person's lifetime.
My Uncle Jack, long gone and God bless the man, was a teenager when he was stationed on aircraft carrier USS Enterprise, at times the only seaworthy carrier we had, with the whole Japanese Navy chasing after them.
My God, what does such a young man think, when he's out in the middle of a lonely ocean, knowing that?
I break down thinking about it. Never say never. History repeats itself.
Nope, it would be armed to the teeth and tasked to kill anyone who funded an ad critical of BO.
Your Uncle Jack was lucky. I think one of the lessons of WWII is that dreadnaught like ships were obsolete and aircraft carriers were worth their weight in gold. Both Japan and the US knew that. Pearl Harbor was a wakeup call for the US because it illustrated that the purpose of sea power was the delivery of air power and invasion forces. And yes, that was 60 years ago. “History repeats itself” is a platitude that is true if you go out of your way to look for instances where it rings true. Given our standing in the world since WWII, if battleships are now what’s needed, then the world must be spinning out of control. And I don’t believe that’s the case.
Against Iranian speed boats?
Straighten me out if you will, but it seems you are the only one who had brought up battleships and dreadnoughts, not me. We’re talking about a little destroyer here.
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