The Sheffield got some people excited in the 82' Falklands but it didn't last.
Posted on 10/10/2017 11:28:17 AM PDT by sukhoi-30mki
A full half of the U.S. Navy's largest surface warships are set to retire in three years, with nothing available to take their place. Eleven Ticonderoga-class cruisers, each with more than a hundred vertical missile silos, are scheduled to retire starting in 2020. The retirement of these ships will leave a bog hole in the Navy arsenal.
The U.S. Navy's Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruisers were introduced in the 1980s. Weighing nearly 10,000 tons and measuring 567 feet long, the ships were designed primarily for the air defense roles. Equipped with the Aegis Combat System, the Ticonderogas were designed to protect capital ships—such as the Navy's aircraft carriers and the Iowa-class battleships—from mass air attack. Each is capable of carrying a large number of guided missiles.
While earlier ships used a pair of twin-arm missile launchers and have since been retired, the 6th through 27th ships of the class stored their missile armament in huge fields of armored missile silos.
Traditionally, cruisers fill in the gap between battleships and destroyers. Fast and well armed, they were given missions that didn't require the awesome firepower of battleships, but did require more oomph than a destroyer could provide. The Navy is refurbishing half of the remaining 22 Ticonderogas, enough to protect a planned eleven aircraft carriers into the 2030s. But the other eleven ships will start to age out in 2020.
The Ticonderogas were planned to serve 30 or so years, at which point they would be retired and replaced with a newer, more capable ship. The Navy has tried twice to field a replacement, first with the SC-21, or Surface Combatant for the 21st Century program, then the CG(X) program. Both failed, for a variety of reasons. There was
(Excerpt) Read more at popularmechanics.com ...
Time to get off my soap box. PM me if you want more info/details.
Trump is committed to a 355 ship navy and the budget reflects that. I am confident that ships will not be retired if it affects our operational readiness and strategic national interests.
What the Navy wants and what it gets is the problem. Here it is in the plan you just sent me: Specifically, if in the coming years the Navy received the
same share of DoD’s base budget and devoted the same
percentage of its budget to ship construction that it has
historically, the annual shipbuilding budget would be
about $14 billion (in 2016 dollars) from 2017 through
2021. By comparison, the Navy’s 2017 plan would require
spending a little less than $18 billion per year on all shipbuilding over the same period, CBO estimates. The
$14 billion amount would fall by about $4 billion per
year—or 22 percent—short of the amount that CBO estimates
would be necessary to execute the Navy’s 2017 plan
over the 2017–2021 period. If all shipbuilding programs
were cut proportionately, a reduction of that magnitude
would require the Navy to purchase 9 fewer ships than the
38 it currently plans to purchase over that period.
The articles pertaining to TREASON were put in The Constitution with scum like him in mind, but Georgie Bush isn't totally blameless for the situation either.
The main supports also develop microscopic cracks from the seas pounding decade after decade. Magneflux inspections have proven thousands of weaknesses in the metals that could suddenly just "let go".
The Burke DDG’s are a suitable replacement as they are up to nearly 10,000 tons now, with all the same electronics.
The only difference being 96 VLS vs 120 VLS.
It is a PROVEN platform, continually evolving and improving.
We just need to build a few extra. Like a couple of dozen more than current plan:)
It seems the Class is outdated even with upgrades. The Navy needs to drain its swamp and build and war plan for the future like the vision of Reagan in his term.
Not enough ship left to refurbish. The ships getting the refurbishment are the youngest, best condition ships.
It’s really just an “up-gunned” Spruance class destroyer.
No similar-sized ship, in any Navy around around the world, in any engagement since WWII against live bombs, dud bombs, live missiles, dud missiles, shrapnel, mines, or explosive-equipped fishing boats has been able to continue in combat.
(There have been more than 30 such attacks and accidents, the British losses in the Falklands were only a small set of examples).
In EVERY case, the destroyer-size sized ship - once it was hit ONCE by even a dud bomb - lost either command, control, conn (speed and propulsion and rudder control), its weapons, its weapons magazines and loader, its radar and missile power, its CIC, its bridge, or its helicopter and helo hanger.
Now, not very many were actually sunk by just one weapon (Every torpedo hit did sink its target, but TORPEX’s are excluded.) But NO destroyer-sized ship could keep fighting after receiving just one hit.
The figure of 355 ships appears close to an objective of building toward a fleet of 350 sh ips that was announced by the Trump campaign organization during the 2016 presidential election campaign. The 355 - ship goal, however, reflects the national security strategy and national military strategy that w ere in place in 2016 (i.e., the Obama A dminis tration ’s national security strategy a nd national military strategy).
Recent Burkes do not have any CIWS at all. That wasn’t an improvement.
See my post #26.
The Burke continues to evolve to a heavier platform.
The newest being similar displacement to these Cruisers under discussion, and they could be elongated for additional tonnage.
They are still the best Destroyers in the world, though one could argue they are actually Cruisers.
We need a new, modern 5,000 ton platform with 48 x VLS and Aegis-light. And we need 50-100 of them.
Today they would call that a Frigate...but 50 years ago it was a big DDG.
The Sheffield got some people excited in the 82' Falklands but it didn't last.
The Rolling Airframe Missile is effective, but expensive.
Just build lots of Aegis Destroyers.
Japan and South Korea would love to have a lot more of these.
Also, more bucks in Virginia class attack subs would not hurt either.
There are also very FAST Attack platforms the US Navy has or is building. I think these are about 50/60 knot platforms.
Sheffield was one of (I think) 6 ships hit. Burned out and sunk by a dud missile.
Another was hit by a dud bomb - ended up in its single missile launch/magazine/handling room. Presto! No explosion (fortunately), but no missile defense against a second airplane.
Another dud bomb went right through the Brit destroyer: Took out its anti-sub capability and knocked out power for a while from the shock.
US destroyers “escorting” oil tankers through the Gulf follow them in shallow water. That way the mines blow up under the oil tanker (which doesn’t hurt the tanker) and not the destroyer.
(Same difference)
In the 1980's, I worked on a key platform the DDG-51 (Arleigh A Burke)
Smaller ships are smaller targets.
In WW II the Iowa class battleship was the fastest battleship, had fire control radar, and best armored ship.
South Dakota class had problems in WW II (because it was BUTCHERED due to treaty limitations that only the US respected)
But in the 2nd Battle of Salvo Island, Admiral Lee took out his opposing Jap Battleship in 25 minutes.
He waited to open fire, first checking that it was not the USS South Dakota (crippled in the battle by electrical problems).
Admiral Lee drilled his sailors into the ground, but in that 25 minute engagement, it really paid off. Arleigh Burke, then a Destroyer Squadron leader probably would have like to command a 35 mph battleship -- about as fast as Arleigh's destroyers...
I don’t disagree with anything in your post.
Unfortunately, the USS North Carolina kept getting DINGED in combat. So it was constantly in port being repaired.
So the US Navy put out the cover story that the USS North Carolina was the Showboat of the Navy because of all its victories.
Just a way to explain the presence in port for the ship...
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