March 13, 2024 | International, Aerospace
May 8, 2019 | International, Naval
The US Navy is eyeing a big change to its new stealth destroyers
By: David B. Larter
NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — The U.S. Navy is considering a significant change to its new stealth destroyers, one driven by the change of mission announced in last year's budget documents, the head of the program said May 7 at the Sea-Air-Space conference.
The service has been struggling to find a use for the ship's advanced gun system — the largest of its type fielded by the service since World War II — and now is considering stripping them off the platform entirely, said Capt. Kevin Smith, the DDG-1000 program manager at Program Executive Officer Ships.
The Navy sidelined the guns after the service truncated the buy to just three ships, and after the ammunition, called the Long-Range Land-Attack Projectile, ballooned in price to more than $800,000 per round.
"The guns are in layup,” Smith said. “We're waiting for that bullet to come around that will give us the most range possible. But given that that is offensive surface strike, we're going to look at other capabilities potentially that we could use in that volume.”
The ships shifted missions from land attack to ship-hunting and -killing last year. The Navy is integrating the SM-6 missile, which has a surface-attack mode, and are integrating the maritime strike Tomahawk to fill out the new capabilities.
In April testimony, the Navy's top requirements officer, Vice Adm. William Merz, told Congress that the slow development of the Advanced Gun System was holding back the Zumwalt.
“Even at the high cost, we still weren't really getting what we had asked for,” he said. “So what we've elected to do is to separate the gun effort from the ship effort because we really got to the point where now we're holding up the ship.”
The Navy has touted the ship's excess space, weight, power and cooling as advantages the service would want throughout the ship's life. Everything from directed energy and electromagnetic rail guns to electronic warfare equipment has been floated as add-ons to the Zumwalt-class destroyers.
The Navy got in its present pickle with the 155mm/.62-caliber gun with automated magazine and handling system because the service cut the buy from 28 ships, to seven, and finally to three.
The AGS was developed specifically for the Zumwalt class, as was the LRLAP round it was intended to shoot. There was no backup plan, so when the buy went from 28 to three, the costs remained static, driving the price of the rounds through the roof.
The program itself is coming along, said Smith.
The Zumwalt is going through trials as its combat system installation wraps up; the Michael Monsoor is heading into the yards for its combat system installation; and the Lyndon B. Johnson is nearly 85 percent complete.
The remaining work on Johnson involves running cables, painting spaces and otherwise putting the finishing touches on the ship. The ship will then leave Bath, Maine, and head toward its home port of San Diego, California.
“We're going to energize high voltage in September, lighting off the generators in the spring, then we'll be going to test and activation for the [hull, mechanical and electrical systems], trials in the fall, then delivery.”
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September 30, 2019 | International, Aerospace
Italian F-35s In Iceland For First NATO Deployment
Graham Warwick Italy has become the first F-35 operator to deploy the fifth-generation fighter on a NATO mission, sending the aircraft to perform air policing in Iceland. Six Italian F-35s touched down at Keflavik airfield on Sept. 25 for the temporary deployment. Unlike the Baltic Air Policing mission, which is supported year-round by NATO air forces, the Icelandic mission usually lasts several weeks and occurs three-four times each year. The F-35s are due to make Iceland their home for three weeks. According to NATO's Air Command, the deployment by Italy is the country's fifth detachment to Iceland and the second this year; Rome previously provided Eurofighter Typhoons for the mission. “The Italian Air Force detachment is scheduled to work with the controllers at the Combined Air Operations Center in Uedem, Germany, and the Control and Reporting Center at Keflavik, Iceland,” NATO Air Command officials said. No details of the deployment had been released by the Italian air force or defense ministry at the time of writing. The deployment was supported by one of Italy's Boeing KC-767 tanker aircraft, a C-130J airlifter, and a P-72 maritime patrol derivative of the ATR-72 providing cover in the event of an ejection over water. The F-35s will perform a series of familiarization flights to achieve certification for the mission. Italy declared its F-35s operational last November, becoming the fourth air arm to do so after the U.S. Marine Corps, the U.S. Air Force and the Israeli Air Force. Iceland does not have an air force, and the U.S. stopped basing fighters on the island in 2006, prompting the government in Reykjavik to request occasional fighter deployments starting in 2008. NATO describes the mission as a “peacetime preparedness mission,” helping the country to “stay prepared, to monitor and to manage its airspace in peacetime.” The UK Royal Air Force will deploy Typhoons to the island later this year. https://aviationweek.com/defense/italian-f-35s-iceland-first-nato-deployment