10 mars 2020 | International, Naval
By PAUL MCLEARY
]WASHINGTON: A prominent lawmaker waded into the inter-service money wars today by calling for the Navy receiving a larger share of the budget than the other branches of the armed forces. The Army, Rep. Rob Wittman emphasized, can't even deploy abroad without the Navy's help.
“We need to look at the one-third, one-third, one-third allocation of defense dollars to all the different service branches,” said Wittman, the top Republican on the Democratic-controlled House Seapower and Projection Forces subcommittee. (The actual allocation is a bit trickier than that, but it's close). “No offense in any way, shape, or form to the other service branches, but we're going to need capability in certain areas and we're going to need those at a faster pace than in other areas.”
Wittman represents the shipbuilding powerhouse of Virginia — home to massive naval bases and Newport News Shipbuilding, which makes all the nation's nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and half its nuclear submarines. He appeared at the Hudson Institute today alongside Rep. Joe Courtney, who chairs the subcommittee and who represents Connecticut, where the other half of the nation's nuclear subs are built at Electric Boat.
But it wasn't any of these high-tech, high-cost warships that Wittman singled out today. Instead, the congressman was referring to the major shortfalls in allocating money to modernize the nation's sealift fleet, humble but essential transports.
A recent exercise showed the sealift fleet would be unable to haul military equipment overseas quickly in the event of a national security emergency. The snap drill found that of the 33 ships activated, only 22 were ready enough to leave port, according to a December paper from US Transportation Command.
Shifting more money to the Navy would be a tough sell in Congress, with its hundreds of parochial interests, but Courtney added that his committee might take up the sealift shortage in its markup of the 2021 budget request in a few weeks, a move that could have wide-ranging implications for the Navy's budget.
Wittman didn't lay out plans for shifting money to the Navy, but said “a great example” of why sealift needs to be a priority is “you can have the greatest brigade combat team in the world, you can have the greatest Stryker brigade in the world, but if they can't get to the fight because we don't have a robust ready reserve fleet, that's pretty shortsighted.”
Splitting the budget roughly in thirds between the services “is not letting the strategy drive the budget, it's letting the budget drive the strategy,” added, which “creates a strategic vulnerability.”
Wittman's comments come in the wake of a earlier dust-up between the services over their share of the budget, after Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michael Gilday told a navy conference in January “we need more money,” in order to modernize. Budgeting as usual, he said, which means “a one-third, one-third, one-third cut, does not reflect the strategy,” laid in in 2019's National Defense Strategy, Gilday said. “It isn't necessarily aligned with where we need to go against the pacing threat that we face.”
The Navy is in many ways faced with the trickiest path to modernizing among all the branches of the military. Even as the service continues to struggle to get ships out of repair availabilities on time, it has also committed to building a new class of aircraft carriers, and has to overhaul its Virginia-class submarines. On top of all that comes the biggest-ticket item — a new class of nuclear-powered submarines about to begin construction, which will eat up over 30 percent of Gilday's budget in a few years.
The first of the 12 Columbia subs is scheduled to begin construction in 2021 and enter service in 2031. Once completed they'll carry a staggering 70 percent of the country's nuclear arsenal.
To clear space, and the chart a path toward a planned 355-ship fleet, the Navy is scrambling.
Last week, plans leaked of Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly's intent to stand up a Future Carrier 2030 Task Force, which will take six months to study how carriers stack up against new generations of stealthy submarines and long-range precision weapons being fielded by China and Russia. The study likely won't be ready until after Defense Secretary Mark Esper wraps up his assessment of the Navy's 30-year shipbuilding plan and its new force structure assessment, however. Esper took control over both studies last month.
The Navy is also looking to speed up the acquisition of a new class of 20 frigates, which would be a relative bargain of about $900 each if the service can stick to its plans and things work out the way they envision.
In an attempt to clear some budgetary space for all of this, Modly has kicked off a new ‘Stem to Stern' review of back office functions to try and wrong more money out of existing accounts, which he's hoping to find about $8 billion a year in savings.
https://breakingdefense.com/2020/03/navy-needs-bigger-budget-than-other-services-rep-wittman/
19 février 2024 | International, Terrestre
The MoU was signed in the presence of Alexander Kamyshin, the Ukrainian Minister for Strategic Industries, during the Munich Security Conference.
22 octobre 2020 | International, Naval, C4ISR
Seth J. Frantzman JERUSALEM — Israeli company Elta Systems has partnered with German firm Hensoldt to develop a single piece of technology for submarine masts that combines optics, communications and other sensors. The Integrated Communication and Surveillance, or ICS, system combines Hensoldt's optical surveillance optronics mast OMS 150 with Elta's expertise in signals intelligence and satellite communications payloads. Elta, a subsidiary of Israel Aerospace Industries, said the product will address the need to combine operational possibilities on one mast while maintaining the submarine's stealth capability. “The collaboration is part of Elta's new strategy, leveraging our advanced technological experience and know-how accumulated over decades of defense operations. This collaboration will bring value to our customers by offering a unique, cost-effective, compact and high-utility solution,” Elta CEO Yoav Tourgeman said. The ICS system combines optics, radar warning, and monitoring of GPS and communications with other vessels and units. “The data gathered in real time can provide the submarine's crew vital information regarding the enemy's exact location and current situation. It is equipped with a SATCOM and Laser system for secure communications,” according to an Elta statement. The system is being rolled out as part of the European maritime trade show Euronaval, which is being held virtually this year due to the coronavirus pandemic. Brent Sadler, a senior fellow for naval warfare and advanced technology at the Heritage Foundation think tank, said submarine forces are likely to grow in the coming years, which means "the market for periscopes is growing faster than in the recent past.” “So the trend is to reduce the number of masts you stick out of the water,” he added, "so if you have a periscope and need to do radio communications or listen for hostile radar, better to have that on one mast.” According to two sources involved with developing the ICS system at Elta, the new integration seeks to provide submariners with additional capabilities that complement a naval task force. The demand for submarines is increasing, and as they performing less missions strictly alone, the subsurface boats need more sensors and communications tools to work with other vessels as well as airborne and ground assets. Sadler points out that one of the challenges here is not only miniaturizing add-on payloads but also cooling the thermals because these additions and sensors add heat that can be detected. The traditional dilemma for submariners is performing missions successfully while reamining stealthy, according to Elta naval systems expert and retired Israeli Navy commander Shlomi Dor. “You need a communication mast, and adding an ISR capability with SATCOM on the same periscope — it's the only mast that keeps safety for submarine[s] ... and communicate[s] to task force and headquarters, whoever you need to be in touch with. This mast is a very robust solution that I think will contribute a lot for mission's sake all over the world.” The integration of the ICS system on the mast can be done in a refit without changes to existing submarine infrastructure, according to Elta. Michael Sela of Elta told Defense News that the system builds on mature and field-proven sensors, and uses the company's expertise in phased array SATCOM antennas and other technology. It is expected to be operational in the near future. Developments in periscope design, among other technological trends, will impact submarine designs, perhaps making them smaller with taller periscopes, Sadler said. An uptick in submarine purchases means increasing economies of scale that lead to the research and development behind new designs. But Sadler raised concerns about Elta's parent company, IAI, cooperating with China on civil aviation projects. The West, in particular the United States, has raised the alarm over China's involvement in the defense industrial base. That is also true for potential customers in Asia and Europe, where partnerships with China are being questioned more, he said. “The capability has a niche and fills market demand, [but] make sure that the China connection [is] addressed.” https://www.c4isrnet.com/industry/techwatch/2020/10/21/elta-systems-hensoldt-partner-on-system-to-consolidate-submarine-capabilities/
24 juillet 2024 | International, Aérospatial