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  • No rudder. But perhaps all four jet nozzles?

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    • Updated July 25, 2013 5:01 PM

      GAO, Navy at Odds Over Littoral Combat Ship Program

      By RICHARD R. BURGESS, Managing Editor

      ARLINGTON, Va. — The Government Accountability Office recommends the Navy reduce the procurement of the next batch of littoral combat ships (LCSs) beginning in 2016 to a minimum level until the ships’ operational test and evaluations are completed in 2019.

      Paul Francis, managing director of Acquisition and Sourcing Management for the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), testified before the House Armed Services subcommittee on seapower and projection forces July 25 on Capitol Hill that the Navy has a “very good window for oversight” during 2014 and 2015 before the next multi-ship procurement is in place in 2016.

      Francis criticized the “buy before fly” execution of the LCS program, in which oversight was made difficult by placing the ship and its mission packages in production before operational test and evaluation.

      Francis said the LCS sea frame development is now stable, with costs under control and declining with each hull in succession, but the ships have yet to go through shock and survivability trials. LCS 1, USS Freedom, is a traditional hull design, while LCS 2, USS Independence, has a trimaran hull design.

      He said the mission packages have not done well in testing, but are already in production without ever reaching Milestone B. But his chief concern is with the LCS concept of operations (CONOPS), including concerns about adequate manning, crew swaps and the maintenance sustainability plans.

      “It really is the CONOPS that give [the LCS] its capability,” Francis said. “Those abilities won’t be able to be brought to bear unless the support of the ship works. At this point, one can be hopeful but not yet confident that the ship is going to deliver on its full capability.”

      Sean J. Stackley, assistant secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition, said the Navy is currently studying three major areas of interest in the LCS.

      First is the problem of deficiencies in USS Freedom — currently deployed to the Western Pacific — including electrical power failures caused by design deficiencies in the ships-service diesel generators, a problem which has been rectified in follow-on hulls.

      Second is achieving greater commonality of combat systems and command, control, communications, computers and intelligence systems between the Freedom- and Independence-class ships. Stackley said the Navy is looking at details of changes and that the 2016 procurement would be the likely time to incorporate them.

      The third area is the mission modules.

      “In that new technologies arena, we have had a couple of setbacks,” Stackley said. “We have relied on systems that were either being procured by one of the other services that we were going to leverage — specifically the Non-Line-of-Sight missile that the Army was developing. They’ve canceled that program, so we are moving on with development of an alternative surface-to-surface mission module capability for a future LCS increment.

      Stackley said the LCS design is very stable, with designed changes reduced by 80-90 percent in follow-on ships, and that the mission packages “are on track to deliver the capability needed by the Navy.”

      Stackley said the greatest risk to the mission package program “is not technical,” but “is that posed by the disruption and delay caused by stop and start and slow-down caused by continuing resolutions, sequestration, and other budget reductions.”

      Vice Adm. Richard W. Hunt, director of the Navy Staff and of the LCS Council, said the modularity and open systems architecture of the LCS is a “huge force multiplier” and will keep the LCS relevant as requirements change and technology matures.

      Rep. Rick Larsen, D- Wash., said, “I’m concerned that this [LCS program] is turning into a 52-ship Beta program. We’re deploying but we’re testing while we’re deploying in the hope that eventually we will have fully operational platforms with the modules in place. But we don’t have the modules in place.”

      “This is the way we bring ships to the fleet,” Stackley said. “We do not have a prototype. LCS 1 is the prototype for this class. The development that is going on in parallel with deploying the ship is for future upgrades and increments that have been laid out in the mission modules. If you look at those early increments, those capabilities are in the fleet today. The risk in these early increments is very low, is very well managed.”

      “We did get out of the blocks wrong on this program,” he said. “But we’ve corrected those issues. We have to make sure we don’t backslide, and we welcome your oversight as we continue to march down this path.”SEAPOWER Magazine Online

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      • Down to only 24 Ships?


        The Office of the Secretary of Defense reportedly supports the idea of limiting total purchases of littoral combat ships to only 24, far short of the Navy’s goal of 52 ships, sources say.

        Stopping at 24 ships would end LCS procurement with the fiscal 2015 budget.

        The Navy, according to what sources told Defense News, which is owned by Navy Times’ parent company, is countering with proposals for higher numbers, but strongly advocates going no lower than 32 ships — a number that would continue production another one or two years.

        The positions are part of ongoing deliberations to formulate the fiscal 2015 defense budget, due to be submitted to Congress in February. The annual budget process has been heavily disrupted due to sequester cuts, and the White House’s insistence on producing two versions of the budget — a non-sequestration version, called the program objective memorandum — and an alternative POM, incorporating the mandated cuts and hence, far more severe reductions in purchases and programs.

        Pentagon budget officials have focused primarily on the ALT POM, and in late August began switching to the POM. The OSD proposal to limit LCS to 24 ships is understood to be part of the ALT POM discussions.

        Asked for comment, both OSD and Navy officials emphasized that no final decisions have been made.

        “Until the FY15 president’s budget request is submitted to the Congress in February 2014, and becomes part of the public record, all decisions are pre-decisional and it is inappropriate to discuss specific details,” said Lt. Caroline Hutcheson, a Navy spokeswoman at the Pentagon.

        “We continue to evaluate the future demand for forces and will maintain a balance between force structure requirements while managing fiscal and operational risk,” she added. “We remain committed to a 52-ship LCS program —this number accurately and appropriately captures the requirement for capacity and capabilities.”

        One defense official noted a mandated $52 billion cut is coming at the end of fiscal 2013, Sept. 30.

        “You can’t cut force structure that quickly,” Maureen Schumann, a Pentagon spokeswoman, said Aug. 28. “We’ve already cut the readiness accounts to a bare minimum. So the investment accounts will take an inordinate part of those cuts for 2014 on.”

        In addition to supporting a reduction to 24 ships, OSD also reportedly is insisting the Navy place a top priority on fielding the mine countermeasures module, one of three major mission packages under development for the LCS.

        The Navy already has prioritized the MCM module in order to fulfill its most pressing operational need for the ships — three developmental packages have been delivered — but the effort has seen significant issues that have pushed back its operational readiness.

        Sean Stackley, the Navy’s top acquisition official, noted during a July 25 appearance before Congress that, “sequestration, combined with recent congressional marks and rescissions, will impact the operational test schedule for the mine countermeasures mission package.”

        Stackley did not say during that hearing what the revised initial operational capability date was for the MCM module, but he noted the surface warfare and anti-submarine warfare packages are scheduled to reach IOC in 2014 and 2016, respectively.

        What 24 means
        While LCS has been controversial since its inception more than a decade ago, the Navy’s top leadership has never wavered in its support of the full program. Navy Secretary Ray Mabus and Adm. Jon Greenert, chief of naval operations, have remained adamant in their support, testifying before Congress in defense of the program and proclaiming it in multiple public addresses.

        Vice Adm. Tom Copeman, commander of the Navy’s surface forces, noted in an internal memo produced in November that with 24 ships — half devoted to mine warfare — the Navy will have exceeded the current minesweeping capacity of its ships and aircraft. While the modules are required to be interchangeable between the two LCS variants, only the Independence-class ships have been used in developmental MCM testing.

        Four littoral combat ships have been delivered, while construction contracts or contract options have been awarded for 20 more. The numbers are evenly divided between the Freedom class, built by Lockheed Martin at Fincantieri Marinette Marine in Marinette, Wis., and the Independence class, built by Austal USA in Mobile, Ala. Construction contracts have been awarded for LCS hulls five through 16; four more are in the 2014 budget, while hulls 21 through 24 are planned to be funded and awarded in 2015.

        The Navy’s program of record shows two ships scheduled for 2016, and two more in 2017. A minimum of 32 ships would extend production another one or two years — enough, perhaps, for the sequestration restrictions to be relaxed or eliminated.

        Meanwhile, Pentagon budget deliberations continue on a wide scale. But time is growing short. Under OSD deadlines, budget proposals are to be presented to the deputy’s Management Action Group in late September, followed by briefings to Frank Kendall, the Defense Department’s top acquisition official, in late September or early October. A full budget brief to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel isn’t expected until November.

        Sam Fellman and Marcus Weisgerber contributed to this report.Sources: Pentagon backs cutting LCS to 24 ships | Navy Times | navytimes.com

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        • Considering their cost, be glad you get that many...

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          • Please can somebody clarify what is the name and purpose of this small radar that can be seen on this photo taken aboard the USS Independence, just over the opened door?
            (looks like some "AN/SPG-" ?...)
            Attached Files

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            • Posted: November 7, 2013 11:36 AM

              LCS Surface Warfare Package Completes Live-Fire Test

              POINT MUGU RANGE, Calif. – The Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) Surface Warfare Mission Package successfully completed the second phase of its developmental testing, Naval Sea Systems Command announced in a Nov. 7 release.

              USS Fort Worth (LCS 3) conducted the testing at the Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division Point Mugu range off the coast of California Oct. 1-25. The objective of the testing was to prove the performance capabilities for surface warfare missions, validate recent upgrades and correct problems found in previous testing.

              Preliminary analyses of the results indicate that overall test objectives were achieved, and the ship and mission package operated as expected.

              “The achievement of this at-sea test milestone demonstrates that the surface warfare package meets its requirements,” said Capt. John Ailes, program manager for mission module integration for the Program Executive Office for Littoral Combat Ships. “It also shows the significant progress that the mission modules program has made toward providing an affordable surface warfare capability.”

              The test events demonstrated the ship’s ability to detect, track and simulate engagement of air and surface threats. The final exercise was a live-fire event, where the ship demonstrated the ability to defend itself against several attacking speed boats. These boats were identified as a threat by the ship’s helicopter, which passed the information to the ship. Fort Worth then successfully engaged all targets with both the 30mm and the 57mm gun weapons systems, which reduced the attacking boats to smoking hulks.

              The Initial Operational Test and Evaluation for the surface warfare mission package will be conducted in early 2014, and will be the final step in achieving initial operational capability.

              The surface warfare mission package is designed to defeat small boat threats and also provides the capability for the ships to conduct maritime interdiction operations. The package consists of two 30mm guns, two 11-meter rigid hull inflatable boats, an MH-60R helicopter, a 19-person surface warfare detachment, and a 23-person aviation detachment.

              The LCS’s permanent 57mm gun, and its speed and maneuverability, coupled with the 30mm guns of the surface warfare mission package, provide the LCS a significant advantage over small boat threats.

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              • SAN DIEGO - Cubic Defense Systems, a subsidiary of Cubic Corp., announced Dec. 3 that it has been awarded a contract valued up to $112 million from the Naval Air Systems Command Training Systems Division (NAWCTSD) to develop hands-on training devices, desktop trainers and simulators for each variant of the Littoral Combat Ship’s (LCS) Mission Bays.

                Under the contract, Cubic will provide training solutions for the preparation, launch, handling, recovery and securing of the ships mission equipment. These virtual trainers will be used at LCS training facilities in San Diego and Mayport, Fla.

                “This announcement underscores Cubic’s continued partnership with the U.S. Navy. We are honored to be selected for another LCS program,” said Dave Schmitz, president of Cubic Defense Systems. “Combined with three recent contract awards to develop and deliver game-based courseware for both variants of the Littoral Combat Ship and their mission bay, our virtual trainers provide the Navy with the key tools necessary to deliver the full scope of foundational training for the crew of the LCS ships.”

                The LCS program represents the U.S. Navy’s most advanced designs, capabilities and technologies to create the next generation of surface vessels that can operate in dangerous shallow and near-shore environments.

                The LCS training programs will be executed in Cubic’s Orlando, Fla., facility.
                SEAPOWER Magazine Online

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                • Way in the past when i have seen Rear view of this LCS for first time i was much wondered..!!



                  Source : Rear view of USS Independence (LCS-2) showing the trimaran hull of the General Dynamics littoral combat ship design. - Image - Naval Technology

                  Comment


                  • Originally posted by Alex Mandel View Post
                    Please can somebody clarify what is the name and purpose of this small radar that can be seen on this photo taken aboard the USS Independence, just over the opened door?
                    (looks like some "AN/SPG-" ?...)[ATTACH]33924[/ATTACH]
                    Although I dont know for sure but given its proximity to the flight deck (under the flight control booth) and hangar I would say it has something to do with air operations. Possibly even a glide slope indicator for helo ops landings while underway.

                    This is a better shot.....

                    http://www.navsource.org/archives/15...02/1502048.jpg
                    Last edited by Dreadnought; 10 Dec 13,, 15:50.
                    Fortitude.....The strength to persist...The courage to endure.

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                    • UCARS, its an automated landing system for FireScout.

                      http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j...57799294,d.cWc

                      That is an info pdf from the manufacturer.

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                      • DonBelt,
                        Thank you very much!

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                        • That is very cool, thanks DonBelt for the PDF. SIERRA NEVADA CORP is doing some interesting things these days. Craig
                          Craig Johnson

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                          • LCS 5 Milwaukee is in the water.LCS 5 Milwaukee Side Launch - YouTube

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                            • MOBILE, Ala. - Austal USA has successfully completed the launch of the future USS Jackson (LCS 6), the company announced in a Dec. 31 release. The vessel is the first of 10 127-meter Independence-variant LCS (Littoral Combat Ship) Austal has been contracted to build for the U.S. Navy as prime contractor subsequent to a $3.5 billion block buy in 2010.

                              Commenting on the launch, which took place Dec. 14, Craig Perciavalle, Austal USA president, noted, “The successful completion of this important milestone for the LCS program is directly attributed to the hard work and dedication of Austal’s incredible team of shipbuilding professionals. I’m so proud of our team.”

                              Jackson was the first ship built in Austal’s new 59,000-square-foot state-of-the art assembly hall, Bay 5. The launch of Jackson was conducted in a multistep process involving Berard Transportation’s self-propelled modular transporters to lift the entire 1,600-metric-ton ship almost 3 feet in the air and moving the LCS approximately 400 feet onto a moored deck barge adjacent to the assembly bay. The deck barge with Jackson onboard was then towed a half mile down river to BAE Systems’ Southeast Shipyard where it was transferred to BAE’s floating dry dock, the Drydock Alabama.

                              The floating dry dock was submerged with Jackson entering the water for the first time. Jackson was then towed back to Austal USA’s facility, where it will undergo final outfitting and activation before sea trials and delivery to the Navy.

                              Austal’s teaming partner, General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems (a business unit of General Dynamics) is the ship systems integrator. The ship’s highly flexible open architecture computing infrastructure (OPEN CI), designed, developed and integrated by General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems, allows “plug-and-play” integration of both the core systems and the LCS mission modules. It is designed to the Navy’s open architecture requirements, strictly adheres to published industry standards and facilitates the integration of commercially available products.

                              “The launch of the third Independence-variant Littoral Combat Ship marks a significant milestone in this program,” said Mike Tweed-Kent, vice president and general manager of the Mission Integration Systems division at General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems. “Continuing to apply the lessons learned from LCS 2 and 4 to help the Navy strengthen its mission-critical capabilities, our OPEN CI will allow these ships to remain operationally relevant.”

                              The LCS program is in full swing at Austal USA with four ships currently under construction. Coronado (LCS 4), delivered to the Navy in September, will sail away soon with a commissioning ceremony in Coronado, Calif., in April. Montgomery (LCS 8) is being assembled in Bay 4 in preparation for launch in the spring. Construction is well under way in Austal’s Module Manufacturing Facility (MMF) on Gabrielle Giffords (LCS 10) and Omaha (LCS 12). Fabrication on Manchester (LCS 14) is scheduled to begin early this year.

                              Perciavalle added, “The LCS program is maturing well as we leverage lessons-learned and improve productivity, while providing an incredible platform to fulfill the Navy’s needs.”SEAPOWER Magazine Online

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                              • WASHINGTON (NNS) -- Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) and Southwest Regional Maintenance Center (SWRMC) divers recently completed the first full underwater waterjet seal and evaluation on a littoral combat ship (LCS), USS Fort Worth (LCS 3), the Navy announced, Jan. 2.

                                LCS class ships are unique to the U.S. Navy because they use waterjets instead of propellers for propulsion. Each waterjet draws seawater in through a duct, increases the water's pressure and then ejects it, causing the ship to move.

                                To protect these waterjets from internal corrosion, the LCS class uses what's known as a cathodic protection system, a system by which the waterjets are equipped with sacrificial metal structures that are specifically designed to corrode. Because these structures - known as anodes - corrode so easily, it keeps the rest of the waterjet structure safe from rusting or pitting.

                                On Freedom-variant ships, the anodes installed on the waterjets need to be inspected and replaced every four months. NAVSEA's Supervisor of Salvage and Diving (SUPSALV) was tasked to develop a procedure to replace these anodes at sea, instead of having to conduct the replacement in a dry dock.

                                Working with the ship's operators and the in-service LCS program office, SUPSALV engineers developed a plate to seal the waterjet inlet, as well as external patches to isolate the waterjet, creating a dry environment. This allowed maintenance teams to inspect and replace the zinc anodes while the ship was waterborne.

                                "It is important to have this underwater process to provide a cost effective, timely, and manageable procedure to the LCS fleet," said Joe Theodorou, SUPSALV program manager. "Having this capability saves the Navy $100 million in dry dock costs in the San Diego area."

                                With the procedure complete for Freedom-variant littoral combat ships, SUPSALV will begin testing a similar process for Independence-variant ships. Though both variants use waterjets for propulsion, there are significant differences in their design. Testing on Independence variant ships is expected to complete by March 2014.

                                The Office of the Director of Ocean Engineering, Supervisor of Salvage and Diving is part of the Naval Sea Systems Command and is responsible for all aspects of ocean engineering, including salvage, in-water ship repair, contracting, towing, diving safety and equipment maintenance and procurement.NAVSEA Completes Waterjet Seal and Evaluation on USS Fort Worth

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