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The Spanish Navy frigate Alvaro de Bazan
(right) cruises alongside the destroyer USS Carney off Rota, Spain, in the
Mediterranean Sea, on Oct. 5, 2016. Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine, said in
November 2017 it is partnering with the Spanish builder of the Alvaro de Bazan
on a new design for up to 20 frigates for the U.S. Navy. | AP
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AP
NOV 27, 2017
BATH, MAINE – The U.S. Navy’s fast and maneuverable
littoral combat ship was criticized for lacking enough firepower and armor to
survive a maritime battle. It is addressing those concerns with a new class of
small but powerful frigates that will pack a bigger punch.
The U.S. Navy asked this month for concept proposals for
multimission warships that would be bigger and more heavily armed — and slower
— than the littoral combat ships. They would be capable of shooting down
airplanes, attacking other ships and countering submarines.
“The Navy has decided that speed is less important than
having a warship with sufficient weapons to defend itself,” said Loren
Thompson, a defense analyst with the Lexington Institute.
The Navy, which wants to build 20 frigates, is seeking an
affordable design, and its directive calls for shipbuilders to use an existing
design to expedite the process. The aggressive timetable calls for conceptual
proposals next month. The first two ships are to be procured in 2020 and 2021.
Large Navy shipbuilders like Maine’s Bath Iron Works and
Mississippi’s Ingalls Shipbuilding are among a half-dozen defense contractors
expected to bid on the work. Smaller shipyards like Fincantieri Marinette
Marine in Wisconsin and Austal USA in Alabama are also expected to compete.
The proposal marks a new direction for the Navy at a time
when the Trump administration has vowed to increase the size of the fleet. The
Navy has a goal of 355 ships.
It addresses lessons learned from the littoral combat
ships, which were supposed to be an affordable way of countering post-Cold War
threats including pirates and swarm boats.
The Navy envisioned speedy ships that could be
transformed with mission modules to serve different roles. But the mission
modules have been delayed and the ships’ cost grew. Then the Government
Accountability Office questioned the ships’ survivability in battle.
There are two versions of the LCS, both capable of
topping 50 mph (80 kph) and utilizing steerable water jets to operate in
shallow water.
When all is said and done, the Navy is expected to take
delivery of more than two dozen LCSs. A combination of LCSs and frigates would
comprise more than half of the Navy’s deployed surface combatants by 2030, said
Lt. Seth Clarke, a Navy spokesman.
The Congressional Research Service said the Navy wants to
spend no more than $950 million per frigate, while Clarke put the target at
$800 million per ship after the first ship.
Working in the ship’s favor in terms of affordability:
The proposal calls for no new technologies. That’s a far cry from littoral
combat ships and larger, stealthy Zumwalt-class destroyers that incorporated
new designs and technologies that contributed to significant cost overruns.
At Bath Iron Works, a General Dynamics subsidiary,
officials examined U.S. and foreign designs to meet Navy requirements and
partnered with a Spanish company, Navantia, to utilize an existing design from
a Spanish navy frigate, said Dirk Lesko, the shipyard’s president.
Bath Iron Works helped to design the Navy’s Oliver Hazard
Perry-class frigates, the last of which were retired from duty in 2015.
The shipyard’s 5,700 workers who currently build Arleigh
Burke-class and Zumwalt-class destroyers are eager for the opportunity to build
the frigates.
“We know how to build them. We’re ready to build more,”
said Mike Keenan, president of the Machinists Union Local S6, the shipyard’s
largest union.
Original post: japantimes.co.jp
The
Navy, which wants to build 20 frigates, is seeking an affordable design, and
its directive calls for shipbuilders to use an existing design to expedite the
process. The aggressive timetable calls for conceptual proposals next month.
The first two ships are to be procured in 2020 and 2021.
At Bath Iron Works, a General Dynamics subsidiary,
officials examined U.S. and foreign designs to meet Navy requirements and
partnered with a Spanish company, Navantia, to utilize an existing design from
a Spanish navy frigate, said Dirk Lesko, the shipyard’s president.
Spanish Navy frigate Alvaro de Bazan
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| Alvaro de Bazan |
Source: Armada Española
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