US Navy looks at unretiring the Kitty Hawk and Perry Frigates

[CaptainCrunch]

Interesting news as the US Navy struggles with Trumps commitment to grow the Navy by nearly 80 ships including a fleet of 12 Super Carriers

http://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone...t-of-mothballs

The Kitty Hawk was the last conventional powered fleet aircraft carrier which was retired in 2009,

The Perry Class Frigates were really good ships that some would argue were retired too soon, they'd have to go through extensive refits to update their armaments but they would be able to take on low intensity jobs.

Currently the US has 10 active Nimitz Carriers with the Gerald Ford Class fleet carrier the first of its kind that uses an electromagnet launch system supposedly coming on line this year.

There are serious problems with the "Digital" catapult design on the Ford and with the "electronic arresting and landing system" that have delayed the deployment of the carrier and shot its price through the roof.

To add to their problems, the Littoral Combat Ship continues to have problems and delays, and the Zumwalt Stealth Destroyer is probably going to be a bust due to engine and gun troubles.

[Locke]

The engines and the guns dont work? What does work? Does it even float?

Although 'Zumwalt' is a cool name, where does that come from?

[Titan]

Originally Posted by Locke

The engines and the guns dont work? What does work? Does it even float?

Although 'Zumwalt' is a cool name, where does that come from?

Out of that post 'Zumwalt' is what caught your attention? Slipping man. And my condolences to your wife...

[accord1999]

Originally Posted by Locke

The engines and the guns dont work? What does work? Does it even float?

Although 'Zumwalt' is a cool name, where does that come from?

US Navy Admiral:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elmo_Zumwalt

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Titan

Out of that post 'Zumwalt' is what caught your attention? Slipping man. And my condolences to your wife...

Are you insinuating theres something amiss regarding my 'Digital Catapult system?'

[Locke]

Originally Posted by accord1999

US Navy Admiral:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elmo_Zumwalt

Elmo Zumwalt? You've got to be kidding! Thats got to be one of the best names of all time!

I bet he was a serious badass.

[Titan]

Originally Posted by Locke

Are you insinuating theres something amiss regarding my 'Digital Catapult system?'

The fact you have 'Littorally' missed my point confirms that Zumwalt is the only little man in the boat in your house, as far as you know.

[accord1999]

Originally Posted by Locke

Elmo Zumwalt? You've got to be kidding! Thats got to be one of the best names of all time!

I bet he was a serious badass.

After reading his career and learning about his rapid rise to the highest rank in the USN, I'd agree with all of the above. It's too bad though that his name will be associated with what has turned out to be a white elephant of a warship.

[Titan]

Originally Posted by Locke

Are you insinuating theres something amiss regarding my 'Digital Catapult system?'

Wait, I have another one...

'Digital Catapult system?' are you sure you don't mean "Digital Compression Program"?? (i.e. you have a tiny penis)

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Titan

The fact you have 'Littorally' missed my point confirms that Zumwalt is the only little man in the boat in your house, as far as you know.

Haha! I actually just assumed that was the product of CC's notoriously bad grammar.

[Lanny_McDonald]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

To add to their problems, the Littoral Combat Ship continues to have problems and delays, and the Zumwalt Stealth Destroyer is probably going to be a bust due to engine and gun troubles.

It only makes sense that the "Littoral" is lumped in with a stealth class ship. Both prove to be difficult to locate.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by New Era

It only makes sense that the "Littoral" is lumped in with a stealth class ship. Both prove to be difficult to locate.

Near impossible for the Navy......

[Locke]

Originally Posted by undercoverbrother

Near impossible for the Navy......

Well, its the Navy, they're known for, uh...inspecting the wrong equipment?

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by accord1999

US Navy Admiral:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elmo_Zumwalt

After his selection for the rank of rear admiral,

The Navy does itself no favours.

[CaptainCrunch]

The US Military has had real problems with its procurement and new platform designs for a while. As ships have gotten more complex, the designs have failed or become far more expensive then they were first budgeted for.

The Zumwalt was supposed to be a stealth platform that would replace the Iowa class battleship in terms of close in support for the Marines. It was also supposed to have saved costs by being a heavily automated ship that would need a small crew of under 100 men.

However problems showed up almost immediately.

1) Stealth - In terms of a navy ship as part of the US Navy's tactical doctrine it doesn't work very well. The US Navy is really dependent on the concept of battlegroups. so if you put a stealth ship as part of a battlegroup, its almost useless as every other ship in the group will show up on enemy radar. Also the biggest threat to the US Navy is still in terms of Submarines, and a ship like the Zumwalt isn't a especially good anti-submarine platform, and stealth isn't anti sonar and there's only so much that you can do in terms of quieting to protect a ship from sonar.

Even if you can use Stealth to sneak a ship close in to shore to add fire support to a marine assault, the problem is now that the ship will be visible, and also the shells that the rail guns fire will show up on counter battery radars.

Crew size - The Zumwalt was designed to operate with a 90 man crew and be computer and automation intensive. However after original testing they found that a 90 man crew wouldn't be able to keep a constant high operational temp, so the crew size was expanded to 150 men so the cost and manpower savings vanished.

The Advanced Gun System - The heart of this ships offensive capability. It was designed to deliver a 155 mm projectile over the horizon (83 miles). When the ship was first designed they costed the rounds out as being similar to the older 155 mm round used by standardized artillary, instead that plan fell through and a new 155 mm round was designed, originally the cost was expected to be fairly reasonable, though not the $700.00 per round of a standard round. But with the fleet shrinking from 30 to 3 the costs skyrocketed to about $1 million dollars a round. there was also concern about the size of the magazine that would hold the 300 rounds the ship carried.

If you look at the list of commissioned ships, most of their hulls were designed and dropped anywhere from the early 80's to the 90's. Even their submarine fleet is getting up their in age. At the same time the Chinese and Russians are in a full modernization of their navy.

[Locke]

I feel like they should have reserved the 'Zumwalt' name for an airship or Zeppelin of some kind.

"Oh no! The Zumwalt is coming!!"

[CaptainCrunch]

I always thought it was criminal that there wasn't a submarine class named after Hyman Rickover.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

I always thought it was criminal that there wasn't a submarine class named after Hyman Rickover.

I feel there should be a 'Rodney Dangerfield' class aircraft carrier.

Maybe one plane, or a helicopter or something.

[OldDutch]

I ahudder to think of the day when "Donald Trump" class dystroyers launch.

[BloodFetish]

Originally Posted by OldDutch

I ahudder to think of the day when "Donald Drumpf" class dystroyers launch.

They will be corvettes, and the first off the line will be the USS Covfefe.