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Road to 350: What Does the US Navy Do Anyway?

Brett327 said:
I'll be impressed if they can deliver in 2-3 years. Presumably any kind of realistic IOC will take another couple years.
Curious what sensors & weapons systems they intend to include. Wondering whether that hull can accommodate some kind of SPY-6/VLS configuration, or if they'll forego those capes all together. Systems integration is a bitch.
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I’m gonna guess they’re banking on the fact HII is actually building these now for the Coasties.

From the initial reports it sounds like no to any SPY/VLS. Combat fit is the gun (same gun as the cutter), RAM, and NSM only. The only real combat changes are bolt ons. Meaning I’d bet on the only real design work being just slapping grey paint on the Legend class cutter, then welding on the two extra weapons. Probably some other relatively simple changes for C4I.

That’ll get you something in the water in 2-3 years.

Problem is combat capability would be absolutely minimal.
 
Brett327 said:
Not that this approach couldn't be effective... but it sure wasn't for LCS. Sometimes the whole spiral development thing doesn't get funded. That said, there are a few interesting bolt on systems being developed that might find a home here.
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Going to be interesting to see what they do with it. It won’t fit a VLS or even the 40ft container launcher. That said, maybe they come up with some interesting unmanned payloads to play around with. Those are the main things that have made real progress from the LCS days.

As a typical frigate though, this is pretty anemic. Maybe they start planning for a hull extension to accommodate a real missile launcher or something in a few years down from the first few ships.
 
BigRed389 said:
Problem is combat capability would be absolutely minimal.
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That's kinda what I figured, and that makes me a little bit nervous that we'll have to relearn some of the LCS lessons. Curious how we intend on deploying this platform... independent steamer, CSG/ESG participant/Counter Piracy/Counter Narcotics/etc? I don't imagine we'd want this thing poking around the SCS or PG all by itself.
 
Brett327 said:
Curious how we intend on deploying this platform... independent steamer, CSG/ESG participant/Counter Piracy/Counter Narcotics/etc?
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It seems like these were the biggest wholes left open when LCS collapsed. Historically the Navy hasn't consistently been able to meet the 4th Fleet requirement (with a capital R) to have the stated number of assets in theater. Assuming it can support Romeo, I'd imagine it would be a good fit for CONUS ASW as well, when those requirements pop up (seemingly regularly).

But I'm also curious if the Navy still thinks as it did with the OHP-class...someone's gotta take the first missile.
 
Brett327 said:
That's kinda what I figured, and that makes me a little bit nervous that we'll have to relearn some of the LCS lessons. Curious how we intend on deploying this platform... independent steamer, CSG/ESG participant/Counter Piracy/Counter Narcotics/etc? I don't imagine we'd want this thing poking around the SCS or PG all by itself.
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Yup. It’d be in a bad spot if anybody ever got mad at it. RAM is a pretty badass self defense weapon but it’s just the one launcher with very limited range. Can’t see it do anything more than the CP/CN stuff. Maybe be FONOPS bait. As said before, somebody’s gotta be the one to take the first hit.

Griz882 said:
That was the basic theory with the Knox Class frigates…except it was the first torpedo.
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The OHP at least had a shot against first missile or torpedo. With today’s systems a modernized OHP could actually be pretty decent unless the enemy concentrated force against it. Ironically, thats essentially what the PRC has in the same weight class (Jiangkai II frigates).
 
I realized after writing it that my post assumes this would have an ASW module, which in my mind means a tail. That might be a big assumption.
 
Gatordev said:
I realized after writing it that my post assumes this would have an ASW module, which in my mind means a tail. That might be a big assumption.
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Yeah that could be tricky. Currently there’s a boat ramp/deck where the tail would normally go.

Looking at the layouts publicly available the topside spaces already looks pretty cramped.
 
IKE said:
Think it's named after the HMS Defiant or USS Defiant (you know, from Star Trek)?
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The Navy announcement said the new USS Defiant will be BBG-1, the same as used by the never completed USS Kentucky, BB-66. A proposal was made in the 1950’s to convert the Kentucky to carry missiles and it was reclassified as BBG-1.

To this end, the incomplete Kentucky was chosen for conversion from an all gun ship into a "guided missile battleship". This proposal would have been relatively conservative, and would have involved the installation of a pair of twin arm launchers for the RIM-2 Terriersurface-to-air missile (SAM) on the aft deckhouse, with a pair of antennas for the associated AN/APG-55pulse dopplerinterception radar installed forward of these, and the AN/SPS-2B air search radar on a short mast. Since the battleship was already approximately 73% complete (construction had been halted at the second deck), installation of the missile system and associated electronics would have involved only adding the necessary equipment without any need to rebuild the ship to accommodate the system.

Some guided missile concepts included one or two launchers for eight SSM-N-9 Regulus II or SSM-N-2 Triton nuclear cruise missiles.

The guided missile battleship project was authorized in 1954, and Kentucky was renumbered from BB-66 to BBG-1, with the conversion due to be complete in 1956.

A few examples below:

 
While I’m all for a bunch of new very capable ships, I’m not confident that this administration will be able to deliver. It’ll take at least 2.5 years to design, to say nothing about delivery on that timeline. It’s going to be expensive, and Congress has to fund it. Then, where will all this shipbuilding capacity come from? This all adds up to a very low probability of actually happening.
 
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