large surface combatant

PEO Ships Maturing Systems Ahead of Large Surface Combatant Design Effort

USS Wayne E. Meyer (DDG-108) transits through the East China Sea on Nov. 15, 2019. US Navy Photo

The Program Executive Officer for Ships wants any future ship class to maximize the use of mature technologies and to establish land-based testing sites for any new and unproven systems, to buy down risk and allow for “credible” fielding timelines.

Rear Adm. Tom Anderson said today that, coming into an era of flat budgets and a new force design that will likely call for several new ship classes to...

https://news.usni.org/2020/08/25/peo-ships-maturing-systems-ahead-of-large-surface-combatant-design-effort

Navy Awards Contract for First Vessel In Its Family of Unmanned Surface Vehicles

Sea Hunter. US Navy Photo

The Navy has awarded a contract for the first unmanned surface vessel it will design and build on its own, a key milestone for the eventual family of unmanned systems that will be a key component of the future surface fleet, according to a Monday contract announcement from the Pentagon.

L3 Technologies won a $35-million contract to develop a prototype medium unmanned surface vehicle (MUSV) on Monday, which could grow to $281 million if options for eight follow-on craft...

https://news.usni.org/2020/07/14/navy-awards-contract-for-first-vessel-in-its-family-of-unmanned-surface-vehicles

Report to Congress on Navy Light Amphibious Warship

The following is the May 27, 2020 Congressional Research Service report Navy Light Amphibious Warship (LAW) Program: Background and Issues for Congress.

From the report

The Navy’s new Light Amphibious Warship (LAW) program envisions procuring a class of 28 to 30 new amphibious ships to support the Marine Corps, particularly in implementing a new Marine Corps operational concept called Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations (EABO). The Navy’s proposed FY2021 budget requests $30 million in research...

https://news.usni.org/2020/05/29/report-to-congress-on-navy-light-amphibious-warship

Navy’s Next Major Ship Program Sees Challenges Balancing Requirements and Cost

USS Thomas Hudner (DDG-116) during construction at General Dynamics Bath Iron Works. BIW photo.

SAN DIEGO, Calif. – The Navy’s new requirements process that brings industry in early to refine ideas and conduct prototyping may have prevented the service from going down a costly path with its Large Surface Combatant, the head of Naval Sea Systems Command said.

Acquisition leaders have touted the Requirements Evaluation Team idea, which brings together program managers, operators, budget officers,...

https://news.usni.org/2020/03/17/navys-next-major-ship-program-sees-challenges-balancing-requirements-and-cost

Navy Researching New Class of Medium Amphibious Ship, New Logistics Ships

A stern landing design concept. Sea Transport Solutions Image

The Navy’s research and development portfolio will devote $30 million to a “next-generation medium amphibious ship design” that will likely be based on an Australian designer’s stern landing vessel.

Shortly after Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. David Berger took command of the service in July 2019, he began speaking of a new vision for the amphibious force – one that did not rely on a fleet of 38 traditional amphibious warships...

https://news.usni.org/2020/02/20/navy-researching-new-class-of-medium-amphibious-ship-new-logistics-ships

Future Large Surface Combatant Pushed to Late 2020s, Navy Takes ‘Measured’ Development Approach

The guided-missile destroyer USS Bainbridge (DDG-96) sails in the Arabian Sea. Bainbridge is deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations in support of naval operations to ensure maritime stability and security in the Central Region. US Navy photo

ARLINGTON, Va. – The Navy is now taking a “measured” approach to developing its next large combatant, with the director of surface warfare saying he expects to buy the first ones in the late 2020s after certain technologies mature, following...

https://news.usni.org/2020/01/14/future-large-surface-combatant-pushed-to-late-2020s-navy-takes-measured-development-approach

Modly: Navy Current Warship Mix Is Not Optimal for Future Fight

USS Russell (DDG-59), left, the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Pinckney (DDG-91), center, and the Independence-variant littoral combat ship USS Omaha (LCS-12) travel in formation. US Navy Photo

ARLINGTON, Va. – The Navy has concentrated more capability – and therefore more cost – onto a smaller number of ships, and that force design may not work well in a high-end fight against a peer adversary, the under secretary of the Navy said last week.

Thomas Modly, the number-two...

https://news.usni.org/2019/10/28/modly-navy-current-warship-mix-is-not-optimal-for-future-fight

CBO: Navy’s Next Nuclear Attack Submarine Could Cost $5.5B a Hull

Virginia-class fast-attack submarine USS Missouri (SSN-780) on May 31, 2018. US Navy Photo

The Navy’s next-generation attack submarine program may cost $69 billion more than the service is planning to spend, according to a Congressional Budget Office estimatereleased this week, creating a major delta between the Navy’s long-term shipbuilding cost estimates and CBO’s.

In what appears to be the first public cost estimate for the SSN(X) program that would follow the Virginia-class SSNs, the Navy...

https://news.usni.org/2019/10/10/cbo-navys-next-nuclear-attack-submarine-could-cost-5-5b-a-hull

Navy Considering More Advanced Burke Destroyers as Large Surface Combatant Timeline Slips

The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Bainbridge (DDG 96) launches a Standard Missile (SM) 2 Block IIIA on Nov. 18, 2018. Bainbridge is underway with Norfolk-based cruiser-destroyer (CRUDES) units from Carrier Strike Group 12 conducting a Live Fire With a Purpose (LFWAP) event. US Navy photo.

SAN DIEGO – The Navy is looking at “something beyond even a Flight III” combat capability for its new-build destroyers, as its plans for transitioning from building the Arleigh Burke-class...

https://news.usni.org/2019/08/08/navy-considering-more-advanced-burke-destroyers-as-large-surface-combatant-timeline-slips

Surface Warfare Directorate Still Considering Large Combatant Requirement; MUSV RFP Released

Sea Hunter, an entirely new class of unmanned sea surface vehicle developed in partnership between the Office of Naval Research (ONR) and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), recently completed an autonomous sail from San Diego to Hawaii and back—the first ship ever to do so autonomously. Sea Hunter is part of ONR’s Medium Displacement Unmanned Surface Vehicle (MDUSV) project. US Navy photo.

ARLINGTON, Va. – The new director of surface warfare is still considering what the Navy...

https://news.usni.org/2019/07/17/surface-warfare-directorate-still-considering-large-combatant-requirement-musv-rfp-released

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