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Navy Construction
Feb. 6th, 2009 02:32 pmPer the always-interesting blog Information Dissemination, I read of a call by Congressman Gene Taylor of Mississippi to rationalize US Navy ship construction. My first thought on reading the statement was "amen." Congressman Taylor calls for:
1) Restructuring the LCS (Littoral Combat Ship) program. Right now, we've got two expensive, fast but sadly under-gunned ships that are really designed to act as base ships for other (as yet unbuilt) weapons systems. In my view, we don't need either ship, but Taylor calls for picking a common design and building it.
2) Stop building any more DDG 1000 ships. The last thing the Navy needs is a 14,500 ton "destroyer." (That's the size of a WWI dreadnought).
3) Build more Burke-class destroyers. These 8,500 ton destroyers are as capable as any other navy's cruiser.
4) Use an existing amphibious ship as the hull platform for any new large combatants.
5) Most intriguing, build a new guided-missile frigate for the Navy based on the Coast Guard's Bertholf class "national security cutter."
Although this ship in Coast Guard service is lightly armed, with just a dinky gun and close-in anti-missile system, at 4,000 tons one could surely shoehorn in some missiles and sonar. The result would be a ship that could sit off the coast of Somalia and chase pirates, or 80% of the other current Navy missions. I especially like the Bertholf design in that its well deck, which supports small boat operations, alleviates one of the main weaknesses of the Perry-class frigates, namely inadequate support for small boats. All I can hope is that common sense finds the Admiralty.
1) Restructuring the LCS (Littoral Combat Ship) program. Right now, we've got two expensive, fast but sadly under-gunned ships that are really designed to act as base ships for other (as yet unbuilt) weapons systems. In my view, we don't need either ship, but Taylor calls for picking a common design and building it.
2) Stop building any more DDG 1000 ships. The last thing the Navy needs is a 14,500 ton "destroyer." (That's the size of a WWI dreadnought).
3) Build more Burke-class destroyers. These 8,500 ton destroyers are as capable as any other navy's cruiser.
4) Use an existing amphibious ship as the hull platform for any new large combatants.
5) Most intriguing, build a new guided-missile frigate for the Navy based on the Coast Guard's Bertholf class "national security cutter."
Although this ship in Coast Guard service is lightly armed, with just a dinky gun and close-in anti-missile system, at 4,000 tons one could surely shoehorn in some missiles and sonar. The result would be a ship that could sit off the coast of Somalia and chase pirates, or 80% of the other current Navy missions. I especially like the Bertholf design in that its well deck, which supports small boat operations, alleviates one of the main weaknesses of the Perry-class frigates, namely inadequate support for small boats. All I can hope is that common sense finds the Admiralty.
