The U.S. Navy intends to hold informal talks in the coming months to explore potential successors to its cruisers and destroyers, including what the future vessels should do and how much they should cost, a service official said Feb. 15.
“We’re really in the infancy stages,” said Vice Adm. Thomas Moore, commander of Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA). Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson “is very interested in having a discussion before we start moving on out.”
Those talks ultimately will lead to more formal steps to set up an acquisition effort for what the Navy calls the Future Surface Combatant (FSC). Moore, who spoke at an American Society of Naval Engineers (ASNE) symposium in Arlington, Va., told reporters that the Navy hopes to decide before 2020 what the FSC will look like, as its Ticonderoga-class cruisers will start entering retirement in about 2035. The Navy also wants to eventually replace its Arleigh Burke-class destroyers.
Although the Navy slashed its purchase of Zumwalt-class (DDG-1000) destroyers from 32 ships to three due to cost overruns, Moore told the symposium audience that the stealthy, highly automated ships, built by General Dynamics [GD] Bath Iron Works, will help lay important groundwork for the FSC’s development.
“DDG-1000, despite the challenges that we had, is going to provide us some very valuable lessons learned on technology,” Moore said. “Fifteen to 20 years from now, when we get to the Future Surface Combatant, we’re going to look back and say, at the end, we learned a lot of valuable stuff and DDG-1000 was good for the Navy.”
The USS Zumwalt, the first of those ships, arrived at its homeport of Naval Base San Diego in December for the first time. It is scheduled to head out to sea this week for several days to test key systems, including its multi-function radar.
On another topic, Moore told reporters that about 40 NAVSEA employees attended a Feb. 10 summit aimed at improving ship maintenance planning. He said the Navy must do a better job estimating how long maintenance projects will take, especially with its fleet stretched thin by high demand and too-few ships.
“We have an amazing amount of data on ships and submarines that should allow us to better predict what the maintenance requirement for a ship is going to be two years down the road,” Moore said. “We may not be able to predict everything, but we’re off 25 to 30 percent today, and that is unacceptable.”
Another ASNE speaker, Capt. John Markowicz, program manager of in-service carriers, said the Navy is taking several steps to reduce maintenance delays, including starting earlier to advertise requirements and forecast and order materials. In addition, the Navy is adding employees to its shipyards and is reaching out to industry to provide more resources.