Welcome to MSW’s Scuttlebutt! Here’s the news for the day.



Review - AFV Club's IJN I-58 Submarine

MSW crew-mate Karl Zingheim (Captsonghouse) shares his thought on AFV Club's IJN I-58 Submarine in this first look review.




First Steel Cut for LHD 02 Amphibious Ship
Source: Australian Department of Defense

Greg Combet, Minister for Defense Personnel, Materiel and Science today announced that Navantia of Spain has commenced construction of Australia’s second Landing Helicopter Dock hull (LHD 02) at Navantia’s shipbuilding yard in Ferrol, Spain.

“This is a great achievement with the steel being cut by Navantia 7 weeks ahead of schedule,” said Mr. Combet.

“The Commonwealth has contracted BAE Systems Australia to provide two large Amphibious Ships (LHDs) that will form part of the ADF’s broader amphibious deployment and sustainment system.

“Under the project the Spanish shipbuilder Navantia is the design authority and is subcontracted to BAE Systems Australia to construct and fit out the hulls of two large Amphibious Ships for the ADF.

“I am pleased to report that the LHD project is on schedule, with whole of ship design reviews completed and the keel laying of LHD 01 taking place exactly one year to the day from first steel being cut.

“After completion of LHD 01 and 02, both hulls will be transported to Australia.”

The superstructures will then be constructed, fitted out and integrated with the hulls at BAE Systems Australia’s Williamstown dockyard.

“Once the hull arrives at Williamstown dockyard, the combat system will be installed by SAAB Systems Australia, which will also integrate the combat management system. The communications system will be supplied by L-3 Communications,” said Mr. Combet.

The next milestone will be the launch of LHD 01 in Spain in March 2011. LHD 01 will arrive at Williamstown dockyard in 2012, with LHD 02 arriving in 2014.


ASC's New Shipyard Open for business
Source: ASC

ASC’s $120 million shipyard, located at Osborne, South Australia, has been completed and will be officially opened today.

The new shipyard will become ASC’s construction and consolidation site for the $8 billion Hobart Class Air Warfare Destroyer (AWD) Program.

“Today marks a defining moment in the history of ASC as we continue to forge a path at the frontline of Australia’s naval shipbuilding industry,” Chairman Vice Admiral Chris Ritchie AO RANR said.

“This state-of-the-art facility means we are now in a position to confidently ramp up the build phase of the AWDs, which is one of the most complex engineering projects ever undertaken in this country.”

ASC’s shipyard includes dedicated AWD production facilities, new office accommodation for 400 employees, a wharf support building with office space and workshops, and a significant upgrade to existing facilities.

“We have already achieved many planning and design milestones for the AWD Program and the shipyard opening is the next step in a new era for ASC.

“ASC’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Mr Steve Ludlam, has also just come on board, so it’s an exciting time right now for the company.

“The shipyard incorporates the latest production design features currently utilised in international naval build programs and provides the best environment for our staff to work safely and efficiently.”

It is ASC’s biggest infrastructure program since the 1987 establishment of the Collins Class submarine facility at Osborne, South Australia.

ASC’S $120 MILLION SHIPYARD DEVELOPMENT:

-- ASC’s 14-hectare shipyard is located at Osborne, South Australia, adjacent to ASC’s submarine maintenance facilities and the South Australian Government’s Common User Facility (CUF), and is part of Techport Australia.

-- Three Hobart Class Air Warfare Destroyers (AWDs) will be built at the shipyard.

-- It is the most modern shipyard in Australia – incorporating the latest production design features currently utilised in international naval build programs.


US Navy releases final terms for coastal warships
Source: Reuters

The U.S. Navy released the final terms for a multibillion-dollar competition between General Dynamics Corp and Lockheed Martin Corp to design a new class of fast shallow-water warships. Industry executives said on Tuesday they received the final request for proposals for the Littoral Combat Ship program and will study the document before finalizing bids for a contract valued at more than $5 billion through 2014.

The Navy set a March 29 deadline for bids, said one source familiar with the document who was not authorized to speak
publicly about the matter. The Navy, which expects to buy 55 of the new ships overall, said only that the document was released to industry on Tuesday and that proposals were due in March. Top Navy officials are pressing for a quick contract award, possibly by June or July.

The competition will decide whether the Navy proceeds with a steel monohull design built by Lockheed and Wisconsin-based shipyard Marinette Marine, or an aluminum three-hulled design built by General Dynamics and its Australian partner, Austal Ltd.

The Navy plans to award a winner-take-all contract for two ships in fiscal-year 2010, plus options on eight more ships
through 2014. The contract will also include separate combat systems for five additional ships to be built by a second
source after a separate competition in fiscal 2012. Regardless of which design wins, the Navy says the new class of warships will dramatically shift the way the Navy operates, featuring interchangeable mission packages to hunt
for mines, fight pirates or other enemies in small boats, track enemy submarines, or provide disaster relief.

The U.S. Navy initially planned to buy ships from both teams and had already ordered two ships of each design, but
officials decided last September to pick just one design to save money in the longer term. Ronald O'Rourke of the Congressional Research Service told lawmakers last week the Navy's reported 30-year shipbuilding plan raised questions about affordability of the LCS program.

The ships are subject to a congressional cost cap of $480 million per ship, but the Navy's reported plan shows a cost of
close to $600 million for each ship, O'Rourke said. He said the plan also showed the Navy buying just two of
the new ships a year starting in fiscal-year 2018, after it brings in a second shipyard to build them, which suggested the
Navy could eventually settle on just one shipyard after all.

Maintaining production of four LCS ships a year would wind up the 55-ship program in fiscal-year 2023, in line with Navy
statements about the urgency of getting the LCS ships into the fleet to close gaps in its capabilities. Lawmakers have also raised concerns that the Navy's acquisition strategy does not factor in the longer-term fuel, construction and other costs of operating the new ships. The Navy has said both ship designs meet its requirements and the competition will be decided largely on procurement cost.

Lockheed's first LCS ship, Freedom, will be deployed two years ahead of schedule. Lockheed said it was "acutely aware of the Navy's emphasis on affordability" and already cut labor costs on its second ship by 30 percent under a fixed-price
contract that was on cost and on schedule. "We anticipate improving on that in the future," said a
spokeswoman for the company. General Dynamics cited the successful commissioning of its first ship, Independence, on Jan. 16, and said it had begun work on its second LCS ship.

General Dynamics spokesman Jim DeMartini said the company would be analyzing the final request for proposals over the next weeks. "Given the nature of the competition, we won't be commenting until the proposals are wrapped up," he said.




Captain John Paul Jones

Today’s website is the biography of Captain John Paul Jones. Enjoy.


This Day in U.S. Naval History

1779 - John Paul Jones takes command of the vessel Bonhomme Richard.
1919 - The Navy Cross and the Navy Distinguished Service Medal are created by an act of Congress.
1959 - The keel of USS Enterprise (CVN 65), the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, is laid in Newport News, Va.
1991 - The Pentagon releases its budget for Fiscal Year 1992. The budget includes $2.8 billion for the creation of a Seawolf nuclear attack submarine and the decommissioning of the Navy's last two active battleships, USS Missouri (BB 63) and USS Wisconsin (BB 64).


Photo of the Day



The guided-missile cruiser USS Bunker Hill (CG 52) pulls alongside the Nimitz-Class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) for a refueling at sea.

Gator