Welcome to MSW’s Scuttlebutt! Here’s the news for the day.
New Japanese Destroyer Bigger, More Capable
Source: Forecast International
TOKYO --- Rumors that the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force's third "aircraft carrying destroyer" would mark a major improvement in size and capability over the Hyuga class ships now entering service have been confirmed.
The new 22DDH will be 248 meters long and 39 meters in beam, and displace more than 24,000 tons. This makes her almost 50 percent larger than the Hyuga class and places an unbearable semantic strain on the use of the term "destroyer" to describe these ships. To put the size of the ship into context, she is comparable with a World War II Essex-class fleet carrier.
Illustrations of the 22DDH show her to be a full-fledged helicopter carrier with no real destroyer characteristics. The superstructure is very similar to that of the Hyuga class with the difference that the 01 deck is extended forward, probably to accommodate a vertical launch silo for air defense missiles. The point defenses of the new ships are more than doubled, with three Phalanx Mk 15 mountings and two RAM launchers replacing the pair of Phalanx mounts on the older ship. Significantly, while one of the Phalanx mounts on the Hyuga is situated forward on the flight deck, and thus obstructs fixed-wing operations, the 22DDH has all of its mounts located on sponsons clear of the flight deck itself.
The flight deck layout on the 22DDH differs significantly from that of the Hyuga class. One of the lifts has been moved from the centerline to the deck-edge position. The added width of the flight deck has been used to shift the axis of air operations clear of the remaining centerline elevator. The number of munitions elevators feeding the flight deck has been increased from two to four.
A vertical launch silo built into the rear of the flight deck on the Hyuga has been removed, once again reducing obstructions to flight operations. Flight deck operations capacity has been increased from two to seven helicopters.
Japanese accounts suggest that one of the reasons for the drastic increase in size of the 22DDH design is a planned shift to the V-22 Osprey as the primary air group element for these ships. It is not clear whether these would be replacements for or supplemental to the SH-60Ks that equip the Hyuga class. These accounts also make it clear that the F-35B short takeoff and vertical landing variant of the Joint Strike Fighter is seen as a key system for these ships. Apparently, provision for the operation of UAVs is being included within the design.
ASC Docks Its First Submarine in Western Australia
Source: ASC
ASC, Australia’s submarine builder and maintainer, has docked its first submarine at ASC West – a $35 million purpose-built submarine support facility located at the Australian Marine Complex (AMC) in Henderson, Western Australia.
Home to 185 employees and set to inject millions of dollars into the Western Australian economy, ASC West has docked HMAS Farncomb, which was brought to land aboard the AMC’s floating dock and then transferred to ASC’s facility on a multi-wheeled transfer system, marking the beginning of ASC maintaining submarines at the AMC.
ASC Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Steve Ludlam said the company had eagerly awaited its first submarine docking since the opening of ASC West in 2008.
“We made the decision to build ASC West based on the State Government’s commitment to deliver the floating dock, with the seamless performance in docking HMAS Farncomb highlighting its outstanding capabilities,” Mr Ludlam said.
“ASC is now able to carry out maintenance on as many as three submarines at any one time, reinforcing the efficiency gains we expect to realise by maintaining submarines in a state-of-the-art production environment.”
Previously, ASC worked across multiple sites in Western Australia since 1996, with the 2008 opening of ASC West representing the amalgamation of three service facilities into one consolidated, submarine support facility.
The submarine repair and maintenance work that ASC will undertake in Western Australia is expected to generate some $35 million annually for the State.
“We’re delighted to be a key user of this great floating dock facility and, coupled with the strategic location of ASC West, we’re in a much better position to make a significant contribution to the frontline of Australia’s naval defence force,” Mr Ludlam said.
“Today, we celebrate ASC’s commitment to maintaining the Navy’s Collins Class submarines on the west coast of Australia.”
Marine Corps Plans Modifications to the RQ-7 Shadow Fleet
Source: Lexington Institute
It is a common sports adage that the best offense is a good defense, and the same can be said of war. To attack one must also be able to defend, yet the tactics employed by insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan reveal a fundamental weakness in our ability to do so. Fortunately, U.S. forces have a strong ally in the counterinsurgency fight: unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
The Army, Navy, and Marine Corps have relied on UAVs since the commencement of both conflicts but the Department of Defense is now expanding the attack with new technologies. Statements from Iraq and Afghanistan show field commanders cannot get enough of the remotely-piloted aircraft, which is translating to extensive developments in the market for UAV systems and upgrades.
Many of the modifications are defense-oriented, such as improved radar and monitoring systems, which support counter-IED (improvised explosive device) missions, explosive ordnance disposal, route clearance operations, and convoy security. As a result, ground forces are in a better position to launch offensive attacks. The most recent example of the DoD bolstering defenses is the Marine Corps' planned outfitting of the RQ-7 Shadow fleet with a laser designator and laser range finder.
Since it first entered the market the Shadow unmanned aircraft system (UAS) has logged over 500,000 flight hours, about 90 percent of which were flown by the U.S. Army and Marine Corps in Iraq and Afghanistan. The mid-size platform is primarily used in surveillance operations but recent modifications are expanding its mission. The laser payload the Marines are installing is already in use by the Army and will help combat the threat of IEDs.
The addition brings a seasoned veteran to the fight by integrating strike-capable, manned aircraft with the Shadow's unmanned platform. The laser system will identify an IED and then "take over a missile fired from an AV-8B Harrier, F/A-18 Hornet or AH-1 Cobra at standoff ranges and guide it toward [the] target," Lieutenant Colonel Brad Beach, UAS Coordinator in the Marine Aviation Weapons Requirement Branch, told Inside the Navy in a May 26 interview.
AAI Corporation, an operating unit of Textron Systems and the manufacturer of the RQ-7 Shadow, also recently developed an extended wing design, an improved lithium battery, an electronic fuel injection engine and fuel system, modifications to encryption and One System Remote Video Terminals (OSRVTs), and a Tactical Common Data Link (TCDL). The Army has already ordered 100 wing kits, which extend flight endurance by nearly three hours by increasing fuel cell capacity. In addition, the 2011 Army Aircraft Procurement budget calls for $916.3 million in RQ-7 Shadow modifications by 2015.
Defense is critical but at some point the offense needs to take the field to guarantee a win. For that reason the Army and Marine Corps hope to weaponize the Shadow platform itself within the next 12 to 18 months. The greatest obstacles to quickly getting the modifications in theater are tailoring a weapons system to the smaller aircraft body, the time required by extensive testing, and the United States' treaty obligations with other countries.
The planned upgrades to the RQ-7 Shadow come amidst a debate over the military's spotlight on counterinsurgency techniques. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates recently ordered the entire military to adopt Army General Stanley McChrystal's counterinsurgency standards from Afghanistan, but Special Operations Command Chief Admiral Eric Olsen believes the approach restrains our forces. "Counterinsurgency should involve countering the insurgents," he said. Continuing to weaponize UAVs will help follow through on this front while keeping soldiers safe in the backfield.
USS Macon
Today’s website is USS Macon. Enjoy.
This Day in U.S. Naval History
1933 - Commissioning of USS Macon, Navy's last dirigible.
1961 - Navy's first major low frequency radio station commissioned at Cutler, Maine.
1972 - Navy helicopter squadron aids flood-stricken residents in Wilkes-Barre, Scranton, and Pittstown area of Pennsylvania.
Photo of the Day
Airship USS Macon under construction.
Gator
