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 So, just what shape will the
U.S. Navy's next generation warships take? Well, right now two
teams are working on competing designs for one of those--the
Navy's next generation destroyer, DD-21.
To promote competition and stimulate innovation for the design
of DD 21 Land Attack Destroyer--something the Navy calls, "a
21st century multi-mission surface combatant with a land attack
focus," the Navy is using a "priced-based"
acquisition strategy.
The DD 21 is part of the SC-21 Program---a family of Surface
Combatants for the U.S.
Navy's surface forces for the 21st Century . Other family members
include the Air Dominance Cruiser (CG 21),
The DD 21 is defined by the Navy not simplyas a ship, but
as a system consisting of the ship, all the equipment, crew,
computer environment, shore infrastructure for port and at sea
support, and all the Navy, joint service, nation and coalition
system interfaces to execute its missions over its service life.
The DD 21 system must possess the operational flexibility to
meet the Land Attack and multi-mission forward presence, deterrence
and war-fighting requirements within the littoral environment,
and employ self-defense against the ever-changing and diverse
above, on and below the sea threats.
DD 21 must also be capable of taking advantage of and maintaining
the benefits of what a current Pentagon buzz phrase calls the
"Revolution in Military Affairs," stimulated by the
rapid advances in informationand information-related technologies,
and exploit them through automation and
system architectures that must be capable of disseminating information
to widely dispersed and dissimilar units in order to achieve
an overall Dominant Maneuver, Precision Engagement,
Full-Dimensional Protection, and Focused Logistics concept of
operation.
 The
competing DD 21 teams are the "Blue Team," led by
General Dynamics' Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine, with Lockheed
Martin Corporation as the systems integrator; and the "Gold
Team," led by Litton's Ingalls Shipbuilding, Pascagoula,
Miss., with Raytheon Systems Company as the systems integrator.
The Navy expects to select one team to complete the system
design in Fiscal Year 2001. The first destroyer of the
anticipated 32-ship DD 21 class is scheduled for delivery in
FY 2008.
Stealth, of course, will probably play a key role in the hull
design. This past March, the Navy reactivated its Sea Shadow
craft to support evaluation of future Navy ship designs and
technologies, including automation for reduced manning, propulsion
concepts, and characteristics of surface ship stealth.
The emphasis on reduced manning is an indicator that DD 21
will be smart as well as stealthy, drawing from the lessons learned
thus far from the USS Yorktown (CG 48) and the
Smart Ship program.
GAS TURBINE ELECTRIC SHIP
One of the more interesting concepts being explored for the DD
21 is the use of GE LM2500 gas turbine engines as prime movers
for the Integrated Power Systems (IPS). This would be a first
time Navy application of GE's LM2500 gas turbines in an electric
drive configuration.
A GE LM2500 driving an electric generator provides the power
for the IPS Full Scale Advanced Development system designed by
Lockheed Martin's Ocean Radar and Sensor System Division. The
testing is being conducted by the Naval Surface Warfare Center,
Carderock Division.
The IPS design is under consideration as the new propulsion and
ship service electrical architecture for a wide range of applications,
including surface combatants, amphibious ships, and auxiliaries.
IPS ships would use a common set of generators to provide power
to the propulsion and combat systems. The distribution system
performs the conversions necessary to tailor the power for each
load.
According to the Navy, advantages of an IPS electric ship include
the reduced number of prime movers, fuel savings, reduced maintenance,
smaller crews, and increased flexibility in power usage and ship
arrangement.
"If the current moves to adopt more extensive or Integrated
Full Electric Propulsion are to proceed in future warship classes,
this has to occur on build, given the impact of installing electric
motors and the advantages of separating primers," says
Dr. David Andrews, director, Frigates and Minecountermeasures
in the U.K's Ministry of Defense Procurement Executive.
Dr. Andrews made his comments in an article for NATO: Into the
Millennium. Further, points out Andrews, "adopting an Electric
Ship Concept, which goes beyond propulsion to the total power
distribution in the ship, is so profound to the ship design that
this also is not readily amenable to technology insertion.
"However, such an architecturally compliant concept can
be seen as a major enabler in achieving an adaptable ship configuration.
Another feature which it is sensible to build into a design is
that additional silo space beyond that required for the initial
missile silos are not easily added after the size and structural
configuration of the vessel has been determined."
MULTIFUNCTION RADAR
This past June, Gold Team member, Raytheon Company, Lexington,
Mass., was awarded a $140 million U.S. Navy contract for engineering
and manufacturing development of the next generation Multi-Function
Radar (MFR), which will equip future aircraft carriers and destroyers.
"MFR is the cornerstone of the U.S. Navy's program to develop
an advanced solid state radar suite for carriers and destroyers
of the next century-CVN-77 and DD-21," said Jack Cronin,
Raytheon's director for Advanced Naval Programs.
Under the terms of the 60-month, section 845 cost plus award
fee contract, Raytheon will develop the MFR prototype radar and
qualify it through operational tests. Following qualification,
the MFR is scheduled to be integrated into CVN-77, DD-21 and
numerous other 21st century ship classes. Total production is
estimated to exceed 45 radars. Engineering and production of
MFR will take place at Raytheon facilities in Andover, Mass.,
Forest, Miss., and Dallas, Texas.
"This is a pivotal win for Raytheon that will usher in a
new generation of X-Band solid state technology for the surface
navy," said William H. Swanson, chairman and chief executive
officer of Raytheon Systems Company. ML
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