USA Armed Forces

[arfah]

In other news, United Statesicans have a new Commander In Chief.

[abc123]

From AerospaceDaily:

"The U.S. Air Force chief of staff endorses the idea of buying 300 low-cost, light-attack fighters for counterterrorism missions as a “great [idea?]"

If anyone can read that behind the paywall, how come they would be low cost compared to 300 of the A-10s already paid for?
- throw in a 100 for a maintenance reserve (considering their age) for good measure

Nope, way better to send 2 B-2s from Whiteman AFB, Missouri to bomb to bunch of ISIS terrorists in Libya and have 15 aerial refuelings... Just imagine all that tax-payers money burnt that way...

http://www.defencetalk.com/us-stealth-b ... bya-68859/

[ArmChairCivvy]

Carter made the announcement so lets quote from the man a bit more:

" into the [Mosul] offensive, they still control barely half of it .

“This is a complex mission [ with the assault on Raqqa having started on 5 November, in a more incremental fashion] that will take time to accomplish but I’m confident that ISIL’s days in Mosul are numbered,” Carter said, using an alternate acronym for the jihadist group.

He warned it was unclear what form IS would take after its eventual defeat in Iraq and Syria.

“We must be ready for anything,” he said."

The other Carter used Tomahawks against training camps in Afghanistan, long ago. Not ideal against spread-out targets, whereas
" B-2s are high-volume death dealers. The payload bays can carry 80 500-pound bombs or 16 2000-pound smart munitions or cruise missiles. One pass from a B-2 carrying a full load could cripple a facility the size of Whiteman AFB"

[xav]

Recap: Contenders for the LCS Frigate over the horizon (OTH) weapon RFP


Video: Kongsberg Ready to Operationalize Distributed Lethality with NSM for LCS, DDG & LPD

At the Surface Navy Association's (SNA) National Symposium recently held near Washington DC, Norwegian company Kongsberg was showcasing the Freedom and Independence variant Littoral Combat Ships (LCS), an Arleigh Burke class Destroyer (DDG 51) and a San Antonio class Landing Platform Dock (LPD 17) each fitted with eight Naval Strike Missiles (NSM).

http://www.navyrecognition.com/index.ph ... g-lpd.html

Video: Lockheed Martin Building LRASM Top Side Launcher Prototype for LCS OTH Requirement

At the Surface Navy Association's (SNA) National Symposium recently held near Washington DC, Lockheed Martin was showcasing its Long Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM) in three configurations: Air launched (as part of OASUW Increment 1 for B-1B and F/A-18), VLS launched (from Mk41) as well as top side launchers fitted on a LCS Frigate based on the Freedom-class LCS.

http://www.navyrecognition.com/index.ph ... ement.html

Video: Boeing Harpoon ER Could "Dominate the Battlespace" Thanks to its Net-Enabled Capability

At the Surface Navy Association's (SNA) National Symposium recently held near Washington DC, Boeing was showcasing its Harpoon ER. This latest variant of the iconic AGM-84 anti-ship missile comes with a more lethal (and lighter) warhead, more fuel and improved turbojet engine to double the missile range.

http://www.navyrecognition.com/index.ph ... ility.html

Regarding Harpoon ER:
The RGM-84N Harpoon ER (for extended range) comes with a more lethal (and lighter) warhead, more fuel and improved turbojet engine to double the missile range (from 67nm to 167.5 nm approx. compared to the Block 1C variant) while retaining the same firepower. The missile also comes with a datalink allowing for in-flight retargeting. A datalink antenna is fitted close to the nose cone of the missile (the only visual difference between a Harpoon Block 1C and the ER variant).

Other than that, I guess its main strength is that it is "a lot more affordable" compared to the other two solutions...

[ArmChairCivvy]

Thx xav, right behind the LRASMs there is a new turret type (on both sides); is that now the outcome from the trials where the 57mm was deemed less effective (on criteria not fully released) than a lesser caliber gun?

[GastonGlocker]

In other news, United Statesicans have a new Commander In Chief.

Indeed! And new SecDef with only one vote against. I expect much needed changes from Mattis will be implemented soon.

[marktigger]

and he wants a missile defence system to protect ConUS from N Korea and Iran.......wonder will that mysteriously evolve to protect for all missile threats.

[abc123]

Is Harpoon capable ( like some other missiles ) to be used in land-attack role? With 160 nm of range I think that such capability would be a nice thing to have on LCS... Yes, I know that they allready have shitload of Tomahawks.

[abc123]

The other Carter used Tomahawks against training camps in Afghanistan, long ago. Not ideal against spread-out targets, whereas
" B-2s are high-volume death dealers. The payload bays can carry 80 500-pound bombs or 16 2000-pound smart munitions or cruise missiles. One pass from a B-2 carrying a full load could cripple a facility the size of Whiteman AFB"

I was thinking more on Reapers or F-15E from Lakenheath. They would need tankers too, but maybe not 15 of them.

[xav]

Thx xav, right behind the LRASMs there is a new turret type (on both sides); is that now the outcome from the trials where the 57mm was deemed less effective (on criteria not fully released) than a lesser caliber gun?

Those are the Mk44 30mm, they've alsways been there (as part of gun mission module) on LCS of both types:
http://www.navyrecognition.com/index.ph ... lcs-4.html

[xav]

Is Harpoon capable ( like some other missiles ) to be used in land-attack role? With 160 nm of range I think that such capability would be a nice thing to have on LCS... Yes, I know that they allready have shitload of Tomahawks.

I think this is limited to the air launched AGM-84H/K SLAM-ER.
Maybe Harpoon ER will be able to reach "coastal target" in a similar fashion to MM40 Block III... but this is limited to literally "coastal" target as in "On the beach"... they can't reach in land targets because of the lack of terrain following capability (without which it will crash in the first dune, cliff or hill)

[xav]

SNA 2017: Huntington Ingalls Industries Unveils Scale Model of DDG 51 Flight III Design

At the Surface Navy Association's (SNA) National Symposium recently held near Washington DC, American naval shipbuilding company Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) unveiled for the first time a scale model representative of the latest design of the next generation US Navy guided-missile destroyer: The DDG 51 Flight III.

The DDG 51 Flight III will be the most advanced Arleigh Burke-class Destroyer in the US Navy fleet. According to HII, the Flight III design will provide the distributed lethality multi-mission capability of conducting anti-air warfare (AAW), anti-submarine warfare (ASW) and anti-surface warfare (ASuW). The new Flight III incorporates the SPY-6 Air and Missile Defense Radar (AMDR) giving it a true Integrated Air and Missile Defense (IAMD) capability.

more at link http://www.navyrecognition.com/index.ph ... esign.html

[abc123]

So no CIWS on Flight III?

[ArmChairCivvy]

So no CIWS on Flight III?

Moving further back from those two turrets, what do you see there?

[abc123]

So no CIWS on Flight III?

Moving further back from those two turrets, what do you see there?

I still don't see them?

I see 2 RWS, but no Phanalx or SeaRAM.

[dmereifield]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/01 ... ald-trump/

May to stress the importance of Nato. What better way to demonstrate our commitment than a hefty increase in our defence budget....

[ArmChairCivvy]

Yes, sorry, I was on a "different Flight"
- the four in Rota (not from Fl.III that have not been built yet) got additional close-in defences ordered two years ago

[abc123]

Why do you think they didn't put them on Flight III?

They don't think they are necesarry or lack of money? ( 30-40 mil. USD on a ship worth 2-3 billions, it doesen't sound very convincing to me )

[dmereifield]

Why don't the earlier Flights have hangars?

[Lord Jim]

Wasn't in the original design, just a pad. Realised the mistake but couldn't be incorporated until Flight IIA. These were not fitted with Phalanx CIWS as they marked for ESSM installation though it was later decided to fit a single Phalanx to each vessel. AS has been stated the ships that are part of the 6th fleet are having these replaced by SEA RAM. In fact they USN is developing fleets within fleets with these ships as they are having different specialist kit fitted depending on where they operate, or so it seems.

[ArmChairCivvy]

these ships [as they] are having different specialist kit fitted depending on where they operate

With the reach of shore based weapons (not talking about Bastions and the like) and numbers of speed boats that could be used, close to shore, most of the Med is now Green , not Blue, Water.
- so is the Baltic, too, btw

[FuNsTeR]

these ships [as they] are having different specialist kit fitted depending on where they operate

With the reach of shore based weapons (not talking about Bastions and the like) and numbers of speed boats that could be used, close to shore, most of the Med is now Green , not Blue, Water.
- so is the Baltic, too, btw

as a sea the Baltic is pretty shallow

[ArmChairCivvy]

as a sea the Baltic is pretty shallow

and never really has the expanse to be outside the ranges of shore-based missiles. So not Blue, not Brown, but mainly Green
- shallow waters esp. start to have an impact on the usability of subs North of the Stockholm to St. Petersburg line.

[FuNsTeR]

as a sea the Baltic is pretty shallow

and never really has the expanse to be outside the ranges of shore-based missiles. So not Blue, not Brown, but mainly Green
- shallow waters esp. start to have an impact on the usability of subs North of the Stockholm to St. Petersburg line.

an average depth of 55 metres and the deepest part is about 460 metres, but it would probably be ideal for the US's littoral class ships to operate in

[xav]

Regarding Flight III, When asked, I was told there is "space provision" for things like SSM launchers (top side) and SeaRAM, but it is unclear yet if the Navy will end up fitting such systems on the Flight IIIs. When I asked what's the main strength or feature of Flight III, everyone (Navy program manager and shipyards) keep saying: The SPY-6...

Video: Raytheon Believes Excalibur is the Best Candidate for DDG 1000 / Advanced Gun System

There has been some recent reports about the US Navy canceling the LRLAP (Long Range Land Attack Projectile) due to excessive cost overruns (a direct consequence of the number of Zumwalt-class ships reduced from 32 to just 3). Raytheon's Excalibur may be a replacement solution but the AGS and/or weapon itself will require some modifications and adaptations.

"The Excalibur family of projectiles has now been fired in combat almost 1100 times" said Paul Daniels, Excalibur Business Development Senior Manager at Raytheon, to Navy Recognition.

"We have integrated Excalibur 1B into many different howitzer guns, we also have experience integrating and test Excalibur with a 5 inch gun [...] The key questions on integration include:
- how do you initialize the projectile, provide it with mission data that it needs
- how is it stored in containers on the ship
- how is it handled, removed from the containers, paired with a propelling charge and rammed into the gun.
[...] We do have some concepts for integration, not an easy task but a verry feasible task from an engineering perspective. We think it is the best candidate for integration because of its maturity" added Daniels.

http://www.navyrecognition.com/index.ph ... ystem.html