Somewhere, over
the rainbow…
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Nuclear reactors save a lot of diesel fuel, but until the new CVN-21 carriers arrive, there’s a catch. Mid-way through the ships’ 50-year life, the nuclear reactor needs to be refueled – a long, complex, and expensive process. Anyone who has ever done home renovations knows that the opportunity to make upgrades can be nearly irresistible in these situations, and in truth, this stage in the carrier’s life is a very good time for that kind of work.

The USS Abraham Lincoln [CVN 72] was built by Northrop Grumman’s Newport News sector. Commissioned on Nov 11/89 and homeported in Everett, WA, CVN 72 is expected to remain in service until 2039. As it approaches its mid-life stage, however, its mid-life upgrade and reactor refueling approaches. Its counterparts USS Carl Vinson [CVN 70] has jus completed its RCOH, and USS Theodore Roosevelt’s [CVN 71] is underway. CVN 72 is just getting ready to deploy, but in a few years she will become the 6th American carrier to undergo this procedure…

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USA’s Nimitz Class &
UK’s Invincible Class
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Contract to improve fiber optics manufacturing will have applications beyond CVN 78. (March 12/10)

Some nations have aircraft carriers. The USA has super-carriers. The French Charles De Gaulle Class nuclear carriers displace about 43,000t. India’s new Vikramaditya/ Admiral Gorshkov Class will have a similar displacement. The future British CVF Queen Elizabeth Class and related French PA2 Project are expected to displace about 65,000t (British) – 74,000t (French), while the British Invincible Class carriers that participated in the Falklands War weigh in at around 22,000t. Invincible actually compares well to Italy’s new Cavour Class (27,000t), and Spain’s Principe de Asturias Class (17,000t). The USA’s Nimitz Class and CVN-21 Gerald R. Ford Class, in contrast, fall in the 90,000t-105,000t range. Hence the unofficial designation “super-carriers”. Just one of these ships packs a more potent air force than many nations.

Nimitz Class cutaway
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As the successor to the 102,000 ton Nimitz Class super-carriers, the CVN-21 program aims to increase aircraft sortie generation rates by 20%, increase survivability to better handle future threats, require fewer sailors, and have depot maintenance requirements that could support an increase of up to 25% in operational availability. The combination of a new design nuclear propulsion plant and an improved electric plant are expected to provide 2-3 times the electrical generation capacity of previous carriers, which in turn enables systems like an Electromagnetic Aircraft Launching System (EMALS, replacing steam-driven catapults), Advanced Arresting Gear, and integrated combat electronics that will leverage advances in open systems architecture. Other CVN-21 features include an enhanced flight deck, improved weapons handling and aircraft servicing efficiency, and a flexible island arrangement allowing for future technology insertion. This graphic points out many of the key improvements.

DID’s CVN-21 FOCUS Article offers a detailed look at a number of the program’s key innovations, as well as a list of relevant contract awards and events.

• CVN-21: Improvements and Innovations
• Transitional Carrier: CV 77, USS George H.W. Bush
• CVN-21 Class: Contract Awards & Key Events
• CVN-21: Other Related Contracts and Events [updated]
• CVN-21 Class: Additional Readings and Sources
  
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‘Tugs of the Future’
at Portsmouth Naval Base
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By the end of 2010, the UK expects to receive faster, more maneuverable, and more powerful tugs to guide destroyers and aircraft carriers in and out of British ports, under the GBP 1 billion Future Provision Marine Services contract awarded by the UK Ministry of Defence to Serco Denholm in 2007.

Called “tugs of the future,” the new fleet of 29 marine service vessels will guide the Royal Navy’s Type 45 destroyers and eventually Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers out of Portsmouth Naval Base and other naval bases around the country.

The new Azimuth drive tugs will be able to move more quickly and pull heavier weights than the current fleet of twin-unit tractor tugs (TUTTs).

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Basic Nuclear Propulsion
(click to expand)

Added billions of dollars worth of contracts and events for Babcock & Wilcox. (Jan 31/10)

This DII Spotlight article covers American nuclear propulsion industrial base contracts since the beginning of FY 2006. The USA has had an all-nuclear submarine fleet for over 50 years, a policy that dates back to the visionary Admiral Hyman Rickover. On the surface, America’s aircraft carriers became an all-nuclear fleet with the retirement of the USS Kitty Hawk [CV 63], and FY 2008-09 spending legislation pushed the US Navy to use nuclear power in its future CG (X) cruisers and new amphibious ship classes. At present, however, carriers are the only nuclear-powered American surface ships on the drawing board.

• Nuclear Naval Propulsion Around the World
• American Contracts (FY 2006 – Present)
  
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T-AOE-6 & CG-72
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When US Navy carrier battle groups are rapidly deployed to hot spots, they need supply ships fast enough to keep up with them. That is the purpose of the US Military Sealift Command’s T-AOE-6-class fast combat support ship.

The T-AOE-6-class, which is the MSC’s largest combat logistics ship, can carry more than 177,000 barrels of oil; 2,150 tons of ammunition; 500 tons of dry stores; and 250 tons of refrigerated stores. There are currently 4 in service.

L-3 Systems in Camden, NJ recently won a contract worth up to $44.7 million to design and produce the ships’ machinery control systems…

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Sohn Won-Yil & Nimitz
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The German Type 214 was selected by Korea over the French/Spanish Scorpene Class that has been ordered by Chile, India, and Malaysia. Some would argue that U-214s are the most advanced diesel-electric submarines on the market, with an increased diving depth of over 400 meters, an optimized hull and propeller design, ultra-modern internal systems, and an Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) system that lets the diesel submarine stay submerged for long periods without needing to surface and snorkel air.

South Korea ordered its first 3 KSS-II/ Type 214 boats in 2000, which were assembled by Hyundai Heavy Industries. The Batch 2 order will add 6 more of the 65m, 1,700t boats, effectively doubling the ROKN’s number of modern submarines. The latest development is a $16 million order for Saab electronic systems for the 2nd batch of 214 submarines…

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Scorpene cutaway
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In 2005, India confirmed that it would buy 6 Franco-Spanish Scorpene diesel submarines, with an option for 6 more and extensive technology transfer agreements. This is one of the biggest military deals India has entered into with France, and is intended to both modernize India’s submarine fleet and re-start India’s own industrial capabilities.

India’s submarine fleet currently consists of 16 submarines, about 13 of which are operational. Its Foxtrot Class boats can no longer be counted on, and its U209 derivatives from HDW are unlikely to last beyond 2015. With Pakistan acquiring modern submarines, and Chinese submarine building exploding, serious thought to India’s future submarine fleet became an obvious priority.

The Scorpene deal simmered on the back-burner for several years. DID reported that a deal was “close” as far back as 2004, but nothing was finalized until late 2005. The cost had been subject to varying estimates over the life of those multi-year negotiations, as well as project overruns; the final figure for the first 6 boats is now generally accepted as being about $4 billion. This DID FOCUS article covers the deal and its structure, adds key contracts and new developments, and offers insights into th larger naval picture beyond India. The latest additions include a critical auditor’s report, and confirmation that the program is running about 2 years behind…

• The Deal: Plans & Costs [updated]
• The Deal: Contractors & Roles [updated]
• The Scorpene Class
• Scorpene Project: Contracts & Key Events [updated]
• Appendix A: India’s Current Submarine Force, and Rival Navies
• Appendix B: A Final, Nuclear Note
• Appendix C: Additional Readings & Sources
  
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Invasion of Inchon
during the Korean War
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Pushed to the edge of the Korean peninsula by a massive and sustained invasion by the North Korean army, South Korean, US, and UN troops dug in at a perimeter around the city of Pusan. It was the the summer of 1950 and things looked desperate for the allied forces.

Then, US General Douglas MacArthur launched a bold counteroffensive – an amphibious landing at the port of Inchon near the 38th parallel. The landing was successful; MacArthur retook South Korea’s capital city of Seoul. The South Korean and allied forces broke through at Pusan and the North Korean army beat a hasty retreat. The tide of the Korean war had turned.

Playing an important role in the Inchon invasion was the US Navy’s Assault Craft Unit One, formed in 1947 to operate, maintain, and provide assault craft for US amphibious landings in the Pacific theater. The ACU-1 continues to operate today from Naval Base Coronado in southern California. To fulfill its role as the only assault craft unit in the Pacific Fleet, ACU-1 needs to maintain its craft in top condition. To do this, the Navy recently awarded $30.5 million in contracts to maintain the engines on the ACU-1’s small boats and craft…

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USS Hartford [SSN-768] returns
to New London for repairs
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General Dynamics Electric Boat Corp. (GDEB) in Groton, CT received a $25 million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract (N00024-10-C-4302) to staff and operate the Nuclear Regional Maintenance Department (NRMD) at the Naval Submarine Base New London, according to Robert Hamilton at GDEB. The company will perform project management, engineering and planning, training, inspection, and radiological control services for nuclear submarine maintenance, modernization and repairs.

The contract has a potential value of $78 million over 3 years if all options are exercised. The US Department of Defense incorrectly announced Oct 26/09 that the GDEB contract was for non-nuclear maintenance and repair support at the base’s Naval Submarine Support Facility.

GDEB had been operating the NRMD under a previously awarded contract. The company’s current NRMD staff is around 25 employees, but that number has been as high as 100, according to Hamilton. The NRMD consists of five groups…

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SSN Barracuda cutaway
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In December 2006, France’s Defence Ministry awarded a contract for nuclear-propelled fast attack submarines to state-owned warship builder DCN and nuclear energy group Areva-TA. The contract’s total value could be as high as EUR 7.9 billion, and it is set up as an initial EUR 1.0-1.4 billion contract (reports vary), followed by 6 options (tranches conditionnelles) to cover development, production and through-life support during their first years of operational service.

The companies will supply 6 SSN Barracuda submarines between 2016-2027. The latest development is a sub-contract for pumping systems…

• Replacing the Rubis: The Barracuda Class SSN
• The Barracuda SSN Program
• Contracts & Key Events [updated]
• Additional Readings & Sources
  
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