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 technology transfer from the International Space Station….

• Replacing the Rubis: The Barracuda Class SSN
• The Barracuda SSN Program
• Contracts & Key Events [updated]
• Additional Readings & Sources
  
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Basic Nuclear Propulsion
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Several navies around the world currently use nuclear propulsion in at least some ships and submarines: The USA has had an all-nuclear submarine fleet for over 50 years, a policy that dates back to Adm. Hyman Rickover. As our readers were quick to point out, Britain’s sale of its SSK Upholder Class to Canada (as the problem-plagued Victoria Class) made them an all-nuclear fleet as well. China, France and Russia also use naval nuclear propulsion, and India is currently working to join this club via its SSN program. On the surface, France’s trouble-plagued FNS Charles de Gaulle joins America’s USS Enterprise and its Nimitz Class carriers.

The saga of the Charles de Gaulle serves as a reminder that adapting nuclear propulsion technology to the small spaces of a submarine, or fitting them to a surface warship, is no trivial feat. Much can go wrong, even in nations that have used nuclear naval propulsion for some time. On the flip side, advances in design can offer significant benefits. The new nuclear plants in America’s Virginia Class and Seawolf Class, and Britain’s new Astute Class, fast attack submarines, and the USA’s forthcoming CVN-78 Gerald R. Ford Class aircraft carriers, sport new reactor designs that will save billions over the life of each ship by eliminating the standard mid-life reactor refueling.

This FOCUS article covers related American contracts since the beginning of FY 2006, and will be updated and backdated as circumstances allow. Note that all contracts noted here are awarded by The US Naval Sea Systems Command in Washington, DC, and that completion date or other additional information are provided for Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program contracts as a matter of official policy. Other contracts related to maintenance, however, may show completion dates.

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DDG-1000 Destroyer

Alion Science and Technology in Chicago, IL received a $9.8 million cost-plus-fixed fee contract for research and development activities associated with the development of Integrated Power Systems Advanced Modules and Conceptual Engineering/Ship Implementation. The Contractor will develop shipboard electrical system architectures and characterize Next Generation Integrated Power System components. Work will be performed in Annapolis, MD and is expected to be completed by January 2013. Contract funds in the amount of $162,000 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via Broad Agency Announcement; 68 white papers were received, 19 proposals were requested, and 18 awards have been made. The Naval Sea Systems Command in Washington, DC is the contracting activity (N00024-08-C-4201).

That’s a lot of activity. Why so much? Part of the reason is the strong trend, in the US Navy and in the rest of the world, toward all-electric ships that replace all steam powered, hydraulically powered, or pneumatically/mechanically powered components with electrically-driven components. These components, and the propulsion drive, would be powered as a single pool by a single set of generators linked to the ship’s turbines. The result would be a ship that is quieter, easier to maintain (with additional help from the F-35 program’s ‘intelligent wiring’ advances), has more internal space available, and uses less fuel. The cruise ship industry has led the transition toward all electric ships, the new T-AKE cargo ships employ a modified version of those advances, and the DDG-1000 Zumwalt Class destroyers/ light cruisers would be the first American ship with all-electric drive and fully integrated power management. Meanwhile, research into tougher electronics that can take advantage of this power continues, as does more overtly offensive research around electro-magnetic weapons like rail guns. See the NDIA’s “All-Electric Ship Could Begin to Take Shape By 2012” for additional background.

USA’s Nimitz Class &
UK’s Invincible Class
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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 a new integrated warfare system 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. See this graphic for more details.

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. After a recent $500+ million contract for the Gerald R. Ford, and an important milestone for its critical EMALs technology, comes a much smaller contract to refine the design of the second-in-class CVN 79…

• CVN-21: Improvements and Innovations
• Transitional Carrier: CV 77, USS George H.W. Bush
• CVN-21 Class: Contract Awards & Key Events [updated]
• CVN-21: Other Related Contracts and Events
• CVN-21 Class: Additional Readings and Sources
  
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SSN Akula Class
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According to GlobalSecurity.org, India’s ATV (advanced technology vessel) program to build a nuclear-powered submarine began in 1974, and became a serious effort in 1985. The Federation of American Scientists’ December 1996 document “The Indian Strategic Nuclear Submarine Project: An Open Literature Analysis” remains one of the best single open sources on India’s program. Unfortunately, it was compiled over a decade ago and has become rather dated.

Meanwhile, even if one leaves out the problem-plagued Type 091 Han Class nuclear-powered attack submarines (SSN) and old, updated-Romeo Type 035 Ming Class SSKs entirely, China’s attack sub force is still projected at about 30 subs by 2010, including 4 Type 093 Shang Class SSN nuclear powered attack subs and 8 Kilo (Project 636) & Advanced Kilo Class (Project 877) diesel-electric SSKs…

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Basic Nuclear Propulsion
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In October 2006, the US Navy awarded over $1 billion in contracts related to naval nuclear propulsion, some of which echo a set of contracts issued in October 2005 that were worth about $898.5 million. DID has provided related comparative figures for our readers where applicable, and we have continued to track nuclear propulsion-related contracts throughout FY 2007. Including awards over the last week worth over $1 billion.

Note that all contracts are awarded by The US Naval Sea Systems Command in Washington, DC, and that completion date or other additional information will not be provided on Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program contracts. Other contracts related to maintenance, however, may show completion dates.

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MU90 Eurotorp
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In December 2005, “Beyond Armaris: Thales “Buys” Minority Stake in DCN” covered the government-prodded merger of Thales naval business with state-owned DCN, to create DCNS. That agreement excluded some naval items like electronics, but it did include Thales’ 24% share in Eurotorp, the European lightweight torpedo consortium that was officially founded in 1993 as a joint venture between DCN International (26%), Thomson-CSF (now Thales, 24%) and Whitehead (now Finmeccanica, 50%).

The DCNS transaction was not concluded until March 2007, and now the Eurotorp consortium has taken the next step by creating a more wide-ranging set of joint ventures in underwater weapons systems. The longer-term goal remains European integration, and the 3 CEOs have said they would consider opening the alliance to other European players at some point….

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Block III bow mods
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General Dynamics Electric Boat Corp. in Groton, CT received a not-to-exceed $270 million modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-03-C-2101) for long lead time material associated with steam and electric plant, main propulsion unit, ship service turbine generator set components critical to maintaining the submarine component industrial base; and miscellaneous hull, mechanical and electrical system components in support of SSN 784, commencing in FY 2009. Note that SSN 784 will be the first Virginia Class Block III fast attack submarine with the new bow design.

The US Congress recently passed spending legislation that takes a step in the direction of speeding up Virginia Class submarine production from 1 boat per year to 2, by appropriating $588 millionto purchase an additional nuclear reactor and associated equipment as a long-lead item. As a gauge of production progress to date, the initial keel-laying for SSN 778 New Hampshire took place on April 30/07.

Work will be performed in Groton, CT /Quonset Point, RI (collectively, 5%); Newport News, VA (5%); Sunnyvale, Long Beach, & South El Monte, CA (collectively, 40%); Coatesville, York, & Cheswick, PA (collectively, 10%); Temple & Tucson, AZ (collectively, 5%), and various sites throughout the United States (35%), and is expected to be completed by July 2011. The Naval Sea Systems Command in Washington Navy Yard, DC issued the contract. See also GDEB release.

CVN-71, Indian Ocean
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The USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) was built by Northrop Grumman’s Newport News sector. Commissioned on October 25, 1986, CVN 71 is expected to remain in service until 2036. As it approaches its mid-life stage, however, the wear begins to show. Instead of putting a ramp on its flight deck, buying it a nice red car, and pairing it with much younger ships, the US government has begun preparing instead for the refueling and complex overhaul (RCOH) of the USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) and its reactor plants.

the USS Theodore Roosevelt is scheduled to arrive at the Newport News shipyard in 2009 to begin its RCOH, and Northrop Grumman has valued the planning phase alone at $558 million. So what exactly is a RCOH, and how expensive is it likely to get before all is said and done?

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M1 tank’s turbine
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Small business qualifier Rotordynamics-Seal Research in Loomis, CA received a $15 million indefinite-delivery/ indefinite-quantity Phase III Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) contract for Topic N03-027, entitled “Useful Life Remaining Models for Turbine Engine Hot Section Components.” Work will be performed in Loomis, CA, and is expected to be complete in May 2009. This contract was competitively procured via a request for proposals; 14 proposals were received by the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division in Lakehurst, NJ (N68335-07-D-0023)

Turbines are packaged and used in a number of ways on aircraft, ships, land vehicles, and even power generation plants; but they’re essentially jet engines. The “hot section” is often the first to wear out, which exerts a strong influence on a turbine engine’s total life span because replacing it may not be economically sensible. RSR informed DID that this SBIR project has evolved to a multidisciplinary software/analysis model, however, using RAPPID™ software for predicting transient vibration in the entire turbine engine. These transient vibrations can lead to cracks, and cracks can cause big problems. The thing is, trying to create a 3-D model of this type for the whole engine goes beyond reasonable computing capacity limits at present. The key, therefore, is a model that can use varying fidelity simulation to target intensive computing resources only on the parts likely to matter.

It certainly is an innovative approach, and one that’s relevant to a variety of industries and turbine applications. A Phase III SBIR award generally means that their approach is considered to be almost ready for commercialization, and some spinouts from Phases I & II have already been commercialized. This grant aims to get the entire system to that stage. For our many readers outside the USA, however, RSR’s Joe Pelletti cautions that the entire system’s ITAR status as a commercial vs. military-designated item remains something of an open question once all modules are combined together. Countries like Canada, Australia, and Britain who have preferential ITAR access may have an easier time, but export lawyer Mike Deal writes us to note that treaties like the Wassenaar Arrangement (ECCN 9A001 and/or 9A003, and possibly others) may also apply.