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 an order for the 2nd boat…

• Replacing the Rubis: The Barracuda Class SSN
• The Barracuda SSN Program
• Contracts & Key Events [updated]
• Additional Readings & Sources
  
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Naval Submarine Base
New London
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American Bridge Co. in Richmond, VA won a $35.2 million firm-fixed-price contract for the construction of Pier 31 at U.S. Naval Submarine Base New London. American Bridge will demolish the existing pier and build a new facility, which will include a pile-supported pier with concrete deck, electrical shore power, pier lighting, communications, cable, telephone, lightning protection, water, sewer, compressed air, pure water and oily waste/waste oil piping connections off-pier, bitts, jib cranes, retractable craneless brows, rubber-faced steel fendering system and specialized equipment.

DID has more on the New London submarine base…

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FAC Kfir C7
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Colombia’s narco-terrorist FARC army has reportedly lost some of its military shine recently, thanks to years of unswerving pressure from the Colombian army. Much of that pressure has been led by the popular President Uribe, who has apparently ruled out a bid for constitutional amendments and an attempt at a 3rd term of office, but allowed a related referendum proposal to go forward. Delays to that proposal now appear to be solidifying Uribe’s term limit exit. Before that 2010 exit, however, a special tax levied in 2006 is set to finance about $4 billion worth of military hardware, and add stronger backing to those military gains.

Colombia’s El Tiempo newspaper reports that the deals are meant to solidify and modernize the military, and will include a wide variety of equipment from American, French, German, Israeli, and Russian suppliers. Additional research has added more details, and key deliveries have now begun.

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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. Britain’s sale of its SSK Upholder Class to Canada (as the problem-plagued Victoria Class) has made them an all-nuclear submarine fleet as well. China, France and Russia all use naval nuclear propulsion within mixed submarine fleets, India is currently working to join this club via its SSN program, and Brazil is about to launch a program of its own. On the surface, France’s problem-plagued aircraft carrier FNS Charles de Gaulle joins Russia’s Kirov Class cruisers. Across the ocean, 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 has been is pushing the US Navy to use nuclear power in its future CG (X) cruisers and new amphibious ship classes.

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 fast attack subs, Britain’s new Astute Class fast attack submarines, and the USA’s forthcoming CVN-78 Gerald R. Ford Class aircraft carriers, offer designs that will save billions over the life of each ship by eliminating the standard mid-life reactor refueling.

This Spotlight article currently covers related American nuclear propulsion industrial base contracts since the beginning of FY 2006. The latest item is a small components contract…

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SSN 777 construction
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On May 14/09, a welding inspector at Northrop Grumman’s Newport News, VA shipyard did the right thing, and complained that a fellow inspector was signing off on ship welds without actually inspecting them. The inspector’s admission of wrongdoing created an extremely serious situation. He had supervised over 10,000 welds, on 8 Virginia class nuclear fast attack submarines (SSN 777-783, and SSN 785) and on the new nuclear aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush [CVN 77]. About 10% of the submarine welds were SUBSAFE joints involving critical parts or hull integrity.

Northrop Grumman Newport News and General Dynamics Electric Boat use a Shipyard Weld Status System (SWSS) to keep track of every shipbuilding weld – a total that can run to 300,000 for a Virginia Class submarine. Newport News has used that system to identify welds supervised by that inspector, which may force re-inspection. Northrop Grumman immediately informed the Navy of the situation, and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) reportedly began its own investigation on May 20/09.

Defense News offers more background in its informative article “Northrop Grumman Inspector’s Lies Raise Alarms.” While that is an accurate title, it could just as easily, and accurately, be titled “Northrop Grumman Inspector Tells Truth, Raises Alarms.”

Virginia Class Cutaway
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Trident Systems Inc. in Fairfax, VA received a $10.2 million modification to a previously awarded contract for Phase III engineering services in support of mobile computing on-board SSN-774 Virginia class submarines and other submarine/ surface ship systems, surveillance and air platforms.

The contract modification is for engineering services in support of the Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Topic: Mobile Computing for Submarine Application. The Phase III SBIR effort addresses systems and subsystems ranging from simple single processors to highly complex multi-processor network architecture. Work will include software development, procurement of COTS products and hardware/ software integration. Trident will perform work in Uniontown, PA (70%); Fairfax, VA (20%); and Raleigh, NC (10%) and expects to complete the work by May 2010. The Naval Sea Systems Command in Washington, DC manages the contract (N00024-06-C-6265).

The Virginia class of attack submarines are designed for a broad spectrum of open-ocean and littoral missions. They are designed as a less expensive alternative to the Seawolf-class attack submarines, and are slated to replace the aging Los Angeles class submarines, of which 17/62 have already been decommissioned.

USS Hartford returns
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General Dynamics’ Electric Boat Corp. in Groton, CN received a $15.8 million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for advance planning and off-hull fabrication of the replacement hull patch and bridge access trunk, advance planning, and material procurement for the port retractable bow plane, and advance planning for the sail to restore the USS Hartford (SSN 768), an improved Los Angeles-class sub, to full service condition.

The repair work is being performed as a result of a collision between the USS Hartford and the amphibious ship the USS New Orleans (LPD-18) on March 20/09 in the Strait of Hormuz, slightly injuring 15 sailors on board. Both vessels were able to proceed under their own power after the incident, although the New Orleans suffered a ruptured fuel tank, releasing 25,000 gallons of diesel fuel into the strait. “LPD-17 San Antonio Class: The USA’s New Amphibious Ships” (subscription) discusses LPD 18.

Electric Boat will perform the work in Quonset Point, RI (70%) and Groton, CN (30%) and expects to complete the repairs by October 2009. Contract funds in the amount of $15.8 million will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command at the Washington Navy Yard, DC, manages the contract (N00024-08-G-6321).

On March 31/09, The Australian ran a investigative feature titled “Our defenceless force,” and the related “Military not ready for war as fighter jets, choppers and submarines unfit for frontline.” The articles were more measured than their titles might suggest, but they listed a litany of reasons why:

“Across the entire ADF, an alarming amount of expensive military equipment is not in a suitable upgraded condition to be sent to war…. the legacy of project mismanagement and a Defence Department mindset that focuses more heavily on the defence force of tomorrow than on the force of today.”

One critical element of both today’s and tomorrow’s force is Australia’s submarine fleet. The 2009 White Paper aims to increase Australia’s fleet to 12 submarines, but current reports put the number of operational boats at…. 1.

• The Australian’s Report, and DID’s Coverage
• A Special Case: Australia’s Collins Class Submarines [NEW]
• Additional Readings [NEW]
  
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U-214 SSK
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Dubai’s Khaleej Times relays a Der Spiegel report that Germany has approved a sale to Pakistan of 3 top-of-the-line Type 214 diesel-electric submarines with Air-Independent Propulsion. An export financing credit of EUR 1 billion euros ($1.36 billion equivalent) has reportedly been offered.

The catch? No contract. Contract negotiations were dragging out, and any contract is ultimately dependent on approval from Germany’s national security council, an inner cabinet of ministers with security portfolios. Pakistan’s insurgency has become a civil war, and recent Taliban advances are causing international observers to worry about the Pakistani government’s potential for collapse, or for a Taliban-backed coup led by the likes of Hamid Gul. In Germany, those developments reportedly led Germany’s national security council to take time away from serious matters like government efforts to ban paintball, and adjourn further deliberation on the Pakistani submarine sale until after September 2009.

If Pakistan buys the U-214s, they would join 3 new French Agosta 90B class diesel-electric boats equipped with MESMA AIP systems, and 2 Agosta 70 submarines commissioned in 1979-1980. The U-214s sit alongside the U-212As as the most modern submarines in the U-209 family, the world’s most popular line of diesel-electric submarines. Their Siemens AIP systems allow them to run submerged at reduced speeds for up to 2-3 weeks without surfacing for air, or at full speed for a shorter period of time.

South Korea appears to be positioning itself to award a pair of contracts for key submarine systems to local manufacturers. The move would provide early funding for critical systems carried on Korea’s future KSS-III 3,000t submarines, which are not expected to make their debut until about 2022. It’s also meant to reinforce Korea’s growing capabilities in naval combat systems, a competency that meshes naturally with its world-class shipbuilding centers.

A May 13/09 article in The Korean Times reports that the Samsung Thales Corp. (STC) joint venture is set to win a $120 million contract for submarine combat systems, as the sole bidder for the contract. Its rival LIG Nex1 reportedly dropped its bid in April 2009, but is expected to take charge of integrating the KSS-III’s sonar systems under an $80 million deal.

Samsung Thales, formerly Samsung Aerospace, has successfully developed naval combat systems for South Korea’s new Dokdo class LHDs/LPHs, and its KDX-I Opko class and KDX-II Chungmugong Yi Sun-sin class destroyers. The firm has been working on an advanced submarine combat system for the past 4 years, and has watched sales grow by 12% annually over the last 3 years. STC is reportedly preparing to offer its products on the global market, and hopes to double its annual sales to WON 1 trillion (about $723 million) by 2012. Korea Times | Defense News.