Mk 45 firing

BAE Systems has announced a Basic Ordering Agreement (BOA) from the U.S. Navy for up to $368 million to build and refurbish naval weapon systems, and provide support services over the next 5 years. Potential orders received under this BOA are expected later this year and will be carried out by BAE Systems’ facilities in Minneapolis, MN and Louisville, KY.

The BOA covers a wide range of BAE Systems’ programs including the transition of production of the Mk 110 57mm naval gun system from low-rate to full; the overhaul, manufacture and upgrade of the Mk 45 5-inch (127mm) naval gun for the CG-47 Cruiser Modernization program, the Mk 75 76mm gun mount, the Mk 42 extended range guided missile handling mechanism, the Mk 32 surface vessel torpedo tubes (SVTT), and the Mk 36/53 decoy launcher systems (DLS); the manufacture of gun barrels; the overhaul of turbine pump ejection systems (TPES); and work associated with minor caliber guns. BAE Systems release.

F100 AEGIS Frigate

On Aug 3/07, the US DSCA announced Spain’s formal request [PDF] for 2 MK 7 AEGIS Weapons Systems. The heart of the AEGIS weapon system is Lockheed Martin’s AN/SPY-1D Radar System, a 3-dimensional, air/surface search and tracking radar; there is also a software combat system component. Spain also asked for 2 MK 41 Baseline VII Vertical Launch Systems, and 2 MK 45 MOD 2 5” Gun Mounts. These sets would equip 2 of that country’s F100 Alvaro de Bazan Class AEGIS frigates, which will also serve as the basis for Australia’s Hobart Class ships.

AGS, firing

BAE Systems – Armament Systems Division in Minneapolis, MN received a $108.9 million cost-plus-award-fee modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-05-C-5117) for completion of design, development and integration of the Advanced Gun System (AGS), in support of the DDG 1000 Zumwalt Class program. Work will be performed in Minneapolis, MN (76%); Burlington, VT (19%); and Baltimore, MD (5%), and is expected to be complete by September 2009. The Naval Sea Systems Command in Washington, DC issued the contract.

The Advanced Gun System (AGS) is intended to be the 14,500 ton DDG-1000 “destroyer’s” primary naval gunfire support weapon, fitting into a stealth-enhancing turret and emerging to fire 155mm GPS-guided “Long Range Land Attack Projectile” guided shells up to 100 miles inshore.

MONARC, FGS Hamburg

The difficulty with placing 155mm howitzer-class guns on ships is the level of recoil, which can play havoc with a smaller ship’s stability. The Germans have experimented with KMW/HDW’s ‘MONARC,’ which uses a self-sufficient PzH-2000 mobile howitzer turret mounted on a 6,160 ton F124 Sachsen Class frigate. While an intricate elastic mounting system handled the recoil, adapting all of the PzH-2000’s systems for the corrosive naval environment proved more difficult than expected and MONARC appears to have been removed from plans for the new F125 Class frigates; Oto Melara’s 127mm lightweight naval gun will be used instead.

In the absence of a 155mm gun, the use of long-range, guided rounds like Oto Melara’s Vulcano can certainly extend the range of existing naval guns, and their move toward similar naval and 155mm versions of this ammunition family is also likely to be a harbinger of trends to come.

127/54 LW, firing
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Finmeccanica subsidiary OTO Melara recently announced [PDF format] a EUR 80 million (currently about $108 million) pair of orders for naval gun systems to be mounted on Germany’s F125 frigates, where they will be integrated with EADS FuWES command & fire control systems. The final contracts are expected to be signed in the third quarter of the year, subject to the approval of the F125 program by the German parliament.

The first contract worth EUR 70 million is for the supply of five 127/54 LW (Light Weight) gun systems: 4 for the ARGE F125 consortium’s F125 frigates, and one (1) for training. Note the difference between this gun and the 57mm weapon that will arm the frigate-sized US Littoral Combat Ship. See Naval Armament: The MCG Problem for an examination of the different conceptions at work here. The Germans had originally looked at mounting their MONARC 155mm howitzer on the F125s, but this order appears to mark the definitive end of those plans.

12.7mm Hitrole NT
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Germany has also selected the remote-controlled Hitrole® 12.7mm remote-control turret in the new Naval Tilting (NT) version. OTO Melara will provide a total of 25 12.7mm Hitrole NT systems under the ER 10 million contract: 5 on board each of the 4 frigates (TL = 20) and 5 on land for training purposes. The Hitrole RWS is currently serving with the Italian finance police and the UAE and Mexican navies, among others.

Mk 110 MOD 0 concept

April 2/07: BAE Systems in Minneapolis, MN announces its second contract from General Dynamics to supply a 57-mm Mk 110 naval gun system as the main gun fitted to the U.S. Navy’s Littoral Combat Ship [LCS 4]. The contract is worth $7.2 million, and includes options such as spare parts and training. The gun is scheduled to be delivered in 2008.

The gun’s Mk 295 ammunition allows the system to perform against aerial, surface or ground threats, with a firing rate of up to 220 rounds/minute. The Mk 110 is designed to have minimal deck penetration, and can be operated directly or by remote control. BAE Systems has now received 3 contracts from the LCS program contenders, for a total of 4 gun systems…

The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division in Crane, IN has issued 5 indefinite-delivery/ indefinite-quantity contracts worth a maximum of $29.9 million each for various types of gun-mounts. A full and open competition was held, with the solicitation being publicized on the World Wide Web. Eight proposals received and five contracts were awarded; the five winners can now compete amongst each other for task orders. Contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year.

The winners included:

HMS Northumberland

The Type 23 frigate HMS Northumberland began her journey back to Devonport on Aug 11/05, following a year-long, GBP 20 million (USD $36.1 million) refit at Babcock’s dockyard in Rosyth. That refit added a number of combat enhancements, and also made the frigate the first Royal Navy ship to have a revolutionary silicone paint called Intersleek 700 applied to its hull.

Now, why does this matter?

AGS fires LRLAP

BAE acquisition United Defense LP’s Armament Systems Division in Minneapolis, MN received a not to exceed ceiling $376 million cost-plus-award-fee contract for continuation of design, development and test of the 155mm Advanced Gun System (AGS), in support of the DD (X) Destroyer program. The contract includes the fully automated gun, magazine and Long Range Land Attack Projectile (LRLAP).

The AGS is a 155mm Gun Weapon System planned for installation in the DD (X) Destroyers to provide high-volume, sustainable gunfire in support of amphibious operations and joint land battles. The DD (X), in turn, is envisioned as a land attack destroyer with strong stealth features and other enhancements that enable it to get close to shore in a war zone and still survive. As DID noted in its recent coverage, the DD (X) program had its costs capped at $1.7 billion per ship (current estimates are $3 billion) in the proposed Congressional FY 2006 budget. Note that this provision has not been finalized.

Mk.45 MOD 4 Naval Gun

BAE acquisition United Defense, LP’s Armament Systems Division in Minneapolis, MN is being awarded a $44.2 million contract modification to previously awarded contract for three MK 45 MOD 4 Gun Mounts.

The new 5-inch (127mm), 62-caliber Mk45 Mod 4 gun replaces the older Mk45 Mod 2 version that has been the only naval gunfire support system in service since the retirement of the U.S. Navy’s battleships more than a decade ago. The Mk 45 Mod 4 will improve naval fire support range from 13 nautical miles to over 21 nautical miles using the Navy’s new 5-inch Cargo projectile, the Improved Conventional Munition, and an improved propelling charge for all-weather and day/night mission support. The new Mk 45 Mod 4 will also provide over-the-horizon range of more than 60 nautical miles with the near-term integration of the 5-inch Extended Range Guided Munition (ERGM) and propelling charge.