Gates readies big cuts in weapons

[darrels joy]

Gates readies big cuts in weapons

Battle looms with Congress

By Bryan Bender, Globe Staff | March 17, 2009
WASHINGTON - As the Bush administration was drawing to a close, Robert M. Gates, whose two years as defense secretary had been devoted to wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, felt compelled to warn his successor of a crisis closer to home.

The United States "cannot expect to eliminate national security risks through higher defense budgets, to do everything and buy everything," Gates said. The next defense secretary, he warned, would have to eliminate some costly hardware and invest in new tools for fighting insurgents.

What Gates didn't know was that he would be that successor.

Now, as the only Bush Cabinet member to remain under President Obama, Gates is preparing the most far-reaching changes in the Pentagon's weapons portfolio since the end of the Cold War, according to aides.

Two defense officials who were not authorized to speak publicly said Gates will announce up to a half-dozen major weapons cancellations later this month. Candidates include a new Navy destroyer, the Air Force's F-22 fighter jet, and Army ground-combat vehicles, the officials said.

More cuts are planned for later this year after a review that could lead to reductions in programs such as aircraft carriers and nuclear arms, the officials said.

As a former CIA director with strong Republican credentials, Gates is prepared to use his credibility to help Obama overcome the expected outcry from conservatives. And after a lifetime in the national security arena, working in eight administrations, the 65-year-old Gates is also ready to counter the defense companies and throngs of retired generals and other lobbyists who are gearing up to protect their pet projects.

"He has earned a great deal of credibility over the past two years, both inside and outside the Pentagon, and now he is prepared to use it to lead the department in a new direction and bring about the changes he believes are necessary to protect the nation's security," said Geoff Morrell, the Pentagon press secretary.

Gates is not the first secretary to try to change military priorities. His predecessor, Donald H. Rumsfeld, sought to retool the military but succeeded in cancelling only one major project, an Army artillery system.

Former vice president Dick Cheney's efforts as defense chief under the first President Bush, meanwhile, are cited as a case study in the resistance of the military, defense industry, and Capitol Hill. Cheney canceled the Marine Corps' troubled V-22 Osprey aircraft not once, but four times, only to see Congress reverse the decision.

"There are so many people employed in the industry and they are spread across the country," William S. Cohen, former Republican senator from Maine who was Defense secretary in the Clinton administration, said in an interview. "Even though members of Congress may say, 'It's great that you are recommending the termination of X, Y, and Z,' they will also say 'that means 4,000 jobs in my state. Frankly, I can't go along with that.' "

Major weapons cuts could be an even tougher sell now, he added. "When you start talking about an economy that is in a state of considerable turmoil it becomes even more difficult," Cohen said.

Yet even some of the Pentagon's fiercest critics, such as Winslow Wheeler of the liberal Center for Defense Information, believe the Obama administration may have a unique opportunity with Gates at the helm.

Wheeler, a former Capitol Hill defense aide, noted that Gates has shown a unique toughness, including removing the Army secretary and the civilian and military heads of the Air Force for lapses on their watch.

"That demonstrates there is a spine there," said Wheeler.

Such dramatic moves were easier for Gates because he spent much of his career as an intelligence analyst warning about the threats of Soviet Communism. Now, as a Cold War veteran in an administration perceived to be lacking in defense experience, he is perhaps the only person capable of pushing through big cutbacks.

"He obviously has huge credibility as something of a hawk," said James Shinn, who worked for Gates as assistant Defense secretary in the Bush administration. "No one can even remotely challenge Gates in terms of his well-informed and conservative approach toward threats and the weapon systems associated with threats."

In between briefing books and intelligence assessments, Gates recently read "Agincourt," a novel about the medieval battle in which the British Army routed a much larger French force with a new weapon, the longbow, that was able to penetrate French armor. A turning point in the Hundred Years War, in 1415, the battle could serve as an analogy for the changes Gates believes are necessary to pursue terrorists.

Today's security threats, Gates believes, are far different from when, during his first week on the job as a CIA analyst in 1968, the Soviet Army invaded Czechoslovakia.

"Let's be honest with ourselves," Gates told the National Defense University last September. "The most likely catastrophic threats to our homeland - for example, an American city poisoned or reduced to rubble by a terrorist attack - are more likely to emanate from failed states than from aggressor states."

Gates has said it would be "irresponsible" not to plan for the possibility that another nation could threaten US military dominance, but he pointed out that the US Navy is larger than the next 13 navies combined, 11 of which are American allies.

"US air and sea forces have ample untapped striking power should the need arise to deter or punish aggression - whether on the Korean Peninsula, in the Persian Gulf, or across the Taiwan Strait," he wrote in the latest issue of Foreign Affairs magazine.

As for fears of a resurgent Russia, Gates said, "As someone who used to prepare estimates of Soviet military strength for several presidents, I can say that Russia's conventional military, although vastly improved since its nadir in the late 1990s, remains a shadow of its Soviet predecessor."

Gates's budget plans remain closely guarded, but aides say his decisions will be guided by the time he has spent with soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.

One aide who has traveled with Gates more than a dozen times said the secretary "is particularly keen and aware of the urgent operational needs on the ground."

That likely means greater investments in intelligence-gathering systems such as pilotless drone aircraft, special-operations forces and equipment, and advanced cultural training for military personnel, aides said.

Girding for a showdown with Congress, Gates took the unusual step of making the Joint Chiefs of Staff and other participants in budget deliberations sign nondisclosure agreements to prevent leaks.

But already lawmakers and defense contractors are preparing to fight back. Lockheed, maker of the F-22 jet, recently launched an ad campaign to protect its fighter. Northrop Grumman, which could face cutbacks to its ship-building programs, has hired consultants to write op-eds. Unions are raising alarms about job losses.

Even his closest friends acknowledge Gates is in the bureacratic fight of his life.

Bender can be reached at bender@globe.com

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/wa...eapons?mode=PF

[locksly]

Guided missile destroyers are multi-mission [Anti-Air Warfare (AAW), Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW), and Anti-Surface Warfare (ASUW)] surface combatants.

http://www.navy.mil/navydata/fact_di...0&tid=900&ct=4

The Navy’s newest Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, Truxtun, will be commissioned Saturday, April 25, 2009, during an 11 a.m. EDT ceremony at Charleston, S.C.



Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead will deliver the ceremony's principal address. Carol Leigh Roelker and Susan Scott Martin, descendants of the ship’s namesake, will serve as sponsors of the ship. The ceremony will be highlighted by a time-honored Navy tradition when they give the first order to “man our ship and bring her to life!”


http://www.defenselink.mil/releases/...eleaseid=12626
_________________________



Originally Posted By: Wildcat
Speaking about hot air, it takes MONTHS or YEARS to build a navy ship and this one was just about finished when Obama took office and they are already paid for long before they are commissioned.

Of course some people will try to give Obama credit for all the new ships that President Bush started and PAID for.

Take a look at what's put on the "drawning board" since Obama took office Jan, 20, 2009, nothing.



Originally Posted By: TOW
Originally Posted By: Wildcat
...............

Take a look at what's put on the "drawing board" since Obama took office Jan, 20, 2009, nothing.


He probably has it on the drawing board to mothball this on ship..Soemthing that pwoerful is bound to make the enemy uneasy.. We woudln't want that.


YEP these ships were paid for under President Bushes first term in office and they were delayed by the devastating hurricane that hit the Gulf coast the year New Orleans was hit.
The Democrats wanted to cancel them back then cause the shipyard workers were all driven away and it took a while to get housing for them to return to the yard. President Bush stood by the American workers and let these ships be finished , which kept shipfitters working .
Locksley.


This one iss building in Bath Main
http://www.meyer.navy.mil/default.aspx

Destroyers - DDG

Description
These fast warships provide multi-mission offensive and defensive capabilities, and can operate independently or as part of carrier battle groups, surface action groups, amphibious ready groups, and underway replenishment groups.

Features
Guided missile destroyers are multi-mission [Anti-Air Warfare (AAW), Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW), and Anti-Surface Warfare (ASUW)] surface combatants. The destroyer's armament has greatly expanded the role of the ship in strike warfare utilizing the MK-41 Vertical Launch System (VLS).

Background
Technological advances have improved the capability of modern destroyers culminating in the Arleigh Burke (DDG 51) class replacing the older Charles F. Adams and Farragut-class guided missile destroyers. Named for the Navy's most famous destroyer squadron combat commander and three-time Chief of Naval Operations, the USS ARLEIGH BURKE was commissioned July 4, 1991, and was the most powerful surface combatant ever put to sea. Like the larger Ticonderoga-class cruisers, DDG 51's combat capability centers around the Aegis Weapon System (AWS). AWS is composed of the SPY-1D multi-function phased array radar, advanced AAW and ASW systems, VLS, and the Tomahawk Weapon System. These advances allow the Arleigh Burke-class to continue the revolution at sea.

The Arleigh Burke-class employs all-steel construction and is comprised of three separate variants or “Flights”; DDG 51-71 represent the original design and are designated Flight I ships, DDG 72-78 are Flight II ships, DDG 79 and Follow ships are built to the Flight IIA design.

Like most modern U.S. surface combatants, DDG 51 utilizes gas turbine propulsion. Employing four General Electric LM 2500 gas turbines to produce 100,000 total shaft horsepower via a dual shaft design, Arleigh Burke-class destroyers are capable of achieving 30 plus knot speeds in open seas.

The Flight IIA design includes the addition of the Kingfisher mine-avoidance capability, a pair of helicopter hangars which provide the ability to deploy with two organic LAMPS MK III MH-60 helicopters, blast-hardened bulkheads, distributed electrical system and advanced networked systems. Additionally, DDGs 91-96 provide accommodations for the A/N WLD-1 Remote Mine-hunting System. The first Flight IIA, USS OSCAR AUSTIN, was commissioned in August 2000.

A DDG Modernization Program is underway to provide a comprehensive mid-life upgrade that will ensure the DDG 51 class will maintain mission relevance and remain an integral part of the Navy’s Sea Power 21 Plan. The goal of the DDG Modernization effort is to reduce manning requirements and increase war fighting capabilities while reducing total ownership cost to the Navy. The DDG Modernization technologies will be integrated during new construction of DDG 111 and 112, then retrofitted into DDG Flight I II and IIA ships during in service overhaul periods.

Point Of Contact
Public Affairs Office
Naval Sea Systems Command (OOD)
Washington, DC 20362

General Characteristics, Arleigh Burke class

Builder: Bath Iron Works, Northrop Grumman Ship Systems
SPY-1 Radar and Combat System Integrator: Lockheed-Martin
Date Deployed: July 4, 1991 (USS Arleigh Burke)
Propulsion: Four General Electric LM 2500-30 gas turbines; two shafts, 100,000 total shaft horsepower.
Length: Flights I and II (DDG 51-78): 505 feet (153.92 meters)
Flight IIA (DDG 79 AF): 509½ feet (155.29 meters).
Beam: 59 feet (18 meters).
Displacement: DDG 51 through 71: 8,230 L tons (8,362.06 metric tons) full load DDG 72 through 78: 8,637 L tons (8,775.6 metric tons) full load DDG 79 and Follow: 9,496 L tons (9,648.40 metric tons) full load.
Speed: In excess of 30 knots.
Crew: 276
Armament: Standard Missile (SM-2MR); Vertical Launch ASROC (VLA) missiles; Tomahawk®; six MK-46 torpedoes (from two triple tube mounts); Close In Weapon System (CIWS), 5” MK 45 Gun, Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile (ESSM) (DDG 79 AF)
Aircraft: Two LAMPS MK III MH-60 B/R helicopters with Penguin/Hellfire missiles and MK 46/MK 50 torpedoes.
Ships:
USS ARLEIGH BURKE (DDG 51), Norfolk, VA
USS BARRY (DDG 52), Norfolk, VA
USS JOHN PAUL JONES (DDG 53), San Diego, CA
USS CURTIS WILBUR (DDG 54), Yokosuka, Japan
USS STOUT (DDG 55), Norfolk, VA
USS JOHN S McCAIN (DDG 56), Yokosuka, Japan
USS MITSCHER (DDG 57), Norfolk, VA
USS LABOON (DDG 58), Norfolk, VA
USS RUSSELL (DDG 59), Pearl Harbor, HI
USS PAUL HAMILTON (DDG 60), Pearl Harbor, HI
USS RAMAGE (DDG 61), Norfolk, VA
USS FITZGERALD (DDG 62), Yokosuka, Japan
USS STETHEM (DDG 63), Yokosuka, Japan
USS CARNEY (DDG 64), Mayport, FL
USS BENFOLD (DDG 65), San Diego, CA
USS GONZALEZ (DDG 66), Norfolk, VA
USS COLE (DDG 67), Norfolk, VA
USS THE SULLIVANS (DDG 68), Mayport, FL
USS MILIUS (DDG 69), San Diego, CA
USS HOPPER (DDG 70), Pearl Harbor, HI
USS ROSS (DDG 71), Norfolk, VA
USS MAHAN (DDG 72), Norfolk, VA
USS DECATUR (DDG 73), San Diego, CA
USS McFAUL (DDG 74), Norfolk, VA
USS DONALD COOK (DDG 75), Norfolk, VA
USS HIGGINS (DDG 76), San Diego, CA
USS O'KANE (DDG 77), Pearl Harbor, HI
USS PORTER (DDG 78), Norfolk, VA
USS OSCAR AUSTIN (DDG 79), Norfolk, VA
USS ROOSEVELT (DDG 80), Mayport, FL
USS WINSTON S CHURCHILL (DDG 81), Norfolk, VA
USS LASSEN (DDG 82), Yokosuka, Japan
USS HOWARD (DDG 83), San Diego, CA
USS BULKELEY (DDG 84), Norfolk, VA
USS MCCAMPBELL (DDG 85), Yokosuka, Japan
USS SHOUP (DDG 86), Everett, WA
USS MASON (DDG 87), Norfolk, VA
USS PREBLE (DDG 88), San Diego, CA
USS MUSTIN (DDG 89), Yokosuka, Japan
USS CHAFEE (DDG 90), Pearl Harbor, HI
USS PINCKNEY (DDG 91), San Diego, CA
USS MOMSEN (DDG 92), Everett, WA
USS CHUNG-HOON (DDG 93), Pearl Harbor, HI
USS NITZE (DDG 94), Norfolk, VA
USS JAMES E WILLIAMS (DDG 95), Norfolk, VA
USS BAINBRIDGE (DDG 96), Norfolk, VA
USS HALSEY (DDG 97), San Diego, CA
USS FORREST SHERMAN (DDG 98), Norfolk, VA
USS FARRAGUT (DDG 99), Mayport, FL
USS KIDD (DDG 100), San Diego, CA
USS GRIDLEY (DDG 101), San Diego, CA.
USS SAMPSON (DDG 102), San Diego, CA
PCU TRUXTUN (DDG 103), Norfolk, VA
USS STERETT (DDG 104), San Diego, CA
PCU DEWEY (DDG 105), San Diego, CA
USS STOCKDALE (DDG 106), San Diego, CA
PCU GRAVELY (DDG 107)
PCU WAYNE E. MEYER (DDG 108 )
PCU JASON DUNHAM (DDG 109)
PCU WILLIAM P. LAWRENCE (DDG 110)
PCU SPRUANCE (DDG 111)
(Under Contract) (DDG 112)

Last Update: 20 April 2009

http://www.navy.mil/navydata/fact_di...0&tid=900&ct=4
_________________________
This is the last of these Destroyers and the new class has been cancelled by the Sec. of Defense , so these will be all there is for our U.S. Navy as long as OBAMA keeps cutting the budget.


USS Michael Murphy (DDG-112) is the name assigned to an ordered, but as yet unbuilt, Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer. She is to be named for Medal of Honor recipient United States Navy SEAL Michael P. Murphy.[1] The ship's sponsor is planned to be Murphy's mother, Maureen Murphy.[2]

This is the last of 62 Arleigh Burke-class destroyers authorized by the United States Congress. She will be built by Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine. On 7 September 2007, VADM John Morgan, first Commanding officer of USS Arleigh Burke (DDG-51), made the first cut of steel for DDG-112 at Bath's Hardings plant starting up construction.[3]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Mic...urphy_(DDG-112)
_________________________

[locksly]

NO MORE OF THESE DD ships

The Zumwalt-class destroyer (DDG-1000, previously known as the DD(X) program) is a planned class of United States Navy destroyers, designed as multi-mission ships with a focus on land attack. The class is a scaled-back project that emerged after funding cuts to the larger DD-21 vessel program. The Zumwalt-class destroyers are multi-role and designed for surface warfare, anti-aircraft, and naval fire support. They take the place of the battleships in filling the former congressional mandate for naval fire support, though the requirement was reduced to allow them to fill this role. The vessel's appearance has been compared to that of the historic ironclad.[3]

The DDG-1000 is planned to feature the following: a low radar profile; an integrated power system, which can send electricity to the electric drive motors or weapons, which may someday include railguns[4] or free-electron lasers;[5] total ship computing environment infrastructure, serving as the ship's primary LAN and as the hardware-independent platform for all of the ship's software ensembles; automated fire-fighting systems and automated piping rupture isolation. The destroyer is being designed to require a smaller crew and be less expensive to operate than comparable warships. It will have a wave-piercing "tumblehome" hull form whose sides slope inward above the waterline. This will reduce the radar cross-section, returning much less energy than a more hard-angled hull form.

The lead ship is named Zumwalt for Admiral Elmo Zumwalt, and carries the hull number DDG-1000. Originally 32 ships were planned for the class, but this was progressively cut down to two,[6] with three to be built currently. The Navy expects each ship to cost nearly $3.3bn.[6] The DoD's proposed 2010 budget recommends three DDG-1000 ships being produced.
Zumwalt_class_destroyer


The CG(X) (or Next Generation Cruiser) is a US Navy program to replace its 22 Ticonderoga class cruisers after 2017. Original plans were for 18-19 ships, based on the 14,500 ton Zumwalt class destroyer but providing ballistic missile defense and area air defense for a carrier group. A reassessment in 2007 means that the CG(X) program may be split into two classes, fourteen Zumwalt-sized "escort cruisers" and five 23,000 ton ballistic missile defense (BMD) ships. There has been political pressure for some or all of these ships to be nuclear powered, which would give them the hull classification symbol of CGN(X).

The Analysis of Alternatives (AOA) for the CG(X) program was due in Q3 2007, but the Navy is not now expected to announce a preferred design concept until early 2009. This has put in doubt the original timetable which called for the procurement of the first ship in 2011 for commissioning in 2017.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CG(X)
_________________________

[locksly]

Originally, the Navy had intended to replace its fleet of Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruisers with cruisers produced as part of the CG(X) missile cruiser program; however, severe budget cuts from the 21st century surface combatant program coupled with the increasing cost of the Zumwalt-class guided missile destroyer program have led to wide spread rumors that the CG(X) program was cancelled. If this is in fact correct, then the Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruisers do not yet have an intended replacement.

All five of the twin-arm (Mk-26) cruisers have been decommissioned. The newer 22 of the 27 ships (CG-52 to CG-73) in the class will be upgraded to keep them combat-relevant, giving the ships a service life of 35 years each.[1] In the years leading up to their decommissioning, the five twin-arm ships had been assigned primarily home-waters duties, acting as command ships for destroyer squadrons assigned to the eastern Pacific and western Atlantic areas.


Ticonderoga_class_cruiser

NO MORE OF THESE US Navy Aircraft Carriers
Nimitz class aircraft carrier
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search

USS Nimitz
Class overview
Builders: Newport News Shipbuilding Company
Operators: United States Navy
Preceded by: Kitty Hawk-class
Enterprise-class
Succeeded by: Gerald R. Ford-class
In commission: May 3, 1975
Completed: 10/10
Active: USS Nimitz
USS Dwight D. Eisenhower
USS Carl Vinson
USS Theodore Roosevelt
USS Abraham Lincoln
USS George Washington
USS John C. Stennis
USS Harry S. Truman
USS Ronald Reagan
USS George H. W. Bush
General characteristics
Displacement: 78,280 tons light
101,196 tons full load
Length: 1,040 ft (317 m) waterline
1,115 ft (340 m) overall
Beam: 134 ft (41 m) waterline
257 ft (78 m) extreme
Draft: 40 feet (12 m)
Propulsion: 2 × Westinghouse A4W nuclear reactors
4 × steam turbines


4 × shafts
260,000 shp
Speed: 30+ knots (56+ km/h)
Range: Essentially unlimited
Complement: 3,200 ships company
2,500 air wing
Armament: 16–24 × Sea Sparrow or NATO Sea Sparrow missiles
3 or 4 × Phalanx CIWSs or RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missiles

Aircraft carried: 85
The Nimitz-class supercarriers, a line of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers in service with the United States Navy, are the largest capital ships in the world, and are considered to be a hallmark in the superpower status of the United States of America. These aircraft carriers are numbered with consecutive hull numbers starting with the CVN-68. The letters CVN denote the type of ship: "CV" is the hull classification symbol for aircraft carriers, and "N" indicates nuclear-powered propulsion. The number after the CVN means that this is the 68th "CV", or large aircraft carrier.

Nimitz (CVN-68), the lead ship of the class, was commissioned on September 18, 1976. George H. W. Bush (CVN-77), the tenth and last of the class, was built by the Newport News Shipbuilding Company, and she entered naval service on January 10th 2009. The USS George H.W. Bush will be the first transition ship to the new Gerald R. Ford-class, the first ship of which began construction in 2007 and will incorporate new technologies including a new multi-function radar system, volume search radars, an open architecture information network, and a significantly reduced crew requirement. To lower costs, some new technologies were also incorporated into the Ronald Reagan, the previous carrier to the George H.W. Bush, though not nearly as many as will be involved with George H.W. Bush.

1 General characteristics
2 Ships in class
2.1 USS Nimitz (CVN-68)
2.2 USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69)
2.3 USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70)
2.4 USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71)
2.5 USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72)
2.6 USS George Washington (CVN 73)
2.7 USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74)
2.8 USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75)
2.9 USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76)
2.10 USS George H. W. Bush (CVN 77)



Nimitz_class_aircraft_carrier


Edited by Locksley ( 6 seconds ago)
_________________________

The Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carriers (or Ford-class) will be the next generation supercarrier for the United States Navy. Before its redesignation as the Ford-class (CVN-78), this new class of carriers was known as the CVNX carrier program ("X" meaning "in development") and then as the CVN-21 carrier program. (Here, the "21" is not a hull number; it is common in "future" plans in the U.S. military, as an allusion to 21st century, to distinguish from existing 20th century equipment.)

The first hull of the CVN-78 line will be Gerald R. Ford.[1] The CVN-78 uses the basic hull design of the preceding Nimitz-class.

Features
Carriers of the Ford class will incorporate many new design features including a new nuclear reactor design (the A1B reactor), stealthier features to help reduce radar profile, electromagnetic catapults, advanced arresting gear, and reduced crewing requirements.[2] The U.S. Navy believes that with the addition of the most modern equipment and extensive use of automation they will be able to reduce the crew requirement and the total cost of future aircraft carriers.[3] The primary recognition feature compared to earlier supercarriers will be the more aft location of the navigation "island".


[edit] Construction
Construction began on components of CVN-78 in the spring of 2007,[4] and is planned to finish in 2015. It will be constructed at Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding in Newport News, Virginia, the only shipyard in the United States capable of building nuclear powered aircraft carriers. In 2005 it was estimated to cost at least $8 billion excluding the $5 billion spent on research and development (though that was not expected to be representative of the cost of future members of the class).[3] A 2009 report said that the Ford would cost $14 billion including research and development, and the actual cost of the carrier itself would be $9 billion.[5]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerald_...rcraft_carrier
_________________________

[locksly]

Originally, the Navy had intended to replace its fleet of Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruisers with cruisers produced as part of the CG(X) missile cruiser program; however, severe budget cuts from the 21st century surface combatant program coupled with the increasing cost of the Zumwalt-class guided missile destroyer program have led to wide spread rumors that the CG(X) program was cancelled. If this is in fact correct, then the Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruisers do not yet have an intended replacement.

All five of the twin-arm (Mk-26) cruisers have been decommissioned. The newer 22 of the 27 ships (CG-52 to CG-73) in the class will be upgraded to keep them combat-relevant, giving the ships a service life of 35 years each.[1] In the years leading up to their decommissioning, the five twin-arm ships had been assigned primarily home-waters duties, acting as command ships for destroyer squadrons assigned to the eastern Pacific and western Atlantic areas.


Ticonderoga_class_cruiser

NO MORE OF THESE US Navy Aircraft Carriers
Nimitz class aircraft carrier
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search

USS Nimitz
Class overview
Builders: Newport News Shipbuilding Company
Operators: United States Navy
Preceded by: Kitty Hawk-class
Enterprise-class
Succeeded by: Gerald R. Ford-class
In commission: May 3, 1975
Completed: 10/10
Active: USS Nimitz
USS Dwight D. Eisenhower
USS Carl Vinson
USS Theodore Roosevelt
USS Abraham Lincoln
USS George Washington
USS John C. Stennis
USS Harry S. Truman
USS Ronald Reagan
USS George H. W. Bush
General characteristics
Displacement: 78,280 tons light
101,196 tons full load
Length: 1,040 ft (317 m) waterline
1,115 ft (340 m) overall
Beam: 134 ft (41 m) waterline
257 ft (78 m) extreme
Draft: 40 feet (12 m)
Propulsion: 2 × Westinghouse A4W nuclear reactors
4 × steam turbines


4 × shafts
260,000 shp
Speed: 30+ knots (56+ km/h)
Range: Essentially unlimited
Complement: 3,200 ships company
2,500 air wing
Armament: 16–24 × Sea Sparrow or NATO Sea Sparrow missiles
3 or 4 × Phalanx CIWSs or RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missiles

Aircraft carried: 85
The Nimitz-class supercarriers, a line of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers in service with the United States Navy, are the largest capital ships in the world, and are considered to be a hallmark in the superpower status of the United States of America. These aircraft carriers are numbered with consecutive hull numbers starting with the CVN-68. The letters CVN denote the type of ship: "CV" is the hull classification symbol for aircraft carriers, and "N" indicates nuclear-powered propulsion. The number after the CVN means that this is the 68th "CV", or large aircraft carrier.

Nimitz (CVN-68), the lead ship of the class, was commissioned on September 18, 1976. George H. W. Bush (CVN-77), the tenth and last of the class, was built by the Newport News Shipbuilding Company, and she entered naval service on January 10th 2009. The USS George H.W. Bush will be the first transition ship to the new Gerald R. Ford-class, the first ship of which began construction in 2007 and will incorporate new technologies including a new multi-function radar system, volume search radars, an open architecture information network, and a significantly reduced crew requirement. To lower costs, some new technologies were also incorporated into the Ronald Reagan, the previous carrier to the George H.W. Bush, though not nearly as many as will be involved with George H.W. Bush.

1 General characteristics
2 Ships in class
2.1 USS Nimitz (CVN-68)
2.2 USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69)
2.3 USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70)
2.4 USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71)
2.5 USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72)
2.6 USS George Washington (CVN 73)
2.7 USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74)
2.8 USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75)
2.9 USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76)
2.10 USS George H. W. Bush (CVN 77)



Nimitz_class_aircraft_carrier


Edited by Locksley ( 6 seconds ago)
_________________________

The Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carriers (or Ford-class) will be the next generation supercarrier for the United States Navy. Before its redesignation as the Ford-class (CVN-78), this new class of carriers was known as the CVNX carrier program ("X" meaning "in development") and then as the CVN-21 carrier program. (Here, the "21" is not a hull number; it is common in "future" plans in the U.S. military, as an allusion to 21st century, to distinguish from existing 20th century equipment.)

The first hull of the CVN-78 line will be Gerald R. Ford.[1] The CVN-78 uses the basic hull design of the preceding Nimitz-class.

Features
Carriers of the Ford class will incorporate many new design features including a new nuclear reactor design (the A1B reactor), stealthier features to help reduce radar profile, electromagnetic catapults, advanced arresting gear, and reduced crewing requirements.[2] The U.S. Navy believes that with the addition of the most modern equipment and extensive use of automation they will be able to reduce the crew requirement and the total cost of future aircraft carriers.[3] The primary recognition feature compared to earlier supercarriers will be the more aft location of the navigation "island".


[edit] Construction
Construction began on components of CVN-78 in the spring of 2007,[4] and is planned to finish in 2015. It will be constructed at Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding in Newport News, Virginia, the only shipyard in the United States capable of building nuclear powered aircraft carriers. In 2005 it was estimated to cost at least $8 billion excluding the $5 billion spent on research and development (though that was not expected to be representative of the cost of future members of the class).[3] A 2009 report said that the Ford would cost $14 billion including research and development, and the actual cost of the carrier itself would be $9 billion.[5]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerald_...rcraft_carrier
_________________________