Jonathan
2016-04-20 23:23:50 UTC
Chris Cavas @CavasShips
ZUMWALT DDG1000 leaving Bath this sparking sunny AM
for acceptance trials. Beats March's Bravo trials!
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BIW on track to deliver Zumwalt to Navy almost 3 years late
Tony Capaccio, Bloomberg
Business | Thursday, April 14, 2016 at 1:13 pm
General Dynamics Corp.'s stealthy, electric-powered destroyer for the
Navy will be delivered almost three years late, according to the
Pentagon's latest schedule.
The Navy now estimates delivery of the DDG-1000, the first of three
Zumwalt-class vessels in a $22.4 billion program, by midyear, according
to the Defense Department's annual "Selected Acquisition Report" on the
program. In 2010, the delivery was projected for September 2013 and last
year for November 2015.
With its inverted bow and profile meant to reduce the ship's
cross-section to radar, the DDG-1000 is intended for multiple missions,
including land attacks. The vessels, named after the late Admiral Elmo
Zumwalt, are made by General Dynamics' Bath Iron Works unit in Bath.
Raytheon Co., based in Waltham, Mass., provides the vessel's combat
electronics.
The cumulative delays "are due to overall effects of shipyard production
and test challenges," according to the report sent to Congress last
month and obtained by Bloomberg News.
Lucy Ryan, a spokeswoman for Falls Church, Virginia-based General
Dynamics, said in an email that the company had no comment on the delays.
In addition to the late delivery, the DDG-1000 isn't expected to be
declared to have an initial combat capability until December 2019, more
than four years later than the Navy projected in 2010 and more than a
year later than estimated last year, based on a comparison of the latest
annual Pentagon report with past editions.
The Navy is updating its acquisition benchmarks for the program,
including cost and schedule milestones, according to the report. "The
DDG-1000 will begin acceptance trials later this month, and the ship is
on track for commissioning on Oct. 15, 2016," Capt. Thurraya Kent, a
Navy spokeswoman, said in an email that didn't address the delays.
After the ship is commissioned, it will transit to San Diego to have its
combat mission systems activated, she said.
One of the biggest contributors to the delays is the complexity of
activating the ship's integrated power system, according to the Pentagon
report. The ship will use electricity generated by gas turbines to power
all of its systems, including weapons, according to a Navy fact sheet.
The vessel is larger than any Navy destroyer or cruiser since the
nuclear-powered USS Long Beach bought in 1957, according to the
Congressional Research Service. It is also "much more" stealthy than
earlier Navy surface combat ships, CRS analyst Ron O'Rourke, told Bloomberg.
The $22.4 billion estimated cost includes development of what originally
was intended to be a 10-ship program.
The procurement cost of the three ships is an estimated $13.2 billion,
including $3.8 billion for the DDG-1000, $2.8 billion for the second
vessel and $2.4 billion for the third, Kent said. The balance of the
$13.2 billion includes one-time expenditures that apply to all three
vessels, outfitting and post-delivery costs, she said.
The program's procurement cost increased by about $450 million last year
due to the "effect of shipyard production and test challenges," the
report said.
The new destroyer's Advanced Gun System from London-based BAE Systems
has two 155mm guns capable of firing precision projectiles 63 nautical
miles (73 miles) inland. The vessel will carry a crew of 142, down from
about 300 on the Navy's Aegis destroyers and cruisers, producing savings
in personnel costs.
"Skilled labor shortages at Bath Iron Works contributed to the cost
increases, but they were only one factor among several resulting in the
rise" for "the most advanced warship ever built," Loren Thompson, a
defense analyst with the Lexington Institute. Thompson follows the
Zumwalt class for his consulting client General Dynamics, which also
contributes to the Arlington, Virginia-based institute, he said in an email.
http://www.sunjournal.com/news/0001/11/30/biw-track-deliver-zumwalt-navy-3-years-late/1906966
ZUMWALT DDG1000 leaving Bath this sparking sunny AM
for acceptance trials. Beats March's Bravo trials!
Loading Image...
Loading Image...
Loading Image...
Loading Image...
BIW on track to deliver Zumwalt to Navy almost 3 years late
Tony Capaccio, Bloomberg
Business | Thursday, April 14, 2016 at 1:13 pm
General Dynamics Corp.'s stealthy, electric-powered destroyer for the
Navy will be delivered almost three years late, according to the
Pentagon's latest schedule.
The Navy now estimates delivery of the DDG-1000, the first of three
Zumwalt-class vessels in a $22.4 billion program, by midyear, according
to the Defense Department's annual "Selected Acquisition Report" on the
program. In 2010, the delivery was projected for September 2013 and last
year for November 2015.
With its inverted bow and profile meant to reduce the ship's
cross-section to radar, the DDG-1000 is intended for multiple missions,
including land attacks. The vessels, named after the late Admiral Elmo
Zumwalt, are made by General Dynamics' Bath Iron Works unit in Bath.
Raytheon Co., based in Waltham, Mass., provides the vessel's combat
electronics.
The cumulative delays "are due to overall effects of shipyard production
and test challenges," according to the report sent to Congress last
month and obtained by Bloomberg News.
Lucy Ryan, a spokeswoman for Falls Church, Virginia-based General
Dynamics, said in an email that the company had no comment on the delays.
In addition to the late delivery, the DDG-1000 isn't expected to be
declared to have an initial combat capability until December 2019, more
than four years later than the Navy projected in 2010 and more than a
year later than estimated last year, based on a comparison of the latest
annual Pentagon report with past editions.
The Navy is updating its acquisition benchmarks for the program,
including cost and schedule milestones, according to the report. "The
DDG-1000 will begin acceptance trials later this month, and the ship is
on track for commissioning on Oct. 15, 2016," Capt. Thurraya Kent, a
Navy spokeswoman, said in an email that didn't address the delays.
After the ship is commissioned, it will transit to San Diego to have its
combat mission systems activated, she said.
One of the biggest contributors to the delays is the complexity of
activating the ship's integrated power system, according to the Pentagon
report. The ship will use electricity generated by gas turbines to power
all of its systems, including weapons, according to a Navy fact sheet.
The vessel is larger than any Navy destroyer or cruiser since the
nuclear-powered USS Long Beach bought in 1957, according to the
Congressional Research Service. It is also "much more" stealthy than
earlier Navy surface combat ships, CRS analyst Ron O'Rourke, told Bloomberg.
The $22.4 billion estimated cost includes development of what originally
was intended to be a 10-ship program.
The procurement cost of the three ships is an estimated $13.2 billion,
including $3.8 billion for the DDG-1000, $2.8 billion for the second
vessel and $2.4 billion for the third, Kent said. The balance of the
$13.2 billion includes one-time expenditures that apply to all three
vessels, outfitting and post-delivery costs, she said.
The program's procurement cost increased by about $450 million last year
due to the "effect of shipyard production and test challenges," the
report said.
The new destroyer's Advanced Gun System from London-based BAE Systems
has two 155mm guns capable of firing precision projectiles 63 nautical
miles (73 miles) inland. The vessel will carry a crew of 142, down from
about 300 on the Navy's Aegis destroyers and cruisers, producing savings
in personnel costs.
"Skilled labor shortages at Bath Iron Works contributed to the cost
increases, but they were only one factor among several resulting in the
rise" for "the most advanced warship ever built," Loren Thompson, a
defense analyst with the Lexington Institute. Thompson follows the
Zumwalt class for his consulting client General Dynamics, which also
contributes to the Arlington, Virginia-based institute, he said in an email.
http://www.sunjournal.com/news/0001/11/30/biw-track-deliver-zumwalt-navy-3-years-late/1906966
