by Kris Osborn, Warrior

The US Navy’s shipbuilding enterprise has been the focus of analysis, speculation, criticism and hope for many years, as it is filled with bright successes and a series of frustrations, challenges and disappointments. The complexity is quite profound, as there are many victories, failures and mixtures of the two with platforms such as the USS Ford which began as a potential failure before rising like a phoenix from its ashes to great performance surging into the future. 

There is a mixture of successes and failures across the entire fleet as well, given the number of ships which have encountered budgeting or developmental failures yet still managed to add unique value to the service and the country. There seems to be the potential for contrasting perspectives to an extent, because some might see an overall pattern of struggles and failures with US Navy ship development, citing the Littoral Combat Ship, Zumwalt-class destroyers, Constellation-class Frigates and developmental problems with the Ford-class carriers. Yet at the same time, many are likely to look at the current deployment success of the USS Ford, the unique value added by Zumwalt warships and the series of ways in which it could be argued the Littoral Combat Ship supported the Navy mission. 

Zumwalt Quandry 

 The Zumwalt-class destroyers, for example, present evidence-based reasons for great success as well as failure and disappointment. While budget challenges drove the Navy to massively scale back its planned fleet size to only three ships, the platform advances a series of paradigm-changing technologies in the realm of “stealthy” warship development, electric propulsion and on board power, new generations of high-speed computing such as its Total Ship Computing Environment .. and its anticipated success integrating and filing hypersonic weapons and Conventional Prompt Strike. Years ago, Naval Sea Systems Command published a statement suggesting that the USS Zumwalt appeared as a small fishing boat to enemy radar, indicating that the smooth exterior and lack of jagged edges successfully created a low radar cross section for the warship. 

The ships did include Vertical Launch Tubes around its periphery and pioneered an advanced computer system with more than six million lines of code known as Total Ship Computing Environment. The warship was also propelled by a quiet electric drive propulsion system which brought the added advantage of adding more expeditionary onboard electrical power to the ship, something able to support new generations of weapons such as lasers, EW and High Powered Microwave systems. However, despite these advances, many are likely to view the Zumwalt class through a more reductive lens and simply remember that the original fleet goal was massively truncated due to cost. 

LCS

When it comes to the LCS, it might prove a bit more difficult to cite its unique advantages as the ship was surrounded by controversy since its inception. The ship was ultimately replaced with a more survivable “Frigate” effort, a shipbuilding program which is now encountering a series of problems of its own. The arrival of longer range more lethal weapons and sensors simply precluded the LCS from being able to operate in an open or “blue” water conflict. Advocates spoke of its 40knot speed, shallow draft and integrated mission packages, suites of technologies combined to launch drones, hunt submarines or destroy small boats.  Ultimately, many are likely to reflect upon the LCS as a failure, yet a failure which inspired what may become a uniquely valuable class of Constellation Frigates, should they come to fruition. 

Submarines

There is little question that the advanced technologies woven into the Virginia-class submarines have been nothing short of a shining success, yet the Navy is still struggling to build enough of them fast enough to mitigate its concerning submarine deficit. Los Angeles class submarines are being retired faster than Virginia boats can be added, and combatant commander requests for the attack submarines continue to outpace available supply. The service has been working to “flex” the industrial base to enable extra Virginia-class boats to be built every year, yet the effort has has trouble fully materializing. Delays in volume with Virginia production mean the service will be slower to replace the massive Tomahawk firepower it will be losing when its four SSGN guided missile submarines retire, as they can each fire 154 Tomahawks. 

Kris Osborn is the President of Warrior Maven – Center for Military Modernization. Osborn previously served at the Pentagon as a highly qualified expert in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army—Acquisition, Logistics & Technology. Osborn has also worked as an anchor and on-air military specialist at national TV networks. He has appeared as a guest military expert on Fox News, MSNBC, The Military Channel, and The History Channel. He also has a Masters Degree in Comparative Literature from Columbia University