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FUSS Capabilities Expanding Throughout Fleet

NAVSEA News

25 April 2003

By Maria Zacharias, Naval Sea Systems Command Public Affairs

WASHINGTON -- Making selected surface combatants more adaptable to new roles and missions is the goal of an ongoing effort to install Flexible Universal Stowage Systems (FUSS) on Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigates, Spruance-class destroyers and Ticonderoga-class cruisers. This effort, which wraps up this summer, allows the torpedo magazines on those ships to accommodate aviation ordnance (AVORD) for armed helicopter operations, making them more adaptable to low intensity conflict contingencies and limited objective warfare operations.

Making this change necessitates the increase of ordnance handling and stowage capability on these ship classes. Selected ships' ammunition magazines had to be modified to accommodate AVORD such as containerized Penguin and Hellfire missiles. A prototype ship alteration was done by Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock Division's Ships Systems Engineering Station (SSES) in Philadelphia in February 1996. Since that time 50 installations have been done on selected frigates, destroyers and cruisers.

A major area of concern to Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) with regard to installation of these SHIPALTS was realigning the weapons handling systems and successfully accomplishing the required Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) Ship Installation Assurance Testing (SIAT).

SSES developed an alignment procedure, then designed and manufactured special fixtures to relocate and realign the handling system during the SHIPALT installation. SSES resolved all of the other installation and design problems during the prototype installation.

Prior to SSES involvement with FUSS SHIPALTs, NAVAIR was having difficulty successfully accomplishing SIAT on Spruance-class installations accomplished by various shipyards. The successful installation and SIAT accomplished by SSES on USS Nicholas (FFG 47) prompted NAVSEA to re-designate all FUSS SHIPALTs as SSES Alteration Installation Team (AIT) installs.

By 1999, FUSS was in demand during the Kosovo conflict. In April of that year, NAVSEA started receiving urgent messages from Aegis cruiser commanding officers off the Kosovo coast, demanding the Hellfire handling and stowage capability to support armed helicopter operations. This prompted NAVSEA to ask SSES to design a way to install Hellfire missile capability on Tico-class ships forward deployed and fully loaded out.

During the next week NAVSEA and SSES worked over the phone and on e-mail to develop the SHIPALT design that would accomplish this weld-less installation. The urgency to install this SHIPALT diminished after the Kosovo crises came to an end and the weld-less installation design was put on hold. However, later that year installing Hellfire capability on Tico-class cruisers again became a NAVSEA priority.

Starting in November 1999, SSES was tasked to coordinate an effort between NAVSEA, NAVAIR and Ingalls CG-47 Class Planning Yard to design and implement this capability. NAVSEA was so impressed with the weld-less design developed for Kosovo that they directed SSES to implement that design on all installations. The cooperation and efforts put forth by all parties involved allowed SSES to accomplish the prototype installation of SHIPALT CG47-445K "Hellfire Missile Handling and Stowage Capability" in January 2000 and complete eight follow-on installs by May 2000.

Commander, Surface Forces, U.S. Pacific Fleet (SURFPAC) recognized the leadership of SSES' George Gardner in bringing FUSS to the Fleet in a Bravo Zulu message. "Since 1996, George Gardner has led installations of SHIPALTs in FFG's and CG's, allowing those ships to carry Hellfire Missiles. Following the tragic events of September 11, 2001, Gardner accelerated installations in order to provide five additional SURFPAC cruisers with Hellfire capability. This was possible because Code 9152 and the ISEA, Code 9773, designed the SHIPALT to be installed without welding, cutting or grinding aboard ship, reducing the SHIPALT scope as well as substantially reducing cost. This alteration can easily be installed on forward-deployed ships. Gardner also aggressively scheduled the upgrades so that the largest possible number of ships could be outfitted. Excellent management and execution of this program ensured SURFPAC ships are ready to fight."

Since the prototype FUSS installation in February 1996 SSES has successfully accomplished FUSS and Hellfire SHIPALT installations on 19 frigates, 24 cruisers and seven Spruance-class destroyers. SSES has accomplished these installations both outside and during Chief of Naval Operations' availabilities.