States News Service December 5, 2002
BATH RACES TO COMPLETE STUDY FOR HIGH SPEED COMBAT SHIP
By David Phinney
Bath Iron Works is racing to complete a study for a versatile high speed combat ship able to ply coastal waters, fend off a swarms smaller hostile vessels, sink small diesel submarines and neutralize floating mines.
The study pits Maine's largest private employer against five other defense contractors across the country in a fierce battle to land billions of dollars in business for building a new kind of ship expected to take center stage in fighting terrorism and other asymmetrical threats and missions.
BIW's $500,000 effort funded by the Navy is due to be completed by mid-February and aimed at exploring advanced concepts for a $250 million Focused Mission High-Speed Ship.
The other contractors preparing their own studies in the competition include Northrop Grumman Ship Systems, Lockheed Martin Marine Systems, Gibbs and Cox, John J McMullen Associates, and Textron Systems Marine & Land Operations. The studies are intended to assist the Navy in defining what's possible for the rapidly emerging Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) Program, a still loosely defined class of highly-maneuverable vessels designed to operate in trouble spots around the globe at relatively shallow waters of 20 feet or less.
The Navy plans to commission as many as 30 to 60 LCS ships. Construction may begin as early as 2005, but the program could be speeded up as U.S. armed forces reposition themselves to fight growing worldwide threats and terrorist operations.
The necessity for vessels that can be rapidly deployed is obvious, according to military analyst, John Pike, director of Globalsecurity.org, a non-profit defense policy group.
"The Navy needs a large number of small ships for what it is facing," he said. "They are taking on more and more intercept operations like catching terrorists sailing out of Pakistan and stopping oil smuggling from Iraq."
Sales of the ship to the Navy are expected to be substantial - as much as $10 billion or more.
Future business with other countries would be an added bonus, said Kendal Pease, vice president for Virginia-based General Dynamics, parent firm to BIW.
"There's a huge potential for international sales because it's the just the size that other countries want and need," Pease said. "Very few countries have any surface ships capable of joining in the coalition against present and future terrorist threats."
Versatility will be key to the LCS. Hopes are that the studies will identify ways that vessels can be reconfigured swiftly for a variety of missions, including fleet protection, intercept operations, humanitarian relief and logistical support for Special Operations Forces and the U.S. Marine Corps.
The LCS is expected to achieve speeds of 50 knots per hour and displace 2,000 to 3,000 tons - about one-third the size of Bath's DDG destroyer. There may also be capabilities for launching helicopters and a broad array of manned and robotic vehicles for air, surface and land missions.
"We are looking for concept studies and nothing is decided yet for sure," said Navy spokeswoman Lt. Brauna Carl, "but modularity is important so it can be deployed anywhere in the world." One challenge to the competing companies is finding a hull design that delivers speed, strength and seaworthiness.
The Bath team is focusing on advanced trimaran hull form technology recently developed from work completed by BIW for the Office of Naval Research. That will be coupled with an existing three-hull design available through Austal, USA.
The approach offers outstanding endurance and performance in all sea conditions, Pease said.
"Without that kind of design, you can't achieve the speed and the needed durability for traveling 4,000 miles, which is exactly what the Navy wants," he said.
Austal already is poised to launch a high-speed trimaran ferry in 2004. It will serve as a prototype for Bath's LCS because the hull can be easily militarized and loaded with the most advanced high technology, Pease added.
Such a ship will offer significantly lighter displacement than the Navy's FFG 7 Oliver Hazard Perry Class of frigates designed and built at BIW and will be capable of extended independent operations with a crew of 30 or less.
Lockheed Martin is expected to offer a study based on its Sea SLICE advanced technology, a 105-foot long catamaran that cruises at 30 knots in 10-foot seas.
Northrop Grumman Ship Systems is working with the Swedish company, Kockums AB and its German parent company, Howaldtswerke Deutsche Werft AG, for its study. Kockums AB designed and built the first VISBY Class corvette and Northrop Grumman plans to use the stealthy mono-hull as the baseline for its LCS program.
Bath Iron Works will also relying on expertise from leading U.S. and international defense contractors. Team members include the Boeing Company; Austal, USA, of Mobile, Alabama; British Aerospace Corporation (BAE); Maritime Applied Physics Corporation; CAE Marine Systems and five other General Dynamics business units.
After the February deadline for the competition, the Navy will evaluate the studies for 30 days and then narrow the six competing teams down to three for more detailed proposals. Those proposals will be the final stage in determining who will be the lead contractor for the new ship.
© Copyright 2002 States News Service
