Tag Archives: U.S. Navy
Wrapping Up Alternatives to DDG Flight III
Last month we challenged contributors to take their best shot (or really any shot, so long as it was interesting) at articulating alternatives to the U.S. Navy’s Arleigh Burke-class DDG Flight III. We originally intended the series to run a week, but never ones to reject late-but-coherent thoughts, we kept it going as long as the submissions kept coming in. The [...]
Read MoreX-47B Sea Trials – A BFD
My twitter feed was abuzz today with statements lauding this morning’s launch of the U.S. Navy’s X-47B unmanned carrier air system from USS George H. W. Bush (CVN 77): “…another great first for naval aviation…History has just been made…Momento histórico…History has just been made…the Next Era of Naval Aviation…Launch Catapults Naval Aviation into the Future…New [...]
Read MorePatos, Logos, Etos and the LCS Design Trap
Bloomberg News recently again raised the issue of LCS survivability. Survivability is justifiably important as it is one of the key characteristics that differentiates warships from commercial vessels. Yet there is something wrong with the debate about LCS survivability. In general, the arguments fall into one of three broad categories — patos, logos, or etos. These Greek words refer to [...]
Read MoreThe Capability Cost of a Flight III Ballistic Missile Sea Shield
The following is part of our series “Alternatives to the U.S. Navy’s DDG Flight III“ DDG-51 Flt III and the Shifting Sands of BMD Requirements To intercept a ballistic missile intercept, platforms must be at the right place at the right time to detect, track, and engage. Depending on the capability of the sensors and [...]
Read MoreCoal to Oil and the Great Green Fleet
It has been more than a month since the Senate failed to pass legislation that would have blocked U.S. Navy efforts to develop and use biofuels. This passage of time means it might now be possible to make a less emotional and more measured comparison of the Navy’s “Great Green Fleet” to the decision-making processes behind previous [...]
The Greenert Gambit: Playing Moneyball with the Pivot to the Pacific
CNO’s 30-Year Shipbuilding Strategy Reflects Lessons of his Favorite Book Armchair Admirals and defense analysts alike lit up the blogosphere when President Obama first announced the strategic “Pivot” from Mid-East counterinsurgency operations to the Pacific, with visions of Surface Action Groups, Carrier Battle Groups, and Amphibious Task Forces the like of which haven’t been seen [...]
Read MoreFlight III – A Piece in The Surface Combatant Puzzle
For a distant observer, commenting on alternatives to the DDG Flight III would be difficult without the well written documents by Congressional Research Service writer Ronald O’Rourke. His Navy DDG-51 and DDG-1000 Destroyer Programs: Background and Issues for Congress lists most of the program’s considered possible alternatives, reducing the scope of the issue to selecting evaluation criteria and identifying [...]
Read MoreWhither The Flight III
Back in March our readers voted on topics they’d like us to cover for a week of analysis. The winner was “Alternatives to the U.S. Navy’s DDG-51 Flight III”. Alas not many have felt comfortable venturing outside their expertise comfort zones to weigh in on the issue. Those few brave writers who did accept the [...]
Read More