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U.S. Navy To Ask for DDG-1000 Proposals

By CHRISTOPHER P. CAVAS
Defense News
Posted 07/25/07 19:47

With no decision on which shipyard will build the first DDG-1000 Zumwalt-class destroyer, the U.S. Navy may ask Northrop Grumman and General Dynamics to submit proposals on how they would proceed if the first ship moves from Northrop to GD.

“We are hopefully going to release an RFP soon on the dual-lead-ship strategy,” Dub Summerall, a senior Navy shipbuilding official, told Congress July 24.

The choice of using the request for proposal (RfP) format to gather more information is being strongly considered, but no final decision has been made, said a Navy official.

“The purpose of the RfP would be to solicit options and input from both shipyards to better inform the choice to prioritize the dual lead ship strategy,” the official said.

Being first in line would mean one ship receives equipment such as engines, radars and weapons before the other.

The first of two lead ships was expected to be built at Northrop’s Ingalls shipyard in Pascagoula, Miss. But with the company already working on several other ship programs and continuing to rebuild and modernize its facilities after Hurricane Katrina, the Navy is interested in “level-loading” work at Ingalls and General Dynamics’ Bath Iron Works yard in Bath, Maine, which also will build the new ships. Bath has much less work than Ingalls, and the new destroyer is the company’s only current project to follow construction of DDG-51 Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, which will end in 2011.

Northrop, Navy and General Dynamics officials for several weeks have been discussing the proposal to shift first-in-line priority for the first ship, and members of Congress are being briefed. Officials cautioned that the entire proposal still could fall through, and Ingalls would build the initial destroyer.

All parties are concerned over how a work shift would be perceived. Navy officials insist the idea is based on a pragmatic approach to the DDG-1000 program and is not connected to recent criticism of Northrop Grumman’s shipbuilders by Navy Secretary Donald Winter.

The choice of an RfP to determine a way ahead for the program could appear strange, since that format is normally associated with the early stages of a program rather than a decade-old project like the DDG-1000. Money to begin construction for both of the new ships was approved by Congress in the 2007 budget.

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Link = www.defensenews.com/story...&C=america

GAO-07-406SP
Defense Acquisitions
Assessment of Selected Major Weapon Programs
30 March 2007

FULL DOCUMENT :

link : www.gao.gov/new.items/d07406sp.pdf


DDG-1000 REVIEW : pages 59-60

Ezboard transcript below :

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DDG-1000 DESTROYER


Program Overview

The Navy’s DDG-1000 — formerly known as DD(X) — destroyer is a multimission surface ship designed to provide advanced land attack capability in support of forces ashore and contribute to U.S. military dominance in littoral operations. The program awarded contracts for detail design and construction of two lead ships in August 2006. The program will continue to mature its technologies and design as it approaches construction start, currently planned for July 2008.


Program Essentials

Prime Contractor : BAE Systems, Bath Iron Works, Northrop Grumman Ship Systems, Raytheon.

Program Office : Washington DC

Funding needed to complete :
* R&D : $2,641.2 million
* Procurement : $23,419.4 million
* Total Funding : $26,060.7 million
* Procurement quantity : 10


Program Performance (FY 2007 dollars in millions)

                                                        

                         As of          Latest          Percent   

                         01/1998        08/2006         Change      



R&D cost                 $2,094.3       $8,690.0        314.9     

Procurement cost         $0.0           $24,409.7       N/A

Total program cost       $2,094.3       $33,099.7       1,480.5

Program unit cost        N/A            $3,309,973      N/A

Total quantities         0              10              N/A

Acquisition cycle        128            192             50.0

time (months)

Note : costs increased due to changes in cost estimating, additional technology development, program restructuring and quantity change.


Summary

Three of DDG-1000’s 12 critical technologies are fully mature. While 7 other technologies are approaching full maturity, 5 of them will not be fully mature until after ship installation as testing in a realistic environment is not considered feasible. The 2 remaining technologies — the volume search radar and total ship computing environment — have only completed component level demonstrations and subsequently remain at lower levels of maturity.

Concurrent with its efforts to mature ship technologies, the Navy has initiated detail design activities in the program. While the Navy is planning to complete at least 75 percent of DDG-1000’s total detail design products ahead of lead ship construction, any challenges encountered in remaining technology development activities could place this target at risk.


Technology Maturity

Three of DDG-1000’s 12 critical technologies are fully mature. Seven other technologies, including the advanced gun system and its projectile, hull form, infrared signature mockups, integrated deckhouse, integrated power system, and peripheral vertical launching system, are approaching full maturity. The Navy currently plans to complete development of the integrated deckhouse and peripheral vertical launching system prior to beginning construction on DDG-1000’s two lead ships. However, practical limitations prevent the advanced gun system and its projectile, hull form, integrated power system, and infrared signature mockups from being fully demonstrated in an at-sea environment until after lead ship installation. Two other technologies — the volume search radar and total ship computing environment — remain at lower levels of maturity.

The volume search radar, along with the multifunction radar, together comprise DDG-1000’s dual band radar system. While the multi-function radar has reached maturity, considerable testing remains for the volume search radar. The Navy is currently planning to install volume search radar equipment at a land-based test facility in March 2007. Following installation, the volume search radar will undergo land-based testing, which the Navy plans to complete by March 2008 in an effort to increase the radar’s maturity prior to lead ship construction start in July 2008. However, full maturity of this technology will not occur until after ship installation. In addition, because the efforts are concurrent, there is risk that any delays or problems discovered in testing for the volume search radar could ultimately impact dual band radar production plans. According to Navy officials, in the event the volume search radar experiences delays in testing, it will not be integrated as part of the dual band radar into the deckhouse units that will be delivered to the shipbuilders. Instead, the Navy will have to task the shipbuilder with installing the volume search radar into the deckhouse, which program officials report will require more labor hours than currently allocated.

The Navy’s total ship computing environment for DDG-1000 requires developing hardware infrastructure and writing and releasing six blocks of software code. Although development of the first three software blocks progressed in line with cost and schedule estimates, program officials report that changes in the availability of key subsystems developed external to the DDG-1000 program, introduction of nondevelopment items, and changes in program integration and test needs prompted the Navy to defer some of the functionalities planned in software release four to software blocks five and six, and full maturity of the integrated system will not be attained until after ship construction start.


Design Stability

The DDG-1000 program recently entered detail design phase. The Navy is now assessing design stability by reviewing detail design products, including system drawings, detail drawings, manufacturing drawings, and calculations and analyses.

According to program officials, 175 of 3,723 (projected) detail design products for DDG-1000 have been completed. The Navy estimates that at least 75 percent of DDG-1000’s total detail design products will be completed prior to start of lead ship construction in July 2008. Successfully meeting this target depends on maturing DDG-1000 technologies as planned.


Agency Comments

The Navy stated that our assessment was factually correct, but misleading in areas of technology maturity and program funding. According to the Navy, DDG-1000 critical technologies achieved technology readiness levels appropriate to gain authorization in November 2005 to enter detail design phase. Since that event, technologies have been further tested, and all are on track to meet cost and schedule targets.

Also, given the unique nature of shipbuilding, with detail design and construction efforts spread over approximately 5 years, the Navy claimed that comparing DDG-1000 technology readiness levels to GAO-developed best practices criteria is not valid.

Further, the Navy noted that GAO’s cost comparison computing percent change from January 1998 to the current program baseline does not account for program progression through the acquisition cycle and may be misinterpreted as cost growth.


GAO Response

Our approach is valid because our work has shown that technological unknowns discovered late in development lead to cost increases and schedule delays.

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DDG-1000 Prototype Begins at Hardings

BIW News
August 2007

A small ceremony took place at the Hardings steel fabrication facility on August 1, 2007, that marked further progress on the path to construct the Navy's next generation surface combatant. On that day, the first steel for a DDG-1000 Class prototype structural unit, the Accelerated Machinery Block (AMB) or the "3130 Unit", was cut and another step in transitioning from DDG-1000 design to production was taken.

This prototype approach is similar to the use of Engineering Development Models during earlier design stages to reduce program risk in several key technology areas. Building the AMB as part of our DDG-1000 detail design contract will help to reduce risk in the construction stage of the Program by proving that the new design tools being used on this program, CATIA V5, Enovia and Delmia, can exchange data with our legacy manufacturing systems. By exercising these processes now, we can discover and fix any process or hardware issues long before they would create cost and schedule impacts once full production starts.

Nick Nichols (D97), DDG-1000 Deputy Program Manager, said, "The purpose of the 3130 prototype is to prove that our design process is in place and functional by demonstrating that the design can talk, or connect, to all of our manufacturing systems and that all systems are integrated and generating accurate, timely production products." Virtually every step taken up to this point on the Program has focused on providing the means for efficient DDG-1000 ship construction.

For example, BIW and NGSS have collaborated to develop a DDG-1000 detail design which can be built at both shipyards. Evidence to date indicates that this design approach, achieved through unprecedented levels of cooperation, is working. Our design teams are organized by BIW-responsible design zones and collocated at CROF with manufacturing representatives. Design/Build reviews are conducted at the 50, 70 and 90 percent points to review production criteria and provide feedback to the designers. Design teams hold regular reviews and overview the work in process. In addition, daily "over-the-shoulder" interactions occur between the designers and various manufacturing representatives to ensure that work is proceeding in consideration of all known criteria.

A BIW DDG-1000 Readiness Team, including individuals form Engineering, Procurement, Planning,Manufacturing and IT, as well as CSC, has worked for the past year to develop the 3130 prototype build plan in accordance with our approach to overall DDG-1000 construction, incorporating all known DDG-1000 Design/Build and technology process improvements. Lance Guliani (D84) said, "The 3130 Design/Build approach is classic in terms of involving the right people as soon as possible to create the best overall solutions."

The "3130 Unit", which will ultimately be part of our first DDG-1000 hull, was designed by BIW in accordance with the detail design split of work between BIW and Northrop Grumman Ship Systems (NGSS) and provides the opportunity to demonstrate the success of BIW's design efforts to date. Work on the 3130 prototype will continue through completion of the Preoutfit-1 stage, including activity at Hardings and EBMF, as well as Bath manufacturing areas such as the Assembly Building and Panel Line. Then, work will resume in its intended production sequence upon award of a DDG-1000 construction contract. Work on a second prototype unit, 2220, designed by NGSS, will begin in 2008 to further prove the integration of our systems, this time using a NGSS design product. The 2220 prototype construction will demonstrate to both ourselves and the Navy that we can use the tools and data of another shipyard to efficiently build DDG-1000 units at BIW.

Construction of these two prototype units at this time is extremely valuable as it will allow us to put our processes under a microscope, examine linkages where systems relate to one another, and troubleshoot and fix design translation faults if any surface. Eric Suehrstedt (D84) said, "This is an important opportunity for us to execute our shipbuilding processes from design through procurement to manufacturing and identify any changes that are needed ahead of full production. This approach should help ensure that we will construct an affordable, capable DDG-1000 class ship to meet the needs of our Navy customer."

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Link (pdf) = http://www.gdbiw.com/news_and_events/biw_news/Current/BIW_News_Aug07web%20FINAL.pdf

Raytheon Delivers to Keep Zumwalt on Schedule

Raytheon News Release
09/10/2007

TEWKSBURY, Mass., Sept. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) has achieved a significant milestone with the early delivery of critical vendor furnished information to Northrop Grumman, one of the shipbuilders for the U.S. Navy's Zumwalt Class next generation destroyer (DDG-1000).

This milestone highlights the ongoing success of a new, collaborative design and delivery strategy devised to meet the collective goals of the Zumwalt government-industry team to keep ship construction moving forward on schedule and on budget.

Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems (IDS), the U.S. Navy, and shipbuilders Northrop Grumman and General Dynamics worked together to create a concurrent development plan that will align the delivery of engineering components with the phased construction of the ship. Recognizing the dependencies of system and design interfaces, Raytheon's Zumwalt team modified its engineering development processes and disciplines to enable the incremental exchange of information with the shipbuilder.

"The collaborative development of this new approach is a win for the entire Zumwalt team and a testament to the strength of our partnership," said Raytheon's Ed Geisler, vice president for the Zumwalt program. "Together, we have identified the phased requirements of the ship and its systems and have created a successful model for concurrent engineering and ship design."

Additional efficiencies have also been realized with a dramatically improved process for the sharing of computer aided design information among Zumwalt industry teammates. A team of specialists from Raytheon, Northrop Grumman and Bath Iron Works worked together, using Raytheon Six Sigma(TM) tools and techniques, to develop a solution that translates design data into a format compatible with the shipyards. The group leveraged an existing software tool used in commercial manufacturing to directly translate Raytheon-provided mission systems equipment data into the shipbuilders' computer aided design format.

Under the Navy's Detail Design and Integration contract awarded in 2005, Raytheon IDS serves as the prime mission systems equipment integrator for all electronic and combat systems for the Zumwalt-class destroyer program. Working with the Navy and a team of industry leaders, IDS is leading the effort to transform the Navy's ship requirements to reality.

For more information, visit http://www.raytheon.com/products/ddg_1000.

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Link = http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/micro_stories.pl?ACCT=742575&TICK=RTNB&STORY=/www/story/09-10-2007/0004659592&EDATE=Sep+10,+2007

Long Shots
Naval gunnery is back in fashion as surface ships go for greater impact

by Bill Sweetman
Defense Technology International
Sep 7, 2007

Guns on warships are like the guns on fighter aircraft, in that they have often been considered on the road to extinction. When the U.S. Navy's gigantic Iowa-class battleships were decommissioned in 1992, the era of 16-in. guns firing 2,700-lb. shells ended forever.

Arguably, advances in ship gunnery had stopped long before, with the automatic high-rate-of-fire 8-in. (203-mm.) weapons on the Des Moines cruisers. The 4.5-in., 5-in. and 130-mm. guns on more modern warships -- all in the same overall class -- were secondary armament, the main offensive and defensive weaponry comprising missiles.

But gunnery is making a comeback because the role of the warship is changing once again. One of the main functions left for a non-aviation surface combatant is to support land combat in littoral regions, particularly in the opening stages of a conflict before airports and seaports are secure. Amphibious and airborne forces flow into a combat zone along slender pipes, and the presence of a warship can let them leave heavy artillery behind the first waves.

However, contemporary naval guns don't shoot far enough to provide much help to land forces. A recent example of a naval gunfire operation that made the headlines was the firing by the Aegis destroyer USS Chafee (DDG-90) of "more than a dozen" unguided shells from its 5-in./54-cal. BAE Systems Mk 45 Mod 2 main gun on the position of a suspected Al Qaeda operative in northern Somalia on June 1. But this was unusual: with a range of 13 naut. mi. (24 km.), the Mk 45 is normally useless for fire support.

Now, the U.S. Navy has two major gun programs in the works. Underway for many years, and not without its challenges, is the Raytheon-developed EX171 extended-range guided munition (ERGM), which is intended to dramatically increase the range of the Mk 45s fitted to Arleigh Burke-class destroyers: the modified gun and rocket-boosted, guided shell are intended for a range as high as 63 naut. mi. (117 km.), allowing them to shoot 38 naut. mi. (70 km.) inshore from a 25-naut.-mi. standoff range. For example, a ship sailing off Dover could hit the Defense Systems & Equipment International site in London's Docklands.

The 155-mm. Advanced Gun System (AGS), under development for the DDG-1000 Zumwalt-class destroyer, is even more ambitious: the biggest new naval gun designed since World War II, it is intended to lob its Long Range Land Attack Projectile (LRLAP) to ranges of at least 83 naut. mi. (150 km.). This is almost four times the range of the guns on the Iowa-class battleships, and exceeds the range of the ultra-long-range "Paris gun" fired by Germany in World War I.

ERGM started as a Texas Instruments program in 1996, with the goal of initial operational capability (IOC) in 2001. The program is now under contract with Raytheon, which acquired TI in 1997, and is not expected to achieve IOC until 2011. "If it was easy, it would have been done a long time ago," comments Navy program manager Capt. Lee Bond.

ERGM is a GPS-inertial guided, rocket-boosted munition with fold-out tails and movable canard steering fins. Initially designed to carry a payload of submunitions, it was redesigned with a unitary payload in 2002. Only two of seven test flights in 2005 were regarded as anything except failures. "The shock of accelerating from zero to hypersonic speed is kind of hard on the electronics," says Bond with some understatement.

In 2004-06, the Navy explored an alternate round, the Ballistic Trajectory Extended Range Munition (BTERM) from ATK, but this too experienced test failures and the Navy canceled it, although development continued through Fiscal Year 2006 under congressional funding. Meanwhile, Raytheon has produced a redesigned ERGM system -- that addresses both technical and obsolescence issues -- while BAE Systems and the Navy have worked on making acceleration within the gun more stable.

The Navy has also reduced the number of ERGM-capable ships, abandoning plans to equip 22 Ticonderoga-class cruisers with the weapon. It will now be fitted to the last 32 Burke-class ships, starting with DDG-81 Winston S. Churchill, which carry the improved 62-caliber Mk 45 Mod 4 gun.

The redesigned -- and, it is hoped, definitive -- ERGM round is headed for a four-round engineering demonstration firing series in December. This should be followed by a 20-round series of reliability firings, ending in September 2008 and paving the way for a low-rate initial production (LRIP) decision. That will lead to land-based development test firings and integration tests with the Mk 45 Mod 4 gun and its Mk 160 fire-control system, with shipboard tests starting in 2010.

After the extremely difficult development of ERGM, producing a bigger, longer-range, rocket-boosted projectile for AGS might seem foolhardy. However, Bond believes that the newer gun is in some ways less risky. The guidance, navigation and control (GNC) electronics are the same size, leaving more space for packaging and protection, and the new gun has been designed by prime contractor BAE Systems to provide smoother acceleration. Lockheed Martin is responsible for the development of LRLAP, and test firings of prototype weapons in summer 2005 were largely successful, achieving a range of up to 63 naut. mi.

AGS is a radical gun system with an all-electric, unmanned mount -- matching the more-electric systems of the ship itself -- including a 300-round automated magazine. The system is designed for a sustained rate of fire of 10 rounds per minute, with the gun elevating to a vertical position for loading. The turrets match the low radar cross-section design of the DDG-1000. So far, the LRLAP is the only projectile that AGS will fire: in order to let the GPS acquire a satellite signal more quickly, the barrel has less twist in the lands and grooves that impart spin to the round, so the ability to shoot an unguided projectile has been lost.

AGS and LRLAP have completed some successful trials and the first gun, mount and LRLAP projectiles for development testing are now being designed. The next test firings will not take place until mid-FY 2009. The program office's goal is to have the weapon ready for integration in FY 2011. Currently, the two authorized DDG-1000 ships are due to be delivered in FY 2012 for operational evaluation starting in the last quarter of FY 2013.

A key feature of both ERGM and the AGS is known as MRSI (multiple rounds, simultaneous impact). By adjusting the elevation angle and the projectile's flight path, the time of flight to a given point can be changed, making it possible for up to six rounds per gun -- 12 rounds per salvo from the two-gun DDG-1000 -- to impact within a second. This is why Bond can compare the effectiveness of a single DDG-1000 to a Marine artillery battalion with 18 guns. Normally, one of three batteries in the battalion is moving at any one time, leaving 12 guns to fire, and since individual rounds cannot achieve MRSI, the ship's two guns deliver an equivalent salvo. Over the longer run, too, the AGS has a higher sustained rate of fire than conventional artillery.

The Mk 45 Mod 2 gun is on the latest Burke-class destroyers. Rocket-boosted projectiles make it effective for offshore fire support.Credit: BAE SYSTEMS

However, this capability comes at a cost that makes the AGS and DDG-1000 controversial. In the long evolution of the ship design from the DD-21, through the DD(X) and into the DDG-1000, displacement has been reduced and features removed to save money. The initial design envisaged a magazine capacity of 1,200-1,500 rounds, but that was first cut to 920 rounds and then to the current 600 (that is, one 300-round magazine per mount). In one sense, 600 rounds is a lot; in another sense, it is only 30 min. of firing. According to analyst Robert Work of the Washington-based Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, the Navy has developed an "infinite magazine" concept in which DDG-1000s are resupplied with palletized ammunition that the ships receive by helicopter lift without leaving the firing line.

Even with the reduced weight, the DDG-1000 is the biggest U.S. Navy surface combatant since the 1950s nuclear cruiser USS Long Beach. And, as Work points out, there is a dichotomy between the DDG-1000's stealthy design and a concept of operations that involves routine approaches by very non-stealthy helicopters. Also, the weapon load represents a challenge for any helicopter operation. Even discounting the mass of pallets and propellant, a full load of LRLAPs represents 16 sorties by today's CH-53E, the heaviest Navy/Marine helicopter, and eight deliveries by the forthcoming CH-53K. Moreover, the CH-53E fleet is vastly overstretched, and the CH-53K will not even begin to be operational until 2015.

Further complicating the picture is the fact that based on current plans, the DDG-1000 ships will remain a small class. The Navy intends to adapt the design to the CG-21 cruiser optimized for air and missile defense, with the two AGS mounts replaced by missile-launch tubes. As a result, the entire AGS/LRLAP program is likely to end up arming seven platforms at most.

In Europe, the main focus has been on developing improved rounds for in-service 127-mm. guns, since Germany has abandoned plans for 155-mm. armament in its new frigates. The largest new-technology program in the field of naval gunfire support is the development by Oto Melara of Italy of the Vulcano family of extended- and long-range sub-caliber munitions for that company's family of 127-mm. naval guns, as well as for the Mk 45 gun family. The slender sub-caliber projectiles do not carry the same explosive load as the ERGM, but obtain greater range without rocket boost.

Phase 1 of the Vulcano program is backed by the Italian and Netherlands navies, and may have found a third customer in the German navy.

Italy has 14 surface combatants equipped with an Oto Melara 127-mm./54-caliber main gun, comprising two Durand de la Penne-class destroyers, eight Maestrale-class and four Lupo-class frigates. Ten new Italian/French Fremm-type frigates will receive the latest 127-mm./64-caliber extended-range variant, which has a firing rate of 35 rounds/min.

Germany recently also ordered the 127/64 guns for its four new F125 frigates (plus a fifth gun to equip a land-based test site). This decision was deemed remarkable because it meant the end to an ambitious plan to equip the F125 ships with naval versions of army artillery systems, notably the Krauss-Maffei Wegmann/Rheinmetall PzH 2000 self-propelled 155-mm./52-caliber howitzer and the guided multiple-round rocket launcher (GMLRS). According to German industry sources, the complexities of modifying and porting these land-based systems to make them suitable for the naval environment had been underestimated.

In the Netherlands, the main naval gunfire support weapons available to the Royal Netherlands Navy are the 127-mm./54-caliber Oto Melara guns carried on the four new LCF-type air-defense and command frigates. According to the country's state secretary for defense procurement, Cees van der Knaap, these guns assume extra importance now that the new Dutch government has canceled a proposed buy of Raytheon tactical Tomahawk land-attack cruise missiles for the LCF ships.

"The Netherlands has teamed with Italy in an effort to improve the land-attack munitions available for these guns," says van der Knaap. "In a first phase, this Vulcano project entails the development of unguided munitions with a range of up to 70 km. (38.8 naut. mi.). The munitions will be available next year." Development and procurement is costing the Netherlands 19 million euros ($25 million), he says.

Phase 2 entails the development of guided munitions with a range of more than 100 km. (55.5 naut. mi.), says van der Knaap, but whether the Dutch (or the Germans) will participate in this phase, or indeed acquire the extended-range guided Vulcano munitions, is yet to be decided.

According to Oto Melara, the Vulcano program intends to provide warships with the capability to perform long-range precision bombardment against area targets with a radius of more than 250 meters (such as a tank company or a logistics installation), against point targets with a radius of around 100 meters (a brigade command post), and against precision targets (10-meter radius) such as bunkers or vehicles.

For this mode, Vulcano rounds will start a GPS/IMU (inertial measurement units)-controlled glide 60 sec. after firing, when they are 50 km. downrange and at the 18-km. apogee of their ballistic trajectories. They will perform a GPS/IMU-controlled terminal top-attack when above the target. The glide phase will typically last 140-230 sec.; the terminal attack phase 10 sec.

Oto Melara also plans to equip a Vulcano variant with an infrared terminal seeker, providing long-range, precise anti-surface warfare capability against naval targets, including small fast-patrol boats. In this version, the Vulcano round starts looking for the target when overhead at an altitude of 2,500 meters (8,200 ft.). In both modes, the rounds carry a pre-fragmented semi-armor-piercing warhead.

Sabots separate from Vulcano airframe upon exiting the barrel.Credit: OTO MELARA

System design requirements include a maximum effective range of 70 km. for the unguided munition, 100 km. for guided munitions fired from the 54-caliber gun, and 120 km. for guided munitions fired from the 64-caliber gun. Accuracy is said to be better than 20 meters; payload performance is designed to deliver 100 kg. (220 lb.)/min. over a 1-hr. sustained period, 200 kg./min. over a 3-min. period and 300 kg./min. over a 10-sec. salvo.

The Vulcano concept is based on a fin-stabilized projectile without rocket assistance. Range enhancement is achieved by greater muzzle velocity and improved aerodynamics compared with a full-caliber shell, Oto Melara says. The Vulcano rounds will be compatible with existing loading systems (although the 127-mm./54-caliber Compact operated by the Dutch and the in-service Italian ships need minor modifications).

So far, live-firing tests show that the airframes designed for the Vulcano extended and long-range rounds create no anomalous wave pressures and have "good average muzzle velocity" of 1,070 meters/sec., Oto Melara claims. Ranges of more than 48 km., with the apogee point at a range of 27.5 km. and an altitude of 10,500 meters (34,500 ft.), were achieved using a gun elevation of 33.5 deg. Wind-tunnel tests in Germany in 2006 looked at two designs for the canards that are used to control the round in its terminal phase, and tested the control actuation section under realistic pressure conditions.

The advantage of the European approach appears to be less lofty goals, possibly yielding a better chance of success, and the fact that it is compatible with a wide range of future guns, while ERGM is confined to a subgroup of a single ship class.

Overall, naval gun design remains an unusual industry -- building boutique quantities of weapons custom-fit to a few ships. Maintaining the technology for shipboard guns will probably continue to strain national budgets.

With Joris Janssen Lok in The Hague.

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Link = http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story_generic.jsp?channel=dti&id=news/dtiLONG090107.xml&headline=Long%20Shots

AVIATION WEEK Copyright 2007, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

U.S. Department of Defense
Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs)

No. 1139-07
September 21, 2007

CONTRACTS

NAVY

Raytheon Systems Co., Integrated Defense Systems, Tewksbury, Mass., is being awarded a not to exceed $994,300,000 cost-type modification to previously awarded contract N00024-05-C-5346, for DDG-1000 and DDG-1001 mission system equipment (MSE) production and engineering support services.

The MSE is being developed as part of the DDG-1000 ship systems detailed design and integration effort. The MSE includes the following: total ship's computing environment infrastructure; acoustic sensor suite element - including the bow array sensor suite; dual band radar; electro-optic/infrared sensor; ship control system; identification of friend or foe; common array power and cooling systems; electronic module enclosures; and Mark 57 vertical launcher system.

The MSE is being procured for the program executive office for ships (PMS500). Work will be performed in Moorestown, N.J.(21 percent); Portsmouth, R.I.(20 percent); Andover, Mass.(18 percent); Tewksbury, Mass.(17 percent); Marlborough, Mass., St. Petersburg, Fla., Ft. Wayne, Ind.(17 percent); and Sudbury, Mass.(7 percent),and is expected to be completed by December 2012. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity.

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Link = http://www.defenselink.mil/contracts/contract.aspx?contractid=3610

Raytheon Milestone Keeps Dual Band Radar on Track

Raytheon Company News Release
1 October 2007

TEWKSBURY, Mass., Oct. 1, 2007 /PRNewswire/ -- Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) has achieved a significant milestone in advancing the final development of the company's Dual Band Radar (DBR) for the U.S. Navy's Zumwalt Class destroyer.

Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems (IDS) led the government-industry team in the successful installation of the Lockheed Martin Volume Search Radar (VSR) array at the Surface Warfare Engineering Facility at the Naval Base Ventura County, Port Hueneme, Calif.

After extensive testing, Raytheon will integrate the VSR with the SPY-3 X- band Multi-Function Radar to form the advanced, highly capable DBR. The DBR is the U.S. Navy's most capable radar solution.

The DBR for Zumwalt is two active, phased-array, multi-function radar subsystems that integrate X-band and S-band radar capabilities in a single configuration. It simultaneously supports self-defense/anti-air warfare, situational awareness, land attack, naval gunfire support, surface search, navigation and air traffic control. The DBR's innovative software design allows automatic operation with minimal human intervention.

"The Dual Band Radar provides surveillance, target tracking and engagement support capabilities that are far superior to those of conventional single-band radars across all spectra of warfighting," said Ed Geisler, Raytheon's vice president of the Zumwalt program. "Moving forward with this milestone brings us closer to delivering this needed technology to the ship."

Five months of extensive testing is set to begin, representing a critical step in testing the maturity of the S-band VSR technology prior to advancing to full system production. Raytheon's X-band, SPY-3 completed extensive land- based and at-sea tests with outstanding results over the last two years.

Under the Navy's Detail Design and Integration contract awarded in 2005, Raytheon IDS serves as the prime mission systems equipment integrator for all electronic and combat systems for the Zumwalt-class destroyer program. Working together with the Navy and a team of industry leaders, IDS is leading the effort to transform the Navy's ship requirements to reality.

For more information, visit http://www.raytheon.com/products/ddg_1000.

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Link = http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/micro_stories.pl?ACCT=149999&TICK=RTN&STORY=/www/story/10-01-2007/0004673089&EDATE=Oct+1,+2007

BAE SYSTEMS AWARDED VERTICAL LAUNCHING SYSTEM CONTRACT FOR DDG 1000 DESTROYERS POTENTIALLY WORTH $64 MILLION

NEWS RELEASE 05 Nov 2007 | Ref. 349/2007

MINNEAPOLIS - BAE Systems was awarded an $8 million contract - which has the potential to increase up to $64 million - from Raytheon Company for the first two shipsets of MK57 Vertical Launching System (VLS) for the U.S. Navy's DDG-1000 Zumwalt class of destroyers. The contract covers the continuation of design, integration, requirements verification, and the initial purchase of materials for the first two shipsets. Work on this contract award begins immediately and continues until January 2012.

"This contract award is a significant milestone marking the transition from design into production," said Jay Dolan, MK57 VLS program manager at BAE Systems.

Work will be performed at BAE Systems facilities in Minneapolis, Minnesota; Cordova, Alabama; and Aberdeen, South Dakota.

DDG-1000 Zumwalt is the lead ship of a class of next-generation multi-mission destroyers tailored for land attack and littoral dominance. DDG-1000 will provide forward presence and deterrence, and operate as an integral part of joint and combined expeditionary forces.

DDG-1000 Zumwalt is a key component of the surface combatant family of ships; currently being developed by the Navy to serve as the backbone of tomorrow's surface Fleet. DDG-1000 Zumwalt provides a broad range of capabilities that are vital both to supporting the Global War on Terror and to fighting and winning major combatant operations. Zumwalt's multi-mission warfighting capabilities are designed to counter not only the threats of today, but threats projected over the next decades as well.

The MK57 VLS is being developed under a collaborative partnership between Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems and BAE Systems. The MK57 VLS for the DDG-1000 is comprised of 20 peripherally distributed modules. Each module includes four cells.

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Link = http://www.baesystems.com/Newsroom/NewsReleases/autoGen_107105143132.html