by admin on April 15, 2014
The LCS and DDG-1000 are both very different, and yet, they are also very similar–each sports controversial non-traditional hull-forms, minimal crews, no bridge wings, non-traditional hull materials, as-yet undeveloped hi-tech weapons and cost-growth. And while the LCS gets kicked around for these qualities/faults/weaknesses, the DDG-1000 always gets a pass. Every time. It’s amazing. Even with something […]
by admin on April 11, 2014
We can all hope CNO Greenert’s sequestered LCS(NEXT) Requirements Team is hard at work, leveraging all the LCS lessons-learned to date, plugging the info into a fancy matrix and boiling their findings into something that will, in time, provide the Nation with an ideal “Small-Ship-Of-The-Future”. It’s just not bloody likely. Sure, the CNO’s “Deep Thinkers” […]
by admin on March 21, 2014
In a paroxysm of hand-wringing and rending of garments, the U.S. Navy changed the way it counts the battle fleet, growing the active fleet a bit, to 290. Most observers were outraged, sensing the Navy was using an accounting gimmick to grow the fleet. But…I wasn’t too upset. Like most of my readers, I am […]
by admin on February 25, 2014
Despite some recent balance sheet successes from Navy Shipbuilder Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) and a one-year reprieve on downsizing the nuclear carrier fleet, the company’s mid-term prospects are very worrisome. This opinion stands as something of a contrarian view. And it certainly disagrees with Wall Street–after HII peeled away from Northrop Grumman in early 2011, […]
by admin on January 17, 2014
In an elegant bit of Washington subterfuge, news “leaked” this week that the Littoral Combat Ship program is to shrink from 52 to 32 ships. This is a fascinating example of underhanded Washington drama, and it deserves added scrutiny. BACKGROUND So here’s the deal. Sometime in the past ten days, somebody in the Pentagon leaked […]
by admin on November 21, 2013
Drug use in the defense industrial base is a problem. Despite initial pre-employment drug screening, limited post-employment drug tests do little to deter post-employment use within the defense industrial base. As defense manufacturers strain to get by on fewer employees, increased overtime or aggressive performance goals may act as an inducement for workers to swap […]
by admin on November 7, 2013
Submarines rely on stealth. And American Virginia Class submarines are considered the quietest, safest subs on the planet–it’s how the U.S. Navy justifies spending about $2 billion dollars for each of the two boats the nation wants to build every year. So…who would expect that the pricey subs–the foundation of America’s dominance under the seas–would […]
by admin on September 24, 2013
I am surprised to see Fred Harris’ ascent to the helm of both NASSCO and Bath Ironworks pass with so little comment beyond the specialist press. For the Navy, Mr. Harris matters. He matters a lot–so his promotion cannot pass without note. Mr. Harris is a great shipbuilder, and he has done a wonderful job […]
by Craig Hooper on April 9, 2011
A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure to chat and email with the Mississippi Press’ Kaija Wilkinson, to discuss the future of the Huntington Ingalls’ yard. I think that yard has its work cut out for it. Craig Hooper, a San Francisco defense consultant who runs the website NextNavy.com, said there are advantages to […]
by Craig Hooper on January 21, 2011
Daily Press reporter Peter Frost broke the news yesterday that the Navy has put the Virginia-class submarines’ sloughing hull-coating problem “behind” them. Here’s parts of the interview (full story here): “Clearly we had problems on the early ships,” said Vice Adm. Kevin M. McCoy, commander of Naval Sea Systems Command, the Navy’s ship-buying and maintenance […]